What Happened Was...

A lightning fast recap of the week's biggest events for July 25th - July 31st, 2022

Veterans and supporters of the Honoring Our PACT Act in front of the Capitol in Washington, DC, on July 28, 2022, are seen during a press conference after Republican senators stalled the Honoring Our Pact Act, meant to help military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. (Photo by Nathan Posner/via Getty Images)

Below is a catch-up of the significant events of this past week. You can check in with a minimal time commitment, read about the big stuff, and stay in the know before we’re on to the next. If you want more information on the events of the past week, you might want to scroll through my Twitter feed for more detail on other topics that I don’t mention below.

Gun Violence

There were 17 separate mass shooting incidents in the US last week, where 14 people were killed and 72 injured. I document all mass shooting incidents for the week every Sunday, so please take a moment to review them and remember to keep up the fight for sensible gun reform. 

1. Sunday, July 24, 2022: Fort Worth, Texas

2. Sunday, July 24, 2022: Atlanta, Georgia

3. Sunday, July 24, 2022: San Pedro, California

4. Sunday, July 24, 2022: Bennettsville, South Carolina

5. Monday, July 25, 2022: New Orleans, Louisiana

6. Wednesday, July 27, 2022: Macon, Georgia

7. Wednesday, July 27, 2022: Hahnville, Louisiana

8. Friday, July 29, 2022: Albuquerque, New Mexico

9. Friday, July 29, 2022: Cleveland, Ohio

10. Friday, July 29, 2022: Miami, Florida

11. Friday, July 29, 2022: Baltimore, Maryland

12. Saturday, July 30, 2022: Girard, Georgia

13. Saturday, July 30, 2022: Monroe, Louisiana

14. Saturday, July 30, 2022: Wheeling, Illinois

15. Sunday, July 31, 2022: Indianapolis, Indiana

16. Sunday, July 31, 2022: Orlando, Florida

17. Sunday, July 31, 2022: Detroit, Michigan

• In the first statewide abortion referendum since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe vs. Wade, Kansas voters will cast a vote on Aug. 2 on a proposed change to their state constitution that would clear the way for its Republican-controlled Legislature to more strictly regulate or ban abortion. You can register to help phonebank for this pivotal election in Kansas here.

• Chief Justice John Roberts privately lobbied fellow conservatives down to the bitter end to save the constitutional right to abortion, but May’s unprecedented leak of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade made the effort all but impossible.

• This week, the Jan. 6 House Select Committee conducted deposition interviews with several Trump officials including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

  Amee Vanderpool @girlsreallyrule

  Trump in Sept. 2020: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by." This is another piece of evidence that can be used to prove Trump's intent to conspire and incite an insurrection.

• The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday announced a proposed rule to strengthen protections against sex discrimination and reiterated that people cannot be discriminated against for seeking reproductive health care.

• On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that seeks to combat human trafficking, called the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act. Twenty House Republicans voted against the measure — here are their names with links to their contact information: Matt Gaetz (FL); Brian Babin (TX); Andy Biggs (AZ); Lauren Boebert (CO); Mo Brooks (AK); Ken Buck (CO); Andrew Clyde (GA); Louie Gohmert (TX); Paul Gosar (AZ); Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA); Andy Harris (MD); Jody Hice (GA); Thomas Massie (KY); Tom McClintock (CA); Mary Miller (IL); Troy Nehls (TX); Ralph Norman (SC); Scott Perry (PA); Chip Roy (TX); and Van Taylor (TX).