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For Immediate Release
March, 20 2023, 09:03am EDT
Contact:
Email: info [at] priceofoil.org
IPCC’s Report Raises the Alarms to Code Red
Today, the IPCC released its last report under the Sixth Assessment Cycle after approval by government delegates in Interlaken. The Synthesis Report covers the major findings from the last three Assessment reports and the Special Reports, and provides a comprehensive scientific framework for understanding the climate crisis and solutions to it.
In response, Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Campaign Manager, Oil Change International, said:
“The IPCC’s Synthesis Report once more raises the alarms to code red: we need urgent action on the climate crisis. With nearly 3.6 billion people worldwide highly climate vulnerable, there is no alternative to a rapid fossil fuel phase-out. We must replace our extractive, inequitable energy system with one built on renewable, regenerative solutions. Yet, this report shows that, even now, governments and corporations are investing more in fossil fuels causing this crisis than the solutions we need to tackle it. Any government leader who sees this science yet keeps slow-walking solutions, doing the bidding of big polluters, will be complicit in mass devastation and death.
“The United Nations Secretary-General’s response to the IPCC report makes it abundantly clear that the time when countries can pretend to be climate leaders while expanding oil and gas production is over. This is why the Biden administration’s reckless decision to approve the Willow oil project in Alaska deserves international condemnation. We commend Secretary General Guterres for laying out clear expectations for all countries to ban new oil and gas projects immediately while charting a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy for all. This question must be at the heart of the Secretary General’s September summit and COP28.
“The IPCC report should be a rallying cry, and today should be a turning point for urgent action, not simply a warning signal. We have the solutions to the climate crisis: we must divest from existing fossil fuel projects, cancel scheduled ones, and invest in renewables. The clock is ticking, and we cannot afford to waste any more time. Every day we delay action on climate change is a day lost in the fight for a livable future. We urge world leaders to take bold action. Together, we must work towards a just and sustainable future for all. COP 28 will be the opportunity for governments to double down on their climate commitments. The time for action is now.”
Oil Change International is a research, communications, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the ongoing transition to clean energy.
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These Six Republicans Stand to Profit After Breaking Their Vow to Protect Medicaid
"Millions of Americans will see their healthcare, food, and education costs skyrocket, all so House Republicans can hand themselves and their wealthiest donors a huge tax break."
May 22, 2025
Just five weeks after pledging that they would not support the Republican Party's budget reconciliation package if it included cuts to Medicaid, six GOP lawmakers ultimately did just that on Thursday morning—and an analysis by government watchdog Accountable.US suggested they voted for the legislation to benefit themselves, despite the suffering it would cause for their constituents.
Along with cutting Medicaid for close to 14 million Americans and slashing nearly $300 billion in food assistance, the bill Republicans voted on in the early morning hours after weeks of deliberation included a tax policy proposal to expand a provision called Section 199A, which was previously introduced during the first Trump administration as part of the GOP's original law providing tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.
The bill that passed in the House Thursday would raise the percentage of qualifying business income—such as rental income—people can deduct from their taxes from 20% to 23%. The provision is now set to expire at the end of the year.
If it's extended as written in the reconciliation bill, Accountable.US identified six Republican House members who could directly benefit from the expansion of the "pass-through deduction": Reps. Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Rob Wittman of Virginia, Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Young Kim of California, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.
Those six lawmakers were among the 12 who last month wrote to GOP leaders to say they represent "districts with high rates of constituents who depend on Medicaid" and to "reiterate our strong support for this program that ensures our constituents have reliable healthcare."
"We cannot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations," wrote the lawmakers last month. "Cuts to Medicaid also threaten the viability of hospitals, nursing homes, and safety-net providers, nationwide. Many hospitals—particularly in rural and underserved areas—rely heavily on Medicaid funding, with some receiving over half their revenue from the program alone."
"It is the peak of hypocrisy that the loudest and most vocal opponents of Medicaid cuts cowered in a matter of days in favor of a bill that will make the largest cuts to Medicaid in modern history—all to pay for lower taxes for the richest."
With the six Republican members poised to earn thousands more each year from the pass-through income deduction, those concerns appeared to have evaporated on Thursday.
