Latest news with #Metzgar
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Boynton bridge damage illustrates need for completed U.S. Route 219, lawmakers say
BOYNTON, Pa. – When raging floodwaters destroyed the Boynton Bridge late Tuesday, nature brought the critical U.S. Route 219 freight corridor to a halt, state lawmakers said Friday. The last six rural miles of two-lane Route 219 between Somerset and Maryland contain a series of vulnerable old bridges. And the Boynton Bridge's closure showed how damage to just one of the spans can disrupt the entire road network, redirecting the economic impact, said state Rep. Carl Metzgar, R-Somerset. State Sen. Patrick Stefano, R-Fayette, also stressed the importance of Route 219 – and of keeping commerce flowing through the region. Metzgar likened rural bridges like Boynton's to "bottlenecks" between two modern limited-access highways, Route 219 and Interstate 68. "This just highlights why we need (a four-lane) Route 219 completed," Metzgar said of a project that is proceeding toward the final design phase. "It's a perfect example of why we need that road done." PennDOT officials announced an action plan Friday to limit disruptions and detours through the corridor. Part of the $7 million plan will install a temporary truss bridge in Boynton while efforts get underway to build a new span by late 2026. Regarding the larger Route 219 completion project, state highway officials said in April that they still hope to receive their federal environmental impact clearance this summer to move the project forward. PennDOT, in lockstep with Somerset County officials, has a preferred six-mile route they hope to get clearance on, which will enable final design and right-of-way acquisition to get underway for the final segment of four-lane U.S. Route 219 to Maryland. $220 million is already secured for all of that that work, PennDOT officials reaffirmed in April – but the Somerset County commissioners are lobbying Washington, D.C., lawmakers for the final estimated $180 million that would enable construction, which is slated to begin in 2028, to wrap up the road expansion by 2031. "We're on track right now for 2031," Stefano said, adding that the project continues moving forward. The Boynton Bridge, he added, is just one more reason "why we have to make sure it stays on track."
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Can a GLP-1 Shrink Your Menopause Belly? What New Science Tells Us
Menopause can bring more than just hot flashes and mood swings, it can also usher in an expanding waistline that defies diet and exercise. Known as 'menopause belly,' it's the visceral fat that begins to accumulate around a woman's waistline in midlife and is linked to deeper metabolic changes that occur as estrogen levels drop. GLP-1 receptor agonists, like semaglutide and tirzepatide, are making headlines not just for dramatic weight loss, but also by proving to help target this hormone-driven transformation. More from Flow Space Menopause and Mental Health: Coping with Mood Swings and Anxiety But can these drugs really help shrink the hormonal belly bulge? What does the latest science say about GLP-1 safety and effectiveness for midlife women? Here's what you need to know. Menopause belly refers to the increase in abdominal fat that many women experience during and after menopause. 'This shift is driven primarily by hormonal changes, specifically the decrease in estrogen,' Catherine Metzgar, PhD, RD, director of coaching operations at Virta Health, told Flow Space. 'Estrogen plays a key role in regulating body fat distribution, and when levels decline, fat tends to accumulate more viscerally which is around abdominal organs.' This is a shift from pre-menopause, when fat tends to accumulate more in the hips and thighs. Other factors that contribute include: Insulin resistance or insulin sensitivity—associated with increased fat accumulation. Muscle loss—decreases with age, less muscles results in a slow metabolism. Stress and sleep issues—increase cortisol levels, which are linked to abdominal fat storage. These metabolic shifts do have long-term impacts on our health, added Metzgar. Visceral fat is linked to an increased risk for metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Originally developed for type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 drugs mimic a gut hormone that regulates blood sugar, curbs appetite and slows digestion. This can result in a reduced appetite, improved insulin sensitivity and weight loss, specifically in visceral fat. These effects are especially relevant during menopause, when insulin resistance tends to rise and metabolism slows. 'These GLP-1 medications can help by slowing the time it takes for your stomach to empty and by making you feel fuller longer,' Dr. Brunilda Nazario, chief medical officer at WebMD told Flow Space. 'These drugs can help restore your metabolism, making it easier to lose weight and improve body shape.' And now a new study has found that GLP-1 agonist, tirzepatide, can help with overall weight loss, as well as reduce deep abdominal fat and improve key cardiometabolic markers. Physicians from New York-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine found that a primary concern for women in menopause is weight gain. In order to better understand GLP-1s efficacy for women in midlife, they conducted a secondary analysis of data from the SURMOUNT clinical trial to determine the efficacy of tirzepatide in women in the premenopausal, perimenopausal and postmenopausal stages of life. What they found was that regardless of reproductive stage, tirzepatide was associated with significant body weight, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio reductions in women living with obesity or who are overweight. Tirzepatide, like other GLP-1s, delay gastric emptying and increase feelings of fullness, which help to reduce appetite and, therefore, food intake. These medications also improve insulin response and glucose control, which also supports weight loss. 'These results are not surprising and are consistent with other research evaluating GLP-1 medications and observed weight loss,' says Metzgar. 'Therefore, the findings can likely be applied to other GLP-1 agonists beyond tirzepatide. Even the authors of the study make a similar conclusion.' The researchers found that tirzepatide worked by targeting the visceral fat in menopausal women in the same way it targets fat for other individuals who used GLP-1 drugs. They also noted that lifestyle changes, like proper diet and exercise, were also an important piece of the equation to ensure optimal results. 'Based on our research, we believe clinicians prescribing tirzepatide can feel more confident recommending the medication to their patients, especially women reporting menopause-related weight gain,' the researchers concluded. 'The data provides reassurance that this medication is effective in the setting of perimenopause and menopause.'
