It’s bad enough that McDonald's refuses to pay its workers a living wage – but in Brazil, it’s even worse. McDonald's stores there were just caught with underage workers doing dangerous jobs. That's right. Children were working the fryer with scalding hot oil or working the grill, and as a result they were found with burns on their bodies. McDonald’s shows once again they don’t have any respect for their workers, and it’s time for that to end. Tell McDonald’s to end ALL inappropriate child labor at its stores around the world.

Officials from the U.S. and 11 other countries will meet on September 30 in Atlanta to try to finalize the job-killing, climate-destroying, drug price-raising Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement [TPP]. [1] Most congressional Democrats, all labor unions, and almost all environmental groups oppose the proposed agreement. Unions and firms involved in U.S. auto production are particularly concerned about the Atlanta talks. “This is a lot of jobs, and we need our government to recognize the value of those jobs and take a firm line,” said Thea Lee, deputy chief of staff at the AFL-CIO. “There is danger, in the final days of negotiations, that a bad deal will be cut” on automobile rules. Humanitarian organizations opposed to higher prescription drug prices are also particularly concerned about the Atlanta talks. Big pharmaceutical companies are seeking up to 12 years of protection from competition against generics for name-brand biologic drugs. Humanitarian organizations want fewer years of protection of brand-name drugs from competition so the drugs will be affordable. Atlanta is a major U.S. city. Such a city should be the site of a major protest against the TPP when TPP talks are held there. But trade officials have kept the venue of talks a secret until this week. Bernie Sanders can draw a crowd of 10,000 people in any major city in America right now. Urge Bernie Sanders to go to Atlanta to lead a protest against the TPP by signing our petition. References: 1. http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-pacific-partners-seek-to-conclude-trade-pact-in-atlanta-1443117418

I'm tired of Corporations having one standard & the general public another one. I also do not think it makes sense from a water shortage stand point for Nestle to bottle the public's water at probably almost no cost to them and then charge the general public.

Monsanto has a new genetically engineered (GMO) corn, altered to withstand the herbicide dicamba — a harsh chemical that threatens the health of the public, the livelihoods of farmers and the environment. The USDA is considering Monsanto's proposal right now and is accepting public comments. We must ask the USDA to complete a full environmental review and ensure our health and environmental safety before approving Monsanto's new GMO corn!

I tried to contact the bank in 2008 when my ex-partner and father of my children lost his job and left our home, declaring bankruptcy and neglecting to contribute financially to the household. The bank told me they could not talk to me until I was in default for 3 months. So I went into default and started talking to them. I filed application after application for a making home affordable loan and continue to do so to this day. Six years later I am at the end of the foreclosure process and am being denied the right to tell my side of the story to the judge. I have been trying to negotiate with the bank and several different servicers for 6 years. Every time I would get somewhere the loan would be sold or the servicer changed and I would have to begin again. I have applied for several making home affordable loans. All the bank has offered is a reduction in interest rate from the original 2005 6.15% down to 2%. This was not enough to make my home affordable. The bank has not offered a principle reduction. I am a single mom who raised 2 children on my own. I have been through the mandatory conference period with the bank and court referee. At times the bank's representative didn't even show up. The referee ruled in the banks favor despite this and the case has proceeded to the judge. Furthermore the bank filed a summons and complaint in October of 2012 before the resale of my loan was filed with the county clerk. This is illegal. The bank has not yet provided the original loan document either. The bank has also been implicated in wrong doing regarding mortgage fraud etc. In2012 I consulted a lawyer who answered the banks petition. It cost $250. Then in December 2014, I consulted, Liz Gavin Esq. at Legal Services of the Hudson Valley who told me I may have a statue of limitations and that my case was slated for February 2015. Liz Gavin also told me the judge had never ruled in favor of a homeowner in his entire career. Legal Services dropped my case in January of 2015. I received not a single letter from the bank or the court explaining what was happening with my case. Judge Peter M. Foreman is handling my case. Index# 7609 (2012). I called the court to find out what the judge decided and the clerk told me the judge asked the bank for some paperwork and will reconvene on October 24, 2015. That is next month! I have no lawyer, no money to spend on one and there is a waiting list for free legal services. I was told I was not even allowed to be present in the courtroom but that I could write the judge a letter. This seems preposterous. I thought I had a right to defend myself in a court of law. How can I get help in publicizing these injustices and getting my day in court?

