Extra! Extra! 6/25
Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
Believe it or not, a lot of good stuff happened last week. More than you may know!
Enjoy this list. Dwell on it. Savor it. You’re working hard to move the needle in the right direction, and you are succeeding. So are a lot of other people just like you.
That’s a big deal, and should be treated as such.
So if no one else thanked you for all you do today, I’m thanking you. You’re working hard, and the proof is in lists like the one below. Lists that are growing longer with every week.
It really matters. And so do you. Never forget it.
Jess
P.S. As always, please consider sharing this list with a dispirited friend. Let’s offer a counterargument to the “nothing good is happening” refrain!
Celebrate This! 🎉
The Congressional Workers Union announced numerous congressional offices— including the Democratic staff of the House Education and Workforce Committee — have submitted union petitions in the House.
Michigan became the 23rd state to pass a version of the Crown Act, banning race-based hair discrimination in schools and workplaces.
Internet personality and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother have been indicted on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group.
The federal judge who has been overseeing the challenge to a 2021 Arkansas law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors ruled on Tuesday that it is unconstitutional, finding in favor of the plaintiffs and against the state “on all claims.”
A Senior US District Judge in Utah ruled against a Utah city's actions denying a permit for a drag show.
Hundreds of Church of England clergy are calling on the Church of England Pensions Board to fully divest from fossil fuels.
All phones sold in the European Union will need to have user-replaceable batteries by 2027. Newly approved rules say that consumers must be able to “easily remove and replace” batteries in devices like tablets, phones, and cameras.
The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Wednesday alleging that the company tricked millions of customers into enrolling in Prime.
In Virginia, pro-choice challenger Lashrecse Aird defeated odious Democratic incumbent Joe Morrissey easily, winning 69 percent of the Election Night vote, in Senate District 13!
The New York state legislature passed a bill that protects abortion providers against litigation from states with bans. It will be the first shield law to explicitly protect providers who openly talk about their intention to mail abortion medication to anti-abortion states. 1
Julie Rikelman, the attorney who argued on behalf of the Mississippi abortion clinic before the Supreme Court in the case that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, has been confirmed to a federal appeals court judgeship.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed seven election bills passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The bills would have shortened the deadline to return a mail-in ballot, made more voter information publicly available and more. On Friday, she also vetoed a bill that would have allowed any county in the state to replace the electronic count of ballots with a hand count.2
the U.S. Senate voted 50-49 to confirm President Joe Biden’s 100th federal district court judge nominee, Natasha Merle, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Years after their lives were turned upside down by conspiracy theorists, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss, were officially cleared by Georgia authorities on Tuesday.
A Trump supporter who drove a stun gun into the neck of a Washington police officer during the Jan. 6 attack was sentenced to 12½ years in prison Wednesday.
Fossil fuel lobbyists will now have to identify themselves as such in registering for the UN Cop28 climate summit, making polluting and carbon-intensive industries more accountable at the annual talks.
New York City mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order to protect trans healthcare.
A new report reveals that rooftop solar grew nearly 50 percent globally last year.
In a unanimous vote, the Icelandic Parliament has banned so-called conversion therapy.
The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Christian college, College of the Ozarks, over the Biden administration's transgender housing ruling.
Owen Shroyer, who worked alongside Alex Jones at the right-wing conspiracy media site InfoWars, will change his plea for charges associated with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to “guilty,” which might signal that he has flipped.
President Biden announced more than $600 million in climate investments meant to fight rising sea levels, protect coastal communities and modernize California's electric grid.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll reports that 1 in 4 Americans say that state abortion bans have made them more pro-choice.
In Williamson County, TN two book ban attempts were defeated, with most schoolboard members voting to KEEP the books on the shelves in opposition to the Moms For Liberty-backed members.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed into law a bill permitting 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 before the corresponding general election.
The chemical and manufacturing giant 3M reached a $10.3 billion settlement on Thursday with U.S. cities and towns over their claims that the company contaminated drinking water with so-called forever chemicals used in everything from firefighting foam to nonstick coatings.
A Wyoming judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the first state law specifically banning the use of pills for abortion, the most common method in the country.
Connecticut’s attorney general announced Wednesday that two attorneys will serve as special counsels for reproductive rights, taking on tasks such as representing the state in these cases and developing policy agendas related to reproductive rights.
After months of negotiations and the long-game help of the Biden administration, the IBEW’s Railroad members at four of the largest U.S. freight carriers finally have what they’ve long sought: paid sick days.
John Lewis is getting his own postage stamp!
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled for the Biden administration in an important immigration case, saying Texas and Louisiana lacked the legal standing to challenge the executive branch’s priorities on who should be deported.”
The Department of the Interior announced a proposed update of its renewable energy regulations to promote the development of solar and wind energy on public lands.
The Oregon county that includes Portland on Thursday filed a lawsuit against several fossil fuel companies and their business partners in an effort to hold them responsible for a deadly heat wave in 2021.
A key Republican election official in Arizona’s most populous county filed a defamation lawsuit on Thursday against Kari Lake, the former television newscaster who narrowly lost her 2022 race for governor and has falsely blamed widespread fraud and malfeasance in the months since.
A federal judge struck down a Florida law banning Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care.
Along with a few notable wins for progressives during Tuesday’s election in Virginia, all three of the Jan. 6 participants on the ballot did not win their primaries.
The Maine state house voted to expand abortion access on Thursday. The proposed law, which would allow an abortion any time before birth if a medical provider deems it necessary, would make Maine one of the least restrictive states for abortion in the country.
The House Ethics Committee announced it has expanded its probe into George Santos to include allegations about unemployment insurance fraud in a rare statement that also noted the panel has issued more than 30 subpoenas in the probe.
A new report finds that wind power will grown ninefold in Canada by 2050.
Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has secured the grand jury testimony of at least two fake electors by granting them limited immunity.
Florida is barred from enforcing its new anti-drag law (SB 1438), a federal judge ruled Friday, issuing a preliminary injunction in a case brought by Hamburger Mary's, the restaurant chain that features drag performers as part of its business.3
President Biden issued an Executive Order strengthening access to contraception.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed two pro-voting bills into law. The laws improve ballot access for eligible incarcerated voters and standardize the design of mail-in ballot return envelopes.
Sen. Bernie Sanders launched an investigation into Amazon’s working conditions.
The NY Legislature passed a bill banning the dumping of radiological waste in the Hudson River!
Watch This! 👀
This is fantastic and well worth the ten minute watch.
Daily Docket
Thank YOU, Jess, for so many things, and on Sunday, I thank you for shining the light ✨on the good news.
*New NBC News Poll Is a Good One for Biden and the Dems
Biden Leads Trump 49-45, Dems Are Up 2 In The Congressional Generic
SIMON ROSENBERG
JUN 25*
Jess, you are such a Bright Star! ThankYouThankYouThankYou!
I just want to make sure that everyone in the community knows that Senator Whitehouse has a brand new podcast called Making the Case about his work investigating the Supreme Court. I hope everyone will join me in subscribing to lift his critical work to prominence!