MRT: BS&W to Lay Off 1,200; Abbott Announces Additional Re-opening Plans; Dallas County Continues ‘Modest Decline’; Ratcliffe Sworn in as DNI
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WEDNESDAY – 05/27/20
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TOP NEWS
"Another pandemic casualty: Baylor Scott & White will lay off about 1,200 and furlough others,"The Dallas Morning News' Mitchell Schnurman -- "Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit hospital system in Texas, will lay off roughly 1,200 employees, or almost 3% of its workforce, due to fallout from the coronavirus.
Baylor said it would also furlough an unspecified number of workers, leave open positions unfilled and cut the pay of about 300 senior leaders.
Furloughed employees, who are generally eligible for unemployment insurance, will continue to get company benefits and may be asked to return to the job eventually.
Like many providers, Baylor had beefed up for a potential surge in COVID-19 patients, spending $85 million to stockpile supplies, modify facilities and create virtual care options. At the same time, government officials suspended non-urgent surgeries and procedures in order to preserve medical equipment and hospital bed space. They also ordered most residents to stay home.
While the number of local COVID-19 cases has been lower than feared, the financial effects from the pandemic and the lockdown have been severe.
“We experienced a dramatic drop in patient volumes -- between 50 and 90%, depending upon where they sought care,” Baylor CEO Jim Hintontold employees in a video message.
The company’s first instinct was to protect workers, he said, so it pledged to keep paying everyone through May. But that won’t be sustained beyond the first week of June, despite an improvement in business in the past several weeks.
“It has become clear that we must reexamine everything,” Hinton said.
Frontline workers who are delivering care to patients are largely unaffected by the layoffs, Hinton said in an interview. The furloughs are more mixed, including clinicians in areas with fewer patients at the moment.
“We’ll need those people to come back as the volume comes back," Hinton said." Dallas Morning News
"Second civil suit filed against ammo dealers who supplied accused Santa Fe shooter,"The Houston Chronicle's Nick Powell -- "The family of a former Santa Fe High School student severely injured during the 2018 mass shooting has filed a civil lawsuit against an online ammunition marketplace and the accused gunman’s parents, according to Galveston County court records.
The lawsuit was filed in Galveston County Court of Law on behalf of Chase Yarbrough, 18, a former student at Santa Fe High School who was shot six times during the mass shooting on the school’s campus on May 18, 2018. The suit alleges the shooting that left eight students and two teachers dead was enabled by the “illegal and negligent actions” of Luckygunner, LLC, a Tennessee-based company that operates Luckygunner.com, an online marketplace for firearm ammunition. The suit contends that the website sold more than 100 rounds of ammunition to Dimitrios Pagourtzis, then a 17-year old junior at Santa Fe High School, without verifying his age.
Pagourtzis would use the ammunition in the May 2018 shooting spree, the lawsuit alleges. Pagourtzis is charged with capital murder in the shooting, which police say was carried out with a shotgun and revolver owned by his parents. He admitted to being the mass shooter after his arrest, according to court documents. He faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years if convicted. He is not eligible for the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the shooting.
The lawsuit lists Luckygunner, along with Red Stag Fulfillment, LLC, and the companies’ founders, Jordan Mollenhour and Dustin Gross as additional defendants in the action. The suit claims Red Stag mailed the ammunition to Pagourtzis via FedEx without verifying his age or requiring an adult to sign for the package. Subpoenas have not yet been issued to either company.
“It’s just so shocking that they didn’t take the necessary precautions, especially in today’s climate,” said Sherry Chandler, the Houston-based attorney representing Yarbrough and his parents, Troy and Donna. “It was a horrendous incident.”
The lawsuits also name Pagourtzis and his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, alleging that they knew their son was exhibiting extreme behavior but failed to prevent him from accessing their firearms, which authorities believe were used in the shooting.
Attorneys for the Luckygunner defendants and Pagourtzis’s parents did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Court filings show the defendants have filed a notice of removal to have the lawsuit moved from state to federal court. That decision is pending.
Yarbrough, a junior at the time of the shooting, hid in a supply closet in one of the art classrooms where Pagourtzis reportedly opened fire. One bullet grazed his arm and another bullet grazed his temple area. Yarbrough still has four bullets in his body, including a bullet that went through the right side of his neck and led to a fragment that lodged into his right ventricle where it remains.
After Yarbrough was shot, he managed to escape the closet and ran out of the building. He called his father, Troy Yarbrough, who raced to the school and found his son on the school grounds, wounded and bloodied.
