Extra! Extra! 7/20
All the wins that are fit to print.
Hi, all, and happy Sunday.
I’m writing from the Maritimes in beautiful Nova Scotia, so I have more than a little to be happy about. But even setting that aside, there was a surprisingly large amount to be glad about this week. Of course Trump’s hellscape continues, and I don’t mean to diminish that in any way. Still, a lot of good things did happen in the last seven days—although you likely didn’t hear about most of them. So let’s take a break from doomscrolling for a few minutes and delve into what they were!
Remember, what we focus on tends to grow. So let’s be sure to revel in these victories and share them with others. We can’t get through this incredibly difficult period if we don’t occasionally stop to celebrate the wins.
So let’s do that. Tomorrow we’ll get back to work.
Celebrate This! 🎉
Thousands of people around the country gathered for “Good Trouble Lives On” protests to rally against policies put in place by the Trump administration.
President Trump was booed repeatedly when he appeared in New Jersey to present the FIFA Club World Cup to tournament winners Chelsea. After he photobombed their victory picture they airbrushed him out!
Low-traffic zones in London have reduced deaths and injuries by a third.
Amid U.S. Forest Service funding cuts, volunteer hikers are helping care for trails.
Overtaking nuclear and wind, solar power was the European Union’s largest source of electricity for the first time in history last month — and coal fell to an all-time low.
Congress passed its Defense Appropriations bill with Ukraine funding intact!
Gov. Phil Murphy of NJ signed legislation that will expand free preschool in New Jersey, as well as full-day kindergarten to the few remaining districts that don’t yet offer it by 2030.
A federal judge dismissed Trump‘s $50 million lawsuit against the journalist Bob Woodward for publishing tapes from interviews for his 2020 best-seller “Rage” as an audiobook.
The Trump administration has been ordered to restore $6.2 million in grant funding to nine LGBTQ+ and HIV-related nonprofits.
Andry Hernández Romero, a gay makeup artist who sought asylum in the U.S. due to persecution in Venezuela but was deported to a prison in El Salvador, has been released as part of a prisoner swap. He was sent to Venezuela, not returned here, so he is by no means out of the woods yet. But it’s a start.
As many workers are opting to stay home out of fear during immigration operations, Marisol Magaña, her partner Andrew Roa and their daughter are buying out street vendors’ carts or working their shifts in Los Angeles.
Boston opened a new park honoring a Black transgender woman who was murdered near the area in 1998.
Thanks to weekly protests, threats of boycotts, and other pressures, deportation-enabling Avelo airlines is leaving Burbank airport. They’re pulling out of Sonoma, too! In fact they’ve left the entire West coast!
Trump’s had an AWFUL week around the Epstein files. Mike Pence called him to release all records related to them; Mike Johnson did, too. The Wall St. Journal released a damning scoop, and Trump’s efforts to blame Democrats for once didn’t work.
In related news, close to two-thirds of Republicans think the administration is hiding details on Epstein’s business. Just 17% of Americans, in fact, approve of Trump’s handling of the case.
Missouri banned child marriage.
The founder of the Miami Tropical Botanical Garden raised enough funding to save the property from development.
A new Virginia Commonwealth University poll finds Abigail Spanberger (D) leading Winsome Earle-Sears (R) in the race for Virginia governor among registered voters, 49% to 37%.
There were fewer boating deaths in the U.S. last year than in more than five decades.
The Miccosukee Tribe in Florida joined environmental groups to sue the federal and state agencies that constructed an immigrant detention center known as the “Alligator Alcatraz” and located in the Everglades National Park.
After the Trump administration announced that they would eliminate specialized suicide prevention support for LGBTQ youth callers, California is partnering with the Trevor Project to improve behavioral health services and provide even more affirming and inclusive care.
More schools and school districts are offering free school meals to all students through something called the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).
PEPFAR funding came out of the rescissions package.
DNC staff unionized with SEIU Local 500.
