Mauritius decriminalizes gay sex in historic ruling
In 2016, Antigua and Barbuda, the archipelago nation that owns Redonda, launched an eradication campaign that cleared the island of rats. After that, they simply waited.
Today (2017 C.E. - 2025 C.E.)
Laphonza Butler of California becomes the first out LGBTQ+ senator of color in the U.S.
Butler has served as a senior strategist in VP Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, has worked as the director for public policy and campaigns at Airbnb, served as president of the California chapter of the Service Employees International Union, and served on the University of California Board of Regents.
Canada’s first First Nations provincial premier elected in Manitoba
Wab Kinew, the 41-year-old head of the leftwing New Democratic party (NDP), has led the province’s party since 2017. A former rapper, broadcast journalist and university administrator, Kinew said his newly elected government will focus on reopening three emergency rooms shuttered in recent years.
Breakthrough human-like bioprinted skin heals wounds better and faster
For the first time, scientists from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have combined the six primary skin cell types with specialized hydrogels to ‘print’ a thick, multilayered skin that, when transplanted, successfully integrated with surrounding tissue to heal wounds faster and with less scarring.
Biden administration cancels another $9 billion in student loan debt
A White House official said that the new discharges bring the total approved debt cancellation to $127 billion for nearly 3.6 million borrowers so far during Biden’s time in office.
Countries pledge to raise $12 billion to fund coral reef protection
The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) said it would secure a massive public and private investment to help conserve and restore coral ecosystems, which sustain a quarter of the world’s marine species and more than a billion people.
European Union launches world’s carbon border tariff
The European Union has launched the initial phase of the world’s first system to impose CO2 emissions tariffs on carbon-intensive imports like iron and steel, as it tries to stop more polluting foreign products from undermining its green transition.
Delaware bans LGBTQ+ panic defense with overwhelming bipartisan support
The panic defense is a legal defense strategy used to justify violent crimes against LGBTQ+ people due to a perpetrator “panicking” over discovering their victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The state Senate voted unanimously to ban this harmful legal strategy.
Remote Caribbean island of Redonda transformed into huge nature reserve
It’s one of many remote islands around the world’s seas that, with a helping hand, have rid themselves of invasive animals and plants and returned to supporting the land, water, and air around them.
National Museum of Scotland returns stolen totem pole to Nisga’a people after 100 years
It was a historic “rematriation” for the Indigenous nation of around 600 people in what is now known to many as Canada’s British Columbia. The return of the Ni’isjoohl pole could also set a precedent in a broader repatriation movement gaining steam around the world.