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A posthumous appeal by a US woman who died from cancer has raised enough money in less than a week to wipe out million of dollars in medical debt.

Casey McIntyre told followers in a social media message posted by her husband that she had arranged to pay bills owed by others as a way of celebrating her life.

While she had good health insurance cover, the New York City couple has seen some “terrifying” costs on paperwork for her care and wanted to assist those saddled by hefty charges.

Writing on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Ms McIntrye posted, “if you’re reading this I have passed away”.

She added: “I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I was loved.

“To celebrate my life, I’ve arranged to buy up others’ medical debt and then destroy the debt.”

The posts included a link to a fundraising campaign started through the non-profit RIP Medical Debt.

Ms McIntyre’s husband, Andrew Rose Gregory, posted the messages on Tuesday following her death on Sunday, and the campaign quickly exceeded its $20,000 (£16,000) goal and now tops more than $170,000 (£136,000) – enough to buy around $17m (£13.6m) in medical debt.

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Mr Gregory said: “What resonated for me and Casey is, you know, there’s good cancer treatment out there that people can’t afford.

“Instead of dreaming of a cure for cancer, what if we could just help people who are being crushed by medical debt?”

This family photo shows Casey McIntyre with her husband, Andrew Rose Gregory. Less than a week after her death from cancer on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, the New York woman has raised enough money to erase more than $13 million in medical debt for others with a posthumous plea for help. (Emily Wood via AP)
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The couple started planning the debt-buying campaign after she almost died in May. Pic: AP

Patients in the US healthcare system can quickly rack up big bills that push them into debt even if they have insurance.

This is especially true for people who need hospital treatment, regular care or prescriptions for chronic health problems.

A 2022 analysis of government data from the non-profit KFF estimates nearly one in 10 US adults owe at least $250 (£200) in medical debt.

Of those 23 million people, some 11 million owe more than $2,000 (£1,600).

RIP Medical Debt erases debt bought from hospitals, other health care providers and the secondary debt market.

It buys millions of dollars of debt in bundles for what it says is a fraction of the original value.

The group says every dollar donated buys about $100 (£80) in debt, and it aims to help people with lower incomes.

This family photo shows Casey McIntyre and her daughter, Grace. Less than a week after her death from cancer on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, the New York woman has raised enough money to erase more than $13 million in medical debt for others with a posthumous plea for help. (Andrew Rose Gregory via AP)
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Ms McIntyre with her daughter, Grace. Pic: AP

Spokesman Daniel Lempert said the organisation has never had a campaign where someone plans for it to start after their death.

Ms McIntyre, who was a book publisher, started treatment for ovarian cancer in 2019.

She spent about three months in the hospital over the past year, her husband said.

The couple started planning for her memorial and the debt-buying campaign after she almost died in May.

They were inspired by a video they saw of North Carolina churchgoers burning about $3m (£2.4m) in medical debt.

Ms McIntyre spent the last five months in home hospice care, giving her what Mr Gregory called a “bonus summer.”

She went on beach trips and spent time with their family, including the couple’s 18-month-old daughter, Grace.

He said: “Casey was very, very sick at the end of her life, and she couldn’t finish everything she wanted to finish.

“But I knew she wanted to do this memorial and debt jubilee. So I set that up and… did it the way I thought she would have wanted.”

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.

Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.

Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.

The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.

Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
Image:
Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne

In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.

“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.

President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.

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He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”

Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.

As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.

Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.

Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.

She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”

Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.

Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

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US judge warns Trump administration could be in criminal contempt over El Salvador deportations

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White House rages at 'appalling' attempt to return wrongly deported man from El Salvador

A US federal judge has warned that he could hold the Trump administration in contempt for violating his orders to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.

US District Judge James E. Boasberg said he had found “probable cause” to hold the administration in criminal contempt and warned he could refer the matter for prosecution if it does not “purge” its contempt.

If the government doesn’t purge the contempt, charges could be brought forward by the Justice Department, NBC News reported.

And if the executive-led Justice Department refused to prosecute the matter, Judge Boasberg said he would appoint another attorney to prosecute the contempt.

Mr Boasberg said the administration could “purge contempt by returning those who were sent to El Salvador prison, in violation of his order, to the US.

This, he said, “might avail themselves of their right to challenge their removability”.

“The Constitution does not tolerate wilful disobedience of judicial orders – especially by officials of a coordinate branch who have sworn an oath to uphold it,” the judge wrote.

Executive vs judicial

This marks a notable escalation in the ongoing tensions between the judicial and executive branches of the US government during Donald Trump’s second term.

Parts of the US president’s legislative programme have been halted by judges, as the administration strains against the restraints of the separation of powers.

Mr Trump previously called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached while the Justice Department claimed he overstepped his authority – both reflecting the administration’s attempts to overcome perceived obstacles to the implementation of its agenda.

Mr Trump’s administration has also argued it did not violate any orders.

It claimed the judge didn’t include a turnaround directive in his written order and said the planes had already left the US by the time the order came down.

