Delaware
Delaware House OKs bill to review hospital budgets
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This story was supported by a statehouse coverage grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Legislation creating a hospital cost review board passed the Delaware House Thursday after a long and contentious debate that frustrated members of both sides of the aisle.
Speaker Valerie Longhurst’s bill passed 21-16 on a near party-line vote, with three Democrats, Reps. Sean Lynn, Stell Parker Selby and Sean Matthews voting in opposition. After more than three hours of debate, Democrats took a short break, came back into session and then used a procedural maneuver to end debate and force a vote on the bill. Some lawmakers said they were disappointed with how the debate on the bill was handled.
“It’s an embarrassing day,” House Minority Leader Michael Ramone said. “It’s a sad day, and I’m very sad to be a part of this legislature.”
The measure aims to rein in increasing health care costs in the First State by requiring hospitals to submit their budgets to ensure they’re in compliance with government spending benchmarks. The hospital cost review board bill is based on a similar board Vermont created to curb health care costs.
Under Longhurst’s proposal, the board would review each hospital’s budget annually. If a hospital fails to meet spending benchmarks, it would be required to develop a performance improvement plan. Once a hospital meets spending targets for three consecutive years, the board would release it from the performance plan oversight. When a hospital successfully meets its budget goals for three consecutive years, it would no longer be required to participate in the budget approval process.
“This legislation is not about punishing hospitals, but rather ensuring our constituents are able to access quality and affordable health care and to put a system into place to slow down the skyrocketing costs that we have experienced in Delaware,” she said.
The board would consist of seven members, six of whom would be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. The executive director of the Delaware Healthcare Association would be the seventh “non-voting” member.
Longhurst argued that the only year the benchmark had been met was in 2020 due to COVID, when fewer people were accessing regular medical care.
“Every other year, health care spending has far surpassed the benchmark we set for this date, including years with over 11% growth in health care costs,” she said.
2021 saw an 11% increase as more people resumed health care visits they had put off during the pandemic, according to the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services’ third annual benchmark trend report.
Gov. John Carney set a spending benchmark in 2018, which was an aspirational goal for annual per-capita-rate health care spending growth. The 3.8% benchmark took effect in 2019. It’s since fluctuated to various percentages below 4%.
Opponents of the legislation have said it substitutes political judgment for hospital experts’ expertise and doesn’t focus on cost drivers such as prescription drugs, workforce shortages, and insurance companies. Newark-based ChristianaCare, Dover-based Bayhealth and Lewes-based Beebe Health have recently spoken out in opposition to the board.
Delaware
Delaware man sentenced to prison after kidnapping, raping woman during crime spree
A Delaware man who was convicted of kidnapping and other offenses for a multi-state crime spree in which he raped a woman at gunpoint has been sentenced to 75 years in prison, officials said.
Tonnaire McNair-Matthews, 26, was sentenced to a total of 900 months, or 75 years, in federal prison for six offenses, including kidnapping, carjacking, robbery, and related firearms offenses, according to the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Delaware. This sentencing follows Nair-Matthews’s conviction on all counts after a July 2024 trial.
Officials said that court records and evidence presented during the four-day trial, McNair-Matthews conspired with David Hinson, 23, Michael Caldwell, 21, and Mahkiya Powell, 20, to rear-end unsuspecting drivers with a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee and then rob the drivers when they got out to inspect their vehicles for damage.
After three unsuccessful attempts, officials said McNair-Matthews rear-ended one victim’s vehicle. When the woman got out, McNair-Matthews abducted her at gunpoint, forcing her back into the passenger seat of her own vehicle.
Officials said McNair-Matthews then drove the woman, against her will, from Delaware into Pennsylvania. During the drive, McNair-Matthews demanded the PIN code for the victim’s bank cards, forced her to disrobe, and “digitally penetrated her against her will.” McNair-Matthews then stopped the vehicle and forcibly raped the victim at gunpoint.
McNair-Matthews abandoned the victim in Pennsylvania, according to officials. He drove her vehicle back to Delaware, where he visited various convenience stores and used her stolen bank cards and PIN code to withdraw money from ATMs.
After, officials said McNair-Matthews reunited with Hinson, Powell, and Caldwell in Wilmington. Once there, he provided them with the victim’s bank cards and PIN, as well as the firearm he had used in the carjacking and rape.
Hinson, Powell, and Caldwell then cleaned the victim’s car and stole her purse, officials shared.
