We must take steps to save lives.The public must let our leadership know we stand behind them. It is only by our speaking out that Congress will be pressured to take necessary sensible gun control action.

I took health class in Kenosha unified just like every other student but I was not taught about how to properly say "no" and stop a situation that could result in rape or sexual abuse. I was not taught what seems like common knowledge but isn't, if someone you are with says no or stop, that means stop what you are doing, not keep going. These are just a few points that need to be taught in sex Ed classes about consent. People need to know about it so we can stop all of the rape and abuse in this country.

Three trees on upper San Carlos Ave. are slated to be cut down unnecessarily. PG&E petitioned for them to be taken out because they require regular maintenance. The City of Oakland is taking comments now through July 1 and our voices can make a difference. Staff at the Public Works Department have received a few calls already and say that these calls carry weight. These are beautiful old trees that keep our street green, shady, and provide a home for birds, insects, and other wildlife. It would be a shame if these trees were removed simply because they’re an inconvenience for PG&E. Can you help save these trees by signing this petition? Thanks for sharing your voice and keeping Oakland green(ish)! Signatures will be forwarded to the city on June 30.

Around 10,000 dogs will be killed and eaten during the infamous Yulin Dog Meat Festival, which begins on June 21st. Over the course of the year, the Chinese cat and dog meat trade will be responsible for the death of up to 20 million cats and dogs. Activists have uncovered horrific abuse in the industry, including dogs being urinated on, beaten, stabbed, and boiled alive. Many dogs are stolen from families, stacked on top of each other in crates, and transported for days without food or water. The most recent investigation of the Yulin slaughterhouses adds to the mountain of evidence showing that using animals for food is inherently violent and unethical. The US government is currently in strategic dialogue with China on a variety of global affairs. Additionally, China is feeling the pressure to stop the cat and dog meat trade and sales are falling. The time is now for President Obama to raise the issue of the cat and dog meat trade with Chinese officials and publicly condemn the industry. Like so many of us, President Obama is a dog lover. This is his opportunity to leave a legacy for the cats and dogs and cat and dog lovers of the world and show that animal abuse -- no matter the species or country -- is always wrong. Watch the investigation at YulinIsEverywhere.com.

It Matters: The Utah legislature approved an investment of 53 million taxpayer dollars to build a coal port in Oakland, California. There are levels upon levels of potential conflicts of interest (http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2016/groups-call-for-federal-investigation-of-utah-plan-to-finance-oakland-coal-export-terminal). More importantly is the impact this coal port will have on Utah and Oakland communities. The coal port project is designed to benefit a small few, while Utah coal towns and Oakland families will ultimately bear the burden of the devastating economic, environmental, and health consequences that will inevitably result from the port. Call to Action: As Utahns, we have a unique opportunity to add our voice with Oakland’s local leaders - let’s make it count! Tell the Oakland City Council to block this port. Californians do not want it, and neither do Utahns! Don’t be Fooled: The money used to fund the Oakland coal port are mineral royalties redistributed to states through the Mineral Lands Act (MLA) for the purpose of rebuilding infrastructure and countering other negative effects of mineral extraction on communities. This money is not intended to be used to build and expand mining, but to help communities recover. There is also no shortage of existing port capacity, which means it is not only a misappropriation of funds - it is unnecessary. This port is not an investment in the future of Utah or Oakland economies. It is another shady deal made behind closed doors meant to line the pockets of Bowie executives, not the miners in Price, Utah. Add your name to our petition to voice your support. Visit our website (http://betterutah.org) for more information or to get involved with our efforts. For more information, or to verify our claims, follow these links below. We encourage you to do so! Alliance for a Better Utah website: http://betterutah.org No Coal in Oakland website: http://nocoalinoakland.info WOEIP Says Coal Scheme Violates Civil Right Act: http://nocoalinoakland.info/does-the-coal-plan-violate-federal-civil-right-law/ California Senate moves to Delay Oakland Coal-Export Plant: http://www.sltrib.com/home/3957335-155/california-senate-moves-to-delay-oakland If Coal is Too Dirty for the U.S., Why Would Oakland Build a Dock to Export it to Asia?: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-adv-oakland-coal-port-20160506-story.html

The House Freedom Caucus is a subversive, ultra-right-wing group of approximately 40 Reps in the U.S. House. The secretive group does not even publish an official list of it's members. It has been reported by the Pew Research Center that "decisions agreed to by 80% of the caucus are supposed to be binding on all." This would seem to violate the U.S. House of Representative's Code of Ethics and the democratic principles that our government is founded upon. The House Ethics Manual includes the Code of Ethics for Government Service which states that those in government service should "make no private promises binding on the duties of office." A Representative's vote should be cast on the behalf of that Representative's constituents and be based upon their own conscience. If true that members of the Freedom Caucus have taken an oath to bind their vote a certain way, even if that vote violates their conscience and disagrees with the way that the Representative had intended to vote, then the very nature of our democracy has been compromised. A Representative should not encumber their vote to anything other than their Oath of Office. The House Ethics Committee needs to investigate the matter to determine if such an oath has been taken. If an oath has been taken the Committee must determine who has taken it and what votes were potentially changed due to the oath. Appropriate punishment must then be handed down to any Representatives guilty of any ethics violations.

