Extra! Extra! 9/26 🔥
Hi, everybody!
So sorry I forgot to send this yesterday—I was actually trying to take some of your advice and enjoy time with my family.
Anyway, so much great stuff to celebrate in here! And speaking of celebrating, happy New Year to anyone who celebrates Rosh Hashanah.
I’ll be skipping the main newsletter today, as my kid is off school and I don’t want to ignore them. So enjoy the mini-break and thank you, as always, for helping to bring all of this wonderful stuff about! Talk tomorrow.
Jess
Read This 📖
Why Am I Speaking Out by Dan Rather. Most of you have read it, but if you haven’t, do.
Also this article about a group of SF folks who are holding potlucks to help flip the Michigan state legislature is…everything!
Celebrate This! 🎉
The Senate voted to ratify the Kigali Amendment, a pact to curb a broad category of potent greenhouse gases. (We called about this! Yay you!)
A court revoked a permit for a new plastic manufacturing plant in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” The plant would have doubled toxic emissions in St James parish, which already has some of the worst air quality in the country.
It looks like Ron DeSantis’s stunt may have hurt him in the polls.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropic organization took an aggressive stance against the plastics industry this week with a new campaign to stop proposed petrochemical plants from becoming a reality.
The Biden administration will cover Puerto Rico’s Fiona recovery costs for the next month.
A Georgia county has validated 15,000-20,000 registered voters whose status was challenged by Trump allies and Republican officials ahead of the midterm elections.
An Indiana judge blocked the state from enforcing its new law banning most abortions today while Planned Parenthood and other health-care providers continue to challenge it in court, saying that the “significant restriction of personal autonomy” violates the state constitution.
Republicans are canceling their independent expenditures in campaign contests that they thought they could win but are now seen as complete losses.
An appeals court freed the Justice Department to use sensitive files seized from Trump.
Southwest Florida has had its best turtle nesting season ever recorded!
Trump and 3 of his children are being sued for “staggering” business fraud by the New York Attorney General.
Three of the migrants Ron DeSantis flew from El Paso to Martha’s Vineyard filed a class action lawsuit against him "in his official and personal capacity."
Norges Bank Investment Management, a Norwegian wealth fund that manages some $1.2 trillion, announced a new climate action plan on Wednesday requiring all 9,300 of the companies in its portfolio — from tech firms like Apple to agricultural giants like Archer Daniels Midland — to decarbonize no later than 2050.
California’s new set of climate laws will create 4 million jobs, reduce the state’s oil use by 91%, and cut air pollution by 60%. The California Climate Commitment will also protect communities from oil drilling, and accelerate the state’s transition to clean energy.
Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park is 40 acres bigger after a former astronaut donated a plot of land.
The number of U.S. schools using solar power has more than doubled in the last seven years, reaching roughly 8,400 by the end of 2021.
A Delaware trial court upheld the state’s new same-day registration law.
A Montana judge ended a ban on transgender women competing in college sports. The judge said the legislature overstepped and violated the state’s constitution.
Denver is trialing a basic income program for people experiencing homelessness. The Denver Basic Income Program will give 140 people up to $1,000 in cash per month for up to a year.
A Baltimore judge has overturned the murder conviction of Adnan Syed and freed him after 23 years in prison, finding that prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that could have helped Syed at trial and discovered new evidence that could have affected the outcome of his case.
Ethereum, the organization behind the second-largest cryptocurrency Ether, just reduced its energy demands by over 99%.
This week, the US Department of Energy's Berkeley Lab released its annual analysis of solar energy in the US. It found that nearly half the generating capacity was installed in the US during 2021 and is poised to dominate future installs. That's in part because costs have dropped by more than 75 percent since 2010; it's now often cheaper to build and operate a solar plant than it is to simply buy fuel for an existing natural gas plant.
The House voted on Wednesday to pass a bill aimed at preventing future election subversion, inspired by the investigation into Jan. 6 and a determination to prevent such an attack from occurring again.
Ozone layer hits a "significant milestone" as concentrations of harmful chemicals drop 50%, NOAA says.
Watch This! 👀
First, I don’t mean to promote my own content, but this is an important message! Please spread the word!
Then be inspired by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who delivers fire in this speech.
Happy to hear that you are enjoying time with your family! That really matters. And thanks for all the good news. PS You don't ever need to apologize for "promoting your own content." It's not like you're selling diet pills!!! Spread the word as far as you can...and I will do my best to help. Blessings,
Thank you for all of this! Also, you may have already shared this, but Dan Rather wrote a great piece Friday night on hope. https://steady.substack.com/p/a-brief-thought-for-a-friday-night