After McNair-Matthews changed clothes, officials said the four men met up at a Wilmington gas station, where law enforcement found them. McNair-Matthews and Powell quickly fled, leading officers on a high-speed chase in the stolen Jeep.
Officials said McNair-Matthews and Powell temporarily evaded police, but McNair-Matthews was found three days later after fleeing to Maryland.
“This was a calculated, predatory attack that shattered an innocent woman’s sense of safety,” Julianne E. Murray, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, said in a news release. “The Court’s sentence delivers justice for a survivor who showed extraordinary courage. Moreover, it sends a clear message that those who terrorize our communities with violence, intimidation, and exploitation will be pursued, prosecuted, and held fully accountable. Finally, I commend the vigilant work of the FBI, the Delaware State Police, and the Pennsylvania State Police for swiftly bringing the defendant to justice.”
Delaware
State Police seek help locating woman wanted on warrants in Delaware & Chenango Counties
DELAWARE COUNTY, N.Y. (WBNG) — New York State Police are asking for help locating a woman with active warrants in both Delaware and Chenango County.
According to police, Alora S. Stott, 25, of Oneonta, is wanted on warrants after failing to appear for scheduled court dates.
The court dates were related to charges Stott is facing including criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of stolen property.
The charges stem from her arrest in Delaware County in January, at which time state troopers found Stott in possession of a stolen checkbook and multiple forged and stolen checks.
In addition to these charges, Stott faces an additional charge of criminal possession of stolen property after police found her and three others in possession of a stolen truck in Chenango County.
Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to contact the New York State Police at 607-561-7400.
Copyright 2025 WBNG. All rights reserved.
Delaware
Delaware man charged with possessing
A Delaware man is in custody and facing federal charges after several guns were found in his home, along with apparent plans to attack the University of Delaware Police Department, prosecutors and federal court documents say.
Luqmaan Khan, 25, was charged last Wednesday with illegally possessing a machine gun, Acting U.S. Attorney Julianne Murray announced in a news release.
Khan, a University of Delaware student, allegedly drew up the layout of a UDel police station and made comments to investigators about martyrdom, according to Murray and court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Wilmington.
Authorities say Khan was stopped by New Castle County police officers late on the night of Monday, Nov. 24. The officers were in Canby Park West when they spotted a white Toyota Tacoma truck and stopped the vehicle.
Khan was inside the truck and did not comply with officers’ orders to exit the truck. He was then taken into custody for resisting arrest, Murray said.
Inside the truck, officers found a .357 Glock handgun with a stabilizing brace kit attached, along with more magazines and an armored ballistic plate, and a composition notebook.
In the notebook, there were notes about more weapons and how they could be used to attack the University of Delaware Police Department.
“The notebook referenced a member of the University of Delaware’s Police Department by name, and included a layout of a building with entry and exit points under which the words ‘UD Police Station’ were printed,” Murray said.
Khan also referenced “martyrdom” in the notebook and stated in an interview with police following his arrest that being a martyr is “one of the greatest things you can do,” and was a goal of his, the affidavit alleges.
University of Delaware Interim President Laura Carlson addressed the charges against Khan in a statement to the university community Tuesday.
Carlson identified Khan as an undergraduate student and said he has been temporarily separated from the university and banned from campus until his legal matters are resolved.
“There are no known or immediate threats to the University of Delaware community. However, the press release describes evidence of a plan that targeted the University of Delaware Police Department (UDPD). This is frightening to all of us,” Carlson wrote. “The press release contains relevant information about the timeline and the actions of the New Castle County Police, the FBI, the Department of Justice and UDPD. I am incredibly grateful to these teams for their diligent investigation and coordination.”
The FBI and New Castle County police obtained a search warrant and searched Khan’s home in Wilmington on Nov. 25. The search turned up another Glock handgun, which was equipped with a “switch,” also referred to as a “Glock switch.”
This is a modification that can turn a standard semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic one, according to CBS News Philadelphia’s previous reporting. The court documents referred to the Glock with the switch as a “machine gun.”
A rifle was also found in the home, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in court. There are no weapons registered to Khan in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, the document says.
According to the document, Khan is an American citizen who was born in Pakistan. He has no prior convictions on his record.
Khan is being represented by a federal public defender. Court records show he is in custody pending a detention hearing on Dec. 11, at which time a judge could rule whether to release him on certain conditions or keep him incarcerated until the case is resolved.
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