Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
Welcome to the week in good news! The last seven days show that, while Trump and Republicans continue to destroy everything they touch, there is a parallel universe in which very good people are working very hard to make positive change and succeeding! You, in fact, are among them!
So let’s take a few minutes to bask in the many, many wins that took place this week while we were busy doomscrolling. Call it hopescrolling, if you will.
One thing before I go: I want to say a word of thanks to my paid subscribers: I know times are tough out there—I understand many are struggling and can’t afford to support my work. That makes me all the more grateful to those of you who can. It’s because of you that I am able to continue to offer this 5-day-a-week newsletter without paywalls EVER. You’re truly keeping the lights on. Thank you.
Celebrate This! 🎉
Voters in Hungary overwhelmingly elected the opposition Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar, bringing an end to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s 16 years in power. AND Orban conceded!
Los Angeles, the second-largest school district in the U.S., avoided a historic strike by teachers, principals and staff hours before classes started on Tuesday, cutting deals that offer hefty raises across the board.
After being sued, the Trump administration agreed to permanently return the Pride flag to Stonewall National Monument in New York City.
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave an unrestricted $70 million donation to Meals on Wheels. I love this woman!
A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump against The Wall Street Journal, ruling that the former president failed to plausibly allege that the paper acted with “actual malice” in publishing a controversial article about a purported letter linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
The Cook Political Report adjusted the ratings for four Senate races in favor of Democrats.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed several pro-voter bills into law, including legislation that defines election certification as a mandatory ministerial duty and authorizes the State Board of Elections to intervene if local boards of elections refuse to certify results.
Indiana students scored a big win for their voting rights. Last year, an unconstitutional state law banned university IDs as acceptable forms of voter identification. On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the ban.
For the first time in France, and possibly for the first time ever, anywhere, an entire corporation has been put on trial and found criminally liable for enabling terrorism.
A GoFundMe created to save Denver’s only lesbian bar has raised over $83,000.
Memphis’ Mason Temple, the historic Tennessee church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech, is getting $1.2 million in federal funding for renovations as a civil rights landmark.
During a speech in Cameroon, Pope Leo criticized those who manipulate religion “for their own military, economic or political gain.”
About 422 new indie bookshops opened in the US in 2025, according to the American Booksellers Association, a 31% rise from 2024.
Chinook salmon have been found naturally hatching in the Upper Klamath River for first time in a century, a promising sign of the species’ return following dam removal.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a pied-à-terre tax that puts an annual surcharge on homes valued above $5 million when there is no resident who lives primarily in New York City.
Moms for Liberty is imploding.
Shareholders in Thomson Reuters demanded the company’s board launch an investigation into whether its products have contributed to human rights violations, specifically with regards to their ongoing sale of peoples’ personal data to ICE.
Barely two weeks before it was due to shut down, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced it had found a last-minute buyer — a successful nonprofit journalism operation that has agreed to keep the struggling newspaper open.
A federal court issued a preliminary injunction halting the Nexstar-TEGNA merger.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia signed into law a bill to end tax exemptions for a slate of Confederacy-related organizations in the state.
A federal judge in Oregon forcefully struck down RFK Jr.’s attempt to impose far-reaching restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, ruling the policy unlawful and blocking its enforcement in the states that challenged it.
James Talarico raised more than $27 million in the first quarter of 2026 — the largest amount ever raised by a U.S. Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu outlined a national electrification plan aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuels and strengthening the country’s energy sovereignty.
A Fairhope, AL municipal judge acquitted a No Kings protester who was arrested for wearing a giant inflatable penis costume.
In a landmark ruling, the Montana Supreme Court has declared that the constitution, one of the most progressive in the nation, entirely protects transgender people. The ruling is even insulated from SCOTUS decisions, due to how state constitutions work.
Democratic senators voted overwhelmingly to block bomb and bulldozer sales to Israel on Wednesday. The vote represents a sea change in Democratic lawmakers’ attitudes towards Netanyahu’s government.
John Eastman, the lawyer who spearheaded Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, has been disbarred in the state of California.
