Nevada
‘You felt like you were poisoned and you were dying’: Nevada jury awards over $3 billion in damages against Real Water
![‘You felt like you were poisoned and you were dying’: Nevada jury awards over $3 billion in damages against Real Water](https://www.siouxlandproud.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/68/2024/06/Image-3_59.jpg?w=1280)
(WJET/WFXP) — A jury has awarded $3 billion in punitive damages to 8 Las Vegas residents who suffered from sudden-onset liver failure after consuming the recalled and discontinued Real Water brand drinking water.
The Las Vegas residents, including 5 children and 3 adults, claimed that Real Water contained a toxic chemical known as hydrazine, which led to their sudden-onset liver failure.
A jury has awarded $3 billion in punitive damages to 8 Las Vegas residents who suffered from sudden-onset liver failure after consuming the recalled and discontinued Real Water brand drinking water.
The Las Vegas residents, including 5 children and 3 adults, claimed that Real Water contained a toxic chemical known as hydrazine, which led to their sudden-onset liver failure. Hydrazine is a toxic chemical used in the production of rocket fuel. The children involved ranged from 7 months old to 5 years old and had to be flown to a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah for treatment which was a result of drinking Real Water in the fall of 2020.
Real Water argued that they did not anticipate that hydrazine would be present in the water.
You felt like you were poisoned and you were dying.
Christopher Wren, Plaintiff
The emotional testimony revealed the pain and fear endured during the moments from hospitalization to recovery. All those affected now suffer from permanent liver damage and mental trauma.
After the Las Vegas-based health district made the FDA investigation public in mid-March 2021, company president Brent Jones issued a statement calling for stores nationwide to pull Real Water from shelves. The company termed the move voluntary.
A federal lawsuit, settled in June 2021, claimed that Real Water personnel had not properly cleaned and sanitized the water tanks in which they mix processed municipal tap water with E2 Concentrate, potentially leading to chemical and microbial contamination.
While the companies marketed their products as a healthy alternative to tap water, the government alleged that the products, in fact, consisted of municipal tap water that the defendants processed with various chemicals in violation of current good manufacturing practices, relevant food safety standards and hazard prevention measures
In June 2021, the FDA announced that Real Water had agreed to cease operations until they could comply with federal regulations.
However, just two months later, on August 20, 2021, the company officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy amid several pending lawsuits.
This is not the first case where a jury awarded millions in damages. In October 2023, a jury awarded over $228 million in damages to several plaintiffs who also suffered from liver failure, including the family of a 69-year-old woman who died from liver failure in 2020.
The children involved ranged from 7 months old to 5 years old and had to be flown to a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah for treatment which was a result of drinking Real Water in the fall of 2020.
Real Water argued that they did not anticipate that hydrazine would be present in the water — hydrazine is a toxic chemical that is used in the production of rocket fuel.
You felt like you were poisoned and you were dying.
Christopher Wren, Plaintiff
The emotional testimony revealed the pain and fear endured during the moments from hospitalization to recovery. All those affected now suffer from permanent liver damage and mental trauma.
After the Las Vegas-based health district made the FDA investigation public in mid-March 2021, company president Brent Jones issued a statement calling for stores nationwide to pull Real Water from shelves. The company termed the move voluntary.
A federal lawsuit, settled in June 2021, claimed that Real Water personnel had not properly cleaned and sanitized the water tanks in which they mix processed municipal tap water with E2 Concentrate, potentially leading to chemical and microbial contamination.
While the companies marketed their products as a healthy alternative to tap water, the government alleged that the products, in fact, consisted of municipal tap water that the defendants processed with various chemicals in violation of current good manufacturing practices, relevant food safety standards and hazard prevention measures
In June 2021, the FDA announced that Real Water had agreed to cease operations until they could comply with federal regulations.
However, just two months later, on August 20, 2021, the company officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy amid several pending lawsuits.
This is not the first case where a jury awarded millions in damages. In October 2023, a jury awarded over $228 million in damages to several plaintiffs who also suffered from liver failure, including the family of a 69-year-old woman who died from liver failure in 2020.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Nevada
Records Reveal How ‘Bidenbucks’ Could Affect Battleground Nevada
![Records Reveal How ‘Bidenbucks’ Could Affect Battleground Nevada](https://first-heritage-foundation.s3.amazonaws.com/live_files/2024/06/NevadaBiden-EO-scaled.jpg)
At least four federal agencies likely will be involved in helping to mobilize voters in Nevada, based on President Joe Biden’s executive order on elections, which some critics call “Bidenbucks.”
Through a public records request, The Daily Signal obtained copies of letters from Nevada Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar to federal agencies regarding implementation of Biden’s executive order.
Executive Order 14019, which Biden signed in March 2021, directs every federal agency to be active in boosting voter participation and to partner with nonprofit organizations in doing so.
Previous records obtained by The Daily Signal as well as watchdog groups show these private actors partnering with agencies or communicating with Biden White House officials on the order.
These actors include left-leaning groups such as Demos and the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center, billionaire financier George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and Fair Fight Action, founded by Stacey Abrams, who lost twice as the Democrat nominee for Georgia governor.
