‘Miracle’ Pilot on Mission Against Medical Errors | Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger in 2009 coolly landed his jet safely on the Hudson River in what was dubbed as the Miracle on the Hudson. He has refashioned himself as an expert on reducing medical errors, which by some estimates kill up to 200,000 people a year — “the equivalent of 20 jetliners crashing per week,” he told POLITICO. If tens of thousands of people died in plane crashes, he says, “There would be a national ground stop. Fleets would be grounded. Airports would close. There would be a presidential commission. The NTSB would investigate. No one would fly until we had solved the problems.” But patients die needlessly every day, and it’s barely a blip on the national radar. Click on the headline to learn more. |
Religious Order Priest Admitted Abusing 100 Boys |
| In therapy sessions, the priest confessed the shocking details he'd kept hidden for years: He had molested more than 100 boys, including his 5-year-old brother. He had sex with male prostitutes, and frequented gay strip clubs. The admissions of the Rev. Ruben Martinez are included among nearly 2,000 pages of secret files unsealed Wednesday that were kept on priests, brothers and nuns who belonged to religious orders but were accused of child molestation while working within the Los Angeles archdiocese. The papers, which were released under the terms of a $660 million settlement agreement reached in 2007, are the first glimpse at what religious orders knew about the men and women they posted in Roman Catholic schools and parishes in the Los Angeles area. Associated Press, AP Wire 08/01/2013 | Read Article: AP Wire |
Judge Rules for Family in Boy's Calif. Park Death |
| Officials at a national park in Northern California knew of the dangers posed by a retaining wall that gave way and crushed a 9-year-old boy to death, but failed to close it as required by their safety program, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley granted summary judgment Tuesday to Tommy Botell's family, who sued the federal government after Tommy's 2009 death at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Nunley dismissed the government's argument that the safety program that called for the wall's closure was not mandatory, but at the park's discretion. Associated Press, USA Today 08/01/2013 | Read Article: USA Today |
Suit: Property Owners Dumped Radioactive Waste |
| A paper mill owner in Niagara Falls has filed suit against the former property owners, claiming the soil on the land is radioactive. Greenpac Mill is seeking $50 million in the suit, claiming the previous owners dumped radioactive material on the land illegally. The plaintiffs discovered the radioactive material while clearing soil in 2011. Thomas Prohaska, Buffalo News 07/31/2013 | Read Article: Buffalo News |
Critics: Consumers deserve to Know More About Parasitic Illness |
| Food safety advocates say they are alarmed by a lack of information being disseminated about the spread of a nasty intestinal illness that has sickened nearly 400 people nationwide, including cases in two states that have been linked to prepackaged salad. The outbreak of the rare parasite cyclospora has been reported in at least 15 states, and federal officials warned Wednesday it was too early to say that the threat was over. Associated Press, The Washington Post 08/01/2013 | Read Article: The Washington Post |
Eagle Ford Fatal Crashes Up 40% |
| Fatal traffic wrecks increased 40 percent in the Eagle Ford Shale region last year, with preliminary data showing what everyone already knew anecdotally: the oil and gas boom has made South Texas roads more dangerous. Jennifer Hiller, San Antonio Express News 08/01/2013 | Read Article: San Antonio Express News |
Obama Orders Review of Chemical Plant Rules in Wake of West Explosion |
| President Barack Obama today signed an executive order aimed at improving safety and security at facilities that store and manufacture hazardous chemicals. Obama’s order calls for a new safety and security working group made up of officials from various federal agencies. The group is charged with identifying ways to help state agencies and local emergency responders make sure places that store and make dangerous chemicals are safe and secure. It also asks the working group to identify ways for local officials, regional emergency planners, state agencies and federal groups to better work together in identifying and securing such facilities. BRANDON FORMBY , The Dallas Morning News 08/01/2013 | Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
Death on CTA Rail Line Prompts Lawsuit |
| A lawsuit has been filed against the Chicago Transit Authority by the family of a man who fell onto an electrified rail and died at a Blue Line train stop. According to the suit, a CTA employee had asked the man to throw away his bottle of alcohol after determining he was visibly drunk, but did not escort him off the platform or stay to monitor him. The plaintiffs claim the CTA employees had a duty to protect the victim and should have known that, in his state of drunkenness, the electrified lines would have posed a danger to him. Mitch Smith, Chicago Tribune 07/31/2013 | Read Article: Chicago Tribune |
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