This Week in Policy & Public Interest News: 11 Stories You Need to See

A roundup of the week's most newsworthy policy and public interest press releases from PR Newswire, including a review system for AI products and a coalition to support local news.

NEW YORK, July 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists covering the policy and public interest industries stay on top of the week's most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a roundup of stories from the week that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

1. Common Sense Media Announces New Ratings and Reviews System for AI Products
   In response to high demand from parents and educators, Common Sense Media will build a new AI ratings and reviews system to help families and policymakers make informed decisions about artificial intelligence tools and programs.
2. Local television stations across the U.S. Launch "The Coalition for Local News"
   The Coalition for Local News is dedicated to the belief that local news is essential to the well-being of local communities across the nation and is a vital pillar of American democracy. As the most trusted source of news for Americans, local news broadcasts provide timely coverage of important issues and events, emergency weather service, and access to lifesaving information.
3. Ban on Stock Trading for Members of Congress Favored by Overwhelming Bipartisan Majority
   While criticism of Members of Congress trading stocks while in office has been present for some time, the issue was given new life with accusations of Members making lucrative purchases of pharmaceutical stocks based on insider information on Covid-19 vaccines.
4. SURVEY: K-12 Districts Continue to Face Staff Shortages, Rising Food Costs, Unpaid Meal Debt Across Nutrition Programs
   District superintendents and school nutrition leaders are confident in providing healthy meals to students, but struggle with operations and looming challenges of proposed updates to school nutrition standards.
5. The Salvation Army Activates Disaster Relief as Historic Flooding Impacts Northeast
   After a series of forceful storms on Monday, the region faced devastating 1-in-100-year floods, leading to widespread destruction of homes, businesses, and essential infrastructure. In light of the pressing need for support, The Salvation Army mobilized its network of trained disaster experts and volunteers to offer aid on the ground.
6. Camila and Matthew McConaughey's Just Keep Livin Foundation Launches the Greenlights Grant Initiative to Make Schools Safer
   The Greenlights Grant Initiative will create a platform to more easily connect school districts across the country to available federal funding, provide school districts with grant writing support, and make America's schools and children safer.
7. New Report Raises Concerns About Potential Social Inequalities, Abuse, and Mental Manipulation in the Metaverse
   The report underscores the need for governments and regulators to take responsibility for protecting the rights and equality of individuals instead of shifting the burden of vulnerability mitigation to technology companies, which could lead to dependence on and acceptance of unfavorable terms and conditions.
8. Inflation is Slowing, But Fully Quelling It Will Be Tough
   Given the low rate of productivity gains, wage growth appears to remain too high for inflation to near its target rate anytime soon, and so the ESR Group is forecasting another rate hike later this month and even tighter monetary policy through the end of the year.
9. QS Reveals the World's Best Cities for Students
   Jessica Turner, QS CEO, stated: "London is a global magnet for talents, fostering a diverse, progressive, and inclusive learning environment. It offers students a unique blend of academic excellence, multicultural vibrancy, and a thriving economy."
10. 50 State Report Card on Affordable Housing Policies Highlights Room for Improvement on Racial Equity, Healthy Building Practices
    BlueGreen Alliance Vice President of Health Initiatives Charlotte Brody said, "The bottom line is that the investments we make in affordable and low-income housing should foster a healthy and equitable future for all, not just reduce energy waste and pollution."
11. American College Students' Survey Reveals Campus Climate of Viewpoint Suppression
    John Bitzan, the Director of the Challey Institute and report's author, noted, "Our survey results suggest that universities need to improve. If we aim to train tomorrow's professionals and leaders to think critically and help continue the progress our society has made, we need to foster an open environment where diverse ideas are freely exchanged and explored."

Read more of the latest policy-related releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNpolicy and @prnedu on Twitter.

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