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The Independent
17 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Heartbroken mom wants answers after 2-year-old chokes to death on meatball at daycare: ‘I just know something's wrong'
A grieving mother has demanded answers after her two-year-old son choked to death on a meatball while at a Connecticut daycare, despite staff reassuring her that the child was fine. Shamyra Cooke says claims by the YWCA New Britain that they had followed the correct procedure during the tragic incident were 'a slap to my face' and that she had known immediately something was wrong. 'There is no way I can bury my son without answers. This is just too much for a person. My son barely got a chance to live,' she told reporters. Cooke said she had dropped her son, Saunti Reynolds, off at daycare at 8:55 a.m. Tuesday, but received a call from the center's director less than three hours later saying that he had choked on a meatball. The director had told Cooke that her son was fine but that she needed to come back to the daycare, she told a press conference. When she arrived, EMT staff were already on the scene and Saunti had already been intubated. First responders were performing CPR, but despite reassurance from the director of the center, who gave her a hug, she knew something was wrong. "When they're closing the door like that, I just know something's wrong. There's no way my son is breathing if they're closing the door and blinds are down," she said. Cooke told reporters that she lives only three minutes away from the daycare center and, as a hospital worker herself, could have done something to save her child if she had been alerted sooner. 'Even if they didn't know how to do the Heimlich, I work in a hospital, I could do it. I could get it out and no one called to even give me that chance,' Cooke said. 'No one gave me no chance to even get to my son.' The Independent has reached out to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, which is now investigating the incident, for comment, as well as YWCA New Britain. In a statement to News 8, Doreen Chudoba, the director of fundraising and communication with YWCA, said, 'There are no words to fully express the sorrow we feel, and we extend our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to the child's parents, family, and loved ones. We are holding them close in our hearts during this unimaginably painful time.' Chudoba said that staff had responded 'immediately and followed all emergency procedures, including administering age-appropriate first aid and calling 911,' adding that 'emergency services were contacted, and the child's family was immediately notified and involved throughout the process. 'The child was then taken via ambulance to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, we learned the devastating news that the child passed away.' However, Cooke disputes the YWCA's statement, arguing that if she had been contacted in time, her son may still be alive. 'For them to even have the audacity to say they talked to me the whole process through … is a slap to my face,' Cooke said.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Yahoo
Man passed out in car rams cruisers while fleeing. Officers injured making arrest in New Britain
A man found passed out behind the wheel last week in Berlin allegedly rammed multiple police cruisers as he fled before his apprehension in New Britain led to multiple officers suffering injuries. Officers found a Jeep Grand Cherokee on Friday stopped in the area of Christian Lane and Massirio Drive in Berlin around 9:15 p.m. and discovered that the driver was passed out with his foot on the brake, according to Dep. Chief Drew Gallupe of the Berlin Police Department. Police tried to wake the driver, who was identified as 40-year-old Christopher Criss, and suspected that he was experiencing a drug overdose, Gallupe said. Officers forced their way into the vehicle and tried to get Criss out, according to Gallupe. Criss then woke up and resisted police before allegedly putting the vehicle in reverse and ramming a police cruiser, Gallupe said. He allegedly accelerated forward and struck a second patrol car and sped away, according to Gallupe. Body camera footage released from one of the officers shows police telling Criss to 'relax' and to 'put it into park.' An officer indicates he was 'going to go for the shifter' moments before Criss backed the vehicle up and took off, the video shows. Officers pursued the vehicle and lost sight of it in New Britain. Gallupe noted that none of the Berlin officers involved were injured. Investigators learned that the vehicle had been stolen before it was found shortly thereafter at a gas station in New Britain, according to Gallupe. Gallupe said two New Britain officers were injured and multiple cruisers were damaged as Criss was taken into custody. A vehicle was also struck in a driveway, causing damage to a residence, Gallupe said. Criss was arrested on multiple charges filed by the New Britain and Berlin Police Departments.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
In growing field for CT governor, a mayor plans civility. Tagline: ‘New generation of leadership'
