Extra! Extra! 5/18

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The DNC flew this banner over Mar-A-Lago on Wednesday.

Hi, all, and happy Sunday!

Hope you’re having a great weekend and at least attempting to get some rest. I’m sending this to you from beautiful, slightly muggy New York, to which I flew with Mj—via Newark! Ack!— to help celebrate my step-father’s 80th birthday. (We’re holding a concert for him tonight in Nyack. It’s going to be wonderful.)

Anyway, it’s been another awful week. But amidst all the chaos we’re still seeing decency, courage and progress popping up everywhere. These times are wearing, to be sure. Wearying, too. But that’s all the more reason to cling to and revel in the small victories that are occurring—to celebrate them, share them, and bask in them. After all, what we focus on grows!

So please, take a moment or two to dwell on all that went right this week. Tomorrow we’ll get back to work creating new lists for the future.

Today is for joy-scrolling. So let’s get to it!

Celebrate This! 🎉

After more than 580 days in brutal Hamas captivity, 21-year-old American citizen Edan Alexander is finally free and back with his family.

Some of America’s wealthiest and most powerful private foundations are informally banding together to protect their tax-exempt status from any potential attempt to revoke it by the Trump administration.

In his first Sunday address at the Vatican, newly elected Pope Leo XIV called for a ceasefire in Gaza and “lasting peace” in Ukraine. He also made a general appeal to “the powerful people of the world” for “no more war.” In a speech later in the week Pope Leo also defended the free press.

The Texas House of Representatives voted to crack down on social media companies, passing two bills that would ban kids from the platforms without parental permission and require warning labels. Similar bills have also moved forward in California, Minnesota, and New York this year.

Alex Mashinsky, former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency lending firm Celsius, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on May 8 after orchestrating one of the biggest frauds in the crypto industry.¹

The Missouri legislature voted to ban child marriage by raising the minimum age for marriage to 18 in all instances.

Over the past two years, cycling in the City of London has grown by more than 50%. The shift has helped massively improve air quality, reducing toxic nitrogen dioxide emissions.

The FDA approved an at-home cervical cancer screening test, set to launch this summer.

A marquee lawsuit seeking to hold Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil responsible for climate-driven disasters in Boulder County, CO took a big step toward an official trial.

Speaker Mike Johnson finally named his appointees to a nonpartisan, independent congressional ethics and oversight board, ending an unprecedented delay in getting the office up and running. The board is now functional again!

Maryland Governor Wes Moore signed the Maryland Public Health Abortion Grant Fund Bill (HB930). The law gives the Maryland Department of Health access to $25 million for an abortion grant program to help providers pay costs for the uninsured and underinsured.

Leader Schumer is placing holds on all Justice Department political appointees in response to Trump's acceptance of a $400 million luxury jet as a gift from Qatar's royal family.

Ending six months of uncertainty due to Republican shenanigans, Alison Riggs was officially sworn in as a Supreme Court justice in North Carolina. AMAZING!!!! When we fight, we win!

U.S. regulators said that they would allow three new color additives made from natural sources to be used in the nation’s food supply.

Uganda declared an end to its Ebola outbreak just three months after the first case was confirmed.

Omaha, Nebraska's three-term Republican Mayor Jean Stothert lost to her Democratic challenger John Ewing in a huge upset. There was about a 25 point swing from red to blue! Also, Ewing will be Omaha's first Black mayor. HUGE!

A federal judge ruled that the Department of Justice likely retaliated against the American Bar Association in abruptly cancelling grants to support domestic and sexual violence survivors, issued a preliminary injunction, and ordered that the grant funding must be restored as the case continues.

Mohsen Mahdawi is helping launch an initiative to assist other immigrants facing deportation in Vermont.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett confronted Solicitor General D. John Sauer on the Trump administration's approach to respecting court rulings.

The Supreme Court barred the Trump administration from quickly resuming deportations of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act.

Rock legend Bruce Springsteen opened up his new tour by saying the US is “currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.” Video below!

Harvard announced it will spend its own money—budgeting $250 million—to fill the gap on research funding that Trump has blocked.

