It’s Thursday, good morning.
OK, because of the name thing, though he is most certainly NOT my namesake, I must open this morning’s newsletter with the following….Happy Benjamin Harrison Day!
OK, you have no clue, right? I didn’t. If you do, I’m impressed. He was the 23rd U.S. president and served from March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893. He was also grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a founding father who signed the United States Declaration of Independence.
This is from Wikipedia:
“Many have praised Harrison’s commitment to African Americans’ voting rights, but scholars and historians generally regard his administration as below average due to its corruption, as well as focused criticism on his signing of the McKinley Tariff. They rank him in the bottom half among U.S. presidents, though they do not question his commitment to personal and official integrity.”
If you’re looking for a reason to celebrate the late former president, consider this: It’s National Pound Cake Day, celebrating what is ostensibly one of the world’s most versatile desserts.
if you’ve got some time on your hands, the traditional recipe calls for a pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Hence the name. You can, of course, use smaller quantities of the same ingredients, maintaining the ratios of each, and produce the same result – albeit considerably smaller and more manageable.
Ostensibly, the pound cake dates back to the 1700s and has its origins in Northern Europe. A recipe for pound cake is in the first U.S. cookbook, American Cookery, which was published in 1796.
Originally, no leaveners were used in the cake except for the air whipped into the batter. It was only in the 1900s that ingredients like baking soda and/or baking powder were added to reduce this treat’s density.
There are also a number of versions of pound cake across the world. In France, for example, it’s called “quatre-quarts“, meaning four quarters. In Mexico, the pound cake is called panqué.
I am a fan of pound cake toasted with fruit on top. Do you, though.
So, typical upstate Spring….yesterday was glorious, if a bit on the chilly side, with lots of sun. Today? Snow showers in the morning, with sun and wind in the afternoon, and temperatures hovering around 37 early and falling into the 20s later on.
OH, how could I forget? There are 16 days until Spring is official.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden has agreed to a compromise with moderate Democrats to narrow the income eligibility for the next round of $1,400 stimulus checks that are included in a bill the Senate is expected to take up this week.
Eight million people who would have received payments under the House bill would lose them under the Senate plan, according to a rough estimate from Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
The Democratic-controlled Senate is hoping for a final vote later in the week on passage of Biden’s top legislative priority. Before the bill hits the chamber floor, Democrats are negotiating limits to a measure Republicans have attacked as wasteful.
Biden’s approval rating now stands at 51 percent nationwide, with 42 percent of the country disapproving. That’s a narrower split than his 54 percent approval and 30 percent disapproval in another Monmouth survey that was conducted just after he took office.
Leaders of the House of Representatives decided to scrap planned votes today due to reports that QAnon conspiracy theory adherents may attempt to storm the Capitol in a far-fetched scheme to return former President Donald Trump to office.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced an all-female Senate sergeant-at-arms leadership team, after the previous sergeant-at-arms resigned as part of the fallout from the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) placed an agent on leave after he was seen outside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.
Pentagon leaders placed unusual restrictions on National Guard deployments before the riot and waited more than three hours to send in troops once it was underway despite a frantic demand for backup from police on the ground, a military general testified.
The House late last night passed expansive legislation to create uniform national voting standards, overhaul campaign finance laws and outlaw partisan redistricting, advancing a centerpiece of the Democratic voting rights agenda amid fierce Republican attacks that threaten to stop it cold in the Senate.
The bill, titled the “For the People Act,” was given the symbolic designation of H.R. 1 by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and it largely mirrors a bill passed two years ago in the early weeks of the House Democratic majority.
Pelosi said the legislation is needed to combat voter suppression efforts in states, to crackdown on corruption and to diminish the influence of big donors in politics.
The House also passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in a 220-212 vote, ushering in a series of police reform measures in the wake of national uprising against racial injustice and police brutality.
Texas Rep. Lance Gooden the only House Republican to vote in favor the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, tweeted that he cast the wrong ballot by accident.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott faces criticism over his surprise roll back of his state’s mask mandate and business restrictions – moves appear aimed at appeasing an impatient Republican base ahead of his 2022 reelection bid and with an eye on the 2024 presidential race.
Some medical advisers to Abbott said they were not consulted on the decision to end the state’s mask requirement and lift other COVID-19-related restrictions in the state.
Biden sharply criticized states such as Texas and Mississippi for lifting Covid-19 restrictions against pleas from the CDC and other top public health officials, accusing those in power of “Neanderthal thinking.”
The decision to rollback measures is “inexplicable,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Corporate executives around the country are wrestling with how to reopen offices as the pandemic starts to loosen its grip.
New York took another step toward relaxing its COVID-19 policies by lifting the quarantine and COVID-19 testing restrictions on people who have been vaccinated within 90 days of their second inoculation.
Many international travelers will likely need to prove they are vaccinated or free of Covid-19 if they plan trips later this year, after the European Union and China both said they would move ahead with plans for “vaccine passports.”
Even as some states roll back mask mandates, some of the nation’s largest retailers including Kroger, Macy’s, Starbucks and Target are not rolling back theirs.
The vast majority of global coronavirus deaths occurred in nations with high levels of obesity, according to a new report linking overweight populations with more severe covid-related illness and mortality.
Capital Region Rep. Paul Tonko has joined the growing list of progressives pushing to end the filibuster, a legislative rule that requires Democrats to have 10 Senate Republicans vote with them to pass most legislation.
The clamor for hard-to-get Covid-19 vaccines has created armies of anxious Americans who have resorted to hunting for leftovers on the fringes of the country’s patchwork vaccination system.
