Oregon decriminalises hard drug possession, first transgender senator, NYPD’s first Black female chief

| Posted on November 4, 2020 |

Photo: Cristofer Jeschke/Unsplash (CCO)

In today’s edition of Squirrel News, we’re talking about a nationwide push to relax drug laws in order to protect addicts, the first openly transgender person to be elected to the US Senate, and the NYPD’s appointment of the first Black woman as its chief of patrol.

Oregon has become the first US state to decriminalise the possession of hard drugs

The move comes as part of a nationwide push to relax drug laws, and means addicts will no longer be penalised and trapped in a toxic cycle.

Source: The Guardian

Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Senate

Once she is sworn in, Delaware’s McBride will become the nation’s highest-ranking transgender elected official.

Source: The New York Times

The NYPD has appointed a Black woman as its chief of patrol for the first time

Juanita Holmes will become the highest ranking African-American woman in NYPD history and the highest ranking uniformed woman ever.

Source: CNN

Kentucky residents with felony records head to the polls in a win for democracy

Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear ended the state’s lifetime voting ban for more than 170,000 felons last year.

Source: NBC News

New Zealand has elected the most LGBTQ+ representative government in the world

With 12 MPs identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community, the new parliament is to be the most inclusive ever.

Source: The Inkline

A self-driving electric ferry is set to launch in Norway

The zero-emissions vessel was first developed in 2018 and is able to carry 12 passengers.

Source: Inhabitat

A farmer in Rajasthan has grown over 9,000 pomegranate shrubs despite desert storms

By using an innovative groundwater drip irrigation system alongside mulching techniques, Raghuveer Singh Rathod has found a way around extreme weather conditions.

Source: The Better India

Wikipedia shows the benefits of ideological opponents working together

When people who disagree are forced to work together, greater acceptance and tolerance of opposing ideas takes place.

Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful

Kenya is witnessing a huge increase in the number of elephant calf births

Amboseli National Park has welcomed an unusually high number of new residents as a result of the halt in the country’s ivory trade.

Source: Euronews

An Indigenous leader is successfully fighting climate change at a national level

Nemonte Nenquimo’s Ceibo Alliance is bringing other Indigenous communities together in order to protect the Amazon rainforest.