(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Thursday 10/19 Good News Roundup: Hakeem Jeffries has a Plan [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-19 that a lot of people don’t want to talk about. Two points: 1) Democrats don’t care who is Speaker, if the Speaker has to follow bipartisan regular order, and 2) Democrats have a proposed rules package to allow and enforce that. They need a few Republicans from among those who do sometimes support bipartisan bills to join them, and then to choose a Speaker candidate from among their number. Leader Jeffries on NBC's Meet the Press NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, PBS, others, covered this, but other Dems have not picked it up, and Rs aren’t even screaming about it. NYT [paywalled]: Hakeem Jeffries received the most votes, so why isn’t he speaker? House rules require that the speaker receive a majority of votes cast, a threshold that Jeffries, the House minority leader, failed to reach despite receiving the most votes. WaPo [paywalled]: Hakeem Jeffries: A bipartisan coalition is the way forward for the House PBS: Jeffries: Moderate Republicans can join Dems to end deadlock Politico: Hakeem Jeffries pitches coalition governing in the House, and major changes to the rules Coalition governance is a foreign concept in Congress, but Jeffries wants to bring it to the House. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries isn’t just talking about changing the motion to vacate. The New York Democrat wants to change the House rules to keep broadly popular legislation moving through the House and deemphasize the power of the small group of hard-line conservative members with sizable control over the GOP conference. One path forward toward this is a proposal made by the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress to convene a legislative process task force to discuss rules changes to “reciprocated consideration for widely supported, bipartisan legislation,” as outlined in the panel's report on fostering collaboration and civility in Congress. The Hill: Jeffries says ‘informal conversations’ taking place for bipartisan solution to Speakership Jeffries was shown on All In with Chris Hayes reiterating this plan yesterday. There are two things that were important for us to accomplish this week. First, stop Jim Jordan, who is a clear and present danger to our Democracy, and the poster child for Republican extremism. Second is to re-open the House, so we can do the business of the American people. And our preference is to re-open the House in a bipartisan way, so we can govern in an enlightened way moving forward. Watch this space. x According to the US Constitution, “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker”, but it doesn’t specify a procedure. That’s subject to House rules. Does anyone agree with me that the winner of the preponderance of votes, Hakeem Jeffries, should be our next Speaker? pic.twitter.com/O54jAcvlRx — icanspellqwerty (@icanspellqwerty) October 17, 2023 I’m still a bit under the weather, and I am taking it a bit easier today. You know how to find more Good News to share, and I thank you all for it. Good News for Us WATCH: Biden addresses Egypt’s move to allow aid into Gaza aboard Air Force One President Biden’s personal diplomacy has gotten the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened for humanitarian aid convoys, starting tomorrow. Everything will be inspected, and must go only to civilians. If Hamas diverts any of the aid, Israel will shut the whole thing down. Biden will address the nation from the White House tomorrow. x In 2022, Cochise County refused to certify its election results after its pursuit for a hand count failed. While the county finally obliged, today's ruling affirms that Cochise cannot legally attempt to hand count in the future. — Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) October 18, 2023 226: The Eighth Continent Plus, a bad week for humanity, the deer stones of Mongolia, fractal robot fingers, and good news on global poverty, malaria vaccines, conservation in the Caribbean, and falling emissions from the global power sector. In times like this it feels strange to be writing a newsletter that celebrates progress. This week, our goal is just to stop you from going numb. Global poverty reduction efforts are back on track. After three lost years due to the pandemic, the World Bank estimates that for 2023, 691 million people (or 8.6% of the global population) will be living in extreme poverty, which would represent the lowest proportion in human history. Smaller shares of the global population are projected to be below the $3.65/day and $6.85/day lines than ever before, too. Egypt has become the first country to achieve 'gold tier' status on the path to elimination of hepatitis C. The country has diagnosed 87% of people living with the disease and provided 93% of those diagnosed with treatment. Johnson and Johnson is dropping its patent on Bedaquiline, a life-saving tuberculosis drug, in 134 low and middle-income countries. The decision comes after decades of public pressure to end the monopoly and will drastically increase the number of manufacturers, reducing cost and increasing accessibility. The Wire Some really huge HPV vaccine campaigns are now under way around the world to protect women against cervical cancer. Bangladesh will vaccinate 10 million girls between 10 and 14 years old, Cambodia has added the vaccine into its national immunisation schedule, and India is aiming to vaccinate 68 million girls by 2025. Brazil’s Supreme Court is now considering a case that could decriminalise abortion in the country up to 12 weeks of gestation. Mauritius has joined a growing list of African countries overturning their colonial-era laws and decriminalising same-sex activity. Reuters Two million full-time workers in the UK will earn an extra £1,000 next year, thanks to an increase in the minimum wage to £11 per hour. The World Bank has approved $365 million to increase girls’ and women’s access to learning, economic opportunities, and health services. The SWEDD+ project has the potential to reach over 2 million girls, aged 10 to 19 years, who are at risk of child marriage, early pregnancy, gender-based violence, and leaving school. Zawya A historic Supreme Court ruling in Kenya has authorised the formation and registration of LGBTQIA+ organisations. Fair Planet Pope Francis has opened the door to Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, and in what could be another watershed moment for the Vatican, has suggested that the ordination of women to the priesthood 'could be open to further study.' NCR Online Since 2014 the global number of cases of visceral leishmaniasis, a devastating tropical disease spread by sandfly bites, has decreased by 59%. How Boston halved its high school dropout rate with a door-knocking initiative. Ecuador has officially established the Camino del Jaguar (“Path of the Jaguar”) Conserve to protect 213,758 hectares of the country’s most biodiverse and threatened forests. The new area is home to 1,258 species of invertebrates, 2,225 species of flora and will improve the quality of life for the 12,000 families living within its boundaries. Andes Amazon Fund A big conservation victory in the Caribbean - Antigua and Barbados have transformed the third isle of Redonda from desolate rock to a wildlife haven for dozens of threatened species including seabirds and endemic lizards. Piloted by a local NGO, the project launched in 2016 with the removal of goats and rats, resulting in “an exponential rise in native species.” BBC England has officially banned plastic cutlery, balloon sticks, polystyrene cups and placed restrictions on single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays, and the United States will phase out single-use plastics across 194 million hectares of public lands, including national parks and wildlife refuges within the next decade. Japanese scientists have discovered a plastic-eating bacteria that could help solve global waste. The UAE will ban single-use plastic shopping bags from January 2024. Lithuania has banned fur farming. First Nations in British Columbia must now be consulted before any mineral claims can be made in their territories. Colorado will reintroduce endangered gray wolves at the end of 2023. The Komi Memem River in Brazil has been granted personhood under a Rights of Nature law. UNESCO has added 42 new world heritage sites. China is fighting urban flooding by making its cities 'more spongey.' A billion acres of abandoned farmland around the world may play a crucial role in the planet’s salvation. Sea turtle nests in Florida have increased by 40%, after a 150 year absence, elephants have returned to Babanango in South Africa, and for the first time in 400 years a baby beaver has been born in London. Michael Bloomberg has committed an extra $500 million to shut down every coal plant in the US and cut fossil gas capacity in half by 2030. The funding for the Beyond Carbon initiative aims to 'finish the job on coal' by working with state and local organisations to force the closure of the ~150 coal plants that have not yet retired, as well as to block the construction of new gas-fired plants. Reuters Enough with the doom-scrolling already Bad News for Them The Hill: Trump told to quiet down during NY civil fraud trial Judge Arthur Engoron issued the warning after Trump threw his hands up in frustration and conferred with his lawyers during real estate appraiser Doug Larson’s second day of testimony, according to The Associated Press (AP). Kevin Wallace, a lawyer with the state attorney general’s office, requested that Engoron ask the defense to “stop commenting during the witness’s testimony,” noting that Trump’s comments were audible on the witness side of the room. Engoron then asked everyone to keep their voices down, “particularly if it’s meant to influence the testimony,” the AP reported. NYT: Trump Lawyer Acknowledged Political Agenda in Election Suit, Emails Show Kenneth Chesebro’s comments undercut assertions that Donald J. Trump’s lawyers were simply providing legal advice in challenging the 2020 results. These emails will now be admitted as evidence in Chesebro’s imminent trial. x A lawsuit alleging that Donald Trump and the RNC tried to disenfranchise Black voters during the 2020 election has been reassigned to Judge Tanya Chutkan, the same judge in Trump's DC election subversion case.https://t.co/1UqdtfOjnf — Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) October 19, 2023 x Dark Brandon has no concern for members of the Sedition Caucus like Jim Jordan, who garnered the LEAST votes for Speaker of the House in a century. "No. Zero. None." 😎pic.twitter.com/4UtuZutI9s — Really American 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) October 18, 2023 x Any Republican Members of Congress who have had themselves or their families anonymously threatened if they don't vote for Jim Jordan as House Speaker (as has been reported) should make those threats public right now. — Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) October 18, 2023 Science! Animals! Weirdness! x The cat just accepted its fate.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/GsZ1nBdBk8 — Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) October 15, 2023 In new, high-resolution imagery of the star-forming region, scientists spotted worlds that defied explanation, naming them Jupiter Mass Binary Objects. The JWST has spotted an agglomeration of nearly 150 free-floating objects in the Orion Nebula, each similar in mass to Jupiter. Scientists are calling them Jupiter Mass Binary Objects, or JuMBOs, and the reason for their appearance is a complete mystery. 'There’s something wrong with either our understanding of planet formation, star formation—or both. They shouldn’t exist.' NYT x A high resolution image of a Solar Eclipse! Credit: Sebastian Voltmer pic.twitter.com/KfsuxSCLVD — science research (@scienceresearc9) October 18, 2023 x Sea lions playing in huge waves near Santa Barbara Island. 📽: Ryan Lawlerpic.twitter.com/FE5S8mn0Ti — Wonder of Science (@wonderofscience) October 18, 2023 Funny or Fuggedaboudit Support the striking actors, now that the writers have won. x Dark Brandon Occupies Truth Social I just want a POTUS that can get stuff done. So Biden makes me happy. He may be one of the most effective presidents we have had in a while. He does the job he is supposed to do and at his age it's a standard we should hold ALL politician to. pic.twitter.com/jzUiSGAHVv — Democracy Over Autocracy! NOTHING MORE!! (@hduverge) October 16, 2023 I can link to Brian McFadden, but I can’t repost his cartoons. Cartoon: Speaker of the House auditions [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/19/2199659/-Thursday-10-19-Good-News-Roundup-Hakeem-Jeffries-has-a-Plan?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/