>> building a better bay area. moving forward. finding solutions. this is abc7 news. ♪ hello. i'm kristen sze. you are watching "getting answers" on abc7. every day, we talk with experts about issues important to the bay area and we get answers for you in real time. today, president biden wants the airlines to give you cash if they cancel or significantly delay your flight when it is preventable. he proposes new rules today, and air going.com us to explain what this means. in the professional businesswomen of california conference is network, grow, and be inspired. one of the speakers will share with us her expertise on improving your emotional health. but first, are you confused by food labels at the grocery

store? do you understand the difference between the labels used by, cell by, best buy? if you don't, you are not alone. a new bill seeks to make new labels uniform and less confusing. joining us me is assembly member jackie of seven oaks in southern california, assembly member erwin, thanks for your time. what is the problem as you see it with food labels today? what do you see out there that is troubling? >> often, you might be gone for a week from home and you decide you would like a salad, you go to your refrigerator and pull out some lettuce and you are not sure when you bought it and use say sell by date on it, and what does that mean? that sell by date is completely meaningless to consumers. you don't know if that salad expired on the sell by date or two weeks later. so we really want to make it clear through maybe 660 what it

is that consumers are getting -- ab 660 what it is that consumers are getting when they see food with various labels on them. right now they will see food that says expires on, enjoyed by, best before -- what we want is to use the industry's own adopted standard, best if used by, to indicate peak freshness or otherwise for the safety of the food. kristen: as determined by scientists, whom? >> . the industry itself. in 2017, the industry came up with the standards. but they have been voluntary for the last six years or so. if you go to the grocery store, you will see that there is not wide adoption of these labels. i was in the cheese section a couple of days ago and there were four different labels or cheese, one of the most is the date, one of them was best if used by, there was one, expires

on, and that is very for consumers. kristen: when i see cell by for the mill, i taste it, it could be good for a week or two. what is the problem with -- some people just chuck it. what is a problem with that? >> the problem is 20% of foodways can be attributed to consumer confusion. when that food is thrown in the trash goes into the landfill, it leads to methane as the food rots and that leads to climate change. in addition you are wasting a great deal of food that could still be eaten. kristen: as there an estimate on how much we waste each year because of this kind of confusion? >> we are estimating consumers lose out on $1200 to $1300 a year because of this confusion on the date labels -- on what

the date labels really mean. kristen: we really don't need that especially with how expensive food is these days. so they are choosing different labels, so basically this has been confusing. the display out in your own family, and that brought you the author of this bill -- to author this bill? >> absolutely. we have a whole range of feelings about labels in our family. when my son thinks, he sees that as that of the door into the trash. even for my family to have that clarity would be extreme helpful. kristen: >> use by indicates the safety of the food. kristen: as of don't eat after this date. i see. >> obviouslyergoing to have

to do a lot of education, but right now consumers are very confused. kristen: when we have mixed mash now, it leads to edible, good food being thrown out. does it also lead to bad food being consumed or not? >> i think certainly when you are confused about what the cell by label means -- sell by label means, you could have bad food being consumed, too. would definitely hear anecdotal stories of people opening up meat that had a certain label on it and it smelled bad. we just want to make this really clear for consumers. right now we do get the -- sorry, the opposition saying, we really want the u.s. to lead, we don't want california to impose these roles on our manufacturers and producers. but california leads in many areas. and this is an area where i think six years is long enough of a way to really clarify the issue for consumers. kristen: i think you are

referring to the consumer brands association that is opposing it. i did read that it was siding, we need federal rules, we don't want to mishmash different rules state to state. that could hurt interstate commerce. i want to review think there's any validity to it at all given that california farmers and ranchers to produce a lot and sell to other states. >> we don't think there is validity to their arguments. we do think that california can lead the way with these very clear labels are consumer friendly and environment friendly. kristen: what is the cost? is there an increase in cost due to this labeling? or is it the same? >> i just -- we don't really think there's going to be any big cost. you just have to change the type on your boxes. and we do give it some time to phase in. certainly, we continue to work with the grocers and the consumer brands to see if we can do something to help them, for

