US

NEW YORK, June 29, 2023 – Millions of social media users face harmful harassment, intimidation, and threats to their free expression online but encounter a “deeply flawed” reporting system that fails at every level to safeguard them and hold abusers to account, according to a new report by global nonprofits PEN America and Meedan. In exposing these […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. June 27, 2023 — The U.S. Supreme Court handed voters a major victory today with their ruling that state courts can review — and rectify — election-related rules and voting maps passed by state legislatures. The ruling in Moore v. Harper  is a major victory for voters, given the potential the case had to shatter […]

Washington, D.C. — Dangerously high summer temperatures have always posed a risk to the health of many Americans, but climate change has increased the number of hot summer days and periods of extreme heat. A new CAP and Virginia Commonwealth University report estimates that extreme heat will cost $1 billion in U.S. health care costs […]

NEW YORK June 13, 2023 — PEN America responded today to the removal of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ acclaimed memoir Between the World and Me from an advanced placement course in South Carolina, calling it “an outrageous act of government censorship.” As reported, earlier this spring students in the Chapin High School classroom reported a teacher for including Coates’ memoir and two […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. June 12, 2023 — A coalition of more than 100 grassroots organizations, labor unions, and advocates for reproductive rights, gun violence prevention, the environment, workers’ rights and more is launching United for Democracy (UFD) — a new nationwide campaign to educate Americans about the impact today’s Supreme Court is having on their lives, freedoms, […]

Statement from Special Counsel Jack Smith: “Today an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.” “Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice and our nation’s commitment to the rule […]

Wildfire smoke from Canada has passed over the northeastern U.S. multiple times each summer in recent years, but it often goes unnoticed because it is relatively high in the atmosphere. That was not the case in June 2023. In the first week of the month, large amounts of smoke from fires in Quebec poured south into the eastern U.S. […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. June 6, 2023 — Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center released Year in Hate & Extremism, an annual report detailing the scope and danger of hate and antigovernment extremist groups operating within the United States. The report documents 1,225 active groups and shows how their tactics shifted after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — […]

June 5, 2023 – More than three in five children (63 percent) enrolled in Medicaid do not receive mental health services within six months after a firearm injury, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. In the United States, 11,258 youth experienced nonfatal firearm injuries in 2020. Children who survive firearm injuries are […]

The chemical industry took a page out of the tobacco playbook when they discovered and suppressed their knowledge of health harms caused by exposure to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), according to an analysis of previously secret industry documents by UC San Francisco (UCSF) researchers. A new paper published May 31, 2023, in Annals of Global […]

May 30, 2023 – This week, the Justice Department highlighted a series of initiatives aimed at preventing and addressing sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV). With its strong, longstanding commitment to upholding justice and pursuing equality for all, the Justice Department joins its partners across the federal government […]

LAWRENCE, May 30, 2023 — Any parent can tell you that work doesn’t stop when you leave the office and go home. Yet national and international economic statistics only consider the work that happens “at the market,” or outside the home — not caring for children, cooking, cleaning or caring for elders, tasks largely handled […]

Earlier this evening, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement in principle. It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And, the agreement protects my and Congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments. The agreement represents a compromise, which means […]

May 23, 2023 – Today, a Montana District Court judge granted abortion providers’ request for a preliminary injunction to block several restrictions on abortion access. The challenge to the laws was filed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the ACLU of Montana on behalf of All Families Healthcare, Blue […]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. May 22, 2023 — A group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as a real estate brokerage firm in Florida that primarily serves clients of Chinese descent, are filing a lawsuit to combat Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the […]

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen sent a letter to all members of Congressional leadership regarding the debt limit. The full text of the letter can be found here and is available below. The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Speaker U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Speaker: I am […]

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2023 – The NAACP Board of Directors issued a formal travel advisory for the state of Florida. The travel advisory comes in direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.  The formal travel notice states, “Florida is […]

May 17, 2023 – Researchers from universities across the United States will arrive at the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday for meetings with lawmakers and their staffs about the importance of fundamental science and funding for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy Office of Science. Their […]

Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) today introduced the bipartisan Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act, a bill that would allow independent music creators – including musicians, technicians, songwriters and producers – to deduct 100 percent of recording production expenses in the year they are incurred, rather than in later years.             Representatives […]

Geneva, May 12, 2023 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency are calling for a collaborative approach to better respond to the mixed movement of refugees and migrants throughout the Americas. IOM and UNHCR welcome positive initiatives to expand resettlement and other regular pathways in the region but express […]