Good Friday morning!
I teased this one yesterday (if you’re a Twitter follower, you know, if you’re not, well, you should be), so you can’t possibly be surprised to learn that it’s National Unicorn Day.
You would likely be hard pressed to find someone who is an outright unicorn hater. (Difficult to hate a mythological creature that doesn’t officially exist, but I’m sure there’s someone out there who does). This day is a particularly big deal in Scotland, which has adopted the unicorn as its national animal.
In Celtic mythology, the Unicorn of Scotland symbolized innocence and purity, healing abilities and power. It also was a symbol of protection. According to legend, the unicorn was the strongest of all animals and could only be humbled by a virgin maiden.
Early depictions of unicorns appeared in Mesopotamian artwork, as well as in ancient myths in China and India. The Greek historian Ctesias referenced an animal with one horn in 400 BCE. He described a creature with a white body, purple head, and a multicolored forehead horn. (He is now believed to have be referring to the Indian Rhinoceros).
According to Ctesias, the unicorn was very fast and that those who drank from its horn were protected from some illnesses.
About the power of unicorn horns: One legend claims that poisoned waters can be purified with a unicorn horn so that other animals can drink it. People came to believe the horns had healing powers and could be used as medicine, never mind that they didn’t actually exist, powdered narwhal teeth were often sold as a stand-in in the 1800s.
Today, unicorns in all their rainbow, sparkly glory are usually relegated to little girldom, or the term is used to refer to something that is very rare. It’s apparently a very over-used term in the tech/start-up world.
Also, I am forced to confess that somehow Be Kind To Spiders Week (the first week in April, 1-7) came and went and I failed to mention it. That might be because I am deathly afraid of eight-legged arachnids…and also snakes. But, to be fair, they are actually very helpful and serve a significant role in keeping populations of many insect pests in check.
Still, I would prefer to appreciate them at a distance – a very great distance.
We’re in for partly cloudy skies this morning that grow more overcast as the day progresses. Temperatures will flirt with 70 degrees.
In the headlines…
President Biden unveiled his first attempts to curb gun violence, announcing a set of modest moves designed to begin revamping federal gun policy by tweaking the government’s definition of a firearm and more aggressively responding to urban gun violence.
The bundle of actions, Biden’s first attempt as president to tackle the fraught politics surrounding guns in America, was unveiled in the wake of a recent spate of mass shootings across the country.
Biden called gun violence in the United States “an international embarrassment,” and his efforts start with a crackdown on the proliferation of so-called ghost guns, or firearms assembled from kits.
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger last night called for fellow Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, of Florida, to resign amid allegations that Gaetz had sex with a minor and violated sex trafficking laws.
Joel Greenberg, an associate of Gaetz, is negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors.
A second senior aide to Gaetz abruptly quit in recent days as the congressman tries to fend off a Justice Department sex trafficking investigation and mounting public scrutiny.
As new U.S. coronavirus cases trend upward — with nearly 80,000 new infections reported yesterday — health officials warn of the spread of multiple, more transmissible variants, some of which have seeded outbreaks in states such as Michigan and California.
The CDC released new data on emerging variants, including those first identified in Brazil, Britain and South Africa. The B.1.1.7 variant initially detected in Britain accounts for almost 20,000 cases in all 50 states and has become the dominant strain.
Johnson & Johnson will allocate 86 percent fewer doses across the United States next week than are currently being allocated, according to data provided by the CDC, just as the national vaccination campaign has found its footing.
The suicide rate in the U.S. reportedly fell by nearly 6 percent last year, the largest decline in four decades, despite lockdowns, deaths and other difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of sellers are offering false and stolen vaccine cards, as businesses and states weigh proof of vaccinations for getting people back to work and play.
Enough vaccines have now been administered to fully vaccinate about 5% of the global population — but the distribution has been lopsided. Most vaccines are going to the wealthiest countries.
Australia, Belgium, Italy and Spain joined the U.K. and other European nations in restricting the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine, a day after European regulators said there might be a link between the shot and rare but sometimes deadly blood clotting.
Fox Sports NASCAR analyst Jeff Gordon revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 last week about seven days after he received his first dose of the vaccine.
The Oregon Health Authority reported a small number of cases in which Oregonians who had received their full vaccinations later contracted COVID-19.
The U.S. economy is opening up and Covid-19 vaccines are increasingly available. But its neighbor to the north has had one of the slowest vaccine rollouts among developed economies, and is now imposing new lockdowns to stem a surge in infections.
An American Airlines flight from Australia to Los Angeles was canceled today after a flight crew member tested positive for COVID-19.
An accredited member of the media at the Masters tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday morning after spending six days at Augusta National Golf Club covering the Women’s Amateur tournament and the Masters.
Multiple studies show that there are COVID antibodies in a vaccinated mother’s milk. This has led some women to try to restart breastfeeding and others to share milk with friends’ children.
Just over one-third of New Yorkers — and almost 40 percent of New York City residents — have now been vaccinated against COVID-19, the latest data shows.
TikTok vaccine rivalries are a thing.
First-time claims for unemployment insurance rose more than expected last week despite other signs of healing in the jobs market, the Labor Department reported.
First-time claims for the week ended April 3 totaled 744,000, well above the expectation for 694,000 from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The total represented an increase of 16,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised 728,000.
Jobless claims have declined sharply since the virus slammed into the economy in March of last year. But they remain stubbornly high by historical standards.
Increases in two states — California and New York — more than accounted for the week’s rise nationwide. Oxford Economics said it was unaware of any particular factors that might have driven claims higher in those states.
Experts believe the increase in unemployment claims likely understated the rapidly improving labor market conditions as more parts of the economy reopen and fiscal stimulus kicks in.
