ANN ARBOR–(ENEWSPF)–April 25, 2014. Consumer confidence has rebounded to nearly its highest level since 2007, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. Conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research since 1946, the surveys monitor consumer attitudes and expectations. The April level of consumer confidence was just[Read More…]
Opinion
ACLU Comment on Revelation of Intentional Misinformation at Department of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)—April 24, 2014. Today a new report from the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Operations Committee revealed that the former acting Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general ordered changes to a report that dealt with complaints about the Secure Communities program, and agreed to delay the release of the report[Read More…]
Planned Parenthood: Governor Bentley Puts Alabama Women at Risk with Two New ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’ Laws
MONTGOMERY, AL–(ENEWSPF)–April 24, 2014. Planned Parenthood condemned new legislation signed by Alabama Governor Robert Bentley that will interfere with the deeply personal decision to end a pregnancy. One new law will force women to wait longer to access a safe and legal abortion by doubling the government-imposed mandatory delay for[Read More…]
Clemency Project 2014 Praises Justice Department for Breathing New Life Into Clemency Process
WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–April 23, 2014. Deputy Attorney General James Cole announced today a new set of criteria the Justice Department and White House will use when considering clemency petitions from federal prisoners. The new criteria will help the Justice Department identify federal prisoners who, if sentenced today under current sentencing laws and[Read More…]
Brennan Center for Justice: Court Orders Release of Justice Department Memo Justifying Drone Strike
NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–April 22, 2014. Yesterday, a federal appeals panel ordered the government to release a classified Justice Department memo outlining the legal justification for the 2011 drone strike that killed U.S. citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law joined an amicus brief in the[Read More…]
Minnesota: African Americans Six Times More Likely Than Whites To Be Arrested For Marijuana Possession
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 21, 2014. By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director African Americans are arrested for marijuana possession offenses in Minnesota at a rate that is more than six-times higher than that of Caucasians, according to an analysis of 2011 FBI arrest data released today by the nonpartisan think-tank Minnesota 2020[Read More…]
New Infographic Shows Positive Effect that Raising the Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Have on Workers of Color
Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 21, 2014. Today, the Center for American Progress released a new infographic detailing the positive effect that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour would have on workers of color. Raising the minimum wage is an important step to ensure that the economy[Read More…]
Obama Plans Clemency for ‘Hundreds, Perhaps Thousands’ of People Sentenced for Drug Law Violations
Drug Policy Alliance: Positive Step, But Comprehensive Sentencing Reform Is Needed to Prevent More Mass Injustice NEW YORK—(ENEWSPF)—April 21, 2014. A White House official told Yahoo that President Obama is prepared to use his pardon power to grant clemency to “hundreds, perhaps thousands” of people who have been jailed for[Read More…]
AFL-CIO Releases Recommendations on Administrative Action on Immigration
Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 21, 2014 – Since April 17, 2013, the AFL-CIO has joined its vigorous support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill with a call on the administration to cease needless deportations. Today, the AFL-CIO issues a detailed policy statement that fleshes out the pro-worker case for the Department of[Read More…]
Center for Biological Diversity on Decision Delayed on Controversial Keystone XL Pipeline
WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–April 18, 2014. The State Department announced today it will delay its decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline to give other government agencies more time to analyze the pipeline’s effects. The announcement — which follows a court ruling earlier this year striking down a Nebraska law allowing[Read More…]
