Chop Wood, Carry Water
September 29, 2025 – John Abrams
Jessica Craven writes a daily newsletter called Chop Wood, Carry Water. She’s an astute no-holds-barred political commentator who consistently speaks truth to power. But on Sundays, she does something different. After spending the week reporting on troubles and travesties, she celebrates all the positive things she has found that have happened during the week. Good news! Salve for our wounds.
It's worth subscribing. As an example, here's her report from Sunday, September 21st:
Celebrate This! 🎉
After Trump administration cuts forced the popular climate.gov website to shut down, experts re-launched it independently to help boost climate literacy.
Four U.S. states issued their own vaccination guidelines for three common seasonal vaccines, the flu, COVID-19, and RSV.
A new report found that the Global Fund partnership has saved 70 million lives since 2002, reducing the combined death rate from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by 63%.
Six schools in Tennessee joined in nationwide school walkouts that called on state and federal lawmakers to take action for gun violence prevention.
A judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting Guatemalan migrant children.
Kash Patel absolutely bombed while testifying in the House and Senate.
Thousands of protestors filled London’s streets to protest Trump’s visit.
Maurene Comey, the prosecutor in Epstein case, sued the Trump Justice Department over her abrupt firing.
An appeals court rejected Trump’s bid to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook—just in time for the rate cut meeting!
A new nature preserve in Ohio will protect 3,000 acres of Appalachian foothills.
Teachers in New Jersey are receiving student loan relief through a program created to tackle teacher shortages.
AOC has joined forces with GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis on a bill to fund Healthy Start—which provides healthcare and birthing assistance to mothers and families with young children in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and DC.
EU lawmakers have given a final green light to a law that aims to slash the mountains of food wasted in Europe each year, and curb the environmental impact of fast fashion.
California became the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while conducting official business. Sweet!
The Yes on Prop 50 campaign has received over $20 million in small dollar contributions from all 50 states as well as large scale contributions.
An Iowa teacher who was fired after posting on social media in the wake of Charlie Kirk's shooting death is suing the school district and its superintendent.
Chippewa Valley Indivisible hit their six-month anniversary of weekly protests in Eau Claire, Wisconsin! Over 300 of them celebrated with a Wizard-of-Oz themed protest.
A judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's unlawful restrictions on certain federal housing funds. This means providers won’t be barred from competing for lifesaving resources simply because they are in jurisdictions that don’t adopt the administration's ideological agenda.
EV Realty, a San Francisco-based charging site developer, broke ground on what will be one of California’s biggest fully grid-powered, fast-charging depots for electric trucks so far.
Tax the Greedy Billionaires released new polling that found strong majorities of voters in congressional battlegrounds and key states want to raise taxes on the very rich.
Delaware is providing free school breakfast to every public school studentthis year due to new legislation signed into law on July 30.
Pope Leo is using his platform to condemn gross wealth inequality.
Lawmakers in California are working on a $23 billion plan to restore funding for scientific research. They want to create a state-level equivalent of the National Institutes of Health, but the plan would need to be approved by other state lawmakers and voters.
Trump’s approval is plummeting with Latino voters.
A municipal grocery store will soon open in downtown Atlanta, aiming to provide nutritional assistance to one of the city’s many food deserts.
Channel 4 welcomed Donald Trump to the U.K. with a special program: an unbroken catalogue of over 100 falsehoods, distortions and inaccuracies he’s come up with since taking office in January.
Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was convicted and sentenced to decades in prison for attempting a coup, following his loss in the 2022 election.
The Chicago River is about to welcome swimmers back for the first time in over a hundred years.
For the first month on record, wind and solar power generated more than a third of Brazil’s electricity in August, accounting for 34% of the country’s electricity generation.
A federal judge threw out Trump’s lawsuit against the New York Times, ruling that the lawsuit “lacked any legitimate legal claims.”
The United Nations confirmed that the ozone layer is on track to make a full recovery by mid-century, crediting swift action and international agreements for sharply reducing the use of ozone-depleting chemicals and slowing the annual growth of the Antarctic ozone hole.
Democrat Xp Lee won a special election for a seat previously held by the late Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated in June, and in the process restored a tie in the Minnesota House.
A new report from advocacy group E2 finds the clean energy sector added nearly 100,000 jobs in 2024, outpacing job growth in the rest of the U.S. economy despite a slowdown from previous years.
The Iowa Utilities Commission approved a settlement that authorizes the largest utility-scale solar project in the state’s history.
California officials and industry insiders say the state is sticking with its goal of developing 25 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy by 2045 despite expiring federal tax credits and Trump administration hostility.
In the first six months of this year, the world built 64% more new solar energy capacity than it did in the first half of 2024.
Missourians fighting the gerrymandered congressional map passed last week by Republican state lawmakers are laying the groundwork for a ballot referendum that could give voters the power to block the map from going into effect.
A giant photo of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein was put on display outside of UK's Windsor Castle ahead of Trump’s state visit.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he will seek a third term in the 2026 elections
A coalition of labor groups sued the Trump administration over what they called the use of civil rights laws as a “coercive cudgel” to attack the University of California system and the rights of union members.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court temporarily put on hold proposed new social studies standards for K-12 public school students that include conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
LGBTQ+ nominees made a strong showing at Sunday night’s 77th Annual Emmy Awards, with queer performers taking home four of the evening’s 12 acting trophies.
In August, global electric vehicle sales increased 5% month-over-month and 15% year-over-year.
A Boston church unveiled a monument to the more than 200 slaves once held by members of the congregation. The historic King’s Chapel is located along the city’s Freedom Trail, a red-brick path through the city that visits key sites in America’s revolutionary history.
Disney streaming services users are cancelling their subscriptions in drovesover the suspension of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show.
Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK's recognition of a Palestinian state, in what represents a significant change in government policy.
A landmark legal settlement will require a plastics facility in Pennsylvania to clean up the tiny plastic pellets — known as “nurdles” — that were found to be spewing out of its stormwater and wastewater pipes.
Texas has had a record-breaking year for solar development, in spite of federal policy shifts.
The High Seas Treaty has officially been ratified! For the first time, nations can establish marine protected areas in international waters - a critical step toward the global goal of safeguarding 30% of the ocean by 2030. HUGE!