Good Tuesday morning, CivMixers.
It’s t-minus two days to turkey. If you have purchased a frozen bird for the (virtual) crowd you’ll be hosting, today is the day to start defrosting that sucker. Also, remember: The safest way to thaw is in the fridge, not on the counter.
Also, if you’ve got perishables to pick up, today might be a good day to get that out of the way. Otherwise, you’ll be braving the last-minute shopping crowd, which I suspect will be only slightly less crazed than usual as a result of the pandemic.
Speaking of shopping, due to the pandemic, there will be little-to-no Black Friday in-person craziness, but the online offers have already begun. So you can get those deals from the comfort of your own home.
Just don’t forget: All that packaging? A lot of it is recyclable.
Today is D.B. Cooper Day, which commemorates a famous and unsolved skyjacking case that occurred back in 1974. If you really want to go go this rabbit hole – and it IS fascinating, I will admit – click here, here and here. The holiday is coming up, which provides you (hopefully) with some downtime to really sink your teeth into a good internet yarn.
It’s also National Sardines Day. I happen to be a fan, but I know these canned and bony fish are a rather decisive topic. They’re a great source of protein (among other things), and they’re very tasty on toast with onions. Yep. Why not go all in? I like them in oil, and also smoked.
Today’s Google Doodle is celebrating the musical genre of Mariachi, which is typically characterized by a small group of musicians dressed in traditional clothing who perform a wide repertoire of Mexican songs on mostly stringed instruments.
The term Mariachi can actually refer to either the music or the musicians themselves. During this week in 2011, UNESCO inscribed Mariachi on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Happy belated 28th birthday to singer Miley Cyrus. Not sure how I missed that yesterday. From Mickey Mouse to Wrecking Ball, and she’s not even 30 yet. I am so under-accomplished…and also old.
Today’s forecast is fairly standard – sun and temperatures in the low 40s. Thanksgiving Day is shaping up to be warm – in the low-to-mid 50s – but also rainy. You’ll be thrilled with the rain when you see what else is coming down the pike next week, weather-wise.
Let’s not go there.
In the headlines…
U.S. General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy informed President-elect Joe Biden that her agency has formally ascertained him as the apparent winner of the 2020 election and would move ahead with transition proceedings.
This came 16 days after Murphy, a Trump appointee, teetered between her perceived duty to the current president and the and the methodically unfolding reality that Biden had won on Nov. 3.
“I take this role seriously and, because of recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results, am transmitting this letter today to make those resources and services available to you,” Murphy wrote in a letter to Biden.
“What does GSA being allowed to preliminary work with Dems have to do with continuing to pursue our various cases on what will go down as the most corrupt election in American political history?” Trump tweeted. “We are moving full speed ahead. Will never concede to fake ballots & “Dominion.”’
The Michigan State Board of Canvassers voted to certify the state’s election results, formally granting Biden the state’s 16 electoral votes and all but erasing any pathway for President Donald Trump’s to overturn the election results through legal challenges.
Trump is reportedly worried that his campaign’s legal team, which is being led by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, is composed of “fools that are making him look bad.”
The president has been complaining to aides and allies about Giuliani and recently-removed lawyer Sidney Powell’s over-the-top performances at a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters last week.
Secret Service agents in the president’s detail are being asked whether they’re interested in transferring to Palm Beach, Florida.
The NYPD plans to coordinate with the Secret Service to scale back their presence around Trump Tower in Manhattan the day after Biden is inaugurated.
Janet L. Yellen is poised to become the first female Treasury secretary and one of few people to ever have wielded economic power from the White House, the Federal Reserve and the president’s cabinet.
Alejandro Mayorkas will be the first Latino to run the Homeland Security Department and Avril Haines will be the first woman to serve as Director of National Intelligence, while former Secretary of State John Kerry has been tapped as climate czar and a member of the National Security Council.
General Motors turned its back on the Trump administration’s legal fight to nullify California’s strict fuel economy rules, signaling that it was ready to work with Biden to reduce climate-warming emissions from cars and trucks.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein plans to step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, after facing blowback from progressives for her handling of Amy Coney Barrett’s contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a mounting pressure campaign to fill Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ vacated Senate seat with a “woman of color” — as a Hispanic male front-runner emerges.
Americans have been strongly urged to stay home for the holidays and cancel in-person gatherings amid a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases, but the White House said it’s still planning to host holiday parties despite dire warnings from health experts.
Americans visited malls this past weekend saying they wanted to do Christmas shopping before potential shutdown restrictions are implemented or to avoid Black Friday crowds, as the spreading coronavirus looms over the holiday season.
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that US COVID-19 fatalities could climb to more than 300,000 by the end of the year if the pandemic continues on the same track.
