Good morning, it’s Monday, and the final days of August are upon us.
This past weekend, you could really smell fall in the air, and the heat finally broke, which I guess was nice, but it was replaced by some rather gloomy periods of cloudiness that really bummed me out.
I’m not ready for fall. And it’s my favorite season, honestly, but the change of seasons always makes me melancholy for some reason – like, you can really feel the passage of time as the leaves turn and the air gets cooler and all things pumpkin spice and apple return to stores.
But we have a few more precious days of summer to really wring every moment out of, and so it’s fitting to note that today is National Beach Day. (Whoever decided that it should land on a Monday really needs to reconsider their priorities…)
Anyway, this day dates back to 1929, when the Knights of Columbus out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin launched it as part of the annual convention plans.
But it never really took off until 1994 when a “pet and family lifestyle expert” (which is a thing?!) named Colleen Paige picked up the umbrella, if you will, and ran with it in order to raise awareness about the many challenges facing our beloved eroding, garbage-laden, polluted and overused beaches across the country.
Apparently, Ms. Paige has a knack for creating national days, as she’s also the purported mastermind behind those honoring dogs, cats, puppies and more. (Hey, don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just regurgitating interwebs knowledge here).
Personally, I am not a beach girl. I do not love sitting on overheated sand, which has a nasty habit of getting into every orifice and being very uncomfortable, with crowds of other people and baking myself like a lobster. I’ll take lake life any day, because I am a true upstater, or, better yet, mountain life.
If you do happen to be getting your beach on today, you might want to keep one wary eye on the skies overhead, because while it’s going to be in the low 80s – perfect beaching weather – there are also thunderstorms in the forecast with the threat of high gusty winds. Later in the week, we might be seeing some of the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which is pummeling the South.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden met in solemn privacy with the families of the 13 U.S. troops killed in the suicide attack near the Kabul airport and became the fourth commander in chief to bear witness as the remains of the fallen returned to U.S. soil from Afghanistan.
The mother of a U.S. Marine killed in the terror bombing outside Kabul’s airport claimed that Americans who voted for Biden “just killed my son.”
The U.S. has the capacity to evacuate the approximately 300 citizens remaining in Afghanistan who want to leave before tomorrow’s deadline, senior Biden administration officials said.
This came as another U.S. drone strike against suspected Islamic State militants highlighted the grave threat in the war’s final days.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it has been directed by Biden to take the lead in resettling refugees who have been evacuated out of Afghanistan to escape the Taliban.
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said that the current situation in Afghanistan is the direct result of decisions made by both the Trump and Biden administrations.
A top Iranian security official accused Biden of illegally threatening Iran after he said he may consider other options if nuclear diplomacy with Tehran fails.
Hundreds of students, their relatives and staff of American University of Afghanistan gathered at a safe house and boarded buses in what was supposed to be a final attempt at evacuation on U.S. military flights, the students said, but it failed.
As both sides hoped, the relationship between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett got off to a good start despite their policy differences when the two sat down at the White House last Friday.
Hurricane Ida left all of New Orleans without power last night due to what the electric company called a “catastrophic transmission damage.”
The first death resulting from Hurricane Ida has been reported in Louisiana.
Hurricane Ida, which struck the Louisiana coast on with winds of 150 miles an hour, gained power faster more than most storms. Because of climate change, such rapid strengthening is happening more often.
Covid-19 hospitalizations nationwide crossed above 100,000 last week for the second time in the pandemic, overwhelming caregiver capacity in several states.
The European Union is set to advise member states that they should reintroduce travel restrictions for visitors from the United States, three E.U. officials said, as coronavirus infections and hospitalizations have surged in the U.S. in recent weeks.
Parts of the South are running out of oxygen supply as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue soaring, primarily driven by the swaths of people who remain unvaccinated and a dangerous coronavirus variant that has been infecting millions of Americans.
A new study found that child obesity significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says he thinks it’s a good idea amid the surge in coronavirus cases, due to the highly contagious delta variant, to mandate COVID vaccinations for students to attend schools.
Fauci said the U.S. is still planning to administer booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine eight months after the last dose, but the timing is very flexible at this moment.
Fueled by intense demand, and paid for in part with federal emergency funding to hospitals, travel-nurse pay has skyrocketed.
A new coronavirus variant, C.1.2, has been detected in South Africa and a number of other countries, with concerns that it could be more infectious and evade vaccines, according to a new preprint study.
Two people have died in Japan days after receiving doses from a batch of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines whose use was suspended Thursday following concerns over a contamination risk, the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said.
New Zealand reported its first recorded death linked to U.S. drugmaker Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the health ministry said after a woman suffered a rare side effect leading to inflammation of her heart muscle.
Israel extended its booster shot campaign to all citizens aged 12 and above amid a surge of Delta variant infections that has made the number of new daily cases among the highest in the world.
We are entering a pandemic phase where nearly all activities will have some level of risk. People need to decide for themselves what risk they are comfortable with by considering their household’s medical circumstances and the value of the activity to them.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said that people in the state were “less scared” of COVID-19 because they believe in “eternal life,” as new infections reach record levels and hospitalizations spike.
