Proposed ‘Gio's Law,' named for tragic LI teen, would see cops across US equipped with EpiPens
Long Island Reps Laura Gillen (D) and Andrew Garbarino (R) said the bill would ensure the feds pony up $25 million to dole out to states to buy the critical life-saving allergic-reaction treatment for officers and train them in their use.
The proposed legislation is dubbed 'Gio's Law' in honor of 14-year-old Giovanni Cipriano, a Lynbrook high-school freshman and travel baseball player who died in 2013 when he went into anaphylactic shock during a family vacation.
5 Proposed legislation dubbed 'Gio's Law' in honor of 14-year-old Giovanni Cipriano would equip cop cars with EpiPens.
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5 Cipriano, a Long Island teen baseball player, died from an allergic reaction to peanuts.
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Gio's mom, Georgina Cornago, was brought to tears as the bill was announced Wednesday — and as she recalled her 'amazing' son.
'I stand here today overwhelmed with gratitude, emotion, and a deep sense of purpose,' Cornago said. 'This has been a long journey fueled by heartbreak, hope, and persistence.'
Gillen said the bill not only pays tribute to Gio's memory but also aims to prevent future tragedies by giving cops the tools they need to respond when seconds matter.
'There's no reason we should be losing lives simply because first responders don't have the proper equipment,' the pol said.
Epinephrine, best known under the brand name EpiPen, is an emergency treatment used for anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction triggered by such things as food, insect stings and medications.
5 'This has been a long journey fueled by heartbreak, hope, and persistence,' Cipriano's mom, Georgina Cornago, said about the bill.
James Messerschmidt
'This is a public-safety issue, plain and simple,' Gillen said of the new bill. 'Over 32 million Americans live with life-threatening allergies — and the people we rely on to be first on the scene should be trained and equipped to help.'
Cornago wept as she described her son as 'a super energetic boy' who loved making people laugh and never let anyone feel alone.
'I told you I'd never stop fighting — and I stand by those words,' she said. 'Equipping law enforcement and first responders with epinephrine is not optional. It's essential. It will save lives.'
5 'Equipping law enforcement and first responders with epinephrine is not optional. It's essential. It will save lives,' Cornago said.
James Messerschmidt
5 Cornago described her son as 'a super energetic boy' who loved making people laugh and never let anyone feel alone.
James Messerschmidt
Lynbrook Police Inspector Sean Murphy, whose daughter's life was once saved by an officer's EpiPen, said the proposed legislation gives families like his peace of mind.
At least 1,500 people die every year from anaphylasix, with the tragic rate doubling in the past two decades alone, according to the National Institutes of Health in 2023.
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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Some States Are Seeking to Deregulate Child Care. Advocates Are Fighting Back
Content warning: This story includes details of an infant's death. After Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan in 2021, states were flush with federal funding to help prop the child care sector up. But that money is now all gone, and as Republicans in Congress threaten to pass spending cuts that could further shrink state budgets, lawmakers are trying to find solutions to the child care crisis that don't cost money. Many have proposed changing the mandated ratios that require a certain number of early educators to care for young kids. Nearly a dozen states have considered rolling back child care regulations, including those governing staff-to-child ratios. But while these deregulatory bills are common, it's not a foregone conclusion that they will pass. Advocates in three states have been able to beat back these efforts in the legislative sessions that just wrapped up by mobilizing a wide variety of people to speak up against these proposals and deploying research-backed arguments about child safety and child care supply. Eliminating Ratios Entirely Idaho advocates faced down the most extreme bill. In its original form, HB243 would have eliminated all requirements that limit the number of young children an early educator can care for, leaving it up to individual providers. It would have been the first state in the country to take such a step. Advocates had very little time to fight back. The bill got fast tracked; there was less than 24 hours' notice before the first public hearing on it in the House. 'You can't get child care providers and parents there in that amount of time,' said Christine Tiddens, executive director of Idaho Voices for Children, a nonprofit that advocates for child-focused policies, noting that it requires moving work schedules and getting people to cover shifts. The bill sailed through the House. Eventually, Tiddens said, they were able to put parents and providers in front of lawmakers to warn of the negative consequences. One of those parents was Idaho resident Kelly Emry. On June 10, 2024, she got a panicked call from the home-based child care provider where she had just started sending her 11-week-old son Logan. She dashed to the provider's home and was told he was dead. The coroner's report later confirmed he died from asphyxiation. According to Emry, the coroner said the provider put him down for a nap between a rolled up blanket and a pillow and left him there for hours. The provider was caring for 11 kids by herself that day, putting her out of compliance with state regulations that, at the time, required at least two staff members. 