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Trump's anti-trans order clashes with New York law
— This story originally appeared in New York Focus, a non-profit news publication investigating how power works in New York state. Sign up for their newsletter at 'None of us asked to be born a certain way,' Kelly Metzgar, a transgender woman and executive director of the Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance in Saranac Lake, told New York Focus. 'Tall, short, red hair, blond hair — this is how we were created.' Metzgar's brain and body used to feel unbalanced, driving her to the point of contemplating suicide. She says gender-affirming care saved her life. 'It made such a difference,' she said, providing her 'with a sense of wholeness.' Gender-affirming care helps align a person's body with their gender identity. Treatment differs from person to person but can include medical, psychological, social, and legal support. Both cisgender people — those whose gender identity corresponds with their sex assigned at birth — and transgender people receive and benefit from gender-affirming care. If they can access it. GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE Immediately upon retaking the Oval Office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to withhold funding from health care entities that provide gender-affirming medical care to people under 19. In the order, Trump described the care Metzgar credits with saving her life as 'mutilation' and a 'horrifying tragedy.' Trump's order sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community. Some healthcare providers — scared of losing their funding and confused about their legal obligations — stopped treating transgender youth. Hayley Gorenberg, a civil rights lawyer and co-chair of the New York City Bar Association's LGBTQ+ Rights Committee, told New York Focus that Trump's order has 'no mooring in medical reality.' Private plaintiffs, public interest groups, and state attorneys general quickly filed lawsuits to invalidate Trump's order. Federal judges have blocked the Trump administration from freezing any funding while the lawsuits play out. Letitia James, New York's attorney general, has a long history of battling Trump. Now, she's committed to fighting his anti-trans agenda. James warned hospitals that denying gender-affirming care to transgender people is against New York law, regardless of the availability of federal funding. The state's Human Rights Law — amended during the first Trump administration after years of advocacy by LGBTQ+ New Yorkers — expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation in places of 'public accommodation.' SANCTUARY STATE Legal experts told New York Focus that even if the federal courts ultimately uphold Trump's order, the Human Rights Law still requires that health care providers supply the same treatment to transgender people as they do cisgender people — including gender-affirming care. But while New York's law is clear, advocates say, litigation is not a cure-all. Metzgar said she's optimistic that New York will remain a 'sanctuary state' for transgender people. 'Letitia James will fight back,' said Metzgar. 'That's what we're hanging our hats on.' Hilary Avallone is the LGBTQ+ program manager for acr Health's Q Center, which supports LGBTQ+ youth and their families across nine counties in Central New York, the North Country, and the Mohawk Valley. She told New York Focus that Trump's order had an immediate effect, making already hard-to-get care even tougher to access. 'You know there's only so many pediatric providers for hormone replacement therapy,' Avallone said. She said some providers asked the Q Center to remove its resource guide listing recommended gender-affirming care providers from its website. Some providers put holds on appointments, and some stopped taking new patients, she heard. Since James's warning, Avallone said, the trans youth she works with have continued to receive the care they need. Metzgar said she hasn't heard of any providers in her area denying gender-affirming care, for which she also credits James. Not all providers have been so compliant. NYU LANGONE The NYU Langone health system stopped providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth after Trump's order. On March 13, Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, state Senator Kristen Gonzalez, and the 1199SEIU health care workers union sent a letter reminding NYU of James's warning and demanding the hospital resume its full suite of services for trans youth. They never got a response, Epstein told New York Focus. On Monday, hundreds of protestors marched on NYU Langone. The protestors carried some 10,000 letters demanding that the hospital resume its gender-affirming services, which Gonzalez says the hospital refused to accept. 'NYU must affirm their commitment to providing gender-affirming care to all patients who seek it, whether they be youth or adults, whether existing or new — in compliance with state law,' Gonzalez said in a statement. 