Texas public hospitals now must ask patients if they are in US legally

November 1, 2024

Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

(HOUSTON) — Public hospitals in Texas will now be required to ask patients if they are in the U.S. legally and keep a record of the funds spent on illegal migrants after an executive order went into effect Friday.

Public hospitals are required to collect information regarding the “cost of medical care provided to illegal immigrants,” the number of inpatient discharges and the number of emergency visits, then submit that data to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on a quarterly basis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in an August statement announcing the measure.

While facilities must ask patients of their legal status, patients are not required to respond.

The new policy will also be enforced at hospitals enrolled in Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and any other facilities identified by the commission.

The first submission is due on March 1, 2025, according to the governor’s office. The commission will then submit the total cost for medical care provided to illegal migrants to the governor, lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house on an annual basis beginning on Jan. 1, 2026.

Patients are to be told that the collection of this information will not affect patient care, according to the executive order. Federal law mandates patients be told their answers will not affect their medical care.

The executive order also states that the federal government “may and should be obligated to reimburse the state of Texas for the costs that its open border policies have imposed on Texans.”

“Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open border policies, Texas has had to foot the bill for medical costs for individuals illegally in the state,” Abbott said in the statement, though migrant encounters at the border began rising while Donald Trump was president in the months after April 2020 through the November election. “Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants.”

Immigration advocacy groups condemned the action as it went into place Friday.

“Abbott’s latest executive order — which takes effect today and goes against federal law — is a calculated attempt to drive immigrants into the shadows and make our communities fearful of being targeted in the very places we should feel safe. Going after immigrants in hospitals is just the first step towards enacting Trump’s Project 2025 agenda,” said Michelle Ming, political director of United We Dream Action, an advocacy group for immigrants.

ABC News’ Armando Garcia contributed to this report.

Navy IDs 2 ‘trailblazing’ female aviators killed in Washington jet crash

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(WASHINGTON) — The Navy identified on Monday two “trailblazing” women aviators who were killed when their jet crashed in northeast Washington during an Oct. 15 training mission.

A day after Navy officials declared them dead, they were identified as Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay P. “Miley” Evans, a Naval flight officer, and Lt. Serena N. “Dug” Wileman, a Naval aviator. Both women were 31 years old and from California, according to the Navy.

Evans and Wileman were described by Navy officials as “two highly skilled, combat decorated aviators.”

“More than just names and ranks, they were role models, trailblazers, and women whose influence touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond,” the Navy’s Carrier Strike Group Two and Carrier Air Wing 3 said in a statement.

The aviators were identified a day after Cmdr. Timothy Warburton of the Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron 130 — which goes by the nickname “Zappers” — announced they had been declared dead.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” Warburton said in a statement. “Our priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen aviators and ensuring the well-being of our Sailors and the Growler community. We are grateful for the ongoing teamwork to safely recover the deceased.”

Wreckage of the EA-18G Growler jet was located Wednesday on a mountainside east of Mount Rainier, military officials said.

Search-and-rescue crews faced mountainous terrain, cloudy weather and low visibility during the search for the crew, Navy officials said in a statement last week.

The jet, from Electronic Attack Squadron 130, crashed at about 3:23 p.m. on Oct. 15, about 30 miles west of Yakima, according to the Navy.

The jet crashed after launching a training flight from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, officials said.

Evans and Wileman had recently returned from a nine-month deployment to the Red Sea in the Middle East, where they were part of the Carrier Air Wing 3 and stationed aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, according to the Navy. During their deployment, the aviators were involved in what the Navy described as “the most dynamic combat action.”

“During their deployment, both Evans and Wileman distinguished themselves in combat operations,” Capt. Marvin Scott, a Navy flight commander, said in a statement.

Scott added, “These role models cemented legacies by making history that will inspire future generations of Naval officers and aviators.”

Evans completed multiple combat strikes into Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen, making her one of the few women to fly combat missions over land, according to the Navy.

In 2023, Evans was part of an all-female Super Bowl flyover of State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, which the Navy said was “a historic moment marking 50 years of women flying in the Navy.”

In 2024, Evans was also named the Growler Tactics Instructor of the Year, according to the Navy.

