We are all hurt by the high cost of prescription drugs, whether at the pharmacy counter, through our insurance premiums, or through government spending of our taxpayer dollars. At a time when one in three Marylanders reports having skipped a dose or rationed medication due to cost, legislators need to hear from you to take action on SB 357/HB 424 to make prescription drugs affordable in our state.  Maryland is at a critical turning point: will we continue to lead the nation on prescription drug affordability, or will we bend to the pressures of Big Pharma’s greed?  Urge your Senator TODAY to support strengthening Maryland’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board by giving the Board the authority it needs to make high-cost drugs more affordable for all of us.

Congress funds FEMA every year during its annual appropriations bill, but its budget can be supplemented throughout the year if funding is not enough.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—and programs like the Fire Management Assistance Grant—are critical in responding to weather disasters like this. And as our climate crisis becomes even more dire, it's only going to be more urgent that FEMA and the programs it manages are fully funded.  In December, Congress passed a funding bill to avoid a government shutdown through March 15, 2025. Thankfully, that funding bill provided FEMA with $29 billion for relief aid, but as recovery efforts persist and the frequency of climate disasters continues to rise, significantly more funding will be urgently needed to address the growing demand for disaster relief. Fire Management Assistance helps states recover by providing 75% federal cost share, with the state paying the remaining 25%. The fires in Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst have already received declarations for Fire Management Assistance. Last year, there were more than 60 Fire Management Assistance Declarations that are still active. If we are going to continue to support states in responding to fire crises, we need to make sure FEMA has the funding it needs for the rest of the year.   When natural disasters like this strike, we need every single leader in Congress to act swiftly and with integrity to make sure people get the assistance they need and communities can rebuild from the devastating damage. Tell Congress to fully fund FEMA and FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant!

I am on duty 7 days a week, no days off, and no holidays from 7:30am until 9 pm. I teach temper control on the reentry wing at Danville Correctional Center.  I am a peer educator/ mentor.  Unlike the other volunteer mentors in this wing, I was chosen for the position.  I'm working on my 21st year without acquiring a ticket.  I said all that to say that my actions can relay what my words can't.  My action I pray show whom I have become so that I can be a productive member of society.  I do regret my past decisions but I'm grateful for the chance to help others before they find themselves in my shoes.  By helping them with accessin their feelings and learning to control their actions.  I'm not denying who I was but I'm asking for consideration for the man that I have become and aspire to be.  I value life on a totally different level now.  Upon my release I plan to continue to level up.  I plan to use the tools that I have available to restore my family and myself. Thank you for your time and consideration  Derick U. White N80896

President Biden put a pause on 18 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export approvals last year to allow the Department of Energy (DOE) to do a study that was released just before the holidays. He was acting on the calls made by environmental and climate advocates and all of you who added your voices via petitions and many other actions. We argued that the DOE was failing to do its job of determining if proposed LNG projects are in the public interest. The analysis released last month was refreshingly frank it its findings that, indeed, they are not in the public interest at all and that they are unnecessary to boot! Secretary Granholm's statement provides a concise overview of the study's conclusions. Unfortunately, the study did not prompt the Biden administration to use the analysis to reject pending and future LNG export projects. The controversial pause found its way into the presidential campaign when Donald Trump vowed to undo it and approve the projects when he takes office. The study's release triggered a 60-day comment period that is scheduled to end on February 18. This petition will be submitted to the docket, but it's not enough. Here's why: - We don't know if Trump will terminate the comment period on January 20. Therefore, we need to gather as many comments as we can by January 19. - We don't know if Trump will take down the comments already submitted. - We do know that a petition, even if it's signed by a million people, will only count as one comment (it's something in a category of things I call Stupid Regulator Tricks). Although they don't count as separate comments, a large number of signatures gets regulators' attention. Given what we do know and what we can only guess about at this point, we're asking everyone to take the additional step of submitting an individual comment to urge the administration to reject the pending projects. That way, the comments will be counted if Trump doesn't remove them. We've come up with a way of collecting comments that makes it easy for you to submit one and allows us to store your documents if he does remove them. Your comments will be valuable for judges to consider in the court cases that will surely ensue. You can use what we're calling our EZ form here. If you prefer to submit a comment directly to Regulations.gov, you can find it here. We ask that you sign our petition even if you don't want to submit an individual comment. We'll post it to the docket on January 19.

Meta has announced it will stop fact-checking content across its social media platforms and will end most content moderation. Instead, the company is opting for a "community notes" program, relying on users to comment on the integrity of posts. What could go wrong here? It’s important to see this for what it is: Mark Zuckerberg bowing to Donald Trump. It’s no coincidence that the trillion-dollar company made this announcement just days before Donald Trump’s inauguration. And Meta has already donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. For years, Trump and congressional Republicans have falsely accused Meta and other social media platforms of censorship and stifling free speech because of its efforts to curb hate speech and disinformation. And now Meta, led by Zuckerberg, is scrambling to get on Trump’s good side before he takes office, at the expense of the rest of us.  Research shows that bias has not been identified in Meta’s fact-checking history, despite conservatives cries. It’s obvious that this move is more about protecting Meta from Republican attacks than protecting freedom of speech. And the result for the rest of us is grave—more unchecked conspiracy theories and lies that target LGBTQ+ people, communities of color and immigrants, the integrity of our elections, and the accuracy of major national crises like COVID-19 and natural disasters.  Sign the petition to demand Meta reinstate fact-checking and content moderation across all platforms immediately!

