WASHINGTON - February 20 - Representatives from more than 140 countries today committed to reduce global mercury pollution, which will help protect the world's citizens from the dangerous neurotoxin. This agreement was propelled by the United States' reversal in policy, which also influenced policy reversals of other countries, including China and India. The announcement is a historic step forward in the fight against mercury pollution, according to scientists and policy experts at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

WASHINGTON - February 17 - Public Citizen is delighted that a federal appeals court has decided to uphold New York City's landmark fast-food menu rule, which requires chain restaurants to disclose calorie information on their menus. Today's decision is a major victory in the fight against the obesity epidemic. It protects consumers' right to know important nutritional facts and make informed and healthy choices when they eat out.

HARARE/JOHANNESBURG/NEW YORK - February 17 - Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis continues to rapidly deteriorate, causing appalling suffering, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned today. The organization's medical teams have now treated almost 45,000 people for cholera, an estimated 75 percent of the total number of cases in the current outbreak, and the crisis is far from over.

NEW YORK - February 5 - In a victory for children's health and consumer safety, a federal judge today said children's toys and childcare products laden with harmful chemicals called phthalates must come off store shelves, ruling in favor of the Natural Resources Defense Council and Public Citizen in a lawsuit against the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

WASHINGTON - February 2 - Health advocates are urging Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and the state's General Assembly to ignore a report from a task force on trans fat that recommended against a legislative phase-out of the harmful food ingredient.

WASHINGTON - January 30 - ­ While it's common to see lipstick sales jump during an economic recession, the current global financial crisis may not produce the same result in Canada where the government today declared two chemicals used in lipstick and other personal care products to be toxic.