Extra! Extra! 9/15
So many good things!
Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
I’m ricocheting between meetings today, so have to make this quick.
Here’s all the good news I could find from the week—as usual there was a ton of it. Our candidate not only trounced Trump in the presidential debate, but we’ve had great news on the economy, pro-choice ballot measures, clean energy, and more.
Never forget, these wins don’t just happen by accident. They happen because people like you work day in and day out to make them happen. Thank you for that. I hope you revel in this list, because you helped make it.
I also hope you’ll share it, because too few Americans hear about the good stuff that’s happening, and they deserve to!
As usual, I’ve popped an 🪓 next to every item that everyday activists like you helped make happen, and a 🪣 next to every one that got done by lawmakers or administrations that we helped elect.
Read This 📖
“The People for Kamala Harris: How a women-led movement, born in the devastation of 2016, put Democrats on the brink of making history.” Beautiful.
Celebrate This! 🎉
The Biden administration announced a final rule meant to expand access and lower costs for care for mental health and substance use disorders. 🪣
The Department of Transportation awarded $1.6 million to the Gwinnett County, GA Department of Transportation from the Safe Streets and Roads For All program, which was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. The money will be used to improve traffic and pedestrian safety. 🪣
10 retired senior military officials endorsed Vice President Harris, citing her strong leadership on the world stage and the threat Donald Trump poses. You can read their letter here: Statement of Support for Vice President Kamala Harris
Pennsylvania received 76.4M of funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to plug about 550 orphaned oil and gas wells. 🪣
Mortgage rates fell to a 52 week low.
Two Georgia Republicans sued the State Election Board over new rules passed by MAGA board members that could delay certification and impose strict rules for drop boxes. The suit claims the board lacks the authority to implement the policies.
Robert Froman — a Republican member of Kalamazoo, Michigan’s board of canvassers — pledged to certify the results of the November 2024 election after previously claiming he’d decline to do so if the race was “stolen” from former President Donald Trump.
A year and a half since Massachusetts introduced an optional new building code aimed at lowering fossil fuel use, 45 municipalities covering about 30% of the state’s population have adopted the guidelines. 🪣
Inflation eased again in August, dropping to the lowest level in more than three years. 🪣
Colorado gave out over 1,300 rebates for electric vehicle purchases — six times higher than what it expected. The unexpectedly popular Colorado Vehicle Exchange program offers point-of-sales discounts worth $6,000 off of a new plug-in electric vehicle or $4,000 off of a used plug-in electric vehicle. [Source] 🪣
The U.S. solar manufacturing industry is going through an unprecedented growth spurt thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. 🪣
Among Black registered voters, 82 percent say they will “definitely” or “probably” vote for Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump, up from 74 percent who said they would support President Joe Biden in April.
Kimberly Guilfoyle eventually had to ask her audience at the Florida Republican Party annual dinner to clap for her as her awkward speech fell flat in front of an audience of allies.
82% of voters support a new law cracking down on price gouging.
Online grocery prices fell 3.7% in August from a month earlier, the largest decline since Adobe Inc. began tracking the numbers in 2014. 🪣
The Missouri state Supreme Court ruled that abortion will remain on the ballot there! [Source
]Nate Silver predicts that North Carolina is now the second-most likely “tipping point state” after Pennsylvania, following a pair of high-quality polls this week.
In a win for voters, a Georgia judge dismissed a lawsuit from a Republican Fulton County election board member — who refused to certify the county's May primary — asking the court to rule she has the legal right to refuse to certify.
Kamala Harris cleaned Donald’s clock in the debate—even Fox News had to admit it.
Some 40 percent of young U.S. voters across political affiliations say they will only support a candidate who prioritizes climate action, according to new polling data conducted by Beacon Research on behalf of the nonpartisan Environmental Voter Project in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
This upcoming tax season Direct File, the free-filing IRS pilot program, will be expanded to include Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — bringing the total number of states using it to 22. [Source:
] 🪣Union elections are up in the year since the National Labor Relations Board created new penalties for lawbreaking employers, suggesting that workers are empowered when companies face consequences for busting unions. [Also the Lever] 🪓
The Biden-Harris Administration has announced new measures to protect American consumers, workers, and businesses by addressing the misuse of the de minimis exemption, which allows imports valued at $800 or less to enter the U.S. without duties, taxes, or extensive data requirements. 🪣
At least 86 climate lawsuits have been filed against the world’s largest oil, gas, and coal producing corporations – including BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies. 🪓
The ACLU of Michigan will spend $2 million in ads for the state Supreme Court race.
