Good News in Human Compassion
'We Are Not Safe Unless We Are Together' — Interfaith Vigils Follow Mosque Shootings
Throughout the world, religious groups are offering
A video of a stranger with a bouquet of roses walking into a New York mosque was shared thousands of times online. "An expression of sympathy for the loss of life in New Zealand," the man said, as he handed over the bouquet.
The message was clear: Muslims, you are not alone.
That message echoed in vigils and interfaith gatherings across the country over a weekend marred by a tragedy across the world that felt so close to home — an attack on two mosques in New Zealand where at least 50 people were killed as they prayed.
So, in this moment, when many Muslims say they feel alone, their faith demonized in some cases by elected officials including the president, other faith groups are stepping in to condemn the hate that drove the killings and show solidarity.
Newsom to halt Death Penalty
No more executions in California, at least temporarily.
Gov. Gavin Newsom sign[ed] an executive order [Wednesday, March 13], placing a moratorium on the death penalty for all 737 inmates on California's death row, ensuring that no executions will take place while he is governor, an administration source has confirmed.
Newsom's order also will withdraw the state's lethal injection protocol and immediately close the execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison. The action, however, leaves intact all convictions and sentences and does not provide for the release of any inmates, the source said.
"The intentional killing of another person is wrong. And as governor, I will not oversee the execution of any individual," Newsom said in a prepared statement.
Even though this order may be undone by future governors, it’s the right thing for now.
Residents of San Quentin's Death Row are reserved in their reaction
[Douglas “Chief”] Stankewitz, a member of the Big Sandy Rancheria of Mono Indians, could be the poster child for the death penalty debate in California.
He was the first person to land on California’s death row after capital punishment was reinstated in 1978. He was 20 then. He will be 61 in May.
His defense team insists he is innocent. Capital punishment supporters believe he should have been dead a long time ago.
“I just thought, ‘It’s about time, about time someone stepped up who had the power and authority to do so’,” Stankewitz said.
As the news about Newsom rippled through San Quentin, Stankewitz said in a telephone interview Thursday, there were no celebrations, no cheers among the 737 condemned men on the largest death row in the United States.
Good News in Politics
Bharara: 'Doesn't seem' Mueller's investigation 'ending any time soon'
Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Sunday that it doesn't appear that special counsel Robert Mueller is preparing to conclude his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
"I'm an outsider now, and I don't still run the Southern District of New York, and I'm not aware of what's going on with various investigations that sometimes intersect with the special counsel's investigation," Bharara said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
"But I think people should view with some skepticism the notion that gets breathlessly reported every week that the Mueller investigation is coming to an end."
"It doesn't seem to me based on [Mueller's request that a federal judge further postpone sentencing for Rick Gates], although I don't know, that the work of the special counsel is ending any time soon," Bharara said. "Unless it's the case... that the cases in which Rick Gates is cooperating are being parceled out to other U.S. attorney offices."
Marcy Wheeler agrees
MUELLER IS CLOSE TO DONE, BUT THE ANDREW WEISSMANN DEPARTURE IS OVERBLOWN
Marcy makes a list of investigators who have left the team after their part is complete, from Ryan Dickie who left Aug 1, 2018 to several who left in October. Then she continues,
Let me be clear: I do agree Mueller is just about done with the investigation. He’s waiting on Mystery Appellant, possibly on Andrew Miller’s testimony; he may have been waiting on formal publication of Jerome Corsi’s book yesterday. Multiple other details suggest that Mueller expects to be able to share things in a month that he’s unable to share today.
None of that tells us what will happen in the next few weeks. There is abundant evidence that Trump entered into a quid pro quo conspiracy with Russia, trading dirt and dollars for sanctions relief and other policy considerations. But it’s unclear whether Mueller has certainty that he’d have an 85% chance of winning convictions, which is around what he’d need to convince DOJ to charge it. There is also abundant evidence that Trump and others obstructed the investigation, but charging Trump in that presents constitutional questions.
Later today, Tuesday, a federal court in Virginia will hear oral arguments in the first of three cases alleging that President Trump is violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution by accepting payments from state officials and foreign diplomats at his Washington, D.C., hotel.
The case has already survived a series of appeals from the Trump Organization to get the case thrown out or delayed.
As there is no legal precedents on the emoluments clause of the Constitution, this is new territory for court action. The cases will hinge on the definition of the word “emoluments”.
If the appeals court allows the emoluments trial to go forward, Trump will be forced to divulge financial information about his hotel that he has fought for years to keep private. It’s a testament to both the ways that Trump’s presidency is testing our legal and constitutional system and the extent to which Trump’s opponents have used that same system to attack him.
Colorado joins the Electoral College Pact
New Colorado law will give state's electoral college votes to national popular vote winner
Colorado could be part of voting history next general election day, joining 11 other states looking to ensure that their electoral college votes echo the will of the American majority to elect the next president.
Gov. Jared Polis signed a law Friday that would allot the state's electoral college votes to whichever candidate won the national popular vote. The Washington Post previously reported the law's signing.
The state's legislation would only take effect if enough other states sign on to secure the cumulative 270 electors needed to elect a president, and Colorado's votes raise the current total to 181 electors.
The eleven other states that have signed on -- California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state -- as well as the District of Columbia and now Colorado, make up the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. New Mexico, which has five electoral votes, sent a bill to the governor's desk to elect the president by popular vote and may soon join the group as well.
Confederate statue removed in North Carolina city
A North Carolina city removed a Confederate statue on Tuesday from the grounds of an old courthouse, a rare move in a state where such monuments are largely protected by law.
Construction crews in Winston-Salem spent more than an hour attaching a harness and a cage-like metal frame to protect the statue, then hoisted it from atop its pedestal with a large crane.
The approximately 30-foot-high (nine metres) monument includes a granite statue atop a base and column and was dedicated in 1905. It depicts an anonymous soldier in a Confederate uniform resting his rifle stock against the ground.
Good News in the Environment
Ten years after the war ended, Sri Lankans are working to clear the world’s largest minefield. Half of the de-mining crew are women, a lot of them war widows with children.
Click the link above to see their pictures.
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The Drought in California is Officially Over!
The rain and snow reduced the amount of drought-affected state land from 97% in 2016 to just 57%. Around the same time, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported that America’s nationwide drought had finally come to an end after three years.
Now, only 7% of California is experiencing “abnormally dry” conditions – but experts reassure that these areas of southern California are expected to improve.
Thanks to the abundance of snow and rainfall across the rest of the state, reservoirs have been replenished; water levels have returned to normal; and mountains across northern California are snowcapped once more.
Pictures of the Super Bloom
These people are doing the exact wrong thing, although it is nearly impossible to refrain from walking and lying down in the flowers. Visitors should stay on the paths and roads.
On a personal note
I’ve enjoying finding and presenting Good News for all the Gnusies in Gnuville, but due to some personal issues, I will be retiring from the regular Good Gnus rotation. I’ll still be reading every day, and posting Good News a la carte in the comments. Thanks everybody!