Chandler said Chase still suffers from pain and both he and Troy are dealing with post-traumatic-stress disorder from the shooting. Chandler said she is seeking over $1 million in damages.
This is the second civil lawsuit filed against Luckygunner, LLC in the aftermath of the Santa Fe shooting. In March, Tirschwell and Everytown Law, the legal arm for Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, a nationwide group, filed a civil petition on behalf Abdul Aziz Sheikh and Farah Naz, the parents of Sabika Sheikh. A Pakistani exchange student who spent a year at Santa Fe High School, the 17-year-old was one of the eight students killed during the school massacre.
That complaint alleged that Pagourtzis was not required to submit proof of his age to make the purchase, create a Luckygunner account or set up a secure two-step authorization. He checked a terms-and-conditions box agreeing that he was not under 21, and used prepaid American Express gift cards to pay for the ammunition." Houston Chronicle
"FBI: Only 1 attacker in Texas naval base shooting," via AP-- "The FBI said Tuesday that its investigation points to only one attacker in the shooting at a Texas naval air base, days after the agency suggested another person involved might be on the loose.
FBI Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Leah Greeves said last week that investigators were working to determine whether a second person of interest was at large following the shooting at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. The Thursday attack left a sailor wounded and the gunman dead.
But the agency’s Houston office said on Twitter Tuesday that “while there was initial concern about a potential second person of interest, intense investigation leads us now to believe there was not.”
The FBI also repeated that the shooting is being investigated as a “terror-related incident,” without elaborating on what that means. Two officials familiar with the investigation previously told the Associated Press that agents were examining social media posts they believe the shooter made expressing support for extremist groups, including Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Officials have identified the gunman as 20-year-old Adam Salim Alsahli, a Corpus Christi resident who had been a student at a local community college. Security officers shot and killed him after he opened fire while trying to drive a truck through a base entry gate.
The FBI said Tuesday that Alsahli was a Syria-born American citizen. An agency spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment." AP
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
"Abbott reopens water parks, food courts, adult rec sports," via AP-- "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took another step Tuesday in his phased reopening of statewide activities after the coronavirus lockdown.
The Republican governor issued a proclamation that allows the reopening of water parks and shopping mall food courts and the resumption of adult recreational sports and driver’s education programs.
Effective Friday, water parks may open but limit occupancy to 25% of their capacity and keep any video arcades closed, the proclamation states. The adult recreation sports may resume Sunday, but games and similar competitions must wait until June 15. Continued social distancing is urged for food courts.
The steps come a week after Abbott allowed bars, breweries and tasting rooms were allowed to reopen Friday at 25% capacity and with other social distancing measures in place. Rodeos, bingo halls and aquariums also were allowed to reopen. Restrictions on restaurants, which were allowed to reopen May 1 at 25% customer capacity, were loosened to allow 50% occupancy.
Abbott has noted increased testing in Texas, a rate of infection that has steadily hovered around 5%, and available hospital space as reasons to gradually reopen, and the governor has been steadily rolling back restrictions. That has led some Democratic leaders in the state’s largest cities to question whether it is happening too fast, while some business leaders say it’s not quick enough.
In Houston, Democratic Mayor Sylvester Turner has questioned whether the state will help cities enforce what limits are still left.
The total of confirmed cases reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, rose by a slower rate than last week’s pace — by 589 cases Tuesday to 56,561. Nine COVID-19 fatalities reported Tuesday brought the death toll to 1,536.
The true numbers are likely higher, however, because many people have not been tested and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death." AP
"Dallas County continues 'modest decline,' reporting 190 coronavirus cases, 2 deaths,"The Dallas Morning News'Tom Steele-- "Although Dallas County remains in the “red zone” of a color-coded chart advising residents on how or whether to go about everyday activities, County Judge Clay Jenkins said Tuesday he’s hopeful that could change soon.
The county reported two more coronavirus-related deaths Tuesday, as well as 190 new cases of COVID-19.
The victims were a Garland man in his 60s, and a Mesquite man in his 70s who lived in a long-term care facility. Both men had underlying health conditions.
Jenkins said that while the number of new daily cases remains on a downward trend, other factors that health experts are basing their recommendations on — hospitalizations, emergency-room visits and intensive care unit admissions for COVID-19 — have remained flat.
“In order to move to a lower threat level, the doctors tell me we need to see a 14 day decline in those three factors which unfortunately have yet to materialize,” Jenkins said in a written statement.
