Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and it is not raining. In fact, we might actually get into the 70s today, in terms of temperature, which sounds glorious after all the gray gloom we’ve seen of late.
Today is also National Noodle Day, which is not to be confused with National Pasta Day. That occurs on Oct. 17.
Why we need two completely separate days for something that is essentially the same thing…OR ARE THEY?
The answer, my friends, is no, they are not.
Pasta is made from durum semolina, which is a lot coarser than typical flour. Noodles, by contrast, are made with flour milled from common wheat.
Unless, of course, they’re rice noodles. OR, if we’re talking about pasta made from chickpeas, or black beans, or kelp, or lentils, or hearts of palm, or spiralized zucchini, or whatever odd alternative concoction the food world has dreamed up lately.
Noodles typically undergo a “sheeting” process where dough is rolled out into a flat sheet and sent through a cutter that slices the dough into the individual noodle strands.
Pasta is processed through extrusion. Durum semolina is mixed with with water and then pushed through a mould or dye, much like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. You can create all kinds of pasta shapes – spaghetti, lasagna, macaroni, etc.
Pasta is often sold dry and is usually eaten warm after it has been boiled or baked. Noodles can be fresh, dried, parboiled, steamed, or deep-fried.
Noodles also usually contain salt to help develop the protein in and soften the dough, whereas pasta is (usually) salt-free.
I’m sure someone out there is going to take issue with this and send me a screed about noodles and pasta and how I’ve gotten it all wrong. That’s fine. I could use some new reading material. Also, the irony is: I don’t like either. Nope. I don’t eat pasta OR noodles, as a rule. Bagels and croissants and muffins and all forms of bread-like substances, yes. Noodles and pasta and rice? No.
Also, I don’t love french fries, BUT, before you call me anti-American, know that I am a BIG fan of apple pie.
And now, the headlines…(because we already dealt with the weather up top)…
Top Senate Democrats and Republicans blamed each other for the failure of Congress to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, with some Democrats floating filibuster rule changes to resolve the impasse, ahead of a possible default in as little as two weeks.
President Joe Biden indicated he was warming to a Democratic proposal to blow up the rules of the Senate to raise or suspend the debt ceiling, amid fears that a breach would send the U.S. government into default and the whole economy into a tailspin.
Biden and congressional Democrats edged closer to agreement on how sharply to cut back his ambitious social spending plan, even as he made a public case that the package will help keep the nation from losing its “edge” in global competitiveness.
Biden went to Michigan to promote the proposal for expanded safety net, health and environmental programs, but after his speech he acknowledged the inevitable as Democrats focus on a now-$2 trillion top-line for the package to win support.
In virtual meetings Monday and yesterday with small groups of House Democrats, Biden said he reluctantly expected the legislation’s final version to weigh in between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, a Democrat familiar with the sessions said.
Democrats are now grappling with the tougher next step: deciding exactly how much narrower – and which of – their proposed child care, education or health programs would have to get trimmed or culled.
Biden said that he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan after Beijing sent a record number of military aircraft into the self-ruled island’s air defense zone (ADIZ) and officials in Taiwan said ties were at their worst in 40 years.
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry claimed Biden had no idea the US-UK-Australia submarine deal would upset the French and “had not been aware of what had transpired”, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Paris in an effort to ease the diplomatic tensions.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is defending a proposal that would require banks to report data to the IRS on transactions over $600, calling that “routine,” after taking heat for the idea widely seen as an unprecedented invasion of privacy.
Top health officials knew of complaints about a pedophile doctor abusing Native American boys at U.S. Indian Health Service hospitals years earlier than the agency has previously acknowledged, according to an internal investigation the agency released.
The Justice Department plans to announce in the upcoming days several measures to address a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against” school personnel, Attorney General Merrick Garland said this week.
The U.S.’s world-leading total of coronavirus deaths went over the 704,000 mark. The 2020 tally was 352,000, or half that number.
New COVID-19 cases are now falling across most of the country, and experts predict that the U.S. pandemic may finally be starting to peter out.
The CDC says unvaccinated Americans should delay planned trips within the country until they’ve had their COVID-19 shots.
