| Center For Public Integrity: Arsenic levels in groundwater across the U.S. | Arsenic is known to cause a variety of cancers as well as being linked to heart disease, strokes and diabetes. Recent research has found an association between arsenic below 10 parts per billion and IQ deficits in children. This inter-active map is based on arsenic readings from 45,000 wells collected by the United States Geological Survey throughout the country going back four decades. In addition, the states of Texas and Minnesota provided data gathered on arsenic in private wells. In several other states, few readings were available. Click on the headline to access the map.
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Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Firing Fracking Wastewater into the Earth Likely Triggered Okla.'s Earthquakes |  | Pumping wastewater from natural gas drilling sites into wells buried deep underground is probably why Oklahoma is experiencing more small earthquakes than California, a new study says.Like previous research, the study says hydraulic fracturing for gas cannot be directly linked to increased seismic activity, but the injection of wastewater from drilling at disposal sites creates fluid pressure below the surface that can trigger earthquakes of magnitude 3 or higher, said its lead author, Katie Keranen, an assistant professor of seismology at Cornell University. The research, published Thursday in the journal Science, underscores earlier findings by the U.S. Geological Survey and agencies that study seismic activity in several states.
Darryl Fears, The Washington Post 07/08/2014    | | Read Article: The Washington Post |
| 25 People Were Trapped on Roller Coaster in California | | A roller coaster hit a tree branch at the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park Monday, dislodging the front car, leaving four people slightly injured and keeping nearly two dozen summer fun-seekers hanging 20 to 30 feet in the air for hours as day turned to night. The accident comes nearly a year after a woman was ejected from a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington and died.
Associated Press, Houston Chronicle 07/08/2014 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Pennsylvania Fracking Company Offers Residents Cash To Buy Protection From Claims Of Harm | | | Residents of Finleyville, PA who lived near fracking operations began to complain - about the noise and air quality, and what they regarded as threats to their health. Initially, EQT tried to allay concerns with promises of noise studies and offers of vouchers so residents could stay in hotels to avoid the noise and fumes. But then, in what experts say was a rare tactic, the company got more aggressive: it offered all of the households along Cardox Road $50,000 in cash if they would agree to release the company from any legal liability, for current operations as well as those to be carried out in the future. The agreement also defined the company's operations as not only including drilling activity but the construction of pipelines, power lines, roads, tanks, ponds, pits, compressor stations, houses and buildings.
Naveena Sadasivam, ProPublica, The Huffington Post 07/08/2014
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| Judge Approves NFL Concussion Settlement | | A federal judge on Monday granted preliminary approval to a landmark deal that would compensate thousands of former NFL players for concussion-related claims. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia came about two weeks after the NFL agreed to remove a $675 million cap on damages. More than 4,500 former players have filed suit, some accusing the league of fraud for its handling of concussions. The settlement is designed to last at least 65 years and give $1 million or more to retirees who develop Lou Gehrig's disease and other profound neurological problems.
MARYCLAIRE DALE, The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News 07/08/2014 | | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Judge Rules for Fertitta's Golden Nugget | | Judge James Isman of Atlantic County, N.J., Superior Court ruled that 14 gamblers who won $1.5 million at Houston businessman Tilman J Fertitta's Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City must give back the money. He ruled that a mini-baccarrat card game was not legal because the decks of cards in use had not been shuffled.
Carol Christian, Houston Chronicle 07/08/2014 | | Read Article: Houston Chronicle |
| Jury Finds for Couple in Milwaukee County Medical Malpractice Case | | A Milwaukee woman and her husband have been awarded more than $25 million in a medical malpractice case. The woman's arms and legs were amputated in 2011 after a strep infection went undetected. A Milwaukee County jury determined Ascaris Mayo lost her limbs as a result of medical malpractice. The jury found that the doctor and the physician's assistant failed to provide Mayo with "alternative medical diagnoses" that would have led her to pursue other treatment.
Associated Press, Star Tribune-South Metro 07/08/2014 | | Read Article: Star Tribune-South Metro |
| Church Officials Fear Case May Jeopardize "Sanctity of Confessional" | | According to the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and a court case involving the sexual abuse of a young girl by a now-deceased church parishioner, the sanctity of confessional may be in question. A recent Louisiana Supreme Court ruling may give the court the power to force a priest to reveal what was told to him in confession by the girl who alleges she was abused by the deceased parishioner. The recent decision has brought back to life a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Church of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, a reverend and others, and may allow the girl to testify and provide evidence from her own confession. The Louisiana Supreme Court has sent the case back to the 19th Judicial District Court because it says there is still a dispute "concerning whether the communications between the child and the priest were confessions per se and whether the priest obtained knowledge outside the confessional that would trigger his duty to report" the abuse.
Joe Gyan, Jr., The Advocate 07/08/2014 | | Read Article: The Advocate |
| Pittsburgh Company Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit | | A Pittsburgh company that operates an industrial park and intermodal terminal has agreed to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed against it on behalf of one of its former employees. The lawsuit, filed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on behalf of the former employee, alleges that the plaintiff was terminated from his position after bringing workplace safety complaints to OSHA after being suspended for allegedly damaging a skid loader while plowing snow. As part of the settlement, the company has agreed to pay $100,000 and must also remove disciplinary actions from the plaintiff's file and give him a neutral reference for future jobs.
Wire Report, Lancaster Online 07/07/2014 | | Read Article: Lancaster Online |
| N.M. Woman Settles U.S. Border Cavity Search Lawsuit | | A New Mexico woman has settled her lawsuit against a Texas hospital, its emergency room physicians and the U.S. customs officials who forced her to undergo an invasive body cavity search. The hospital and the emergency room physicians have agreed to pay $1.1 million to settle the lawsuit while the claims against U.S. Customs and Border Protection are still pending. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas filed the lawsuit last December after the woman was "brutally" searched by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and forced to undergo intrusive examinations at a hospital without a warrant in December 2012. No illegal substances were found in the woman's possession. About $600,000 of the settlement will be covered by the hospital and its insurance carrier, with the remaining amount being paid by Texas Tech University, which operates the medical school campus at the hospital.
Wire Report, The Washington Post 07/07/2014 | | Read Article: The Washington Post |
| U.S. Navy Vet Denied Burial with Wife by Cemetery | | A U.S. Navy veteran has filed a lawsuit after being denied the right to be buried beside the remains of her late wife in the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Boise, Idaho and alleges that the cemetery has violated the due process and equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution by refusing to let the plaintiff be buried with the remains of her late wife, who died in 2012. The couple was married in California in 2008. Federal veterans cemeteries allow same-sex partners to be buried with their loved ones, but not all state veterans cemeteries currently allow for same-sex couples to be buried together.
Wire Report, Portland Press Herald 07/07/2014 | | Read Article: Portland Press Herald |
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