But the “modest” decline in cases in recent days may be followed by decreases in the other factors, he said.
Dallas County has had 9,188 total positive coronavirus tests — roughly 3.5 for every 1,000 residents. Among those patients, 213 have died from the virus, and more than one-third of those deaths have been associated with long-term care facilities.
The county does not report a number for COVID-19 recoveries.
“Again, how well we do as a community is largely up to all of us making good personal responsibility choices, avoiding crowds, maintaining a 6 foot distance and wearing a cloth face covering as a quintessential American value of kindness towards others when we are on public transportation or visiting businesses,” Jenkins said, noting that the best way to avoid spreading the virus is to stay home as much as possible." Dallas Morning News
"Hundreds of complaints but zero citations for Houston bars, restaurants violating capacity rules,"The Houston Chronicle's Jasper Scherer and Zach Despart-- "The video spread quickly across social media: dozens of people jammed into an outdoor club in Midtown on Saturday, apparently exceeding the 25 percent capacity allowed under Gov. Greg Abbott’s loosened coronavirus restrictions.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who on Friday had said he would not direct city officials to enforce the governor’s order, reversed course after seeing a photo of the event, telling Fire Chief Sam Peña to have fire inspectors issue citations if necessary.
Clé Houston, which hosted the pool party, was the subject of 10 complaints to Harris County alone, out of more than 1,200 reported to the city and county between Friday and Monday. They included nightclubs, bars and restaurants, as well as businesses allowed to operate without restrictions, such as churches, hardware stores and sporting goods retailers.
Despite reports of crowded establishments and Turner’s pledge to enforce penalties starting Sunday evening, however, the Houston Fire Department and Harris County Fire Marshal issued zero citations.
Thefigures underscore how local leaders rely almost exclusively on voluntary compliance by residents and businesses when enforcing Abbott’s coronavirus-related restrictions, including his phased approach to reopening the Texas economy. The governor gave Harris County bars and clubs the green light to open Friday for the first time since March 17, though limited to 25 percent capacity. Restaurants, which had been limited to 25 percent, could increase their dine-in capacity to 50 percent.
Since pandemic-related restrictions began in March, Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen has yet to issue a single citation for the more than 12,000 complaints received by the county. Christensen said to date, business owners have agreed to comply when investigators identify a violation.
The city of Houston has issued 10 citations, and none since May 9, Peña said.
Further complicating the picture is the question of who should enforce Abbott’s orders: Peña said Houston fire officials can stop people from entering venues or halt overcrowded events, while a spokesman for the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission said the state agency is responsible for “regulating and enforcing” the order at establishments with liquor permits and generally has relied on local entities to alert them of suspected violations. In response, Peña said both entities can enforce violations.
TABC, which can suspend a bar or restaurant’s liquor license for 30 to 60 days but cannot force the business to close its doors, has yet to do so for any establishment in Texas, according to spokesman Chris Porter. He said businesses have complied when TABC inspectors informed them of potential violations.
Turner on Friday said city officials twice have attempted to enforce Abbott’s order and “didn’t get the backup from the state” when the businesses filed lawsuits against the city. He said the city would not enforce the order until state officials do so first.
“The state has certain things that they can do. TABC can move to take away the permit,” Turner said. "The state has to provide us with the assurance that this is an order that they really want enforced, because otherwise, it puts the city in a vulnerable position.”
Turner since has given the fire department approval to enforce penalties despite TABC not suspending any permits, though Peña said officials are “primarily seeking voluntary compliance with the occupancy threshold.”
Meanwhile, the TABC’s coronavirus guidelines state there is “no overall occupancy limit outdoors” for bars and restaurants, seeming to allow for the Midtown pool party that Turner cited for his change of heart."" Houston Chronicle
"Texas recommends people bring their own hand sanitizer to vote this summer,"The Texas Tribune's Alexa Ura-- "With voting in the primary runoff election starting next month in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the Texas secretary of state on Tuesday issued “minimum recommended health protocols” for elections, including a suggestion that voters bring their own hand sanitizer to the polls and that they "may want to consider" voting curbside if they have symptoms of COVID-19.
In an eight-page document, Secretary of State Ruth Hughs laid out checklists for voters and election workers that range from self-screening for symptoms to increased sanitation of voting equipment — none of which are binding and many of which were already being considered by local election officials planning for the first statewide election during the coronavirus pandemic.