‘Administrative error’

At the heart of the legal wrangling is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man who was sent to El Salvador by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.

Washington acknowledged that Mr Garcia was deported due to an “administrative error”.

The US Supreme Court has called on the administration to facilitate his return, upholding a court order by Judge Paula Xinis, but Trump officials have claimed that Mr Garcia has ties to the MS-13 gang.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA / AP
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Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Pic: CASA/AP

Mr Garcia’s lawyers have argued there is no evidence of this.

This all comes after El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele visited the White House earlier this week.

During his time with Mr Trump, Mr Bukele said that he would not return Mr Garcia, likening it to smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”

The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque
Image:
The US and El Salvador presidents in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Along with Mr Garcia, the Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, mostly Venezuelans, whom it claims are gang members without presenting evidence and without a trial.

Democrat senator travels to El Salvador

Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, saying he would seek a meeting with the country’s officials to secure Mr Garcia’s release.

“I just arrived in San Salvador a little while ago and look forward to meeting with the US embassy team to discuss Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release,” Mr Van Hollen said on social media.

Deportations have been an important part of Mr Trump’s second term, with him being vocal on the issue throughout the campaign trail and into office.

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Gene Hackman: Bodycam footage of actor’s home released by investigators into his death

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Gene Hackman: Bodycam footage of actor's home released by investigators into his death

Body camera footage of Gene Hackman’s home has been released by authorities investigating the deaths of the actor and his wife.

The video captured by Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office shows officers inside and outside the property in northern New Mexico, with a German shepherd barking at some points as they carry out their search.

Actor Gene Hackman arrives and his wife, Betsy Arakawa pictured in 2003.
File pic: AP/Mark J. Terrill
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Hackman and Arakawa pictured in 2003. Pic: AP/ Mark J Terrill

The bodies of Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found in separate rooms of their home on 26 February.

“He’s guarding her,” a male officer can be heard saying, about the dog found alive at the home. “He seems pretty friendly.”

There is another “10-7 dog” – meaning the pet is dead – “round the corner in the kennel”, the officer says.

Authorities also released a report detailing some of Arakawa’s last emails and internet searches, revealing she was investigating information on flu-like symptoms, COVID-19, and breathing techniques before she died.

An image taken Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office during their investigation and search of the home of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Pic: Santa Fe County Sheriff via AP
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Pic: Santa Fe County Sheriff via AP

Rat nests and dead rodents were also discovered in several outbuildings around the property, an environmental assessment by the New Mexico Department of Health revealed.

The inside of the home was clean and showed no evidence of rodent activity.

In March, a medical investigator concluded Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare infectious disease that can be caused by exposure to rodents.

Hackman had advanced Alzheimer’s and died from heart disease about a week later, with data from his pacemaker last registering on 18 February.

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Law enforcement officials outside Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's home the day after they were found dead. Pic: AP/Roberto Rosales
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Law enforcement officials pictured outside the property in Santa Fe the day after Hackman and Arakawa’s bodies were found. Pic: AP/Roberto Rosales

According to the records now released by the county sheriff’s office, Arakawa was researching medical conditions related to COVID-19 and flu between 8 February and the morning of 12 February.

In one email to a masseuse, she said Hackman had woken on 11 February with flu or cold-like symptoms and that she wanted to reschedule an appointment “out of an abundance of caution”.

Search history on the morning of 12 February showed she was looking into a medical concierge service in Santa Fe. Investigators said there was a call to the service which lasted under two minutes, and a follow-up call from them later that afternoon was missed.

The police footage shows officers checking the home and finding no signs of forced entry or other suspicious signs.

An image taken Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office during their investigation and search of the home of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa. Pic: Santa Fe County Sheriff via AP
Image:
Pic: Santa Fe County Sheriff via AP

What is hantavirus?

HPS, commonly known as hantavirus disease, is a respiratory disease caused by hantaviruses – which are carried by several types of rodents.

It is a rare condition in the US, with most cases concentrated in the western states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. This was the first confirmed case in New Mexico this year.

There has so far been no confirmation about any potential link by authorities between the rodents and the hantavirus disease that claimed Arakawa’s life.

Who was Gene Hackman?

FILE - Actor Gene Hackman, winner of Best Supporting Actor at academy awards in March 1993. Hackman will turn 80 years on Jan. 30, 2010. (AP Photo, File)
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Pic: AP 1993

Hackman was a former Marine whose work on screen began with an uncredited TV role in 1961.

Acting became his career for many years, and he went on to play villains, heroes and antiheroes in more than 80 films spanning a range of genres.

He was best known by many for playing evil genius Lex Luthor in the Superman films in the late 1970s and ’80s, and won Oscars for his performances in The French Connection and Unforgiven.

After roles in The Royal Tenenbaums, Behind Enemy Lines and Runaway Jury in the 2000s, he left acting behind after his final film, Welcome To Mooseport.

He and Arakawa, a pianist, had been together since the mid-1980s.

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