Observer: John Kerry Slams Donald Trump For Scrapping Trans Pacific Partnership

“Something that I in the administration, and the president, worked extremely hard on through the years was the TPP, the Trans Pacific Partnership,” said Kerry, who accepted an award in Manhattan today from the nonprofit The Common Good. “You can say ‘I don’t like Clause C, or E,’ or whatever. You go and negotiate. It was just thrown out, completely thrown out. In doing so, we walked back eight to ten years of our work American efforts and credibility in the region.”

Kerry predicted “a long-term downward payout” from the current administration’s decision, which will limit the U.S.’s ability to promote its interests abroad in the future. The TPP was designed to counter the growing influence of China, but critics on both ends of the spectrum warned about the loss of American sovereignty, and exposing U.S. workers to competition with those in poorer nations with weaker workplace regulations.

- Observer reporter Will Bredderman, READ MORE

Avenue: A Lunch for the Women Who Make History

It’s a woman’s world, and lest we forget it, on December 19, 2014, Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in the House and senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Senate sponsored a bill to create a Congressional Commission to study the establishment of a National Women’s History Museum.

On November 16, 2016, after 18 months of work, the Commission’s findings and recommendations were presented in its final report to Congress and President Obama.

Declaring that the U.S. needs a museum dedicated to the achievements and contributions of women, the Commission concluded that it should be a part of the Smithsonian Institution and deserves a prominent location on or close to the National Mall.

Rep. Maloney has been a tireless advocate of this legislation, and on Monday morning January 9 she, along with some of the fiercest women from Washington and The Common Good, an organization dedicated to civic engagement, gathered for a luncheon to promote it.

- Avenue reporter Kristopher Fraser, READ MORE

NY Daily News: Rep. Carolyn Maloney pushes for a Smithsonian Museum of American Women's History in Washington

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The time is now for a Smithsonian Museum of American Women’s History on the National Mall in Washington, Rep. Carolyn Maloney said Monday.

“We should be proud to make a strong statement that Americans value women, champion equality and honor the significant contributions of women throughout our history,” the Manhattan Democrat said.

An advocacy group, the Common Good, announced a Change.org petition calling on Congress to authorize construction of the museum.

- NY Daily News reporter Stephen Rex Brown. READ MORE

Yahoo News: Yesterday's U.S. Ambassador on Today's Middle East Turmoil

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Few have had an upclose look to turmoil like Ryan Crocker, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon … and that’s just in the past two decades. After a career navigating what’s become a who’s who of the world’s most tumultuous regions, the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient recently became a dean at Texas A&M University. In this conversation with OZY, before speaking at the Common Good Forum in New York, Crocker tries to make sense of the chaos left in places he once tried to help piece together[…]

- Reported on by Nick Fouriezos for Ozy, featured in Yahoo News, READ MORE