It was all smiles for Gov. Ned Lamont and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart. The two political rivals could end up facing each other in the race for governor next year but they came together this week to hail the opening of a new affordable housing project in Stewart's hometown. The leaders had nothing bad to say about each other or a new, 154-unit complex that has been resurrected from a long-closed factory on Ellis Street off the exit on Route 9. Families earning anywhere from $30,000 to $80,000 per year are eligible for the rental units, and they are 100% leased, officials said. At least one unit remained unoccupied so that top officials could see it. Housing has been a touchy subject recently. Lamont has been repeatedly blasted by liberal Democrats for vetoing an affordable housing bill after an outcry from Republicans that the controversial bill took away too much local control from town boards around the state. Despite political differences on other issues, Stewart backed up Lamont. 'It was the right move to veto the housing bill,' Stewart told The Courant. 'Local control is very important, and local control is also what leads to developments like this' in New Britain. Lamont, a lifelong Democrat, agreed that he has gotten along quite well with Stewart during his tenure as governor. 'We've been friends for years,' Lamont said when asked by The Courant. 'Often we clip the ribbons at these housing [ceremonies]. We've done hundreds of units together here, and sometimes we have lunch afterwards. … We work together well. Look, we've worked very constructively for a long time. Keep that going.' A six-term mayor, Stewart was the first high-profile Republican to explore a run for governor in the 2026 cycle She was first elected at age 26, becoming the youngest mayor in New Britain history, taking office when her father left office after eight years as mayor. Her supporters have touted her for higher office because Republicans are outnumbered 4 – 1 in New Britain, which has a history of crossover support for Republicans. Stewart has technically filed paperwork for an exploratory run for statewide office, but it is widely believed that she is running for governor. In a late development, state Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden filed paperwork Tuesday to run for governor as liberal Democrats have been upset that Lamont vetoed the affordable housing bill and another pro-labor measure that would have awarded unemployment compensation benefits to workers who had been on strike for more than 14 days. Underneath a tent on a hot day before they helped cut a ceremonial ribbon to open the affordable housing complex, Stewart and Lamont embraced and laughed as they chatted before the speeches began. 'I'm a firm believer that you don't have to be an enemy of someone to run against them and to show there's a different way,' Stewart said in an interview. 'I think that's probably what politics is missing nowadays. Everybody wants that factor where they're waiting for me to come out and say something that is so far beyond the pale about Ned personally. That's not my style. Nor would I expect a candidate to do that to me.' Stewart added, 'The tagline I've got is a new generation of leadership. I think we're a little stale. That's not an insult to Ned. It's just that we have different management and different leadership styles, and we come from very different worlds. Just me standing next to him, we can show that you can get along and you can disagree respectfully, and you can agree on some things, and that's OK. Just because you're running against someone doesn't mean that you have to be all gung ho and curse the world and their existence.' Stewart, however, said there will be times of disagreement in the future. 'Don't get me wrong.' Stewart said. 'I am from New Britain, so I will take digs when I need to.' Stewart could end up in a primary in August 2026 against Sen. Ryan Fazio, a Greenwich Republican who also represents parts of Stamford and New Canaan. Fazio won a hard-fought race in the 2024 cycle against Democrat Nick Simmons, a well-funded former Greenwich resident who moved to Stamford. Fazio reenergized Republicans statewide by winning his seat in a special election in 2021 after former Sen. L. Scott Frantz had lost the district in 2018 to Democrat Alex Bergstein, who changed her name to Alex Kasser after winning the seat. Fazio then won a squeaker against Harvard graduate Trevor Crow in 2022 by a margin of only 89 votes after recounts in all three towns in the district. Fazio's supporters believe he can defeat Stewart in a primary, adding that the pair could be a strong ticket if Stewart ran for lieutenant governor as she did in 2018 after dropping out of the governor's race. She was defeated in a three-way race by state Sen. Joe Markley, a conservative Republican who later ran on the ticket with Madison business executive Bob Stefanowski in a losing effort against Lamont. As a fellow Greenwich resident, Lamont has worked together with Fazio on various issues, including the much-debated Senate Bill 4 that aimed to reduce the cost of electricity for consumers across the state. 'Look, he's a good guy,' Lamont told reporters recently of Fazio. 