Good Tuesday morning.
Warning: Public service announcement ahead. If you are not into soapbox speeches about the need to bolster small-d democracy,, this might be a good time for you to do something else…drink another cup of coffee, or skip right to the headlines.
You’ve been warned.
Today is National Voter Registration Day – a nonpartisan civic holiday celebrating U.S. democracy. The day was first observed in 2012 and has gained momentum ever since. Nearly 4.5 million voters have registered to vote on this “holiday” to date – including 1.5 million in 2020 alone.
That is a very big number. But we can do better.
So, don’t be surprised if, when you’re out an about, you run into someone with a clipboard – or maybe an iPad or some other such electronic device – who nicely asks you if you’re registered and if not, would you like to be? Say yes. What have you got to lose?
It’s a nationwide day of action that is designed to bolster the very foundation of what makes this country great. (IMHO).
According to 2020 U.S. Census data, as many as 1 in 4 Americans who are eligible to be registered to vote are not. Millions of folks find themselves unable to vote annually because they miss a registration deadline, fail to update their registration, or maybe don’t quite know how to register in the first place.
This is a tragedy.
Don’t make any mistake about it – your vote counts. Your vote matters. IT DOES – especially in low turnout elections, and most local races meet that definition. Local politics is where the rubber really hits the road in terms of how government impacts you.
More people should pay attention to school board, and library board, and town board and city council, supervisor and mayoral races. These people set your local tax rates, make decisions about planning and zoning, decide where parks are going to be located, determine garbage pickup schedules and more.
Not sexy like immigration policy or infrastructure spending or Medicaid reform. But really, it’s not just all about the national stuff, folks. Not by a long shot.
Now, getting registered is just half the battle. You actually have to show up on election day and cast a ballot. And in the Covid era, I get that this can be a scary thing. We can only hope that elected officials continue to make it EASIER for folks to exercise this most basic of civic duties, and not HARDER, as many states are actively seeking to do at the moment.
Yeah, Texas, I’m looking at you, and so is the Brennan Center for Justice, thankfully.
Here in New York, if you want to be eligible to vote in the November general election, your registration must be postmarked no later than Oct. 8 and received by a Board of Elections no later than Oct. 13, though if you’ve been honorably discharged from the U.S. military OR become a naturalized U.S. citizen after Oct. 8, you have until Oct. 23 to register in person at a BofE.
Get out there and sign up, people. It’s the least we can do to safeguard democracy.
OK. I’m stepping off the soapbox now. You can get back in the water. All clear.
We’ll have rain showers early with overcast skies for the remainder of the day. Temperatures will be in the low 60s. Kinda chilly. Flannel and sweater and hot cider weather. Bring. It. On.
In the headlines…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats that passage of the $550 billion infrastructure bill must not wait for President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar safety net bill, saying the larger package is not yet ready for a vote.
Pelosi’s announcement potentially clears the way for the much larger reconciliation bill containing progressive priorities.
With Republicans unanimously opposed to the bill, Democrats can only afford three defections, and some moderates voted against parts of the massive legislation as it was considered by various committees.
With a Thursday deadline looming to fund the government — and the country moving closer to a catastrophic debt-limit breach — the stalemate in the Senate reflected a bid by Republicans to undercut Biden and top Democrats at a critical moment.
Republican senators blocked a bill last night to keep the government operating and allow federal borrowing, but Democrats aiming to avert a shutdown pledged to try again — at the same time pressing ahead on Biden’s big plans to reshape government.
While lawmakers negotiated short-term government funding, Republicans nixed a procedural motion in a bid to force Democrats to address the debt limit alone. With 48 in favor and 50 opposed, the legislation fell short of the 60 votes required to advance.
Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the inscrutable Democrat who may hold the key to passing her party’s ambitious social policy and climate bill, is scheduled to have a fund-raiser today with five business lobbying groups, many of which fiercely oppose the bill.
The Biden administration renewed efforts to shield hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States as young children from deportation, the latest maneuver in a long-running drama over the policy’s legality.
The administration plans to publish a proposed rule in hopes of preserving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which protected hundreds of thousands of undocumented young adults from deportation and allowed them to legally work in the U.S.
The proposal is especially important given a recent decision by the Senate parliamentarian to not allow immigration provisions to be included in a sprawling budget bill, which Democrats had hoped would put DACA recipients on a path to citizenship.
Biden has been annoyed with the American press asking questions that are not “on point” during recent setups with foreign leaders in the White House, press secretary Jen Psaki admitted.
Biden received his COVID-19 vaccine booster shot on live TV, days after the CDC and Prevention endorsed booster shots for millions of Americans who received their second shot of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago.