Shkreli revealed that his current company Turing Pharmaceuticals, has hiked the price of Daraprim from $13.50 to $750 per pill after Turing bought the drug, which is used to treat a parasitic infection, in August 2015. Shkreli has defended this move as being necessary for his company, Turing, to be profitable and to fund research for a replacement drug. This is simply untrue; this drug has been used since the 1960s and is very effective and much needed. The United States needs to introduce a plan to control drug prices overall; healthcare should be a fundamental right of every citizen in our country. Shkreli is former hedge fund manager, who was fired from Retrophin, which he founded, last year. In August, the company sued him in Manhattan federal court, for "repeatedly breaching his duty of loyalty to Retrophin," by allegedly using his control of Retrophin to "enrich himself and to pay off claims of [his prior hedge fund's] investors (who he had defrauded)," Retrophin claimed in its suit. The citizens of the United States need to demand healthcare for all. This situation, in such a rich country, is reprehensible and has gotten completely out of control.

This is corporate greed at its worst. Martin Shkreli's actions will result in lives lost.

It's outrageous: a decades-old drug that has been used to treat a common parasite jumped in price by more than $700 after a pharmaceutical company purchased it and raised the price tag practically overnight. This egregious practice isn't new — drug costs have been steadily rising, and studies have found that more Americans are cutting back in other areas because they’re having a hard time paying for their prescriptions. But Congress can help curb this disturbing trend, and Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Elijah Cummings are leading the way. The Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015 would allow Medicare to negotiate pharmaceutical prices, allow consumers to import cheaper drugs from Canada, ban pay-for-delay schemes, add additional penalties for companies who settle with the government, and require companies to disclose the costs related to particular products and prices they charge in other countries. Add your name to our petition calling on Congress to rein in prescription drug costs and pass The Prescription Drug Affordability Act of 2015!

Recently, Turing Pharmaceuticals announced that it had raised the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to a staggering $750 per pill, representing a nearly 5,556% increase in price. Daraprim is used to treat toxoplasmosis, a medical condition that can be fatal for people with AIDS and developing fetuses. Turing Pharamceuticals's owner is hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli. After being rightfully criticized over Turing's decision to increase the price of Daraprim, Shkreli has taken to social media and openly attacked progressives and other critics of the Daraprim price increase. According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, Shkreli donated $33,400 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), an organization that provides financial and other types of support to Democratic candidates running for U.S. Senate seats. The DSCC, which is chaired by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), should do the right thing and donate $33,400 to a charity, preferably one that supports research to find a cure for AIDS.

With these rate increases, and over-charging of Alachua County residents, some residents have electric bills almost as much as their rent or mortgage.. Why? And why is there no other electric company competition in this town?

