Extra! Extra! 1/22

Hi, all.

It’s a sad day, and I considered not even sending this. But heaven knows we need good news to offset the painful events of this weekend. So please, take a minute to absorb the positive developments from the week we just finished.

Remember, what we focus on seems to grow.

So let’s focus on this for a while, while holding tight to our loved ones and our faith in each other.

Talk tomorrow.

Jess

Read This 📖

Will It Be Morning in Joe Biden’s America? By Paul Krugman. (Heck yes it will, if we have anything to do with it. 😉)

Celebrate This! 🎉

President Biden’s approval rating has reached its highest point since October 2021, climbing to 44.1 percent in the latest data from FiveThirtyEight’s aggregation of polls published Thursday.

Hanwha Qcells, a solar company based in Seoul, announced Wednesday that it plans to spend $2.5 billion on a new solar panel manufacturing complex in a suburb of Atlanta, a move that could help quintuple Qcells’ production capacity to 60,000 panels per day.

Vox Media will stop running ads from fossil fuel corporations this year. The policy will also extend to lobbyist groups “whose purpose is to support fossil-fuel companies.” 

Argentina approved a law to permanently protect one of the region's last remaining truly wild areas. The land and sea of the Mitre Peninsula have the country’s most important carbon sink, holding more than 30% of the world’s kelp forests.

An Arizona appellate court rejected the Arizona Republican Party’s second attempt to end the state’s no-excuse mail-in voting policy. The unanimous decision is a victory for Arizona voters — a majority of whom vote by mail — who will continue to benefit from Arizona’s robust mail-in voting system. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams outlined his vision for a ‘New York City Women’s Health Agenda’ aimed at dismantling decades of systemic inequity that have negatively impacted the health of women across the five boroughs.

Michigan Republicans voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit challenging the state’s congressional map drawn with 2020 census data. The map, drawn by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, undid years of partisan gerrymandering. 

Arizona's new governor, Democrat Katie Hobbs, extended LGBTQ+ employment protections to state employees and contractors. Hobbs signed the legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity on her first day in office.

A federal judge declined Thursday to dismiss the criminal contempt of Congress charge brought against former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro for his failure to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Toyota announced plans to convert older, gas-powered car models into electric vehicles by swapping parts. I’ll take it!

The United States Supreme Court again rejected a request from New York firearms dealers to block parts of recent state gun-control laws. Thank God.

The 988 mental health crisis hotline has seen a major increase in calls since launching in July, and a recent boost in funding is projected to help even more people get the support they need.

New York State passed the nation’s and the world’s first Right to Repair bill. The new law requires electronics manufacturers to make product repair tools, parts, and instructions available to consumers and independent shops.

In a 3-1 vote along party lines last week, commissioners in the most populous county in Texas approved a plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions and advance environmental justice. The overarching target of the 24-page climate action plan is for Harris County — which includes Houston — to cut its climate pollution from government operations by 40 percent by 2030, compared to a 2021 baseline.

The Biden Administration announced the implementation of “Welcome Corps,” a new program that allows private citizens to support refugees’ transition to life in the United States.

A federal judge in Florida sanctioned Trump and his lawyers $938,000 for the RICO lawsuit he brought against Hillary and others.

Watch This! 👀

OK sorry to put my own video in here but this really is the BEST news and such motivation to keep up the good work flipping statehouses!