'It was completely preventable, and that's what's so hard for me to come to terms with,' Emry said in a podcast interview in January. Emry wasn't the only one who spoke up. Once the bill got to the Senate, advocates packed the hearing and overflow rooms with several hundred people. Among the 40 people who signed up to testify, 38 opposed the bill. Baby Logan's uncle spoke, as did pediatricians, fire marshals, nurses, the state police, child welfare experts, child care providers and parents. Lawmakers were flooded with thousands of calls and emails from the opposition. Tiddens made sure every senator was sent the podcast interview with Emry. The bill passed the Senate committee by a single vote. Advocates decided to try to stop the worst elements, knowing that the bill was likely to pass in some form. They asked a senator who opposed it to 'throw a Hail Mary,' Tiddens said. When the bill came to the Senate floor, he asked for unanimous support to pull it and move it into the amending process. He got it. The original elimination of staff-to-child ratios was stripped out; instead, the bill preserved ratios, albeit higher ones than before. Under previous law, Idaho ranked at No. 41 among all states for how high its ratios were; now it has dropped even further to No. 45. The victory is 'bittersweet,' Tiddens said. She attributes it almost solely to one thing: putting parents, not just businesses and child care providers, in front of lawmakers, which led to the moving account of Logan's family, still in the midst of raw grief. 'How could you listen and not have your heart changed?' Tiddens asked. Related Doubling Family Child Care Ratios Advocates in Maryland have fought back against legislation to loosen staff-to-child ratios twice now. Last year, lawmakers introduced a bill to raise the ratios in family child care settings, but it died thanks to 'a lot of advocacy,' said Beth Morrow, director of public policy at the Maryland Family Network, a nonprofit focused on child care. As in Idaho, the American Academy of Pediatrics and fire marshals warned about what would happen in the case of emergencies. Children under 2 years old are 'not capable of self-preservation,' Morrow pointed out; they might hide when a fire alarm goes off and can't evacuate on their own. 'If there is an emergency you have to be able to get these kids out,' she said. The idea returned this year in House Bill 477, this time coupled with looser ratios for center-based care. Family providers are currently allowed to care for eight children but no more than two under the age of 2; the legislation would have doubled that, allowing providers to watch as many as four children under the age of 1. That was a 'nonstarter,' Morrow said. It would also have been the first time that these rules were dictated by lawmakers rather than by the Maryland State Department of Education, which would have been barred from changing them in the future. So advocates marshalled research, with the help of national groups including the National Association for the Education of Young Children and Center for Law and Social Policy. They highlighted that there has been no evidence that stricter child care regulations lead to reduced supply. Lawmakers seemed moved by the argument that lower ratios support better health and safety for children. During the markup session, the chief sponsor amended the bill by striking the language about higher ratios; instead, the version that passed requires the Department of Education to study child care regulations with an eye toward alleviating barriers for providers. Ratio Increases by Another Name In Minnesota, lawmakers took a different approach to proposing changes to the number of staff required to care for young children this session. Their legislation avoided mentioning the term 'ratios' at all. Instead, the issue was presented as an exemption for in-home child care providers caring for their own children as well. The legislation originally would have exempted as many as three of the providers' own children from the number they are licensed to watch. 'That's a direct ratio increase, no way around that,' said Clare Sanford, vice president of government and community relations at New Horizon Academy, a child care and preschool provider. 'You still have the same number of adults but you're increasing the number of children that adult is responsible for.' In later drafts, the number of children who could be exempted kept being reduced. In the end the legislation didn't get a standalone vote and the language was left out of the final state budget. The argument that Sanford thinks worked the best was that increasing ratios wouldn't actually increase child care supply. That's because, as a brief by NAEYC argues, they will lead to more burnout among providers, which will push them to leave and, in the end, reduce available child care spots. The fight is far from over. Advocates in all three states expect lawmakers to try to loosen staff-to-child ratios again next session. Tiddens fears that, although Idaho didn't eliminate ratios, the idea could spread. 'Idaho has often been a frontrunner for harmful legislation,' she said. On the whole, more of these laws have been signed than stopped, said Diane Girouard, state policy senior analyst at ChildCare Aware of America. Ratio deregulation bills pop up 'in some states every single year,' she said. 'This isn't just unique to red, conservative states. It has happened in blue states, it has happened in purple states.' Advocates who oppose raising these ratios are formulating responses to the child care crisis that preserve safety standards without requiring state funding. In Maryland, for example, Morrow's organization helped pass a bill that removes legal barriers to opening and operating family child care programs. The hope is that with more solutions on the table to increase child care supply, states won't look to options that erode safety standards, such as increasing ratios. Tiddens has vowed to fight back. 'We're not going away, and we're going to show up next session with our own proposal,' she said. Her coalition plans to formulate a bill for next year that 'prioritizes child safety at the same time as dealing with the child care shortage,' she said. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Federal cuts leave Los Angeles County health system in crisis
