Extra! Extra! 10/6 🎈🎈
Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
Hope you’ve all managed to get some down time between bursts of GOTV activity this weekend.
We all spend a great deal of time—probably too much—reading about bad things that might happen. So let’s focus, for a moment, on good things that HAVE happened. Like, so many of them! This is especially satisfying since your hard work has brought many of these good things about!
So here’s everything I could find that felt like a win this week. There’s much more, of course, but this is what I could fit into one Substack. Enjoy it. Savor it. Bask in it!
Then tomorrow we can get back to work making more lists possible.
P.S. — I’ve popped an 🪓 next to every item that everyday activists like you helped make happen, and a 🪣 next to every one that got done by lawmakers or administrations that we helped elect.
P.P.S. — No audio version tonight, I’m afraid. Need to give Mike a break. But I do hear that the AI voice is quite good on Substack now.
Read This 📖
This is one inspiring candidate…even though she “can’t win.”
Celebrate This! 🎉
Our video interview with Drew Kromer has raised 230K and counting for the Mecklenburg County Dems! Better still, 31 people have signed up for out of state canvassing, 161 people signed up for out of state phonebanking, and 10 people with out-of-state addresses have signed up on their regular volunteer form. WOWOWOW! THIS IS HOW WE WIN! 🪓
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill into law barring employers from holding mandatory anti-union meetings in the workplace. 🪓 🪣
Newsom also signed AB 660, a first in the nation ban on consumer facing 'sell by' dates that clarifies what is safe to eat. This builds upon nearly a decade of work from advocates and is a win in the fight against hunger and climate change. 🪓🪣
Harris is running a campaign about three times the size of Trump’s operation, according to recent spending reports.🪓
In Ohio, Movement Voter Project is working with Ohio Progressive Collaborative and Red Wine & Blue to launch "#OHnoYouDont," a campaign to galvanize voters to speak out against hatred in their community spurred by Senator JD Vance. 🪓
World Central Kitchen has already distributed around 60,000 meals to people impacted by Hurricane Helene. 🪓
Kamala Harris joined host Alex Cooper on the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast for a discussion on reproductive rights.
Students in California will soon be better protected during heat waves, as Gov. Newsom recently signed a bill requiring schools to adopt a standard set of safety guidelines for physical activity amid extreme weather, therefore eliminating teacher discretion. 🪣
A judge threw out a DeKalb County Republican Party lawsuit that claimed Georgia’s voting system was made vulnerable by the public disclosure of security features and computer code.
Coal continues its long decline — with help from the Biden administration. 🪣
California’s heat-trapping emissions fell by 2.4% in 2022. 🪓
A judge in Georgia struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban, permitting the procedure until 22 weeks of pregnancy.
Forty-two members of what prosecutors call a San Fernando Valley-based white supremacist gang have been arrested in connection with a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday alleging a years-long criminal operation that included drug trafficking, weapons violations and COVID-19 and loan fraud.
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) announced he would not vote for Donald Trump.
The new jobs report far exceeded economist expectations AND the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%. The economy is BOOMING under the Biden-Harris administration! 🪣
The Arizona International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local Union 104, representing more than 9,600 members in Arizona, enthusiastically endorsed Vice President Harris for president and Governor Tim Walz for vice president. 🪓
Prominent Republican leaders in Nebraska, including former U.S. Senator and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, former Nebraska state Senator John McCollister and former Douglas County Commissioner Clare Duda announced their endorsement for Harris-Walz. Read more in the Omaha World-Herald today.
Judge Tanya Chutkan unsealed Jack Smith’s 165-page redacted motion detailing evidence against Donald Trump in the federal election fraud case. It was bad.
Welcome Corps, a group that helps resettle people fleeing LGBT crackdowns around the world, has linked 1,800 refugees with 3,500 sponsors since launching last year. Another 100,000 more people have applied to become sponsors. 🪓
According to a new Navigator poll the Democratic Party now holds a narrow advantage on a range of economic issues, including taxes and the cost of living. 🪓
The Trump campaign spent more than it raised for the second month in a row.
Ford has launched a new initiative to cover the costs of putting EV charging systems in customers’ homes, as Andrew J. Hawkins reports for The Verge.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who is one of the preeminent critics in his party of Donald Trump, will lead a GOP group backing Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) in his drive to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the Texas Tribune reports.
House Democrats’ top outside fundraising operations brought in a whopping $150 million last quarter, setting a new historic record for House outside groups. 🪓
Two dozen Wisconsin Republicans, including former lawmakers, other former elected officials and a GOP sitting district attorney, have signed an open letter declaring their support for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Tim Walz saw a bigger rise in his favorability ratings after the debate than Vance.
