By JIM VERTUNO

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers on Monday passed a plan sponsored by Uvalde’s former mayor to fix police failures laid bare by the hesitant law enforcement response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022, sending the bill to the governor days ahead of the third anniversary of the massacre.

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Nineteen students and two teachers were killed and 18 people were injured in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. Saturday is the anniversary of the attack.

The measure given final approval by the state Senate and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott is dubbed the “The Uvalde Strong Act” and is meant to correct the problems in the slow and often chaotic law enforcement response that day with better training and coordination between agencies and basic equipment requirements.

Nearly 400 local, state and federal officers waited more than an hour to force their way into a classroom where the gunman was before killing him. Terrified students inside the classroom called 911 as parents begged officers — some of whom could hear shots being fired while they stood in a hallway — to go in.

The bill’s author, first-year Republican state Rep. Don McLaughlin, was Uvalde mayor at the time and was critical of the law enforcement response that day.

“The Uvalde Strong Act is aimed at fixing the breakdowns in communication and coordination that were exposed in the Robb Elementary shooting,” McLaughlin said. “This is about keeping our schools safer. … We owe it to the families to take action that really matters.”

The bill requires school districts and law enforcement to meet annually to develop active shooter response plans, and mandates officers be trained on how to respond to an active shooter at primary and secondary schools.

The measure also requires enhanced incident command training and mutual aid agreements among agencies.

School districts would be required to have at least one breaching tool and ballistic shield available at each campus. And the bill requires emergency medical service providers to file reports if they are called to an active shooter scene.

Multiple investigations into the law enforcement response found cascading problems in training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers.

Former Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo and former school police officer Adrian Gonzales have been charged with multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment. Both have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial in October.

The families of the victims have several lawsuits pending in federal and state courts, including a $500 million lawsuit against Texas state police officials and officers.

By JONEL ALECCIA

Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans long known as food stamps.

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The move, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152,000 people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries.

“There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement. “SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver.”

Six other states — Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia — have also submitted requests for waivers banning certain foods and drinks or, in some cases, expanding access to hot foods for participants, according to the USDA.

The push to ban sugary drinks, candy and more from the SNAP program has been key focus of Rollins and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Rollins called Monday’s move “a historic step to Make America Healthy again.”

Details of Nebraska’s waiver, which takes effect Jan. 1, weren’t immediately available. Anti-hunger advocates criticized it, saying it adds costs, boosts administrative burdens and increases stigma for people already facing food insecurity.

The waiver “ignores decades of evidence showing that incentive-based approaches — not punitive restrictions — are the most effective, dignified path to improving nutrition and reducing hunger,” said Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group.

SNAP is a roughly $100 billion program that serves about 42 million Americans and is run by the U.S. Agriculture Department and administered through states.

The program is authorized by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which says SNAP benefits can be used “for any food or food product intended for human consumption,” except alcohol, tobacco and hot foods, including those prepared for immediate consumption.

Over the past 20 years, lawmakers in several states have proposed stopping SNAP from paying for everything from bottled water and soda to chips, ice cream and “luxury meats” like steak.

Until now, USDA rejected the waivers, saying there were no clear standards to define certain foods as good or bad. In addition, the agency had said restrictions would be difficult to implement, complicated and costly, and would not necessarily change recipients’ food purchases or reduce health problems such as obesity.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By MINGSON LAU

CAMDEN, Delaware (AP) — A Delaware animal shelter is trying to care for and rehome thousands of chicks that survived being left in a postal service truck for three days. Trapped in a warm enclosure, without food and water, thousands died before they were discovered.

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Involved parties are still awaiting answers as to how 12,000 chicks were abandoned within the truck at a Delaware mail distribution center. The United States Postal Service said in an email that it was aware of a process breakdown and was actively investigating what occurred.

Pennsylvania-based Freedom Ranger Hatchery raised the chicks for their weekly distribution to clients across the country, said a spokesperson for the company. Due to biosecurity concerns, the hatchery cannot take the chicks back.

The spokesperson said it would have been best if USPS, after discovering the chicks, had completed delivery as the recipients would have been adequately equipped to handle the birds — even malnourished ones.