Los Angeles County's health system, which is responsible for the care of the region's poorest, is careening toward a financial crisis because of cuts from a presidential administration and Republican-led Congress looking to drastically slash the size of government. President Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' which passed earlier this month, is expected to soon claw $750 million per year from the county Department of Health Services, which oversees four public hospitals and roughly two dozen clinics. In an all-staff email Friday, the agency called the bill a 'big, devastating blow to our health system' and said a hiring freeze had gone into effect, immediately. And the Trump administration's budget for the next fiscal year will likely result in a $200-million cut to the county Department of Public Health, whose responsibilities include monitoring disease outbreaks, inspecting food and providing substance use treatment. 'I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm not going to say we survive this,' said Barbara Ferrer, head of the public health department, in an interview. 'We can't survive this big a cut.' Both Ferrer and Department of Health Services head Christina Ghaly warned that the federal cuts will devastate their agencies — and the patients they serve — for years to come. Employee layoffs are likely. In April, the White House announced it was ending infectious disease grants worth billions of dollars, including $45 million that L.A. County was supposed to use to combat the spread of measles and bird flu. California has joined other states in a lawsuit fighting the cuts, and the court has issued a preliminary injunction suspending the cuts. This month, the county public health department lost another $16 million after Trump's bill cut funding for a program educating food stamp recipients about how to buy healthy meals. And there's more to come. The Trump administration's proposed budget for 2026 will be the biggest blow yet, Ferrer warned, yanking $200 million from her department — a 12% cut. 'I'm old. I've been around for a long time,' said Ferrer, whose work in public health dates back to the Reagan administration. 'I've never actually seen this much disdain for public health.' Ferrer said the cuts mean she no longer has enough money for the county's bioterrorism watch program, which monitors for outbreaks that might signal a biological attack. Soon, she said, county officials may have to stop testing ocean water for toxins year round, cutting back to just half the year. 'Like, you want to swim? You want to know that the water is safe where you swim, then oppose these kinds of cuts,' she said. 'That affects everybody who goes to the beach.' Layoffs are likely, said Ferrer. About 1,500 public health staffers are supported through federal grants. More than half the federal money the department receives is funneled to outside organizations, which would likely need to make cuts to stay afloat. A similarly grim cost analysis is underway at the county Department of Health Services, where executives said they expect to lose $280 million this fiscal year because of the bill. 'I can't make a promise that we will be able to avoid layoffs because of the magnitude of the challenges,' said Ghaly. Ghaly said the bill slashed the extra Medicaid money the county typically gets to cover care for low-income patients. They expect many patients might be kicked off Medicaid because of new eligibility and work requirements. The federal government is pulling back on payments for emergency services for undocumented people, meaning the county will have to foot more of the bill. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Department of Health Services officials said they expect to lose $750 million per year by 2028. By then, the agency's budget deficit is projected to have ballooned to $1.85 billion. In an attempt to pump more cash into the system, L.A. County supervisors voted on Tuesday to increase a parcel tax first approved by voters in 2002, which is expected to raise an additional $87 million for the county's trauma care network. After a long debate Tuesday, Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Lindsey Horvath worked to direct $9 million of the parcel tax money to Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, a private hospital that serves as a critical safety net for South Los Angeles residents who would otherwise find themselves in a medical desert. Without that cash infusion from the county, the cuts in Trump's bill would have put the hospital at risk of closing, since the majority of patients in its emergency room are on Medicaid, said Elaine Batchlor, Martin Luther King's chief executive officer. 'If they've lost their Medicaid coverage, we simply won't get paid for those patients,' she said. Martin Luther King replaced a county hospital that closed after losing national accreditation in 2005 because of serious medical malpractice, landing it the nickname 'Killer King.' 'The fact that that hospital closed in the first place I think is criminal, and I intend to do all I can to protect the integrity of the services,' said Mitchell, whose district includes the hospital and who pushed for it to get a cut of money from the parcel tax increase. Local health providers said that changes at the state level have created additional uncertainty. The state budget for this fiscal year freezes enrollment in Medi-Cal, California's version of Medicaid, for undocumented immigrants ages 19 and older starting in January. Medi-Cal recipients ages 19 to 59 will have to pay a $30 monthly premium beginning July 1, 2027. 