'If we're going to beat fascism, we have to stand together.' NYU Langone declined to comment for this article. VARIETY OF TREATMENTS Gender-affirming care encompasses a variety of types of support — name and clothing changes, updating official documents, speech therapy, counseling, puberty blockers, and more. Medical interventions for transgender youth typically require the child's assent, parental consent, and approval by a mental health professional. Surgery is vanishingly rare for transgender youth. A Harvard study found that fewer than 0.01 percent of transgender and gender-divergent youth undergo gender-affirming surgery. Delaying or denying gender-affirming care can cause real harm to young people. Hormone therapy, for example, helps prevent permanent and distressing body changes. One study found that transgender and nonbinary youth who receive gender-affirming care are 73 percent less likely to have suicidal thoughts. Cisgender people benefit from hormone therapy and puberty blockers, too — to manage menopause symptoms, for example, or to treat early puberty. Denying care to transgender people while making it available to cisgender people is discrimination, Gorneberg said. 'And as the attorney general points out, that's illegal.' HUMAN RIGHTS LAW Enacted in 1945, New York's Human Rights Law guarantees everyone in the state 'equal opportunity to enjoy a full and productive life.' The law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, education, and places of 'public accommodation' — including hospitals and clinics. The state attorney general can investigate discrimination complaints and enforce the law. People experiencing discrimination can also sue on their own behalf or file a complaint with the state's Division of Human Rights. 'Being able to access the Division of Human Rights is really important,' said Susan Hazeldean, an associate dean at Brooklyn Law School — especially for people who don't have a lawyer. The Human Rights Law has long forbidden discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and national origin. In 2002, the state legislature expanded the law to cover sexual orientation — and in 2019, after a decades-long push by LGBTQ+ activists, to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Despite Trump's executive order, that protection still applies to New York-based providers of gender-affirming care. Katie Eyer, an anti-discrimination law scholar and professor at Rutgers Law School, noted that New York has some of the strongest protections in the country for transgender people — and that Trump can't unilaterally override them. 'It's right there,' she said. 'There's no debate.' But even when the law is clear, legal advocacy has its limits. A VERY GRAVE THREAT Litigating even straightforward discrimination cases takes resources and forces victims to wait for relief. and despite New York law, Trump's executive order may still have severe financial ramifications. Advocates are unsure how health care providers that comply with New York's Human Rights Law would make up for lost federal funding. 'It is a very grave threat,' said Hazeldean. 'Federal support for the provision of health care is vital.' Eyer said it's also unclear if insurance will continue to cover gender-affirming care for transgender people. Not all plans have to comply with New York's anti-discrimination laws. Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal introduced a bill that would require Medicaid to cover the costs of gender-affirming care, even if Trump succeeds in cutting off federal funding. Federal judges have blocked Trump from withholding funding from health care providers while lawsuits against the order proceed, indicating they believe the lawsuits will likely be successful. One judge wrote that Trump's order 'facially discriminates on the basis of transgender status' and 'does not survive constitutional scrutiny.' Ultimately, Trump's order could reach the United States Supreme Court. It's unclear how they would rule: Conservative justices hold a 6-3 majority on the court, but two of them have joined with liberal justices to hold that anti-trans discrimination is illegal, at least in the context of employment law. 'MY DEATH IS NOT A SURRENDER' Trump and his allies have threatened federal judges with impeachment if they rule against the president and stoked fears that the administration may openly defy court decisions. New York's protections have led many to view it as a 'safe haven' and 'sanctuary state' for transgender people. 'We've had a lot of folks coming from other states wanting to access care,' said Avallone. More may make the trip in the wake of Trump's order. But even a 'safe haven' can be a dark place. This February, Sam Nordquist, a 24-year-old Black transgender man from Minnesota, was found dead in a field in Canandaigua, a small city in New York's Ontario County. Nordquist was an animal lover who worked alongside his mother in a group home for people with disabilities. Before his death, police said, Nordquist was sexually assaulted and tortured for over a month. Seven people have been charged with his murder. Authorities have declined to charge the killing as a hate crime. In January, Elisa Rae Shupe, a transgender activist and retired army sergeant first class, hanged herself from the top of the Syracuse VA Medical Center parking garage, her body wrapped in a transgender pride flag. The VA's inpatient psychiatry unit had discharged Shupe the day after Trump's inauguration. (The Syracuse VA declined to comment for this story.) Shupe reportedly aimed her last words at the Trump administration and the United States writ large. 'My death is not a surrender,' reads a note attributed to Shupe. 'You cannot erase non-binary and transgender people because you give birth to more of us each day.'
