Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
Another week, another slew of difficult news. But in the midst of it, so much more quietly and less obtrusively, has come good bit after good bit after good bit. Will we stop to notice these wins big and small, so that our minds can be filled, even if temporarily, with something other than the awful?
That is up to us.
So let’s make the choice to pause the doom scrolling, take a few deep breaths, and dwell on the many things that went right this week. It matters deeply to our fight that we savor these victories, so that we build and maintain the strength to fight for new ones.
Enjoy, my friends. Please share this list widely. And please, please give yourself a pat on the back for all the ways YOU make lists like this possible. I never cease to be inspired by you.
Read This 📖
This is a great piece about the way individuals in VT are standing up to the Trump regime: Vermonters respond to Trump with chalk, lawsuits and food donations.
Celebrate This! 🎉
Aftyn Behn didn’t win her race, but she did swing her ruby red Tennessee district 13 points to the left! Republicans are panicking about the implications — if every House district in the country shifted left by the same margin Democrats would flip 43 seats next year — more than in 2018. Tuesday’s result means that Democrats have won or overperformed in 220 out of 248 key and special elections this year — a rate of nearly 90%. Even Fox News is worried.
New data shows the hole in the ozone layer shrank to its smallest size since 2019.
An Indigenous tribe in California has reacquired 900 acres of its land nearly two centuries after it was forced off due to settlements and the establishment of Yosemite National Park.
In a massive success in the global movement to end the fur trade, the Council of Fashion Designers of America just announced that it will no longer promote fur at any New York Fashion Week events
Democracy Forward secured a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from carrying out mass terminations of federal workers in violation of legislation passed to end the recent government shutdown.
A Missouri appeals court ordered new wording for a ballot measure seeking to roll back abortion rights, ruling that voters must be told it would repeal reproductive healthcare rights approved in 2024.
In a humiliating setback, the Justice Department failed to secure an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
An effort to ban ICE agents from wearing masks moved forward in L.A. County.
Climate protesters brought one of the world’s biggest coal export ports to a standstill.
Costco became one of the largest major companies to join a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Trump administration’s tariffs.
California announced an online portal to report misconduct by federal ICE agents.
Studies have revealed that a routine shingles shot may offer powerful defense against dementia.
Americans gave $4B on Giving Tuesday.
Rep. Jamie Raskin launched an investigation into Trump’s 60 Minutes interview edit.
A study in the journal Social Science & Medicine found that fighting fascism—and volunteering in general—slows down aging in retirees! This does not surprise me.
Starbucks was ordered to pay $39 million to employees in a landmark NYC labor law settlement.
A US judge blocked Trump from cutting Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in 22 states.
The IRS Math Act has passed. Now if you make a mistake on your taxes, the IRS has to tell you what it was and how to fix it.
Akbar Ali won his election and is now the youngest member of the Georgia General Assembly at 21 years old! He’ll be focused on lowering costs, fully funding schools, standing up to Trump, and taking on HOAs.
California Governor Newsom added 2.9 billion gallons of clean drinking water to California’s supply with new investments.
The Starbucks strike is growing! More than 3000 baristas are now on strike in more than 105 cities. And this week Senator Bernie Sanders and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani joined the picket line in NYC.
Elise Stefanik is now engaged in “an open war” with Speaker Mike Johnson. Good.
Trump’s approval on health care policy is down to 30% according to a new Gallup poll — the lowest approval rating of any issue polled.
James Solomon will be the next mayor of Jersey City. Solomon, running on a progressive lane with Working Families Party support, easily defeated the establishment candidate Jim McGreevey in Tuesday’s election.
Democrats flipped the mayor’s office in Roswell, Georgia. Congratulations to Democrat Mary Robichaux on her victory!
The head of the Virginia GOP is stepping down after the party’s bruising election losses.
The 3rd Circuit affirmed the illegality of Alina Habba’s appointment.
The Department of Education appears to have resumed processing student loan forgiveness for borrowers in income-driven repayment plans, following a brief hiatus due to the government shutdown.
More than $180 million in medical debt was erased for more than 39,000 Los Angeles County residents.
The New York Times sued the Pentagon for violating its First Amendment rights.
The American Library Association touted a “massive win“ after previously revoked federal funding for libraries and museums was reinstated nationwide.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill that will protect Illinois residents from “junk science“ undermining evidence-based vaccine regulations at the federal level.
The United States added 2 GW of utility-scale solar to the grid in September, bringing total solar installed this year to 21 GW — slightly above the 20 GW installed over the same period last year.
In a landmark move, countries around the world have adopted international protections for many species of sharks and rays that are widely hunted.
A Louisiana prison held its first-ever ‘father-daughter dance,’ reuniting inmates with their daughters.
Wisconsin’s liberal-majority state supreme court agreed to allow three-judge panels to hear two redistricting cases. A favorable and quick result could boost Democrats’ chances against GOP Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil.
Sabrina Carpenter spoke out against the White House using her song in a pro-ICE video, saying “this video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.” Yay for her!
The Illinois Secretary of State warned rental car agencies they could be held liable for ICE illegally swapping out license plates.
The FDA issued draft guidance to move down a regulatory path to reduce primate and other animal use in the development of monoclonal antibody drugs.
In one Trump-voting Ohio county a group of suburban grandmas are taking on ICE. LOVE THIS!
The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in delayed federal funds to help struggling families pay electric and gas utility bills.
Los Angeles shut down the last coal plant directly powering California, the Intermountain Power Plant in Utah.
Medicare announced price cuts for 15 prescription drugs — a key tenet of President Joe Biden’s agenda. These particular drugs were selected for negotiation in January, while Biden was still in office. Thanks, Joe Biden!
Colorado just set a major new climate goal for the companies that supply homes and businesses with fossil gas.
Another Town Board flipped in NY after a manual recount! The Dem ended up winning by 12 votes!! WOWOWOW!
New Orleans residents marched in the rain to protest the planned deployment of ICE to their cities.
Hundreds of protestors gathered in Indiana’s state Capitol to protest against Republican efforts to re-gerrymander their Congressional maps.
A Massachusetts church displayed an “ICE was here” sign in its Nativity scene. A church in Evanston, IL did something similar, showing baby Jesus ziptied, with ICE agents hovering nearby, in theirs.
San Francisco sued 10 major food manufacturers, including Kraft and Mondelez, alleging they knowingly sickened Californians with addictive ultra-processed foods.
Jackson Heights neighbors stood up to ICE in a big way when agents showed up early in the morning this week to try and grab parents walking their kids to school.
The FBI has arrested Brian Cole Jr., a Trump supporter, in connection with the January 6 pipe bomb investigation.
A federal judge restricted the Trump administration’s ability to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants in Washington without a warrant, saying the arrests are only permissible if authorities have reason to believe the person is likely to escape.
Hungary is leading the world in solar adoption.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) became the latest election official to refuse the Trump DOJ’s demand to obtain unredacted voter registration records, calling the request unlawful and dangerous.
The production assistants on The Pitt officially secured their first union contract.
MacKenzie Scott gave Cal State East Bay a $50 million donation. The gift is the largest in the school’s history and will significantly boost its endowment.
While SCOTUS’s decision to let Texas use its mid-decade gerrymander for next year’s midterms comes as a devastating blow for minority voters in Texas, it could also make it harder for the GOP and the Department of Justice to block California’s voter-approved Prop 50 map. [H/T ]
An 88-year-old army veteran will finally be able to retire from his full-time job at a grocery store after people online rallied together to raise over a $1 million for him.
Watch This! 👀
Ten military veterans of different service and rank made their own video in support of U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and his congressional colleagues.
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