'Most families [we serve] are making about $2,400 to $2,600 a month. They're going to have to choose between paying their Medi-Cal fees for a family of four — that's $120 a month — or paying rent or paying for food,' said Jim Mangia, head of St. John's Community Health, who said the cuts will disrupt care for tens of thousands of low-income residents. The St. John's clinic, which gets most of its revenue from Medi-Cal reimbursements, serves more than 120,000 patients a year, most of whom live below the federal poverty line. If the clinic doesn't find a way to replace the lost revenue, Mangia warned, services will have to be reduced. The clinic recently started treating immigrant patients in their homes after realizing they had been skipping appointments because they feared being arrested by federal immigration agents. 'Then what we're looking at is closing several health centers,' said Mangia. 'We're looking at laying off hundreds of staff.' At Venice Family Clinic, a community health center that serves nearly 45,000 patients annually, 80% of patients rely on Medi-Cal. Roughly half the clinic's revenue comes from Medi-Cal reimbursements. Dr. Mitesh Popat, a family physician and head of the clinic, said that federal policy changes — especially more frequent paperwork and added work requirements — will likely push eligible patients off of Medi-Cal. He said the clinic is exploring ways to expand support for patients to navigate the paperwork and keep their coverage. 'This puts a bunch of barriers in the way of people who already have enough challenges in life,' Popat said. 'They're trying to make it, trying to survive, trying to put food on the table.'
New York Post
21 hours ago
- New York Post
The bad diet habit that can make you gain weight — even when you stop
Talk about a scale fail. New research suggests that a common dieting mistake may trigger lasting changes in the body that make eating right more difficult. Worse still, the effects appear to linger long after the bad habit is corrected, quietly sabotaging your ability to maintain a healthy weight. 4 Crash diets often trap Americans in a constant cycle of losing and regaining weight. mojo_cp – Yo-yo dieting is a pattern where people restrict calories to lose weight, then slip back into old eating habits — often gaining back more than they shed and starting the cycle all over again. It's a common problem in the US, where nearly three in four adults are clinically overweight and diet culture tends to favor quick weight-loss fixes over long-term lifestyle changes. Studies estimate that up to 55% of American women and 35% of men have fallen into the yo-yo dieting trap at some point. Curious how the cycle impacts the body, researchers in France put lab mice on a similar diet rollercoaster. 4 Biological changes seen in yo-yo dieting mice may help explain eating behaviors in humans. filin174 – Over several weeks, the animals were fed alternating rounds of healthy, low-fat chow and a high-fat, high-sugar diet meant to imitate Western eating habits. Just like in humans, their weight fluctuated up and down like a yo-yo. But over time, the mice also began binging on the junk food whenever it was available — even if they'd already been fed. When researchers analyzed the mice's fecal samples, they found long-lasting changes in their gut bacteria that altered their internal metabolism. To test it further, the team transplanted the altered gut bacteria into healthy mice that hadn't been dieting. They, too, started compulsively overeating fatty, sugary foods. 4 Gut bacteria plays a critical role in weight management, including by influencing appetite regulation. Dr_Microbe – The researchers also scanned the mice's brains and found increased activity in their reward centers, the region that lights up in response to pleasurable stimuli, including food. The findings suggest that yo-yo dieting may mess with both the gut and the brain — making it tougher to resist high-calorie foods and setting the stage for overeating. While the experiment hasn't been tested in humans, the results suggest that yo-yo dieting could lead to similar changes in people as well. The researchers said further studies will be needed to fully understand the biological mechanisms at play and confirm whether the same effect happens in humans. 4 Large fluctuations in body weight have been linked to several negative health consequences. Kawee – Your gut and brain aren't the only things yo-yo dieting can mess with. 'When weight is quickly lost and regained, the regained weight is typically fat tissue rather than muscle tissue, which can increase the overall body fat percentage over time,' Melissa Hoover, a registered dietician, said in an interview with Piedmont Healthcare. One review found that 11 out of 19 studies linked a history of yo-yo dieting to higher body fat and more belly fat. Hoover also noted that most yo-yo dieters focus on cutting calories but skip the exercise habits that help maintain muscle. 'This eventually leads to loss of muscle mass and body strength,' she said. And the risks don't stop there. Yo-yo dieting has also been associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. In fact, one study found that people who lose and regain weight on yo-yo diets are far more likely to die from heart attack or stroke than people who keep the scale on an even keel — even when that 'steady' weight is slightly chubby. Mentally, the cycle can wear people down. In studies, adults with a history of yo-yo dieting report feeling unhappy with both their health and overall quality of life.
