TGIF. Good morning.
Not to start out on too somber a note, but today is Hiroshima Day – the 76th anniversary of the U.S. dropping of the the world’s first deployed atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, instantly killing over 80,000 people.
Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing over 40,000.
These bombings effectively ended WWII, and some would tell you that spared untold lives. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in an Aug. 15 radio address, citing the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.”
But the war’s end also came at a terrible price: Two cities were completely destroyed and over 200,000 lives were lost – most of them civilians. In addition, tens of thousands of people succumbed to radiation-related injuries and illness in the aftermath of these attacks.
This day serves as a reminder of the horrors of war, and a chance to reflect and remember. It is often the backdrop of anti-war and anti-nuclear weapon demonstrations.
If the thought of all this senseless loss of life and property, and the generational poisoning of people, animals and resources makes you feel like you perhaps need a libation of an alcoholic nature, well, you’re in luck, because today is also International Beer Day.
Apparently, this particular celebration has its origins in California, and it is marked annually on the first Friday in August.
It’s going to be a perfect day, weather-wise, to enjoy a frosty beverage. We’ll be seeing mostly sunny skies with just a few afternoon clouds and temperatures in the mid-80s.
In the headlines…
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been given until the end of next week to submit evidence in his defense for a wide-ranging State Assembly investigation that seems headed for a vote on the governor’s impeachment.
Cuomo’s late dad would be dismayed by the “devastating” sexual harassment allegations against his son, according to Stan Lundine, who served as lieutenant governor under then-Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Those who know Cuomo say it’s his pride in following in his father’s footsteps as governor and dedicating much of his life to public service that keeps him from resigning, despite the growing furor and urging of top Democrats in Washington and Albany.
SEIU/1199, the massive health care workers’ union that has been a major Cuomo campaign donor and potent force in New York politics, said it’s time for Cuomo to resign.
More than a half-dozen allies, advisers, and others close to Cuomo say that the governor is in no hurry to step aside, and is determined to tell his side of the story in the wake of the AG’s report.
Cuomo lounged poolside with his secretary at the Executive Mansion yesterday despite deafening calls for his resignation, almost-certain impending impeachment and multiple criminal investigations into his serial sex-harassment scandal.
Cuomo’s top aide Melissa DeRosa, who played a key role in trying to suppress his spiraling sexual harassment scandal, is a “ruthless, heartless, evil human being” who’s made even more enemies in Albany than her notoriously vindictive boss.
“Cuomo seeking a fourth term would be a great scenario for the Republican Party and its candidate,” said former Rep. Tom Reynolds. “The odds of him being there look bleaker as time goes on.”
NYC Mayor Bill Blasio stepped up his attacks against Cuomo, excoriating him as a Donald Trump-like “narcissist” who’s stifling New York’s pandemic recovery by staying in office.
Lawyers for Cuomo are pushing back on assertions that the governor and his top aides retaliated against former adviser Lindsey Boylan after she publicly accused him of sexual harassment.
Former President Donald Trump ripped into embattled Cuomo at a New York State Republican Party fundraiser last night — alluding to the governor facing impeachment and saying he’s got “real problems.”
Cuomo relied on a shrinking cadre of trusted advisers to guide strategy over sexual harassment allegations and to hit back at the women who accused him.
Alphonso David, the president of the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights advocacy organization, the Human Rights Campaign, is facing calls to resign over his past relationship with Cuomo.
Cuomo doesn’t just have his brother Chris at CNN, he also has ties to one of its top executives — sparking accusations that’s why the network has turned a blind eye to its star host’s involvement in his sibling’s sexual harassment scandal.
Alexis Grenell: “The devastating investigation into sexual harassment allegations against the governor confirms what many already knew: It’s time for him to go.”
The Albany County Legislature’s leadership is being questioned by some members for specifically not criticizing the governor or calling for his ouster.
In non-Cuomo news…
Republicans and Democrats rushed to line up a Senate vote to pass the infrastructure bill, working to clear away the final obstacles despite a finding by Congress’s official scorekeeper that it would add more than $250 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade.
President Biden made dual moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, imposing tougher fuel-efficiency standards on auto makers and challenging them to drastically ramp up sales of electric vehicles by 2030.
Biden announced two historic nominations for the federal bench, in his sixth round of names for federal judicial positions.
Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, died yesterday at the age of 72.
Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering a pledge to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would amount to a significant strategic shift by the oil company.
The White House hit back at Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis after he told Biden he will stand “in his way” while the country experiences an alarming surge of COVID-19 cases.
The latest measure on the agenda of the DeSantis administration is an effort to provide scholarships to parents who oppose face masks and have kids in districts that require them.
More Americans are being tested for Covid-19 – and waiting longer for results – as virus cases surge and places from offices to concert venues require people to show proof they aren’t infected.
Novavax announced that it will delay the submission of its Covid-19 vaccine to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization until its fourth quarter.
Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine booster appears to produce a “robust” antibody response against the fast-spreading delta variant, the company said as it warned that a third shot would “likely” be needed this fall.
The Food and Drug Administration expects to have a strategy on Covid-19 vaccine boosters by early September that would lay out when and which vaccinated individuals should get the follow-up shots.
The head of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, signaled that the powerful union is rethinking its opposition to Covid-19 vaccine mandates for educators.
CVS posted higher revenue in the latest quarter, helped by the nearly 17 million Covid-19 vaccines it administered between April and June, as it moved to raise its minimum wage for workers to $15 an hour starting next year.
Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey plans to announce today that public school students, from kindergartners to seniors in high school, will have to wear masks when school resumes, because of a recent surge of new cases of the coronavirus.
Rep. Ritchie Torres is embarking on a push to require that eligible Americans get immunized against COVID for domestic and international air travel, introducing a bill that make that law and penning a letter to the TSA pleading for such a policy.
A Texas Republican leader who was hospitalized with COVID-19 died Wednesday, just days after he shared a post on social media questioning the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine.
Gov. John Bel Edwards laid a foundation for mandatory COVID vaccines across large sections of Louisiana during a virtual town hall discussion. Louisiana has the highest coronavirus cases per capita of any state and experienced record hospitalizations this week.
CNN has fired a trio of employees for coming to work unvaccinated.
Catcher Gary Sanchez became the latest New York Yankees player to test positive for the coronavirus on Thursday after starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Gerrit Cole were sidelined by COVID-19 earlier in the week.
The number of nursing home patients and staff infected with Covid-19 rose sharply last week, according to federal data released yesterday, as the highly contagious delta variant menaces the country.
The acting mayor of Boston compared the idea of Covid-19 vaccination passports to slavery-era freedom papers and birtherism, and then walked those comments back.
Amazon said it would delay corporate employees’ return to offices until next year as conditions around the Covid-19 pandemic evolve.
Business review platform Yelp announced that it is adding COVID-19 guidelines to its business listings, allowing users to filter companies based on vaccination requirements.
Target will offer new perks to woo workers: a debt-free way to get a college degree and payments toward graduate programs.
New weekly jobless claims dipped last week to come in near consensus estimates, trending down but still coming in well above pre-pandemic levels as the labor market’s recovery trudges forward.
The decrease in filings reported by the Labor Department comes as the economic recovery faces risks from the Covid-19 surge driven by the Delta variant, supply-chain constraints and a shortage of available workers.
U.S. stock indexes rose after data showed fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, while a decline in shares of health insurer Cigna dragged healthcare stocks lower.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, will end on September 6, once again placing unemployment benefits out of reach for these workers.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said that the governor’s office and state Department of Health will not provide health guidance to school districts this fall.
The move marks a sudden turnaround from prior comments from the state DOH, which indicated state government would issue some form of universal guidance soon for keeping students and teachers safe amid the delta variant surge.
De Blasio’s vaccine push is getting a much-needed shot in the arm thanks in part to students and teachers who are getting inoculated ahead of next month’s full school opening.
New York tenants on the verge of eviction say the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program is failing them.
A quintet of prominent New York photographers charged in a federal lawsuit that the NYPD wrongly arrested or assaulted them as they worked the streets during last year’s citywide George Floyd protests.
New York City is struggling to move thousands of homeless people from hotels to shelters. Yesterday, it was ordered to stop the moves for the second time.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the city is re-instituting a mask order for all city employees and within all city buildings, effective immediately, a mandate prompted by growing volume of COVID cases in recent weeks.
Town leaders quizzed three finalists for police chief this week about issues including speeding motorists to their the racial audit Niskayuna paid to an outside firm over how they plan to work with a task force charged with implementing state-mandated reforms.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed in Essex County by a former state Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner against his former agency and the Adirondack Park Agency concerning a marina project on Lower Saranac Lake.
Appellate justices in Albany reversed a man’s conviction for possessing “skimming” devices, which are used to steal credit card information, ruling that State Police improperly seized the evidence without a warrant.
The U.S. women’s basketball juggernaut rolled over Serbia, 79-59, and will make their 11th appearance in an Olympic final against either France or Japan on Sunday.
U.S. women’s beach volleyball pair Alix Klineman and April Ross have taken gold at the Tokyo Olympics, handily defeating Australia in the final match.
The U.S. women’s soccer team won the bronze medal, holding off Australia 4-3.
The International Olympic Committee has revoked the accreditation of two Belarusian coaches allegedly involved in trying to force sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya to return home against her will.
The pandemic has dimmed what is typically a festive television event, contributing to low ratings and complaints from advertisers.
An ongoing investigation into Hillsong Church founder pastor Brian Houston has resulted in him being charged with concealing child sex offenses committed by his late father Frank Houston.
Britney Spears’ lawyer filed new paperwork asking the court to expedite by more than a month the Sept. 29 hearing on her petition to remove dad Jamie Spears as conservator of her estate.
