Good morning, Gnusies! Welcome to our oasis of actual, factual news that will cheer you and inspire you as well as inform you. I found so much of it over the past week — yes, this past week that also brought so much distressing news! — that I had to skip almost as many stories as I chose.
If you’re interested in finding news like this yourself, check out the recommendations at the end under “Good News Sources.”
And if you’re wondering if it’s worth your effort to seek out good news that inspires hope, here’s news about new research showing that hope is measurably good for your health and wellbeing.
From Fix the News:
A landmark longitudinal study of 25,000 Australians over 14 years has found that hope may be one of the most powerful predictors of human flourishing — more so than income, education or intelligence. It’s the first ever large-scale study of its kind, tracking how varying levels of hope correlate with people’s health, earnings, education, social connection and resilience over time.
The results were striking: individuals who scored higher on measures of hope were consistently more likely to be employed, healthier, less lonely and better able to recover from major life shocks such as job loss, illness or divorce. Hope also appeared to strengthen people’s “internal locus of control” — their belief that they can shape their own future — and this persistence helped drive positive outcomes year after year.
The researchers found that, unlike cognitive skills, which stabilise by early adulthood, hope remains malleable throughout life. In other words, it’s something that can be learned. That makes it a rare lever for long-term wellbeing, one that families, educators and regulators can cultivate through mentoring, purposeful schooling, community rituals and clinical practice.
Opening music
Part of having hope is understanding that we’re all connected. No one should feel alone.
* * * * *
Good news in the Resistance
Momentum is building for a mass shopping blackout Nov. 25-Dec. 2
Speaking as a former small restaurant owner, I want to note that “No restaurants” means “No chain restaurants”! Locally-owned restaurants that boost their city’s economy will need your support during this mass action.
The Resistance Reaches into Trump Country
“Protests in 2025 have reached a wider swath of the United States than at any other point on record.”
From Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School:
...one question that often arises is whether the protests are largely concentrated in major cities and liberal areas, or whether they have actually begun to occur in areas that the GOP dominates politically. The answer is important, since it gets to the heart of whether protests are largely trying to activate supporters in Democratic strongholds, or win over independents and lukewarm Trump supporters in tougher political terrain.
In a new analysis, we find that protest events now occur across a wider range of US counties than we have observed since January 2017. The share of counties hosting at least one anti-Trump protest has risen markedly during his second term, surpassing the historic spikes observed during his first term. And the current protest movement has already reached deeper into Trump country than at almost any point during the first Trump administration. ✂️
Protests in 2025 have reached a wider swath of the United States than at any other point on record. And the geographic reach of protest activity—the share of U.S. counties hosting at least one event—has remained remarkably high throughout the year.
Pritzker signs executive order to document "unlawful attacks" by federal immigration enforcement agents
There will be no accountability or justice without documentation. Good for Pritzker and the other Dem leaders for focusing on it.
From CBS News:
Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at addressing federal enforcement in Illinois, telling CBS News that his newly created Illinois Accountability Commission will serve as a permanent record of alleged civil rights abuses by federal agents in Chicago. ...
"They are attacking people on the ground — ICE, CBP — going after people just because they're Brown or Black," Pritzker said. "No one above them is holding them responsible. Greg Bovino, who is running the operation in Chicago, isn't holding them accountable. No one is. So we're going to have to keep a record." Bovino is accused of violating a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge after he was seen on video throwing tear gas at protesters in Little Village Thursday.
Pritzker's office said the task force will consist of nine people appointed by him to capture and create a public record of federal law enforcement, ultimately recommending actions to hold the federal government accountable for operations taking place here.
"The commission will be charged with three core missions. One, creating a public record of the abuses; two, capturing the impact on families and communities; and three, recommending actions to prevent further harm and pursue justice," Pritzker said at a press conference announcing his executive order.
He said members will be supported by the Department of Human Rights, and he expects hearings to launch "several weeks from now."
"Since this began, I have encouraged the people of Illinois to use their phones and to record everything they are witnessing and post it on social media," Pritzker said. "We have a duty to ensure that the truth is preserved."
Lori Lightfoot is joining in
And so is Tish James.
Jessiestaf covered this story yesterday, so I’m just reiterating the headline and the first paragraph.
New York unveils portal for public to share ICE footage after four US citizens arrested
From The Guardian:
The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, rolled out a “Federal Action Reporting Portal” form urging New York residents to share photos and videos of federal immigration enforcement action across the state, just a day after a high-profile ICE raid rattled Manhattan’s Chinatown and prompted hundreds to come out in protest.
