Good Friday morning!
Today’s date has a nice symmetry to it, which is kind of cool. It’s also National Bike to Work Day, which presents a bit of a dilemma for those of us still working from home.
It’s actually National Bike MONTH, which is something I’m not sure how I missed until this very moment. Established in 1956, National Bike Month is a chance to showcase the many benefits of bicycling and encourage more people to try going out on two wheels instead of four.
From 2000 to 2013, bicycle commuting rates in large Bicycle Friendly Communities increased 105 percent, which is far above the national average of 62 percent and more than double the rate in non-BFCs (31 percent).
Bikes saw a surge in popularity during the pandemic, when everyone was locked down with not a whole heck of a lot of options when it came to getting exercise and amusing ourselves in a safe fashion. In fact, there was actually something of a shortage, which experts are predicting could last well into next year.
Of course, more cyclists on the road also means more chances for accidents to occur, and usually this involves someone on two wheels getting hit – and likely injured or killed – by someone in a car.
As a rider who has had one too many close calls on the road, I can personally attest to the fact that distracted and angry drivers are definitely a threat, though cyclists do have a responsibility to know the rule of the road and abide by them…and they don’t always do that.
So, let’s all be a little more aware of one another out there, shall we? And maybe get out on your bike and leave the car at home altogether. It will help keep you healthy, cut your fuel costs and reduce your carbon footprint all in one fell swoop. What’s bad about any of that?
The third Friday in May, which is what today happens to be, is also NASCAR Day, which is an opportunity for the sport to recognize its participants, sponsors and fans, of which, apparently, there are quite a lot.
We’re in for another 80+ degree day, though there will be more clouds and less sun in the sky. The weekend is looking better than it was, forecast-wise, with clouds and temperatures in the 80s, but no rain…yet. (BTW, this week has brought record-high temperatures to some areas upstate).
In the headlines…
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, after more than a week of conflict left hundreds dead, most of them Palestinians. The truce signals an end to the immediate bloodshed, but will likely leave both sides further apart than ever.
President Joe Biden, having weathered the first major foreign crisis of his presidency that tested the bounds of his decades-long friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, touted the ceasefire deal.
Biden, in a roughly four-minute evening speech from the White House, emphasized Israel’s right to defend itself, and said he pledged to Netanyahu his “full support” to replenish the nation’s Iron Dome defense system after the Israel-Hamas agreement was reached.
Pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters clashed and fireworks sent people running near Times Square yesterday as tensions in the region spilled into the streets of Manhattan, videos showed.
Biden predicted a “genuine” opening for lasting peace in the Middle East.
Biden signed into law the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that passed through Congress in an increasingly rare show of bipartisanship, hailing the effort a “significant break” in a gridlocked Washington.
“My message to all of those who are hurting is we see you. The Congress said we see you. And we are committed to stop the hatred and the bias,” Biden said.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in will likely seek Biden’s help in securing Covid-19 vaccines when the leaders meet in Washington today, according to one foreign policy expert.
The number of workers seeking and receiving unemployment benefits through state and federal programs has reached pandemic lows ahead of this summer, when 22 states plan to end a $300 federal benefit early.
Economist surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 452,000 new claims as the jobs picture improves thanks to an accelerated economic reopening across the country. The total represented a decline from the previous week’s 478,000.
Steady improvement over the last several months — amplified by the COVID-19 mass vaccination effort and the relaxation of lockdowns across the country, have created more positions while sparking an increasingly acute labor shortage.
Some of the smallest firms said they are feeling acute pain because they have fewer people to pick up the slack and can’t easily match the pay increases, benefits and other perks that larger companies are offering to fill openings.
Overwhelmed lenders and panicking borrowers are in a frenzy to grab the remaining money in the small business relief Paycheck Protection Program.
The Labor Department has exhausted its options for continuing to pay an extra $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits to jobless people in the 22 GOP-led states that are ending them early, an administration official said.
With restaurants leading the way, the New York job market is beginning to recover, but the pace is modest.
