“If we really want to end the overdose and homelessness crises — in Oregon and around the country — we have to understand and follow the evidence, not the fearmongering,” writes Maia Szalavitz.
LaunchWatch the unveiling of NPI’s June 2022 assault weapons ban poll finding
With Attorney General Bob Ferguson, State Senator Manka Dhingra, State Representative Jamila Taylor, State Senator Patty Kuderer, and Emily Cantrell of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.
LaunchChris Murphy confronts Republicans on gun safety inaction: “What are we doing?”
Senator Chris Murphy, who represents Newtown in the United States Senate along with Richard Blumenthal, delivered a speech on the floor of the Senate demanding that his Republican colleagues stop blocking gun safety bills from reaching the President’s desk.
LaunchGolden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr calls for action and slams Mitch McConnell before NBA playoffs game
Watch and listen to Steve Kerr’s call to action for gun safety following the horrific slaughter of schoolchildren and teachers in Uvalde, Texas.
LaunchWe can’t fix distracted driving, but we can fix street design
“Once we’re inside our cars, we enter our own little bubbles and anything that prevents us from getting to where we want to go in the rushed time we need to get there becomes an inconvenience,” writes D.C.-based freelance writer Matthew Koehler.
LaunchFar-right groups are behind most U.S. terrorist attacks, report finds
“White supremacist groups have carried out a majority of ‘terrorist plots and attacks’ this year, according to a report by a think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies,” the New York Times reports.
LaunchFederal intelligence sent to Oregon and Portland indicates right-wing extremists pose biggest lethal threat
Via The Oregonian, confirmation of what we already knew: “Racially motivated extremists and ad-hoc citizen militias appear to present the most pronounced threat of violence to human life, according to a Joint Intelligence Bulletin circulated to law enforcement in June by the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and National Counterterrorism Center.”
LaunchFlorida school shooting: Students to march on Washington, D.C.
Survivors of the horrific attack on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student body have announced plans to march on the nation’s capital next month to demand stronger gun safety laws.
LaunchSorry, Hanford: Your radiation leaks aren’t as important as tax cuts
“The whole mess is like a metaphor for how the entire federal government is run today. There is talk about big needs, even as they cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy, making it harder to address those needs. We the people are distracted by our borrowed bonuses. The crippling disconnect from reality isn’t even acknowledged.”
LaunchSmartphones are killing Americans, but nobody’s counting
Honestly, I think the real number of fatalities tied to cell phones is at least three times the federal figure… We’re all addicted and the
LaunchTexas Republicans lobbied against imposition of safety rules on chemical plant that exploded
“The French company that says its Houston-area chemical plant is spewing ‘noxious’ smoke — and may explode — successfully pressed federal regulators to delay new regulations designed to improve safety procedures at chemical plants, according to federal records reviewed by International Business Times.”
LaunchLeave the fireworks to the pros so you don’t lose your fingers
Shell-and-mortar fireworks are legal in Washington state, but the injuries they cause are more similar to those inflicted by illegal fireworks, the study found. In fact, they were even more damaging than homemade fireworks.
Launch5.0 magnitude quake rumbles Oklahoma oil town of Cushing, nearby region
A strong earthquake has caused serious damage in the central Oklahoma oil town of Cushing, which is home to the United States’ largest commercial oil
LaunchMaricopa County’s Joe Arpaio officially charged with criminal contempt
“Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was officially charged Tuesday with criminal contempt of court when a federal judge affixed her signature, a formality that throws the lawman’s political and personal future into a level of crisis never before seen in his twenty-three years in office,” reports the Arizona Republic’s Megan Cassidy.
LaunchArrest Arpaio, not the people! Racist Trump-supporting sheriff, accused of targeting Latinos, is charged with criminal contempt
“Federal prosecutors on Monday charged Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County with criminal contempt of court, saying he willfully defied a judge’s orders to stop targeting Latinos — including citizens and legal immigrants — in traffic stops and other law enforcement efforts, behavior the judge said showed a pattern of discriminatory policing,” The New York Times reports.
LaunchArrest Arpaio, not the people! Racist Trump-supporting sheriff, accused of targeting Latinos, is charged with criminal contempt
“Federal prosecutors on Monday charged Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County with criminal contempt of court, saying he willfully defied a judge’s orders to stop targeting Latinos — including citizens and legal immigrants — in traffic stops and other law enforcement efforts, behavior the judge said showed a pattern of discriminatory policing,” The New York Times reports.
Launch‘We should be screaming’ with outrage: Washington State doing little to protect schoolkids from earthquakes, tsunamis
The Seattle Times reports on Washington’s failure to seismically retrofit public schools and ensure schoolchildren in tsunami hazard zones have a way to get to higher ground.
LaunchClarence Castile: We’ve got rogue U.S. police officers acting as “executioners, judges, and murderers”
I saw a young man, shot, helpless — shot for no apparent reason. I saw my nephew shot by a man, clinging to his life
Launch‘He’s got a gun! Gun’: Video shows fatal confrontation between Alton Sterling, Baton Rouge police officer
Two reporters for The Advocate of Baton Rouge explain what is known so far about the killing of Alton Sterling, a thirty-seven year old black man who was killed by police in Baton Rouge without justification.
LaunchFireworks “accidents” send at least eighteen people to Harborview’s emergency room
Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center has treated a number of people for injuries stemming from careless or improper use of fireworks, the hospital says.
LaunchWhen you dial 911 and Wall Street answers
“Since the 2008 financial crisis, private equity firms have increasingly taken over public services like emergency care and firefighting, often with dire effects,” The New York Times reports.
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