All charges have been dropped against three Memphis No Kings protestors who were wrongfully arrested last month; the investigation is now focussing on the police officers involved in the arrests.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons will step down on May 31. Buh-bye.
NPR received its largest-ever donation from a living donor this week when billionaire philanthropist Connie Ballmer gave them $80 million.
Prosecutors in Hennepin County, MN have brought felony assault charges against an ICE agent who is accused of pointing a gun at another car in February. We wrote this prosecutor back in February and asked her to prosecute ICE’s crimes! You contributed to this win!
A federal judge ordered new evidence to be turned over in a lawsuit seeking details on a secret "voter data agreement" between DOGE and election deniers.
Republican incumbents were wiped out in Whittier, CA amid backlash to ICE activity, as Democrats flipped the mayor’s office and both council seats on the ballot by 30+ point margins.
A Manhattan federal jury found that Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and its Ticketmaster subsidiary operated as an illegal monopoly, violating federal and state antitrust laws after a five-week trial.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed six gun-control bills and amended four others that reached her desk last month.
New Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced the Hungarian government will no longer use taxpayer money to fund CPAC or related institutions, calling the prior practice “a crime.”
A federal appeals court ruled that Arizona’s legislative leaders can’t dismantle a new national monument near the Grand Canyon.
Tony Gonzales and Eric Swalwell both resigned from Congress.
Minnesota authorities announced a criminal investigation into the January 18 detention of ChongLy 'Scott' Thao as potential kidnapping, burglary, and false imprisonment by federal immigration agents.
Singer Addison Rae filed a copyright claim against DHS after the agency used her song “Diet Pepsi” in a promotional video, which led to the disabling of media capabilities on its post.
In Chicago, every public school student can now use their student ID as a library card.
Beloved bald eagles Jackie and Shadow welcomed a pair of eaglets into the world over Easter weekend.
An Alaska district court judge has ruled against a coalition of logging interests looking to get their saws on Tongass National Forest’s old growth timber stands.
In response to protests, Etsy will ban animal fur sales starting in August.
The NAACP sued Elon Musk’s xAI, accusing the company of violating the Clean Air Act with its use of natural gas-burning turbines to power data centers in and around Memphis, Tennessee.
Canada has updated its legislation to allow for the seizure and transfer of profits generated from frozen Russian state assets to Ukraine
A federal judge ruled that ICE can’t proceed with retrofitting a warehouse in Western Maryland into a detention facility, pending further court proceedings.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberal Party secured a majority government following special parliamentary elections.
The flagship electric SUV from Swedish auto company Polestar will soon be produced exclusively in the U.S.
A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit seeking to stop Hawaii from suing fossil fuel companies in state court over climate change, citing a “longstanding” policy against federal intervention in state court processes.
Georgia’s largest utility is launching a new program to let industrial customers build their own renewable energy projects and add them to the grid.
According to Indivisible’s post-protest survey, 32% of protestors at the recent No Kings were first timers. 27% of all voters said they want to come next time. Read that again: More than a quarter of Americans would like to go to the next pro-democracy protest.
ICE agents have started leaving U.S. airports.
The Netherlands just made it illegal to generate nonconsensual nude images using X platform’s Grok. The new court order imposes hefty fines on those who use Elon Musk’s AI tool to create nude images without consent.
Virginia has become the latest state to join a movement to make the winner of the popular vote the president.
The Texas Medical Board sanctioned three doctors for delayed care that led to the deaths of two pregnant women (this is only happening because of Pro Publica’s reporting! Please support them if you can!)
A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore that sought to force him to turn over private information about his state’s voters.
House Democrats on Tuesday proposed creating a commission to assess whether Trump is fit for office and remove the president under the 25th amendment if it finds he is not.
Formerly staunch Trump supporters are now wondering if he’s the antichrist.
Watch This! 👀
From No Authority on instagram. 😂😂
Wow! This is full of great good news and gives me hope! You and Robert Hubbell are my hope heroes on Earth. Thank you!!!
This is an extraordinary list of things to celebrate. Need it so badly every week. Thanks, Jess!