Ya gotta read it to believe it: Good news from last week.

• The Supreme Court, citing racial bias, tossed out two Republican-drawn North Carolina voting districts. The decision could affect many voting maps, especially in the South.
• Saying it “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination,” the U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit blocked Trump’s travel ban. The 4th Circuit was considered the administration’s best chance at a favorable ruling before the Supreme Court.
• The Black Lives Matter movement was awarded this year’s Sydney Peace Prize.
• We’ll be able to find out soon how many ex-lobbyists the executive branch has hired. In a victory for the Office of Government Ethics, the White House has finally agreed to provide information about waivers for ex-lobbyists.
• Advertisers are beginning to pull their ads from Sean Hannity’s Fox show in response to his relentless insistence on debunked conspiracy theories about Sean Rich. Another Fox host, Bob Beckel, was fired for a racist incident with an African-American employee. Oh, and for the first time in 17 years, the network dropped to third place in prime time, behind MSNBC and CNN.
• In Chicago, thousands of protesters mobilized for fair wages and union rights during McDonald’s annual shareholder meeting.
• In state legislative elections, Democratic women flipped seats in 2 reliably Republican districts. Democrat Edie DesMarais defeated Republican Matthew Panche in a New Hampshire district Trump won 51 to 44 percent, and New York Democrat Christine Pellegrino defeated Republican Thomas Gargiulo, reversing Trump’s 60 to 37 percent victory in that district.
• New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s stirring speech about the city’s dismantling of four confederate monuments is well worth reading.
• Taiwan’s constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry, the first such ruling in Asia.
• California’s going global with their strong policies for fighting climate change.
• Subpoenas are piling up for Michael Flynn. The Senate Intelligence Committee directed 2 subpoenas at Flynn’s businesses, which may not be protected under the Fifth Amendment.
• Until marriage equality becomes law in Australia, Ben & Jerry’s won’t allow anyone there to be served two scoops of the same flavor ice cream.
• Three transgender pastors made history by holding mass in Cuba.
• Alabama restored voting rights to thousands of people who committed felonies.
• In an unprecedented move, the pope became the first world leader to meet with people who suffer from Huntington’s disease, a rare and incurable neurological disorder that has long been shrouded in shame and discrimination. The papal audience for families could end centuries of stigma — and open vital doors in the search for a cure.
• Despite repeated efforts by President Trump to curtail refugee resettlements, the State Department this week quietly lifted the department’s restriction on the number of refugees allowed to enter the United States in a move that would nearly double the number of refugees entering the country from about 830 people a week to well over 1,500 people a week.
• 100 students, half of an 8th grade class from New Jersey, refused to pose with Speaker Ryan during a trip to DC.
• It was announced this week that after delays from the Trump-administration, the Obama administration’s rule requiring financial brokers to put clients’ interests ahead of their own will go into effect June 9.
• Denver is fighting back against deportations with a brilliant and simple change to local laws: immigrants can be deported for petty crimes that carry a maximum sentence of 365 days so the city is reducing the maximum penalty for many petty offenses to less than 365 days!
• Responding to complaints about a ladies-only showing of Wonder Woman, an Austin movie theater booked even more shows and donated proceeds to Planned Parenthood.
• Minneapolis is now poised to be the first midwestern city to pass a $15/hr minimum wage after the Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a staff directive to draw up an ordinance for a $15/hr minimum wage that is scheduled a final vote for June 30th.
• Protestors descended on the area around Trump National Golf Club during the Senior PGA Championship, including “kayaktivists” who took to the water with signs and chants, to protest the use of Trump’s golf course for the event and send a clear message to golfer John Daly, a Trump supporter.
• Joe Lieberman withdrew his name from consideration for FBI director.
• Homeland Security Secretary Kelly extended temporary protected status for Haitians until January. It’s not enough but let’s celebrate the fact that pressure from our side kept him for ending TPS on July 23.
• Jose Flores, the Honduran immigrant detained as he pursued compensation for a workplace injury, has been released to pursue his workers’ comp claim.

Huge thanks to Mary Wasmuth for helping compile and write!