Good Tuesday morning.
Since vaccines are on everyone’s minds these days, it seems fitting to start by noting that it’s World AIDS Vaccine Day.
To be clear, a vaccine that prevents HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS does not yet exist, but this day is to thank those who are working toward accomplishing that goal.
There is, however, a treatment….not a cure, to be clear. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ”HIV continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed almost 33 million lives so far.”
By June 2020, 26 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy, marking a 2.4 percent increase from an estimate of 25.4 million at the end of 2019, again, according to the WHO. So, IF you can access these therapies, then AIDS is not necessarily the automatic death sentence it once was. That’s a big IF, though.
The speed with which the COVID vaccines were developed was definitely NOT the norm. I think some of us might have already forgotten just how amazing an achievement getting those vaccines from prototype to approval and distributed in such a short time frame really was. Consider this:
HIV was first identified in 1984. At the time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared that there will be a vaccine in 2 years. But several clinical trials of potential vaccines proved futile, and we’re still not there yet. (The first World AIDS Vaccine Day wasn’t observed until 1998).
The theme for this year’s observance is ‘Global solidarity, shared responsibility’.
Changing the subject in a rather dramatically abrupt fashion, it’s National Cheese Souffle Day. I must confess that I have never actually eaten a cheese souffle, but the idea of an airy yet cheesy delight does appeal to me.
The word souffle is the past participle of the French verb, souffler, which means “to blow up” or “puff up.” The technique here, which is apparently not easy to master, is to combine egg whites with custard, and the resulting concoction it will puff up into a fine, golden souffle when baked.
We will have intervals of clouds and sun today, with temperatures in the high 70s.
In the headlines…
The White House released the 2020 tax returns for both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, restoring a presidential tradition that had been ignored under former President Donald Trump.
The Bidens filed their federal tax return jointly, reported a federal adjusted gross income of $607,336 and owed $157,414 in federal income tax. They paid $162,063 and received a refund of $4,649. Their 2020 effective federal income tax rate is 25.9 percent.
Biden’s income fell dramatically to $607,336 in 2020 as he dropped lucrative speaking engagements to campaign for the White House, but he still earned enough to pay the higher tax rates he’s proposed for wealthy people.
The Biden administration announced that it would kick-start advance payments of the child tax credit on July 15. Democrats have touted the provision as a key part of the president’s stimulus law that’s poised to benefit the vast majority of American children.
Biden voiced support for a ceasefire as intensifying violence between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza entered a second week.
Biden’s support for a cessation in hostilities, amid pressure from progressives in his party, came as the two sides continued to trade fire and after 42 Palestinians died on Sunday, the deadliest day of the current escalation.
Democrats are ratcheting up pressure on Biden to do more to stop the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza — even if it means going against Israel.
Biden’s administration approved the potential sale of $735 million in precision-guided weapons to Israel, and congressional sources said that U.S. lawmakers were not expected to object to the deal despite violence between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Skyrocketing prices of lumber to used cars to corn seed have emerged as troubling signs for the post-pandemic economic boom Biden and congressional Democrats are counting on to keep them in power.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is shaking up the agency’s Covid-19 response to consolidate oversightamid mounting criticism over its guidance for vaccinated people, according to three senior health officials with the knowledge of the situation.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, the second-in-command at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the last six years, is leaving the agency, the second time this month that a top official has abruptly announced plans to depart.
The former surgeon general said the CDC “fumbled the ball at the 1-yard line” with how it communicated the mask guidance for vaccinated Americans — as the announcement spawned confusion across the country.
The Biden administration moved to sharply ramp up Covid-19 vaccine shipments to other countries, following calls for the U.S. to bolster efforts to curb the coronavirus globally as it rages unchecked in developing nations.
The 20 million additional doses will come from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson stockpiles, Biden said, adding to the 60 million AstraZeneca shots he has previously pledged to share with the world as soon as that vaccine clears a U.S. regulatory review.
With just over 3% of Canadians fully inoculated against COVID-19, a growing number of America’s northern border states and communities have stepped up to offer excess vaccines to Canadians.
The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine can be stored at fridge temperature for much longer than previously recommended, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Many parents are ambivalent about getting their kids vaccinated, saying they want more information about safety and side effects.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s $5 million lottery to encourage vaccinations appears to be an early win.
States in the U.S. Northeast, after experiencing spikes in coronavirus infections earlier this year, are reporting significant drops in cases and hospitalizations.
As more Americans become vaccinated and virus restrictions loosen, masks are at the center of a second round in the country’s culture brawl. This time, people who choose to continue to cover their faces have become targets of public ire.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo will receive more than $5 million from his book about leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, tax records released yesterday show, a considerable sum for a project under scrutiny by the state attorney general’s office.
The NY Post calls the sum a “a possibly unprecedented payout for a serving elected official, who wrote the book with the seemingly illegal help of government staff while he and his aides spent months going to great lengths to cover up his edict’s deadly results.”
“Every cent of that money and more should be donated to the families of his victims. His grotesque actions throughout this pandemic have made him a national disgrace,” state GOP Chair Nick Langworthy said in a statement.
Cuomo reported earnings of $3.21 million last year for the book, with additional $1 million payments expected over the next two years. The governor’s communications director said Cuomo kept $1.53 million last year after expenses and taxes.
