Welcome to the beginning of the end of the week.
Good morning, it’s Friday.
Today is Purple Day, which was started by a girl named Cassidy Megan in 2008 to raise awareness about epilepsy, a neurological disorder of the central nervous system from which she suffers, and to dispel myths and inform those with seizures that they are not alone.
A person would be diagnosed with epilepsy if they have at least two unprovoked (or reflex) seizures, or one unprovoked (or reflex) seizure and are very likely to have another, or diagnosed with an epilepsy syndrome.
The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) recently classified epilepsy as a disease, not a disorder, to better convey that epilepsy is a serious medical condition. An estimated 50 million people worldwide – approximately one percent of the general population – have epilepsy.
About 70 percent of those people have a form of epilepsy that can be treated with medication, while 30 percent have a drug resistant form of the disease, though there are some treatments that can help bring seizures under control.
Some seizures last only a few seconds and may not even be noticeable, (these are called absence seizures, in which a person seems to simply lose track for a moment,) while others are convulsive, which results in rigidness, a rhythmic jerking of limbs and a loss of consciousness.
If you happen to be with someone who has a convulsive seizure, do NOT put anything in their mouth – the risk of swallowing one’s own tongue is a complete myth. Basically, you should remain clam, turn them on their side so they don’t choke on their own saliva, remove any dangerous objects on which they might fall or hurt themselves, and…wait until it’s over.
FWIW, and there is no smooth transition to this, it’s also National Nougat Day, celebrating the candy often found in the middle of a chocolate bar. Nougat is by whipping egg whites together and adding honey or sugar, roasted nuts, and sometimes candied fruit.
The word “nougat” comes from a French word which itself came from the Latin word for “nutbread.” Nougat has its roots, some believe, in ancient Rome…or maybe the Middle East.
In the U.S., modern candy makers employ a mixture of sucrose and corn syrup aerated with a whipping agent such as egg white or hydrolyzed soy protein or gelatin to make nougat, which is fairly inexpensive to produce and therefore a preferred “filling agent” for things like Three Musketeers, Milky Way and Snickers (yes please).
Oh, and Happy Birthday to iconic singer Diana Ross, who turns 77 today.
We’re in for another 70-degree day, but it’s not going to be a nice one. There are thunderstorms in the forecast, and also a wind advisory, starting at noon and lasting through noon tomorrow, with winds 15 to 30 mph and gusts up to 50 mph.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden spent much of his first presidential news conference yesterday facing questions about the crisis on the southern border.
Biden said he wants Mexico to accept back all migrant families arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, a move that could reignite a court battle with the ACLU over the legality of sending back families without letting them seek asylum.
The president also defended his immigration policies, saying he would never apologize for ending policies the Trump administration put in place.
There were no contentious exchanges with reporters during the first presidential press conference, and also no questions about COVID-19.
Biden did, however, announce a new goal of having 200 million Covid vaccination shots being distributed within his first 100 days in office.
He also condemned efforts in Republican-led state legislatures to pass bills making access to the ballot box more difficult, calling it “all by design” to suppress voters.
Biden, 78, said he expects to run for reelection in 2024 with Vice President Kamala Harris on the ticket.
First-time claims for unemployment insurance unexpectedly fell sharply last week amid signs that hiring has picked up in the U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported.
The number of people seeking unemployment benefits dropped to 684,000, the fewest since the pandemic erupted a year ago and a sign that the economy is improving.
With more states loosening restrictions on indoor dining areas, movie theaters, gyms and other gathering places, workers are being recalled to their jobs and layoffs are easing.
“The recovery is really hitting full steam again, and all of the conditions will be in place for a real, explosive liftoff in the summer when hopefully we’ve reached a higher vaccination threshold,” said Julia Pollak, labor economist at jobs site ZipRecruiter.
Efforts to unblock the Suez Canal in Egypt continued yesterday after a cargo vessel became stuck on Wednesday, but the company assigned to tow the ship says it possibly could take weeks.
Lawmakers blamed big technology companies for an array of societal problems yesterday, excoriating their CEOs for lack of accountability and building momentum for legislation to weaken the liability shield enjoyed by online platforms.
The University of Southern California set a record for collegiate sex abuse payouts, compensating a generation of young women $1.1 billion for abuse at the hands of a campus gynecologist.
While Americans are gearing up for a return to normal life, many experts reiterate that Covid-19 is far from over.
Science is winning the race between coronavirus and the vaccine, according to Pfizer’s UK medical director.
Pfizer has started a clinical trial testing its Covid-19 vaccine on healthy 6-month to 11-year old children, a crucial step in obtaining federal regulatory clearance to start vaccinating young kids and controlling the pandemic.
Hospitalizations and deaths among the elderly are falling, marking hopeful signs that an inoculation push aimed first at older Americans is bearing fruit.