'I've gotten to know him along the way down there in Greenwich. He can do what he wants to do. I like working with him. … I worked with him on the energy bill, for example. It's the political season. This will keep coming up.' When asked by a television reporter if he would rather run against Fazio or Stewart, Lamont said, 'That's probably not a great issue for me to get into. Look, I think I saw Ryan is going to run as a fiscal conservative. He doesn't want to raise taxes. Keep the balanced budget. I think we've done a pretty good job of that over the last six years.' Another potential Republican opponent, Westport First Selectwoman Jen Tooker, hailed Lamont's veto of the housing bill as 'a victory.' In the short term, Lamont could be facing competition within his own party as Elliott, a deputy House Speaker, has filed paperwork to jump into the race. Elliott has said he would run in the same way that he challenged then-sitting House Speaker Brendan Sharkey in a 2016 primary before Sharkey abruptly retired. Elliott's formal announcement will be next Monday at 1 p.m. in front of town hall in his hometown of Hamden. State Rep. Nick Gauthier, a freshman from Waterford, wrote in a lengthy op-ed in The Courant on Monday that Lamont should not seek a third term. He follows Sen. Saud Anwar of South Windsor, who penned a similar op-ed last month. Gauthier said he first voted for Lamont at the age of 19 in August 2006 when Lamont defeated U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in an upset before losing in the general election. Today, he says Lamont should step aside due to his vetoes of the housing bill and another controversial bill that would have awarded unemployment benefits to striking workers after 14 days off the job. 'As the governor of our state and the de facto head of our Connecticut Democratic Party, Lamont has a responsibility to stand with our workers and our working families both in deed and in law,' he said. 'Instead, Lamont chose to veto pro-worker legislation put on his desk by a consensus of over 85% of his own Democratic party lawmakers.' Looking ahead to the 2026 race, Stewart said that Connecticut does not have to be the same as politics at the national level. 'When we look at politics nationally now, and because of the way that things have been with Biden, Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris, we look for those nasty digs,' Stewart said. 'That was created by the higher-ups in both parties — Republican and Democrat. We look for those nasty digs. We look for the tweets. We look for the memes. We look for that stuff. I'm certainly not a boring candidate, not by any means, but I was also raised to be respectful, too. I would never want to disappoint my parents or my grandparents in embarrassing them like that.' Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea's New Britain region, EMSC says
(Reuters) -A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea on Monday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.
Associated Press
25-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
RESCUE-II Study Results Demonstrate Safety and Feasibility of the BASHIR™ Endovascular Catheter (BEC) in Treating Pulmonary Embolism (PE) On-The-Table (OTT)
New Britain, PA June 25, 2025 --( )-- NeThrombolex, Inc., a medical device manufacturer committed to advancing solutions for the treatment of arterial and venous thromboembolic diseases, announced the publication of the results from the RESCUE-II Study in JACC: Advances. The RESCUE-II Study was a single-center, prospective study evaluating the safety and feasibility of OTT pharmaco-mechanical lysis (PML) without postprocedural infusion when treating patients with acute intermediate-risk PE. 9 patients were enrolled and successfully treated with low dose r-tPA (4mg per pulmonary artery) using the BEC. At 48 hours, the mean RV/LV ratio decreased by 22.3%, and pulmonary artery obstruction, as measured by the Refined Modified Miller Index, was reduced by 29.2%. There were no major bleeding events, no deaths or serious adverse events through 30-day follow-up. 'This marks a significant milestone for our Company, as we are proud to contribute high quality evidence to the field and remain committed to advancing innovative treatments.' said Michael Cerminaro, President & CEO of Thrombolex. 'We would like to thank Senator Steve Santarsiero and the Department of Community and Economic Development of the Commonwealth of PA for their grant funding support of this important clinical research.' 'The RESCUE-II Study demonstrated encouraging safety and feasibility, while reinforcing the clinical value of this novel OTT protocol,' said, Dr. Vlad Lakhter, IC at Temple University Hospital. 'These results warrant further investigation in larger, multicenter trials like the RAPID-PE Study, which is currently enrolling patients.' An independent data safety monitoring board adjudicated all clinical events for the RESCUE-II Study, while imaging data was assessed by an independent Core laboratory. The publication is available online in JACC: Advances: About Thrombolex, Inc. Founded in 2016, Thrombolex is engaged in the design, development, and distribution of innovative endovascular catheters used in interventional procedures, particularly in pharmaco-mechanical lysis (PML) in patients who suffer from arterial and venous thromboembolic conditions. The Company is currently marketing eight (8) different FDA-cleared devices that are all based on the BASHIR™ Endovascular Catheter platform technology. For general inquiries, please contact Thrombolex at [email protected] or for more information about Thrombolex and its solutions, visit Contact Information: Thrombolex, Inc. Tony Litwiller (704) 408-0927 Contact via Email Read the full story here: RESCUE-II Study Results Demonstrate Safety and Feasibility of the BASHIR™ Endovascular Catheter (BEC) in Treating Pulmonary Embolism (PE) On-The-Table (OTT) Press Release Distributed by
