Extra! Extra! 12/15

Art by Jennifer Bloomer via Amplifier

Hi, all, and happy Sunday!

It’s that time again! Here’s your list of good things that happened this week—some here in the U.S. and some overseas. I’ve been a bit busier than usual preparing for my trip to D.C. tomorrow, so I’m pretty sure I’ve left things out. If you know of something I missed please add it in the comments!

And please share this list far and wide. Everyone needs a lift right now — in a big way.

Speaking of which, I couldn’t find a good video for this week so I’ve made an exception and included a TikTok I made yesterday in the “Watch This” section. It’s a pep talk based on the intro to my newsletter on Friday—watch it if you like, or skip!

As usual, 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.

Sending love, hugs, and (possibly unreasonable but real) hope for a better future together.

Read This 📖

This will bring a smile to your face. (Also, subscribe to the Grassroots Connector. It’s FANTASTIC!)

How the Grassroots won NY's Prop 1

Celebrate This! 🎉

In the United States this year, $3.6 billion was donated on Giving Tuesday, an increase of 16% from last year. 🪓

Justice Allison Riggs, NC Supreme Court candidate, has won with 734 votes out of over 5.5 million cast. Yes, her opponent is still trying to sue to throw out 60,000 votes, but the North Carolina State Board of Elections rejected that bid. Is the fight over yet? No, but I’m going to focus for now on the fact that we won that race! 🪓

President Biden announced a new proclamation establishing the Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Read more about this historic announcement here. 🪣

Scientists at the University of Wuhan have developed a groundbreaking sponge made from cotton and squid bone that demonstrates an extraordinary ability to absorb 99.9% of microplastics from various water sources, offering hope in the fight against global plastic pollution.

The federal government has announced $3.4 billion in funds toward Idaho infrastructure projects. 🪣

The federal government has also announced $3.7 billion in funds toward Kansas infrastructure projects. 🪣

The federal government has also announced $2.5 billion in funds toward Rhode Island infrastructure projects. 🪣

And finally, the federal government has announced $2.3 billion in funds toward Vermont infrastructure projects. 🪣

Vanity Fair gave us the antidote to Time’s Man of the Year cover.

A bill to jail the bosses of major polluters for up to 20 years has received enough support in Scotland’s government to move forward and be voted on next year.¹

New Zealand has announced plans to ban greyhound racing.

Ecuador has launched a $1 billion bond to fund a debt buyback aimed at freeing up financing for conservation projects in the Amazon rainforest.

U.S. wildlife officials announced a decision to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies. 🪣

The Los Angeles City Council voted to hike the minimum wage for more than 23,000 tourism workers, handing a huge victory to labor unions whose members have struggled to keep up with the rising cost of food, rent and other expenses. 🪓 🪣

New York Attorney General Letitia James secured another victory against the NRA with a judgment requiring them to significantly reform their governance to abide by New York’s not-for-profit laws. 🪣

The EPA announced the ban of two known carcinogens, trichloroethylene — also known as TCE —and perc — also known as tetrachloroethylene and PCE. They are both used in a variety of consumer products and industrial settings. 🪣

Transgender activists staged a sit-in inside the women’s bathroom closest to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office on Capitol Hill, to protest Republican-led efforts to keep transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity. 🪓

Nationwide, data from the Gun Violence Archive shows that shooting deaths are down 12 percent, injuries are down 13 percent, and mass shootings have decreased by 24 percent, compared to the first 11 months of 2023. Meanwhile, ghost gun recoveries — once a growing concern — are falling in many cities. 🪣

With all votes counted, Question 1, a referendum that limits donations to political action committees that spend independently in candidate elections, has been approved by 74.9% of Maine voters! ‌In fact, it received more votes than any citizen initiative in the history of Maine elections. 🪓

The rare ʻalalā Hawaiian crow was successfully reintroduced into the wild in Maui more than 20 years after being declared extinct.

Fox News is, once again, losing to Meidas Touch in digital ratings.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum signed a set of constitutional reforms that will pave the way for a comprehensive federal animal welfare law.

President Biden announced that he is granting clemency for nearly 1,500 Americans – the most ever in a single day – who have shown successful rehabilitation and a strong commitment to making their communities safer. 🪣

Federal and state judges blocked what would have been the biggest grocery store merger in American history—the Kroger/Albertsons merger. Woot! 🪣

The CFPB announced that it finalized rules limiting the fees that banks can charge when customers overdraw their accounts. 🪣

The Supreme Court declined to hear multiple cases on issues pushed by hardline conservative interests, including cases regarding school admissions, gender identity, and gun control.²

The app Goods Unite Us, which enables people to see the political donations made by companies they shop with, has been downloaded over 250,000 times since the election. 🪓

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed lawsuits against Glock, seeking to hold the company accountable for endangering the health and safety of New Jersey and Minnesota residents, respectively. 🪣

The Biden administration issued a permanent rule that automatically extends the validity of certain work permits by up to 540 days if they are timely renewed. The American Immigration Council made this a key ask to the outgoing administration to protect workers from employment gaps as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to address its processing backlogs. 🪣

Starbucks workers in Seattle WA won their union election. And on Thursday three stores won unanimously within 24 hours: Veterans & Von Maur (College Hills) in Normal, IL, Dempster & Dodge in Evanston, IL, and Rt 1 Knox-College Park Shopping Center in College Park, MD. 🪓

Over the past two years, Taylor Swift gave out $197 million in bonuses to everyone who worked on her Eras tour.

A Georgia judge dismissed a request by Kenneth Chesebro, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged co-conspirators in the sweeping 2020 election subversion and interference case, to have his guilty plea thrown out.

Nevada prosecutors have refiled criminal charges against the six Republican “fake electors” who tried to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat in that state. The retooled charges were announced by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat. 🪣

People incarcerated in Massachusetts are keeping more in touch with their loved ones on the outside, thanks to a new state law that made telecommunications to and from state prisons and jails free. 🪣

As a result of several lawsuits, the Confederate flag will no longer be flown over the Alabama’s capitol dome.

South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, almost two weeks after his short-lived declaration of martial law plunged the country into its worst political crisis for decades. THAT’s how you do it!

Watch This! 🎥

1. Climativity (you should really subscribe)

2. This and the two above from the Lever’s You Love to See It!