Disney+ and Hulu cancellation rates doubled after Kimmel suspension
Don’t let anyone tell you that mass consumer pushback doesn’t work.
From The Guardian:
Disney’s short-lived suspension of Jimmy Kimmel under pressure from the Trump administration may have had a permanent impact on the company’s subscription numbers.
According to data released by Antenna, an analytics firm that tracks subscription and viewership data for major streaming services, cancellation rates for Disney+ and Hulu doubled from August to September – from 4 and 5% to 8 and 10%, respectively. So-called churn rates for Disney+ have hovered at 3-4% all year, with Hulu at 4-5%.
The surge in cancellations coincides with ABC parent company Disney’s 17 September decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put pressure on broadcasters to crack down on its host...
Newsom continues master trolling of “discount dictator”
More amazing resistance signs!
* * * * *
Good news in politics
Democrats lead the generic congressional ballot by nine points
California voters overwhelmingly support mid-cycle redistricting
California to set aside $80m and deploy national guard to assist food banks amid shutdown
This is the way to deploy the National Guard.
From The Guardian:
Gavin Newsom warned this week that Donald Trump’s increasingly long government shutdown will impact those who rely on federal food support, likely delaying benefits as families are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving in November. On Wednesday, California’s governor said he would set aside $80m in state support and deploy the California national guard to assist food banks.
“Trump’s failure to open the federal government is now endangering people’s lives and making basic needs like food more expensive – just as the holidays arrive,” Newsom said. “It is long past time for Republicans in Congress to grow a spine, stand up to Trump, and deliver for the American people.”
Extensive cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) – which provides benefits to 41.7 million Americans – were already approved in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed earlier this summer, putting increasing strain on food banks and low-income Americans. The impending November interruption adds further weight, especially when bundled in with rising food costs.
The Adam Schiff criminal probe has stalled, sources say
Gee, I guess it’s hard to make a case without evidence.
From NBC News:
The federal mortgage fraud investigation against Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, one of President Donald Trump’s chief political foes, has stalled, according to four people familiar with the investigation.
After months of investigating, the federal prosecutors in Maryland leading the probe have not produced enough evidence to bring charges, these people said.
One of the sources, a federal law enforcement official, said the investigation “came to a standstill.”
Kelly Hayes, the U.S. attorney overseeing the investigation, met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this week and asked him how to proceed, according to three people with knowledge of the meeting. The decision out of that meeting was for Hayes to pursue more evidence, and the case remains ongoing, those people said.
TAX THE RICH!
TX-18 is looking good!
* * * * *
Repellent Republicans Recklessly Rushing to Ruin
‘Hot Girls for Cuomo’ Website Leads to Sexual Harassment Report After Pro-Andrew Cuomo Influencer Forgets to Buy Domain
These are not smart people.
From Mediaite:
The social media influencer behind “Hot Girls For Cuomo” found herself outmaneuvered on Tuesday after someone swooped in to purchase the website and redirected it towards allegations of sexual harassment against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Conservative influencer Emily Austin launched her campaign “Hot Girls For Cuomo” on Tuesday, as part of an attempt to defeat Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race.
However, it quickly became apparent that Austin had failed to secure the “HotGirlsForCuomo.com” domain, leaving it up for grabs for an anti-Cuomo activist to swoop in.
As of reporting, the website “HotGirlsForCuomo.com” redirects visitors to the New York Attorney General’s official investigation into the sexual harassment allegations made against Cuomo in 2021.
* * * * *
The media pundits messing up
This excellent comment by Robert Hubbell applies not only to pundits but also to an unfortunate number of Daily Kos commenters. Happily, Gnuville is mostly free of them. I bolded my favorite part of this comment.
The challenges to democracy are coming at us fast and furiously. A large segment of the corporate and social media commentary goes something like this: “This bad thing happened. We should all be worried. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
If all the doomsday scenarios come true, I doubt that anyone will be sitting around saying, “If only Social Media blogger XYZ had warned us, everything would have turned out differently.”
Reserving your “I told you so” rights during a moment of crisis is silly. Worse, it is demotivating to those who need no warning, because they are breaking their picks on the obstacles that undermine the rule of law.
But, to paraphrase Taylor Swift, “Pundits are going to pundit,” so we should not expect a decline in “Don’t say I didn’t warn you” essays on the latest Trump assault on democracy.
We need more Senator Merkleys. Yes, he spent 22 hours warning us about Trump—but he did so in a way intended to motivate and inspire us to further resistance. Indeed, if all Democrats followed Senator Merkley’s example, we would control a greater portion of the news narrative. While our fight to preserve democracy is much more serious than a P.R. battle, controlling the news narrative is one part of the battle for the hearts and minds of the American people.