instance, with a date, to help their employees figure out when they should remove food from the shelf. but the sell by date again is inward facing, not for consumers. kristen: i always wondered about that. why do i need to know that? it is buy by this date. it is not consumer friendly. i understand this has made it through to committees so far with bipartisan support. what is next? half how long is the process -- how long is the process? >> it is always a long process when you go through the legislature. right now it is an appropriations and then it'll go to the awesomely floor. than the whole process begins again in the senate. we are hoping that this bill makes it to the governor's desk, because it is just common sense. kristen: if it does happen for this legislative year, when would it take affect? >> -- take effect? >> i believe it would take

effect january of next year. but not sure on that one. kristen: i guess you will have to get past first. first things first. by the way, do you think this is something that takes the industry time to react or is it pretty quick once it is passed into law? >> we hope that it is quick. most food already has these labels on it. we just want them to slightly change the words that they use. kristen: remind us once again to sum it up, what are the two options you want there to be? not all these 5, 10, dozen options. >> we would like it, best if used by, to indicate quality, or used by, to indicate safety. kristen: got it. for anything perishable. thank you so much, assembly member jackie irwin of 1000 oaks. really appreciate your time. coming up next -- president biden has a plan.

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kristen: if you have flown in the fast year, you have had your flight either canceled or majorly delayed. president biden today proposes airlines pay you when the airlines leave you stranded. >> i know how frustrated many of you are, the service you get from your u.s. airlines. especially after you, the american taxpayer, stepped up in 2020, the last administration, in the early days of the pandemic to provide nearly $50

billion in assistance to keep the airline industry afloat. i get it. . that is why our top priority has been to get american air travelers a better deal. kristen: the biden administration is having the transportation department rewrite some regulations. details are not exactly out yet. but how might they benefit you? joining us to talk about that and other summer travel news is the founder of going.com. scott kai, great to see you. they want to compensate travelers for preventable cancellations and delays. this would be not just voucher but cash and mandatory? >> that's right. the details are still forthcoming on it. the proposed rule would require airlines to do two things, when there is a delay or cancellation that's within the airline's control, they would be required to first cover your traveler's out-of-pocket expenses, think hotels, meals, taxi to get to the hotel, but second, this is

the real innovation, require airlines to provide compensation for travelers for their loss kind of time and had -- and headache. that's been the case in europe for decades. that has not been the case in the u.s.. i think it would be a real big boost to american travelers' rights if it comes to pass. kristen: i know we don't have dollar figures yet, but maybe you can tell us what airlines currently offer for things like that. is there a standard, or is it airline by airline? >> right now, it is completely subjective and totally up to the airline agent's discretion. your rights as a traveler, when in airline delays were canceled your flight, you are entitled to zero dollars in compensation under federal law. that is different for a few as an american are flying in europe and the airline delays your flight. you are entitled to up to $650 in compensation. in addition to being able to take your flight.

we will see what the actual dollar figures look like here. i think it's important to note that this could go a long way in improving the sort of low status that flying has come to be in many people's minds here in the u.s. kristen: it certainly would be an incentive for the airlines to do better. they don't want to pay all that money. is unenforceable? -- is it enforceable? sometimes dot says it is going to do this and it takes years to have it happen, if at all. >> absolutely. this is something going through the federal rulemaking process. this is not something that is happening overnight and they will likely take a year and a half, two years until this will go through the required democratic process in order for it to become law. but if it does, and i'm hopeful that it will. i think it would go a long way in making it so that when an airline doesn't provide the service that you purchased from

