Baby Bottles

Maryland residents gained a few more protections against predatory financial practices, such as refund anticipation loans and foreclosure during the 2010 General Assembly session. But legislators punted on other issues. For instance, they decided to study whether to regulate debt settlement companies and revisit the issue during the next session — leaving customers at risk in the meantime, said Marceline White, executive director of the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition. "Failure to act is still an action," she said.

A health day is scheduled for Sunday Healthy Howard Day, a day of outdoor physical activities, health education and screenings, will be held from 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Sunday at Centennial Park in Ellicott City. Games, crafts, performances and a Healthy Kid Zone specifically designed for children are also planned. The event is presented by We Promote Health and supported by County Executive Ken Ulman, the Howard County school system, Howard County Health Department, Howard County Chamber of Commerce, Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, Howard County General Hospital, the Columbia Association, the Y of Central Maryland and the Horizon Foundation.

Six months ago, a bureaucrat typed four words on little Messiah Wright's death certificate that forced Hattie Chambers to take an extended leave from her job to become a full-time activist on his behalf: "Multiple Blunt Force Injuries." Messiah, who turned 20 months old on the day he was fatally beaten, died where he was born, at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, just before midnight Oct. 10. It was the end of a brief life of transiency. Bounced between Baltimore, New Jersey and South Carolina, Messiah found respite in the care of Chambers, a 42-year-old retirement home dietitian.

Thousands of chemicals are used in consumer products, and a group of public health and environmental organizations gathered at the Inner Harbor on Tuesday to rally for better oversight of them. A coalition called Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families formed outside an Inner Harbor hotel where chemical industry officials were holding a conference. The rally comes ahead of debate in Congress over legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has not been updated since 1976.

Thousands of chemicals are used in consumer products and a group of public health and environmental organizations gathered in the Inner Harbor Tuesday to rally for better oversight of them. The coalition called Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families formed outside the of the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel where chemical industry officials were holding a conference. The rally also comes ahead of debate in Congress over legislation to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act, which hasn't been updated since 1976.

WASHINGTON -- They warned you about Chinese food, oil-soaked movie popcorn and cinnamon buns. They said no to chimichangas and called fettuccine Alfredo a "heart attack on a plate."Now, the nation's food police have taken on a new scourge: Soft drinks.Today's kids are drinking too much of the stuff -- and not drinking the things they should, such as milk, water and fruit juice, said Michael F. Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington watchdog group.

During the Katrina disaster, Robbie Prepas, a certified nurse midwife from California, delivered five babies in the New Orleans Airport and twins in an ambulance en route to Baton Rouge. She triaged several hundred pregnant moms by listening to their fetal heartbeats, providing antenatal and postpartum care. "I have worked in disaster situations all over the world, and Hurricane Katrina was the worst I have ever been involved in," said Ms. Prepas, a member of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.

Gov. Martin O'Malley gave the state more power to prosecute Medicaid fraud and established a patient-centered medical care program, among the 170 bills he signed into law Tuesday morning. "Today is a great day for health care," said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who lobbied for the bills on behalf of the governor. The Democratic administration said the measures will help the state reduce medical costs and improve care. The crackdown on Medicaid fraud comes after three years of unsuccessful attempts to pass the legislation, Brown said.

Fire leaves 3 children dead, their mother injured Fire swept through a Montgomery County apartment early yesterday, killing three children and critically injuring their mother, authorities said. Elsie Nuka, 4-month-old Makenzie Foncham and her sisters, 2-year-old Megan and 4-year-old Chanelle, were unconscious and not breathing when firefighters arrived at the Windsor Court Apartments in Burtonsville shortly before 5 a.m., county Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer said. Firefighters found Makenzie on a bed, and Nuka, 30, and the two older girls on the floor nearby, Piringer said.