In its recommendations, the state said voters should consider wearing cloth face masks, bringing their own marking devices — like pencils with erasers or styluses — and using curbside voting if they have a cough, fever, shortness of breath or other symptoms associated with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Voters in Texas have long had the option of having a ballot brought to them outside their polling place if "a voter is physically unable to enter the polling place without personal assistance or likelihood of injuring the voter's health."
The state instructed local election officials to place markings on the floor to facilitate social distancing and to keep at least 6 feet between voting stations. Election officials should also consider having all employees wear masks, the secretary of state said.
The recommendations are meant to serve as a baseline, and county officials can adopt additional protocols. Early voting for the July primary runoff starts June 29.
For weeks, local election officials across the state have been parsing through ideas on how to safely host voters. They’ve been rethinking contact during a process that requires close proximity to check voters in and the repeated use of shared voting machines. They’ve also been stocking up on — or scrambling to secure — new additions to their long lists of election equipment, including sanitation supplies, protective gear and plastic shields like those now common at grocery store registers.
The state’s guidance comes as Texas officials hold steady against expanding voting by mail during the pandemic. State Democrats, civic organizations and individual voters have asked state and federal courts to clarify who is eligible to receive an absentee ballot they can fill out at home and mail in, arguing voters shouldn’t have to risk their health to vote in the upcoming elections. More than 1,500 people have died from the virus in Texas, and nearly 56,000 have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Two judges initially ruled that a lack of immunity to the virus qualifies a voter for a mail ballot under the state’s narrow restrictions, which, in part, allow for absentee ballots if a person has a disability. Butthe Texas attorney general appealed those decisions, and they were blocked by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court. State election code defines disability as a “sickness or physical condition” that prevents a voter from appearing in person without the risk of “injuring the voter’s health.”
In the case before the Texas Supreme Court, front-line medical professionals argued that the nature of voting in person — including standing in line, interacting with others in close proximity and “communal touching” of voting equipment — would facilitate a “heightened danger” for transmission of the coronavirus.
The doctors and nurses also warned that planned sanitation measures like wiping down surfaces at polling places wouldn’t be enough to protect voters from a virus that’s most commonly transmitted through respiratory droplets that can hang in the air for several minutes.
Hughs’ guidance does not touch on the pending legal questions and instead suggests that voters who are 65 or older “may consider” voting by mail given the higher risks they face." Texas Tribune
2020
"Pelosi to appear at Texas Democrats' virtual state convention,"The Austin American-Statesman's Jonathan Tilove -- "U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has made it plain that Texas is her top target for the 2020 elections, will appear as the “special guest” of the Texas Democratic Party’s State Convention next week.
The convention, which will run June 1-6, is being conducted virtually in response to the coronavirus pandemic. (Before the pandemic reached Texas, the convention had been slated for San Antonio’s convention center.) Texas Republicans are planning an in-person convention in Houston in mid-July.
“It is an honor to join Democrats from the Lone Star State and share my message of belief, hope and opportunity during the Texas Democratic Convention,” said Pelosi, a Californian who is the first and only women to have served as speaker. “As I’ve stated previously, Texas is ground zero for this election.”
“The big and bold work happening at the Texas Democratic Party is why we will strengthen our House Democratic majority, elect more Democrats across the state, and elect a Democratic president of the United States, Joe Biden, in November,” Pelosi said.
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said officials were proud to have Pelosi as a special convention guest.
“The speaker’s leadership amidst the challenges of the Trump administration has been invaluable. Her accomplishments in the Congress of the United States — from passing the Affordable Care Act to advancing the priorities of our children and families — and her dedication to public service have inspired generations of women to run for office and continue her legacy of fighting for the people,” Hinojosa said." Austin American-Statesman
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
"John Ratcliffe sworn in as director of national intelligence, ending brief career as Texas congressman,"The Dallas Morning News' Todd J. Gillman -- "John Ratcliffe, a former federal prosecutor and, for less than six years, a Texas congressman, was sworn in on Tuesday as the director of national intelligence.
The 54-year-old Ratcliffe is now in charge of 17 spy agencies, including the CIA and National Security Agency, and serves as President Donald Trump’s top intelligence adviser.
“Confronted with a diverse and challenging global threat landscape, my highest priority as Director of National Intelligence is to provide timely, accurate, and objective intelligence to inform the President and policymakers, and ultimately to keep all Americans safe,” he said in a written statement. “I look forward to leading this team of the world’s most talented and effective intelligence professionals with the highest standards of public service and with fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law.”
Among his first decisions will be whether to publicly release documents related to investigations of Michael Flynn, who resigned after just one month as Trump’s national security adviser.
