News Releases

  • New President of the UNGA Has Openly Backed Israel’s Genocide

    “Baerbock is not just any diplomat. As Germany’s foreign minister from 2021 to 2025, she tried to justify over and over again Israel’s war crimes as ‘self-defence,’ rejected ceasefires, and her country continued to provide Israel with hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons, making it its second biggest arms supplier. She de facto became one of Israel’s strongest defenders alongside United States officials, while bombs were falling on hospitals, refugee camps, and schools.”


  • UN Passes “Problematic” Resolution as Push for Measures to Stop Israel Continues

    “The UNGA voted overwhelmingly today to ‘endorse’ the New York Declaration put forward by France and Saudi Arabia.     Among its many problematic provisions, the Declaration supports a ‘stabilization force’ (with many bad elements as well), instead of a protection force as such.”


  • RFK Jr. Abandons Long COVID Patients

    Though Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged to tackle Long COVID during his HHS confirmation hearings, he has abandoned the plight of Long COVID patients by dismantling federal COVID prevention programs and the research infrastructure invested in researching and treating the condition. So far, RFK Jr. has fired key officials at CDC, created barriers to accessing COVID vaccines, and cut research funding for mRNA and intranasal vaccines, which showed great promise in preventing symptomatic disease. 


  • Census Figures Show Flat Uninsured and Poverty Rates for Kids

    U.S. Census figures released on Sept. 9 show that the U.S. has made little progress on poverty and healthcare coverage for children. Though child poverty plummeted in 2021 to 5.2 percent thanks to the passage of the Expanded Child Tax Credit, that rate more than doubled between 2021 and 2023. The new figures show no significant change from 2023 to 2024. Roughly 13.4 percent of all children still lived in poverty, while about 4.7 million total children, or 6.1 percent of children, had no health insurance.


  • U.S. Jews Oppose Trump’s Targeting of Colleges and Students

    More than 120 prominent Jewish Americans signed a statement released today voicing opposition to the Trump administration’s policy of “disingenuously” using accusations of antisemitism to facilitate attacks on colleges and the detention and deportation of campus activists. The statement reaffirms the signers’ support for free speech and independent scholarship and condemns the “heinous and anti-democratic policies of the Trump administration.”


  • Israel Obliterating Gaza City; Qatar, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria Bombed

    “The Israeli military on Tuesday ordered the full evacuation of Gaza City, where famine is taking place, as it continues to escalate its offensive with the goal of cleansing the city of its Palestinian population and razing every building to the ground.”Drop Site News reports: “Israel Bombs Hamas Office in Doha, Issues Displacement Order for 1 Million in Gaza City.”


  • Trump Backs Israel’s Peace-Killing Efforts

    “Three weeks ago, Hamas agreed to a U.S.-Israeli-drafted ceasefire, but its offer was ignored. Now, the movement says it will accept a comprehensive deal in a renewed bid to end the genocide.”


  • Activists Call out EU and Türkiye on “Pieties” on Gaza

      “The Republic of Türkiye must take action for an immediate ceasefire and urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, by immediately imposing unilateral economic sanctions on Israel, beginning with an immediate withholding of oil. Why has the Government of Türkiye not done this yet?”


  • Abbas Urged to Use U.N. “Uniting for Peace” to Get Protection Force for Gaza

    “It is imperative that you act immediately to formally request the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to mandate the deployment of a multilateral protection force in Gaza, pursuant to a ‘Uniting for Peace’ resolution secured in an Emergency Special Session. This force should have a specific mandate to protect civilians, facilitate aid distribution throughout Gaza, secure evidence of Israeli crimes, and assist in reconstruction. As you are aware, member states of the United Nations will need a formal invitation from the State of Palestine in order to proceed with the deployment of such forces to Gaza.”


  • Taxpayers Take Legal Action Against the U.S. Government for Funding the Gaza Genocide

    “This initial phase of the legal action involves filing a historic legal complaint against the U.S. government with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR), the official human rights body in the Western Hemisphere established by the Organization of American States (OAS). This is the only legal complaint in the world that directly takes on the U.S. government — including the Biden and Trump Administrations, and Congress — for its role in the genocide.”


  • Talks on Tobacco Lawsuit: Set Up for a Sellout?

    While the Justice Department moves ahead to arrange settlement talks with major tobacco firms, critics are speaking out. The following tobacco policy advocates are available for interviews: JEANNETTE NOLTENIUS Noltenius, executive director of the Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco, said today: “Too many people have died of tobacco-related diseases for the Justice Department not…

  • Ford-Firestone and Beyond: Car Safety and Broader Issues

    JOAN CLAYBROOK President of Public Citizen, Claybrook said today: “As lawmakers delve into the Ford-Firestone tragedy, a larger issue needs to be addressed: Rollover crashes are dangerous, but they need not be deadly. The federal regulatory agency that oversees the companies has failed the American public. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — under constant…

  • With Battle Set to Begin in Senate Today, Analysts Assess “Patients’ Bill of Rights”

    With the Senate scheduled to begin debate today on proposals for a patients’ bill of rights, there were news reports this morning that Republican leaders will seek a delay. Meanwhile, some medical policy critics contend that the proposed Senate measures are too narrow in scope. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: QUENTIN YOUNG,…

  • Foreign Policy: Bush’s European Visit, Pentagon Papers, Vieques

    GREGORY PALAST Columnist for the London Observer, Palast said today: “There’s a sense in Europe that Bush is threatening and menacing. He’s not viewed as just a buffoon, as he is by many in the United States. Global warming, Star Wars and the death penalty are very serious issues in Europe. Bush is not viewed…

  • After McVeigh Execution: Feel Any Better Now?

    RICHARD MORAN Professor of sociology and criminology at Mount Holyoke College, Moran is currently working on a book about the death penalty. He has testified at dozens of death penalty sentencing hearings. Moran said today: “McVeigh was unapologetic because, like many murderers, he viewed his killing as evening the score. The death penalty is generally…

  • Death Penalty, Racism, McVeigh, FBI

    BRYAN STEVENSON Executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and assistant professor at the New York University School of Law, Stevenson is author of the article “Deliberate Indifference: Racial Bias and Administration of Capital Punishment.” He said today: “Attorney General Ashcroft’s claim that there is no racial bias in the federal death penalty is without…

  • Judicial Nominees: How Should the Senate Proceed?

    NATHAN NEWMAN Newman is chair of the Judicial Nominations Committee of the National Lawyers Guild. He said today: “With the changeover in control of the Senate, there is now the chance for a counterbalance to Bush’s attempt to pack the federal courts with right-wing appointees…. The loss by the Republicans of control of the Judiciary…

  • Beyond the Bush Daughters: Alcohol Policies Under Attack

    While many have focused on the specifics of President Bush’s daughter Jenna being charged with underage drinking at an Austin restaurant last week, some specialists in alcohol policies are urging a shift in public focus — to scrutinize key roles of the alcohol industry. The following policy analysts are available for interviews: LAURIE LEIBER Leiber…

  • Education Spending: Beyond the Rhetoric

    This evening, Laura Bush is scheduled to give the keynote address to the Reach Out and Read national conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The following analysts on education policy are available for interviews: EDWARD KEALY Executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a coalition of over 100 educational organizations, Kealy said this afternoon: “The president…

  • Bush on Public Lands: After the Photo-Op

    Today’s newspapers include pictures of President Bush as he spoke about the importance of public lands in front of some of the world’s oldest trees. The following policy critics are available for interviews: CHAD HANSON Executive director of the John Muir Project, Hanson said today: “George W. Bush’s speech from Sequoia National Park rings hollow.…

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