At 78 years old, Biden qualified for the additional shot under new guidance issued late last week. Biden received his first Pfizer vaccine shot late last year, and his second shot in January.
“We know that to beat this pandemic and to save lives … we need to get folks vaccinated,” Biden said ahead of his shot. “So, please, please do the right thing. Please get these shots. It can save your life and it can save the lives of those around you.”
Biden told the press that his wife, Jill, will also receive her booster shot. Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as her husband, Doug Emhoff, received the Moderna vaccine and are not yet eligible for a booster.
Emerging evidence suggests that people on #TeamModerna may not need a booster as much as others.
The Washington Wizards will begin their second full NBA season played during the coronavirus pandemic with a franchise cornerstone – Bradley Beal – who is unvaccinated.
Though roughly 90% of NBA players are vaccinated as training camp approaches today, tension exists between those around the league mandated to be vaccinated and the nearly 40 unvaccinated players.
San Francisco’s vaccine mandate for large indoor events — which will force Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins to miss home games at Chase Center unless he gets vaccinated — does not apply to unvaccinated players on visiting teams.
Like many other big cities, Washington, D.C. is grappling with how to stem the outflow of Americans seeking easier and more affordable lives. Unlike many big cities, it has a particular challenge that could spell trouble for the long term.
Peter Marks, a high-ranking official at the Food and Drug Administration, took on responsibilities to lead the agency’s vaccine office as it prepares for the retirement of two others who had publicly cast doubt on the need for COVID-19 boosters.
Researchers are developing what could be the world’s next chance to thwart covid: a short-term regimen of daily pills that can fight the virus early after diagnosis and conceivably prevent symptoms from developing after exposure.
As weather grows colder and children spend more time in school, a surge of Covid-19 cases like the one in the South could be in store for the Northeast – but it is not too late to get ahead of it, Dr. Anthony Fauci said, by wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
The U.S.’s new rules for foreign travelers set to take effect in November, appear to shut out many people who consider themselves to be fully immunized — including millions who have received two doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
As employers make vaccine rules for workers and some limit hiring to the vaccinated, people are starting to volunteer their vaccination status on job applications, in résumés and on their LinkedIn profiles.
A Wisconsin teen who sued a sheriff for making her take down an Instagram post claiming she had COVID last year has won her free-speech case.
Schools across the country are facing shortages of cafeteria staples like chicken, bread, apple juice and even plastic cutlery, as supply chain woes and a lack of truck drivers complicate the most basic task of feeding students.
With vaccine ultimatums taking effect this week in states like New York, California, Rhode Island and Connecticut, the fear is that some hospital and nursing home employees will quit or let themselves be fired or suspended rather than get the vaccine.
The State Police Association of Massachusetts (SPAM) said dozens of troopers have submitted their resignation papers as a result of the state’s COVID vaccine mandate.
A three-judge federal appeals court panel gave the green light to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for NYC Department of Education staff.
The ruling — issued in a terse, three-sentence decision yesterday evening — reversed a temporary injunction placed by 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals judge Joseph Bianco on Friday that blocked the Education Department from enforcing the mandate.
The city has set a new Friday deadline for unvaccinated school workers to get their first dose after a federal appeals court lifted an injunction that temporarily blocked the mandate.
The city’s largest charter school network – Success Academy – is mandating vaccines or weekly COVID-19 tests for all of its high school students, officials said.
New York hospitals began firing or suspending healthcare workers for defying a state order to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and resulting staff shortages prompted some hospitals to postpone elective surgeries or curtail services.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to sign an executive order to give herself the power to address any health care worker shortages.
Hochul told Christian parishioners on Sunday that God wants them to be vaccinated.
While speaking from the pulpit of a Brooklyn church, Hochul also urged her listeners to be her “apostles” by convincing their friends to get vaccinated, an act she said demonstrates the love Jesus commanded his followers to exhibit.
Republican candidates for governor in New York would handle the COVID-19 pandemic differently if given the chance to oversee the response to the ongoing public health crisis.
Hochul and Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin will make a headlining appearance at a fundraiser for New York City Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney next month, according to an invitation for the Oct. 18 event. Tickets for the fundraiser range from $25 to $500.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is forming an exploratory committee to mount a Democratic primary challenge to Hochul near year– and could publicly announce the move as soon as next week.
“If you’re going to renew and recover, you should remove that infrastructure that enabled someone like (Gov. Andrew) Cuomo to be around for so long, either by people explicitly supporting or enabling through silence,” Williams said.
