PHILADELPHIA
Girl gets second set of lungs after parents sue over rules
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A 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl whose parents sued to challenge national lung transplant rules received a second set of lungs after the first failed, and her family said she has taken some breaths on her own.
The mother of Sarah Murnaghan said Friday that the first set of lungs failed within hours of the June 12 transplant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and her daughter was placed on machines. She was placed back on the lung transplant list the night after her surgery and received a second set of lungs on June 15.
“We were told … that she was going to die,” Janet Murnaghan said Friday as she explained why Sarah’s second transplant was not publicly disclosed. “We weren’t prepared to live out her dying in public.”
The suburban Philadelphia girl initially received lungs from an adult donor after her parents sued over national rules that place children behind adolescents and adults on the priority list for adult lungs.
ATLANTA
Judge fails to dismiss case against dozens of teachers
A Fulton County judge has refused to dismiss the case against dozens of Atlanta educators accused of conspiring to cheat on standardized tests.
Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter’s decision is a victory for prosecutors. Baxter had expressed concerns about the prosecution’s case last week after he said it appeared the defendants had been threatened with the prospect of losing their jobs if they didn’t cooperate with the investigation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Baxter will allow his decision to be appealed before trial.
In March, former Superintendent Beverly Hall and 34 other former Atlanta Public Schools educators were named in a 65-count indictment alleging a conspiracy to cheat to bolster student test scores.
The trial had been set for May 2014, but that could be delayed by pretrial appeals.
DETROIT
Complaints about brakes on Odysseys spark probe
U.S. safety regulators are investigating some Honda Odyssey minivans because they can brake without the driver pressing the pedal.
The probe affects nearly 344,000 vans from the 2007 and 2008 model years.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has received 22 complaints from owners about unexpected braking. In some cases, the vans braked while drivers were accelerating, cutting the speed by up to 30 miles per hour. Five people told the agency that dealers found trouble in a steering angle sensor in the electronic stability control system.
The agency said it has no reports of crashes or injuries.
Investigators will determine if the problem happens frequently enough to seek a recall. The agency opened the case Tuesday.
–From news service reports
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