This is how the Freeport Visibility Brigade in Maine spent their Christmas
Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
I hope you’ve been enjoying a holiday break of some kind. I’m on a plane with Mj, headed for New York to see family—this after a lovely week in Los Angeles with my in-laws. I’m getting some real R&R, in other words, and hope you are, too.
While the main newsletter will remain “dark” for one more week, I promised the good news would keep coming, so here it is! This list is a wee bit shorter than normal because so many publications are off for the holidays, but there’s still a huge amount of good stuff below. Read it, savor it, and share it—it’s only happened because of people like you!
Thank you for all you did in 2025 to make a difference. I look forward to a better 2026, with more wins than ever because of your hard work.
Read This 📖
Trump is Getting Weaker, and the Resistance is Getting Stronger by Michelle Goldberg. This Op-Ed is literally about all of you. I couldn’t be prouder.
Also, this is a lovely read:
Soul of the PartyThe Horror and the HopeAccording to the Hebrew scripture, after the Jewish people suffered many years of worsening slavery and violence, Moses marched them out to the banks of the Red Sea with the formidable Egyptian army in fast pursuit. In that worst of moments, faith and hope saved them…Read more8 days ago · 17 likes · 2 comments · Mike LuxCelebrate This! 🎉
The Supreme Court ruled against Trump and said he did not have legal authority to deploy the National Guard in Chicago to protect federal immigration agents.
An Ohio town has placed a moratorium on data center construction over concerns about impacts on residents’ air and water quality — the second Ohio community to do so this year.
Trump’s own pollster released a new poll that showed Republicans are heading towards a blowout in the 2026 midterms.
A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Trump’s administration from defunding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying the administration’s actions violate the constitution’s principle of separation of powers.
Maryland is advancing its mid-decade redistricting push, with its new redistricting commission now soliciting new congressional map proposals from the public.
A young North Carolina woman named Fatima Velazquez-Antonio, who was kidnapped at a workplace raid and detained by Border Patrol for more than a month, was finally released and returned home to North Carolina right before Christmas. Local activists worked so hard to make sure this happened. Hats off to them!
Australia announced a sweeping new gun buyback program, the country’s largest since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
Mercedes-Benz USA and its parent company will pay $149.6 million to settle allegations that the company modified its cars to pass state emissions tests even though the vehicles far exceeded legal limits for nitrogen oxides.
The 9th Circuit Court has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling from a conservative judge that would have allowed teachers to forcibly out trans students to their parents.
The multi-faith group Interfaith Alliance released a POWERFUL 30-second video ad that contrasts ICE’s violent raids against “the holy season’s religious calling to ‘love thy neighbor.’” So good.
We collectively organized three of the five largest protests in American history in 2025. You can check it on Wikipedia.
A global hunger monitor said Gaza is no longer in a famine after access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries improved following the fragile October 10 ceasefire agreement.
Three Los Angeles institutions have teamed up to launch a response to federal immigration raids in the nation’s second-largest city, projecting illuminated images of everyday LA residents on the facades of important buildings in support of the thousands of community members who have been detained this year.
Canada announced long-anticipated new rules to dramatically reduce oil and gas methane emissions.
A federal judge in San Francisco barred ICE from “sweeping” civil arrests at immigration courthouses across Northern California.
Protesters gathered on the bridge to Mar-a-Lago today to show their support for President Zelenskyy and Ukraine.
Another more than $200 million in medical debt has been wiped out for Arizonans thanks to Governor Katie Hobbs and an organization called Undue Medical Debt.
Taylor Swift donated $1 million to Feeding America to help feed hungry families during the holidays.
A federal judge canceled the trial of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man who was wrongly deported, and scheduled a hearing on whether the prosecution is being vindictive in pursuing a human smuggling case against him.
Much of the material in the new Epstein files drop was redacted, but “the censored information was easily revealed by copying and pasting blacked-out text into a separate file.” Incompetence in action, folks!
The US murder rate fell 20% in 2025.
After learning that the Vermont Air National Guard was to be deployed to the Caribbean in support of Trump’s military escalation against Venezuela, Vermont residents started organizing to make sure Guard members know their rights. Their movement is growing!
U.S. battery storage deployment has skyrocketed over the past five years, and that progress isn’t stopping anytime soon. Over the next five years, the country will build nearly 67 gigawatts’ worth of new utility-scale batteries.
Bobby Pulido, a Latino Grammy-award-winning star, is running for Congress as a Democrat in his home district in Texas. He brings the sort of name recognition and moderate politics that could help flip the seat blue in 2026’s elections.
A nativity scene outside Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas depicted Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as modern-day immigrants behind a barbed wire fence.
A new statewide law going into effect Jan. 1 prevents California cities from penalizing outreach workers who provide services such as legal aid or hand out blankets at encampments.
In other CA legislative news, the state’s minimum wage will increase by 40 cents an hour to $16.90 starting Jan. 1. Another law will require employers to pay full credit card tips by the next payday. A ban on cat declawing and a proper ban on plastic bags at the checkout will also go into effect. Another bill will cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for a month’s supply for large insurers. There are quite a few other great laws going into effect next week—read about them here.
Watch This! 👀
Rachel Maddow with some heartening words as we near 2026.
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