Extra! Extra! 1/14
A super good week!
Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
Hoo boy, this one was so long I had to cut a few items! I’ve spent most of the day pulling it together, and I’m beat, so I’ll just say, with great pleasure, “I told you so!”
Told you what?
That things weren’t ALL bad.
Enjoy this list of wins—you helped make lots of them happen. As always, I’m putting an 🪓 next to every victory that came about because of the advocacy of people like us, or because of representatives we helped elect!
Remember, it’s only by pausing to celebrate the wins that we gain the energy to go out and make new ones.
So let’s do that!
Read This 📖
This article, about a pregnant Maryland lawmaker who helped change the law so she could vote remotely post-partum, is awesome in so many ways.
Also, finally, a positive story about Biden in the NYT! The Seeds Joe Biden Has Planted. Lovely, and worth a read.
Celebrate This! 🎉
🥂 My favorite good news item: A grand jury in Ohio on Thursday declined to indict Brittany Watts! Thanks to all of you who took action to support her! 🪓
The Chicago Archdiocese has switched to 100% renewable energy sources for its electricity needs for its nearly 400 parishes, schools, cemeteries and offices.
The EPA announced the selection of 67 applicants to receive nearly $1 billion through EPA’s first Clean School Bus Program Grants Competition. (Fun fact: the EPA is still accepting applications for the 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program until January 31, 2024.)
Colorado has given more than $2.3 million in federal pandemic aid to people in debt to their HOAs. 🪓
The city of Cleveland has won a $4.9 million state grant from the American Rescue Act to tackle one of the most pervasive sources of lead poisoning among children: old windows and doors tainted with lead paint. 🪓
New data shows that many wild mammals are making a comeback in Europe thanks to conservation efforts! 🪓
A push has begun to place a state constitutional amendment on the November 2024 ballot that would significantly expand voting access in Ohio while overturning numerous voting restrictions imposed by Republican state lawmakers in recent years. 🪓
Yosha Iglesias became the first ever transgender woman International Master in chess. Wow!
The Biden administration is releasing a new labor regulation that would make it harder for employers to skirt minimum wage and overtime obligations by labeling workers as “independent contractors.” 🪓
Scientists have found a way to help Alzheimer’s drugs seep inside the brain faster — by temporarily breaching its protective shield.
A school district in Martinsville, TX, has become the first in the state to entirely replace its diesel school bus fleet with no-emissions electric buses. 🪓
Florida Republicans finally ousted their chairman, Christian Ziegler, more than a month after the police confirmed that he was under criminal investigation for sexual assault.
A federal judge ruled that North Dakota’s legislative districts violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by diluting Native American voting strength. They have ordered new maps.
A Wisconsin judge rejected parts of a lawsuit brought by the right-wing legal group Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty that sought to limit the availability of early, in-person absentee voting sites in the city of Racine.
Nashville launched a new program to help eligible voters in county jails navigate voter registration, the mail-in voting process, voting rights restoration and more. 🪓
Health insurance enrollment through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplace has broken records for the third consecutive year—20 million enrollments so far! 🪓
Lawmakers in South Korea approved a ban on the sale of dog meat, the culmination of a decades-long campaign by animal-rights activists. 🪓
An attorney who represented former Republican lawmaker Mark Finchem in an election contest that baselessly claimed fraud has been sanctioned and ordered to retire for at least one year.
Kari Lake lost in court again.
Don Scott (D) was sworn in as Speaker of Virginia's House of Delegates, becoming the chamber’s first black speaker in its 405-year history. 🪓
U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in December amid declining costs for goods such as diesel fuel and food, suggesting inflation would continue to subside and allow the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year. 🪓
The IRS announced it has already collected more than $500 million in back taxes from delinquent millionaires due to the new funding passed in the Inflation Reduction Act. 🪓
A new report released by the nonprofit E2 shows that the Inflation Reduction Act is showering benefits on rural America. 🪓
New parents and pregnant Californians can now request the support of a doula through Medi-Cal. 🪓
Michigan Republicans are in disarray.
The world is installing about 1 Gigawatt of new solar every day—the same as the total solar capacity of the entire world back in 2004.
New construction for domestic manufacturing is massive. 🪓
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says because of antitrust laws the 48th state will oppose the Kroger-Albertsons merger. 🪓
The median new mortgage payment has dropped by 14% since October’s all-time high.
Fidelity has marked down the value of Twitter by 71% since Elon Musk bought it.
Nearly 21 million children in the U.S. and its territories are expected to receive food benefits this summer through a newly permanent federal program, Summer EBT, which was passed in 2022. 🪓
The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill that would establish online voter registration for residents with disabilities and members of the armed forces. 🪓
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a conspiracy theory-riddled Oregon lawsuit that sought to dismantle the state's mail-in voting system and ban electronic voting machines.
