Record number of LGBT candidates running for governor in the United States
2018 is the first time in American history that more than one open LGBT person has won a gubernatorial nomination in any given year.
Citizens
This archive collects milestones and solutions-focused stories involving citizens — everyday people taking action in their communities, organizing locally, and driving change at the grassroots level. From civic participation to community-led initiatives, these stories highlight what ordinary people accomplish when they work together.
D.C. voters back measure to raise minimum wage for tipped workers
D.C. residents on June 19 narrowly approved a hard-fought ballot measure that will raise the minimum wage for all workers to $15 by 2025
Americans support of same-sex marriage at all-time high
In each of the past three annual polls, Gallup has recorded three-percentage point increases among Americans who say same-sex marriages should be legally valid.
Ohio voters approve gerrymandering reform for U.S. House seats
Ohio voters approved a gerrymandering reform proposal Tuesday that would change how the state draws congressional district lines following the next US Census.
Alaskans reject anti-transgender ‘bathroom bill’
Fifty-three percent of voters in Anchorage, Alaska voted on Prop 1 a citizen initiative that would have required transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates
Marvia Malik becomes Pakistan’s first transgender news anchor
Malik says she had to work hard to break taboos and finally be accepted by a society that discriminates against transgender people.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is suing big oil for climate change
Two months after New York’s Mayor announced he was suing oil companies for their role in climate change, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed he intends to do the same, stating oil companies are “knowingly killing people.”
U.S. students stage national school walkout to urge action on gun violence
Students began a national walkout Wednesday morning to press elected officials to take action on school gun violence, one month after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killed 17 people.
Australia’s households install record 3.5 million panels in 2017
Rooftop solar in Australia hit a stunning new high in 2017, with homeowners, schools, and small businesses installing roughly 9,500 panels every single day. The country added 1,057 megawatts of small-scale solar capacity in a single year — enough to rival a medium-sized coal plant, but spread across millions of ordinary rooftops. Average system sizes doubled compared to five years earlier, as falling prices turned solar from a niche eco-choice into a practical way for households to take charge of their power bills. It’s a hopeful reminder that the energy transition isn’t only happening in distant policy rooms or massive infrastructure projects — sometimes it’s being built one sunny rooftop at a time.
Daniela Vega makes Oscars history as first openly transgender presenter
The actress emerged on stage to introduce Sufjan Stevens’s performance of “Mystery of Love” from Call Me By Your Name making her the first openly transgender Oscars presenter.