#035 - The Best News of Last Week - April 11, 2022
๐- Hi, this is Erica and I hope you had a great weekend. Let's read some good things that happened in the last 7 days!
1. Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed to Supreme Court, making history as first Black female justice
The Senate voted to confirmย Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday, cementing her place in history as the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court.
-โHer poise during questioning was just incredible. Iโm excited to see her work in this role.โ
Two "stolen" notebooks written by Charles Darwin have been mysteriously returned to Cambridge University, 22 years after they were last seen. They were left anonymously in a bright pink gift bag containing the original blue box the notebooks were kept in and a plain brown envelope.
On it was printed a short message: "Librarian, Happy Easter X."
-โI really hope when important notes and books like this reappear we take the time to digitize them. Would be a shame for that work to be lost forever.โ
3. Fortnite raised $144 million for Ukraine relief | The fundraising effort has ended after two weeks
In two weeks, Fortnite has raised a total of $144 million for Ukraine relief efforts. Ahead of its most recent season, developer Epic Games said that it would be donating all of its proceeds from the game, along with those from Microsoft, to humanitarian efforts following Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine for a period of two weeks.
The game raised $36 million in its first day alone, and today, Epic revealed the final total of $144 million. The funds are being put towards several aid groups, including Direct Relief, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Childrenโs Fund, and the World Food Programme.
Barcelona beachgoers will no longer have to contend with cigarette butts or passive smoke starting in July when Spain's second largest city will ban smoking on all its beaches, the city hall said on Friday. The decision comes after a pilot project las year saw smoking banned on four of the city's 10 local beaches.
The Canary Islands, Andalusia, Galicia and Valencia have followed suit with partial or total bans of smoking on their beaches.
The Holowaychuks are converting their 15,000-square-foot resort property into a Ukrainian refugee home, called the Ukrainian Safe Haven.
The project was a pivot that the Holowaychuks made for the property when Russia invaded Ukraine. Brianโs grandparents came from Ukraine, so this issue was close to their hearts. โWeโre in a position, in a place, in a time where we could help make a bit of a difference. And I thought, you know, itโs time to stand up and be counted,โ Brian said.
6. Mumbai fully vaccinates 100% adult population against Covid-19, first major city to achieve feat
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has announced that all eligible beneficiaries above the age of 18 in Mumbai have been fully vaccinated with two doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Mumbai has thus become the first major city in the country to fully vaccinate 100% of its citizens.
-โThatโs insane as it is probably top 3 in terms of most populated city in the worldโ
7. Scotlandโs forests are the largest they have been for 900 years
The share of Scotland that is forested has increased from 6 per cent a century ago to around 18 per cent today. The country now has nearly as much forest as it did 1,000 years ago, according to data from researchers at Our World in Data.
That's it for this week. Until next week, stay safe and donโt forget to share this post with your friends :)