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California to give ‘baby bonds’ to children who lost parent or guardian to COVID

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California to give ‘baby bonds’ to children who lost parent or guardian to COVID


SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Parenting — that lengthy chain of choices that hopefully results in a well-rounded grownup — was at all times rather less anxious for Laura Guerra as a result of her husband, Rigo, was “100% in it” for his or her daughter, Emilia.

However Rigo died from COVID-19 on Christmas Eve in 2020, alone in a hospital room whereas Guerra watched helplessly from the opposite facet of a window. Since then, left to boost their now 2-year-old daughter largely by herself, Guerra’s thoughts hasn’t stopped racing.

WATCH: Remembering a number of the 1 million People misplaced to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic

“I’m always considering,” she mentioned. “Each determination that I make, if I make the incorrect determination, she’s going to endure for it. And that scares the hell out of me.”

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Now, California is utilizing a few of its record-setting finances surplus to assist ease Guerra’s thoughts, and people of others like her. Final month, California grew to become the primary state to decide to establishing belief funds for kids who misplaced a guardian or caregiver to the pandemic.

The cash — $100 million in whole — will go into interest-bearing accounts for kids from low-income households who’ve misplaced a guardian to COVID and to youngsters who’re within the state’s foster care system. State lawmakers haven’t determined how a lot cash every youngster will get, however one early proposal would give youthful youngsters $4,000 and older youngsters $8,000. That will be sufficient to supply funding for about 16,000 youngsters, who might spend the cash as soon as they change into adults.

“As a mother, this offers me a little bit little bit of that safety again,” mentioned Guerra, who has been advocating for the belief funds as a member of the advocacy group COVID Survivors for Change. “I don’t need her to proceed to be a sufferer of this virus ceaselessly.”

The primary U.S. financial savings bonds have been launched within the Nineteen Thirties to boost cash for the federal government and provides bizarre People a possibility to take a position. These bonds have been nicknamed “child bonds,” as a result of dad and mom would typically purchase them for his or her youngsters.

These modern-day child bonds are totally different in that, as an alternative of being bought by dad and mom, the federal government offers the cash to youngsters from low-income households without cost. Advocates have held up the concept as a method to assist shut the racial wealth hole between white and minority households, who have been largely excluded from the federal wealth-building packages through the Nice Melancholy.

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Hillary Clinton briefly included a child bonds proposal in her 2008 presidential marketing campaign platform, and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker launched a nationwide child bonds invoice in Congress that has but to go.

The Washington D.C. Metropolis Council handed a child bond program in 2021, committing to provide low-income youngsters $500 plus one other $1,000 annually that their dad and mom stay beneath a sure earnings stage. Final yr, Connecticut was the primary state to approve a statewide child bonds program — though it hasn’t been funded but.

The thought is much like assured earnings packages that give money to low-income folks every month with no restrictions on how they’ll use it. California has a number of such packages on the native stage, modeled after high-profile demonstration challenge in Stockton that launched three years in the past.

Whereas assured earnings packages are about serving to folks with short-term bills, child bonds are in regards to the future. Youngsters couldn’t contact the cash till they attain maturity. Throughout that point, the cash would develop by gathering curiosity funds from a financial institution.

How a lot cash they youngsters will get is dependent upon how lengthy the account grows. For youthful youngsters, advocates hope they may have between $20,000 and $40,000 as soon as they change into adults.

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“Earnings and wealth are various things,” mentioned Michael Tubbs, the previous mayor of Stockton who’s now an advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom and founding father of the advocacy group Finish Poverty in California. “Folks ought to have the wherewithal to pay their payments immediately … however the subsequent era shouldn’t should stay paycheck to paycheck.”

California’s child bonds program is the most recent in a surge of recent spending geared toward combating poverty. Since 2018, California has spent $13 billion on an array of recent legal guidelines and coverage adjustments which have lifted an estimated 300,000 youngsters out of poverty, in line with a report launched earlier this yr by Grace, a California-based nonprofit.

That spending features a $1,000 tax credit score for low earnings households with younger youngsters, a common college meals program, school financial savings accounts for low-income youngsters and a dedication to ship each 4-year-old to kindergarten without cost.

The group hopes California’s child bonds program is only a first step. Its objective is to finally have the state give belief funds to each youngster within the state born right into a low earnings household.

“The objective has at all times been, ‘How will we assist finest arrange low earnings youngsters for his or her future?’ mentioned Shimica Gaskins, president and CEO of Grace. “We had actually relied on instructional pathways, but additionally know that money and money help and alternative are equally necessary.”

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It’s not clear if the Legislature would broaden this system to incorporate all youngsters from low-income households. State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley and chair of the Senate Finances Committee, mentioned lawmakers will carefully watch the COVID survivor bond program to see the way it works.

“The nice irony of California particularly, however the nation as a complete, is we’ve got such wealth but it surely’s so concentrated,” Skinner mentioned. “No matter we are able to do that may tackle that earnings inequality is important to do.”

The state treasurer’s workplace will handle the cash in interest-bearing accounts. As soon as the recipients change into adults, they’ll spend the cash nonetheless they need. However advocates hope they’ll use it for issues like a down fee for a home, school tuition or a automotive.

Guerra mentioned she doesn’t understand how her daughter would use the cash as soon as she’s sufficiently old to spend it.

“I do no matter I can to steer her in the suitable course and to make her an excellent human being, proper?” she mentioned.

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For now, she’s targeted on ensuring her daughter, Emilia, remembers her father. To this point, her efforts seem like working.

Emilia Guerra sees her daddy in every single place. He’s within the image frames on the partitions of her room. He’s on the display of her mom’s telephone.

And he’s within the recesses of her 2-year-old thoughts, exhibiting his face to her in scattered moments throughout her bustling life.