We ask this for the following reasons: • The flood maps used for this project, the largest warehouse project in the state at 5.5 million square feet of warehouse space , issued in 1999 were seriously out of date when the project was approved. It makes no sense to ignore the new rainfall and stormwater data available in 2025 to build a project of this size. • The DEP worked with BP during the application time to make sure that their application was grandfathered under the old flood maps when it was approved by the DEP on December 1, 2022.  We want the DEP to be true to their mission and use the best available science to protect the citizens of the state.

Did you know RFK Jr. wanted to stop infectious disease drug development and research for 8 years? He supports defunding lifesaving research that is used to develop treatments and cures for diseases. [1] Did you know RFK Jr. does not believe infectious diseases are an enormous threat to public health? [2] With him in charge, it could lead to a deadly resurgence in illnesses like measles and polio. Did you know RFK Jr. promoted anti-vaccine conspiracy theories in American Samoa that led to a measles outbreak which killed 83 people, mainly children? [3] His dangerous fringe beliefs have a body count. Did you know RFK Jr. has no experience running a government agency, let alone an organization this big? The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 13 sub-agencies and has a budget of well over $1 trillion and more than 80,000 employees. [4] He is too inexperienced to oversee Medicare and Medicaid for 125 million Americans each year.  RFK Jr. is a dangerous threat to America's health. Tell your Senators to oppose his nomination now! Sources: 1. "RFK Jr pushes for 'break' in infectious diseases research," The Independent, November 4, 2023 https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-vaccines-b2441705.html 2. "RFK Jr. Claims 'Vaccine Research' Likely Responsible for HIV and the Spanish Flu," Rolling Stone, June 27, 2023 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rfk-kennedy-anti-vaccine-panel-conspiracies-hiv-spanish-flu-1234779689/ 3. "The controversial changes RFK Jr. could make to vaccine policy as HHS chief," PBS News, December 10, 2024 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/the-controversial-changes-rfk-jr-could-make-to-vaccine-policy-as-hhs-chief 4. "'He's not a manager': Former RFK Jr. staffers on how he’d run HHS," Politico, November 28, 2024 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/28/rfk-hhs-management-doubts-00191852

Teachers are the glue that hold a community together. Great teachers can save a community from itself and be what holds our children together when they slip through our fingers. Sign the petition to help bring back Mr. Gioia!! 

The fourth anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol is fast approaching, and yet the Plaque honoring those who fought to protect the Capitol, mandated by law, has not been installed. Please join us in demanding the immediate installation of the Jan6 plaque to honor the police officers who saved the US Capitol complex on January 6, 2021.

Science for the Public Good: An Open Letter to the 119th Congress I am asking you to defend the science and scientists that keep Americans safe. The Trump administration's current agenda promises to eviscerate the protections that Americans count on and support: clean air and water; safe food and medicine; products that won't harm us; and protection from extreme weather and other damaging effects of climate change. Without strong federal science, people will suffer, and historically marginalized communities will continue to bear the burden of these harms. Independent science can inform strong public policy that puts the health, safety and welfare of Americans first. Protecting rigorous and independent science is a common-sense, nonpartisan goal. The reason behind the Trump administration's radical proposals to sideline science and scientists is crystal clear: science stands in the way of polluters and special interests unleashing unprecedented amounts of pollution that would put short-term profits over people, no matter the cost to current and future generations of Americans. The next stretch of the Trump administration will be absolutely essential for taking action that can save science that saves lives. Science supporters in your district and state are mobilizing to fight back and prevent the politicization of science and firing of scientists who help protect our families and communities. This is a critical time to show the administration that members of Congress of both parties are united in championing the science that helps protect the communities they represent. I am asking for your support.

We joined Polaris Pharmacy Services with the understanding that the previous PTO policy was a standout benefit that reflected the company's commitment to employee well-being. These changes contradict that expectation and have created frustration among employees. We respectfully request that Polaris Pharmacy Services revert to the previous PTO policy, with 23 days of flexible PTO, to better support employee satisfaction and uphold the company’s commitment to fostering a positive work-life balance. Thank you for taking the time to listen to the voices of your employees. We hope to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve this matter. Sincerely, The Employees of Polaris Pharmacy Services

Mr. Aliou Bah was arrested on December 26, 2024. He is a father of young children, a husband, and a hope for millions of Guineans around the world to bring freedom and democracy to the West African Nation. He was arrested because he speaks openly for the return of democratic systems in Guinea, freedom and the rule of law. Help save this man's life.