SALEM, OR (December 6, 2023) – Free Speech For People (FSFP), along with Oregon co-counsel Jason Kafoury of Kafoury & McDougal and Daniel Meek, filed a lawsuit today in the Oregon Supreme Court on behalf of individual Oregon voters challenging Donald Trump’s candidacy. The lawsuit follows a letter sent to Secretary of State of Oregon, […]
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“Fight Books Ban Act” Introduced in Congress, with PEN America’s Endorsement
WASHINGTON December 5, 2023 – PEN America today joined with members of Congress Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jamie Raskin (MD-8), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24) for a press conference to mark introduction of the Fight Book Bans Act, which would provide federal grants to reimburse school districts that spend valuable resources on book challenges and review processes. PEN […]
Doctors Without Borders: The US must call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Dear President Biden, I am writing to you on behalf of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), our staff, and our patients to urgently request that the United States call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza. MSF has delivered medical aid in many high-intensity conflicts over more than 50 years, yet rarely have we encountered such […]
Nearly 1 Million Across U.S. Call For Ceasefire Now
WASHINGTON, November 29, 2023 – In response to the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Amnesty International USA, Avaaz, Demand Progress, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), MoveOn and Oxfam America delivered nearly 1 million signatures gathered by civil society organizations at the White House today, calling on President Biden to use his influence to bring about a sustained ceasefire between Palestinian armed […]
Experts to Examine a Controversial Forensic Test That Has Helped Convict Women of Murder
by Duaa Eldeib ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series: Stillbirths:When Babies Die Before Taking Their First Breath The U.S. has not prioritized stillbirth prevention, and American parents are losing babies even as other countries make larger strides […]
Lawsuit Seeks Records on Biden Administration’s Rejection of Fossil Fuel Phase-Out Petition
WASHINGTON, November 28, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity sued the U.S. Department of the Interior today to challenge its failure to release public records about why it rejected a rulemaking petition to phase out oil and gas extraction on public lands by 2035. “This lawsuit will shed light on the Biden administration’s dumbfounding refusal to align our […]
Wyden Urges DOJ to Release Information About ‘Hemisphere’ Phone Surveillance Program that would Outrage Americans and Congress
Washington, D.C. November 20, 2023 – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to make public documents related to the Hemisphere phone surveillance program, which allows federal, state, local and Tribal law enforcement agencies to request searches of trillions of U.S. phone records, usually without warrants. Although the documents are not […]
Over a third of Americans worry about getting the flu, RSV, or COVID-19
November 20, 2023 – Over a third of American adults worry that they or someone in their family will get the seasonal flu, Covid-19, or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in the next three months, according to a new health survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. Those three viral illnesses made […]
Groups Urge Court to Strike Down Army Corps’ Decision Greenlighting Ocean Fish Farming
SEATTLE, WA, November 13, 2023 — Center for Food Safety (CFS) has filed arguments seeking to revoke the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of nationwide permit 56, which authorizes industrial finfish aquaculture structures in ocean waters around the country. CFS represents a coalition of conservation, tribal, and fishing organizations, including the Quinault Indian Nation and […]
Merkley, Whitehouse, Huffman Press International Community to take Ambitious Action to Combat Plastic Pollution
Washington, D.C. November 13, 2023 – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), are urging U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to embrace strong action to combat plastic pollution at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC)’s session on plastic pollution starting today in Nairobi. In a letter to […]
Voters Reject Moms for Liberty and Its Agenda of Cruelty and Hate
November 9, 2023 – In red, blue, and purple states, voters across the country sent a clear and convincing message Tuesday rejecting an extremist education agenda, which censors our history, bans books, harms our students, stigmatizes trans students, LGBTQIA+ students, and educators, and students with LGBTQIA+ parents, and would give future generations fewer rights than […]
Ohioans fight for abortion rights in the face of politicians lies
WASHINGTON, D.C. November 6, 2023 — Tomorrow, Ohio voters will decide the fate of abortion rights as they vote on Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment to protect reproductive freedom in their state. In the months leading up to this pivotal moment, voters have contended with anti-abortion forces and government officials spreading disinformation and interfering […]
America’s low-carbon transition could improve employment opportunities for all
November 3, 2023 – The USA is likely to see consistent job growth from the transition to net zero, but the gains will be unevenly distributed, shows a new analysis. The analysis, conducted by Imperial College London researchers and published today in Nature Climate Change, shows that some states will need new policies to ensure a […]
Department of Labor Report Highlights Severity of Child Labor in the US and Worldwide
November 2, 2023 – The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued its yearly Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report, examining 131 countries’ efforts to abolish child labor in 2022 and the obstacles those efforts face. The report highlights, in part, the vulnerability of migrant children in the United States working for little pay in […]
Report: Corporate Prosecutions Remain Near Record Lows in Biden’s Justice Department
WASHINGTON, D.C. October 30, 2023 – Despite promises to ramp up enforcement, the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted only 99 corporate offenders in 2022, a small uptick from the previous year’s 90 prosecutions, according to a new report from Public Citizen. President Joe Biden’s second year is thus tied with former President Donald Trump’s second year for […]
Brady Statement on Lewiston, Maine, Mass Shootings
Washington, D.C., October 25, 2023 – According to news reports, 18 people were killed and more than a dozen were injured in multiple shootings in Lewiston, Maine, Wednesday night. Brady, the national gun violence prevention organization, released the following statement: Kris Brown, president of Brady, said: “No American should leave their home and fear becoming the victim […]
World Scientists’ Climate Report highlights perils as Earth enters “uncharted territory”
October 24, 2023 – In a year marked by wildfire, catastrophic flooding, and deadly weather events, an international team of scientists has updated its influential 2019 World Scientists Warning of a Climate Emergency report, which has been cosigned by over 15,000 scientists representing 163 countries. According to the team, “life on planet Earth is under siege” and “we are […]
A Slate of Nine Election Deniers Vie For House Speakership
WASHINGTON, D.C. October 23, 2023— Later today, nine Republican representatives will campaign to be the latest nominee for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The House has been without a speaker for 20 days and after three failed speaker votes last week, the process is about to begin again. The latest slate of contenders takes after the previous […]
EPA Determines that Lead Emissions from Aircraft Engines Cause or Contribute to Air Pollution
WASHINGTON, October 18, 2023 — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final determination that emissions of lead from aircraft that operate on leaded fuel cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare under the Clean Air Act. “The science is clear: exposure to […]
Ranking Member Grijalva Statement on New Border Wall Construction and Use of Dangerous Waiver Authority
Washington, D.C. October 6, 2023 – Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s announcement that it will use the Secretary of Homeland Security’s authority to waive all laws and legal requirements to build approximately 17 miles of new border wall. A recent U.S. Government […]