Washington, D.C., February 22, 2023– In response to Wednesday’s news reports about the fatal shooting of a Spectrum News 13 journalist in Orange County, Florida, while he was covering a separate fatal shooting earlier in the day, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are appalled by the killing of a Spectrum […]
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Survey Shows Real Progress in Restoring Federal Science
Washington (February 22, 2023)—Federal scientists faced extraordinary challenges under the previous administration: unprecedented levels of political interference, active hostility from political leaders, and a botched pandemic response that vividly demonstrated the dangers of undermining science.  But there’s good news: a just released survey shows that science is coming back strong under a new administration.   […]
U.S. labor strikes up 52% in 2022 as worker activism rises
February 21, 2023 – Strike numbers rose in 2022, reflecting a trend of more U.S. work stoppages in recent years by workers and activists in the labor movement, according to a report published Feb. 21 by the ILR School. According to the Cornell-ILR Labor Action Tracker, a comprehensive database of work stoppages, there were 424 work stoppages in 2022, […]
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Statement on DHS and DOJ Notice of Proposed Rule on Immigration and Asylum Eligibility
WASHINGTON, D.C. February 21, 2023 – Today, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Nanette Barragán issued the following statement on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed rule on immigration and asylum eligibility: “Earlier this week, and again today, I spoke to White House officials to express my disappointment and […]
ACLU Condemns Biden Administration’s Decision to Move Forward with Trump-era Asylum Ban
WASHINGTON, February 21, 2023 – The Biden administration today proposed a rule with a 30-day comment period that will unlawfully deny asylum to people at the southern border. The proposed rule will force people to seek asylum and wait for an answer in Mexico or another country they passed through, unless they are granted a […]
U.S. Border Wall Endangers Mexican World Heritage Site
PARIS, February 16, 2023 — The Center for Biological Diversity called for “in danger” status today for a Mexican World Heritage site harmed by the U.S. border wall. The controversial U.S. wall cuts the world’s largest swath of protected desert habitat in two, walling off critical habitat connectivity. Today’s letter urges the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to […]
The era of globalization isn’t over, new study argues
February 13, 2023 – Reports of globalization’s death are premature, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Waterloo, the University of British Columbia and the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. Their findings challenge widespread assumptions that the rivalry between the United States and China, recently highlighted during the Chinese […]
Attorney General James Leads Multistate Coalition,to Defend and Protect Access to Medication Abortion
NEW YORK, February 10, 2023 – New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a multistate coalition to defend and protect safe access to medication abortion nationwide. In an amicus brief filed in Alliance of Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern […]
Schiff, Omar, Cherfilus-McCormick Introduce PERIOD Act to Protect Student Privacy, Rights from Invasive Republican Legislatures
Washington, D.C. February 9, 2023 – Today, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-California), Ilhan Omar (D- Minnesota), and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Florida) introduced legislation to prohibit schools that receive federal funding from requiring information regarding students’ menstrual cycles after Republican elected officials in several states proposed regulations that would require students to turn over their private medical data […]
Congressman Robert Garcia, President of the Freshman Class and First LGBTQ+ Immigrant in Congress, Joins Forces with Fellow LGBTQ+ Freshmen, to Introduce Resolution to Expel George Santos from Congress
Washington D.C.- Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) announced his introduction of a resolution to expel George Santos from Congress along with LGBTQ+ freshmen Congressman Eric Sorensen (IL-17) and Congresswoman Becca Balint (VT-AL). The resolution can be found here. The resolution will now be referred to the House Committee on Ethics for further action. “George Santos has no place in Congress. He has […]
Conservation groups to defend Biden administration postponement of oil, gas lease sales
February 8, 2023 – Seventeen groups represented by Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center moved to intervene today to defend the Biden administration’s postponement of several oil and gas lease sales. A September ruling in U.S. District Court in Wyoming affirmed the administration’s ability to postpone lease sales, but the state of Wyoming and industry groups […]
President Biden’s State of the Union Address
On February 7, President Biden will speak directly to the American people about the historic progress we’ve made, the work that lies ahead, and his optimism for the future. Remarks of President Joe BidenState of the Union Address As Prepared for Delivery The United States Capitol Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Our First Lady and […]
After 46 years of imprisonment, it’s time to free Leonard Peltier, says Amnesty International
February 6, 2023 – Marking the 6 February Global Day of Solidarity with Native American activist Leonard Peltier, Amnesty International reiterates its call on President Biden to immediately grant Mr. Peltier clemency. Leonard Peltier has been imprisoned in the United States for over 46 years, some of which were spent in solitary confinement, serving two […]
Science Integrity Plan Throws Scientists Under the Bus
Washington, DC, February 7, 2023 — The White House’s new Model Scientific Integrity Plan touts the “free flow of scientific information,” including speaking with the media and filing “differing scientific opinions,” but provides no enforceable legal safeguards for scientists who face reprisal for doing so. That gap means scientists working on controversial topics will continue […]
Statement From Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III: F-22 Safely Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off South Carolina Coast
This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace. The balloon, which was being used by the […]
American Oversight Condemns Arizona Legislature’s Rules Allowing Lawmakers to Shield Communications from Public Disclosure
WASHINGTON, D.C. February 1, 2023 — In an egregious attempt to evade accountability and hide the truth from the public, the Arizona Legislature last week implemented rule changes that instruct lawmakers to delete communications, thus allowing them to avoid releasing documents under the state’s public records law. Had these rules existed in 2021, the public would […]
ACLU Argues Evidence From Privacy-Invasive Geofence Warrants Should Be Suppressed
WASHINGTON, January 30, 2023 — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia, along with eight Federal Public Defender offices, filed an amicus brief on Friday in United States v. Chatrie, the first geofence search case to reach a federal court of appeals. In the brief, the ACLU asserts that police should not be able to exploit […]
Victory: Bristol Bay, Parks and Wildlife Safe from Pebble Mine
WASHINGTON, January 31, 2023 – After more than 20 years of short-sighted proposals aimed at destroying Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today rejected a long-sought permit and once and for all prohibited the proposed Pebble Mine. The Pebble Mine and related construction activity would have directly jeopardized the highest concentration of brown […]
Surgeons should prepare to face more abortion complications post-Wade, say experts
January 31, 2023 – Acute care surgeons should prepare to treat complications of forced pregnancies and unsafe abortions following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade in the USA in 2022, argue experts in an opinion piece published in the journal Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. The decision will disproportionately affect poor women […]
New policy memo makes the economic case for expanding the scope of reconciliation
January 30, 2023 – Congress has been gridlocked due in large part to the Senate filibuster, a tactic used to delay or block a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending. Even bills that enjoy broad public support are often unable to pass through Congress. This gridlock negatively impacts families’ economic […]