So, if pundits are going to report on the latest assault on the rule of law, they should include a paragraph or two on how Democrats can fight back. And if you feel the urge to send me an article that does nothing more than report on the latest outrage, consider adding a paragraph that says, “And here is what I think we can do about it.” You will be surprised how much focusing on solutions will improve your outlook for our eventual success.
* * * * *
Good news from my corner of the world
Latest news: Federal lawyers admit errors in officer deployment numbers to Portland ICE building
This sloppy case is falling apart. “Oops, sorry we lied” is not a good look in federal court.
From The Oregonian:
Federal government lawyers Monday acknowledged making two errors in sworn declarations presented to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the extent of the federal officers’ “surge” to protect Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
Robert Cantu, deputy director of the Federal Protective Service Region 10 that covers Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska, said that the region had to assign 115 Federal Protective Service officers from other areas around the country to Portland to “maintain a 24/7 operational tempo,” at the building since June.
The new brief clarifies that 115 was the “number of deployments,” not individual officers sent, and there’s actually been a total of 86 Federal Protective Service officers sent to the building from other regions.
In trying to clear up that mistake that attorneys for the state of Oregon highlighted last week, the federal government admitted another error: The government was wrong to state that it was “undisputed” that nearly a “quarter” of the agency’s entire Federal Protective Service had been redirected to Portland “due to the unrest there.” Only about 13 % of the agency’s inspectors were reassigned to Portland since June, U.S. Department of Justice attorney Andrew M. Bernie wrote to the court.
In a filing Monday to the 9th Circuit, Bernie apologized for the inaccurate information provided in sworn declarations and briefs. ✂️
Last week, the state asked the 9th Circuit to throw out its Oct. 20 ruling that sided with the Trump administration based on the misrepresentation of facts the federal government provided.
In a Portland under presidential provocation, civic pride makes a comeback
The more the Badministration disses us and pushes us, the more proudly we’ll stand up.
From The Oregonian:
Resplendent in a spangly silver jacket, motorcycle boots and heart-shaped sunglasses, Tara Dublin took the mic in front of thousands of Portlanders gathered at Waterfront Park before last weekend’s massive No Kings Day protest march and did not hold back. “I have never been prouder to live in Portland than I have been in the last few weeks,” boomed Dublin, a former KNRK radio DJ whose claims to fame include being blocked on social media nearly a decade ago by one Donald J. Trump.
Some of the 40,000-50,000 Portlanders who marched on Oct. 18th, crossing the Hawthorne Bridge.
Turns out, a lot of other people feel the same way.
Portland’s past few weeks have been soundtracked by a hovering helicopter and ill-informed presidential critiques and punctuated by a rapid uptick in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests. But its silver lining has been the hackles-up awakening of civic pride on a scale not seen since pre-pandemic times. Within hours of Trump’s Sept. 27 categorization of the city as “war-torn,” incredulous residents began flooding social media with images that harkened back to the high-twee, gloss-right-over-the-grit days of Portlandia: Sunshine-drenched shorts of leisurely, avocado-laced brunches, footage of tiny dogs placed just so in bicycle baskets riding past late-blooming rose gardens and lovingly framed shots of vegan kombucha smoothies.
And as the president continued his refrains that Oregon’s largest city is “on fire,” a “hell hole” and “burning down,” with a need for federal military intervention, Portlanders penned a barrage of “letters from the front” telling tales of oat-milk swilling battalions equipped with reusable tote bags and ethically-sourced crystals.✂️
Thousands of comments poured in expressing solidarity from as far away as Ireland and Australia, said Daily, 35, who produces and co-hosts a monthly comedy showcase in Southeast Portland, welcome balm at a moment when she and those in her circle are feeling extra-protective of the city.
Fox News calls his Portland apartment an ‘antifa safehouse.’ They’re not wrong, he says
From The Oregonian:
Chandler Patey isn’t surprised that his apartment has been featured on national television, even though it isn’t really much to look at.
Patey, 29, has been regularly protesting outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland since May, when he began offering up his apartment to fellow protesters to use the bathroom. By June, when protests erupted, protesters were also using his apartment to wash off pepper spray, recharge and store supplies.
Now Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham has referred to the apartment, about one block away from the facility, as an “antifa safehouse” after conservative online journalist and influencer Nick Sortor filmed inside it. ...In the Fox News segment, posted to the social-media site X on Wednesday, viewers watched from Sortor’s point of view as he approaches an open door and points the camera into the apartment. An occupant sees him and rushes to close the door. … Patey is one of the people in the video whose face isn’t concealed. ✂️
Speaking to The Oregonian/OregonLive inside his apartment Thursday, Patey agreed with the conservative journalists’ statements — in part.
