Las Vegas Raiders player Carl Nassib to become first NFL player to play while publicly out as gay
Carl Nassib, a defensive lineman for the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL, has come out in an Instagram post.
Today (2017 C.E. - 2025 C.E.)
This archive spans the years 2017 through 2025, a period marked by rapid advances in clean energy, medicine, technology, and social equity. It collects documented breakthroughs, policy wins, and scientific achievements from the present era. If you want evidence that progress is real and ongoing, this is where to look.
Sudan to ban female genital mutilation and allow non-Muslims to drink alcohol
Sudan will permit non-Muslims to consume alcohol and strengthen women’s rights, including banning female genital mutilation, in a reversal of almost four decades of hardline Islamist policies.
Maine becomes the first U.S. state to divest from fossil fuels
The new law directs the $17 billion Maine Public Employee Retirement System to divest $1.3 billion from fossil fuels within five years and directs the Treasury to do the same with other state funds.
Belgium court deems inadequate climate policy a human rights violation
Climate campaigners claimed a “historic victory” after a Brussels court on Thursday condemned Belgium for its climate policy that breaches the country’s duty of care and human rights obligations.
Canada allows Indigenous peoples to officially reclaim their names
Canada has announced a new policy that allows Indigenous people who were forced to adopt European Christian names to officially reclaim their original names.
Landmark G7 agreement pledges 870 million COVID-19 vaccine doses
The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations’ commitment to immediately share at least 870 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, supporting global access and helping to end the acute phase of the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia imposes moratorium on drug-related executions
The state-backed Human Rights Commission said 27 executions were recorded in 2020. That is down from 184 the year before, according to rights watchdog Amnesty International.
Juneteenth signed into law as a federal holiday in the U.S.
“Juneteeth” is the term that has been used to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, first learned that the Civil War was over and they were free.
Biden administration extends Title IX protections to LGBTQ students
“Students cannot be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told the New York Times about the new rules.
E.U. Parliament overwhelmingly votes to end caged animal farming
Critics of industrial farming practices hailed the “landmark victory,” with 558 members of European Parliament (MEPs) voting in favor of the ban, just 37 opposing, and 85 abstaining from the vote.