Good Monday morning. It’s a big day in New York politics, as Governor Andrew Cuomo is supposed to be resigning at midnight, and his replacement, Governor-in-Waiting Kathy Hochul is supposed to be sworn in.

I’m hedging just a tiny bit, because Cuomo has been rather reluctant to confirm that he’s actually leaving, even though his stuff has been hauled out of his soon-to-be-official former residence – the executive mansion – and dropped off at his sister’s Westchester home.

Since he broke up with Sandra Lee, with whom he used to live in her Westchester County abode, Lily, Pond, which she sold not too long ago, Cuomo has been without a home of his own. (The mansion, technically speaking, belongs to the taxpayers of the state of New York).

Cuomo stayed busy right up to the end, declaring a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Henri’s arrival. He also held a virtual storm briefing on Sunday – just hours before his scheduled resignation, saying: “I am the governor today and I am in charge.”

“This is also something I’ve done a few times,” Cuomo added. “I will be 100% available to the people of the state of New York every minute of the day, which I have been for my entire tenure as governor.”

Cuomo tried to steer clear of questions regarding his limited time left in office and the scandal that ousted him.

Hochul, meanwhile, was working with Long Island officials in preparation for Henri, and stayed far away from Cuomo’s public event.

She did, however, tweet that she took part in a call wit Cuomo, President Biden and other North East governors whose states are being hit hard, or are in the storm’s path.

Henri already made his unwelcome presence known in NYC this weekend. More here.

A flood watch is in effect through tonight, and we will be getting rain pretty much all day, with 98 percent humidity and temperatures in the low-to-mid 70s. .

Two rather somber events occurring today:

In the headlines…

Henri battered the Northeast with fierce winds and torrential rain, knocking out power in most of coastal Rhode Island, forcing evacuations in Connecticut, stranding dozens of motorists in New Jersey and shattering rainfall records in New York City.

The National Hurricane Center said Henri is expected to slow down further and likely stall near the Connecticut-New York state line, before moving back east through New England and eventually pushing out to the Atlantic Ocean.

President Biden yesterday morning made an emergency declaration for New York, following declarations for Connecticut and Rhode Island. The move allows the feds to help local authorities with their storm response.

Biden said that his administration may extend an Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, as the Pentagon enlisted the help of U.S. airlines to evacuate Americans and Afghan partners from the country.

Biden wants to convince Americans he’s in charge and understands the heartache caused by a week of politically damaging chaos in Kabul unleashed by his botched Afghanistan withdrawal plan.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will urge Biden this week to extend the evacuation deadline from Afghanistan, but even if one is agreed, the West will also need the approval of the Taliban.

Biden said the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airport accelerated this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group.

The Taliban fought deadly battles with budding resistance forces in northern Afghanistan, as political negotiations on a broader government moved ahead in Kabul and access to the city’s U.S.-run airport remained difficult for thousands trying to flee.

As many Americans disapprove of Biden’s job performance as approve, according to two new polls out yesterday — a precipitous decline for the new president after he spent his first half-year in the White House with high job ratings.

A NBC News poll finds fewer Americans support Biden’s handling of the coronavirus and the economy now than they did last spring, and just a quarter of respondents approve of his handling of Afghanistan.

The FDA’s expected approval today of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine will likely lead to more universities and businesses requiring the immunizations for students and employees, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said.

With the latest wave of return-to-office delays from Covid-19, some companies are considering a new possibility: Offices may be closed for nearly two years, making it harder and more disruptive than ever to bring workers back.

Grocery-store chains are still battling supply challenges that some executives said are as bad as what they saw in spring 2020, when hoarding left holes in stocks of some staples.

Centrist House Democrats were locked in a standoff with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over when to vote on a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill, imperiling the ability to advance a sweeping segment of Biden’s agenda in votes expected early this week.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was ripped on Twitter for dancing with Stephen Colbert backstage at the We Love NYC concert amid the ongoing catastrophe in Afghanistan and as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge across the U.S.

It’s been just over a month, and China has once again squelched Covid-19, bringing its local cases down to zero. 

Hospitals in the South and Midwest say they are treating more children with Covid-19 than ever and are preparing for worse surges to come.

As the pandemic takes an unexpected direction, Americans again must reckon with twists in scientific understanding of the virus.

Former President Donald Trump was booed by his own supporters during a rally in Cullman, Alabama Saturday night after he encouraged the crowd to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

A third dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has significantly improved protection from infection and serious illness among people aged 60 and older in Israel compared with those who received two shots, findings published by the Health Ministry showed

The Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline are in the hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19, his organization the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said. They are both fully vaccinated, and responding to treatments.

Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug commonly used for livestock, should not be taken to treat or prevent Covid-19, the Food and Drug Administration said.

Phil Valentine, a prominent conservative radio host in Tennessee who refused to get vaccinated, then urged his followers to get a shot after being hospitalized with Covid-19, has died, his station said.

Actor Sean Penn believes that COVID-19 vaccinations should be mandatory for all, just like “turning your headlights on in the car at night.”

When a Staten Island hospital implemented a vaccine or testing mandate, some of its staff staged angry protests.

Two Brooklyn Supreme Court judges and a Manhattan court security lieutenant who enforced COVID compliance are suffering from coronavirus, just as the state court system seeks to resume in-person proceedings despite the surging Delta variant.

The NYPD reached a grim milestone Friday as the department’s 60th member died from COVID, police said.

Top city cop Dermot Shea has made an impassioned personal plea to all city officers to get COVID-19 vaccinations.

In a setback for the NYC economy, the Delta variant has upended events, office reopenings and travel, raising new challenges for service businesses and their workers.

Signature Theater, a prominent Off Broadway nonprofit, has postponed its return to the stage over concerns about the persistent coronavirus pandemic, becoming the first major New York theater to take such a step.

The coronavirus pandemic has paved the way for a partial resurgence of the violent and sleazy side of Times Square, visitors and locals fear.

The Metropolitan Opera will finally return indoors on Sept. 11, with a performance of Verdi’s Requiem to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The event will also be broadcast live on PBS, hosted by the ballet star Misty Copeland.

An ambitious sense of purpose has come to define Hochul, an amiable but tough Buffalo-born politician who has a deep relationship with her faith, her family and the upstate region that nurtured her.

Cuomo had a pattern of meddling in the activities of his protective State Police security detail.

As Cuomo prepared to leave office, his personal attorney held a briefing on Friday asking for significant amendments to a report issued Aug. 3 by independent investigators retained by state Attorney General Letitia James.

With Cuomo preparing his exit from Albany after a cascade of sexual misconduct accusations, Democratic lawmakers around the country now face the decision of what to do with tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash he gave them.

The prominent anti-harassment charity, Time’s Up, criticized for its relationship with Cuomo, is facing an identity crisis over its ties to those in power.

Rape survivor-turned-activist Kat Sullivan is taking a larger-than-life swipe at New York’s “sleaziest” — including outgoing Cuomo and his former top lawyer Alphonso David.

Cuomo is saddling Hochul with a major staffing crisis at the state Health Department when she takes the reins, personnel records reveal.

Hochul is expected to deliver a virtual address to the people of New York State at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

Despite protestations from state lawmakers asserting Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie had allowed the investigation by his chamber into Cuomo to lag, his political reputation has remained intact.

Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, wants New Yorkers to take him seriously as the Republican mayoral candidate against Democratic nominee Eric Adams. He’s having trouble achieving that goal.

The animal rights group that wants to ban Central Park’s horse carriage industry galloped away from Sliwa even after the GOP mayoral candidate — who supports the prohibition — appeared at a protest over the treatment of a sick horse.

Adams has assured the Nigerian community of including them in governance, if elected mayor in the November election.

Homeland Security officials announced Friday that the U.S.-Canadian border will maintain current restrictions for non-citizens, keeping most foreign nationals from entering the U.S. by land until at least Sept. 21. 

All employees of the New York Racing Association must wear masks at Saratoga Race Course.

Two people have been hospitalized after what authorities suspect was a propane-fueled dryer explosion in the basement of a Glenville home.

The once-in-a-decade question of where lines dictating state and federal political boundaries will be redrawn is quickly approaching answers now that pandemic-delayed U.S. Census Bureau data is out.

For the first time on record, rain — not snow — fell at the summit of Greenland’s massive ice sheet, marking what scientists dubbed the latest example of how climate change is impacting the earth.

A California judge said the November ballot measure that allowed Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft and DoorDash to continue treating their drivers as independent contractors is unenforceable and unconstitutional.

Following a much ballyhooed negotiation process described as “heated” at times, MSNBC has struck a deal with its top-watched host, Rachel Maddow.

The TV personality’s deal reportedly spans “several years,” though specifics were not given. 

Despite her last place finish in her return to the track following her suspension, Sha’Charri Richardson is telling the critics that she’s “not done.”

RIP Stanley Aronowitz, a blue-collar organizer, university professor and prolific author who argued that electoral politics had failed American labor and that unions needed to adopt militant strategies to pursue a broad social agenda, who died at the age of 88.