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From the GNR Newsroom, its the Monday Good News Roundup [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-07-21
Welcome back friends to the Monday Good News Roundup, that time of the week when we at the GNR Newsroom (Myself, Killer300, Bhu, and the fine folk at the GNR Discord Server) bring you all the good news to start your week off right. Don’t have a lot to add for this week so lets jump right in
But first some music: A thousand miles by Vanessa Carlton
(Man, if you grew up in the early 2000’s you remember this one)
The union representing writers on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is calling for a New York state investigation into Paramount following the cancellation of the show on Thursday, airing concerns that the move may be a form of bribery. The union’s East and West Coast branches asked that New York state Attorney General Letitia James open an inquiry into “potential wrongdoing” at the company in a strongly worded statement on Friday. The WGA East and West pointed to the precedent of the California State Senate, which in May launched an inquiry into Paramount Global’s controversial $16 million settlement with President Trump over the editing of a Kamala Harris 60 Minutes interview in 2024.
I’m sure many of you were disturbed by the apparent censuring of Stephen Colbert by Paramount, but rest assured no one is taking this laying down, there will indeed be a reckoning for this if it was motivated by an attempt to appease Trump.
President Donald Trump's disapproval rating has hit a record high for his second term, according to a new poll. The latest Atlas Intel survey, conducted between July 13 and 18 among 1,935 respondents, put Trump's disapproval rating at 55 percent, up from 54 percent last month. Meanwhile, his approval rating stands at 44 percent, down from 45 percent last month, giving the president a net approval rating of -11 points—the lowest so far of his second term. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Speaking of Trump, seems like that Epstein thing is not going away is it. Still amazes me that after everything this is the thing that brings him down. Wow, who would have guessed the “grab them by the pussy” guy would be on the Epstein list?
Not all heroes wear capes.
President Donald Trump’s recent handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case files marks one of the few times where his MAGA base is not marching in lockstep with him. Trump and the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, continue to stonewall efforts to release documents related to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who was also charged with trafficking underaged girls. While most congressional Republicans have resisted Democratic attempts to make the information public, a few have broken ranks. However, among conservative pundits, some prominent figures are more openly criticizing Trump. White supremacist and former Mar-a-Lago dinner guest Nick Fuentes complained on a recent episode of his podcast that Trump’s actions regarding the Epstein case proves he is a “scam artist.”
Looks like the MAGA coalition is finally coming off the rails. About time.
July 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday ruled the firing of U.S. Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Kelly Slaughter by President Donald Trump earlier this year was illegal. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan said the Trump administration’s attempt to remove Slaughter did not comply with removal protections in federal law.
Another week another Trump move blocked by the courts. Noticing a theme anyone?
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Thousands of Arizonans now have a financial burden lifted off their shoulders, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced on Wednesday. According to the Democratic governor, $429 million in medical debt has been erased for more than 352,000 Arizonans as part of a partnership between her administration and national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt. “Medical debt deprives our fellow Arizonans of their basic dignity, prevents our families and neighbors from living happy and productive lives, and endangers the Arizona Promise,” Hobbs said in a press release. The amount of medical debt in Arizona is estimated to be $2.4 billion.
A drop in the bucket to be sure, but much needed relief for many of the people of Arizona. Thank you Governor Hobbs.
LGBTQ+ civil rights groups are urging transgender Americans to update their passports now, while a court order forces the State Department to process new applications. For most of this year, trans and nonbinary Americans have been blocked from obtaining passports that match their gender identity, spurring travel fears and causing bureaucratic headaches for many. But now, at least for a limited time, trans people can obtain accurate passports again.
Great news for Trans people.
Nearly a decade after high levels of lead were first detected in the City of Flint’s drinking water, the state of Michigan has submitted a progress report to a federal court marking the completion of its lead line replacement program. On Tuesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council, who secured a settlement with the city and the state in 2017 to replace all of Flint’s lead lines, acknowledged that more than eight years later, the state had replaced nearly 11,000 pipes and restored more than 28,000 properties. In 2014, the city switched its water supply from water piped in from Detroit to the Flint River, a decision made by emergency managers appointed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder as a cost-saving move. Due to inadequate treatment of the water, corroding pipes leached lead into thousands of homes as residents raised concerns about discolored, foul-smelling and tasting water.
Eleven years later, the fight to give Flint Michigan clean and safe drinking water has concluded. A definite win for the side of justice. It was a lot of hard work and perseverance, but they got it done.
A few weeks ago, I told you that Donald Trump’s Department of Justice had launched an action against Daily Kos. I couldn’t say much then—and I still can’t. As part of the resolution, we’re required to keep the nature of the action confidential for one year. But here’s what I can say now: The DOJ has backed off. They’ve withdrawn. We stood our ground, and we won.
Oh yeah, that happened this week as well. A tip of my hat to Kos, the owner of this very site. A victory for you is a victory for all of us who post on this crazy site and try and keep the spark of hope alive in this dark time.
More Epstein related news, because I will never stop drinking that tea.
Time for a music break: Alice Cooper. The Man behind the Mask. (Speaking of monsters from the 1980’s)
ver $6.2 million in federal grant funding has been returned to nine organisations that support LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV after they won a case challenging an executive order issued by US president Donald Trump. Shortly following his inauguration in January, the 79-year-old signed a set of executive orders threatening to rescind federal funds for LGBTQ+ groups issued by the government.
Hand out of the cookie jar there Donny.