“Ironically, it’s technically not wrong to say that this is an anti-fascist safehouse, because if you’re an anti-fascist, then you’re allowed in,” Patey said. “If you need to use the restroom, that’s totally cool, man. Just don’t make a mess of things.”
But he scoffs at the argument put forward by Daviscourt, Sortor and others on the political right that he and his fellow Portland protesters are “conducting paramilitary operations” or are part of an organized terrorist enterprise, as antifa has been labeled by Trump. “That’s insane,” Patey said.
He added — as many others have stated since the word “antifa” came into wide usage during the nationwide protests in 2020 — that a singular, cohesive or centralized antifa organization doesn’t exist and never has. It’s simply a word that describes people who “just don’t like fascism,” he said.
Oregon governor signs order to boost climate resilience of state lands and waters
Our beautiful state deserves every bit of protection we can give it.
From Oregon Public Broadcasting:
Tillamook State Forest as seen from the summit of King's Mountain.
Oregon’s natural and working lands and water will receive extra attention and new protections against a changing climate, under an executive order Gov. Tina Kotek signed this week.
On Thursday, Kotek announced Executive Order 25-26, which directs state agencies to coordinate and integrate climate-resilient strategies into existing state programs that work with the state’s natural and working lands. Those lands include state-owned forests, grasslands, rangelands, farmlands, wetlands and urban parts and open spaces. ✂️
Oregon Environmental Council rural partnerships and water policy director Karen Lewotsky said Kotek’s order will ensure the state’s 14 natural resource agencies are unified in their efforts to monitor and protect these spaces.
“As climate impacts increase every year, Oregon’s communities need smart water management to ensure access to safe, clean and plentiful drinking water. That’s why it’s so important for our state to incorporate both climate change and community resilience into the ways we manage our water resources and natural and working lands,” she said.
Kotek’s order directs the state to protect 10% more of its most climate-resilient lands and waters over the next decade. State agencies have been told to identify a baseline to use as they measure progress toward that goal over the next ten years.
How Oregon became first state to earn ‘accessibility verified’ travel designation
Another first!
From The Oregonian:
A wheelchair user hikes Smith Rock with Advenchair, an all terrain wheelchair.
Through a partnership between Travel Oregon and Wheel the World, Oregon has been named the first state to be “accessibility verified,” a Wheel the World designation that recognizes the state as an accessible travel destination.
Wheel the World, a travel platform for people with disabilities, was founded in 2018 by a wheelchair user to identify and promote accessible places to explore.
“So not a travel agency, but more an Expedia for people with disabilities,” said Joy Burns, communication and partnership manager for the company. “We wanted to offer verified information on accessibility, details of hotels, attractions and also transportation options.”
The company vets destinations by sending specialized mappers to verify accessibility details of hotels and other locations. They collect over 200 specific data points. At hotels, for instance, those data points include bed height, bathroom features and doorway measurements.
“They visited in Oregon in 43 communities across the state,” said Allie Gardner, industry communications manager at Travel Oregon. “They have assessed now over 750 tourism businesses, so hotels, restaurants, other types of businesses.”
Developers Break Ground on New Lloyd Center Music Venue
The good news here is that this locally-formed group is doing an end run around despicable Live Nation.
From Willamette Week:
Entertainment companies Monqui Presents and AEG Presents broke ground on their new Lloyd Center music venue at a press conference Oct. 22.
Standing in what was once the women’s shoe department of the now-demolished Nordstrom and what will soon be the music venue’s lobby, business leaders from Monqui, AEG and Lloyd Center all shared their visions for what a few of them called “a game-changer” for the Portland live music scene.
Gov. Tina Kotek spoke at the press conference about how the venue will be a boon to Portland’s robust culture of music and performance and to the Lloyd District. ✂️
A rendering of Monqui Presents' new Lloyd Center music venue, slated to open in 2027.
The venue—which does not have a name yet—will open in the first quarter of 2027, according to Monqui co-founder Mike Quinn. AEG and Monqui, a longtime local promotion company, plan to host 125 to 150 events there in 2027. The three-story venue will stand at 68,000 square feet and have a capacity for 4,000 guests. It will provide 17 full-time jobs and 80 to 100 hourly staffers per show.
The press conference also served as an important marker in the race between Monqui and Live Nation, which are both striving to build new venues in town. Live Nation pulled a variety of building permits for its property at 1211 SE Water Ave. this fall.
