PETITION: CTT offer to allow for full USPS tracking of US inbound registered mail. Dear CTT Postal Service of Portugal, We are kindly asking you to redefine your tracked offerings concerning international outgoing registered mail to the USA. Who we are? We are a community of Portuguese crafters and online shops with over 50% of our sales going to the US market. We ship several thousand parcels of sold goods to our private customers in the USA, and are sending you this request due to the continuous problems with deliveries to the USA. What is the issue? Registered airmail tracking numbers (with barcodes) do not appear in USPS tracking systems. CTT only allows us to track up until leaving the country. If USPS continues to not scan the tracking numbers the packages will simply disappear. We don't even receive a message stating that it has arrived in the US. We need to provide proof to our customers that packages have arrived in the US. We are experiencing a huge growth in claims, refunds and negative feedbacks from our US customers and as result we keep loosing business and you too will loose business. We pay the highest possible form of shipping CTT offers, yet it is not supported by USPS systems as seen in this notice on their website: ************************************************************************ International Registered Mail Tracking Suppression of Import Registered Mail Effective October 1, 2015, the Postal Service™ will no longer offer visibility for international import Registered Mail™ items unless International Posts have upgraded to offer their customers U.S. Postal Service® products that come with visibility. The International Posts which have upgraded to offer their customers Postal Service products that offer visibility are listed here: https://about.usps.com/pos.../2015/pb22424/html/info_002.htm ************************************************************************** How will we know when the recipient receives the package? How will we know if the recipient signed for it? How will we know if a notice has been left or unclaimed? How will we know it there is a delay? What do we ask: We would kindly ask you to become compliant with the USPS registered airmail tracking system even if that means the cost to ship Registered mail piece from Portugal will increase significantly. That will allow the USPS to scan packages as soon as they arrive in the US. Would like this information to appear on your website so that all your customers and our customers in the US could have access to this information. If this information does not appear CTT will inevitably receive thousands of customer services complaints and requests to "Reclamações" to search for lost Registered mail, which CTT will have to compensate. We would like all our clients to have a clear understanding that our packages have actually left Portugal and are waiting to be processed in one of the USPS sorting facilities on the US territory. We really hope for your understanding and cooperation. Thank you very much for your time, From the Portuguese online sellers, self employed small businesses, crafters, regular registered mail senders of gifts and of course many thanks from our recipients in the US. * * *

Please join me in advocating for raising the Federal Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers. I have watched my mother work her body to exhaustion for over thirty years, never making more than $2.13/hour. She has been afraid of retribution if she advocates for herself. The plight of the average server is often overlooked when we talk about issues with minimum wage even though the tipped worker minimum wage has not increased in 32 years. I am sick and tired of having this vulnerable segment of the working population left out of the conversation. Please join me in championing those without a voice.

As short-term rentals increase, residency decreases.* Short-term rentals drive up the cost of living. Short-term rentals deplete the availability of long-term rentals. Regulations on short-term rentals are becoming common in Texas cities and have been upheld by courts.** Short-term rentals are expected to continue to grow in number by 20-30% annually.*** 20% of Marfa's housing is currently short-term rentals with more being built as you read this.**** * From the Wall Street Journal article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/vacation-rentals-in-the-desert-e63eb21e (this article is behind a paywall, but an audio file is available at the top of the page without a login). ** Information provided by Texas Neighborhood Coalition *** Statistics provided by Granicus **** Information gathered from Granicus and the Presidio County Appraiser

It's going to destroy the article. It's going to destroy the world, our world. It's going to destroy future generations, It's going to destroy everything we need more people to sign it we are going to die we need to take action the isn't much time left please just listen to me, Listen to us all. Please I beg, Spread awareness, Do everything you can please I don't want to die I'm just a kid I don't want to lose everything my home, Please help.

Over the last three years, nurses and other healthcare workers have made enormous sacrifices. In many facilities, chronic unsafe staffing was already the norm when the pandemic brought a massive influx of critical patients. Nurses need more support than ever before—especially when it comes to safe staffing. There is ample evidence that nurse-to-patient ratios do save lives1—even though we’ve not yet seen the full potential of this important safety mechanism. Conversely, research shows that unsafe staffing is directly linked to negative patient outcomes. Without the backing of CDPH and full enforcement of the law, hospitals will continue to cut corners by purposefully understaffing their units, the dangerous race to the bottom in hospital staffing will continue and nurses will continue to leave the bedside. If you're a nurse or licensed healthcare professional facing unsafe staffing or other challenges in your workplace, join us! Visit https://www.seiu121rn.org/join/ to learn more. 1 Aiken LH, Sloane DM, Cimiotti JP, et al. Implications of the California nurse staffing mandate for other states. Health Serv Res. 2010;45(4):904-21. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2010.01114.x