For more than two weeks, the surviving chicks have been nursed and cared for at First State Animal Center and SPCA, said John Parana, executive director.

Last Tuesday, the shelter began offering the birds for adoption, but only a few hundred out of thousands have been picked up. There is no complete count of the chicks, as the shelter has no feasible way to do so, but Parana estimates there to be more than two thousand available.

Some have inquired about buying the birds for meat, but, as a no-kill shelter and SPCA, those were refused.

The strain has turned the animal care center into a 24/7 operation and necessitated a staffing increase, Parana said. Money remains the biggest concern for the donation-reliant nonprofit. Some employees have begun spending their money to support the operations, he added.

Among the birds were young turkeys, geese and quail, but the vast majority were Freedom Ranger chicks. One concern for the shelter, Parana explained, was the increasing demand for space and feed over time, as Freedom Rangers take about ten weeks to reach maturity.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture, after a call from USPS, directed the animals to the shelter, which shares a memorandum of understanding with the animal center as a state vendor. The department said it is responsible for assisting the shelter with funds — for chickens, the rate was $5 each per day.

The department’s chief of planning, Jimmy Kroon, said negotiations were ongoing, but Parana claims that the department communicated that they had no funds to allocate for the chicks. Both acknowledged the original rate would be unreasonable in the current circumstances.

“They said that they’re gonna try to go after the post office to get recoupment,” Parana said. “That doesn’t help us in the meantime.”

Sometimes, father does knows best.

Just a couple of weeks ago, speaking at Fenway Park days after the Twins swung a trade for his son, Kody Clemens, MLB great Roger Clemens predicted his son would be just fine — he just needed a few more at-bats.

“It’s tough what he’s doing right now. He had two wonderful spring trainings and then he got kind of stymied a little bit in Philly. It’s going to take him a few more at-bats to get comfortable,” Roger Clemens said. “I think it’s going to take him a little time to work his way back, but he’s capable of doing it.”

And the Twins are seeing that now.

A day after his dad’s comments, Kody Clemens hit a home run at his dad’s old stomping grounds that helped propel the Twins to what would become the first win of their 13-game winning streak, which finally came to an end Sunday. He has settled in well since then.

“My whole big league career to this point has been pinch-hitting, sporadic starts after sitting for a while,” Clemens said. “I’ve never really gotten the opportunity to play every day or at least multiple times during the week. It’s been nice to try to get in a rhythm and see a lot of pitches and get a lot of consistent at-bats.”

Clemens, who was not in the starting lineup on Monday with a lefty on the mound, has made the most of his opportunity, entering the day hitting .297 with a 1.003 OPS. He has three home runs in 15 games as a Twin. Over the weekend, he went 3 for 5 in a win over the Brewers.

“I try to keep it as simple as possible,” he said. “I look in a general area of where I want the ball to be and stay as disciplined as I can and just try to put the best swing on these pitches. I feel like I’m just seeing the ball well and getting good pitches to hit.”

His contributions haven’t stopped there, as he has moved around the field for the Twins. Clemens has primarily played second base — the Twins swung a trade for him the night Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch, fracturing his forearm — but he has also appeared at first base and in left and right field.

“We knew that he was a very capable at-bat and could impact the baseball and hit some line drives all around the field and hit ’em hard. We knew he was a versatile player,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We also didn’t know what our roster was going to look like, what our needs were going to be. But he’s just ready to play. He just is excited to play. He wants to be out there on the field.”

Wallner nears rehab

Injured outfielder Matt Wallner expects to head out on a rehab assignment this week, possibly as soon as Wednesday, as he works towards a return.

Wallner landed on the injured list with a hamstring strain on April 17, but he has been running full speed and reported feeling good.

The outfielder said he doesn’t know much of his schedule — “I bug the trainers enough,” he said — but a rehab assignment obviously represents a big step in the right direction.

“I think it’s progressed faster than I thought, so I’m in a good spot,” Wallner said.

Briefly

Chris Paddack is scheduled to start on Tuesday against Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams. That game could be threatened by a weather forecast in Minneapolis that calls for rain all day.