After an outpouring of public comments, the Federal Trade Commission has denied a former oil baron’s request to withdraw a Biden-era order barring him from ExxonMobil’s board.
In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein vetoed four racist and hateful GOP bills. They included three pieces of legislation that aimed to stop folks from implementing DEI initiatives, and the other would’ve stripped away transgender rights.
The ACLU of Louisiana successfully secured the release of two Iranian LSU students who were unlawfully detained by ICE without justification.
The immigrant father of three U.S. Marines was released from federal custody, three weeks after being violently detained by immigration agents while working his landscape job in Santa Ana, California.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a federally funded newsroom that provides independent reporting in countries with limited press freedom, such as Russia, Iran and Afghanistan.
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced it is reversing course on planned mass layoffs, allowing 30K jobs to be eliminated “through attrition,” but backing off of the previously announced 80K firings.
States have embarked on a wildlife crossing construction spree in an effort to save both human and animal lives.
The Republican Governor of New Hampshire vetoed a book banning bill.
New Mexico launched Automatic Voter Registration.
President Trump’s approval rating in the Strength In Numbers polling average is 42.6%, versus a 53.5% disapproval — a new low for his second term.
Two thousand National Guard troops assigned to duty in Los Angeles more than a month ago are being quietly released from federal duty in Southern California. GOOD.
Since just November, 69 of the 110 DoJ lawyers tasked with defending Trump’s horrendous policies have resigned.
Zohran Mamdani responded to Andrew Cuomo’s announcement video on staying in the NYC Mayoral race with a link to his donation page. His post earned over 150,000 more likes than Cuomo’s announcement video. He also reportedly brought in a LOT of money from it.
The DNC launched TrumpTax.com — a new website with a state-by-state breakdown of all the ways that Donald Trump and Republicans are selling out the American middle class to enrich the wealthiest 1%.
Shareholders of large US companies overwhelmingly backed diversity, equity, and inclusion programs this year, despite Washington’s staunch resistance to such initiatives. An analysis found that across 24 companies, including Amazon, Disney, and Apple, anti-DEI shareholder resolutions were defeated by a margin of 98% to 99%.
Albuquerque’s Route 66 motels are being converted into affordable housing.
New data shows that California was powered by two-thirds clean energy in 2023, a historic first. And it’s only getting better!
The organization Strangers No Longer held a march from a Catholic church in Detroit to the regional ICE office where members attempted to deliver a letter asking ICE to treat immigrants better.
Maine launched an effort to buy 1,600 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy from projects located on PFAS-contaminated farmland.
California lawmakers removed provisions from a proposed bill that would have slashed rooftop solar net metering compensation when customers sold their homes. CA environmental activists played a HUGE role in this! Woot!
A Texas law set to take effect this year will increase penalties for road rage shootings.
John Caravello, a CSUCI professor and US citizen who was swept up in an ICE raid, was released from detention.
As the Trump administration fired 1,300 State Department workers on Friday, signs were spotted in department bathrooms boldly urging remaining staff to uphold their oath to “RESIST FASCISM.”
For the first time ever in June, the EU got more electricity from solar power than any other source. This is being called a “monumental” milestone.
The President of Brazil, known as Lula, said no to Trump’s demand that the country drop charges related to former President Bolsonaro’s failed coup attempt.
JD Vance was “welcomed” by protesters outside of Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
George Retes, a disabled Army Veteran and US citizen who was disappeared by ICE at a raid in Camarillo has been released!
In Lakewood, California, Cassandra Chase has made history as the first Black woman ever elected to serve as mayor of the city.
The Trump administration has unfrozen more than $1 billion for critical after-school and summer education programming.
The Writers Guild asked the New York state attorney general, Letitia James, to investigate Paramount over ‘potential wrongdoing’ after the company announced the cancellation of the Late Show on Thursday.
The UK is getting ready for Trump’s state visit by posting pictures of him with Jeffrey Epstein on bus stations.
Thanks for all the good news. It is much needed ❤️
Jess Craven provides a ray of hope in a dark time. Thank you