Following Executive Order 14072, Strengthening the Nation's Forests, Communities, and Local Economies, we are calling on the Biden Administration to enact a strong, lasting rule across federal public lands that protects mature and old-growth trees and forests from logging, allowing the recovery of old-growth forests that have been lost. These forests are essential to removing and storing carbon from the atmosphere, safeguarding wildlife, and providing clean drinking water for our communities. We are working to build grassroots pressure across the United States to ensure strong, lasting protections for our climate forests — and we need your help! Moving forward, we need to convince the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to take the threat logging poses to climate change and wildlife loss seriously. We must ensure our climate solutions match the scale of the threats we face today, and conserving and recovering our mature and old-growth forests represents one of the simplest, most cost-effective actions we can take. Please join us in calling on the agencies to fulfill the promise of President Biden's Earth Day Executive Order on forests by beginning a rulemaking process immediately to ensure our climate forests remain standing for future generations.

There is a history of racist images, names, and tropes around sports teams—and fortunately, team after team is recognizing that and changing its ways. Football's Washington Commanders and baseball's Cleveland Guardians are two recent examples of major sports teams listening to fans and Native people, finally recognizing that they needed to change their names, imagery, and culture—doing so successfully. It's time for Kansas City—with a team of stellar athletes heading to the Super Bowl—to do the same. Native people are not mascots, they are people and are still here. The Kansas City team knows it has a problem. Over recent years, it has adjusted its imagery, banned fans from donning war paint, and tried to stifle "war chants" in their stadium in their efforts to confront racist, misinformed, and offensive stereotypes. Yet these behaviors persist, amplifying the harm, oppression, and intergenerational trauma they cause. Leaders, historians, psychologists, and social scientists have concluded that “Native mascots are part of a much larger web of phenomena that contribute to oppression faced by Native Americans and thus it seems clear that these mascots should be eliminated.” That’s why it’s so important to consult Native leaders and organizations who have been at the forefront of these fights. Kansas City has a rich and diverse history—and now it has a nationally-recognized football team. Words have power. Symbols have power. All racist imagery—the team's name, logo, culture and rituals—must be changed to show respect for Native peoples. It's time to stop this racist cultural appropriation by sports teams.

For decades, the Hazara population has faced ethnic cleansing, systematic persecution, and unspeakable acts of violence in Afghanistan stemming from discriminatory beliefs against their religion and ethnicity. With such great risk to their lives and personal safety, large numbers of Hazaras are fleeing from Afghanistan with refugee status to seek security from these life-threatening dangers. As a refugee, the right to international protection is one they reserve. While measures have been taken to enforce this refugee status and their rights as refugees, further progress is necessary to ensure the safety of the Hazara community. Due to the nature of the relationship between Afghanistan and the United States, the US remains a key player responsible for defending the rights of Hazaras. The US has held diplomatic relations with Afghanistan for decades now. With the removal of US troops from Afghanistan in recent years, the Hazaras are at an extreme risk under the reinstated Taliban rule making it more imperative than ever to take steps toward ensuring protection to the Hazara population in the United States. This campaign is ultimately advocating for the increase of visas for Hazara refugees in the United States by lobbying for the classification of Hazaras as a vulnerable population. Limited access to visas are forcing Hazaras to undertake dangerous journeys to other countries, live in overcrowded refugee camps for years, or stay in Afghanistan where their right to a safe life is not protected. By upgrading the severity of refugee status for the Hazara population and raising awareness about the unjust treatment they have faced for years, Hazaras’ right to a safe life is better protected. This upgrade will require bipartisan Ohio government support stemming directly from the traction created by the signatures on this petition. This campaign is committed to protecting the basic human rights of the Hazara population and the advocacy for dignity regardless of background; thank you for your support.

The fight for women's rights in Afghanistan is a long and ongoing battle that has taken a huge step backwards with recent Taliban control. Despite immense danger and sacrifice, the Afghan women's soccer team is working to prove progress is possible. By breaking down cultural barriers and taking the field, they are not only challenging societal norms, but they are also providing a source of hope and inspiration. The problem? FIFA, the governing body of international soccer, refuses to recognize the team. This failure means the women cannot represent their country, compete in professional matches, or receive the funding they need to pay players and staff. But that can change. After months of player protests and widespread criticism over its human rights abuses in Doha, FIFA is eager to rehabilitate its image. And with the Women's World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand this July, FIFA will once again be center stage — and sensitive to public pressure and protest.  Right now, FIFA’s PR machine is closely watching and listening. That means we have a crucial opportunity to call on them to use their power for good. Can you join us to support women’s rights and diplomacy by signing our petition to FIFA President Gianni Infantino?