them, compensating you for your lost time is a simple matter of fairness. so i'm hopeful that will come sooner rather than later. it could take months if not years. but it's a step in the right direction and i think it could be a big boost for travelers' rights here in the u.s.. kristen: cancellations were off the charts last summer and over winter break, the southwest situation, everybody stranded. are things improving already, heading into the busy travel season? >> they been improving pretty well. what we have seen the past 12 months is about 11 months, 11.5 months of pretty smooth skies, when it comes to delays in cancellations. and about 2-3 weeks or so of horrendous experiences when it comes to those flight disruptions. that was not only the infamous southwest debacle over christmas and new year's. but also at the beginning of last summer use airlines with a

schedule that was far more expensive than they were able to fly or support. they had to have many delays and cancellations to kick off summer 2022. if this rule were in effect then, it would have given travelers millions, if not tens of millions of dollars in compensation for that lost time and had a that they had to experience -- headache they had to experience because the airlines within the control went ahead and delayed and canceled many flights, rather than operate the schedule they had promised. kristen: bottom line, you think this summer won't be as bad? >> bottom line, i'm hopeful, i'm cautiously optimistic this summer is going to be better. i think the airlines were caught flat-footed last summer. we are more prepared this year. it is a big test for the airlines. i will be the first to hold their feet to the fire of they are not able to step up and fly that schedule they are promising travelers. kristen: i want to switch gears and talk about some deals and how to get them. people are planning right now,

or panicking because they have not planned. which destinations would you say people can find good deals for the summer? >> yeah, so, look, we are comin right up on the heels of summer here. time is running out if you're hoping to get a good deal. your best bet is to do a few things here. target travel during the first two weeks of june or the last two weeks of august. those are periods in the summer when you are likely to see airfare that is 40% lower than what it will cost in the middle of summer -- think mid-june through mid-august. in terms of cheap destinations, your best bet is to look into hawaii, there are fares from san francisco to hawaii for $318 nonstop round-trip on a full-service airline. and to look internationally not to europe where a lot of those best deals were sold out months ago, but actually down

south. there are a lot of great deals over to cololmbia -- or even brazil to take advantage of the weather that usually might be pretty hot but because of the southern hemisphere, you'll be able to get a little bit cooler weather down in brazil. a great time to go at that dfare. kristen: is there a best or worst day to buy an airline ticket? >> there is no best date of purchase your ticket. it used to be the case 20 years ago, may be tuesday at 1 p.m. was considered the best time when airlines first started selling tickets online. that is not true now for years. there are best days to take your flight, tuesday, wednesday, and saturdays. those are days that business travelers tend to avoid. so airlines often are offering pretty steep discounts, if you are willing to travel in

those beginning of the week type days. you can see fares often 30% to 40% lower than if you're traveling say on a monday or friday. kristen: i've got to ask you about this. this caught my eye when we ran the story. see the barefoot ? from sfo to houston, there was a passenger who punched a flight attendant. is that -- no shoes and socks -- etiquette wise, is that ok? >> i would have trouble endorsing it. i would encourage folks to keep those shoes on and try to be as respectful as possible considering you are in a metal tube with 200 other strangers. i am firmly on the side of keep your shoes on, please. kristen: that's not the department of transportation's regulation department, is it? >> unfortunately not. kristen: sco, thank you so much. >> my pleasure.

kristen: thousands of women, coming together to network, grow and be inspired. the 34th annual professional business of california conference is tomorrow. one of the speakers will share with us her expertise on improving our emotional health.

kristen: the 34th annual professional business of california conference is tome f womenelthr. itsy to atten and any inspirational speakers. this year's theme is engaged. one of the speakers who will help us engage is the head of operations and emotional fitness for coaa, a bay area startup that is like got it. you nailed it. all right . well, dr sandhu, nice to have you here. are you excited about the conference tomorrow? i am so