Also, the CDC’s list of countries where Americans should avoid travel because of “very high” COVID-19 cases grew again, with Barbados and Croatia the most notable additions.
Johnson & Johnson said that it submitted data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showing a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and significantly increases protection against disease.
The FDA could decide on J&J’s request within weeks. The agency has scheduled an Oct. 15 meeting of an advisory panel to review the evidence of the need for a booster, and to recommend whether the agency should authorize one.
A woman in Washington state has died from a rare complication linked to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID vaccine, according to health authorities.
AstraZeneca has asked U.S. regulators for emergency-use authorization for an antibody drug that earlier this year showed strong efficacy in preventing symptomatic Covid-19, offering a potential alternative in evading the disease.
The FDA authorized an at-home, rapid Covid-19 test from ACON Laboratories Inc., a move that could potentially double the nation’s at-home testing capacity in the next several weeks, the agency said.
A top FDA official said that updated data might make a strong case in support of everyone 18 and older being eligible for coronavirus vaccine boosters, but the agency will have to see whether its outside advisers agree.
Francis S. Collins, 71, the longtime director of the National Institutes of Health who has been a leading voice in the White House battle against Covid-19, announced that he will step down at the end of the year.
The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on minority communities has been further confirmed by a new study that shined a light on inequalities in health care faced by Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans in comparison to their white counterparts.
A Virginia 10-year-old died of Covid-19 complications just five days after she started showing symptoms, according to her parents, who said the girl may have been exposed to the virus as a result of being classroom “nurse.”
Award-winning hair and makeup designer Marc Pilcher, who according to his agency was fully vaccinated and had no underlying health conditions, has died of COVID-19 at 53.
A New York man was arrested after his employer reported that he had provided a plagiarized COVID-19 vaccine card, according to the New York State Police.
More vaccine mandates could be in the cards as the Empire State seeks to boost immunizations against COVID, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Hochul has said before she wants to let local governments take the lead on fighting regional surges in Covid-19 cases, but she made clear her patience isn’t infinite and “more drastic measures” could be taken in areas with high infection rates.
Hochul announced a plan to expand the healthcare worker vaccine mandate to include employees who work in certain facilities offering health care to individuals served by the Office of Mental Health and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
Those employees will have to have their first dose of the vaccine by Nov. 1, Hochul said.
Group home employees remain outside the state’s vaccine mandate for health care workers – for now.
Nearly 85 percent of adult New Yorkers have had at least one COVID-19 shot.
Hochul defended her controversial speech at a Brooklyn mega-church last month where she urged worshippers to act as “my apostles” and proselytize on behalf of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Hochul signed legislation that aims to allow homeless, disabled and elderly people who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to use those benefits to buy meals from restaurants.
A top union official representing 32,000 local home health care workers was still fighting yesterday for the state to extend its fast-approaching deadline for his members to get their first COVID-19 vaccines.
New Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations have started to decline in New York, according to the latest state data.
A rogue call center worker turned NYC-funded hotel rooms for people exposed to COVID-19 into her own off-the-books lodging service, pocketing money from illegal guests who threw raucous parties, prosecutors said.
Three Texas tourists face up to a year behind bars for beating an Upper West Side restaurant hostess who asked to see their proof of vaccination, Manhattan prosecutors said.
Elected officials and public health experts are urging NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to expand vaccine mandates to cover cops, firefighters, correction officers and independent childcare workers, among others.
De Blasio held a rare in-person rally at City Hall with dozens of members of an influential hotel union whose endorsement would be critical if he decides to run for governor next year.
A run for higher office by New York City’s mayor might be viewed skeptically across the state, but he says he wants to remain in public life.
Attorney General Letitia James skirted questions about a potential run for governor when she appeared in Albany to announce up to $32 million in opioid settlement funds for the Capital Region.
Larry Sharpe is once again considering a run for New York governor. The Libertarian candidate announced that he has formed an exploratory committee for governor in 2022 and will make a decision soon on another run.
