DPD chief sworn in, the future of ER bills, Farenthold won't pay for election: Your Thursday morning reoundup

May 03,  2018 By Dom DiFurio Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌦️ Weather: Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then the [chance of scattered thunderstorms]( in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High of 84 degrees. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. Collins Idehen, aka Colion Noir,  NRA TV's most prominent black commentator, works on editing parts of his show on April 23 at Cowboy Coffee Shop in Deep Ellum. (Nathan Hunsinger/Staff Photographer) nra The National Rifle Association isn’t coming to Dallas this weekend. It’s been here a long time For years, in a glass-walled, high-rise office just across from Klyde Warren Park in Uptown, [the NRA has conducted what might be its most important experiment yet]( in churning its members’ emotions, crafting talking points and pushing an agenda of near-absolute opposition to gun restrictions -- NRA-TV. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, NRA-TV is the nonstop answer to any and all threats to gun rights. The message is loud and constant: nothing less than American freedom is at stake if the Second Amendment is challenged and firearms are regulated. The channel has three main anchors, all based in Dallas: Grant Stinchfield, 49, a former NBC5 reporter who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2012; Collins Idehen, 34, a lawyer who amassed a YouTube following for his pro-gun videos under the moniker “Colion Noir”; and Dana Loesch, 39, a former Tea Party activist and Breitbart editor. NRA-TV declined to grant access to its studios, but [Idehen and Stinchfield did speak]( to The Dallas Morning News. Loesch didn’t respond to interview requests. Meanwhile: With the NRA Convention on its way to Dallas, Texas Republicans are split on [punishing banks that cut ties with the gun industry.]( Also: The Dallas police officer wounded in a shooting at a Lake Highlands Home Depot last month [is improving but has a long road ahead to recovery](. Advertisement [Fleetwood Mac at American Airlines Center - Get Tickets Now]( (iStock) health care Texas ruling on $11,000 ER bill may have long-lasting effects, experts say The health care industry is closely watching a recent decision by the Texas Supreme Court that some say could have broader implications on how hospitals and health insurers negotiate their rates. The court sided with an uninsured woman who was billed $11,037 after an emergency room visit. The justices said that in order to prove her bill was “reasonable” compared with what an insured patient would be billed, the medical center would need to share in court details about the discounted rates it had with health insurers, data that’s generally seen as proprietary and confidential. The case [outlines the complexities of health care billing that consumers often see as arbitrary, confusing and not transparent](, whether they have insurance or not. Like hotcakes: Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Table cookbook [sold more than 169,000 copies in its first week](. Military presence: Texas political leaders want the so-called Futures Command that'll develop the combat vehicles, weapons, and air and missile defenses of tomorrow's wars [to be headquartered in the Lone Star State](. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, says he's not going to cover the cost of the special election to replace him. (Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press) special election Blake Farenthold tells Gov. Greg Abbott he will not pay for special election to replace him Former U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold heard Gov. Greg Abbott's request to help cover the cost of the special election to fill his seat. But [he's not going to pay](. Farenthold wrote a four-page letter to Abbott on Wednesday, saying there was no need for him to call the special election. "Since I didn't call it and I don't think it's necessary, I shouldn't be asked to pay for it," the letter with Farenthold's signature reads. Meanwhile: Democratic candidates for governor Lupe Valdez and Andrew White [have agreed to debate May 11 in Austin](. Also: President Donald Trump's new lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that Trump repaid his personal attorney [Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels](, directly contradicting the president's past statements. Commentary: What's behind the accusation that America — and Ted Cruz specifically — attempted to [organize a revolutio in Cambodia]( to oust 33-year incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen? Advertisement [Fleetwood Mac at American Airlines Center - Get Tickets Now]( (Andy Jacobsohn/Staff Photographer) Photo of the Morning Dallas police Chief U. Renee Hall [is applauded after taking the oath of office]( Wednesday at the Latino Cultural Center in Dallas. Hall has been chief for eight months, but it wasn't until Wednesday that she completed the final step in making the role official. Around The Site - Politics: Two Frisco men have been sentenced for [assaulting a man they targeted because he was gay.]( - Local: Farmers Branch [has declined a mediation offer by the town of Addison]( to resolve a 7-year-old dispute over the quality of water flowing through a shared creek. - Commentary: [Seven recent mishaps]( reflect the distance between President Donald Trump and reality. - Survey: Dallas residents are the least satisfied they've been in almost a decade, [according to a new community survey](. - Tragedy: A 10-year-old boy [died after climbing inside a dryer]( while playing hide-and-seek with his little brother, Houston authorities say Eugenio Derbez arrives at the LA Premiere of "Overboard"on April 30 at The Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP) Finally... One of the most successful actors in Mexico, still has a hard time making it in the United States The American Dream for Eugenio Derbez hasn’t been easy. He’s had all the fame and fortune one could dream of in Mexico. He’s made Latino families laugh hysterically around the television for decades with shows like XHDRbZ and La Familia P.Luche. He’s worked on films that have been widely successful in Mexico and translated into English. A few years ago, he decided to remake himself in Hollywood and move from Mexico to Los Angeles. It opened him up to a few supporting roles in movies, a sitcom and a couple of comedies. [Yet there are still plenty of people in the U.S. who don’t know who he is](. But his commitment to a promise he made his mother before she died and his passion for storytelling keep him working. AdVERTISEMENT [Fleetwood Mac at American Airlines Center - Get Tickets Now]( 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. 💖 Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback? 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