“Randomly, we will probably be sitting someplace and he or she says, ‘Hello Daddy!’” Guerra mentioned. “I do inform her that mommy can’t see daddy. However perhaps she will.”

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California

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom says state will provide rebates if Trump removes tax credit for electric vehicles


California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will provide rebates to residents if President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration does away with a federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

In a news release issued Monday, Newsom said he would restart the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which provided financial incentives on more than 590,000 vehicles before it was phased out late 2023.

“We will intervene if the Trump Administration eliminates the federal tax credit, doubling down on our commitment to clean air and green jobs in California,” Newsom said. “We’re not turning back on a clean transportation future — we’re going to make it more affordable for people to drive vehicles that don’t pollute.”

The federal rebates on new and used electric vehicles were implemented in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. When Trump’s second term in office begins next year, he could work with Congress to change the rules around those rebates. Those potential changes could limit the federal rebates, including by reducing the amount of money available or limiting who is eligible.

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Limiting federal subsidies on electric vehicle purchases would hurt many American automakers, including Ford, General Motors and the EV startup Rivian. Tesla, which also builds its automobiles in the United States, would take a smaller hit since that company currently sells more EVs and has a higher profit margin than any other EV manufacturer.

Newsom also announced earlier this month that he will convene a special session “to protect California values,” including fundamental civil rights and reproductive rights, that he said “are under attack by this incoming administration.”

“Whether it be our fundamental civil rights, reproductive freedom, or climate action — we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said on X on Nov. 7.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This isn’t the first time California will be taking action against the Trump’s administration concerning clean transportation legislation.

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In 2019, California and 22 other states sued his administration for revoking its ability to set standards for greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards for vehicles, The Associated Press reported.

California sued the Trump administration over 100 times during his first term, primarily on matters including gun control, health care, education and immigration, the Los Angeles Times reported.



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45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence

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45 Years Later, California Murder Mystery Solved Through DNA Evidence


A 45-year-old cold case of a 17-year-old girl brutally raped and murdered has been resolved, bringing closure to the family. On February 9, 1979, Esther Gonzalez walked from her parents’ home to her sister’s in Banning, California, roughly 137 km east of Los Angeles. She never arrived. The next day, her body was discovered in a snowpack near a highway in Riverside County, California. Authorities determined she had been raped and bludgeoned to death, leading to an investigation that spanned decades.

The lab was able to match the DNA to a man named Lewis Randolph “Randy” Williamson, who died in 2014. Williamson, a US Marine Corps veteran, called authorities on the fateful day to report finding Ms Gonzalez’s body. At the time, he claimed he could not identify whether the body was male or female. Described as “argumentative” by deputies, Williamson was asked to take a polygraph test, which he passed, clearing him of suspicion in the pre-DNA era. He had faced assault allegations in the past but was never convicted of any violent crimes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Despite limited leads, the Riverside County cold case homicide team didn’t give up. A semen sample recovered from Ms Gonzalez’s body in 1979 was preserved but remained unmatched in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for decades.

In 2023, forensic technology finally caught up. The homicide team collaborated with a genetic lab in Texas that specialises in forensic genealogy. A sample of Williamson’s blood from his 2014 autopsy provided the DNA match needed to confirm him as the 17-year-old’s rapist and killer.

The Gonzalez family had mixed emotions—relief at finally having answers and sadness knowing Williamson would not face justice, as he died in Florida ten years ago. Ms Gonzalez, remembered by her family as a shy yet funny and mild-mannered young woman, was the fourth of seven children. Her oldest brother, Eddie Gonzalez, wrote on Facebook, “The Gonzalez family would like to thank the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on a job well done. After 40 years, the Gonzalez family has closure.”

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“We are very happy that we finally have closure,” Ms Gonzalez’s sister, Elizabeth, 64, shared with CNN. “We are happy about it but, since the guy has died, a little sad that he won’t spend any time for her murder.”




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Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California

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Bird Flu Virus Identified In Raw Milk Sold In California


The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has detected the avian influenza or “bird flu” virus in a sample of a raw milk product. The product which was for sale at retailers at the time of the testing has now been recalled by the producer after the state of California requested it’s withdrawal from sale.

The affected product is cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County with lot code 2024110. The best buy date of the batch is 11. Nov, 2024 meaning consumers could still have it in their homes. No illnesses have currently been reported from this batch of milk, but people can take several days to develop bird flu after exposure. According to the World Health Organization, most people develop symptoms within 2-5 days, but can take up to 17 days to develop.

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According to the CDC, bird flu symptoms may include fever or feeling feverish or chills, eye redness or irritation, and respiratory symptoms, such as cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and tiredness.

Customers should not consume any product matching the description above and should return the product to stores or dispose of it. The CDPH is also in the process of informing re also in the process of informing retailers about the infected product to notify them to remove it from their shelves. The CDPH has since visited both locations of the company’s farms and has found no further evidence of bird flu. The CDPH will continue to test the farm’s milk twice a week.

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The CDPH stresses that there is no risk of consuming pasteurized milk as the milk is heated to temperatures which inactivate bacteria and viruses. However raw milk does not go through this process, meaning any bacteria or viruses in the milk can be transferred to the consumer. Public health departments, as well as the CDC have long warned against the dangers of consuming raw milk, which has been responsible for outbreaks of Listeria, E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella, among other microbes.

California has been hit with bird flu outbreaks in both dairy cow herds and poultry farms with over 400 dairy herds affected as of 22. November. Twenty-nine human cases have also been recorded in the state, mostly individuals who have had close contact with infected livestock. The numbers of infected individuals are likely to be under reported and very little is known about the severity of disease in humans so far. Just two days ago, the CDC confirmed a case of H5N1 bird flu in a child in California with no known contact with livestock.



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