WASHINGTON —(ENEWSPF)–May 26, 2015.  Charter Communications on Tuesday announced plans to acquire Time Warner Cable in a deal valued at $56.7 billion. Charter also confirmed that it would acquire Bright House Networks, a smaller cable company, for $10.4 billion.  The combined mergers would grow Charter’s customer base to approximately 24 million,[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C. –(ENEWSPF)—May 21, 2015.  The Senate filed cloture on the Hatch-Wyden Trade Promotion Authority bill by a vote of 62-38. The bill would grant President Obama power to send signed trade agreements to Congress for votes with limited debate and no amendments. Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy[Read More…]

Strong goals will not be achieved without immediate changes to current pesticide use and regulation *Photo credit August Jackson Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)–May 19, 2015.  Today, Center for Food Safety (CFS) responded to a strategy plan released by the White House Pollinator Health Task Force, charged last June with improving pollinator health[Read More…]

Continued Reliance on Fossil Fuels Troubling to the Region Asheville, NC –-(ENEWSPF)–May 19, 2015.  In an announcement today, Duke Energy revealed a proposal to retire the Asheville Plant, a 414 MW nameplate capacity (376 MW operating capacity) coal-fired power plant located near Asheville, North Carolina. The announcement includes plans to[Read More…]

WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–May 19, 2015.  The White House Pollinator Health Task Force today issued a long-awaited report outlining the Obama administration’s plans for addressing severe, nationwide declines in important pollinators. Unfortunately the plan set out in the report fails to adequately address the harm caused by pesticides, a key cause of declines[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C. —(ENEWSPF)—May 19, 2015.  The Obama administration released its National Pollinator Health Strategy today, which failed to adequately address the impact of pesticides, including neonicotinoid insecticides — a leading driver of bee declines — on bees and other pollinators. This report was required by the June 2014 presidential memorandum,[Read More…]

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)–May 15, 2015.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a new GMO-free certification and label. In response, Colin O’Neil, Center for Food Safety’s Director of Government Affairs, released the following statement: “CFS strongly supports greater transparency in the food system and believes that all Americans have a[Read More…]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (ENEWSPF)—May 14, 2015. Two days after the Democratic Senate rebuffed President Obama’s push for Fast Track trade authority the Senate invoked cloture on the Hatch-Wyden Trade Promotion Authority bill by a vote of 65-33. The bill would grant President Obama power to send signed trade agreements to Congress[Read More…]

WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–May 12, 2015.  Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today after the Senate blocked consideration of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). “Today’s delay of Trade Promotion Authority is just a taste of the fierce opposition ‘fast track’ will face[Read More…]

WASHINGTON —(ENEWSPF)–May 12, 2015.  Verizon Communications plans to buy AOL for $4.4 billion, according to a report in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal. The deal is the telecom giant’s latest bid to expand its business to include mobile video and advertising services. If finalized, Verizon would also take control of AOL’s[Read More…]