Gulf coast homeowners who have fought to hold the Army Corps of Engineers liable for contributing to the extent of Katrina’s destruction may finally get some relief – not for negligence in building the levees but for flood damage caused by a navigation channel that funneled Katrina's storm surge into the city, according to a recent federal court ruling. (AP) According to the article,
“The suit charges the agency with ignoring repeated warnings that the [ship channel] turned into a ‘hurricane highway,’ funneling Katrina's storm surge into St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans and overwhelming levees and flood walls. The 76-mile shipping channel was built about 40 years ago as a shortcut to New Orleans. For years, environmentalists and emergency planners have blasted the channel as a destructive force because it has eroded enormous tracts of wetlands and increased the threat of flooding.”
A NY Times editorial slams the recent federal court decision that threw out New York City’s suit against gun manufacturers, and equally slams Congress for passing a gun immunity law. (NY Times) Also, check out our recent post.
FDA woes continue. Drug maker Merck & Co. has serious safety and cleanliness issues at main vaccine plant. (AP)
99,000 people die each year from preventable hospital infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (We wonder if this is in addition to the other 98,000 dying from other medical errors in hospitals??) Anyway, CNN tried to tell us how to protect ourselves from hospital infections. (CNN)
Comments