Pennsylvania must stop punishing truancy by imposing costly fines and jail time on often-struggling families.

Melissa Calhoun just became the first Florida teacher to be fired for respecting and using a student’s preferred name. She’s been working in the Brevard County School District in Florida since 2013—but as of May 2025, her contract will not be renewed.  After the student’s parents found out Calhoun was using her student’s preferred name without a signed letter of parental consent, they sparked an investigation, which could ultimately throw her teaching license into jeopardy.  The freedom to build trust and rapport with students is essential to creating a welcoming educational environment where students can learn best. Republicans’ anti-trans attacks on our communities will only serve to make our schools less safe, less compassionate, and less effective. This isn’t just about one person, it’s about educators and teaching staff everywhere. Teachers should have the freedom to teach—and that includes being able to engage and respect their students.  Sign the petition demanding that Melissa Calhoun have her contract renewed now >> 

We, the undersigned, urge the members of the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee to approve The Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban Act of 2025 and allow it to move forward to the full Senate for a vote. Assault weapons have been used in some of the deadliest mass shootings across the country. These military-style firearms are designed for maximum lethality and have no place in our communities, schools, or streets. Rhode Island has an opportunity to take meaningful action to reduce gun violence and protect public safety. This bill reflects the will of many residents who support common-sense gun laws that prioritize human lives over access to weapons of war. Advancing this bill out of committee is a crucial step toward creating safer neighborhoods and preventing future tragedies. Please show leadership and stand with the majority of Rhode Islanders who support stronger gun safety laws. Move the Assault Weapons Ban Act to the Senate floor and vote for its passage.  

The conservative majority of the Supreme Court just upheld Tennessee's ability to ban gender affirming care—putting health choices in the hands of politicians, not doctors or parents. And unfortunately, this will just open the door to more attacks on health care and against LGBTQ+ rights broadly. There have been more than 850+ anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced by Republicans in state legislatures across the country already in 2025—and we’re only halfway through the year. These bills disproportionately target young people, especially trans youth. The far right is ramping up its attack on all of us by further marginalizing our communities in order to align themselves with the Trump administration and sow division among everyday Americans. We have to fight back.  We need state leaders to step up to protect residents against these blatantly discriminatory attacks and defend LGBTQ+ communities. Sign the petition to demand state governors do everything in their power to BLOCK anti-LGBTQ+ legislation from passing in their states. 

Update: Kilmar returned to the U.S. on 6/6/2025 but remains in jail as the Trump administration continues to violate his rights and lodge bogus and unsubstantiated charges against him in an attempt to unjustly deport him again to an unspecified third country.  --------- Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a longtime Maryland resident and father of three, was illegally deported to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador—despite a U.S. immigration judge’s ruling that he should remain in the country. Even after the Supreme Court ordered that Kilmar’s deportation was unlawful, Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have refused to comply. Instead, they doubled down—laughing off the ruling, smearing Kilmar as a “terrorist,” and refusing to take action to bring him home. Kilmar’s deportation was the result of what the Trump administration called an “administrative error.” Yet rather than fixing that mistake, they’ve condemned him to indefinite detention in CECOT, a prison infamous for inhumane conditions, where human rights experts warn of torture and cruel, degrading, and inhumane treatment.

On July 14th 2025, my father-in-law, Walter Scott, lost his life when his motorized wheelchair became lodged in the BNSF Railway tracks in Woodward County, Oklahoma. The crossing lacked proper safety infrastructure—no ramps, no protective edging, and no design to prevent wheelchair wheels from slipping into the rails. It was a deadly hazard. This is not just a personal tragedy. It’s a systemic failure that puts every pedestrian—and especially people with disabilities—at risk. But it’s also one we can prevent. We are calling on Woodward County, the City of Woodward, and BNSF Railway to work together to: • Install ADA-compliant pedestrian walkways at all railroad crossings—specifically at locations near neighborhoods, schools, parks, and medical facilities. • Build proper ramps and edge protections to prevent mobility device wheels from slipping into track grooves. • Add visual and audible warning systems to alert pedestrians of approaching trains. • Regularly inspect and maintain crossings to ensure ongoing safety

When cinema was invented in the 1890's, no one could have predicted that it would become one of the primary tools of documenting and narrating the human experience. Cinema has the power to show us who we were, who we are, and who we can be. It is blatantly obvious that the choices that the executives within the motion picture industry have made have intentionally or inadvertently omitted and/or truncated and/or silenced the voices and stories of people of color and women. That's why we need to rise up and tell this powerful and wealthy industry that it is time for a change in the movies they select to produce, the voices they choose to share, and the people who are at the focus of these stories that are watched by billions of people all over the world. Can you sign this petition that is directed at the CEOs and Presidents of these corporations that are in control of cinema and the movie business industry and ask them to increase the diversity in their movies by 25% over the next 5 years?

While we are banning the Confederate flag from the good state of Maryland, it is time to shine light on the Maryland state song [“Hogan hedges on removing statue, stadium name,” Metro, June 25]. Adopted by the state legislature in 1939, it calls President Lincoln a despot. It entreats Maryland to secede from the union and win the Civil War. The poem that became the lyrics was written just after the bloodshed in Baltimore caused when Lincoln called troops to Washington. The most quizzical part of this is the date this song was adopted: 74 years after the Civil War. This is an embarrassment, especially when the song is played at the Preakness. The Maryland state song should be updated immediately. Joseph O. Boggi, Silver Spring http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/oh-maryland-time-to-update-the-state-song/2015/06/28/e0073e32-1c1d-11e5-bed8-1093ee58dad0_story.html

Robin hood Tax This line stands alone and without condition a new independent tax created to help face some of the struggles this country has been trough over the years and it is time to pay back in full the debt owed her. In these lines include a 10% overall tax for the top 25 richest persons or entity. These tax dollars collected go directly into a community college program were students can go to school on their phone. These dollars in all are to be spent in educating Americans to do more than just work. A new court be formed to recon the due offices and community be owed the duty and graceful temper to hold the ones we build and develop up to the light to pursue new fateful career transforming knowledge into common balance with responsibility. These dollars be stricken directly off adjusted gross income.

A car's gas mileage decreases once it gets past its optimal speed. For most cars, this is around 50-60 mph. This means that every time you go over this speed, you're essentially wasting gas and money - and sharply increasing your GHG output. A slight decrease in your highway driving speed will significantly reduce GHG emissions, while minimally effecting your travel time. According to the department of energy, the average car will attain its posted mileage at 55 mph. As the speed increases: - 3% less efficient at 60 mph - 8% less efficient at 65 mph - 17% less efficient at 70 mph - 23% less efficient at 75 mph - 28% less efficient at 80 mph Reducing the speed from 65-75 MPH to 50-55MPH can reduce GHG output by 25-30%