excited to just be in community with so many folks. i know that i'm a remote worker like i know a lot of other prep professionals are and so just to be connecting with others will be honestly will highlight for me. yeah and it speaks to your expertise. right? especially the engaged theme is very relevant because many women and just professionals in general feel disengaged disconnected after the pandemic, a lot feel burnt out unrewarded. so how do we, you know what can we do? how do we address that? yeah well, one of the big topics i'll be talking about you said one of the b words burn out. the other b word i'll be talking about is boundaries. so what does that mean? in terms of our time in terms of our energy, you know, now that we're i think i can formally say post covid now that the world health organizations that it's over, it's a lot of us are feeling exhausted and we're not feeling so motivated about the work that we are doing. and so one of the topics i'm excited to talk about really is what are the things we can do on a daily

basis in our work to set us up for six. ss and to not be burnt out. can you give us a few tips on how to do that? yeah so i have something like to call my weekly. no which is i start monday. i look at what my week looks like, uh, challenge myself to actually say no to one thing on my calendar, it might be to a meeting. it might be to a social event. but maybe i was excited about two weeks ago, and now i look at it and just the thought of it. i feel exhausted. just thinking about it. so there's one thing on monday that we can just say no to i love that. i actually think, especially as women. maybe it's very hard to say no. incredibly hard. we want people to like us. you know, i don't i don't want to be rejected. i don't want someone to seem like i'm not the go to person and particularly for professional women. i think we've gotten so used to saying yes that in fact, that is probably one of the reasons why we're feeling so burnt out these days. yeah hard to say no at work, and then you know, with

your family kids husband or, you know, wif y're like, no, it's just it's so hard to say, but we gotta practice that so that's good. what else do you think we should keep in mind, and this is very relevant for this month to maybe mental health awareness month. what do you think we should be aware of more? i think one of the things to think about with our mental health is to be proactive. we don't have to wait for a crisis to happen before we start learning about these skills, like managing burnout or setting boundaries, because the good news is when that crisis happens when that hard thing happens, which we know it's going to already have had practice under your belt and improving your mental health. got it could be a little boundaries. give me an example of a little boundary that you can set for yourself. yes so i have one at work, i'll say for folks that might apply to which is if there's no agenda to the meeting. then i say no to the meeting. and the idea here is i want to know where is my time going? is this value to me ? and if i'm if i'm not unsure, or someone can't actually tell

me what the benefit is that i actually take that off my calendar? that is great. how many of us? i mean? we've all been in meetings like that. you're like, why are we here again? what are we here to accomplish and decide. um look, i know koa. it is a gym for mental health is how you look at it right. that implies you have to work out right? achieve strong emotional health. so what's in that training regimen? yeah that's exactly it. so through our research, we have found that there are seven traits of emotional fitness. the seven skills, the muscle groups we know we can lean into in order to be proactive about our mental health. so it's self awareness, empathy, mindfulness curiosity, resilience, playfulness and communication. and so the idea here is working on our mental health, just like you would have push up. we're just takes a few minutes a day or mental health can actually be the exact same practice. and how do we build up that foundation of resilience? i love this doctor veneto sandhu with koa and your psychologist who will

be speaking at p. bwc tomorrow. it's virtual. so, folks, if you go to pwc dot org, you can check it out. get tickets, get yourself registered and listen to dr sanders sharing conversation with lots of great speakers. thank you so much. thank you were excited. definitely exciting, by the way , reminder. you can also get our live newscast breaking news weather and more with our abc seven barriers. streaming tv app it's available on apple tv, google tv, fire tv and raku just search abc seven bay area and download it now we'll be right back. packing tape is like roadside assistance. quality matters. triple a america's most recommended roadside service ydc the uimespe with variety of outdoor collections

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from around the bay area world news tonight with david myers next bye bye. reporting inside the shopping mall massacre authorities investigating it as a possible case of domesticerrorismow, andll, texas outside dallas video showing the gunmen armed with an ar style rifles are immediately firing. a chopper's eight people killed, including two children, sisters shopping with their mother. a hero police officer calling for help than taking down the shooter on his own tonight. the witness inside of a bathroom closet at the mall , and investigators telling abc news about the gunman's disturbing posts dismissed by the army after just three months and tonight with police now say they found when they searched the suspect's home a