Cuomo’s sexual harassment accusers ripped the head of the state Democratic Party, Jay Jacobs, for his “gross” decision to call the disgraced ex-governor before endorsing his successor — with one of the women demanding Hochul boot him from his post.
Former Democratic presidential candidate and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang is no longer a registered Democrat, and has switched his enrollment to independent.
A pair of bills set to be introduced to the NYC Council this week would require the Education Department to report school attendance in raw numbers rather than percentages, as questions swirl over enrollment in the nation’s largest school system.
Democratic mayoral hopeful Eric Adams scolded his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa as a “racist” who shouldn’t be “taken seriously on anything,” kicking the all-but-predetermined race into high gear as Election Day looms less than a month away.
“I dedicated my life as a police officer for 22 years [to] fighting against the systemic racism that exists, and just really how we perceive everyday New Yorkers,” Adams said. “…it’s difficult for Curtis to talk about systemic racism, because he has been a leading voice of being a racist.”
With a month left until Election Day, Adams is finally starting to use some of his sizable campaign war chest, releasing his first post-primary television ad in the general election for mayor of New York City.
In the ad, Adams touts his working-class upbringing by a mother who worked three jobs, vowing to fund education for young children and affordable housing if elected to lead City Hall.
Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins resigned after federal investigators searched the union’s headquarters and his home.
In a statement late yesterday, the union acknowledged the search and said that Mullins was “apparently the target of the federal investigation.”
Mullins got some fiery goodbyes after his scorched-earth attacks on public officials like de Blasio.
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority cops last week impounded the car of a toll scofflaw who owed the agency $58,000 in unpaid tolls and fines, transit officials announced.
Top aides to disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo told then-LG Hochul in a phone call that she would be off the ticket come 2022 as Cuomo made plans to vie for a fourth term — before his political career was undone by an epic sex harassment scandal.
The state’s embattled ethics panel, JCOPE, approved an internal probe into its own approval of Cuomo’s $5.1 million book deal.
The new chairman of JCOPE, Jose Nieves, announced after a closed-door session that outside counsel would be retained to examine “the legal and procedural operations of the commission.”
The vote marks the second time in a month that the board has voted to investigate itself; the first came when it asked the state attorney general’s office to look into the circumstances surrounding the leak of confidential deliberations to Cuomo in 2019.
A federal appeals court unanimously rejected a suit filed by Cuomo to overturn a tax overhaul law approved by former President Donald Trump in 2017 that limited federal deductions on state and local taxes.
In their first meeting, the five members of New York’s new Cannabis Control Board tried to make up for lost time, appointing staff and approving immediate changes to the existing medical cannabis program.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Damian Williams as the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, making him the first African American to lead one of the nation’s most powerful federal prosecutor’s offices.
Rensselear County has turned to Dutchess County to provide medical examiner services to conduct autopsies and lab tests under a new agreement reached after Rensselaer’s medical examiner was shut out of Capital Region hospitals because he is not vaccinated.
Longtime NXIVM bookkeeper Kathy Russell abandoned her young son in Alaska to be an “indentured servant” in the Capital Region, and was then subjected to Keith Raniere’s cruel demands on her weight, love life and whether she could own a cat, her lawyer said.
An all-electric fleet in less than nine years? That’s the aim under a three-way agreement announced by Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
A Schenectady councilwoman wants to silence the city’s constant cacophony with a designated position on the city police force who will take a “zero tolerance” approach to noise pollution.
YouTube removed two official R. Kelly channels from its platform, one week after the R&B superstar was convicted of nine counts of sex trafficking.
Donald Trump is no longer on Forbes’ list of richest Americans. This marks the first time in 25 years the former president didn’t make the cut.
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to Congress on internal documents showing harms from the company’s products – from teenagers’ mental-health problems to poisoned political debate – adding fuel to efforts to pass tougher Big Tech regulations.
In more than three hours of testimony, Haugen, who worked on Facebook’s civic misinformation team for nearly two years until May, spoke candidly and with a level of insight that the company’s executives have rarely provided.
Following a judge granting the pop icon’s request to have her father Jamie Spears removed as a conservator of her estate, Britney Spears has taken to social media to thank her activist fans for changing her life.