Blind protester dragged, detained by the feds
No, not good news on the face of it, but Quinn Haberl’s resilience and courage are truly inspiring.
BTW, if you’d like to contribute to his GoFundMe, here’s the link: Justice for Quinn.
From The Oregonian:
Quinn with DHS agents
Quinn Haberl was twice manhandled by federal officers outside of the Portland ICE facility last week.
The first time, Haberl, who is blind, sat in the driveway of the ICE facility, refusing to move, in what he considered a mild act of civil disobedience. Video shows federal agents yanked him up, then dropped him on the concrete. The second time, Haberl said, he’d moved out of the driveway, yet agents grabbed him anyway, carrying him into the facility. Dramatic pictures and video caught the scene as Haberl bucked and flailed: “I thought I was going to die,” Haberl said.
Haberl alleges federal officers targeted him because of his disability and his 4-foot-6 stature. The Department of Homeland Security argues Haberl was obstructing law enforcement and has yelled vulgar things at police officers.
“I still need to heal emotionally,” Haberl told The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday. “But I’m going back.”
* * * * *
Good news from around the nation
Most Americans support US recognition of Palestinian state, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows
The Felon’s ham-handed Israel/Palestine policy has resulted in unprecedented support for Palestine statehood.
From Reuters:
Most Americans - including 80% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans - think the U.S. should recognize Palestinian statehood, a sign that President Donald Trump's opposition to doing so is out of step with public opinion, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The six-day poll, which closed on Monday, found 59% of respondents backed U.S. recognition of a Palestinian state, while 33% were opposed and the rest were unsure or did not answer the question.
‘Demon Copperhead’ Author Lays Foundation for Women in Appalachia To Beat Addiction
Mokurai included a Bluesky link to this story in Thursday’s GNR, but I thought you’d appreciate some more detail.
The final quote from Kingsolver is brilliant and heartbreaking.
From KFF Health News:
Author Barbara Kingsolver opened [Higher Ground Women’s Recovery Residence] in January with royalties from her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “Demon Copperhead,” whose plot revolves around Appalachia’s opioid crisis. The home offers a supportive place for people to stay while learning to live without drugs. Kingsolver had asked the women now living there to join her on stage.
Kingsolver, who grew up in Appalachia, suggested the women share with the audience what they were most proud of having gained from their first weeks at Higher Ground. But she learned they were more eager to brag on one another.
Supporters say Higher Ground provides stability and a reentry point after leaving jail, prison, or a treatment center. It offers a range of services and support in an area devastated by addiction to painkilling pills and other types of opioids. Most fundamentally, it’s a true home, with one- and two-person bedrooms, a communal kitchen, and a den. Residents say they have found affirmation from a cohort of women who understand how addiction can demoralize a person and estrange them from family and community. ✂️
Traditional treatment facilities typically operate under highly structured medical supervision. Recovery houses, like Higher Ground, offer a more relaxed environment, helping move a resident “toward being an independent, fully functional, self-reliant human being,” said Marvin Ventrell, CEO of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers. ✂️
For Kingsolver, the opioid crisis became a focal point for what she hoped would be “the great Appalachian novel.” The epidemic “has changed so much of the texture of this place,” devastating families and communities. Pharmaceutical companies targeted central Appalachia for sales of what they falsely claimed were addiction-resistant prescription opioids. Kingsolver wanted to “cast my net back over all of the extractive industries that have come to this place, taken out what was good, and left behind a mess.”
“The way I put it is, ‘They came to harvest our pain when there was nothing else left,’” she said.
Crusading New York Community Garden Group Turns 30
Congratulations to Bette and her buddies for being among the first in the nation to restore urban green spaces.
From Civil Eats:
Bette Midler (center) with some of the original NYRP crew in the 1990s.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), the nonprofit founded by actor Bette Midler to reclaim and restore neglected green spaces across New York City.
...By the 1980s and 1990s, chronic underfunding had left many public spaces neglected. Empty lots became dumping grounds for abandoned cars, tires, drug waste, and heaps of trash. By 1995, the situation was dire. That year, while driving her daughter to school in the Bronx, Midler noticed the dismal conditions of parks on the west side of Manhattan. Disturbed by the neglect, she got a group of friends together to clean and restore the parks. From their hands grew the seed of what would eventually become NYRP.
At Glover Street Community Garden in the Bronx, gardeners grow dozens of different kinds of crops, both for their personal use as well as for community giveaways. Popular crops include tomatoes, hot peppers, herbs, and cucumbers.