People in Africa who become critically ill from Covid-19 are more likely to die than patients in other parts of the world, according to a report published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Scientists have discovered a new canine coronavirus in a child who was hospitalized with pneumonia in Malaysia in 2018.
Mobile Covid-19 vaccine clinics in vans and buses are rolling up to neighborhoods in Delaware, Minnesota and Washington State to reach people who have been unable to travel to vaccination centers.
Schenectady County launched a new program that will bring Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot coronavirus vaccine directly into vulnerable communities where vaccination rates continue to lag.
The CDC’s new mask guidelines could actually increase the risk of spreading Covid-19 in public spaces and workplaces, scientists of a leading infectious disease group said.
COVID-19 disrupted years of health progress in the U.S.
New Yorkers could win up to $5 million from the New York state lottery if they get vaccinated against Covid-19 at a state-run clinic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.
The “Vax & Scratch” pilot program runs May 24-28 and allows those who get vaccinated to receive a $20 lottery ticket for the $5 million Mega Multiplier Lottery.
“If you were undecided about getting a vaccine or dubious about getting a vaccine, now you have an added bonus,” Cuomo said. “It’s a situation where everybody wins.”
Starting on Tuesday, the Maryland Lottery will randomly select a vaccinated Marylander for a $40,000 prize every single day, Gov. Larry Hogan announced.
Prince William got his first vaccine dose this week. (He had COVID-19 last spring).
While most countries are still cranking up their vaccination drives, some are already making plans to deliver millions of booster shots into arms later this year.
Many Americans could start receiving COVID booster shots as soon as this fall.
Carnival said it is planning to resume Alaska cruises in July, in what would be among the first sailings out of the U.S. since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
More pedestrians were killed by vehicles last year than in 2019, despite a shortage of cars on the road during the coronavirus pandemic.
The rollout of the Excelsior Pass, a digital app designed to enable someone to confirm they have been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19, has been plagued with glitches and left many unable to download their digital proof of vaccination.
CNN said that anchor Chris Cuomo’s decision to participate in strategy sessions with his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on the handling of sexual-harassment allegations against the governor was a mistake, adding that it wouldn’t discipline the journalist.
Cuomo, one of the network’s top stars, joined a series of conference calls that included the Democratic governor, his top aide, his communications team, lawyers and a number of outside advisers, according to the people familiar with the conversations.
Two people present on one call said that Chris Cuomo brought up “cancel culture” when encouraging his brother to stand his ground in the scandal.
“Chris has not been involved in CNN’s extensive coverage of the allegations against Governor Cuomo – on air or behind the scenes,” a CNN spokesperson said. “In part because, as he has said on his show, he could never be objective. But also because he often serves as a sounding board for his brother.”
The Justice Department under the Trump administration targeted the phone and email records of a prominent CNN journalist who covers the Pentagon as part of an investigation into the apparent disclosure of classified information, the network revealed.
The governor dismissed outrage over his $5.1 million coronavirus book deal as “stupid”, claiming the pandemic windfall was all dandy because he donated a chunk of it to charity and gave the rest to his daughters.
“The allegations out that you made this money on the backs of dead New Yorkers: How do you respond to that?” a reporter asked the governor during his press briefing in Buffalo. “That’s stupid; next question,” Cuomo retorted.
“I thought your question was stupid and offensive,” he told the News 4 reporter. “I wrote a book saying this is what we should learn from what has happened so far in COVID, because we’re not done. And it’s going to continue.”
Google will open its first-ever permanent retail store in New York City in coming weeks, a bet that a physical retail presence can help showcase and sell its products as the pandemic eases.
Amazon suspended rider training on a new three-wheeled cargo e-bike to be used for package delivery in New York City after one toppled onto its side last week during a practice session, according to people familiar with the matter.
Some ballots in New York City’s mayoral race are four legal pages long. The system to fill it out is so confusing that the city is running ads urging New Yorkers to go online to practice before primary day on June 22.
Democratic mayoral candidates are pushing back on plans to have another online debate, saying New Yorkers “deserve and need to see the candidates debate in person.”
