Trump’s pick for commerce secretary assures lawmakers he is not anti-trade

Like the man who picked him to be the next commerce secretary, Wilbur L. Ross is a billionaire with extensive financial interests and an ardent critic of America's trade policies - both of which came under scrutiny at his confirmation hearing Wednesday morning. President-elect Donald Trump's rise on a tide of anti-globalization and populist attacks on trade has raised concerns among businesses that the new administration will take aggressive protectionist actions and worsen the climate for trade.

Human rights groups slam Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for secretary of State

Donald Trump's pick for secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, fields human rights questions at his Senate confirmation hearing in Washington on Wednesday. Donald Trump's pick for secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, fields human rights questions at his Senate confirmation hearing in Washington on Wednesday.

Tillerson draws flak for not tagging PH as human rights violator

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State earned the ire of lawmakers on the first day of his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, January 11 for refusing to recognize certain countries as human rights violators, including the Philippines. During the hearing, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio grilled Rex Tillerson about his view on the anti-drug campaign launched by President Rodrigo Duterte and the allegations that thousands of Filipino drug suspects were killed by police and vigilantes.

LGBT activists brace for efforts to undermine their gains

In this April 25, 2016 file photo, protesters head to the legislative building in Raleigh, N.C., for a sit-in against House Bill 2, a contentious law that limited protections for LGBT people. After a string of major gains in recent years, LGBT activists are bracing for a different task in 2017 - trying to prevent Republicans in Congress and state legislatures from undermining those gains.

Activists Prepare For Congress To Count Electoral Votes

At least one organization organization argues that "just among Republican electors, there are at least 50 electoral votes that were not regularly given or not lawfully certified." The Electoral College may have voted to name Donald Trump president weeks ago, but there are some protesters still fighting back.

Activists arrested protesting Trump’s Attorney General pick

Police in Alabama have arrested six African-American civil rights activists staging a sit-in at Senator Jeff Sessions' office to protest his nomination for US Attorney General, criticizing his record on voting rights and race relations. Members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People had vowed to occupy Sessions' Mobile, Alabama office until the conservative Republican lawmaker either withdrew as a candidate or they were arrested.

Point by Point Response to Likud Party Propaganda

As Israel's myriad human rights abuses and contraventions of international law have become impossible to deny, one argument that apologists for Israel routinely fall back on is: While Israel has engaged in human rights and other abuses, other countries commit far worse abuses. Therefore, it is wrong - and possibly indicative of anti-Semitism - to focus excessively on Israel's wrongs.

‘Community swell’ needed to address racial justice and policing in America

More than two years after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the fraught relationship between law enforcement and African Americans continues to spark controversy and calls for action. This tension - and how to address the divide between communities and the police - were examined at a policy forum held Friday, Dec. 9, at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs .

U.N. environment chief concerned at climate science skeptics among Trump picks

Erik Solheim, executive director of the UN Environment Programme , speaks during an interview with Reuters in Jakarta, Indonesia December 14, 2016. Erik Solheim, executive director of the UN Environment Programme , speaks during an interview with Reuters in Jakarta, Indonesia December 14, 2016.

Trump defends cabinet as hardline picks criticized

President-elect says secretarial picks will be 'one of the greatest cabinets' ever assembled, says members 'committed to advancing common good' US President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a Victory Tour Rally, on December 8, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. Trump is taking time time to speak several of the states that helped him win the election .

Trump cons the media on climate

President-elect Donald Trump speaks to members of the media in the lobby at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 6, 2016. CREDIT: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik This week, President-elect Donald Trump met with some of the biggest names in climate activism: former vice president Al Gore and actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

How religious conservatives unwittingly laid the groundwork to help Native Americans save theira

Much has been written about the success of the Standing Rock protests, where a sustained campaign launched by self-described "water protectors" hailing from more than 300 indigenous tribes managed to pressure the Army Corps of Engineers into reevaluating its support for the construction of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. Although it remains unclear whether the decision will withstand a Donald Trump administration, many commentators and environmental advocates have heralded the victory as a bellwether for the power of activism.

Trump settles on Oklahoma’s attorney general to lead EPA

President-elect Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that he will nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, a global warming skeptic, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, which he has repeatedly sued and derided for pursuing an "activist agenda." "My administration strongly believes in environmental protection, and Scott Pruitt will be a powerful advocate for that mission while promoting jobs, safety and opportunity," Trump said in an early morning statement.

Gore says U.S. climate curbs on track, hopes Trump will surprise

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are likely to fall irrespective of the pro-coal policies of President-elect Donald Trump, who may still surprise the world by embracing global action to limit climate change, former vice president Al Gore said. Gore, a climate activist who will lead a 24-hour televised marathon on Dec. 5-6 about global efforts to limit rising temperatures, told Reuters that companies and U.S. states would cut emissions despite Trump's doubts that warming is man-made.

350.org Japan and Green Peace Japan Hold Joint #NoDAPL Action…

Japan and Green Peace Japan held a "#NoDAPL Japan" photo action to highlight the massive financing that Japanese banks are pouring into the Dakota Access Pipeline project in the U.S., a project that has endangered water access rights among minority populations in the country. This action was conducted in solidarity with a number of actions planned around the world to express opposition to the pipeline project [1].