In 2023 and 2024, Wileman also flew on multiple combat missions into the Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen.

“I have personally flown with both of these great Americans in both training and dynamic combat operations, and they always performed professionally and precisely. I could not be more proud to have served with each of them,” Capt. Marvin Scott, a Navy flight commander, said in a statement.

The cause of the crash that killed Evans and Wileman is under investigation, according to the Navy.

The Growler aircraft, which according to the Navy is worth about $67 million, is “the most advanced technology in airborne Electronic Attack and stands as the Navy’s first line of defense in hostile environments.”

The 130 squadron adopted the nickname “Zappers” when it was commissioned as the Carrier Early Warning Squadron 13 in 1959, the military said.

The squadron was most recently deployed to the Southern Red Sea, where it carried out seven pre-planned strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, according to a statement.

The Zappers also carried out some 700 combat missions “to degrade the Houthi capability to threaten innocent shipping,” according to a press release announcing the squadron’s return to Washington in July.

Federal trial of former officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death to begin

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(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the federal trial of three former Memphis officers charged in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols: Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith

Nichols, 29, died several days after a January 2023 traffic stop captured in body camera footage and surveillance footage, which allegedly shows officers violently striking Nichols repeatedly and walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. His fatal beating triggered protests and calls for police reform.

The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.

Five former officers were charged, including Bean, Haley and Smith who are now on trial and have pleaded not guilty, as well as Desmond Mills Jr. and Emmitt Martin III, who have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.

Bean, Haley and Smith are accused of violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault, failing to render medical aid, and conspiring to engage in misleading conduct by attempting to falsify or intentionally withholding details of the arrest in statements and to a supervisor.

Police said Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving, though Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that.

While Nichols’ mother has said that first responders told her her son was drunk and high, the autopsy report shows that his blood alcohol level was .049, the DA’s office said. The district attorney’s office told the family that was “well less than the legal limit to drive.”

If convicted, two of the counts in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the other two each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ.

Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to the court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the online records.

Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.

All five former officers also face state felony charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, in connection with Nichols’ death. They pleaded not guilty.

Cemetery theft spree suspects arrested after bronze veteran burial markers stolen from headstones

Facebook / La Porte County Sheriff’s Office

(NEW YORK) — Two people have been arrested in connection with a spree of bronze veteran marker thefts from headstones being stolen from cemeteries across Indiana, police said.

The La Porte County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation on Aug. 28 following a series of reports to authorities that bronze veteran markers were being stolen from grave headstones in the immediate vicinity of Union Mills and Rolling Prairie Cemeteries, but also from headstones in the Carmel, Pinola, Greenwood and St. Stan’s Cemeteries.

In total police found that at least 15 bronze veteran markers were reported as being stolen and one additional as being damaged.

“On August 28th, the agency publicly announced the investigation and encouraged citizens to visit the gravesites of deceased veterans,” the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on social media regarding the case. “Just one day later, credible information was provided to investigators identifying a suspect.”

Following their investigation, Detective Jake Koch and Detective Aaron Banic arrested 53-year-old Terry Wood and 25-year-old Breanna Puentez in connection with the thefts.

“Personnel from several divisions executed an operation dubbed, ‘Justice, Peace and Salute’ this morning at a residence in the 400 block of Andrew Avenue in La Porte,” police said. “Wood was taken into custody and additional evidence was recovered from the property. Later in the day, Puentez was taken into custody and charged in Circuit Court for her role in the theft ring.”

Wood and Puentez currently remain in police custody and have been charged with one count of felony theft and 15 felony counts each of cemetery mischief, police confirmed.

Wood is now being held on a $15,005 cash-only bond and Puentez is not eligible for bond, authorities added.

“This type of criminal behavior is disgusting, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated in La Porte County! It is the hope of the entire Sheriff’s Office that because of the diligent and thorough investigation by Detectives Koch and Banic, justice will be served to both accused subjects,” said Captain Derek J. Allen. “Hopefully, US Veterans, both deceased and living, can find peace and comfort with these arrests, and with that, we salute them for their service.”

The investigation into the thefts is currently ongoing and a court date has not yet been announced for the accused individuals.