Extra! Extra! 2/12 (published on 2/13 😊)

Grant Stern @grantstern

Dark Brandon's masterclass SOTU speech summary.

Hi, all.

For all of the stressful parts, it was still a decent week. Let’s celebrate! Remember: what we focus on grows.

So let’s focus on last week’s wins.

Jess

Read This 📖

This fall, the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School became one of only 60 high schools across the country selected for the College Board’s AP African American Studies pilot program. These are some of the students’ (wonderful) reactions.

Celebrate This! 🎉

Biden KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK in his SOTU and Americans noticed!

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $315 million in grant funding to help U.S. cities address homelessness.

Haymarket Books, a Chicago-based publisher, will offer free e-books from its list on topics in Black history. 

Finland passed new transgender rights laws on gender recognition with overwhelming support. The new legislation makes it easier for transgender individuals to change their legal gender through self-declaration rather than a prohibitive medical and psychiatric process.

Tribal nations and environmental groups in the U.S. Southwest scored a victory last week when a federal appeals court rejected nearly 200 new oil and gas drilling permits in the Greater Chaco region of New Mexico.

Both houses of the Virginia Legislature rejected Education Savings Accounts, aka vouchers, which take money from public schools. (More about this here)

Nicaragua’s dictatorial government freed 222 political prisoners, including top opposition politicians and business leaders, and sent them to the United States.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating Donald Trump and his role in January 6, 2021.

When Pennsylvania Democrats won three special elections in the Pittsburgh area on Tuesday night, they didn’t just cement the party’s first majority in the state House since 2010: they also turned in performances far stronger than we’d have any reason to expect based on history.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Democratic lawmakers announced that they’re pursuing an amendment in the state constitution to enshrine abortion rights.

Mainers are embracing electric heat pumps despite the fossil fuel industry’s fighting electrification with great force in New England.

After a massive outcry, the Florida High School Athletic Association canceled a proposal to require all female athletes to supply information about their menstrual cycle.

Republicans’ show hearings got off to a very bad start.

To protect the Great Barrier Reef, Australia blocked the creation of a nearby coal mine for the first time in the country’s history.

On Thursday, 24 of President Biden’s federal judicial nominees — some of whom were stuck in committee for over a year since their nomination — advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, including voting rights lawyer Dale Ho!

Actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at Sunday’s Super Bowl. It marks the first time the song, widely considered the Black National Anthem, has been performed on-field at the NFL’s championship game.

CSX railroad has promised to give more of its workers the paid sick time they demanded in contract negotiations last fall.

A Pennsylvania court rejected a request from Republican lawmakers seeking to force the Pennsylvania Department of State to provide them with personal voter information as part of an investigation into the 2020 election.

JP Morgan announced last week that it spent $500 million to acquire 250,000 acres of timberland. The firm made it clear that most of the trees will be preserved in an effort to fight climate change through natural carbon sequestration and to protect habitats for wildlife.

The IRS can now answer nearly 90 percent of taxpayer phone calls, up from just 13 percent a few years ago. 

The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill guaranteeing free lunch and breakfast to all Minnesota students, regardless of income requirements set by federal programs as part of an effort to reduce child hunger and ensure no students fall through the cracks. 

The College Board is back on its heels over their AP African American History course (and you helped!)

In the six months since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy companies have announced more than 100,000 new green jobs for electricians, mechanics, technicians, and others. These jobs will support more than 90 new clean energy projects that have been announced across the United States, representing nearly $90 billion in new investments. 

Watch This! 👀

Best Superbowl ad? Hands down.