PORTLAND, Oregon, June 3 -- The American Forest Resource Council issued the following news release: The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) has been granted intervention in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the Pettijohn Late Successional Reserve Habitat Improvement and Fuels Reduction Project on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. AFRC supports the implementation of this project and will seek to defend this effort to improve forest health, mitigate wildfire risks and provide timber to support lo  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, June 4 -- The Chronic Disease Coalition issued the following news on June 3: The Chronic Disease Coalition remained active and attentive on several policy issues during the month of May. From defending crucial non-discrimination policies outlined by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to fighting threats to copay assistance programs, you'll learn more about what these policy discussions mean for the chronic disease community. Letter Opposes Administration's Changes to ACA Policy T  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, June 3 -- The Mercy Corps issued the following statement: Mercy Corps has always believed in the power of people to create positive social change. In more than 40 countries around the world, we work side by side with people living through poverty, suffering and oppression in their struggle to build a better future. We stand with the Black community in the United States in the fight for justice, equality and an end to systemic racism. We join a nation in grief over the tragic   more

PORTLAND, Oregon, June 3 -- The Mercy Corps issued the following statement by Director Whitney Elmer: At least five people have died in a new Ebola outbreak in Mbandaka, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, complicating the response which now includes rapidly increasing COVID-19 caseloads across the country. * * * "Swift action must be taken to stop the spread of this fresh outbreak. Unlike eastern Congo, Mbandaka doesn't have the same levels of conflict that have impeded the humanitarian res  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, June 5 -- The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws issued the following news release: A scientific analysis reveals that some adulterated cannabis e-liquid products may contain colophony (pine rosin), according to data (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32460222) published in the journal Forensic Science International. Researchers affiliated with Portland State University's Department of Chemistry analyzed a pair of unidentified adulterants provided by a canna  more

WASHINGTON, June 5 -- The National Treasury Employees Union issued the following news release: The IRS has informed the National Treasury Employees Union that it is planning to recall employees into work sites in multiple states over the next four weeks. After IRS employees in Utah, Texas and Kentucky started reporting back to their buildings this week, the next wave is scheduled to report June 15 in Michigan, Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee, which includes the large campuses in Atlanta and Ka  more

EUGENE, Oregon, June 5 -- The Alliance Defending Freedom issued the following news release: Nine days after Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two Oregon churches, Gov. Katherine Brown has issued new COVID-19 guidance that relaxes restrictions on church gatherings. The June 4 guidance revises the state's public health ordinance to no longer treat churches worse than secular venues such as dine-in restaurants or gyms. The Josephine and Douglas county churc  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, June 4 -- The Mercy Corps issued the following news release on June 3: Recent funding gaps and other challenges in Yemen will put an additional estimated 5.5 million people in the war-torn country at risk of losing access to life-saving aid, such as food, cash and clean water this year, Mercy Corps alongside 23 international humanitarian NGOs says ahead of the Virtual Yemen Pledging Conference. With Covid-19 spreading rapidly in the country, the withdrawal of donor funds from  more

EUGENE, Oregon, June 5 -- The Western Environmental Law Center issued the following news release: The president is expected to sign a far-reaching executive order under the guise of "economic emergency," exempting large, intrusive, highly polluting and destructive projects from public scrutiny and environmental guardrails in place since 1970 under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Other laws, such as the Endangered Species Act, may be waived as well. NEPA requires detailed environm  more