Today, the organization owns and operates 51 community gardens throughout all five New York boroughs. In partnership with NYC Parks, NYRP stewards more than 80 acres of parkland in Northern Manhattan, focusing on underserved neighborhoods. The gardens are part of a land trust funded by a mixture of private donations and corporate and government funding, and through an annual Halloween fundraiser, which takes place on Oct. 24 this year. A year-round staff of 35 includes all full-time leadership, advancement, administrative, engagement, and operations departments.
The Avenue Apartments Brings 20 Affordable Units To Vacant Austin Building
I love to see old buildings repurposed to help communities. That’s so much smarter than tearing them down.
From Block Club Chicago:
A long-vacant building on Chicago Avenue in Austin has reopened as affordable housing, the latest development to come to the neighborhood’s Soul City corridor. The Avenue Apartments opened [October 20th]. The complex offers 20 units, including one- and two-bedroom apartments. Applications are open for those interested.
The apartments include amenities such as dishwashers, in-unit laundry machines and air conditioning. Monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit is $1,400, and two-bedrooms rent for $1,600, said officials with the Westside Health Authority, the project’s developer.
“Our goal was to create long-term, high-quality, moderate-income housing for Austin residents,” Rosie Dawson, who serves as director of property at Westside Health Authority, said at a ribbon-cutting event Monday. “This project reflects our ongoing commitment to building strong, sustainable communities where residents can truly thrive.” ✂️
The Avenue Apartments is housed within Austin’s Soul City cultural district, which has seen multiple developments come online this year.
Soul City saw the state designate the area a cultural distinct and expand its footprint earlier this year, around the time of the completion of an $8.7 million overhaul of Chicago Avenue. The corridor has also celebrated the opening of the Aspire Center and most recently the debut of Forty Acres Fresh Market. Additionally, barbecue restaurant The Avenue Que and Kitchen opened inside the retail space attached to The Avenue Apartments this summer.
* * * * *
Good news from around the world
Pope Leo Set To Break Up Opus Dei
See “Hot Lynx” below for a link to more info on this powerful Catholic association that has had such a profound impact on U.S. politics. It’s extremely good news that Pope Leo intends to dismantle it.
From Letters from Leo:
A report from InfoVaticana — a Spanish outlet with close Opus Dei ties — claims that Pope Leo XIV is on the verge of approving new statutes that would effectively dismantle Opus Dei as it exists today. ✂️
According to the leaks, the changes would “mean the definitive break of the original structure” that St. Josemaría Escrivá envisioned for the organization.
The draft statutes would split Opus Dei into three distinct parts:
-
Clerical Prelature: a significantly reduced personal prelature comprising only Opus Dei’s own incardinated priests, in line with new canon law norms.
-
Priestly Society of the Holy Cross: a retooled association to integrate diocesan clergy who wish to share in Opus Dei’s spiritual charism (formerly these priests were loosely affiliated with the prelature)
-
Lay Faithful Association: an independent public association for all lay members — numeraries, associates, supernumeraries, and cooperators — who until now were under the prelature’s umbrella.
In practice, this reform means Opus Dei will cease to exist as [a unified] juridical and spiritual entity.” ✂️
These drastic measures follow years of tension over Opus Dei’s resistance to reform. Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, had already begun reining in Opus Dei.
In 2022, Francis issued a surprise motu proprio (Ad charisma tuendum) that placed Opus Dei under tighter Vatican oversight and ordered it to rewrite its statutes. This came amid serious allegations — including a formal complaint by 42 women in Argentina who said Opus Dei coerced them into unpaid domestic servitude — which led Argentine prosecutors to accuse the group of human trafficking and labor abuses.
Francis followed up in 2023 with a second decree stripping Opus Dei of authority over its lay members and warning that the Vatican could intervene if the group stalled on reforms. Yet by 2025, those new statutes were still not in place.
Kazakhstan Criminalizes Forced Marriage in Landmark Legal Reform
Forced marriage is an abomination. It’s good to see it disappearing from one of its last strongholds.
From The Times of Central Asia:
Kazakhstan has introduced criminal liability for forced marriage for the first time, following the adoption of significant amendments to the country’s criminal legislation.
Effective September 16, the reforms formally recognize coercion into marriage as a criminal offense. Penalties range from fines of up to $14,500 and corrective labor, to prison terms of up to 10 years in cases involving serious consequences. ✂️
The legislation...also eliminates a loophole in Article 125 of the Criminal Code. Previously, individuals who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could avoid prosecution. That exemption has now been revoked. A new provision, Article 125-1, Coercion to Marry, has been introduced, criminalizing marriages entered into under duress or physical coercion. Penalties are more severe when the victim is a minor, when the crime is committed by a group, or when the perpetrator abuses an official position.
