Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
Hope you had a good week and enjoyed a bit of time off from the newsletter. Iāve been on vacation with 18 family members in beautiful Nova Scotia, and itās been wonderful. Since I havenāt worked in days, and since my laptop also just died and I am now tapping away uncertainly on my teenagerās MacBook with a broken spacebar, this list may be a tiny bit shorter than usual. I promise itāll be back to full length next week after Iāve gotten home and secured a new computer.
In the meantime I hope youāll enjoy this brief foray into the world of good news. Savor it! Re-read it! Share it!
And remember that lists like this are only possible because of people like you. Thanks for all the hard work you do making the worldāand our countryāa better place!
Celebrate This! š
Democrats flipped 4 seats and won a majority in Tennesseeās Montgomery County Commission race. The 21-member Commission has gone from being evenly split to having an 11-member Democratic majority.
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport launched a civil rights investigation into Delaney Hall, issuing investigative subpoenas to the Newark facility run by the GEO Group.
Associate Judge Todd Edelman dismissed the felony vandalism case against Olympian David Hearn.
A U.S. District Court Judge ruled the Shenandoah County School Board violated federal civil rights laws by reinstating Confederate names to two schools, ordering the board to promptly remove the monikers.
The CLARITY Act will not be voted on before the recess! We know Republicans never give up so we still have to do calls again later, but the awful crypto billās odds of passing just plummeted. A big WIN!!
A federal judge issued yet another blow to Trumpās war on wind, ruling that the Defense Department must resume its review of onshore wind permit applications.ā
Joanna Whaley, a former megachurch pastor who endured 15 years of conversion practices, is set to become the first transgender member of Michiganās state legislature after winning her Democratic primary election on Tuesday.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million and make changes to the way young people can use its platforms, in its ongoing legal battles over social media harm and addiction. The ruling was in addition to $375 million that Meta was ordered to pay in the same case in March, when a jury found that the company misled users about the safety of its platforms and enabled the sexual exploitation of young people.
The DOJ took its latest blow in a failing voter roll crusade as a federal judge dismissed its case targeting Washington, D.C. This marks a 0-21 record for them.
A federal appeals court panel ruled that Trump cannot continue building the ballroom without explicit approval from Congress. The ruling does not immediately halt construction, but it is a blow to the president and all but guarantees that the Supreme Court will decide the fate of the ballroom.
Two Republican mayors from the reddest parts of Georgia are breaking ranks to back Jon Ossoffās reelection bid, telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Democratās work for their communities outweighs partisan differences.
Maryland lawmakers approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would clear a major legal obstacle to redrawing the stateās congressional map before 2028, giving voters the final say on whether Maryland can fight back against Trumpās expanding wave of GOP gerrymanders.
Embattled North Carolina Republican congressman Chuck Edwards withdrew from his reelection campaign, two days after the House Ethics Committee recommended he be censured for unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his office.
Abdul El-Sayed has won Michigan's Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, defeating U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in a massive victory for the party's progressive wing in a battleground state.
William Lawrence (whom I interviewed on a Live recently) won his primary election for Congress in Michigan, too!
Donavan McKinney, (whom we also had here on a Live) won his Detroit area primary election as well! Another progressive unseats a moderate, corporate Dem and heads to Congress!
All 8 of Winona, MNās Flock cameras were stolen this week.
A Kansas state court just permanently struck down a long list of abortion restrictions, ruling that they violated the fundamental right to abortion, and health care providersā right to free speech under the state constitution.
Baltimore had its first July with single-digit homicides in a quarter of a century.
Missouri voters blocked a GOP-led effort to raise the bar to pass constitutional amendments. The push came after progressives in the solidly Republican state found success with ballot measures related to abortion, health care and the minimum wage.
A divided federal appeals court said the Trump administration improperly terminated billions of dollars in funds to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort.
Minnesotaās ban on AI ānudificationā technology is officially the law! A judge denied Elon Muskās attempt to prevent the law from going into effect.
The federal government dropped charges against three more individuals in connection with damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, further weakening Trump's argument that it was the work of vandals.
The Education Department will erase roughly $11 billion in federal student loan debt owed by more than 170,000 borrowers after a federal appeals court rejected the Trump administrationās attempt to delay relief for students who claimed they were defrauded by their schools.
More than 1,000 employees at the biggest AI companies wrote an open letter urging the U.S. government to slow the pace of AI development.
Amid growing public backlash, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a moratorium on data center approvals until audits are completed by state regulatory agencies.
The first 2,000 children were officially enrolled in New York Cityās inaugural free 2-K class.
The F.D.A. approved Modernaās mRNA flu vaccine. The agency had initially refused to even review the application but reversed course after a public outcry.ā
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger restored voting rights to 66,000 people with past felony convictions. The announcement comes ahead of the November referendum that would automatically restore the right to vote after release from incarceration.
New Jersey announced that it has effectively eliminated veteran homelessness through rapid rehousing, street outreach, and emergency sheltering.
Exactly eight months after NYC Mayor Mamdani signed an executive order for housing development, the city has broken ground on a large-scale affordable housing project, utilizing more than 100 city-owned sites to build an estimated 50,000 new affordable homes for New Yorkers.
Food delivery workers in New York City earned an additional $104 million in tips after the city started enforcing a law to crack down on ādeceptiveā tipping practices from delivery apps.ā
After Howard University unenrolled hundreds of students for missed tuition payments, New York offered college admission at two universities for residents who were impacted.
Awful Tennessee Republican Congressmember Andy Ogles lost his primary! Heās out as of January 1, 2027!
Chandler, AZ just pulled the plug on their 40+ Flock cameras after a police officer got caught using the system for personal reasons.
The Senate has adjourned until September 14 without passing the SAVE Act!
Speaking of Tennessee, Democratic turnout for House primaries in a majority-Black county there surged to the highest level in a decade! And Justin Pearson won his primary!
And Democrats flipped the Knox County School Board in TN as well.
In Augusta Township, MI voters resoundingly rejected rezoning more than 500 acres of farmland for a hyperscale data center.
I think it was a fine edition. Even while you're vacationing you're still bringin' it! Thank you Jess ā¤ļø
I was lifted by the good news here: "Two Republican mayors from the reddest parts of Georgia are breaking ranks to back Jon Ossoffās reelection bid, telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Democratās work for their communities outweighs partisan differences." I looked them up and I will send both of them a post card thanking them for being profiles in courage. And I will sign my name as a Yankee Dem!