Extra! Extra! 8/3 🎈🎈
Yes! There's still good news!
Hi, all, and happy Sunday.
I know I said I was off for the week, but I couldn’t leave without first sending you your weekly good news round up! Here it is—everything positive that happened this week in politics, the environment, and the resistance. As usual, it was more that you’d think.
Please take some time to read and savor this list, and then share it with someone who needs a lift. As hard as things are right now, progress is still being made. Let’s never forget it!
Read This 📖
You love to see it!
Celebrate This! 🎉
President Trump was caught on camera cheating while playing golf in Scotland.
The U.S. Senate campaign of Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) released an ad that misspelled Georgia.
After five days of deadly border clashes that have killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 260,000 people on both sides, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an “unconditional” ceasefire.
Michigan's Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that nearly 210,000 Michiganders will see more than $144 million in medical debt eliminated.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for Hamas to disband, the first time they have done so.
More than fifty federal immigration judges who were fired by the Trump regime are taking legal action to challenge their unlawful terminations.
Judges have found ways to block Trump’s nationwide policies in at least nine instances since the Supreme Court tried to curb their power.
A federal judge ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding.
On April 30, several thousand of you sent a Resistbot urging your U.S. Representative to sign a bipartisan letter supporting robust fiscal year 2026 funding for global Maternal and Child Health, GAVI (the vaccine alliance), and global nutrition. On July 23, the House Appropriations Committee rejected Trump’s proposed cuts and upheld FY 2025 levels AND increased Nutrition funding to $172.5 million. Nice work, y’all!
The Federal Reserve announced it will keep interest rates unchanged, a move that infuriated President Donald Trump.
A sculpture popped up in Midtown Manhattan of an all-red Trump, with half of his body emerging from a sewer. It had a manhole cover next to it with a rat underneath. Artist James Colomina was behind the artwork.
Former NC Gov. Roy Cooper raised more money in his first 24 hours than any Dem senate candidate ever—$3.4 million.
A former Ohio police officer convicted of murder in the shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed, was given a mandatory sentence Monday of 15 years to life.
A group of Christian denominations — Baptist, Lutheran, and Quaker — is suing the Trump administration to stop immigration enforcement arrests in their churches.
80% of Americans report being extremely or very motivated to vote in next year’s election for Congress
Democracy Forward and American Oversight filed a lawsuit on behalf of a dozen individual members of the U.S. House of Representatives challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s unlawful obstruction of congressional oversight at federal immigration detention facilities.
The “South Park” season premiere that mercilessly mocked President Trump drew nearly 6 million viewers, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Trump tried to talk to reporters in Scotland and was drowned out by bagpipes.
Trump’s economic chaos has had an unintended consequence: less oil and gas drilling.
A Miami jury found Tesla partially liable in a 2019 crash that killed one person and injured another and assigned $200 million in punitive damages, plus an additional $43 million in compensatory damages.
Hundreds of old EV batteries have new jobs in Texas: stabilizing the grid.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed two bills seeking to target crime and strengthen safety around guns.
Winter-run Chinook salmon, an endangered species, were found in the McCloud River in Northern California for the first time in almost a century.
The Pentagon said it will uphold a longstanding program that supplies critical hurricane data to federal forecasters—just days before it was set to end.
A coalition of 21 states and Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the federal agency told states to turn over the detailed, personal information of food assistance applicants and their household members.
After years of organizing and advocacy by local volunteers, Gilroy, CA held its first-ever Pride celebration, featuring folklorico, drag performances, and community resources — a milestone in the conservative South Bay town.
Democratic U.S. Reps. Jason Crow and Joe Neguse filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after ICE blocked multiple members of Congress from entering detention centers.
Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott denied a request from the U.S. Department of Defense to activate Vermont Army National Guard soldiers in support of federal immigration enforcement activities.
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil was roundly booed at a Town Hall when he expressed support for Trump's trade policies.
A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration and extended Temporary Protected Status for 60,000 people from Central America and Asia, including people from Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Sixteen states are suing the Trump administration to defend transgender youth healthcare access.
Bishop Cherry Vann has been elected as archbishop of the Church in Wales, becoming the first woman and LGBTQ cleric appointed to lead any of Britain’s Anglican churches.
Amazon Web Services pulled an application for a 7.2 million square foot data center in Louisa County, VA after a surge of resident opposition.
Taking a huge leap toward zero-emissions buildings, New York’s Fire Prevention and Building Code Council approved an all-electric building standard, making it the first U.S. state to prohibit gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling to maintain the temporary restraining order, granted by a federal judge, over how the federal government conducts immigration enforcement operations in Southern California.
Thanks to the city’s massive investment, cycling doubled in Paris in just one year. Look at what a difference one lawmaker can make, y’all!
Singer Amy Grant called her Congressmember on stage in front of a live audience to protest cuts to PEPFAR funding.
After gray wolves were reintroduced, aspen trees are flourishing in Yellowstone for the first time in 80 years.
Solar and batteries make up the vast majority of new power plant installations in the U.S. — and will continue to through 2030. Trump can apparently slow this momentum, but not stop it.
Lead ammunition for hunting and shooting will be banned in England, Scotland, and Wales. Ammunition using lead has long been identified as a significant pollutant and a particular risk to waterbirds, and an estimated 100,000 waterbirds in the U.K. die every year from lead poisoning.
After USAID cuts hit Jane Goodall’s reforestation initiative, Ecosia, the search engine that donates 100% of its profits to climate action— stepped in, providing $100,000 in support over the next three years to help save the Gombe reforestation project.
A massive sea turtle that was found injured along the Florida coast in May following a boat strike was returned to the ocean on Wednesday.
Ben and Jerry’s is diverting food waste from the landfill and converting it into electricity.
Watch This! 👀
Look at the welcome JD Vance got in Ohio this week— fantastic! (Warning, profane.)
(Posted by @stillwerise on Threads)
Thanks for posting this as you start your week off. This always helps to re-energize me for the new week ahead. But please stay away for the rest of the week for some much needed down time.
Some good news of my own to post. After having a soft launch of our We Believe Visibility Brigade here in Northern UT last Sunday (display: Release the Epstein files), we had our first official protest on Friday displaying "Release the files not Ghislaine". An employee of the local newspaper saw the sign on their way into work and soon we had someone from the paper stop by to take photos and do an interview which ended up in the paper by Saturday morning.
One thing leads to another and this article and picture go viral with 10s of thousands of views and thousands of likes across multiple social media outlets. Here is The Tennessee Holler posting it on Blue Sky if you wish to check it out and further amplify https://bsky.app/profile/thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3lvhoea3dc22l. We have Social Media accounts but have never been posters so we are blown away by what has unfolded in the last 36 hours. We have to up our social media game for sure. Also, giving full credit where due, this is my wife's project and I'm her #1 volunteer.
If not familiar with the Visibility Brigade and are interested in starting one in your town, you should check them out https://www.visibilitybrigade.com/. They started out in New Jersey in 2020 leading up to elections. Has now grown to over 180 chapters in 36 states. The vast majority of these starting this year. They have strong leadership and are well organized, provide lots of guidance and help amplify all the chapter protests on their social media. Or, you can also just do your own thing.
Our next protest will be on tariffs. LFG!
So terrific that sign in Ohio for JDivan Vance!!