June 30, 2010

As Hurricane Alex churns through the Gulf of Mexico toward south Texas and Mexico, the American Red Cross is positioning workers, shelter and feeding equipment and emergency vehicles in Texas. The storm is bringing strong winds and torrential rain to the area, and coastal residents are being evacuated, as well as crews on oil rigs and platforms in the area. An additional concern is that the Rio Grande delta region is prone to flood during heavy rain. "We could see significant flooding from this storm, forcing people to stay in our shelters for longer periods," said Joe Becker, senior vice president for Red Cross Disaster Services. "People should take any evacuation orders seriously and leave when told to do so." Full release.

PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) today announced the Dream Machine Summer Recycling Challenge, a national call-to-action asking Americans to commit to recycle every can and bottle at summertime cookouts, starting with Independence Day. The more Americans recycle in Dream Machines, the more support PepsiCo will provide to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a national program offering free, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities. Full release.

Amid fears that two Iranian women may be executed imminently, including one by stoning for adultery, Amnesty International renewed its demand today that Iranian authorities immediately halt all executions and commute all death sentences. The human rights organization is also urging the authorities to review and repeal death penalty laws, to disclose full details of all death sentences and executions, and to join the growing international trend toward abolition. Full release.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service today announced more than $5 million in grants to aid homeless female veterans and veterans with families. Twenty-six grants in 14 states and the District of Columbia will provide job training, counseling and placement services (including job readiness, and literacy and skills training) to expedite the reintegration of homeless female veterans and veterans with families into the labor force through the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. Full release.

Caring for someone with Alzheimer's or dementia can be a daunting task, even for the most experienced of professionals working with seniors daily in assisted living and memory care. Now there is help and guidance from the experts at Best Friends Approach Virginia Bell and David Troxel. The Best Friends Bill of Rights outlines 12 rules that when adapted, can make a world of difference in the quality of daily life to the one suffering as well as those acting in the role of caregiver. Full release.

Cuba's government continues to stifle dissent through arbitrary arrests, surveillance, intimidation and harassment of journalists, dissidents and activists, despite recent assertions that freedom of expression is respected inside Cuba, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. "Restrictions on freedom of expression in Cuba are systematic and entrenched," said the 35-page report, Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in Cuba, which highlights cases of journalists, writers, government critics and others who have been harshly dealt with by a government intent on silencing their views. Full release.

Attorney General Eric Holder met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Minister of Justice Habibullah Ghalib and Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Aloko today to discuss the department's ongoing efforts to foster the rule of law in Afghanistan. At the conclusion of the meetings, the Attorney General made the following statement: "I am pleased to be in Kabul today and to have had the opportunity to meet with President Karzai, Minister of Justice Ghalib, Attorney General Aloko and other distinguished Afghan officials. The United States is committed to succeeding in Afghanistan and breaking the Taliban's momentum. As we heard President Obama say on June 23, the United States will "persist and persevere" and "we will not tolerate a safe haven for terrorists who want to destroy Afghan security from within, and launch attacks against innocent men, women and children in our country and around the world." Full release.

"Safety systems should be designed to protect workers and the environment first, not exploration and production budgets," according to congressional testimony today by a conservation group that has worked on Gulf Coast restoration for more than three decades. "The loss of 11 lives on the Deepwater Horizon was the tragic beginning of a series of losses that continue to mount, including the accelerated loss of wildlife and wetlands, the impacts on sport and commercial fishermen and their associated industries, and the loss of tourism," testified Elgie Holstein, oil spill response coordinator for Environmental Defense Fund during a hearing on draft legislation, the "Blowout Prevent Act," before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee. Full release.

E-commerce merchants, one of the fastest-growing segments of the retail and service economy, will not be protected by new Congressional legislation, according to merchant rights advocate Robert Livingstone, president and founder of IdealCost.com, a consulting firm that reduces credit card acceptance fees for merchants without switching their existing provider. "It is a tragedy that Congress is forgetting about the rights of e-commerce merchants conducting business on the Internet," said Robert Livingstone, president of IdealCost.com. "Consumers won't save any money and e-commerce merchants will wind up paying higher fees." Full release.

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