A new maternal mental health law in Arkansas will require providers to ask mothers if they want to be screened for postpartum depression for up to six weeks after giving birth.
A huge battery has replaced Hawaii's last coal plant. Woot!
A new California law makes it easier for out-of-state doctors to get experience in reproductive medicine after restrictions in 18 states have curtailed access to training. 🪓
Four more Starbucks stores won unions last week—one in Los Angeles, CA, one in Medford, OR, and two in Plainfield, IN. 🪓
President Biden announced six new nominations for federal district court judges, including two judges of color in districts that have only ever had white judges. 🪓
The goal of tripling global renewables capacity by 2030 is within reach, the International Energy Agency said, after growth of 50% in 2023. 🪓
A preliminary analysis shows the buildout of renewable energy helped to curb America’s greenhouse gas emissions by 1.9% in 2023. 🪓
An under-the-radar Democratic group is planning a $140 million voter testimonial onslaught against Donald Trump, and it’s brilliant!
Keri Leigh Blair, a Tennessee school board member backed by Moms for Liberty, was arrested and charged with stealing over $700 of merchandise from a local Target this week. She immediately resigned from her position on the Collierville School board, having served just over one year.
A consumer advocacy group is suing Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee brand, for false advertising, alleging that it sources coffee and tea from farms with human rights and labor abuses, while touting its commitment to ethical sourcing. 🪓
The FAA announced it’s investigating Boeing. And Spirit, too. About time. 🪓
In a win for voters, a federal judge rejected an attempt by the Florida county supervisors of elections to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state's new restrictions on third-party voter registration organizations.
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis faces four new disciplinary claims in Colorado based on her October 2023 felony guilty plea in Georgia for her part in shopping election lies to state legislators.
A member of the Maryland State Board of Elections has resigned after being charged with a felony and multiple misdemeanor counts for allegedly joining an effort to breach the Senate Wing doors on Jan. 6.
A federal district court in Indiana delivered a groundbreaking decision, removing barriers to obtaining Indiana driver's licenses and identification cards for residents under federal humanitarian protections.
The FTC took an unprecedented step and banned a data broker from selling people’s location data. 🪓
The Biden Harris administration announced an additional $285 million in funding to help schools across the country hire and train mental health counselors. 🪓
A program aimed at helping remove families and infants in Flint, Michigan, from deep poverty will give $1,500 to women during mid-pregnancy and $500 each month throughout the first year after the birth. 🪓
The wild and wonderful saiga is no longer endangered!
For the second year in a row banks earned more on green finance than on oil and gas.
Humpback whales have rebounded in a 20th century whaling hotspot.
Colorado is offering residents an extra $6,000 rebate for driving new electric vehicles through the Vehicle Exchange Colorado Program. That’s ON TOP of the federal government’s $7500 rebate! 🪓
President Biden announced a fresh wave of early student debt cancellation for some borrowers. 🪓
Americans filed 16 million new business applications during the first three years of the Biden Harris Administration—the strongest stretch on record. 🪓
Nearly $68 million is headed to New Mexico to set up an electric vehicle charging network. The funding comes from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. 🪓
The U.S. Supreme Court said it will not hear a bid by the oil industry’s main trade association to move a climate change liability case against it and ExxonMobil out of Minnesota. Big Oil has a better chance of beating the charges in federal court, legal experts say; in Minnesota, they’re more likely to face multibillion-dollar penalties.
Trump judge Timothy Kelly denied Meta in its quest to keep tracking children.
Tesla is giving its workers a raise due to pressure from the UAW strike results! 🪓
In Pittsburgh, Run For Something candidate Sara Innamorato was just sworn in as the first woman to serve as Allegheny County Executive, where she will oversee a $3 billion budget in one of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas. In one of her first official acts, she raised the minimum wage for county employees and increased funding for childcare by $500,000. 🪓
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party pulled off a historic third consecutive presidential victory on Saturday. Whooo! 🪓
Former NRA operations director Joshua Powell has settled civil claims of fraud and abuse brought by the New York Attorney General's office. He has agreed to pay $100,000 in restitution and to testify against Wayne LaPierre and others at trial.
Wayne Lapierre is in MORE trouble.
Watch This! 👀
God I love this woman.
So much good news!!!
Rep. Crockett rocks!
I am overwhelmed with all this good news. I forwarded this particular one to a friend who has moved to Halifax Nova Scotia. We had a conversation today via old-fashioned telephone and she’s so discouraged about the US that she’s been a bit reluctant to stay informed, much less take action. I encouraged her to subscribe to your Substack. I figured starting with Sunday Good news was a really good way for her to engage.