Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a Dallas County case involving an unborn child, a surrogate and a pair of “intended parents.” “Baby Gabriel,” as the unborn child is called in the Tuesday press release, was diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a severe birth defect where the left side of the heart is too underdeveloped to properly pump blood to the body. 

According to the U.S. Senate candidate’s statement, the child is likely to be born “imminently” and that HLHS typically requires three staged surgeries after birth, beginning with the Norwood procedure. The baby was reportedly diagnosed with the condition at about 20 weeks gestation. 

Paxton’s office says the defect is treatable. Without treatment, the defect is fatal within the first few days of the baby’s life; however, according to some reports, babies who receive an established medical protocol upon birth have up to a 70% chance of surviving past age five. 

Paxton’s letter continued, saying that after the diagnosis, Gabriel’s intended parents, who according to AG’s filings, live in Califormia, allegedly demanded that the surrogate mother carrying him undergo an abortion. The surrogate reportedly refused and traveled to Texas, seeking both legal protection and access to physicians experienced in treating the condition. The intended parents have not agreed to consent to the life-saving surgery after birth, and officials said they may attempt to remove the child from Texas to avoid treatment.

Paxton filed a 58-page motion to intervene in the case, asking a district court to issue orders directing the baby’s medical care after birth, barring his removal from the state and setting up an expedited hearing should the intended parents not grant consent for treatment. 

Paxton’s office also sent a 10-page letter to UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas outlining what it described as physicians’ independent legal duty to treat the child regardless of the outcome of the parentage dispute. The letter states that doctors may provide emergency, life-sustaining care to the child without parental consent or a court order, and urges the hospitals to provide that care and to refuse any attempt to transfer the baby out of state.

“Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care,” Paxton said in the statement. “My office will use every tool available to protect innocent lives and ensure that every child receives the care required under Texas law.”

In late 2023 Paxton successfully prevented Kate Cox from having an abortion in Texas when doctors diagnosed the baby she was carrying with trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome. She reportedly traveled out of state to have an abortion.

The case is currently before a Dallas County district court. It was not immediately clear when a hearing would be scheduled.

The Plano City Council has voted to move forward with a funding plan for the proposed new Dallas Stars arena. The vote was unanimous, 8-0.

The vote means Plano voters will get the final say in November on a package of taxes and fees that would help fund the proposed $3 billion development near Willow Bend.

The project would include a new Dallas Stars arena, along with restaurants, shops and public spaces.

“We will have many more opportunities to say no, but now is not the time to do that,” said Plano council member Bob Kehr.

Plano is proposing to put $700 million toward the development via:

• A short-term hotel occupancy tax, up to 2%, resulting in a maximum combined hotel occupancy tax rate of 15%
• A short-term motor vehicle rental tax, up to 5%
• An event parking tax of up to $3 per vehicle
• An admissions tax of up to 10% of the ticket price
• A venue facility use tax of up to $5,000 per game on each member of a major league team that plays a professional sports game at the venue

“If citizens were to rent motor vehicles, they will be charged with those tax increases,” said Deputy City Manager Doug McDonald.

The city says Plano property taxes would not increase to pay for the arena.

“The proposed venue-related taxes would apply only to specific transactions and would not affect the existing property tax rate for Plano residents. The election does not determine the future of the arena,” the city said in a statement.  

The City’s potential financing plan also includes new commercial property tax revenues generated within the Willow Bend Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) and other revenues generated by arena events.

Proposed Stars arena concerns residents  

The proposal has drawn considerable concern from residents, especially regarding traffic. The city says more than 2,400 written comments came in during the public input process, with 84% focused on traffic.

“If you have a Dallas Stars game, expending 20,000 to 22,000 people, that’s 8 to 10,000 cars and there’s not a lot of public transit in that area,” said Michael Forner, a Plano resident.

Parking, noise, light pollution and the impact on nearby neighborhoods have also been major concerns.

“I think you will be reducing the attractiveness of Plano to families,” said Ileen Chivata, a Plano resident.  

There will be an update on development studies at a meeting in October. The city said that it will include a traffic study.

Monday night’s vote does not approve the arena or its funding. It puts the funding plan on the November ballot, when Plano voters will have the final say.

DALLAS – Dallas police will give an update Monday on two officer-involved shootings that happened last week. 

Dallas Police Shootings

What we know:

The department is expected to release dash and body camera video, as well as 911 calls for both incidents during a news conference at 4 p.m. You’ll be able to watch that news conference live on this page.

Police leaders will also address any questions about the two incidents, which both happened in North Dallas close to 24 hours apart.

Robbery and Carjacking

The backstory:

The first shooting happened on Thursday morning. Dallas police officers were called to a reported robbery and carjacking on Sunnyvale Street, which is in the Cedar Crest area of Dallas. They later located the stolen vehicle about 15 miles away in Far North Dallas.

During the felony traffic stop, a Dallas police officer fired one shot when the suspect stepped out of the car. Police have not said whether the suspect pointed a weapon at the officer.

No one was hit, and the suspect was taken into custody.

Apartment Stabbing

The backstory:

The second officer-involved shooting happened on Friday morning. The suspect in this case was a man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend outside her Northeast Dallas apartment complex.

When officers arrived at the apartment complex off Park Lane, they saw 37-year-old Isidoro Melo-Munoz on top of the woman. They reportedly ordered him to drop the knife but he refused.

That’s when one officer opened fire. Melo-Munoz was not hit and fled the scene. He turned himself in after a manhunt that lasted for close to 24 hours.

The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment of her stab wounds.