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AUSTIN (AP) — A group of news organizations asked a Texas appeals court on Wednesday to order the release of state Department of Public Safety records of the law enforcement response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, the latest dispute over what should be made public from one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

A judge in Travis County had previously ordered the state police agency to release its records after the news organizations sued for access. The state and the Uvalde district attorney have objected, arguing that their release could jeopardize law enforcement investigations, and the state appealed to keep them out of the public view.

In a hearing before the 15th Court of Appeals, Laura Prather, an attorney for the media organizations, called the attempt to block the records “an attempt to cloak the entire file in secrecy forever. We’re talking about the most significant law enforcement failure in Texas history … The public interest could not be higher.”

One judge on the panel noted that the DPS records include more than 6 million pages of documents and hundreds of hours of video.

The district attorney’s objection was enough to block the release under Texas law, said Texas Assistant Solicitor General Sara Baumgardner.

“(The media) can make whatever inflammatory allegations about DPS they’d like to make,” Baumgardner said. “Texas courts have recognized that the entity in best position to know what would interfere with a prosecution is the actual prosecutor, not a bunch of news outlets.”

The appeals court did not indicate when it might rule on the case. Any decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

The Associated Press was not among the news organizations that sued.

A gunman stormed the school on May 24, 2022, killing 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers. More than 370 responding officers from multiple local, state and federal agencies waited more than an hour to confront and kill the gunman.

Other records from the Uvalde shooting have been released. DPS has selectively released some of those findings at news conferences and public hearings at the Legislature.

In August, Uvalde officials released a massive collection of audio and video recordings from body cameras and surveillance videos after a protracted legal fight.

Multiple reports from state federal officials have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers.

Two former Uvalde schools police officers face criminal charges over their actions that day, and several victims or their families have filed multiple state and federal lawsuits.

AUSTIN – The publication Border Report says this Friday, Texas hospitals will be required to collect information regarding patients who are not legally in the country as part of an executive order from Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott signed the order in August in an effort to collect data on the costs of caring for undocumented patients, claiming Texas “absorbs a large percentage of the costs associated with medical care for individuals who are not lawfully in the United States.” The order also directs hospitals to inform patients that their response “will not affect patient care.” Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation at 17% — more than double the national average. Five million Texans have no insurance, the Texas Hospital Association reported. Last year, hospitals provided more than $8 billion in “charity care” for uninsured people, with more than $3 billion not reimbursed.

Most uninsured Texans are citizens, however. While 1.6 million undocumented immigrants live in Texas, they go to the hospital at lower rates than U.S. citizens and make up a minority of the uninsured cost burden on state hospitals, the Texas Tribune reported. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas worries the order will discourage undocumented Texans from seeking necessary medical care. They stress that patients do not need to answer the question, and cannot be denied care no matter their answer. “This order should not impact anybody’s access to care — period,” senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Texas David Donatti said. “Whether you are native-born, a U.S. citizen, an immigrant, whatever your status should be, you should be able to access the healthcare that you need and the facility should not have the ability to block you from receiving that kind of care. That is crystal clear as a matter of federal law.” Donatti said the ACLU is exploring possible legal action against the Governor’s order. The Texas Hospital Association also reassures patients that the new rule will not impact healthcare access.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports Nearly 68,000 Texans and more than 800,000 people nationwide could be affected by a data breach at a Brownwood-based insurance servicer, according to filings with the Texas and Maine attorneys general offices. Landmark Admin announced the breach on Oct. 23, and notices have been sent to those affected, according to the filings. Information potentially gathered includes names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers/tax identification numbers, driver’s license numbers/government-issued ID numbers, financial information such as credit card numbers, and medical and health insurance information. Landmark offers third-party administration services for life insurance and annuity companies, including Liberty Bankers Insurance Group headquartered in Dallas. Liberty Bankers Insurance Group includes American Monumental Life Insurance Company, Pellerin Life Insurance Company, American Benefit Life Insurance Company, Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Company, Continental Mutual Insurance Company, and Capitol Life Insurance Company.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that in court documents made public Tuesday, Texas lawmakers provided a behind-the-scenes look at efforts to scuttle in-person testimony from death row’s Robert Roberson, either at the Capitol or at the inmate’s prison. In the end, the documents said, lawmakers were told Roberson would not be permitted to testify in “any form of hearing” before a House committee examining the inmate’s case. In a brief filed with the Texas Supreme Court, Reps. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, and Jeff Leach, R-Allen, detailed their battle with the attorney general’s office and unnamed executive branch officials to secure public testimony from Roberson. The two lawmakers, both lawyers, sit on the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and were among seven panel members who voted to subpoena Roberson, ultimately delaying his Oct. 17 execution.

The subpoena compelled Roberson to testify at a Capitol committee hearing Oct. 21. Prison officials began working to bring Roberson to the Capitol — ironing out transportation and security details — before the Texas attorney general’s office stepped in, sending Moody a letter saying Roberson would have to testify from prison by videoconference. Moody began the hearing by explaining Roberson’s absence and said negotiations were underway to allow the committee to hear from the inmate, who argues his conviction and death sentence should be overturned because they were based on outdated science and debunked theories surrounding shaken baby syndrome. In the legal brief filed with the Supreme Court, which has been asked to weigh the legality of the committee subpoena, Moody provided his account of what was happening outside of public view — including his frustration with what he described as an unresponsive attorney general’s office. “The executive branch took exception and refused to honor the subpoena,” the lawmakers wrote. “That impasse remains today.”