"It is the peak of hypocrisy that the loudest and most vocal opponents of Medicaid cuts cowered in a matter of days in favor of a bill that will make the largest cuts to Medicaid in modern history—all to pay for lower taxes for the richest," said Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable.US. "Even worse, those very members stand to financially gain from those tax cuts, while their own constituents lose their healthcare. Their votes aren't just a flip-flop; they are a betrayal to hardworking Americans everywhere who will be worse off because of this bill."
Accountable's Cash in Congress project found that for the 2023 tax filing year, the six members of Congress earned a combined $327,000 in pass-through income, according to financial disclosures.
Bresnahan stands to benefit the most from the extension of Section 199A, The American Prospectreported, as he earned at least $137,000 from rental properties. Out of the six lawmakers, he also represents the most Medicaid beneficiaries: 230,000.
Wittman reported $105,000 or more in pass-through rental income, and represents 125,000 people who receive Medicaid. Kiggans reported $50,000 and represents 130,000 people who use the healthcare program for low-income Americans.
All together, reported The American Prospect, the lawmakers represent 971,000 Medicaid beneficiaries who could be affected by a work requirement amendment that would go into effect at the end of 2026 and other provisions.
"Millions of Americans will see their healthcare, food, and education costs skyrocket, all so House Republicans can hand themselves and their wealthiest donors a huge tax break," said Accountable. "The only 'winners' in this bill are the billionaires that paid for it."
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In 'Intolerable Attack,' Trump DHS Blocks Harvard From Enrolling International Students
"There is no purpose to this other than to hurt Harvard and its students for not fully capitulating to Trump," a professor at the University of Denver wrote.
May 22, 2025
Observers are sharply condemning a decision by the Trump administration, announced on Thursday, to terminate Harvard University's Student Exchange and Visitor Program certification, meaning that the Ivy League school will no longer be able to enroll foreign students.
According to the announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the move also means that foreign students already enrolled at Harvard must transfer elsewhere. The administration alleges the school's leaders have permitted "anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators to harass and physically assault individuals, including many Jewish students."
In a statement shared with multiple outlets, a spokesperson for the school called the Trump administration's actions "unlawful."
"This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission," the spokesperson said.
Harvard has over 6,700 international students, according to data from the school, or 27% international enrollment.
"This intolerable attack on Harvard's independence and academic freedom is plainly government retaliation for Harvard's speech standing up for itself and the rule of law. America must rally to the side of Harvard and its students in court, in Congress and in our communities," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the school, wrote on Thursday.
"I am losing my mind with the lawlessness of this administration," wroteDevin Driscoll, a lawyer, on X on Thursday. "The government is singling out Harvard because they don't like it and it's fighting back."
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, an immigration lawyer, wrote that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's "action is also likely illegal. She doesn't name a single rule Harvard is alleged to have violated and SEVP certification can't be terminated discretionarily."
Seth Masket, a political science professor at the University of Denver, wrote on Bluesky that "there is no purpose to this other than to hurt Harvard and its students for not fully capitulating to [President Donald] Trump."
Harvard has been repeatedly in the Trump administration's crosshairs. In March, the Trump administration sent letters to 60 universities, including Harvard, letting them know they were under investigation and "warning them of potential enforcement actions" if they do not take adequate steps to protect Jewish students. The administration later said it was reviewing $9 billion in funding for Harvard, claiming it had not done enough to curb antisemitism.
In April, after the administration issued a list of demands to Harvard which the university's president refused to comply with, the administration froze over $2 billion in funding for the school. Harvard has sued the Trump administration over that funding. Trump has also said he will revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status.
Also in April, the Trump administration threatened to prevent the school's ability to enroll international students unless it gave DHS a list of requested information about student visa holders.
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Undaunted by Attacks, Online Educator Ms. Rachel Elevates Stories of Gaza's Children
"Ms. Rachel has freaked out the entire media class because she has shown how easy it is to humanize Palestinians and treat them with compassion while the mainstream media has spent 19 months doing precisely the opposite," said one observer.