The Cook Political Report moved its rating for the Texas Senate race from Likely Republican to Lean Republican as Democrats are making a “multimillon dollar investment” in the race.
Navigator is out with a new poll, and a majority of Americans now oppose Project 2025, with a plurality believing it accurately describes what Republicans in Congress stand for. 🪓
Kamala Harris raised about $55 million in high-dollar events in California this weekend, a haul that pads her financial advantage over Donald Trump. 🪓
Starbucks workers just organized and WON the 500th UNION STARBUCKS STORE in the United States! 🪓
An early adopter of solar energy, Cyprus has now outpaced all other European Union members in implementing hot-water solar systems, with over 90% of households and almost 100% of hotels on the island estimated to rely on it to meet domestic energy needs.
IVF will be covered by insurance for many Californians after Newsom signs a bill. 🪣
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district from Toss-Up to Leans Democratic.
VP Harris backed legalizing marijuana.
In Pennsylvania, Republicans are severely lagging Democrats when it comes to vote by mail ballot requests. 🪓
Rudy Giuliani’s daughter, Caroline Rose Giuliani, endorsed Kamala Harris, writing for Vanity Fair about how she has watched her father’s life “crumble since he joined forces with Trump.”
The DNC and Georgia Democrats sued the GA State Election Board today to block a new rule passed by MAGA board members that requires poll workers to hand count Election Day ballots.
The U.S. government is giving West Coast states $100 million to create a zero-emission truck fueling network. Oregon, Washington, and California are aiming to build at least 34 medium and heavy-duty electric vehicle charging stations and five hydrogen fueling stations primarily along 1,400 miles of I-5. 🪣
Team Harris-Walz launched Athletes for Harris, a new campaign effort to organize and mobilize athletes and coaches to campaign for Team Harris-Walz in the final sprint of the election. It will Be led by Thomas Booker, Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, Steve Kerr, Ali Krieger, Candace Parker, Doc Rivers, Dawn Staley, Ali Truwit and Chris Paul. Wow! 🪓
The percentage of people who install a battery alongside their new rooftop solar system is surging in the U.S.
Airbnb is offering free, temporary housing for those affected by Hurricane Helene.
The Justice Department announced more than $86.16 million in grants administered by the Tribal Affairs Division within the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to American Indian and Alaska Native communities to support survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking. 🪣
The Department of Labor released a new report called “Let’s Talk About It: Menstruation and Menopause at Work.” Nice to see this subject get the attention it deserves. 🪣
By 2026, 80% of solar deployment will come from modules made in the United States. 1 🪣
As punishment for his anticompetitive communication with OPEC representatives, the FTC banned Hess Corporation CEO John B. Hess from serving on the Chevron board post Chevron-Hess merger. 🪣
The FTC sent refunds to over 10,000 customers who were duped by false “Made in the USA” advertising. 🪣
Bruce Springsteen endorsed Kamala Harris for president in a video, calling Donald Trump “the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”
A new Napolitan News Service poll in Florida finds Donald Trump barely ahead of Kamala Harris, 50% to 48%.
Taylor Swift gained more than 1.8 million followers on Spotify after endorsing Kamala Harris on September 10.
The Supreme Court refused to block new Biden administration rules requiring fossil-fuel-fired power plants to slash emissions of mercury and other toxic substances and oil and gas firms to curb methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from their operations. HUGE. 🪣
Striking members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are back to work thanks to the excellent mediation of the Biden Administration! 🪣
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to 9 years for a data-breach scheme spawned from false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
In a unanimous vote, the U.S. Senate passed the WILD Reauthorization Act, which will fund wildlife conservation programs domestically and abroad. (We called about this bill!) 🪣 🪓
Amtrak train options will now show up when customers use Google to search for flights. It’s part of a new integration to support more sustainable travel!
Great Britain has achieved a coal-free grid, and Prime Minister Starmer is zooming ahead with new offshore wind and solar projects.
Watch This! 👀
So. Good.
So much good news. It's funny how sometimes there is a unanimous Senate vote about something good like the WILD Reauthorization. I think some amount of elected Republicans secretly just want to do their jobs but are too cowardly to stand up to Trump so play along with MAGA. They will never be "good" people but if we can defeat Trump once and for all maybe they'll behave a bit more normal.
Second, I gave to MeckDems this morning but after watching the video I want to give more. NC has an incredible team this year! I just ordered some Blue Wave GOTV cards for NC that should arrive next week!
This has become a Sunday ritual. Thanks for pulling together, Jessica (and for ALL you do day in, day out).
And speaking of endorsements -- this is PRETTY AWESOME!!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kamala_Harris_2024_presidential_campaign_endorsements