Help get Oregon on the Map?


Everytown for Gun Safety

 

Donate to Pass Background Checks

My life changed forever two years ago when my wife, Cindy Yuille, was shot and murdered at the Clackamas Town Center mall here in Oregon. It was two weeks before Christmas.

I don’t want anyone to ever have to experience this pain — which is why I’m fighting for a strong background check law in Oregon, and why I need your help.

Everytown supporters like you helped close the background check loophole at the ballot in Washington State last year. Now we want to make Oregon the first state of 2015 to follow suit, and send a message to the NRA that their years of controlling our nation’s gun laws are over.

Can you make a donation of $5 or more to help continue the fight for life-saving background checks in Oregon and all across the country?

Your donation will help fund critical advocacy efforts including advertising, organizing volunteers to meet with lawmakers, and driving calls and emails to lawmakers.

Background checks are the single most effective way to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.

And because people like you invested time, energy, and dollars in electing gun sense champions last fall, we have a real shot at making it the law of the land here in Oregon.

But only you can help get this legislation across the finish line and put Oregon on the map as the country’s newest background check state. The next few weeks in the state legislature will be crucial in Oregon.

Give $5 or more today to fuel the fight for background checks in Oregon and across the country:

https://donate.everytown.org/donate/oregon-BGC-donate

Our families deserve to feel safe. The more support we get from people like you, the better chance we stand at making comprehensive background checks a reality in every state.

Thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me and my family.

Robert Yuille
Portland, Oregon

Robert Yuille

Reaching a Comprehensive and Long-Term Deal on Iran’s Nuclear Program


Weekly Address: Reaching a Comprehensive and Long-Term Deal on Iran’s Nuclear ProgramIn this week’s address, the President described the historic understanding the United States — with our allies and partners — reached with Iran, which, if fully implemented, will prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and will make our country, our allies, and our world safer.The deal, announced on Thursday, meets ourcoreobjectives of cutting off every pathway that Iran could take to develop a nuclear weapon. It is both comprehensive and long-term, and includes robust and intrusive inspections of the country’s nuclear program. The President reiterated that the deal is not yet done — and if there is backsliding from Iran in the months to come, there will be no deal.He echoed his belief that a diplomatic resolution is by far the best option, and promised to continue to fully brief Congress and the American people on the substance and progress of the negotiations in the months to come.Watch the President’s Weekly Address here.

Watch President Obama's address here.

Top Stories
Dedicating the Edward M. Kennedy InstituteOn Monday, the President, Vice President, and First Lady traveled to Boston to celebrate the opening of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.Find out more about the Edward M. Kennedy Institute.Calling Sen. Kennedy a friend to whom he owed a lot, President Obama delivered a speech paying tribute to the late Senator’s accomplishments. The President also acknowledged the many ways in which the Institute would impact future generations and carry on Sen. Kennedy’s legacy.READ MORE

Granting Commutations to 22 Individuals

On Tuesday, President Obama granted 22 commutations to individuals serving time in federal prison. The President’s action underscores his commitment to bring increased fairness and equality to our justice system. Had these people been sentenced under current laws and policies, many of them would have already served their time. However, they were convicted under outdated sentencing and served more years than would be required under current law.

In addition to granting commutation, the President also penned a letter to each individual to encourage them to make good choices moving forward:

Learn more about the 22 commutations.

READ MORE

Promoting Innovative Job-Training Programs

President Obama traveled to Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday to discuss how high-quality job-training programs are critical to the growth of our nation’s economy. In fact, more than half a million current job openings are in the tech industry. While in Louisville, the President toured InDatus, a technology company that supports innovative job-training programs.

Watch the President's remarks in Louisville.

READ MORE

This week also marked the fifth anniversary of our West Wing Week video series — check out the special birthday edition here!

FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety April 2015


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04/03/2015 04:46 PM EDT Henry’s Farm Inc. of Woodford, VA is recalling all packages of soybean sprouts because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections to individuals with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
04/02/2015 05:06 PM EDT  Raja Foods of Maspeth, NY is recalling its 14 ounce packages of “SWAD Cumin Powder 14 oz” because they may contain undeclared peanuts. People who have allergies to peanut run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.

 

Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for recall 044-2015, Grand Papa’s Inc. Recalls Fried Pork Skin Products Produced Without Benefit of Inspection (March 13, 2015).

04/02/2015 08:49 PM EDT

The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy has ordered a recall for all lots of non-sterile and sterile products compounded, repackaged and distributed by Prescription Center Pharmacy located at 915 Hay Street, Fayetteville, NC, between September 10, 2014, and March 10, 2015.

04/01/2015 06:59 PM EDT Due to receiving a recall notice from its organic spinach supplier because of possible Listeria monocytogenes exposure, La Terra Fina is expanding its voluntarily recall to include one lot of its 10-ounce Chunky Spinach Artichoke & Parmesan Dip & Spread as outlined in the chart below. This action is being taken out of an abundance of caution due to this product having been manufactured on the same production equipment on the same day as the Organic Spinach Dip.

 

Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for recall 049-2015, Van Lang Foods Recalls Pork And Chicken Products Due To Misbranding And Undeclared Allergen (Mar 20, 2015).

 

Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for recall 055-2015, Lebanese Butcher Slaughter, Inc. Recalls Beef, Goat, and Lamb Products Due To Misbranding and Being Produced Without Benefit of Full Inspection (April 2, 2015).

USDA, with Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute, has released the FoodKeeper, an app to help consumers maintain food safety while minimizing food waste. The application is available for Android and Apple devices.  To make our digital content available anytime, anywhere, FSIS offers several apps. Information is available on the FSIS website.