The leader of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas was fired last night, weeks after much of the state lost power during a winter storm.
The U.S. Transportation Department’s inspector general’s office formally investigated ex-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao for potential violations of ethics rules and misuse of her position, and ultimately referred the case for criminal prosecution in late 2020.
In his first public remarks since a sexual harassment scandal enveloped his administration, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that he was embarrassed by his actions and apologized, but that he would not resign from office.
Cuomo, his voice appearing to crack at times, said that he wanted New Yorkers to “hear from me directly on this,” and asked for people “to wait for the facts” to emerge from an investigation by the state attorney general, Letitia James.
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” the governor said. “It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and frankly, I’m embarrassed by it, and that’s not easy to say. But that’s the truth.”
“I wasn’t elected by politicians. I was elected by the people of New York. I’m not going to resign. They elected me,” Cuomo stated.
Gail Collins: “Part of the problem is that New York has had a pathetic record of putting women in high office. We’ve elected only seven to statewide jobs, none of them governor. Maybe this will help change that pattern.”
Cuomo said the photo of him grasping a woman’s face at a wedding is his “customary way of greeting” people, and later insisted his late father, ex-Gov. Mario Cuomo, did the same. “You’re the governor of the state, you want people to feel comfortable, you want to reach out to them.”
“I have learned from what has been an incredible, difficult situation for me, as well as other people,” Cuomo said. “I’ve learned an important lesson. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for whatever pain I caused anyone. I never intended it, and I will be the better for this experience.”
The feud between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Cuomo has hurt New York City, but the governor’s recent troubles may alter the dynamic for the next mayor, and candidates are trying to figure out how hard to hit him over his twin scandals.
De Blasio stopped just short of calling on Cuomo to resign, saying that if the governor can no longer perform his duties, he should “step aside.”
The mayor should lose the emergency powers he got at the start of the pandemic, said Comptroller Scott Stringer, a mayoral contender, noting de Blasio’s own calls for Cuomo to lose his extraordinary powers.
Gareth Rhodes’, a top member of Cuomo’s COVID task force, is returning to his old post as the governor faces a growing number of sexual harassment complaints, including from Anna Ruch, a guest at Rhodes’ wedding.
Rhodes’ wife, Alexa Kissinger, tweeted her support for Ruch on Monday, writing: “I am so proud of Anna for sharing her story. This pattern of behavior is completely unacceptable.”
Ex-federal prosecutor Preet Bharara rapped Cuomo for his handling of the growing sexual harassment scandal.
The TU contacted the governors of all 49 other states to ask if Cuomo should remain chairman of the nonpartisan political organization, which represents the collective voice of governors. Few offered any response; none said he should leave the role.
Two “case studies” from the October 2019 edition of the state’s online Sexual Harassment Prevention Model Training offer examples of inappropriate behavior that are strikingly similar to some of the allegations against the governor.
Many of Cuomo’s claims when it comes to how the state handled nursing homes during the pandemic has been rated “Mostly False” by PolitiFact in a new article.
Cuomo announced that all arts and entertainment venues — such as Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall and Broadway theaters — will be allowed to reopen at low capacity starting April 2.
Arts, entertainment and events venues can be at 33 percent capacity, with a limit of 100 people indoors or 200 people outdoors, and a requirement that all attendees wear masks and be socially distanced. Limits are raised if everyone is tested for COVID.
Dozens of education groups urged Cuomo not to slash education aid to New York City by roughly $700 million, arguing the cut will force the city to dip into federal relief funds meant to help students recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Low-income students will be disproportionately affected by a New York City policy that requires public schools to return funding if their enrollment dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic, a coalition of city council members said.
Boaters, tourism operators and others are worried that a proposal quietly tucked into Cuomo’s state budget plan could open the door to privatizing parts of the historic but costly state canal system.
A state agency responsible for overseeing group homes for the disabled has made “limited progress” in complying with a 2007 law spurred by the killing of a 13-year-old boy, according to the state comptroller’s office.
The punishment for spitting on a transit worker should be more than a slap on the wrist, New York City’s five district attorneys said, urging state legislators to amend the penal code to upgrade this offense to a misdemeanor from a violation.
New York Police Department officials are launching a fresh effort to combat graffiti, after businesses and residents complained of an increase during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another chapter of GE’s long and bittersweet history in the area played out last month with final removal of many structures from the old electrical capacitor factory in Fort Edward, which closed in 2016, when the company shifted operations to Florida.
Several Capital Region hospitals are lifting some visitation restrictions, starting Monday, March 8.
The most competitive Schenectady City Council in years is starting in earnest, as community activist Damonni Farley announced his campaign on Tuesday – the first day candidates were authorized to circulate petitions for ballot access.
The New York Public Library will keep six controversial Dr. Seuss books on the shelves despite this week’s decision to cease their publication due to racist imagery.
The New York City Bar Association added its name to the list of groups urging the state court committee that recommends whether to disbar attorneys to investigate complaints against Rudy Giuliani.
Two Suffolk County police officers who were seen repeatedly kicking a handcuffed suspect on the ground on bodycam footage have been suspended without pay.
The birthplace of Rochester’s famous (or infamous) Garbage Plate is for sale, raising new questions about the storied restaurant’s future.
Marc Agnifilo defended NXIVM leader Keith Raniere in news conferences, spoke on his behalf in documentaries and sat beside him during a nearly two-month trial in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Now he’s leaving the case.
The NBA has announced over $3 million in donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and communities of color impacted by COVID-19 as part of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game and secondary competitions.
CBS has released a new clip of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s hotly anticipated sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, in which Markle says of Buckingham Palace, “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time, we would still just be silent.”
