The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 21, 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Howdy folks, today is Friday, June 21st, and you're listening to the Texans Daily Rundown. I'm the Texans Assistant Editor Rob Lausches, and here is the rundown of today's news in Texas politics. First up, two Venezuelan nationals charged in the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungari in Houston illegally crossed the southern border earlier this year, and although apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents, both were released into the United States with GPS monitors. Houston police announced Thursday that they had arrested Johan Jose Martinez, age 21, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, age 26, following an investigation into the strangulation death of Nunguri, whose body was found in a creek Monday morning. During a press conference with Houston Mayor John

Starting point is 00:00:57 Whitmire, Interim Police Chief Larry Satterwhite said he did not know the legal status of the two, but noted that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations was also involved with the investigation. Although HSI officials did not respond to questions Thursday afternoon, sources told the New York Post that both men had encountered Border Patrol officials in El Paso before being released into the country. On Friday morning, an ICE spokesman confirmed that Martinez and Pena both illegally entered the U.S. without inspection, parole, or admission by a U.S. immigration officer on an unknown date and at an unknown location. Next, the Supreme Court of the

Starting point is 00:01:40 United States ruled Friday that a federal law prohibiting those under a restraining order for domestic violence from possessing firearms is constitutional under the Second Amendment, overturning a decision by the U.S. Fifth Circuit that had struck down the law. The case begins with Zaki Rahimi, who committed a litany of aggressive and violent crimes ranging from drive-by shootings to assaulting his girlfriend and shooting at her, and a witness, when he forcibly put her in his car and she seized a moment to flee and got away. She applied for a restraining order, and after a hearing, Rahimi was prohibited by a state district court in Tarrant County from contacting her, triggering the federal prohibition on also possessing a firearm while the order was in effect. Police later found Rahimi in possession of multiple guns. He was indicted under the federal prohibition,

Starting point is 00:02:29 which carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years incarceration. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the opinion of the court, quote, When a restraining order contains a finding that an individual poses a credible threat to the physical safety of an intimate partner, that individual may, consistent with the Second Amendment, be banned from possessing firearms while the order is in effect. In other news, the Texas Medical Board has adopted amendments to clarify exceptions to Texas law prohibiting abortions in the state. TMB added subsections

Starting point is 00:03:02 to the definition of abortion to include the removal of a dead, unborn child whose death was caused by spontaneous abortion, as well as to remove an ectopic pregnancy. The rules were adopted unanimously. Questions concerning what is reasonable medical judgment, the standard in Texas law for determining an abortion exception, have been an ongoing debate, and TMB has provided a definition that includes, quote, A life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that, as certified by a physician, places the woman in danger of death or a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function unless an abortion is performed.

Starting point is 00:03:45 When TMB reviews complaints or performs investigations regarding abortion in regard to reasonable medical judgment, it will consider if the physician sought second opinions, imaging, test results, and if medical ethics committees were consulted. The board will also look at whether quote, alternative treatments were attempted and failed or were ruled out. Last but not least, Texas and New Mexico's settlement in a decade-long legal dispute over water rights in the Rio Grande has been halted by SCOTUS, which ruled in favor of the federal government against the state. Last summer, the state's proposed water supply agreement related to the 1938 Rio Grande Compact was approved by a court-appointed mediator. The court then needed to give final approval to the settlement, but the federal

Starting point is 00:04:30 government opposed consent on the grounds that it wanted to challenge alleged violations of the Compact by New Mexico. In a narrow 5-4 majority, the court sided with the federal government, finding that the U.S.'s ability to challenge those violations could not be bypassed by a state-agreed settlement. Thanks for listening. To support The Texan, please be sure to visit thetexan.news and subscribe to get full access to all of our articles, newsletters, and podcasts.

The Texan Podcast - Daily Rundown - June 21, 2024

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