Updated information is now available. A list of retail consignees has been posted for recall 017-2015, Pennsylvania Firm Recalls Pork Products Imported Without Benefit of Inspection (January 21, 2015).

Robber’s Roost Jerky Recalls Beef and Pork Jerky Product Due to Possible Listeria Contamination
Robber’s Roost Jerky, an Ellensburg, Wash., establishment, is recalling approximately 4 pounds of ready-to-eat smoked beef and pork pepper stick jerky product that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

03/31/2015 05:59 PM EDT Hannaford Supermarkets is alerting customers of a product recall. Nature’s Place Roasted Unsalted Mixed Nuts and Nature’s Place Cranberry Mix have been recalled due to potential salmonella contamination.
03/31/2015 05:56 PM EDT
Aurora Products, Inc. is expanding its voluntary nationwide recall of certain lots of NATURAL WALNUTS and TRAIL MIXES CONTAINING WALNUTS, to include one additional Private Label branded customer and to clarify the name of two products previously recalled. Products are being recalled because they have the potential to contain Salmonella which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

 

 

 

World Health Day 2015


Food safety is a global issue and this year the World Health Organization is focusing on food safety for World Health Day (April 7). Everyone, everywhere, needs safe food that is free from microbes, viruses and chemicals. But globalization means the food you are eating today may have come from the other side of the world, so the food safety controls that we have in the United States are a part of a global food safety effort.World Health Day Foodsafety.gov Image showing a family eating a meal with veggies, fruit, and meat

What can you do to join in this effort to make food safety a consistent part of the global health conversation?

  • ALWAYS use the 4 Steps to food Safety: Clean, Separate, Cook, & Chill when preparing food
  • VOTE for the FUNKY CHICKEN advertisement in the Ad Councils Matchup #2 for the MarchAdNess Campaign. Our Ad is in the Elite 8 and the farther we go in the bracket the better the chance we have at reaching more people with our food safety advice, warnings, and messages that help to prevent food borne illness.
  • Check out this video from the World Health Organization that explains the role we all play in making food safe – from farm to plate.
  • Spread the Word about food safety, share our message on your social media channels and use tags #foodsafety and #safefood.

Look for our blogs this coming week with more details about what you can do to help keep our food safe

Update from the WH Council on Women and Girls


WomenshcDear friends,

We hope this message finds you well.

It has been an exciting week here at the White House Council on Women and Girls! This week, Valerie Jarrett, Chair of the Council on Women and Girls and Senior Advisor to the President, announced the Administration’s #LeadOnLeave Tour — a nationwide project that will shine a spotlight on the issue of paid family leave and paid sick days, among other issues that impact families across America. Read on for how to follow this tour across the nation!

Continuing the focus on working families, President Obama gave his weekly address on protecting working families’ paychecks. In addition, the Air Force announced new initiatives to promote diversity and inclusivity, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality announced the start of open nominations for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Program.

Additionally, this week marks the fifth anniversary of West Wing Week, the White House’s weekly video guide to all that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Check out the fifth anniversary edition here.

Read on for opportunities to engage, and don’t forget to follow Valerie Jarrett on Twitter at @vj44. You can also email us at cwg@who.eop.gov.

We look forward to continuing the conversation!

Best regards,

The White House Council on Women and Girls

Latest News and Administration Highlights

#LeadOnLeave: Empowering Working Families Across America
Building on President Obama’s State of the Union announcements supporting greater workplace flexibility for families, the White House and the Labor Department will travel to states across the country to meet with employers, workers, state and local officials, and others to highlight best practices and discuss how paid leave and other flexible workplace policies can help support families and businesses.

Watch Labor Secretary Tom Perez’s announcement and remarks on #LeadOnLeave here:

See more about Lead on Leave.

How can you follow the #LeadOnLeave nationwide tour?

Valerie Jarrett, Secretary Perez, and other Administration officials will be live-blogging throughout the tour to share updates from the Secretary’s meetings with local businesses, workers, and community leaders. The Secretary made his first stop this week in Seattle, where he met with small businesses and advocates to talk about the importance of paid family leave and paid sick days.

Follow Secretary Perez’s blog on the White House website!

Weekly Address: Protecting Working Americans’ Paychecks
In this week’s address, the President highlighted the progress made protecting American consumers since he signed Wall Street reform into law five years ago, including an important new step taken by the independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier this week toward preventing abuses in payday lending.

The President emphasized his commitment to fighting to advance middle-class economics and ensure everybody who works hard can get ahead, while opposing attempts by Republicans both to weaken the CFPB and give large tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class.

Watch the President’s Weekly Address here:

See the President's Weekly Address.

U.S. Air Force Diversity and Inclusiveness Initiatives
The Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Deborah Lee James, released her statements this week from the March 4 “Women and Leadership in National Security” conference. Her new initiatives are aimed, in part, at creating path to leadership and higher ranks within the Air Force Officer Corps for women. She also added the first steps for launching the Air Force Career Path Tool (CPT), a web-based mentoring solution to encourage more diversity within the ranks. These new initiatives are crucial to promoting inclusivity within the Air Force and are paving the way to equality and diversity throughout the entire U.S. military.

2015 Solicitation for Nominations for Members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
In agency news, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is welcoming nominations for new Task Force members. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force is charged with enhancing the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services and access to such services under Title IX of the Public Health Service Act.

To review the nomination process and nominate an individual for consideration, please see the nomination form here. Nominations must be received by May 15, 2015 to be considered for appointment with an anticipated start date of January 2016.

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