Everything Isn’t Total Shit: A Few Good Things Happened Recently
A reminder that there are good things happening!
Ariana Grande’s newly launched Brighter Days Ahead Foundation will give grants to groups supporting Palestinian children.
Ariana Grande announced the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, which gives grants to causes the singer says she has been supporting for years.
Two of the funds that will be receiving grants from the foundation are the Palestinian Children’s Fund and Save the Children UK’s Gaza Fund.
A judge in Missouri struck down nearly all abortion regulations in the state, restoring access to medication abortion for the first time since 2018.
Nearly all abortion regulations in Missouri were struck down in a 20-page decision handed down by Jackson County Circuit Judge Jerri Zhang on Thursday.
The ruling restores access to medication abortion for Missourians for the first time since 2018.
Pakistan’s government announced that it will abolish “period tax” on menstrual products.
Pakistan’s finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that the government will abolish “period tax” on menstrual products, saying that the items are “daily necessities that are indispensable for women’s health, dignity and full participation in social activities.”
The announcement follows a court case brought forth by two lawyers – 25-year-old Mahnoor Omer and 29-year-old Ahsan Jehangir Khan – last year, who challenged taxes on menstrual products, arguing that they amount to a “pink tax” on women.
Colombia passed a law that prohibits and establishes comprehensive measures to prevent and eradicate FGM.
Colombia became the first country in Latin America to adopt legislation to prohibit and establish comprehensive measures to prevent and eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM).
The passage of the legislation comes after years of advocacy by Indigenous women, particularly from the Emberá people, who have demanded that the government recognize FGM as a human rights violation and take action to prevent and eradicate it.
Europe’s first food bank to address animal hunger launched in Hungary.
The Hungarian Animal Protection Food Bank, which is the only initiative of its kind in Europe, launched in Székesfehérvár this week. The goal of the initiative is to reduce animal hunger in shelters, animal control facilities, and private households by collecting surplus products and distributing them where they are needed.
Székesfehérvár Mayor András Cser-Palkovics noted that food banks established to feed people have long played a key role in aid initiatives, but until now, no such option has existed for animals. So far, the food bank has collected over 300 metric tons of food and supplies.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani will address the city’s public restroom shortage with high-tech, solar-powered port-a-potties in 17 busy areas across the five boroughs.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office announced that it has signed a contract with Washington, D.C.-based company Throne Labs to install high-tech, solar-powered port-a-potties in 17 busy areas across the five boroughs. The initiative aims to address the city’s long-running shortage of public restrooms.
The bathrooms can be opened with a QR code, text message or mobile app and will also be equipped with free menstrual products. The city plans to distribute physical cards to access the port-a-potties through outreach teams to provide access for unhoused people who don’t have cellphones.
Oregon’s Governor signed a bill making Dolly Parton’s free book program permanent in the state.
On Thursday, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bill 4022 into law. The bill codifies the Oregon Imagination Library Program, which provides a free book each month to children ages 0–5, as an official state program.
The program currently serves more than 75,000 Oregon children, representing approximately 36 percent of the state’s children under age five, who receive free monthly book deliveries through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in every zip code in Oregon. Families pay nothing to participate, with costs supported through collaborative funding from local community partners, the Dollywood Foundation, and the State of Oregon.
The United Auto Workers voted to amend their constitution to prohibit investment in Israeli bonds.
On Thursday, delegates from the United Auto Workers (UAW) – one of the largest labor unions in the U.S. – voted to amend their constitution to prohibit investment in Israeli bonds.
The passage is expected to result in the divestment of at least $400,000 in Israeli bonds, according to the passed resolution and the Unite All for Workers for Democracy caucus.
Wisconsin animal breeding and testing facility Ridglan Farms will shut down all operations and the remaining beagles will be taken in by a rescue group.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue announced on Monday that it reached an agreement for the permanent closure of the Wisconsin-based animal breeding and testing facility Ridglan Farms, which has long been protested by animal rights groups for its inhumane treatment of the beagles in its possession.
The rescue group said that the remaining 475 beagles still at Ridglan will be moved starting this week with all dogs set to be removed from the facility by the end of August.
“What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.” – Howard Zinn