Good Monday morning, CivMixers!
It’s a whole new week AND a whole new month. And screw it, I’m officially counting down now: 19 days until Spring.
It’s National Consumer Protection Week, a coordinated campaign intended to focus on the importance of keeping consumers informed while providing them with free resources explaining their rights in the marketplace.
The COVID-19 crisis has created a perfect storm for fraud, experts say. Fraud tends to flourish in times of economic distress, and the pandemic-induced economic downturn resulting in historic unemployment rates at a very fast clip.
Individuals and families across the state, nation and globe lost jobs and are now food and housing insecure (or outright homeless), relying on credit cards to get by, in some cases, and vulnerable to scams.
In addition, with the surge in online purchasing as a result of lockdowns and public health protocols put into place to try to stem the virus’s spread, there’s a lot of more chances for credit card fraud, identity theft and other ills of the modern internet era.
Payment card fraud losses reached $28.65 billion worldwide in 2019, according to the most recent Nilson Report data. The U.S. alone is responsible for more than a third of the total global loss, making it the world’s most card fraud-prone country.
In addition, with kids at home and (until recently) the majority of them learning online, they were at increased risk for exploitation.
And now, as if we didn’t already have enough to worry about, the FBI is also warning Americans to guard against vaccine fraud. Signs of various scams to be on the lookout for include, but are not limited to:
- Being asked to pay out of pocket for the vaccine.
- Being told to pay to put your name on a vaccine waiting list OR to accelerate vaccine access/eligibility.
- Ads for the vaccine on social media platforms and/or unknown phone calls or emails..
- Marketers who offer to ship you a vaccine dose in return for payment.
Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is that you should NOT give out your personal information to unknown sources.
There are a number of live events (being held virtually) that mark this important week and offer consumers fraud-fighting tools. For more information, click here.
Oh, and one more thing: It’s World Compliment Day. If you needed an excuse to say something nice to someone – and believe me, we all could use a little more kindness and compliments in our lives right about now – you’ve got it. Go forth and praise strangers.
A high wind warning is in effect from 1 p.m. today to the same time tomorrow for the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys, northern Catskills, Helderbergs and the Capital District. Northwest winds will blow from 25 to 35 mph with some gusts reaching up to 60 mph. This is not good news for trees and power lines. Scattered electricity outages are possible.
It’s raining as I write this, but that’s expected to stop and it will be cloudy with temperatures starting in the low 40s and falling to near freezing. In like a lion, as they say.
In the headlines…
Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden and sought to retain his grasp on the Republican Party’s future yesterday during his first major political address since departing the White House last month, at one point teasing a possible bid in 2024.
“Joe Biden has had the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history,” Trump said, calling the new administration “anti-jobs, anti-families, anti-border, anti-energy, anti-women and anti-science.”
Trump was able to celebrate being a winner again after he captured the 2024 presidential straw poll of the CPAC, while Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida finished first in a second 2024 straw poll covering a field of potential candidates that did not include Trump.
Trump’s attacks on other Republicans – and his support of primary challengers to some GOP lawmakers – threaten to divide the party further as it tries to regain control of Congress in 2022 and the White House in 2024.
Voting largely along party lines, House Democrats passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan early Saturday morning, which includes a provision for a third stimulus check worth up to $1,400 for taxpayers and each of their dependents.
With the bill bound for a Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers will next week begin offering amendments to the House’s plan.
Senior Democrats are reportedly abandoning a backup plan to increase the minimum wage through a corporate tax penalty, after encountering numerous practical and political challenges in drafting their proposal over the weekend.
The bill is unlikely to receive support from Senate Republicans, who cite its size and scope, so Biden would have to count on every one of the 50 Democratic senators – and a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris – to ensure its pillars remain intact.
As Congress begins debate this week on sweeping voting and ethics legislation, Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: If signed into law, it would usher in the biggest overhaul of U.S. elections law in at least a generation.
The number of coronavirus patients in U.S. hospitals has dropped below 50,000 — the lowest level in nearly four months, data shows.
One day after federal regulators authorized Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, senior Biden administration officials warned that the supply of the new vaccine would be highly uneven for the next month.
Johnson & Johnson plans to test its coronavirus vaccine in infants and even in newborns, as well as in pregnant women and in people who have compromised immune systems.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, said he was encouraging Americans to accept any of the three available COVID-19 vaccines, including the newly approved Johnson & Johnson shot.
“All three of them are really quite good, and people should take the one that’s most available to them,” Fauci said. “…I think people need to get vaccinated as quickly and as expeditiously as possible.”
The first real-world data from the U.K.’s inoculation program has given an insight into how effective vaccines have been against Covid-19.
New York state’s COVID infection rate continued to decline over the weekend even as concern about virus variants remained high.
Hundreds more Covid-19 vaccination appointments for early March opened over the weekend at several state-run clinics, including at the New York State Fairgrounds.