Spain’s King Felipe VI started 10 days of quarantine yesterday after coming into close contact with someone who later tested positive for the new coronavirus, a Royal House source said.
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced that their inexpensive, easy-to-produce coronavirus vaccine appears effective, the latest in a string of encouraging results this month from leading vaccine developers.
Public health officials and drugmakers must be transparent about the side effects people may experience after getting their first shot of a coronavirus vaccine, doctors urged during a meeting with CDC advisors as states prepare to distribute doses as early as next month.
On Dec. 10, the FDA will consider granting Pfizer emergency approval for its vaccine. If approved, the vaccine could be given out just days later.
Americans need to be prepared for the possibility that they may feel a little unwell after they get a coronavirus vaccine, if one is authorized. And it will be “no walk in the park,” which might deter people from getting the second required dose.
“Almost all the vaccines will work and with very high efficacy levels,” Bill Gates told CNN. “I’m optimistic that by February it’s very likely that they’ll all prove very efficacious and safe.”
Pregnant women will not immediately receive COVID-19 vaccinations because they were not included in the trial studies that were conducted to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Australia’s national carrier Qantas will require future international travelers to prove they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 before flying.
Scientists are uncovering clues to explain how the coronavirus attacks the nervous system by studying a bizarre side effect of the infection that distorts sufferers’ sense of smell for months on end.
Epidemiologists say there is little evidence to suggest that household gatherings were the source of the majority of infections since the summer. Indeed, it has become much harder to pinpoint any source of any outbreak.
Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order that allows hospitals to stop admitting new patients when they reach capacity and transfer patients to other hospitals.
Tesla founder Elon Musk surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to become the second-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
David Dinkins, whose historic 1989 victory as New York City’s first and only black mayor was quickly eclipsed by rising crime and racial turmoil that doomed his re-election, died yesterday at his home at the age of 93.
His death comes a little over a month after his wife, Joyce, died at their home. She was 89.
Giuliani, who defeated Dinkins in New York City’s 1993 mayoral election, was among the public figures to commemorate Dinkins in the hours after his predecessor died.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut crossed a collective milestone Sunday, reached by only a couple of states (California and Texas), when the tri-state region tallied its one millionth positive coronavirus case.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he may host his 89-year-old mother Matilda for Thanksgiving after spending the last two weeks lecturing New Yorkers about staying home for the holiday and telling their loved ones to do the same because of the coronavirus pandemic.
…but then after a backlash, a Cuomo spokesman later said “plans have changed” and the governor plans to work through Thanksgiving as a result of the COVID surge.
“His arrogance and hypocrisy knows no bounds,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, an upstate Republican who was recently re-elected to a fourth term, wrote on Twitter of Cuomo. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
New restrictions begin tomorrow for parts of New York City as COVID-19 patients overwhelm hospitals in one of its boroughs, prompting Cuomo to reopen an emergency field hospital as health officials anticipate another surge in the states rising infection rate.
“It’s time for a reality check,” Cuomo said. “These are dangerous times for us.”
A host of New York celebrities praised and poked fun at Cuomo as he was awarded an Emmy for his daily coronavirus briefings.
City Hall will levy a $15,000 fine against the Brooklyn synagogue that broke social distancing regulations by hosting thousands at a clandestine wedding for the grandson of a top religious official in the Hasidic community, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
City Hall remains in desperate fiscal straights as it stares down a $3.8 billion deficit next year, even as an unexpected surge in tax revenues helped alleviate some pain, according to budget documents released yesterday.
New York City’s latest economic analysis paints a less dire picture than earlier this year, but it still needs a federal bailout to recover from the crisis caused by the coronavirus, de Blasio said.
City school buildings will only be able to reopen with lots of additional COVID testing and a phased-in approach that would restart some in-person classes for special needs and younger students first, de Blasio said.
The city Education Department must streamline its process for providing makeup services to thousands of kids with disabilities who lost out on legally mandated support during the COVID-19 pandemic, a class action lawsuit suit filed yesterday demands.
A group of deep-pocketed New York customers has stepped in to save the iconic Astor Place Hair Stylists barbershop from going out of business after nearly 75 years.
The cops pulled from city subways to police summertime protests will be sent back underground to deal with the growing rash of recent subway pushing incidents, authorities said.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, confirmed through a spokesman that he attended the now-infamous 50th birthday party of New York Building Congress head Carlo Scissura where COVID rules were flouted.
After a weekend of in-person fundraisers by Adams, Cuomo called on mayoral candidates to set a “higher standard” than the letter of the law as coronavirus surges.
New York City’s iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade has been scaled back once again over coronavirus concerns.
NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg is quitting the de Blasio administration, perhaps to take a job in D.C. with Biden.
NYC City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has found his missing cat, Mousse. It turns out the cat was hiding in the sleeve of a winter coat, inside a closet, a spot he never hides in, spokeswoman Jennifer Fermino said.
Amid hope that the Democratic party will win Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats in January and make him the majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer celebrated his 70th birthday by announcing he’d completed his annual 62 county tour of New York yesterday.
Although a pandemic was raging, Schumer made all 62 visits this year, he said. In an interview, he insisted he did it safely, although for much of the year, state health officials had warned against travel.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker: “In order for our city to look familiar and to function as you have come to expect, you have to come home.”
Parts of Onondaga County are now a coronavirus orange zone, which means schools must switch to remote learning and certain businesses must close.
Capital Region counties reported record new coronavirus infections yesterday, topping 300 for the first time and setting a new daily high for the fourth time this month.
Albany County officials confirmed 46 new cases of coronavirus, but could only trace a likely source of transmission for five of them.
The number of new Covid-19 cases in Erie County have put it on track for a state-imposed “red zone” shutdown, although Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz left open the possibility that any new restrictions could zero in on certain ZIP codes.
A group of Western New York business owners on Friday could be seen having a tense confrontation with sheriff’s deputies and a county health inspector over Cuomo’s coronavirus restrictions, in a viral video that made the rounds online over the weekend.
Cuomo responded angrily to sheriffs in the state who said they would not be enforcing COVID-19 restrictions that limit indoor gatherings, including during the upcoming holidays, calling them dictators.
As state employees are asked to return to offices amid a surge in coronavirus cases across New York, some are questioning whether COVID-19 protocols and infrastructure upgrades are being followed.
Democratic leaders of the state Senate claimed their party’s candidates have secured a veto-proof majority, potentially giving them more leverage with fellow Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo in crafting the state budget, tax policy and other legislation.
Assembly Democrats already have a supermajority, and now both houses of the Legislature potentially have the power to enact policies without the agreement of the governor by overriding any of his vetoes.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Westchester Democrat, described the early post-election estimates of big wins for the Republicans a “red mirage.”
“Supermajority or not – doesn’t really make a difference,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Manhattan. He said the Senate Democratic conference members “are really not a monolith or sheep.”
Top Cuomo aide Melissa Derosa also noted that the governor helped raise funds for several Dems. “We were thrilled that a bunch of the members that looked like, on Election night, they weren’t going to make have now pulled through,” she said.
Ridership during the Thanksgiving period is just 20 percent of normal, Amtrak is en route to an $800 million loss, long-distance operations have been cut by more than half, and nearly 2,000 Amtrak employees may be furloughed this month.
The discovery of mail-in ballots cast by dead voters has emerged as an issue in the neck-and-neck race between first-term upstate Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi and his rival, Republican former Rep. Claudia Tenney.
The Niskayuna Board of Education last week approved prohibitions on displays of Confederate flags and other hate symbols, part of a new policy designed to address opportunity gaps and increase anti-racist programming in school.
Cuomo signed a bill banning incineration of PFAS-laden firefighting foam, bringing to a close a lengthy saga of worries in this riverfront community about air pollution from the Norlite aggregate company.
The Poor People’s Campaign rallied yesterday in Albany as part of its national push to bring together a wide coalition of people suffering from economic hardship and push for progressive policies on a wide swath of subjects.
The Catholic Church in Buffalo covered up sex abuse claims, New York Attorney General Letitia James alleged in a new lawsuit that comes on the heels of a two-year probe.
The civil case filed in State Supreme Court in New York County accused diocese leaders of protecting more than two dozen priests accused of child sexual abuse by not referring their cases to the Vatican for potential removal from the priesthood.
Manhattan federal prosecutors used disproportionately white grand juries in Westchester to indict people for crimes that normally would be presented to a panel of city residents, according to an analysis challenging cases filed during the coronavirus pandemic.
A NYC cop accused of exposing himself in front of young girls has quit the NYPD after he was arrested on new child sex abuse charges, police said.
Ghislaine Maxwell is in quarantine at a Brooklyn federal jail after a staffer working near her cell tested positive last week for coronavirus, court filings revealed.
The Metropolitan Opera wants a judge to block disgraced singer David Daniels’ bid to get paid after he was ousted over sexual assault allegations, court papers show.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it is appointing its first chief diversity officer, Lavita McMath Turner.
“Jeopardy!” will start taping new episodes later this month employing a series of short-term hosts to replace Alex Trebek, starting with Ken Jennings, the record-breaking contestant who won the show’s “Greatest of All Time” tournament earlier this year.
