Extra! Extra! 10/8

Hi, all, and happy Sunday.

Of course, it’s really not. It’s a moment of global grief, and no newsletter can—or should—try to change that. All I can do, instead, is offer you a moment of respite from the calamitous news. For even in the midst of so much sorrow and loss, good things are happening.

Embrace them. Doing so is no disrespect to the many who are suffering at this moment. It is, rather, an embrace of hope for peace, progress, and a future without so much loss.

Sending love.

Jess

Read This 📖

Newsweek: Democracy, Democrats, and Young People Will Save This Country

Celebrate This! 🎉

Two California library systems — San Diego Public Library and LA County Library — have joined the Books Unbanned initiative.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is pumping another $1 million into Virginia's high-stakes legislative elections this fall, doubling its commitment for the year.

Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to the newly vacant CA Senate seat. Butler is the first openly LGBTQ Black woman in the Senate. AMAZING!

The manufacturers of all ten drugs selected for negotiation have signed agreements to participate in the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.

Connecticut's most wide-ranging gun control measure since the 2013 law enacted after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took effect this week.

Our Chop Wood, Carry Statehouses Giving Circle made it’s 25K goal for Virginia! THANK YOU ALL!

Costco is rolling out low-cost health care for its members, offering online checkups for as low as $29.

Princeton University expanded its financial aid so that most students from families earning less than $100,000 will receive free tuition and room and board.

A baby beaver was spotted in London. It is thought to be the first baby beaver born in London for hundreds of years.

A new desalination system could produce fresh water from seawater cheaper than from a tap.

A national abortion-rights organization is taking flight over Omaha this week with messaging that Nebraska women are going to jail because of the state’s abortion ban.

Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, one of the “Tennessee Three” who was reelected after his expulsion for joining protesters demanding gun control, is suing the speaker of the state House — alleging that he was unconstitutionally silenced.

U.S. officials announced criminal charges Tuesday against eight Chinese companies and 12 of their executives accused of supplying precursor chemicals for the illegal manufacture of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs.

President Biden announced another round of federal student loan forgiveness—9 billion dollars worth!

Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their work that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19. 

More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers walked off the job in what is set to be the largest health-care strike in U.S. history, seizing on momentum in the labor movement across multiple industries.

China’s new high-speed train just set a new world record, breaking speeds of 281 miles per hour. 

A Vancouver partnership just launched the world’s first all-electric tugboat.

A judge issued a gag order on Donald Trump in a civil trial in New York over alleged business fraud committed by the former president and his company.

The Department of State announced they will start providing passport services two weeks faster than prior processing times.

A Brazilian holly tree believed to be extinct for nearly two centuries has been rediscovered.

Pope Francis issued a renewed call for climate action, singling out the United States for “irresponsible” Western excess and decrying the “weakness” of world leaders for failing to take bold steps.

First Solar, the largest solar panel maker in the US, broke ground on a $1.1 billion factory in Louisiana. The factory—the largest capital investment in the area's history—will eventually produce more than 12 solar panels per minute and create over 700 new jobs. 

Spain's energy minister and the head of the International Energy Agency on Monday backed the Netherlands' call for an international coalition to phase out fossil subsidies.

Pope Francis plans to give women voting rights at the upcoming synod. 

EMILY’s List has endorsed 29 Democratic abortion-rights candidates in the upcoming November elections in Virginia that will determine who has control of the state’s legislature.

The FTC fined Dish Network for not picking up the trash left behind by one of its satellites. 

A federal court has picked Alabama’s new congressional map, which will likely result in an additional Black — and Democratic — member in the delegation. HUGE!

New York state banned the use of facial recognition technology in schools.

Three Wisconsin anti-trans bills met massive resistance in legislative hearings this week. Constituents opposing the bills submitted 10,000 pages of opposition testimony.

Denver experimented with giving people $1,000 a month. It reduced homelessness and increased full-time employment.

The Chicago City Council voted to make the city the latest to get rid of subminimum wages for tipped workers. Restaurants are now required to pay the city's current $15.80 minimum wage for servers, bartenders and other workers in the industry.

A New Mexico court upheld the state's congressional map. The court found that while the map favors Democrats, it is not an "egregious gerrymander" and therefore does not violate the state constitution. 

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from John Eastman seeking to reverse a ruling that gave the House January 6 Select Committee access to his emails. 

‘Forever chemicals’ are eternal no more thanks to a pollution destroying device from Tacoma startup.

Nancy Marks, the former campaign treasurer for Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to defraud the United States.

A federal court rejected a request from Dinesh D’Souza and the entities behind the debunked election propaganda movie “2000 Mules” to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that they violated the Ku Klux Klan Act. The case will continue.

Employers added 336,000 jobs in September, a “stunning gain.” This is almost double what experts had forecast.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist and the fifth person to receive the prize while incarcerated.

A report has found that for the first time ever, more international money is being spent on cleaning up our air than on fossil fuels, with this trend expected to continue, saving millions of lives.

The EU is banning microplastics in consumer products like cosmetics, detergents, and toys to protect our health, waters, and lands.

Scientists are building an “army” of hundreds of thousands of Caribbean king crabs that they will unleash in Florida’s coral reefs to save the struggling ecosystem.

An alliance of 45 countries pledged to raise $12 billion to conserve and restore coral reefs. 

In Fairbanks, Alaska four anti-public education candidates campaigning on culture war issues were defeated in local races. Pro-public education candidates for Fairbanks School Board and the Fairbanks Assembly won 6-0.

Lawyers for My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell sought permission to quit representing him in defamation lawsuits brought by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic USA, alleging he owes the attorneys "millions of dollars" in unpaid legal fees.

Disney VFX workers have voted unanimously to unionize. They are the second ever visual effects team to do so.

Average hourly earnings were up 0.2% in October and are up 4.2% over the past 12 months. With inflation now at 3.7% over the past 12 months, real earnings over the past year remain firmly in positive territory.¹

A new poll confirms that the public wants more clean energy, period. And that Republicans’ opposition to clean energy is a MAJOR political liability.

UAW President Shawn Fain on Friday declared a "transformative win" with General Motors after the automaker agreed to include its battery plant workers in the union's national labor agreement.

A new iPhone and Android app called Permission Slip makes it VERY easy to order companies to delete your personal information and secrets.

In a historic first for Canada, a First Nations member has been elected as the premier of a province. Wab Kinew plans on leading Manitoba with “the utmost reverence [and] humility.”

The Supreme Court has decided that it will not hear a major legal challenge to New York’s rent control law, likely saving it!

In a first-of-its-kind law, California high school students will learn about their labor rights and how to defend themselves against workplace abuses. 

Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, is the world’s largest entertainment company, announced that it will stop charging exorbitant merchandise fees for artists at its major venues across the country. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is hiring, big-time. In an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg, the agency, which works to prevent financial companies’ unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices, is adding about 75 new full-time employees to their enforcement divisions.² 

Researchers and engineers have just unveiled a prototype of the SET 50F — the first car crash dummy modeled entirely on a female body.

Watch This! 👀

Who knew? Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has hidden talents! [H/T

Rogan's List

]

1. Simon Rosenberg Hopium Chronicles

2. This and the three items above it are from The Lever’s You Love to See It newsletter.