On Oct. 27, Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat elected as Nevada’s secretary of state in 2022, wrote top officials in the federal Labor, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs departments, as well as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a subagency in the Department of Homeland Security.
Aguilar’s request was for each federal agency to act as a voter registration agency in Nevada, which, he writes, is pursuant to Biden’s executive order.
“Your partnership in this designation will greatly benefit Nevada’s voters by distributing voter registration applications, assisting with qualified voter registrations, and ensuring completed applications are transmitted to County Clerks/Registrars,” his letter to each of the four agencies says.
Aguilar’s letter also cites Section 7 of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The section requires that states offer voter registration opportunities at certain state and local offices, including public assistance and disability offices.
That section of the U.S. statute known as the “motor voter law” also says that “states may designate as voter-registration agencies nongovernmental offices (such as private colleges) or federal government offices,” according to the Justice Department.
In his letter to Labor Secretary Julie Su, Aguilar specifically asks the department to designate its American Job Centers. Those centers were established in 2014 to offer training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and other employment-related services.
A spokesperson for Aguilar did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment before publication time.
The White House previously announced that the Labor Department would encourage states to designate the more than 2,400 American Job Centers as voter registration locations.
A subagency at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Community Living, announced it would create a “voting access hub” to connect with older adults and those with disabilities who want to vote.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it would provide materials and assistance in both registering and voting for tens of thousands of inpatients and residents, including inpatients at VA medical centers.
“We are exploring the opportunity to become an NVRA-designated agency in Nevada,” Veterans Affairs spokesperson Susan Carter told The Daily Signal, referring to the National Voter Registration Act.
“Currently, VA only has three pilot NVRA designated agencies in the state of Michigan,” she said.
Spokespersons for the other three federal agencies involved did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on this report.
The House Administration Committee, which has oversight of elections, earlier subpoenaed 15 members of Biden’s Cabinet regarding the implementation of the president’s executive order.
Republicans object to Biden’s order, noting it could prompt federal employees to violate the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits partisan political activity using government time or resources, as well as the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending public money on matters not authorized by Congress.
Biden administration officials have argued that the president’s order is about promoting voter accessibility and ensuring that voting is easier for Americans.
The House Committee on Small Business has investigated the Small Business Administration’s efforts to register voters, holding a hearing June 5. In March, SBA announced a memorandum of understanding with the Michigan Department of State, the chief election agency for the battleground state, to facilitate voter registration efforts ahead of the election cycle this year.
Nevada
Win, place or show? Ely and Elko horse races get final approval
![Win, place or show? Ely and Elko horse races get final approval](https://www.reviewjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/19308623_web1_GettyImages-51948795.jpg)
The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday gave final approval to parimutuel horse-racing dates in Ely and Elko later this summer.
Commissioners unanimously approved applications for Agricultural District No. 13 in White Pine County for races in Ely Aug. 16-18 and for the Elko County Fair Board in Elko Aug. 23-Sept. 2.
County fair horseracing is one of the highlights of the summer for rural Nevada.
In response to a commission question, Gaming Control Board agent Andrew Olsen said both race facilities will have equipment sophisticated enough to determine winners in close races like the 2024 Kentucky Derby finish in which Mystik Dan nosed out Sierra Leone and Forever Young at the wire.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board had recommended approval of the race dates on June 5.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
Nevada
Houston geothermal company grows Google partnership to provide power to Nevada
![Houston geothermal company grows Google partnership to provide power to Nevada](https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy81MDY3OTc2My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTc2NTUyMTUxNH0.C0ZKdvadmYYWG0fsFVU53LvpMJhzZaSZBNdmHbX2j9I/img.png?width=1200&height=600&coordinates=0%2C187%2C0%2C188)
Houston-based Fervo Energy’s geothermal energy soon will help power the world’s most popular website.
Through a first-of-its-kind proposal, Las Vegas-based public utility NV Energy would supply 115 megawatts of geothermal power generated by Fervo for Google’s two data centers in Nevada. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
In 2021, Google teamed up with Fervo to develop a pilot project for geothermal power in Nevada. Two years later, electricity from this project started flowing into the Nevada grid serving the two Google data centers. Google spent $600 million to build each of the centers, which are in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, and Storey County, which is east of Reno.
The proposed agreement with NV Energy would bring about 25 times more geothermal power capacity to the Nevada grid, Google says, and enable more around-the-clock clean power for the search engine company’s Nevada data centers.
A data center gobbles up 10 to 50 times the energy per square foot of floor space that a typical office building does, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
“NV Energy and Google’s partnership to develop new solutions to bring clean … energy technology — like enhanced geothermal — onto Nevada’s grid at this scale is remarkable. This innovative proposal will not be paid for by NV Energy’s other customers but will help ensure all our customers benefit from cleaner, greener energy resources,” Doug Cannon, president and CEO of NV Energy, says in a Google blog post.
Utility regulators still must sign off on the proposal.
“If approved, it provides a blueprint for other utilities and large customers in Nevada to accelerate clean energy goals,” Cannon says.
——
This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.
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