PROGRESSIVE WAS PAID TO HAVE MY BACK WHEN A DRIVER WITH NO INSURANCE IS INVOLVED. AFTER FIVE YEARS OF FIGHTING, I AM EXHAUSTED AND I HAVE NOTHING LEFT. IN JULY 2010 I WAS INJURED IN A CAR ACCIDENT, I NOTIFIED THE COMPANY IN THAT CASE PROGRESSIVE, AND THEY ASSURED ME THAT ALL WOULD BE WELL SINCE I PAID MY PREMIUMS ON TIME. SINCE THE OTHER DRIVER DID NOT HAVE INSURANCE MY UM/UIM KICKED IN AUTOMATICALLY. ONCE THEY FIND THAT OUT, PROGRESSIVE HAS MADE A DECISION TO STALL THE PROCESS. THEY DENIED EVERYTHING, EVEN THOUGH THEIR ADJUSTERS AGREED THAT MY CLAIM IS VALID. PROGRESSIVE REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE. I HAD TO FILE SUIT AGAINST THE DRIVER AND I WAS AWARDED OVER A MILLION DOLLARS FOR MY INJURIES. SINCE I WAS IN ANOTHER PERSON’S CAR, THEIR INSURANCE PAID TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS WHICH WAS THEIR LIMIT. I HAD BOUGHT A POLICY FROM PROGRESSIVE FOR 100/300. PROGRESSIVE GOT MY LETTER ON TIME FOR THE UM/UIM POLICY TRIGGER. A PATTERN OF BAD FAITH STARTED TO EMERGE AND PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE DID NOT CARE. THEIR ADJUSTER TOLD ME TO FIRE MY ATTORNEY THEN THE CASE WOULD BE SETTLED, IT WAS A LIE. I RECEIVED A LETTER WITHIN A COUPLE OF DAYS STATING THAT THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS HAS RUN OUT AND THAT SHE WILL NOT BE PAYING THE CLAIM. THEY REFUSED ALL OUR DEMANDS, THEN THEY DECIDED TO NOT SHOW UP IN MEETINGS THAT WE AGREED TO. MY LAWYER AND I AGREED THAT WE HAVE TO FILE A LAWSUIT AGAINST PROGRESSIVE FOR THE POLICY THAT I AM OWED AND FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT AND BAD FAITH. THIS COMPANY HAS IN-HOUSE COUNSEL TO DEFEND THEIR INTERESTS. THEY HAVE THROWN EVERYTHING AT ME. FIRST, A MOTION TO STRIKE, SECOND AN ANSWER WITH SPECIAL DEFENSES AND THIRD A MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGEMENT. REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT STALL TACTICS, NOW THEY ARE USING THAT SAME TACTIC TO GET RID MY CASE, CLAIMING THAT MY CASE WAS NOT FILED ON TIME, THEREFORE THE JUDGE SHOULD THROW IT OUT. THEIR LAWYER ADMITTED THAT THE CASE IS STRONG AGAINST PROGRESSIVE BUT STILL FILE A MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF HIS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGEMENT. ASKING THE JUDGE TO RULES ON THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS SOLELY, HOPING IT HAS RUN OUT, THEN I WOULD HAVE NO CASE TO PURSUE. MY ATTORNEYS SAID THAT IT WAS FILED ON TIME, WHILE THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY DECEPTIVE, AND THEY’VE BREACHED THE CONTRACT WHICH MAKES IT BAD FAITH. EVERYTHING THEY HAVE DONE IN THIS CASE IS MISLEADING; BASICALLY THEY WERE SETTING TRAPS FOR MY CLIENT IN ORDER TO AVOID RESPONSIBILITY. THEIR WILFUL AND WANTON CONDUCT HAS CAUSED A LOT OF DAMAGES AND PAIN. THE LAWS ARE COMPLICATED BUT THE LAWYERS CLAIMED IT WAS FILED ON TIME AND THEIR OWN POLICY SAYS SO AND THE LAW ALSO. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN THESE CASES. I HAVE HAD 4 SURGERIES IN MY SHOULDER AND LAST YEAR I HAD TO TOTALLY REPLACE THE SHOULDER. THIS PAST MAY I HAD TO HAVE KNEE SURGERIES. MY BILLS ARE IN EXCESS OF 120 000 DOLLARS. SUDDENLY THEY ASKED FOR MEDIATION, IT WAS A BAD IDEA. I WAS OFFERED 5000 DOLLARS AND I WAS TOLD THAT WOULD BE ONLY OFFER. I WAS HURT BY THIS BECAUSE IT SHOWS THAT NO ONE CARED ABOUT AND I STARTED TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT ME SINCE I BELONG IN THE MINORITY CLASS, I WAS TOLD BY THE MEDIATOR WE << WE ARE TRYING TO PUT SOME MONEY IN YOUR POCKET>> NO ONE TALKS ABOUT POLICY , PAST AND FUTURE MEDICAL BILLS. I HEARD EVERYTHING THAT COULD GO WRONG FOR ME AND BECAUSE OF THOSE THINGS I SHOULD TAKE WHATEVER PROGRESSIVE GIVES ME. I HEARD NOTHING ABOUT MY PAIN AND SUFFERING AND BELIEVE ME I SUFFER EVERYDAY. I HAVE TO TAKE PAIN MEDICATIONS, THEY HELP ME FUNCTION BUT OVERALL MY LIFE SUCKS. NOW I FACE THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING HOMELESS , SINCE I HAVE LIMITED INCOME, IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO HELP MY CHILDREN AND I , THE ONE PERSON WHO WAS HELPING ME HAS FOUND OUT SHE HAS CANCER , MY MOTHER HAS MULTIPLE MYELOMA , SHE HAD TO STAY IN HOSPITAL . SHE IS THE ONE WHO WAS ABLE TO HELP ME WITH A PLACE TO STAY SINCE SHE OWNS THE HOUSE. WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT, MY GOAL WAS TO HELP HER IN ANYWAY I COULD, IF PROGRESSIVE DECIDES TO FOLLOW THE RULES. BUT I REALIZED THAT PROGRESSIVE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT ANYONE, THE COMPANY CARES ABOUT MAXIMIZING THEIR PROFITS NO MATTER THE COST. DON’T BUY INSURANCE FROM PROGRESSIVE; YOU ARE PAYING THE PEOPLE WHO WILL STAND AGAINST YOU. I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY MOTHER WHO IS EVERYTHING TO ME. CANCER DRUGS COST A LOT OF MONEY AND THERE IS NO WAY I WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM TO HER SO I WILL HAVE TO CHERISH THE MOMENT.

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox just bought a majority stake in National Geographic's media assets, including its iconic science magazine. That's bad news for anyone who cares about an independent and informative media, if Fox's flagship news network is any indication—a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found 72% of Fox News' climate science coverage to be "misleading." Voters need accurate information about the world around us that's based on science, not ideology. For more than a century, National Geographic's non-profit journalism has given us that, and Fox says this sale won't change anything -- but we need a guarantee. National Geographic must immediately adopt policies—including appointing a Public Editor—to ensure the magazine's editorial independence.