CHICAGO, Illinois, Feb. 10 -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois issued the following news release: Terminally ill Illinoisans and advocacy groups praised lawmakers for introducing compassionate legislation Friday that would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults to have the option to get prescription medication to peacefully end unbearable suffering. Illinois residents who support the End of Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act are urging the Legislature to pass it d  more

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 -- The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization that works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the U.S., issued the following news release on Feb. 5, 2024: Civil and disability rights organizations filed suit in federal court today on behalf of individual and organizational plaintiffs against Washington County, Oregon and the county's 911 dispatch center, the Washington County Consolidated Communications A  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 3 -- The American Forest Resource Council issued the following news release on Feb. 2, 2024: The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) today submitted formal comments (https://amforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AFRC-NWFP-NOI-Scoping-Comments-020224.pdf) to the U.S. Forest Service on amending the 30-year-old Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) governing the management of 17 national forests and over 24 million acres in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. Separate  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb. 9 -- Ceres, a non-profit organization that is mobilizing many of the world's largest companies and investors to take stronger action on climate change, water scarcity and other global sustainability challenges, issued the following news release: Major businesses, employers, and trade groups applaud a new agreement between nine states to collectively work to reduce climate pollution from buildings in the coming years. California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachuse  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 5 -- The Mercy Corps issued the following joint statement on Feb. 3, 2024, with seven organization: * * * Joint statement from humanitarian NGOs: "The U.S. decision to temporarily pause funding for UNRWA will dramatically weaken the backbone of the humanitarian response for 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza. It is important to ensure a thorough investigation into the grave allegations by the Israeli government that 12 UNRWA employees directly participated in the heinous   more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 9 (TNSres) -- Clean Water Action issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2024: Released today, Safer States' 2024 analysis of anticipated state legislation addressing toxic chemicals and plastics across the country, suggests that PFAS "forever chemicals" could be banned in more uses than ever in 2024 state bills. At least 36 states will consider more than 450 bills on toxic chemical and plastics related policies. The analysis further finds that banning "forever chemi  more

EUGENE, Oregon, Feb. 8 (TNScapv) (TNSres) -- The Western Environmental Law Center issued the following joint news release on Feb. 7, 2024, with 10 conservation groups: Today, 10 conservation groups filed their 60-day notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ("the Service") for its failure to list western wolves under the Endangered Species Act. The groups outlined the reasons why the Service's "not warranted" finding, formally published in today's Federal Register (https://www  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 10 -- Earthjustice issued the following news release on Feb. 8, 2024: A federal judge in Oregon today approved a long-term pause in Snake River litigation. The ruling by Judge Michael Simon means a tribal-state plan and U.S. government commitments to restore the Columbia River Basin will continue as planned and announced in December. "This is great news allowing our collaborative work to advance Columbia River restoration to move forward," said Earthjustice Senior Attorn  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 5 -- The Mercy Corps issued the following statement: * * * Mercy Corps is pleased to announce the appointment of Robbert van den Berg as its new Managing Director for Mercy Corps in The Netherlands. Van den Berg will be our representative for Mercy Corps in The Netherlands, oversee our operations in The Hague, and play an important leadership role within the global organization. He will provide visionary guidance for the organization's growth in The Netherlands and with   more

SALEM, Feb. 7 -- Families Against Mandatory Minimums issued the following news release on Feb. 6, 2024: FAMM Deputy Director of State Policy Celeste Trusty testifies at today's Oregon Senate Judiciary hearing on Senate Bill 1560, which would establish a Task Force on Compassionate Medical Release within the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision. "FAMM's compassionate release report gave Oregon a failing grade of just 22% - the 6th worst ranking in the nation," said Trusty. "We are   more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 10 -- The Mercy Corps issued the following statement on Feb. 9, 2024, by CEO Tjada D'Oyen McKenna: * * * "Expanded air and ground operations into Rafah will unleash a humanitarian nightmare in Gaza surpassing even the horror of the past four months. For many people who have fled multiple times, Rafah was the last comparatively safe option. A town that was home to 250,000 people now has over one million, half of Gaza's population, sheltering there in overcrowded and unsan  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 1 (TNSres) -- The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws issued the following news release: The use of alcohol, but not cannabis, is associated with greater odds of suffering a motor vehicle crash requiring emergency care, according to case-control data published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention. A team of investigators from universities in California, Colorado, and Oregon examined the relationship between cannabis and alcohol use and incid  more

PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb. 7 -- The Mercy Corps issued the following joint statement on Feb. 6, 2024, with 8 organizations: * * * As NGOs responding to the crisis in Yemen, we are deeply concerned over the potential humanitarian consequences of U.S. legislation requiring the designation of Ansar Allah, the de facto authorities for more than 70% of Yemen's population, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The humanitarian community has consistently raised alarm over the serious risk of civilia  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 -- The Oregon State Public Interest Research Group issued the following statement on Feb. 7, 2024: * * * The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new rule on Wednesday to reduce soot pollution. Soot, also known as particulate matter, is one of the deadliest forms of air pollution since the small particles can easily enter people's lungs and trigger asthma attacks, heart disease, lung disease and cancer. The EPA estimates that achieving the new standards wil  more

SANTA MONICA, California, Feb. 2 (TNSres) -- Rand issued the following news release: Telehealth availability for mental health care varies significantly across states--from less than half of treatment facilities contacted in states like Mississippi and South Carolina to every facility contacted in states like Maine and Oregon, according to a new RAND study. Researchers found there were differences in services offered depending on whether a mental health treatment facility was located in in a r  more

EUGENE, Oregon, Feb. 7 -- The Western Environmental Law Center issued the following news release on Feb. 6, 2024: A broad range of public interest advocates today applaud New Mexico Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart and Sen. Brenda McKenna for introducing SM 8, requesting the Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department to study the risks to humans and the environment from proximity to oil and gas facilities (fact sheet here). The memorial asks the department to evaluate how to mitigate those r  more