GOOD NEWS AS OF MAY 4, 2024

The Biden administration is racing to protect new rules from being overturned by the next Congress. Nearly every day for the past month, they’ve finalized regulations. Here are just a few: minimum staffing ratios for nursing homes; 13 million acres conserved in the Alaskan Arctic; “forever chemicals” designated as hazardous substances; rooftop solar panels initiated for low-income communities; most non-compete agreements banned; federal agencies directed to purchase sustainable products; and gun show loopholes closed. The American Prospect

What was true in February is still true and worth repeating. Biden ranks 14th in historians’ presidential polls. Trump ranks 45th. Here’s the scoop from the nation’s foremost political scientists. Have fun with the data (if you didn’t catch it in February). Biden places two steps above Reagan. Obama is ranked highest of any modern president. Jimmy Carter is 21st. George W. Bush trails at 32nd. And yes, Trump is last. 2024 Presidential Greatness Project

Swing states are overwhelmingly backing abortion rights. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are expected to decide the presidential race. A new poll finds 64% of these residents say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, indicating which way November winds could blow. Arizona and Nevada are among states in the process of a ballot initiative for abortion rights measures. Time

Two red states with strict abortion bans will now have abortion rights as ballot questions. In Missouri, with growing support, citizen activist groups turned in twice the signatures necessary to have the right to choose on their November ballot. Likewise, South Dakota submitted many more signatures than they needed. New York Times

Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to lose power. Greene’s political capital appears spent as she makes noise about vacating speaker Mike Johnson. Republican Derrick Van Orden commented, “We have to understand this is not a junior high school reality television show.” Newsweek

Donald Trump is now blasting RFK Jr., going all out amid polls that indicate the independent candidate would take more votes from him than President Biden. USA Today

Biden allies are also moving to sink RFK Jr. It’s complicated. The push includes mounting defenses to all third party candidates, including Jill Stein and Cornel West, and comes from hard lessons learned in 2000 (Ralph Nader) and 2016 (Jill Stein). Politico

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pressed Hamas for a cease-fire with Israel, saying “the time is now” for a deal. He met with Israeli leaders throughout the day on the last stop of his seventh visit to the region. They’re closer. All hostages would be freed, though Hamas wants a guarantee that hostilities from Israel will completely stop and troops will be withdrawn from Gaza. Associated Press

Labor market growth has slowed. The unemployment rate is expected to remain under 4 percent for the 27th straight month, matching a previous stretch five decades ago. That’s great, but the slowdown of labor growth is also good news—an indicator that interest rates could soon be eased due to a cooling economy. This will help with inflation as well. Macroeconomics is a delicate dance. Associated Press

The IRS is planning to ramp up audits as it cracks down on tax cheats and seeks to deliver more revenue into the U.S. Treasury’s coffers. Good news for the deficit and all the benefits we want from our government. Not to fear; they’re only auditing folks with annual incomes above $400,000. CNBC

Senators and Halle Berry have unveiled a $275 million bill to boost menopause care. Many physicians receive little training about menopause, which all women experience at some point. Symptoms can affect quality of life and be disabling for some. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said if men went through menopause, the research would have been funded decades ago. Sen. Debbie Stabenow quipped there would be a large NIH institute totally dedicated to every aspect. The Washington Post

The Biden administration plans to require that, by the end of the decade, all new cars and trucks come with pedestrian-collision avoidance systems that include automatic emergency braking technology. NBC News

The Biden-Harris administration has announced new school meal standards to strengthen child nutrition. On January 17th, 2020, The Trump Administration rolled back Michelle Obama’s signature school nutrition program. The New York Times. Schools provide breakfasts and lunches to nearly 30 million children. The USDA will now upgrade requirements to less sugar, less sodium, and more locally sourced food. USDA

The Biden-Harris administration finalized a rule to strengthen affordable care act protections, including health coverage for LGBTQ+ Americans. These individuals are more likely to face discrimination, and difficulty accessing services. Improved regulations are part of the administration’s push to get safeguards in place before unknowable changes in November. Human Rights Campaign

Tensions are growing between Trump and GOP Candidate Kari Lake in the Arizona race for Senate. The former president fears that Lake might not win and will drag down his own prospects in the state. The Washington Post

Simon Rosenberg’s 6 reasons Trump won’t be re-elected. Basically, Trump has way more baggage since 2020:

1. He’s been convicted of sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll.
2. He’s been convicted of overseeing a massive financial fraud and fined a half billion dollars.
3. Trump stole America’s secrets, lied about it, and shared them with others, a huge betrayal by an American president.
4. He tried to overturn an election and incited an armed attack on the Capitol.
5. He and his family have probably taken more money from foreign governments than any political family in our history.
6. He’s singularly responsible for ending Roe.
This is why, even with everything else going on, Rosenberg is bullish on Democrats in November. The Bulwark

Trump was fined for nine counts of contempt and warned of jail time if he persists. Associated Press

Michael Cohen’s tweets mocking Donald Trump drew laughs from the courtroom in Trump’s Manhattan trial. The Good News seeks to take the high road, but we feel compelled to report this week, from the official trial record, that Cohen’s nickname for Trump is “Von ShitzInPantz.” To make a case that Trump should be allowed to strike back at social media insults, his attorney read aloud social media posts that ridiculed his client—in front of his client. Judge Merchan wasn’t moved to lift the gag order. Instead, he countered that the people posting weren’t defendants in a criminal case. Huff Post

Meet the solar powered sheep of the Gobi Desert, where China has built the world’s largest solar photovoltaic power park, the size of 10,000 football fields, on land subject to 98% desertification. Frequent sandstorms impaired panel efficiency so workers cleaned the panels. The water they used enabled grass to grow underneath, so they planted more grass to keep the dust down. The panels provided protection from the sun and slowed evaporation. Then the grass needed mowing and, in the driest weather, presented a fire hazard. So sheep were brought in. The attached video claims the area now supports 300,000 animals, creating a sustainable agriculture for the local population. The sheep keep the grass down and fertilize the soil. The panels provide the sheep with shade, power to at least 3 million homes, and the reclamation of desert land. This symbiosis is spreading to other countries. China Daily, YouTube