News Releases

  • Ethnic Cleansing Endgame in Gaza * No Ceasefire in West Bank

    On Tuesday evening, the Associated Press reported, President Trump “suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and proposed the U.S. take ‘ownership’ in redeveloping the area into ‘the Riviera of the Middle East.’ Trump’s brazen proposal appears certain to roil the next stage of talks meant to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.”


  • Federal Funding Freeze Rescinded: What Now?

    The Trump administration rescinded its controversial and illegal directive from the Office of Management and Budget to freeze federal funding. On Tuesday, states struggled to access Medicaid and Head Start portals, although the administration stated that programs that provided direct payments to individuals were supposedly exempt. The memo amounted to a partial government shutdown by decree. The fallout created chaos. 


  • Rural Public Health: “Less Messaging, More Listening”

    Instead of focusing on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., many public health experts based in rural communities are focusing on the social and economic landscape that gave rise to the popularity of extreme figures like RFK Jr. They are also concerned about the loss of healthcare infrastructure and the risk of H5N1, or bird flu, in rural areas. 


  • Netanyahu Pivots to Escalating Attacks on West Bank

    “It seems clear that Netanyahu only agreed to the nominal ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for a greenlight from Trump to escalate violence in the West Bank. When Trump was elected, Finance Minister Smotrich told his staff to prepare to annex the West Bank. American officials from Trump’s pick for UN Ambassador Elise Stefanik to even former President Bill Clinton have expressed support for the extreme right-wing Zionist position that Israel has a Biblical right to the West Bank. Yet if Israel annexed the West Bank,” this would tank Trump’s stated plans “for Israeli-Saudi normalization. …”


  • Trump’s “Manifest Destiny” and U.S. Treaty-Breaking Record

    “The United States is a treaty-breaking nation. In the first century of its existence, the United States signed more than 300 treaties with Indigenous nations, more than any foreign power. And it violated every single Indigenous treaty. Today, the United States has the worst record of ratifying international human rights and environmental treaties and has always broken its treaties, pacts, and promises. The recent U.S.-led and supported genocide in Palestine, in defiance of international law, is a case in point.”


  • The Hill: Genocide Lawsuits vs. Democrats Foreshadow Primary Challenges

    “Like other plaintiffs in the Northern California case, I believe that our lawsuit is on solid ground of justice,” Solomon wrote. “The arms shipments to Israel’s military have violated the Constitution, the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and U.S. federal laws – including the Leahy law, which prohibits the government from ‘using funds for assistance to units of foreign security forces where there is credible information implicating that unit in the commission of gross violations of human rights.’ The namesake of the law, former Sen. Patrick Leahy, says it is being violated.


  • The Legacy of the Polio Vaccine

    In an interview for Think Global Health, an immunization expert discussed the historic importance of the polio vaccine and the continued risk of future polio transmission. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and the presumptive nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, has previously suggested that the polio vaccine causes cancer and does more harm than good.  WALTER ORENSTEIN; [email protected]      Orenstein is a professor emeritus at the Emory School of Medicine and former head of the U.S. immunization program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In his interview with Think Global Health, Orenstein noted that the…


  • Is Blinken Trying to Stop a Ceasefire?

    Jeremy Scahill reports: “The Trump Factor: Gaza Ceasefire Deal Appears Close.” Al Jazeera reports that “Israel kills 62 in a day.” The Guardian reports: “Israel admits soldiers used ambulance in raid on refugee camp.” On Tuesday, protesters confronted Blinken, one shouting: “Secretary Blinken: Your legacy will be genocide. You will forever be known as Bloody Blinken, Secretary of Genocide. You have the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent people on your hands…” 


  • Life Expectancy in the U.S.

    The U.S. is failing to keep pace with its peer nations when it comes to increases in life expectancy. Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that U.S. life expectancy is forecasted to increase from 78.3 years in 2022 to 80.4 years in 2050––a modest increase which lowers the country’s global ranking.


  • War Crimes: Who Are the Criminals?

    “Who are the criminals? U.S. news coverage of five former or current presidents gathered for the funeral of President Jimmy Carter never hinted that hideous wars of choice along with massive increases in weapon sales had marked the administration of each of the five. There was no mention of President Biden’s order to send $8 billion of weapons to Israel. This gathering of U.S. presidents is referred to as ‘The World’s Most Exclusive Club.’ Exclusive indeed. What other club of so few has caused so much suffering to so many?”


  • Global Warming: A Crucial Moment

    In recent days, the Bush administration has moved away from restricting emissions of carbon dioxide. Today, it is being reported that the Bush administration plans to pull out of the Kyoto protocol on global warming altogether. The following analysts are available for interviews: ROSS GELBSPAN Author of The Heat Is On: The Climate Crisis, the…

  • Erin Brockovich and Bill Moyers Put Toxic Chemicals in National Spotlight

    The night after Julia Roberts won an Oscar for her fact-based portrayal of environmental activist Erin Brockovich, the chemical industry is set to take another blow on national television Monday evening as PBS airs “Trade Secrets” — an expose of “secrets buried in thousands of confidential documents from America’s chemical companies.” The following researchers and…

  • Eighteen Years After “Star Wars” — What’s Behind NMD?

    Today is the 18th anniversary of President Reagan’s announcement of his intention to begin a massive missile defense research program for the Strategic Defense Initiative. Reports are circulating today about a major reassessment of weapons systems by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is a major proponent of National Missile Defense. The following analysts are available…

  • Campaign Finance Reform

    STEPHANIE WILSON Executive director of the Fannie Lou Hamer Project, Wilson said today: “During the civil rights movement of the last century, voices rose in resistance to racism, inequality, brutal oppression and disenfranchisement, and they could not be silenced. Their cries resulted in both the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts — legislation that Congress…

  • Sharon’s Visit

    SUSAN AKRAM An associate professor at Boston University School of Law who specializes in refugee issues, Akram said today: “The deteriorating situation is a reflection of a complete lack of focus on the international law principles that should guide a just solution for the millions of Palestinian refugees and for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict generally. Israeli…

  • Coke and Commercialization of Schools

    The Coca-Cola company announced on Wednesday that it intends to change the way it does business with school districts. The list of changes includes encouraging local representatives to negotiate non-exclusive contracts, supplying of vending machines that have school messages on the outside rather than Coke ads, and offering a wider variety of “nutritious” beverages. The…

  • A Year After Warning of Stock Collapse, Economist Cites Political Leaders’ “Negligence”

    An economist who predicted a collapse of stock prices a year ago, when the Nasdaq composite index was near its peak, said today that “the nation’s political leaders chose to ignore the stock market bubble” — and “as a result, millions of families have seen their dreams of a secure retirement or their children’s college…

  • Taxes and Triggers

    MAX SAWICKY Senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, Sawicky said today: “Because some members of Congress view President Bush’s proposed tax cut as a budget buster, they would like to make these large tax cuts subject to cancellation or postponement if economic and budget prospects begin to dim. The buzz word for such devices…

  • Repeal of Workers’ Safety?

    Last night, the Senate voted to roll back a new federal rule protecting workers from repetitive stress injuries. House action is expected later this week. The following analysts are available for interviews: PAMELA VOSSENAS Vossenas is co-chair of the health and safety committee of the National Writers Union, which is affiliated with the United Auto…

  • South Africa AIDS Trial

    With a historic trial underway in South Africa, as 39 pharmaceutical companies try to stop the South African government from importing cheaper versions of AIDS drugs, the following analysts in the United States and South Africa are available for interviews: ROBERT WEISSMAN Co-director of Essential Action and author of the recent paper “AIDS and Developing…

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