A spokesperson for Cuomo said the governor donated $500,000 of his profits from the book to the United Way of New York State.
Cuomo’s adjusted gross income was $3,593,343 last year. That included the book income, $217,736 in salary from his job as governor and $428,000 in capital gains. In 2019, his adjusted gross income was $280,677.
The state Health Department employee who helped administer COVID-19 tests to Cuomo’s relatives during the pandemic has left state employment, officials said.
Fully vaccinated New Yorkers can ditch their masks in most circumstances starting tomorrow as the Empire State adopts guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Masks will still be required in schools, nursing homes, hospitals and prisons, as well as on public busses and trains. Private businesses and venues can also set their own rules for masking on their premises.
“We have to reopen. We have to reopen smart, with a cautious eye. We have to get back to life and living and we have to do it the way New Yorkers do it,” the governor said.
Cuomo again defended himself and denied allegations of sexual harassment before joking about having an “intimate” relationship with New York’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker.
New York City will send additional police officers into the subway to fight crime and improve rider confidence as part of the largest law-enforcement deployment across the system in two decades, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
With the new increase, the mayor said there’ll be about 3,250 NYPD transit cops. That figure also includes desk cops or supervisors who aren’t in the field, an NYPD spokesman noted.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams came out on top in results of a poll about Democratic mayoral candidates released yesterday, even as many New Yorkers remained undecided about the contest.
Andrew Yang’s support among Democratic voters has plummeted, according to the same poll.
Dianne Morales went on the defensive after a new report revealed the mayoral hopeful was the target of a bribery probe 17 years ago while working for the city Department of Education.
A pilot program that provides Halal meals to city public school students who request them will expand to 11 new schools, Education Dept. officials announced.
New York City’s Irving Plaza concert venue has announced their reopening, confirming a lineup of more than 40 shows through next spring.
As many as 13,000 fans will pack Madison Square Garden for the Knicks playoffs games — while the iconic New York City Marathon will make a return to the five boroughs this fall, officials announced.
New Yorkers will go the polls in November to decide if a “green amendment” should be added to the state constitution. But if it passes, the result probably won’t be clear for years because the amendment will likely be shaped through a series of court cases.
City Council members moved a step closer to passing legislation that may rid Schenectady of daredevils on dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles who often roam city streets.
The Albany Common Council voted late last night 9 to 6 to table an outright ban on police use of tear gas – but left the door open on legislation that would severely curtail its usage.
Kaaterskill Falls is open to visitors, but those who park near what used to be the main parking area along Route 23A will be ticketed and towed, according to Greene County Tourism.
Feed Albany, a relief program born early in the pandemic that has provided more than 500,000 meals in 14 months, has hired its first full-time head chef as it prepares to move into a dedicated kitchen of its own.
The New York State Museum, Library, and Archives welcomed visitors back for the first time since the pandemic began with limited capacity and reservations recommended.
Albany County County Executive Dan McCoy announced that Dunkin’ has donated $10,000 so the county can give $5 gift cards to the doughnut and coffee chain to the first 2,000 people who get vaccinated at upcoming clinics.
A bill that would open the door for a bid for a technology hub in Western New York yesterday moved toward likely passage in the U.S. Senate despite an ongoing debate on some of the measure’s particulars.
Employees of the Whitney Museum of American Art are the latest group of museum workers in the city to take steps toward forming a union.
Bob Garfield, a longtime co-host of WNYC’s popular program “On the Media,” has been fired after two separate investigations found he had violated an anti-bullying policy, New York Public Radio, which owns WNYC, said.
New York-based toy retailer Camp NYC Inc. is adding an e-commerce feature to its website that lets kids as young as 3 years old shop for gifts and check out with minimal adult oversight.
Amazon is establishing a program focused on improving the health and wellness of its hourly warehouse staffers, after years of criticism over worker safety at its depots and a pledge by Chief Executive Jeff Bezos to offer a better vision for employees.
Manhattan federal prosecutors are treating Rudy Giuliani as if he were “the head of a drug cartel or a terrorist,” the former mayor complained in a newly unsealed letter over the FBI raid of his apartment and law office.
Giuliani opened a broad attack on the searches that federal investigators conducted of his home, office and iCloud account, asking a judge to block review of the seized records while his lawyers determine whether there was a legitimate basis for the warrants.
Eastman Kodak said the state attorney general has threatened to sue the company and its chief executive over a series of stock purchases made by the executive ahead of a planned $765 million deal with the U.S. government to produce drug ingredients.
An Italian American group filed a petition in court to thwart the city of Syracuse’s planned removal of its Christopher Columbus statue, claiming the move is illegal under local law.
Citing an FAA advisory, travel site View from the Wing reports that because Americans are getting heavier, airlines may have to revisit estimates on how much cargo each plane is carrying for the sake of safety.
A landmark report from the International Energy Agency says countries need to move faster and more aggressively to cut planet-warming pollution.
Overwork is killing people worldwide, sometimes decades after they finish putting in the long hours, a new study indicates.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert — a two-time winner of the Triple Crown — won’t be allowed to run his horses at tracks run by the New York Racing Association effective immediately. That includes Saratoga Race Course.
In a statement, David O’Rourke, chief executive of the New York Racing Association, cited the investigation into Medina Spirit’s victory on May 1 in the Kentucky Derby. But he also took into account Baffert’s “failed drug tests in the recent past.”