We're urging Nancy Pelosi and every member of Congress to support a discharge petition to force a vote on the assault weapons ban. If 218 House members sign onto this, Paul Ryan can't stop it from getting a vote on the House floor. Every vulnerable House Republican will have to say where they stand on this popular proposal. Donald Trump and Republicans aren’t talking about how the mass shooting in Orlando was a targeted attack on LGBT Americans. They aren’t talking about how people of color were disproportionately the victims. They aren’t acknowledging that this is just the latest in a long series of attacks that could have been prevented if we had reasonable gun laws. As this unique push makes big news, every vulnerable House Republican will have to say where they stand on this popular proposal.

As a mother raising my kids in California’s agricultural heartland, I was horrified when I learned that my 8-year old son has traces of 50 different hazardous pesticides in his body. The shocking discovery came when a French TV station recently showed up in my community of Orange Cove in the San Joaquin Valley. They analyzed hair samples from six local children, including my son, and found that all six of the kids had at least 50 pesticides in their hair. And many of these agricultural pesticides have been linked to a host of serious health harms including asthma, cancer, ADHD, autism, neurological disorders, and reduced IQ. Why did it take a foreign TV station to point out what is happening to rural kids in California? Why isn’t the state doing anything to stop it? It turns out the California Department of Public Health reported back in 2014 on the massive use of agricultural pesticides near schools – more than half a million pounds of 144 hazardous drift-prone pesticides are applied within a quarter mile of schools in California every year. But the Department of Pesticide Regulation, responsible for protecting California residents from pesticide exposure, still has not acted. It is time to regulate pesticide use near schools. DPR must: • Establish protection zones prohibiting use of the most hazardous pesticides – namely, pesticides of public health concern as recognized by the California Department of Public Health, pesticides labeled “Danger-Poison,” and pesticides designated as California-restricted materials – within 1 mile of schools, licensed day care facilities, school bus stops, and known school routes. • Require that the above 1-mile protection zones be enforced at all times. • Require notification of schools and licensed day care facilities at least 1 week before any other agricultural pesticides are applied within 1 mile of their properties.

Governor Christie is standing in the way of voters who overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to fund open space preservation projects. If Christie gets his way, money for open space preservation that’s already sitting in the state Treasury will be diverted, and less land will be protected for our children and grandchildren! The legislature has never overridden one of Christie’s vetoes before. But this time things are different. Voters – from all parties – overwhelmingly called for open space funding. Money is already set aside. And open space has support from Democrats and Republicans in the legislature. If enough of us speak up, we can show legislators that their constituents will have their back if they buck Governor Christie. Send a message to your lawmakers now. Add your name to the thousands who have spoken out for open space and who support a vote to override Governor Christie.

An amazing and beautiful community in the U.S. — Puerto Rico — is facing financial collapse, putting women, children and families at most risk. Due to the greed of Wall Street speculators who lent Puerto Rico billions of dollars knowing that it did not have access to bankruptcy court, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans have been forced out of their homes to the mainland United States while those who remain on the island are facing great hardship, including severe cuts to necessary services like health and education. Children, 80 percent of whom already live in high-poverty areas, are especially bearing the brunt of Wall Street's greed: many foster care parents aren't getting paid therefore must surrender children; special education is pretty much non-existent; and basic health services like Zika virus prevention has been cut due to lack of funds. The government of Puerto Rico and its people are starving while our country's wealthiest hedge fund managers expect us — the U.S. taxpayer — to pay back their loans. Please join us and tell the White House and U.S. Congress to aid Puerto Rican families – not aid vulture hedge fund managers!

The DNC platform committee just released a draft version of the party platform and though it is the most progressive agenda ever, we need to push the party even further to realize the political revolution that Bernie's campaign sparked. It's crucial we make our voices heard prior to the final convening in Orlando, where the draft will go before the entire platform committee. This platform will have major implications for races at all levels of government across the country—and it’s one of our best tools for establishing our shared vision for the policies we push for and secure in the coming years. We have, as Bernie Sanders calls it, "a very good start" but there is still more that needs to be added to the DNC platform. We need specific language against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and in support of universal health care, free public higher education, an end to fracking and a carbon tax to effectively address our human-caused climate crisis and an end to mass deportations.

Just two days after Apple announced that it would not support a Republican National Convention led by Donald Trump and his hate-filled campaign, news broke that Apple's CEO Tim Cook was planning to host a private fundraiser for GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan and other House Republicans in Menlo Park, CA. It is saddening to see that just days after taking the courageous stand to not align with Trump's brand of racism, vitriol and misogyny, Apple CEO Tim Cook is planning to raise money for the same Republicans that are backing Donald Trump. The same Republicans who have blocked legislation to expand workplace protections to LGBTQ people, who have consistently denied climate change, and who have opposed common sense gun safety reforms supported by the overwhelming majority of the American people.