The former Rochester Institute of Technology sprinter, and prominent figure on Trump’s battleground against transgender athletes, has reportedly sued Princeton University and sports faculty staff, alleging that her rights under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination were violated. As reported by Outsports, the suit, which was filed on 14 July, centres on Sadie Schreiner being barred from competing in the final heat of Princeton’s Larry Ellis Invitational event this year. Princeton’s athletics website places the event in May. According to the filing, Schreiner was originally on the list for the 200-meter race, but was removed by Princeton Athletics Director John Mack.
Good for her. Give em Hell Sadie.
Three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine is now the most heavily mined country in the world. As United States-led ceasefire negotiations continue to stall, the amount of ordnance buried in Ukrainian soil is only increasing as the war drags on. In April 2025, I embedded with the Ukrainian Association of Humanitarian Demining (UAHD) at an undisclosed location on the outskirts of Kyiv’s suburb of Irpin, where a volunteer task force of “sappers” — a term that refers to combat engineers such as deminers — works with the local municipality and outside funders to clear what Russian soldiers left behind during their withdrawal in March 2022.
A lot of heroes in today’s GNR, both great and small, people who are trying to make the world just a little bit better, a little bit safer, a little bit kinder, and a little more just.
In Western India, bamboo is being used to rejuvenate lands choked with ash from thermal power plants. One of the largest coal-burning nations owing to its large population and drive for economic development, India has nevertheless likely contaminated thousands of acres of marginal and arable land with “fly ash.” Fly ash is the heavy particulate matter ejected during coal and wood burning, and in the case of coal, the presence of heavier minerals like silica make farming under its influence all but impossible.
Ah Bamboo, where would we be without you? More importantly what would Pandas eat?
Fresh from his retirement concert with Black Sabbath at the weekend, Ozzy Osbourne has announced a new project: a visual art collaboration with chimpanzees. Osbourne is a keen amateur painter, and for his latest works he painted multicoloured base coats on to five canvases, with the chimpanzees then adding daubs of their own. The finished abstract expressionist works are being sold at auction to raise money for Save the Chimps, a sanctuary in Florida for chimpanzees who have been rescued from animal testing labs, poorly run zoos and wildlife traffickers.
They say a million monkeys with a million typewriters will eventually replicate the works of William Shakespeare. I don’t know about that but if you add Ozzy Osbourne to the mix apparently they can make some cool art.
Bosses in the UK will be banned from using non-disclosure agreements to silence employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination in the workplace as part of the government’s overhaul of workers’ rights. Ministers will on Monday night table amendments to the government’s employment rights bill to prohibit the widespread practice of using legally enforceable NDAs to conceal unacceptable behaviour at work. If passed, the rules would mean any future confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements that sought to prevent a worker speaking about an allegation of harassment – including sexual harassment – or discrimination would be null and void.
Things we desperately need in the US for 500 Alex.
Empowering Older Adults Against Cyber Fraud Armed with this mission, the 16-year-old began her research only to find that there were many older adults like her grandfather who were susceptible to cyber fraud. “I found that over 75 percent of senior citizens in the US were unfamiliar with basic cyber safety practices,” Tejasvi reveals. “In 2024, cyber frauds cost senior citizens over $3 billion in damages, which averages to $33,000 per person,” reveals Tejasvi, who understands that losing money at that age causes severe psychological and emotional stress. Keen to make a difference, she started Shield Seniors to protect senior citizens from online scams, fraud, and cybersecurity threats by offering easy-to-understand guidance and tools. “The goal is not just to protect older adults from online scams but also to educate them so they can confidently navigate the digital world,” explains the student from Lebanon Trail High School. “Cybercrime isn’t restricted to the US, it’s a worldwide issue with few effective solutions. That’s what inspired me to start Shield Seniors, and I chose an AI and ML-based application to provide real-time assistance 24*7.”
Very inspiring tale. And proof that AI has its place and uses, maybe just not creating art or giving people shitty advice.
Over the last few days, millions of Americans have gone to the movie theater to watch James Gunn’s new “Superman,” making it the No. 1 movie in the United States. The movie’s success is another humiliating loss for the MAGA movement, which campaigned against the film’s pro-immigrant themes. But the film is also a resounding rejection of the bitter, cynical meanness that’s been a hallmark of President Donald Trump’s second term. Since its release on July 11, the movie has earned more than $122 million and received a rating of 83% from critics and 93% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. That resounding success follows a full-throated meltdown from the right, slamming the movie as “woke” and predicting its failure. Conservatives were triggered after Gunn said that the film is about an “immigrant that came from other places.”
Eight years ago, when Trump was first elected, There was a comic plot going on where Cap has been rewritten by the cosmic cube to become a HYDRA agent, at a time when we needed a hero to rally behind in our fiction, a man who had always been a champion of America’s ideals was shown siding with the enemy. It was a bad look to be sure. So thank you James Gunn for not repeating history in this case, and giving us a Super hero who is a strong refutation of the MAGA mindset (which Superman has always been make no mistake, but its good when creators get it right).
And that’s the main stories this week, Pokemon time.
Wow, 30 weeks in huh? Time does fly. Only 22 weeks to go.
Now for the GNR Lightning round
How ICE arrest of a high school student activated a Massachusetts town
Three stories of everyday people taking a stand
What could go right? Something Seismic
Hoboken outlaws algorithmic price fixing
And now, the cute corner
And I think that wraps it up nicely for this week. Everyone have a good Monday and a better rest of the week.
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