Last week’s circus on the House floor was an absurd means to an inevitable end: Kevin McCarthy is the new Speaker of the House. This week, the McCarthy era began with a grossly predictable assault on federal spending. The first vote of the Republican controlled chamber is to defund the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which successfully passed in the House.1 They specifically want to undo recent investments made to the IRS designed to strengthen the agency’s ability to crack down on millionaire, billionaire, and corporate tax cheats. In other words: they want to issue handouts to their wealthy donors. Sign the petition: the US Senate must reject House Republicans' attempt to undermine the IRS for the benefit of the rich and powerful. Who will benefit from a weakened IRS? Notably Donald Trump. His recently released tax returns expose a strategy of overseas bank accounts and manipulative real estate evaluations that effectively allowed him to dodge taxes.2,3 This is exactly why Democrats included an extra $80 billion in funding for the IRS in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.1 To go after ultra-wealthy tax cheats like Trump. Republican’s response has been to paint the I.R.S. investments as “militarizing the IRS” and creating “hordes of armed IRS agents” that would target small businesses and working Americans.4 They pretend to be serving the interests of working Americans when really, they’re just following the classic GOP playbook of catering to the ultra-wealthy. This hypocritical fear mongering is also on display in the name of their bill, “The Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act.” A more appropriate name might be something like “The Millionaire, Billionaire, and Corporate Taxpayer Protection Act.” Claiming their legislation will help working Americans when in reality it will only benefit the top one percent is about to be the status quo for the McCarthy run House. We need to rely on the Democrat-run Senate to hold the line and prevent this harmful legislation from becoming law. Sign the petition: Tell the US Senate to reject House Republicans attempts to defund the IRS! Sources: 1. NY Times, “House Republicans Vote to Rescind I.R.S. Funding,” January 9, 2023. 2. The Independent, “Trump had foreign bank accounts in China, UK and Ireland as president and one year paid more foreign tax than US,” December 30, 2022. 3. CNN, “Key takeaways from six years of Donald Trump’s federal tax returns,” December 30, 2022. 4. Reuters, “Fact Check-The IRS is not hiring thousands of armed agents, job ads show opening for specialized unit,” August 17, 2022.

In the last three years, nearly 1.1 million Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 100 million more have become ill. This huge, unnecessary price increase for the Moderna vaccine would have devastating impacts and will cause needless deaths and severe, long-term health challenges for so many due to millions of Americans not being able to afford the vaccine. It will make the vaccine unavailable and inaccessible for many millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans (especially low-income people, people with disabilities, and communities of color) who won’t be able to afford it. How many people will die from COVID-19 as a result of limited access to these life-saving vaccines? In the midst of a deadly pandemic, restricting access to this much-needed vaccine is unconscionable. The COVID-19 vaccines were jointly developed in partnership with scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a U.S. government agency that is funded by U.S. taxpayers, and the federal government, who directly provided $1.7 billion to Moderna for research and development. If Moderna more than quadrupled the price of the vaccine, it would make it unaffordable to the very residents of this country who made the production of the vaccine possible, not to mention the fact that this decision will make the vaccine inaccessible to countries across the world. That is not acceptable. It will also have a significantly negative impact on the budgets of Medicaid, Medicare, and other government programs that will continue covering the vaccine without cost-sharing for patients. It will cost taxpayers BILLIONS of dollars, and the outrageous price boost will increase private health insurance premiums. And in the midst of the worst public health crisis in the U.S. over the last two years, Moderna made over $19 billion in profits and used those profits to provide incredibly extravagant compensation packages to the CEO and other top officials at the company. The Moderna CEO even became a multi-billionaire as a direct result of Moderna’s COVID vaccine, and several Moderna chairmen, co-founders, and investors are now billionaires, too. Let’s be clear: The purpose of the recent taxpayer investment in Moderna was to protect our health and lives, not to turn a handful of corporate executives and investors into multi-billionaires. This is why we are urgently calling for Moderna to NOT increase the price of the people-funded COVID-19 vaccine!

I am Ember–a National Delegate from Northern California. I am also a queer person. I am concerned about the National Convention taking place in Florida, due to the recent rise in homophobic, transphobic, and racist legislation occurring Florida. Girl Scouts has been working to be a more inclusive organization, and this is very contrary to that ideal–bringing Girl Scouts of all identities to a place that doesn't embody that value and is an unsafe environment. When a state passes bigoted policies, it empowers people with those beliefs to act on their beliefs, which endangers Girl Scouts going to Florida. Bringing people–especially en masse– supports the Floridian economy and tells them that their policies and actions are acceptable and that there are not consequences. Girl Scouts' event going to Florida shows immediate disregard for queer and trans members' safety, needs, rights, and humanity. In order to amend this, I believe Girl Scouts must move the 2023 National Convention and Phenom out of Florida. Girl Scouts must take action (not just in words) to protect queer and trans attendees through, but not limited to: transportation from airports to the sites for safety, LGBTQ+ safe break rooms, and gender inclusive bathrooms at hotels and other centers. Girl Scouts can do better; Girl Scouts must do better. Girl Scouts prides itself on being a youth oriented and led inclusive organization, and listening to and acting for the needs of their membership on this issue is crucial to demonstrate this.