Long Island Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump, declared that he was entering the 2022 race for governor of New York, hoping to emerge as his party’s challenger to the embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“The bottom line is this: To save New York, Andrew Cuomo’s gotta go,” Zeldin, a staunch conservative, said in a news release.
“I’ll bring the kind of relentless, fighting spirit towards helping to save our state that Cuomo reserves for multi-million dollar self-congratulatory book deals, cover-ups, abuse & self-dealing,” the congressman tweeted.
Zeldin might face a primary challenge from North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik, who says she’s also still considering a run for governor.
GOP leaders have a “strong appetite” to avoid a primary.
A Republican will still likely face an uphill climb in 2022 in New York, a heavily Democratic state where the GOP is shut out of power across the board in Albany. A Republican has not won statewide since 2002, when George Pataki won a third term.
The MAGA-aligned congressman’s bid comes after Andrew Guiliani, the son of the bombastic former New York City mayor, said he had discussed his own gubernatorial ambitions with former President Trump, his father’s ex-client.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office believes Attorney General Letitia James has the authority to conduct a criminal investigation into the Cuomo administration’s handling of COVID in nursing homes.
Cuomo has been so weakened by the multiple scandals spiraling around him that state legislators not only rammed through $4 billion in new tax hikes — they also killed about a dozen bills he proposed as part of the budget process.
The budget deal restores $600 million in pay increases the state withheld from workers last year in the midst of the financial collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the governor’s office said.
The budget also funnels millions of dollars into New York’s hard-hit nursing home industry to beef up staffing and requires operators to spend more money on patient care.
Business leaders say the tax increases in the budget, which would result in top earners in New York City being charged the highest combined tax rate in the U.S., could backfire by driving away the very people and companies the city relies on for its revenue.
Cuomo appeared to distance himself from allegations that his administration ordered that his relatives and political allies – including his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo – be prioritized for COVID testing in the early months of the pandemic.
Several current and former Cuomo staffers, or people speaking on their behalf, disputed that their work on “American Crisis” last year was truly voluntary, as the administration has claimed.
With the Legislature finally passing the state budget after several months of intense effort, advocates for the Adult Survivors Act are hoping for a renewed push to pass the legislation in the remaining weeks of the 2021 session.
A new law legalizing recreational marijuana in New York has planted the seeds for a multibillion-dollar industry, but it will likely be at least a year before retail stores and cannabis lounges are allowed to open their doors to customers.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan that he said would significantly reduce the temporary NYC public school closures that have frustrated parents and educators across city over the last few months.
Research shows many young children have fallen behind in reading and math due to the pandemic-related school closures. But some educators are worried about stigmatizing an entire generation.
The chief state official who authorizes charter schools blasted Albany lawmakers for refusing to lift the cap to open more of the popular, alternative schools to accommodate pent-up parental demand in New York City.
De Blasio, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and several mayoral contenders voiced qualified support for the state’s new “vaccine passport” program, even as critics raise privacy concerns.
NYC restaurants have been flooding Instagram in recent weeks with posts calling for staff applications to fill just about every position in the kitchen and dining room. And it’s not just restaurants in the city that are having trouble staffing up.
The former daughter-in-law of a Trump Organization executive has turned over boxes filled with financial documents to Manhattan prosecutors who are investigating former President Donald J. Trump and his business.
A New York State court employee set to go on trial this month for threatening to “slaughter” members of Congress is also a racist anti-Semite, federal prosecutors claim in court papers.
Co-Op City in The Bronx could free up $100 million for capital improvements and repairs at the decades-old housing development by pursuing a lucrative loan refinancing deal — but the Biden administration first needs to sign off it.
A Brooklyn man was awaiting arraignment on hate-crime charges in three separate anti-Asian attacks in the past month, law-enforcement officials said.
Restarting New York and with the warmer weather here, outdoor amusement parks can welcome back guests as early as today.
Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel is coming back.
The yearlong pandemic-related hiatus has allowed Disney to re-evaluate some park traditions deemed anachronistic or problematic, including some older rides at both domestic locations with outdated cultural representations or racist connotations.
Jennifer Weisselberg — who is divorcing Trump Organization CFO Alan Weisselberg’s son, Barry — handed over the information by order of a grand jury subpoena.
Dozens of Capital Region school districts will soon be able to establish free childcare facilities for 4-year-olds with the help of funds in the 2021-22 state spending plan.
The City of Albany is making a push to increase both the size and diversity of its next classes of police and fire department recruits.
The city’s famed Tulip Festival will be held virtually for the second year in a row.
Albany is planning to sell the 245-foot strip of asphalt connecting Leonard and Krank streets to South End Development, LLC, as part of the company’s vision to build The Seventy-Six, a massive mixed-use property along Second Avenue.
During the pandemic, there was a whopping 214 percent increase in the number of New York City residents who’ve decided to escape to the Capital Region’s four main counties.
The former chief financial officer of a state flood control district improperly received a payout of $51,083 when he retired in 2019, the state Inspector General’s office said.
A former mail carrier has admitted to taking thousands of pieces of mail and dumping them in a rural area in Schoharie County.
An Australian man accused of ripping off real estate developers, charities, business partners and his own mother has been quietly living in the Capital Region for several years under an assumed name, according to federal law enforcement officials.
Amazon factory workers in Bessemer, Alabama, voting to unionize appeared to be leaning heavily against doing so as voting wound down yesterday.
Former Speaker John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, says in a new memoir that he regrets supporting the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, calling it a partisan attack that he now wishes he had repudiated.
The company behind the Satan Shoes will offer to repurchase the customized sneakers from consumers, resolving a lawsuit filed by Nike Inc. after the footwear created a social media splash.
Musician, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs in an open letter posed on his media site Revolt, slammed large corporations for failing to support Black-owned media.