The White House defended its America-first COVID-19 vaccination strategy this week, calling it justified because of the country’s terrible outbreak and promising to share shots after Americans are protected.
New nursing home visitation guidance in New York allows visitation at all times and for all residents.
After months of questions about reopening plans, the New York State Department of Health is giving the green light to adult day health care programs.
New York is still finding thousands of new Covid cases every day, including 8,081 yesterday. That’s far higher than the totals last summer and in the early fall.
Connecticut residents age 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning April 1, Gov. Ned Lamont announced. Other states are not far behind.
Rutgers University, in New Jersey, announced that all students would need to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus before they would be allowed to return to campus in the fall.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey rolled back the state’s remaining COVID-19 mitigation requirements, including local face mask mandates.
The impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo will also examine whether members of the Democratic governor’s family were given priority access to coronavirus tests in the first weeks of the pandemic last year, a key state lawmaker said.
Relatives of nursing home residents who died during the COVID crisis are calling on state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to initiate a state investigation into Cuomo’s handling of elder care facilities.
George Yancopoulos, president of Regeneron, requested and received tests from the Cuomo administration for him and his family last year after a member of his household became infected with COVID-19.
The company requested tests from the state for Yancopoulos and his family after a “member of his household became infected with Covid-19,” a company spokeswoman said. State officials granted the request and tested the family at home in March.
The office of Attorney General Letitia James, Cuomo’s fellow Democrat, issued a statement urging New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics to investigate the alleged preferential testing.
Assemblyman Rob Kim, who is quarantined with COVID-19, accused Cuomo of breaking the law by reportedly arranging priority tests for brother Chris Cuomo and others.
Investigators looking into the nursing home and sexual harassment scandals involving Cuomo could be hindered by the lack of a paper trail since he avoid emails and communicates verbally with aides.
As many as one-tenth of the people who have died from the coronavirus in New York City may go unclaimed and be buried on Hart Island, the city’s potter’s field, according to an analysis of city data.
New York City plans to create a coronavirus vaccination site on Broadway just for people who work in the theater industry, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced, as the city hopes to reopen shows by the fall.
In addition to the Broadway vaccination site, there will be a mobile vaccination unit to serve theater workers beyond Broadway.
The popular coronavirus pandemic-era to-go cocktail rule was set to expire, but was quietly extended through April 6 earlier this month, the State Liquor Authority said.
New York State officials finalized a deal to legalize recreational marijuana in the state, paving the way for a potential $4.2 billion industry that could create tens of thousands of jobs and become one of the largest markets in the country.
A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision expanded the ability of people to sue police for excessive force — with justices saying that cops don’t have to physically seize a plaintiff to violate their Fourth Amendment rights.
New York City Council members laid down the law to the NYPD, backing reforms that would strip police brass of their control over the department and forcing police to pay more heed to complaints that they violate citizens’ rights.
The Council also passed legislation aimed at reining in police misconduct by making it far easier to sue officers for conducting illegal searches or using excessive force.
The New York Police Department will begin using undercover officers as decoys in an attempt to combat a rise in hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans in New York City, police officials said.
Ex-cop Daniel Pantaleo, who was fired two years ago over the chokehold death of Eric Garner, lost an appeal to get his old NYPD job back.
Volunteers for NYC mayoral candidate Dianne Morales created sneaker designs in honor of the contender, sparking discussion online and catching attention on city streets.
Who will be the next Manhattan district attorney? The race is dominated by low-profile progressives who could reshape law enforcement in New York City.
The automatic alarm system was reportedly offline when a massive blaze tore through a Spring Valley nursing home and killed a volunteer firefighter and resident.
The state AG’s office is trying to intervene in a legal battle over a little-known forest preserve in Loudonville that plaintiffs say has been wrongfully used for ATV traffic and other activities that run counter to the “forever wild” status its former owner intended.
According to an industry report in Nutritional Outlook, the pandemic triggered a massive spike in the use of functional fungi for their purported immune-boosting and stress-relieving properties.
Following a series of ticket-writing sweeps, the Stockade Association in Schenectady is asking the city to untangle what they contend is a confusing thicket of parking regulations.
The City of Saratoga Springs’ Design Review Commission unanimously denied a request by the owner of 65 Phila St. to demolish the house.
For now, the DWI case of former state Assemblyman Brian Kolb is set to resume in May after a delay of nearly eight months.
Among the counties in New York seeing rises in the number of sexually transmitted infections, a new report finds Monroe County is seeing some of the most significant increases.
The sounds of summer may be a little louder this year because billions of new cicadas will soon begin reemerging from the ground.
Jay Leno, the longtime “Tonight Show” host, apologized for a history of making anti-Asian jokes, saying that at the time he “genuinely thought them to be harmless” but now hopes for forgiveness from Asian-Americans.