May 22, 2025
Amid accusations that her social media posts about children in Gaza spread "pro-Hamas propaganda" and even that she is paid by the designated terrorist group—a claim that was amplified by The New York Times last week—the megapopular children's entertainer and educator known as Ms. Rachel is showing no signs that she plans to stop advocating for young Palestinians.
Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, featured a visit with a three-year-old Palestinian girl named Rahaf in her latest post Wednesday on Instagram, where her 3 million followers have seen numerous posts from her in recent months about children in Gaza.
"This is my friend, Rahaf, from Gaza. Meeting her and her wonderful mama Israa changed my life,"
wrote Accurso in the post's caption, explaining that the Palestine Children's Relief Fund facilitated the mother and child's medical evacuation to the U.S. after Rahaf lost both her legs in an Israeli airstrike.
The video post showed Accurso and Rahaf singing and dancing in matching pink headbands, but Accurso shared in the caption that the visit included a difficult moment when she spoke with Rahaf's brothers and their father, who are still in Gaza.
One minute I was pretending to be bunnies with Rahaf and the next minute I was video chatting with her two adorable, young brothers in Gaza, as her mom, Israa, held the phone up for me. I watched Israa look at them proudly, like I look at my son. It was a drastic snap back into reality. I imagined myself holding the phone in the U.S. with my daughter, now a double amputee from an airstrike, away from my son in Gaza, unable to help him. I felt like I was going to throw up and came back into the moment. "I hope to meet you one day!" I happily said, in my classic Ms. Rachel voice but with tears in my eyes.
Israa tells me that they no longer eat while video chatting with her sons. Her sons are so hungry and have so little food. They look about 5 and 7 years old. About my son's age.
[...]
I ask Israa what she did for work. She answers that she was a teacher and taught math. I think about how Israa and I are both teachers. We both love our children with all of our hearts. We want the same thing for them. But my son will have dinner tonight, a story and snuggle with me, school in the morning… and hers won't. If the situation was the other way around, what would I hope Israa would do for me?
The post was just the latest of many pleas for an end to Palestinian children's suffering by Accurso, a former music teacher who until recently was mostly known for her YouTube videos geared toward toddlers, featuring nursery rhymes and early language lessons.
In other posts she has shared photos of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl whose voice was heard in a phone call she made to emergency workers before she was killed, alone in a car, in an airstrike in Gaza in January 2024; reflections on the suffering of Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas in October 2023; and messages demanding an end to Israel's blockade on all humanitarian aid that began in March.
"When you hear about the thousands and thousands of children killed in Gaza, do you hear a statistic or think of individual children like precious Rahaf?" wrote Accurso last week after her first visit with Rahaf. "When you hear about the kids being blocked from aid do you think about sweet kids like Rahaf becoming malnourished? Trying to make it controversial to speak for these children and staying silent shows that you are saying some children's lives are more important than others—it's based in anti-Palestinian racism. It's not a crime to want the children of Gaza to have food, water, and medical care—keeping it from them is."
Her advocacy for Palestinian children has garnered the attention of the organization StopAntisemitism, which called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether Accurso is funded by Hamas.
A number of progressive journalists condemned the Times last week for asking her whether the accusation was true, with one saying the question was "dangerous journalistic malpractice."
"Ms. Rachel has freaked out the entire media class because she has shown how easy it is to humanize Palestinians and treat them with compassion while the mainstream media has spent 19 months doing precisely the opposite," said Alex Foley of the Accountability Archive, which collects records of public figures backing Israel's assault on Gaza. "She's not a political actor and that's what makes it so powerful. She's just a person who looked out and saw the common humanity in people who are suffering and said this is intolerable."
In an interview with Mehdi Hasan at Zeteo last week, Accurso said that while policymakers in the U.S., Israel, and elsewhere have "tried to make it controversial" to speak out about Israel's impact on Palestinian children's lives, "I think it should be controversial to not say anything."
Writer Alon Mizrahi called Accurso "the biggest dissident in America" after she posted her latest video with Rahaf.
"American culture instructed her to hate Palestinian kids, to see them as nonhuman, to rejoice in their destruction, and to support it," said Mizrahi. "She said no; she chose to humanize them more, and she persisted and did not succumb to immense hate and pressure. She should have our admiration forever for this. She is a hero and an icon."
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