Andrew Yang was heckled at a news conference in Brooklyn yesterday, the latest disruption on the mayoral campaign trail in the bid to run New York City.
Yang says he’s the mayoral candidate to lead the NYPD “into the 21st century,” but he couldn’t answer basic questions about the department’s two most important reforms over the past year.
Brooklyn Borough President and mayoral contender Eric Adams touted an endorsement he received from the Jewish Press, but neglected to mention that the independent weekly’s chief editor was present at the pro-Trump Capitol riot in January.
Adams says he’s going door to door and on the phone lines over the next few weeks as part of a new get-out-the vote effort ahead of the June primary.
The largest Democratic political club on Manhattan’s Upper East Side voted to pull its endorsement of embattled Scott Stringer for mayor and selected Kathryn Garcia to replace him as its choice to run City Hall.
Mayoral candidate Ray McGuire would more than triple the current funding to oversee mandatory treatment of dangerously mentally ill people if he was elected to lead City Hall.
Republican mayoral hopeful Curtis Sliwa held a mask-burning event in Manhattan to celebrate newly loosened face-mask restrictions in the Empire State.
Jewish activists accused powerful Democrats of cowering to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other leftist House members of the “Squad” by failing to forcefully stand up for Israel during its fight with Hamas in the Gaza strip.
The largest container ship to ever sail into New York Harbor arrived yesterday, the crowning achievement of a years-long rebuilding effort to bring the Port Authority’s seaports up to modern standards.
Rap royalty gathered in the Bronx for a groundbreaking of the Universal Hip Hop Museum in the genre’s birthplace and home borough of rap icons like Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick and Fat Joe.
The NYC Sanitation Department unveiled a statue to the workers it lost during the pandemic. It is likely to be the first of many such memorials.
New York State United Teachers is noting a “strong display of support for public schools” as the majority of school budgets are on track to win approval.
Three weeks remain in the 2021 legislative session, and despite the Democratic supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly, the controversial Climate and Community Investment Act is almost certainly not going to pass this year.
National Transportation Safety Board officials say they were never able to get copies of the autopsy reports of the 20 victims of the 2018 limousine crash in Schoharie – despite promises to the contrary.
The City of Troy announced its first traffic advisory for the filming of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” which is anticipated to affect parking and travel through downtown and around Washington Park until mid-June.
A main route through Bethlehem will be closed for an extended period of time, according to Bethlehem Police after a tractor-trailer struck and became wedged under a bridge in Slingerlands.
A black bear passed through a Bethlehem yesterday morning, prompting police to suggest steps residents can take to keep it and its fellow ursines from coming back.
Timothy Granison, the husband of the mayor of Rochester, was arrested this week after the police said they discovered drugs and guns in searches of his car and home, the latest crisis for the mayor in a year continually whipsawed by scandal.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren held a press conference to address her husband’s arrest, where she claimed her innocence and said the investigation was politically motivated.
“We need to ask ourselves, if this is not about politics, why is Tim’s next court date June 21 — the day before Primary Day?” Warren asked. “Now, that’s quite the coincidence. Now, when you figure out those answers to those questions, come find me, because I’ll be working.”
A computer that belongs to Rudy Giuliani’s most recent ex-wife was among the more than dozen electronic devices the feds confiscated when they raided the former mayor’s Manhattan pad and law office last month
A new study from the University of Oxford concluded that drinking alcohol had affected the brain’s gray matter area where “important bits where information is processed,” according to the study’s lead author.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken confirmed that the United States was no longer interested in buying Greenland, scuttling for good a quixotic 2019 proposal by the Trump administration to annex the self-governing Danish territory.
An iceberg nearly half the size of Puerto Rico that broke off the edge of Antarctica last week is now the world’s largest, researchers said.
The sons of the late Princess Diana condemned journalist Martin Bashir’s deceitful tactics in getting their mother to agree to an interview 20 years ago, in strongly worded statements laden with sorrow.
The Justice Department seized 68 big cats from the Oklahoma zoo once owned by Joe Exotic and featured in “Tiger King.” Exotic’s old rival, Jeff Lowe, now owns the property.