The Nebraska Supreme Court allowed the state’s pro-choice ballot measure to go forward.
President Biden hosted the inaugural White House brunch to honor Black excellence. 🪣
Barack and Michelle Obama and also Bill and Hillary Clinton are hitting the campaign trail for Kamala Harris!
The Harris-Walz campaign announced a $3 million investment into Spanish-language radio for this month alone – among the largest and most significant investments into Hispanic media ever.
A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll finds Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump nationally in a head-to-head match up, 50% to 45%.
Nevada will start to allow Medicaid funds to be used for abortion care; a judge found that denying abortion coverage violates the state’s equal right protections.
Taylor Swift endorsed Team Harris-Walz! Her announcement prompted over 306,000 people to visit Vote.gov using the link she shared. That number has since grown exponentially.
Stevie Nicks seems to have also endorsed Team Harris-Walz…by calling herself a “childless dog lady” and telling people to vote.
Household incomes increased last year for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic started, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.
Trump Media shares plummeted by 10 percent on Wednesday following the debate. 1
A state judge struck down North Dakota’s abortion ban.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is going to force Senate Republicans to vote (again) on a measure that mirrors former President Trump’s proposal to mandate insurance coverage of IVF treatments. Brilliant! 🪣
In an op-ed, former U.S. Attorney General and White House Counsel under President George W. Bush, Alberto Gonzales, a lifelong Republican, announced his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
New York’s highest court rejected Donald Trump’s appeal on Thursday to lift the gag order after he was convicted in the hush money trial.
The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) announced their endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris.
In 2023, the number of people without health insurance reached a record low, marking the third consecutive year of decline. 🪣
Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride won the Democratic nomination for the state's lone House seat — positioning her to become the first openly transgender member of Congress.
California State Parks and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton have finalized a new lease agreement for San Onofre State Beach. The 25-year-long lease between State Parks and the Marine base ensures continued public access, management, and protection of this beloved coastal resource into the future.
Texas is becoming a clean energy juggernaut.
A judge in the Brazilian state of Rondonia has found two beef slaughterhouses guilty of buying cattle from a protected area of former rainforest in the Amazon and ordered them, along with three cattle ranchers, to pay a total of $764,000 for causing environmental damage.
George Will endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
Zion National Park shuttles are now electric.
A new study found that electric vehicle charging stations increase spending at nearby businesses.
For the second month in a row, the FT-Michigan Ross poll showed Kamala Harris with a narrow advantage over Donald Trump on stewardship of the economy, with 44% of registered voters saying they trusted the Democratic vice-president to handle the economy and 42% backing the Republican former president. [Source Political Wire]
Seventeen former staff members of the late Republican President Ronald Reagan have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
A new Des Moines Register poll in Iowa finds Kamala Harris has significantly narrowed the presidential race in Iowa, cutting Donald Trump’s lead to 4 percentage points in a dramatic turnaround from Joe Biden’s double-digit deficit, 47% to 43% among likely voters. [Source Political Wire]
Youth vaping levels fell to the lowest in a decade this year.
Apple announced that its AirPods Pro 2 will soon double as an FDA-approved hearing device. The long-anticipated move comes two years after the Food and Drug Administration green-lit the sale of hearing aids over the counter. THANKS, JOE BIDEN! 🪣
More than 116 miles of California’s stunning coastline is in the process of becoming designated as part of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary — the third largest in the country. 🪣
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, the Biden Administration announced over $690 million in FY 2024 funding to support survivors, including grants for trauma-informed training for law enforcement, strategies to combat technology-facilitated abuse, and restorative practices for gender-based violence. 🪣
Watch This! 👀
This is amazing. Trust me.
This and the 3 above from What a Day!
Fantastic, so much great news! I'm so exhausted by Trump but stuff like this gives me fuel for the final push in this election. Thanks, as always.
FWIW, Simon Rosenberg now recommends we all ignore Nate Silver as he is likely not acting in good faith and up to something shady. I only learned this very recently.
That item is personal, the one about the Colorado Vehicle Exchange Program: In April I turned in our family's basically mothballed but still running 2001 Ford Windstar and got a $4,000 voucher. With the utility company Xcel's $3,000 voucher, I got $7,000 off a 2017 Nissan Leaf that was listed for $7,888... Out of pocket total after taxes etc. was $1,438. Great program!! (I was already getting around almost entirely on an e-bike, but don't tell anyone ha ha.)