The current coronavirus spike has hit the South hard, but a combination of poverty and politics made Mississippi uniquely unprepared to handle what is now the worst coronavirus outbreak in the nation.
Caleb Wallace, who was a leader in protesting mask requirements and other COVID-19-related restrictions in central Texas, died after a monthlong battle with the coronavirus, his wife said.
A conservative radio host from Florida who criticized coronavirus vaccination efforts – and called himself “Mr Anti-Vax” – before contracting Covid-19 himself has died, his station said.
The death of Marc Bernier, 65, who was a mainstay on talk radio in Daytona, marked the third radio personality to die from coronavirus who publicly rejected vaccines.
An unvaccinated primary-school teacher in Marin County, California, spread COVID-19 to 26 other people, including 50% of their classroom, after spending two days sick with the coronavirus at school while not always masking, according to a CDC report.
Catching and beating COVID-19 during one of the initial waves of the global health pandemic appears to provide more protection against the highly-contagious delta variant than both doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
New York’s COVID-19 positivity rate continues to tick up, but remains below 3 percent in the Big Apple, new data shows.
Jews will cautiously come together to celebrate Rosh Hashana next month with mask mandates, coronavirus testing and vaccination requirements in place.
Young people are flocking to the Big Apple after many fled during the pandemic to return to childhood homes or live elsewhere.
You’re not imagining it, New York really has become more expensive to live in America, a new study has found.
Millions of renters are at risk of being evicted and the states and cities charged with providing emergency rental aid are unlikely to reach many in time, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a national ban on most evictions last Thursday night.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement that she plans to hold a special session, effectively pulling the Legislature out of recess, to address evictions. The state’s own moratorium expires tomorrow.
“We need a little more time,” she said, to make sure all renters who are eligible can apply for more than $1 billion in rental relief money in New York state.
Hochul made a sharp break with her incoming lieutenant governor, State Sen. Brian Benjamin, rejecting the “defund the police” movement he has embraced.
As she introduced her pick for lieutenant governor, Hochul wore a nameplate necklace with a single word: “Vaxed.”
Hochul went to the New York State Fair this past weekend – her first trip to Syracuse since she became governor. She also made stops in Albany.
Her visit kicked off with a ceremony unveiling a memorial for highway workers who have lost their lives fixing roads across New York.
The state has ordered all students, staff and visitors inside school buildings to wear masks, a mandate that will not just apply to public school districts but also to private, charter, and religious schools throughout New York.
State Sen. Liz Krueger, who heads the powerful budget-writing committee, is demanding that disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo close his campaign account and return $18 million in donations by contributors to his aborted re-election bid.
Krueger said in a statement that the use of the fund to fuel any “desire for revenge” by Cuomo is not a permitted campaign expenditure.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is not running for governor of New York in 2022.
Eric Adams, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, is rushing to raise $5 million for the general election in November.
While many Republicans breathed a sigh of relief after moderate Adams’ triumph in the Democratic mayoral primary, some insiders are starting to fret their voters won’t be sufficiently energized to come out for down ballot GOP candidates in November.
Transit agencies in the New York City region are having to reinvent their railroads to adapt to the shift away from going to the office every day.
A wave of panic washed over Times Square yesterday, with dozens of people fleeing what they thought was a gunshot. A man hurt his leg in the chaos, but after an investigation police determined no shots were fired.
A power surge caused subway problems across the city last night, with transit officials limiting service along several lines.
Mount Sinai Hospital has pulled out of a “9/11 health fair” after a personal-injury law firm began using the event to gain potential clients for lucrative Victim Compensation Fund claims.
Five men are expected to survive wounds they suffered in a hail of gunfire late Saturday night near the intersection of Henry Johnson Boulevard and Sherman Street, Albany Police said.
The rapidly growing, highly volatile and poorly misunderstood industry of cryptocurrency – which has made some people very rich – is drawing more scrutiny from environmentalists who worry about the enormous amounts of electricity the mining rigs consume.
A former head of the Department of Environmental Conservation is appealing a state Supreme Court decision dismissing his lawsuit against a marina project on Lower Saranac Lake.
The proposed retrofitting of a 20,000-square foot building as the site of a Bargain Grocery in Troy would create a foothold in the region for the Utica-based grocery store that serves low-income areas.
Saratoga Springs businesses are reaping the benefits of a booming track season, but it’s so good some of them are looking forward to the slow season.
Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality won the $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Saturday, holding off Midnight Bourbon in a stirring stretch duel at Saratoga Race Course for his eighth victory in nine career starts.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has lost his first attempt at getting his name on the ballot in November under a newly created “Buffalo Party.” Brown’s campaign is expected to appeal.
A Genesee County man faces up to a year in jail, accused of sending a threatening Facebook message to Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
ESPN is seeking to license its brand to major sports-betting companies for at least $3 billion over several years, according to people familiar with the matter, aiming to capitalize on the fast-growing online gambling industry.
Ed Asner, a self-described Hollywood lefty whose Lou Grant character gave every American worker hope that the boss really does have a heart, died yesterday, surrounded by loved ones. He was 91.