In an attempt to identify the availability, reliability and cost of high-speed internet service across the state, Hochul announced the launch of a first-ever, in-depth statewide broadband mapping study.
To meet the challenge ensuring of equal access, the state PSC will identify areas at a census block level that are served by a single provider and assess if there any state regulatory or statutory barriers to delivering comprehensive access to high-speed internet.
Hochul said she plans to continue Cuomo’s economic development competitions — but she’s open to new suggestions, and is willing to hear what could be done differently.
Hochul announced that $27 million dollars in storm aid will be given to undocumented New York State residents impacted by the flooding caused by Hurricane Ida.
“We’re at war with Mother Nature,” Hochul said at the Queens Museum overlooking Flushing Meadows Corona Park. “It’s a smallest token of what we can offer, but knowing that we had a responsibility to these people, we could not walk away.”
Upstate minimum wage workers will see an income boost starting Jan. 1.
The state Department of Labor announced that the minimum wage north of Westchester will rise to $13.20 an hour, up 70 cents from $12.50 an hour.
The female producer of Chris Cuomo’s show “Cuomo Prime Time” reportedly begged to leave his show after the pair clashed over “significant differences” — with multiple TV sources saying she found the hot-headed host’s behavior threatening.
The burgeoning relationship between Eric Adams, the Democratic mayoral nominee in New York City, and former Mayor Mike Bloomberg has benefits for both men.
A judge ordered the NYPD to stop accessing sealed arrest records for 3.5 million New Yorkers without a court order, writing that too many cops can view the info that should be under wraps.
Hundreds rallied outside New York City courthouses to urge that district attorneys and judges stop sending people awaiting trial to Rikers Island, where 12 men in custody have died this year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio begrudgingly toured Rikers Island following immense pressure from other elected officials, but didn’t speak to a single inmate, a rank-and-file correction officer or even glimpse a cell that houses a prisoner.
A group of nearly 4,000 former public servants, including firefighters, police officers, teachers, and EMTs, say the city is stiffing them on their health insurance — by forcing them onto a new plan that costs more for fewer benefits, new court papers allege.
R Kelly, the multiplatinum R&B artist whose musical legacy became intertwined with dozens of accusations of sexual abuse, was found guilty of serving as the ringleader of a decades-long scheme to recruit women and underage girls for sex.
Jurors found the singer guilty of racketeering, including acts of bribery and sexual exploitation of a child, along with separate charges of sex trafficking.
Jurors deliberated for just nine hours to reach their verdict, finding Kelly guilty on all counts. He now faces decades in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced May 4, 2022.
Shortly after Kelly was found guilty, Gloria Allred, a women’s rights attorney who represented several of the singer’s accusers, stood outside the federal courthouse in Brooklyn and declared “justice has been done.”
The unexpected battle for Buffalo reflects the tension within the national Democratic Party, pitting its new generation of left-wing politicians, led by India Walton, against its more moderate establishment, as represented by incumbent Mayor Byron Brown.
National Grid’s natural gas and electric customers will see their rates rise once again if state regulators approve a plan announced by the utility, which serves most of the Capital Region.
Racial and social justice activists who say police are using heavy-handed tactics to intimidate and silence them were pleased to hear that the state AG’s Civil Rights Bureau is scrutinizing upstate cities where Black Lives Matter protesters have been arrested.
The Albany Patroons plan on returning next season with an ownership change, but they’ll play without head coach Derrick Rowland, known as “Mr. Patroon.”
The insurance company for the driver of the limousine that crashed in Schoharie, killing 20, sent a $100,000 insurance payment for the victims to the Albany court that is overseeing the civil litigation in the matter.
The United States experienced its biggest one-year increase on record in homicides in 2020, according to new figures released by the F.B.I., with some cities hitting record highs.
The rate of 6.5 homicides per 100,000 residents is the highest since 1997 but still below historic highs of the early 1990s. The violent crime rate rose 5.2% last year compared with the previous year while the property crime rate dipped 8.1%.
A federal judge has said John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, can be released from court-appointed restrictions next year.
Ford Motor significantly increased its commitment to electric cars and trucks by announcing that it would spend billions of dollars to build three battery factories and an electric truck plant in the United States, creating 11,000 jobs over the next four years.
The Dearborn, Mich., auto maker said that it would build two battery factories in Kentucky and a third in western Tennessee alongside a new truck factory set to begin producing electric F-series pickups by 2025.
Moab City Police Department Chief Bret Edge has taken a leave of absence amid an investigation into the department’s handling of a “domestic dispute” between Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie.
More than 1 billion people use TikTok every month, according to a statement posted on the video-sharing app’s website.