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania officials, agencies stepping in to help laid off coal mine workers
SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Pennsylvania officials and agencies are moving to help over 300 workers who were laid off Friday from a Somerset County coal mine. State Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar (R-Somerset) and Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker said they are working with Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry's Rapid Response to make services available to former Corsa Coal employees impacted by the layoffs. The rapid response team will hold an information meeting for employees Tuesday, April 8 at the Somerset County Technology Center at 281 Technology Drive in Somerset beginning at 10 a.m. The meeting will give the impacted workers a chance to connect with information about unemployment claims and re-employment opportunities. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Corsa Coal faces potential lawsuit for failing to notify of layoffs soon enough 'Like many of you, I have been following the media reports of the Corsa Coal layoffs that are clearly impacting our community,' Metzgar said. 'I know this time creates uncertainty for the employees of Corsa Coal and their families. My office is here to help with unemployment claims or other questions you have during this time.' 'When workers suddenly lose jobs that provide family-sustaining wages and benefits, the ripple effects are felt throughout our communities. The Department of Labor & Industry's Rapid Response team is actively engaged with Corsa Coal's parent company, Wilson Creek Energy, to support affected employees,' Secretary Walker said. Metzgar's office located at 1808 N. Center Ave., Suite 200, in Somerset is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is available for workers looking for assistance. Corsa Coal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and shut down their operations in Somerset County April 4. 332 employees were laid off by the company and its subsidiaries in Friedens. A federal bankruptcy judge recently approved a $23.5 million sale of Corsa mining assets to Johnstown-based LCT Energy and Kittanning-based Rosebud Mining. Both have a significant mining presence in the region. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Metzgar, state officials say they're working to help Corsa Coal workers impacted by layoffs
SOMERSET, Pa. – Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry officials plan to meet next week with hundreds of Corsa Coal employees being laid off amid the mining company's closure, officials said. State Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar, R-Somerset, said he recognized the 'uncertainty' the shutdown creates for the workers and their families – and said that state officials are actively engaged in ensuring they have support available to help them move forward. The Department of Labor & Industry's Rapid Response Team is stepping in to communicate with employees, as well as Corsa Coal subsidiary Wilson Creek Energy, to ensure that proper support services are provided, officials said. 'I have contacted Gov. (Josh) Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry's Rapid Response team to ensure impacted employees have the necessary services readily available to them,' Metzgar said. In a message to Corsa Coal employees, he added: 'My office is here to help with unemployment claims or other questions you have during this time.' Corsa Coal announced the layoffs in March, just two months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as an effort to try to work through financial struggles. Corsa Coal and its Wilson Creek Energy subsidiary throughout Somerset County are impacted, including 332 workers whose layoffs are effective this Friday. Last week, a federal bankruptcy judge approved a $23.5 million sale of Corsa mining assets to Johnstown-based LCT Energy and Kittanning-based Rosebud Mining, which both have a significant mining presence in the region. Rosebud Mining has indicated that approximately 50 of Corsa's workers will be offered work with that company. That would leave many more employees at a difficult crossroads, but state officials are willing to help, Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker said. An informational meeting Tuesday for laid-off Corsa workers will 'immediately connect impacted workers with critical resources and meaningful re-employment opportunities,' she said. 'When workers suddenly lose jobs that provide family-sustaining wages and benefits, the ripple effects are felt throughout our communities,' Walker said. The Department of Labor & Industry's Rapid Response team is actively engaged with Corsa Coal and Wilson Creek Energy to support affected employees, she said. Metzgar's office is also available to provide support, he said. Anyone impacted by the closure was invited to stop by 1808 N. Center Ave., Suite 200, Somerset, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays or call 814-443-4230 for assistance, he said.
