The former Archdiocese of Miami priest, Neil Doherty, 62, stood silently alongside his attorney during his arraignment for drugging and raping a child. The former Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Miami has had numerous credible accusations brought against him by victims of sexual abuse. The abuse dates back to the 1970’s. Since neither Doherty nor his attorney spoke during the arraignment hearing, the judge entered an automatic plea of not guilty.
Drug Trials Promised but Unseen by FDA
The FDA has reported that 2/3 of the drugs approved by the agency remain untested and unproven. When new drugs are approved for public use, they are supposed to report the results of clinical trials to the FDA. One drug approved in 1955 has still not complied with these tests. These studies are important in that they are intended to reveal if the drugs are working as intended and whether they are producing any side effects.
Taser 12 Gauge
Outrageous but true: in the midst of mounting public concern over its dangerous stun gun, Taser International has developed and plans to market a 12 gauge shotgun so that its users can fire from a greater distance! That’s just brilliant! In the face of a public outcry over safety concerns and more than 100 deaths in the wake of Taser use, the company wants consumers to be able to fire the weapon even more indiscriminately. This is not the time to be developing new, more lethal weapons. They need to stop and examine the deadly effects of the Tasers on the market right now.
EPA Requests Reduced Use of Teflon Chemical
The chemical manufacturers use to make Teflon, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, have been asked by the EPA to reduce and eventually eliminate its use due to its carcinogenic properties. Teflon is used in a wide range of consumer goods, including nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, and food packaging. Currently, the EPA hasn’t established safe levels of PFOA exposure. After reviewing an EPA assessment of the chemical’s risk, an independent panel last month recommended that the agency classify PFOA as a “likely” carcinogen. The EPA will now develop a final risk assessment of the chemical. The agency said in yesterday’s statement that consumer products made with Teflon and other nonstick coatings don’t pose a risk to consumers.
Obesity Raises Car Crash Death Risk
If there weren’t enough health risks associated with being overweight, along comes another one-maybe one you wouldn’t have thought about. If you’re male and obese, you’re at a significantly greater risk to die as a result of a car crash according to a Milwaukee based investigation. The study cites various factors leading to this increased risk: obesity reduces the body’s ability to recover from injury, the actual effects of momentum in the crash itself, and body shape.
Drug Patch Latest to be Targeted by FDA Probe
In July 2005 it was the fentanyl patch used for chronic pain. The following November it was the Ortho Evra birth control patch after studies had shown women using the patch were exposed to 60% more estrogen than non-users. Now, the FDA is going to probe the entire drug patch industry for safety concerns.
Colorado Bishop Support Limited Access to Courts for Abuse Victims
The three Catholic bishops of Colorado have come out publicly and endorsed lifting the criminal statute of limitations involving sexual abuse of minors. However, they still don’t want victims to file civil lawsuits for these crimes. The bishops continue to fight against victims’ access to civil remedies for the harm done to them. It seems to me that the bishops’ policy is short sighted. Our justice system recognizes that victims should be able address injustice criminally and civilly. Their stance doesn’t serve justice. It does protect them and the institution from revealing years of cover up and scandal in the handling of priest abusers.
Orlando Jury Rules Against Cop in Taser Case
In what is thought to be the first Taser lawsuit against a cop, a fedral civil jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him $100,000 in punitive damages. The case stemmed from a June 2003 traffic incident during which Dontray Chaney was pulled out of his car and forcibly thrown to the ground for having an obscured license plate. Originally, he was charged with resisting arrest without violence. The taser came into play after Chaney had been thrown to the ground. The officer, Jonathan Cute then tasered him twice for good measure.
Lead Poisoning Treatment Linked to Deaths in Children
The CDC has linked a drug used to treat lead poisoning with cardiac arrest in children. Hospira, Inc, the maker of the drug Endrate, had no comment after the CDC released its results. Mary Jean Brown, chief of the CDC’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, said hospital pharmacies should consider whether stocking Endrate is necessary, given its risks and the availability of other treatments.
Endrate is considered a chelating agent which contains compounds which upon entry into the body latch onto metals in the body and carry them through the body until natural elimination.
Tasered 6 year old boy’s Family Sues Police
In an article published in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel parents of a 6 year old boy will sue the police department that fired a taser at the young boy after a confrontation in the school office. First of all, how can you call this a confrontation? How is it possible the police or anyone else for that matter, have to resort to a Taser gun to control a six year old? He’s six years old and a first grader! We can’t have 6 year olds being tasered with 50,000 volts of electricity because they throw a tantrum.