(The Center Square) – A California man “angry with pharmacies” is accused of murdering a Walgreens employee Monday, days after the Luigi Mangione Act was filed with the state and drew scrutiny for invoking an alleged murderer’s name. 

Police say the suspect traveled to a Walgreens an hour from this home, did not know the victim and was apprehended as he was reloading his gun. 

At a press conference, Madera police said the alleged murderer had made “some statements about being angry with pharmacies.” ABC 30 reports that victim Erick Velazquez was not a pharmacist, and was a respected husband and father of two children. 

Just days before Velazquez’s death, the Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act was submitted as a statewide ballot initiative. Under the proposed measure, it would be more difficult for insurers to modify a physician-prescribed treatment plan, as only doctors would be able to deny, delay or modify medical procedures or medications.

The California Association of Health Plans, an industry association whose members cover tens of millions of Californians, told CBS 8 the measure’s proposed name was “repugnant.” Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. 

“The lawyer behind this measure is trying to use a murder and act of terrorism to market his political agenda,” said CAHP. “It is a repugnant action by anyone, but especially someone sworn to uphold the Constitution and law.”

Walgreens issued a statement of support for Velazquez’s family, and a GoFundMe has been set up to support his wife and children amid their sudden loss.

(The Center Square) – The Texas House Committee on Public Education on Thursday passed a school choice bill for the first time in state history.

The committee, chaired by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, passed SB 2, filed by state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, which passed the Texas Senate and was sent to the House for consideration. The legislation would create an Education Savings Account program to provide taxpayer-funded subsidies for primarily low-income families of roughly $10,000 per student.

Both the Texas Senate and House proposed budgets allocating $1 billion for the program to support roughly 100,000 students, prioritizing low-income and special needs students, The Center Square reported. The savings accounts can be used by parents to send their children to the school of their choice, including private schools.

The committee advanced the bill by a vote of 9-6. It also passed HB 2, a school funding bill filed by Buckley by a vote of 13-2. Buckley filed an education package, including HB 2, HB 3, the House version of SB 2, and HB 4, implementing public school assessment and accountability processes, The Center Square reported. 

The package was filed after House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, identified expanding public-school funding and creating the state’s first ESA program as legislative priorities. Public education and creating Texas’ first ESA were also identified as emergency legislative items by Gov. Greg Abbot. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick listed school choice as a legislative priority in the Texas Senate, which has passed school choice bills for several years that went nowhere in the Texas House.

Abbott praised the committee vote, saying, “Texas is within reach of the largest school choice program launch in the nation.” Abbott has led the charge to pass the bill after previous efforts failed in the House, including successfully campaigning last year to replace House Republicans who opposed the measure. Abbott’s efforts paid off. Many new House Republicans won their primary, runoff and general elections and were sworn into office in January, all vowing to vote for the bill.

The committee “moved universal school choice one step closer to reaching my desk,” Abbott said. “This achievement was truly a team effort. Chairman Brad Buckley and the members of his committee worked around-the-clock to hear public testimony that lasted for nearly 24 hours. I thank them, as well as Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, Speaker Dustin Burrows, and Chairman Brandon Creighton, for their tireless work to empower Texas parents and students by providing school choice. I look forward to its swift passage in the Texas House and signing this bill into law.”

Earlier this year, Burrows said the bill would pass. He has joined Abbott at events promoting it, The Center Square reported.

According to a recent poll, a majority of registered voters surveyed in Texas, 63%, support a proposal to create Texas’ first Education Savings Account program, The Center Square reported.

Support exists across multiple demographics. The majority of Black respondents, 69%, white respondents, 62%, and Latino respondents, 59%, support an ESA program open to all students. Likewise, 78% of Republicans, 64% of Independents and 46% of Democrats support it.

A “Texas Trends” survey launched by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs and Texas Southern University also reported similar support. Of the nearly 2,300 Texans surveyed, 69% said they support an ESA program for all parents statewide, The Center Square reported.

“There is across-the-board support, not only across racial and partisan lines, but among urban, suburban and rural voters,” Jim Granato, dean and professor at the Hobby School, said. “Rural residents, and the legislators who represent them, have traditionally joined with urban Democrats to oppose voucher proposals, but we found 63% of respondents in rural and semi-rural areas support vouchers open to all families, along with 64% of suburban residents and 67% of urban residents.”

The ESA bill and other Buckley measures that passed will next go before the full House for a vote.

(The Center Square) – A congressional investigation into online Democratic campaign contribution platform ActBlue is ongoing, with a new report from joint interim staff and a letter to the organization’s CEO requesting additional documents.

The platform aroused Republican suspicions leading up to the 2024 presidential election, with some elected officials raising concerns that Democrats might be using the platform to circumvent campaign finance laws. 

The newly released staff report claims that despite knowing that “both foreign and domestic” actors were using the platform fraudulently, ActBlue executives and staff did not vigilantly work to combat the platform’s exploitation. 

“Twice [in 2024] – once in April and once in September – ActBlue changed its fraud-prevention standards to make them ‘more lenient’” and later “attempted to hide the changes” to avoid looking suspicious, according to the report. 

“For example, ActBlue’s training guide for new fraud-prevention employees instructed them to ‘look for reasons to accept contributions,’ rather than err on the side of flagging suspicious donations,” the report reads. 

Recent news raises additional questions about ActBlue’s ability to comply with relevant federal election and campaign finance laws, according to a news release from the House Judiciary Committee. 

It cites reporting from The New York Times about “at least seven senior staff members, including ActBlue’s ‘highest-ranking legal officer,’” having resigned since late February. 

The chairmen of the Committee on House Administration, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Judiciary Committee wrote to ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones for additional documentation regarding ActBlue’s legal compliance.

“ActBlue’s internal turmoil, lack of a functioning legal team, possible retaliatory actions, and failure to take fraud seriously raise a host of new questions about the platform’s ability to deter fraud and comply with legal requirements,” wrote the chairmen.

They asked to receive the documents and schedule two transcribed interviews by April 16.