Texas Tribune Daily Brief
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| Has Your Water Been Tainted by Fracking? |
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People in states including Texas, North Dakota and Pennsylvania believe their water has been tainted by fracking -- but they have few remedies. Congress took away the most powerful one in 2005, prohibiting the EPA from safeguarding drinking water that might be harmed by fracking and denying the regulator the authority to find out what chemicals companies use. That provision of the Energy Policy Act was justified by an EPA study about fracking used to tap methane from coal formations. Completed under the George W. Bush administration, the study concluded that fracking posed no risk to drinking water. Now InsideClimate News has learned that the scientists who wrote the report disagreed with the conclusion imposed by the Bush EPA. The authors, who worked for a government contractor, went so far as to have their company's name and their own removed from the final document.
Neela Banerjee, InsideClimate News Connect with Neela Banerjee, The Dallas Morning News 12/06/2017    |
| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Ironman Winner Sues Dallas-Area Supplement Maker, Claiming its Products Cost Her a Title |
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A world-class triathlete is suing a North Texas supplement maker after testing positive for a banned substance and being stripped of her Ironman title. Lauren Barnett says that a product made by Farmers Branch-based Classified Nutrition contains ostarine, a drug that helps build muscle, even though that drug wasn't on the label. The drug is banned by the three major anti-doping organizations that oversee Olympic sports. Barnett is suing for negligence, claiming that the incident resulted in a loss of income from triathlon-related sponsorships and endorsements and that it has 'permanently tarnished' her reputation.
Sabriya Rice, The Dallas Morning News 12/06/2017 |
| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| Lawsuit: Amarillo Neurosurgeon Accused of Sexually Assaulting Minors |
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An Amarillo neurosurgeon has been accused by at least five people of sexual assault with minors, according to an attorney who has filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of the mother of a teenager formerly under the doctor's care. The boy's mother is suing Dr. Jeffrey Cone for more than $1,000,000 for inappropriate sexual contact, according to the suit filed Tuesday morning in Potter County District Court. Others have reached out to allege sexual assault by Cone did so after news of the lawsuit broke Tuesday afternoon, the family's attorney said, adding that they did not come forward earlier because they 'did not want to be the only ones.'
RICKY TREON, Amarillo Globe-News 12/06/2017 |
| Read Article: Amarillo Globe-News |
| Jury Orders Bayer, J&J to Pay $28 Million in Xarelto Lawsuit |
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A Philadelphia state court jury on Tuesday ordered Bayer AG and Johnson & Johnson to pay $27.8 million to an Indiana couple over the drugmakers' failure to warn of internal bleeding risks from their blood thinner Xarelto. The jury slapped the companies, which jointly developed the blockbuster drug, with $1.8 million in compensatory and $26 million in punitive damages, according to the couple's lawyer. The verdict marks the first trial loss in litigation over Xarelto. Bayer and J&J have won three previous cases in federal court.
REUTERS, The New York Times 12/06/2017 |
| Read Article: The New York Times |
| Lawsuit: US Gun Maker Kept Exploding Rifle on the Market |
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Westfield, Massachusetts-based Savage Arms faces several lawsuits that have claimed the company recklessly kept the muzzleloaders on the market even as they kept occasionally mangling hands, damaging hearing and burning faces. At least three have been settled on a confidential basis since last year.
ASSOCIATED PRESS, Fox News 12/06/2017 |
| Read Article: Fox News |
| Parkland to Pay $700K to Family of Patient Who Died After Being Pinned Down in Psych ER |
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Parkland Memorial Hospital will pay $695,000 to the family of a psychiatric patient who died in 2011 after mental health aides wrestled him to the floor in what regulators later called an illegal and dangerous maneuver. The settlement ends a civil rights lawsuit brought by the estate of George Cornell six years ago against the public hospital that serves as a medical safety net in Dallas. Parkland officials struck the deal in recent weeks after a Dallas judge rejected their request to withhold dozens of internal documents, including notes of the hospital's investigation into Cornell's death.
Miles Moffeit, The Dallas Morning News 12/06/2017 |
| Read Article: The Dallas Morning News |
| 1,651 Days After Hail Storm, Dispute Between Amarillo ISD and Insurer Still Unsettled |
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43 Amarillo Independent School District schools are in insurance-dispute limbo four years after a massive May 2013 storm struck Amarillo with baseball-sized hail. Attorneys for the school district say the district's insurer, Travelers, has refused to pay the full extent of damages and has dragged out negotiations, leaving the school district to battle leaky roofs and stave off water damage.
ROBERT STEIN, Amarillo Globe-News 12/06/2017 |
| Read Article: Amarillo Globe-News |
| Safety Group Not Happy About GM App That Let's You Order Food While Driving |
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A new in-car application from General Motors Co. that lets drivers order coffee and browse for hotels while behind the wheel has been met with outcry from a prominent safety group. The app, dubbed Marketplace, allows drivers to browse deals and place orders through an in-dash touchscreen with several major brands such as Starbucks Corp., TGI Friday's, Priceline.com and Dunkin' Donuts Inc. National Safety Council President Deborah Hersman says the app will contribute to distracted driving, already a factor in a quarter of all vehicle crashes and hurt efforts to stem rising auto fatalities, which grew 5.6 percent to more than 37,000 in the U.S. last year.
Ryan Beene, Bloomberg 12/06/2017 |
| Read Article: Bloomberg |
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