In a bid to speed up a reopening, the New York City Economic Development Corp. is investing in a rapid Covid-19 test that was initially developed for use to reopen the Columbia University campus.
The Biden administration is facing criticism over its decision to thus far not directly punish Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite the declassification of an intelligence report which clearly implicated the prince for the brutal murder of a Washington Post journalist.
A second former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Charlotte Bennett, 25, is accusing him of sexual harassment, saying that he asked her questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men.
Cuomo tried to explain away allegations of sexual harassment as “jokes” that were misinterpreted as “unwanted flirtation” — as his office caved on the state attorney general’s request to appoint an investigator to probe the claims.
“I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation,” Cuomo said in a statement. “To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.”
“I never inappropriately touched anybody and I never propositioned anybody and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to,” Cuomo added.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said that there should be an independent investigation into the sexual harassment allegations that have been leveled against fellow Democrat, Cuomo.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden supports an “independent review” of the sexual harassment accusations leveled against Cuomo last week by a pair of former aides — adding that it was personally difficult for her to read Bennett’s allegations.
Cuomo, who emerged as a national leader during the pandemic, also repeated his calls for an independent investigation of his own behavior, though the decision over who would oversee that inquiry has already proved torturous.
Attorney General Tish James said that her office would oversee a rigorous and independent investigation, and intends to hire a law firm and deputize its attorneys with subpoena power to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against the governor
On Saturday night, Cuomo broke with recent precedent, declining to refer the matter directly to James and instead directing it to former U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones, who once worked as partner at a law firm with one of the governor’s closest advisers, Steve Cohen.
By the end of the day yesterday, however, Cuomo acquiesced to demands that James control the inquiry. “This is not a responsibility we take lightly,” James said.
Beth Garvey, special counsel and senior adviser to Cuomo, initially said the governor was asking James and top state Judge Janet DiFiore to select a lawyer to undertake the probe.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie called for James to make an appointment on who would lead the investigation, in the hopes that it would be “truly independent.”
Heastie was joined by a group of 25 state assemblywomen who released a statement calling for a more independent investigation and asking James to choose who would lead the review.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also said that she would like to see James run an independent investigation into the aides’ claims.
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a Bronx Democrat, meanwhile, called on Cuomo to resign.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo are “credible.”
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio called for the revocation of Cuomo’s emergency authority over local governments.
Cuomo’s ex, Sandra Lee, offered words of “healing” to her social media followers just hours after sexual harassment allegations were made public against him by a second woman in a matter of days.
Former EPA Region II Administrator Judith Enck recalled the Cuomo administration’s hardball tactics when she worked for the former Obama administration.
The spotlight has turned toward Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Buffalo Democrat who would succeed Cuomo as governor should he resign or be impeached.
Proponents of legalizing recreational marijuana in New York are putting their weight behind a bill in the state legislature, saying they prefer it to the competing framework that Cuomo has included as part of his proposed $193 billion budget.
The Big Apple’s lobbying industry proved to be nearly pandemic-proof last year despite the COVID-19 outbreak that ravaged New York City, new records show.
The New York City Council is considering legislation that would provide relief to small businesses, including easing code-violation enforcement and refunding thousands of fines restaurateurs and mom-and-pop shops have been issued during the pandemic.
NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson is throwing his hat in the ring to run for city comptroller.
New York City’s incoming schools chancellor, Meisha Porter, will walk into a system gripped by ongoing crisis.
Porter, a New York City native, must lead a return to traditional, in-person learning after the pandemic left many of the city’s one million students in virtual classes.
A manhole fire and explosion in Manhattan early yesterday morning damaged cars and storefronts, caused power failures and injured at least three people, officials said.
Tens of thousands of people remained stranded in unheated apartments in the Bronx’s Co-op City for much of the weekend after a fire knocked out the development’s electrical system.
Over 200 eviction proceedings were scheduled Friday in Albany City Court, marking the end of the 60-day stay on all evictions in New York.
A Columbia County club continued with its squirrel hunting event on Saturday despite pleas from animal rights groups and others that said the winter tradition is immoral and cruel.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said in a statement yesterday morning that the county has received coronavirus vaccine from the state that will be earmarked for homebound residents.
The Lake George Park Commission unanimously adopted stormwater management and stream corridor regulations last week to protect the water quality of Lake George.
Humanity is facing not only a coronavirus pandemic and a climate crisis, its existence is also threatened by falling sperm counts due to chemical exposures, a new book authored by a prominent epidemiologist warns.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the Golden Globes, returning for the first time since 2015. Fay delivered her portion of the monologue from New York City’s Rainbow Room while Poehler delivered gave hers from LA’s Beverly Hilton (the event’s usual venue).
Sacha Baron Cohen and his “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” won for best actor in a comedy and best comedic film, with Cohen using his acceptance speeches to rip into the voting body behind the award, Rudy Giuliani and Trump.
Golfer Tiger Woods made his first comments since his devastating car crash last week.