He later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russian officials before Trump took office, but recently has claimed that he was entrapped. The Justice Department took the extraordinary step of supporting Flynn’s bid to revoke the guilty plea. The trial judge has resisted and the case is on appeal.
Shortly before Ratcliffe took over, acting DNI Richard Grenell declassified transcripts of phone calls between Flynn and then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016, between Trump’s election and inauguration. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the chief prosecutor at Trump’s impeachment trial, had asked him to declassify those files.
Trump first tried to install Ratcliffe as DNI last July. But a bipartisan chorus of senators complained that he lacked sufficient experience in intelligence. Democrats also viewed him as too partisan and too loyal to Trump, after he’d caught the president’s eye with fierce questioning of special counsel Robert Mueller.
Ratcliffe pulled out within a week.
Seven months later, emboldened by his acquittal in the Senate, Trump tried again. This time Ratcliffe sailed through the confirmation process, albeit against unified Democratic opposition. The Senate confirmed him last Thursday 49-44.
He served as a vocal defender of Trump at House impeachment hearings and as a spokesman for the president’s defense team during the trial. During the confirmation process he sought to assure senators that he would set aside partisan considerations and his relationship with the president, to provide only unbiased advice.
Ratcliffe has never worked in the nation’s intelligence community. He did some counterterrorism work as a federal prosecutor, which included a stint as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas under President George W. Bush. During that time he also served as mayor of Heath, a small city in Rockwall County. In 2014, he ousted 91-year-old Rep. Ralph Hall in the GOP primary, easily winning reelection twice in an overwhelmingly Republican district that runs from just east of Dallas to Texarkana.
The seat will remain vacant until January. GOP county and precinct leaders in the district will meet Aug. 8 to pick a new GOP nominee for the November ballot. Ratcliffe resigned on Friday after his confirmation.
“As DNI, I will remain dedicated to supporting and defending the indispensable work of Intelligence Community patriots which remains vital to this nation’s security and prosperity. I would like to thank President Trump for trusting me with this solemn duty and to express my appreciation to Richard Grenell for serving well in an acting capacity these last three months," he said." Dallas Morning News
"Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Texas abruptly resigns,"AP's Jake Bleiberg -- "A U.S. attorney in Texas who was appointed by President Donald Trump announced his resignation Tuesday, providing no explanation for his unusually abrupt departure.
Joseph Brown, who has served as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas since 2018, will leave office on May 31, according to a statement.
The statement does not give a reason for the 50-year-old lead prosecutor’s departure except to say he will be “pursuing opportunities in the private and public sectors” and “some of those will become apparent in the coming days.” It also doesn’t say who would lead the office in the interim; the sprawling jurisdiction stretches from the Dallas suburbs to Beaumont. Brown and a spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.
Brown’s resignation comes two months after ProPublica reported that his office spent years pursuing a criminal case against Walmart for its opioid prescription practices, only to have it stymied after the retail giant’s lawyers appealed to senior officials in the Department of Justice. The report describes an internal struggle over the potential prosecution that ended with high-ranking department officials ordering Brown to stand down.
Walmart has denied any of its employees committed crimes. A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment.
In Tuesday’s statement, Brown referenced his office’s successful prosecution of “pill mill” physicians, including one named in the ProPublica story.
“We must win the fight against opioid abuse in order to save our country,” he said. “But in order to be effective, we must be willing to prosecute all facets of the expansive network that feeds these destructive drugs into our communities. Players both big and small must meet equal justice under the law.”
U.S. attorneys are appointed by the president and are subject to Senate confirmation. They can resign or be fired during a change of administration, but some serve under multiple presidents.
Before his appointment, Brown had served for years as district attorney in Grayson County, Texas." AP
REMAINDERS
TEXAS TECH BASKETBALL: "Texas Tech's Davide Moretti turning pro back home in Italy" AP
'MACK ON POLITICS' PODCAST
LATEST "MACK ON POLITICS" PODCAST: The Michael Flynn prosecution is the subject of the 189th episode. Our guest is Bloomberg Opinion columnist Eli Lake.
In this conversation, our guest walks us through the Flynn prosecution, explains why he was charged with lying to the FBI, examines whether the interview was necessary or the lie was material to the investigation, whether Flynn knew Kislyak was being taped, how unmasking fits into all of this, whether Crossfire Hurricane was legitimate, and why the majority of the national media continues to advance the collusion narrative.
Available on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher and on the web at http://www.MackOnPoliticsPodcast.com.
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