The amendments aim in part to curb the persistent tradition of alyp qashu, the abduction of girls for the purpose of forced marriage. Despite its legal status as a crime, the practice still occurs in parts of the country. ✂️
On July 16, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law the specific criminalization of bride kidnapping. The Mangistau Region Prosecutor’s Office emphasized the importance of consent, stating:“Coercion into marriage is the conclusion of a marriage against a person’s will through pressure or violence. Such an act is a gross violation of human rights.”
The office also stressed that: “Kidnapping a girl without her consent is not a tradition, but a crime.”
* * * * *
My favorite recent quotes, memes, and cartoons
Do they even realize those are the queen’s crowns?!
This is the funniest deadpan joke I’ve seen in years.
* * * * *
Good news in medicine
mRNA COVID vaccines may be helping some cancer patients fight tumors, researchers say
It would be nice if this research forced RFK Jr. to allow mRNA research in the U.S. to start up again, but I’m not holding my breath.
From PBS:
The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients – revving up their immune systems to help fight tumors.
People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer if they also got a Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting treatment, according to preliminary research being reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. And it had nothing to do with virus infections.
Instead, the molecule that powers those specific vaccines, mRNA, appears to help the immune system respond better to the cutting-edge cancer treatment, concluded researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Florida. ✂️
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has raised skepticism about mRNA vaccines, cutting $500 million in funding for some uses of the technology. But this research team found its results so promising that it is preparing a more rigorous study to see if mRNA coronavirus vaccines should be paired with cancer drugs called checkpoint inhibitors — an interim step while it designs new mRNA vaccines for use in cancer.
A healthy immune system often kills cancer cells before they become a threat. But some tumors evolve to hide from immune attack. Checkpoint inhibitors remove that cloak. It’s a powerful treatment – when it works. Some people’s immune cells still don’t recognize the tumor. ...scientists have long been trying to create personalized mRNA “treatment vaccines” that train immune cells to spot unique features of a patient’s tumor.
The new research offers “a very good clue” that maybe an off-the-shelf approach could work, said Dr. Jeff Coller, an mRNA specialist at Johns Hopkins University who wasn’t involved with the work. “What it shows is that mRNA medicines are continuing to surprise us in how beneficial they can be to human health.”
* * * * *
Good news in science
Water reveals superpowers hidden at the nanoscale
MInd-boggling.
From Phys.org:
Researchers at The University of Manchester have made an unexpected discovery about one of the world's most familiar substances—water. When confined to spaces a few atoms thick, water transforms into something completely unfamiliar, exhibiting properties more commonly associated with advanced materials like ferroelectrics and superionic liquids.
This surprising finding also contradicts what scientists previously knew about strongly confined water. Earlier work showed that confined water loses its ability to respond to an electric field, becoming "electrically dead" when measured in the direction perpendicular to surfaces. The new study reveals the complete opposite in the parallel direction—water's electrical response rises dramatically, by an order of magnitude.
The study, published in Nature by a team led by Dr. Laura Fumagalli in collaboration with Prof. Andre Geim, used an advanced technique called scanning dielectric microscopy to peer into water's electrical secrets at the true nanoscale. They trapped water in channels so narrow they held only a handful of molecular layers.
The results are striking: bulk water has a dielectric constant around 80, but when thinned to just 1–2 nanometers, its in-plane dielectric constant reaches values close to 1,000—on par with ferroelectrics used in advanced electronics. At the same time, water's conductivity increases to values approaching those of superionic liquids, materials considered highly promising for next-generation batteries.
* * * * *
Good news for the environment
Creatures buried in soil for over a century burst back to life in Toronto waterfront
More mind-bogglement!
From The Guardian:
When Shelby Riskin was handed disk-shaped samples of century-old soil from Toronto’s waterfront, the ecosystem ecologist was hopeful she might find trace evidence of plants – cattails, bulrushes, water lilies and irises – that had once populated a long-destroyed wetland. But when she and a graduate student peered through a microscope, they watched in astonishment as a brown wormlike creature greedily munching through green clumps of algae as if more than 130 years hadn’t passed since its last meal.
A possible chironomid larvae discovered in the soil.
Equally oblivious, a host of life – water fleas, worms, plankton – danced and spun around it.
“We’ve been able to resurrect some of the ancient life that shows what this wetland was like prior to urbanization,” said Riskin, an soil expert at the University of Toronto who was called in to analyze the samples. “It’s hard not to get really excited about this.” ✂️
The samples that came to Riskin had themselves been the source of disbelief three years before, when heavy machinery was excavating vast amounts of dirt and debris from Toronto’s waterfront in an effort to re-route the Don River.