The Episcopal Church announced that it is terminating its partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by President Trump's administration.

From the Bay Area to Boston—and even on the steps of the Supreme Court—people rallied Thursday to protest the Trump administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship.

The Biden administration’s ban on so-called “junk fees” just went into effect; Ticketmaster said it will start displaying the full price of a ticket as soon as people start shopping.

A federal appeals court ruled that Elon Musk and DOGE must resume efforts to hand over internal documents about their operations to CREW, a nonpartisan watchdog group.

Tscherning, a large Danish construction company, announced that it returned its entire corporate fleet of Tesla vehicles because of Elon Musk.

The Los Angeles City Council voted to raise the minimum wage for most workers in the tourism industry to $30/hr by 2028.

20% of leaders at companies who’ve rolled back DEI policies in the last six months say they are “quietly bringing them back.”

Tesla is having “significant demand issues” in the US. Good.

The Iowa governor’s race became suddenly competitive when Democratic Auditor Rob Sand threw his hat in the ring. Sand, according to Cook Political Report, “is easily the strongest contender his party could have recruited for the open seat.” His candidacy warranted a rare ‘double jump’ rating change, shifting the contest from Solid Republican to Lean Republican.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Florida’s 2023 restriction on drag shows is likely unconstitutional, and thus the lower court’s injunction against the law’s enforcement remains.

MAGA activist Laura Loomer criticized President Trump over reports that his administration plans to accept a luxury jet from the government of Qatar, calling the move “a stain” on his presidency. For once we agree, Laura.

A school district in Colorado Springs, CO is building a tiny home village for its teachers to live in at affordable rates. It’s adorable!

General Motors announced potentially groundbreaking new battery tech that not only has 30 percent more energy density at the existing production cost for cells but also would circumvent China's stranglehold on intellectual property for EV batteries.

The U.S. infant mortality rate dropped last year.

Columbia University has agreed to a $750 million settlement with 576 patients of a former doctor who sexually abused them while working at the school.

What initially appeared to be a power play by Elon Musk and DOGE to take over the US Copyright Office by having Donald Trump remove the officials in charge has now backfired in spectacular fashion, as Trump’s acting replacements are known to be unfriendly — and even downright hostile — to the tech industry.

A federal court struck down an attempt by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to withhold Endangered Species Act protections from the Joshua tree, saying that it “sidesteps climate science.”

The Trump family’s $500 million luxury hotel project in Serbia, slated to be built on the site of a bombed-out Defense Ministry building, has run into an embarrassing complication: A key document the Serbian government has relied on to deliver this deal was forged.

Texas Democrats are trying to ban Sen. Ted Cruz from attending college playoff games, saying he’s “a well-known curse” for teams in the state

Americans continue to overwhelmingly support methane fees on polluters.

A former USAID worker is connecting big donors with overseas programs that have lost their funding.

Wyoming’s Teton County is officially the first county in the world to be certified as an International Dark Sky Community.

U.S. drug overdoses in 2024 dropped to their lowest annual level since 2019.

For the first time in six years, New York is increasing its unemployment benefits while also wiping out massive pandemic-era debt that’s been weighing on businesses across the state.

Google has agreed to pay Texas nearly $1.4 billion to settle two lawsuits accusing the company of unlawfully tracking and collecting users’ private data.

Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois became the first governor in the country to block the federal government from collecting personal health data related to autism.

A Michigan judge struck down parts of the state's remaining laws that restrict abortion access, including finding the 24-hour mandatory waiting period and informed consent laws unconstitutional after voters passed an abortion access measure in 2022.

Governor Ferguson of WA just signed the biggest overhaul of their recycling system since 1989.

A Montana Court struck down a ban on health care for transgender youth.

Massive numbers of pro-education protesters gathered outside SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA this weekend for a “Fight 4 Schools” rally against Donald Trump and Elon Musk​.

Watch This! 👀

If you haven’t watched Bruce Springsteen’s remarks from this week you really should. Thanks for being you, Boss.

1. This and the three items above from The Lever’s You Love to See It.