The latest Texas Politics poll done at UT Austin that shows embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton leading Democratic challenger, Michelle Garza 38% to 33%. That news tempered for Paxton because a Collin County District Judge has ordered him to sit for a deposition in connection to a securities fraud case right after the November election. Paxton’s office has not commented on the order.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is claiming “emergency authority” to disregard Texas law and provide abortions in cases of alleged rape, incest or threat to a woman’s life. In Texas, it’s a felony to perform an abortion – and clinicians run the risk of being sued. That’s why Texas Democratic Congressman, Colin Allred, of the House Veterans Affairs committee posed this question yesterday to a VA Health official.
“Do you anticipate VA providers may still have concerns about their liability when providing care to patients?”
V-A’s Undersecretary for Health, Dr. Shereef Elnahal, said federal supremacy protects V-A clinicians.
“When these clinicians are doing their work on federal property or are referring veterans for care in the community, we are doing so with the authority of federal law.”
Undersecretary Elnahal pledged to keep communicating with providers in the network concerning state versus federal law on abortion and veterans.
Amtrak’s Texas Eagle service will be available in East Texas again this morning. It was halted mid-week with the threat of a nationwide rail strike at midnight Thursday. A deal was reached in Washington early Thursday morning. The Texas Eagle makes stops in in Longview, Marshall, and Mineola twice a day. Amtrak points out that its employees weren’t part of the strike threat. But the rails their trains run on throughout the country are owned by other companies such as Union Pacific. Normal Amtrak operations are scheduled to resume this morning.
The Census Bureau’s just-released 2021 American Community Survey shows Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the nation. Stella Chavez reports.
According to the data, 18% of Texans were uninsured in 2021 compared to only 2.5% of people in Massachusetts. Five states with the highest uninsured rates did not expand Medicaid eligibility to lower-income families. Texas leads that list followed by Oklahoma, Georgia, Wyoming and Florida. Census officials say health insurance coverage rates could be related to a state’s Medicaid eligibility. Overall, 36 states and the District of Columbia expanded Medicaid while 14 states have not.
The City of Tyler is looking for volunteers to be part of Park Service Day tomorrow at five city-owned parks. Volunteers will take on clean-up and beautification projects. The parks are Wolders, W.E. Winters, Fun Forest, City Park and Gassaway Park. Volunteers can register to participate online on the City of Tyler website.
You can increase the size of your home library tomorrow for less than $2. The Tyler Public Library has scheduled a one-day-only book sale 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. tomorrow. Prices range from 50 cents to $2.
compiled by Mike Landess
edited by Jeff Johnson