When one of the bulldozers was halted by thick green shoots, the machine operator soon realized that the sedges and cattails looked nothing like the other weeds at the site. Scientists soon knew they were witnessing something both unexpected and profound: seeds and plant scraps, trapped underground for more than a century, had roared back to life. ✂️
“What is still alive, and what’s revivable and what we can learn from all of this is far deeper than what was initially thought,” said [Melanie] Sifton [a horticultural expert who was on site at the time the cattails and sedges were spotted].
* * * * *
Good news for and about animals
Brought to you by Rascal and Margot, and the beautiful spirits of Rosy and Nora.
A Melbourne Sewage Farm Has Become a Haven for 300 Species of Birds
Rascal says, “Hey, get over the ick factor! This is important and needs to happen in more places!”
From Good News Network:
Every time a toilet in Melbourne flushes, the contents start a long trip from the metro area to a sewage treatment plant that has garnered a mythical reputation among birdwatchers.
Following the treatment process, the government allows it to retain certain excess nutrients that cause microbes and insects to flourish—anchoring the food web in an area of marsh and mudflats that birds just love.
A Baillon’s crake, one of the 300 different species of birds flourishing in the lagoons downstream from the sewage treatment plant.
300 different species of birds, including endangered species like the orange bellied parrot have been recorded in the Western Treatment Plant, on the shores of Phillips Bay, in Victoria state.
In the paddies, visiting birdwatchers can see the brolga, a crane common in the neighboring Queensland, but endangered in Victoria. Above, squadrons of seabirds and raptors ply the skies looking for food or nesting grounds, and shorebirds eagerly wade, hope, an skitter along man-made mudflats gobbling up tasty morsels.
50 billion gallons of sewage and wastewater flow through the plant’s 32 huge lagoons. Some are anaerobic, or oxygen deprived treatment lagoons where harmful bacteria are expunged and beneficial bacteria, which breakdown the sewage, matter are cultivated. Oxygenated, or aerobic lagoons then work on the wastewater to reduce the levels of nitrogen—a compound common in human sewage that enriches harmful algae which can grow exponentially on the stuff if too much of it were to make it into the bay—the final destination of the water having passed through the other lagoons where it enriches the life.
“Rescuing starts with noticing”
Margot loved this story of a sweet cat heading for a forever home thanks to having been noticed by an alert animal lover. More proof that we all need to look out for each other.
From Good News Network:
A British woman recently rescued an abandoned housecat who had been living for 2 years in a derelict bathroom, and is arranging to fly the “gentle” animal back to the UK.
...Chiku Singh was sent a picture of the long-haired cat by a stranger and drove out to Abu Dhabi on August 8th from her home in Dubai to locate it. Singh managed to find the street cat in the process of feeding other strays, and noticed it looked frightened. She was told by laborers the cat had been seen over the last two years—sheltering under sheets of metal in a derelict bathroom. ...the cat had made a refuge beyond the reach of an outstretched hand in a derelict building’s bathroom.
Singh had to make the 90-minute drive from her home in Dubai to Abu Dhabi after work every day for 3 weeks to check on the cat, try to feed her and attempt to build trust before she was able to coax her out of her hiding place and get her to a vet. ...She is now finalizing arrangements to fly the cat—who she named Tara Nova, which means ‘new star,’ to a family in the UK.
“She looked completely lost and fearful. It was clear she didn’t belong there,” Singh recalled. “The workmen said the stray cats bullied her, and we thought she had probably been a pet and had been abandoned. She was scared and alone, and I couldn’t walk away.” ✂️
“Nova’s story could have ended in silence, but instead she curls up in comfort and safety on a soft blanket,” she said. “She was always a treasure, just waiting for someone to see her. Rescuing starts with noticing.”
The magic word!
Rosy could definitely have made an appearance in this video compilation.
And in good news for all animal companions in England:
English law will “revolutionise” pet rehoming
From Positive News:
The positive impact pets have on our mental health has been well documented, with studies suggesting they ease loneliness, stress and anxiety. However, tenants are often forbidden by landlords from keeping them.
That’s set to change in England after the Renters’ Rights Bill was waved through parliament. The law, which is awaiting royal assent, will give tenants a legal right to request keeping a pet and prohibit landlords from “unreasonably” refusing that request.
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the law could “revolutionise” pet rehoming in England at a time when many of its rescue centres are “full to bursting”.
“This is great news for people looking to add a pet to the family, and could potentially help thousands of rescue pets in animal centres find a forever home of their own,” said the RSPCA’s Harriet Main.
* * * * *
Hot lynx
