Good Wednesday morning.
Since we live in the Northeast, we are deprived of certain things – sun and warmth from December to April (at least) is a big one, along with all the flora and fauna that is native to less frigid climes.
That includes manatees, also sometimes referred to as sea cows, which are actually, as it turns out, more closely related to elephants than cows, though they are believed to have evolved from small, rodent-like land mammals known as Tethytheria.
Manatees are actually part of a larger group of sea cows in an order called Sirenia.
An order, for those who do not recall their basic biology, is made up of animals that have more alike than those in a class. For example, the class of Mammalia all produce milk for their young, but the order of Carnivora drills down further by grouping together those animals who eat, well, other animals.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, manatees.
The manatee accounts for three species of sea cow – the Amazonian manatee, West Indian manatee, and West African manatee. The fourth Sirenian is called a Dugong, most of which live in Australia. A fifth, Stellar’s sea cow, went extinct about 250 years ago.
Manatees are generally placid, slow-moving creatures that poke along in slow-moving, warm waters grazing on vegetation. Other than the fact that they are really very cute, why am I going through all this? You’ve probably guessed it already, right?
It’s Manatee Awareness Month!
Manatees are migratory and, like snow bird New Yorkers, congregate mostly in Florida during the winter. In summer, they can be found as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts, but sightings in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina are more common. There’s a minimum population count of 5,733 manatees as of January/February 2019.
Manatees can live to be quite old – up to 60 years or more – if they have no natural predators. Their biggest problem is us, humans, because we tend to run them over with out motor boats. But we are pretty dangerous to manatees overall, as they get crushed in our canal locks, eat our fishhooks, and get entangled in our fishing lines and nets.
The real problem facing manatees, though, is loss of habitat.
West Indian manatees in the United States are protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which make it illegal to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal. They’re also protected under Florida law.
This might well be more than you ever knew, or wanted to know, about manatees. I aim to educate and amuse. Sometimes I miss the mark, sometimes not.
It was cloudy with light periods of rain overnight, which should be tapering off this morning and giving way to partly sunny skies and temperatures of close to 60 degrees.
In the headlines…
Ahead of an expected virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country is willing to work with the U.S. — on condition of mutual respect.
Biden and Jinping are scheduled to hold a virtual summit next week, although no specific date has been set.
Republican Rep. Paul Gosar posted a photoshopped anime video to his Twitter and Instagram accounts showing him appearing to kill Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and attacking Biden.
Gosar apparently deleted the video from his feed after intense criticism for posting it in the first place.
“A creepy member I work with who fundraises for Neo-Nazi groups shared a fantasy video of him killing me,” AOC tweeted. “And he’ll face no consequences bc @GOPLeader cheers him on.”
“The cartoon depicts the symbolic nature of a battle between lawful and unlawful policies and in no way intended to be a targeted attack against Representative Cortez or Mr. Biden,” Gosar said in the statement. “It is a symbolic cartoon. It is not real life.”
Former President Donald Trump in remarks at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner this week openly blasted the 13 congressional Republicans who supported the infrastructure bill in a vote Friday.
“I love all the House Republicans. Well, actually I don’t love all of you. I don’t love the 13 that voted for Biden’s infrastructure plan,” Trump said, according to the recollection of a person who attended the event.
In a statement, Trump also slammed “Old Crow” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for voting for the “terrible Democrat Socialist infrastructure plan.”
Biden condemned House Republicans who are considering retaliation against the 13 members who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, speaking to the growing partisan divide in American politics.
“I’m hoping, Jaime, that we can get back to a place where there’s more civility in politics,” Biden said in conversation with DNC Chair Jaime Harrison during a grassroots town hall. “I really mean it. And I’ve never seen it this way.”
While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is hoping for a vote as early as next week on a roughly $2 trillion social-spending and climate bill, the legislation is likely to be altered to have a chance at passing the Senate.
Hudson Valley Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the leader of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, acknowledged the major challenges facing the party in 2022 but defended its agenda and its continued focus on Trump.
One of the nation’s busiest ports for imported goods will get relief in the next month or so under funding flexibility the Biden administration announced along with other new efforts to ease congestion in the supply chain.
The supply chain crunch is about to hit another part of American life: Thanksgiving dinner.
A federal judge last night rejected a bid by Trump to keep secret papers about his actions and conversations leading up to and during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
In an emergency motion filed late Monday, the former president asked U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan to grant a stay in the case pending an appeal, which Chutkan called “premature”.
“The public interest lies in permitting – not enjoining – the combined will of the legislative and executive branches to study the events that led to and occurred on January 6, and to consider legislation to prevent such events from ever occurring again,” she ruled.
House investigators issued subpoenas to 10 more former officials who worked for Trump at the end of his presidency, an effort to find out more about what the president was doing and saying as his supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Sirius XM host Howard Stern suggested he may have to do his “civic duty” and challenge Trump for the presidency in 2024.
Thirteen of Trump’s most senior aides campaigned illegally for his re-election in violation of a law designed to prevent federal employees from abusing the power of their offices on behalf of candidates, a government watchdog agency said.
Moderna and the NIH are in a bitter dispute over who deserves credit for inventing the central component of the company’s powerful coronavirus vaccine, a conflict that has broad implications for long-term distribution and billions of dollars in profits.
People who spread misinformation on Covid-19 vaccines are “criminals” and have cost “millions of lives,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said.
Pfizer and BioNTech asked U.S. regulators to allow boosters of its COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 18 or older, a step that comes amid concern about increased spread of the coronavirus with holiday travel and gatherings.
The companies say the request is based on results from a study of more than 10,000 volunteers that show vaccine efficacy of 95% or greater for people receiving the booster.
The N.F.L. has fined the Green Bay Packers $300,000 and two of its players, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard, $14,650 each for failing to follow the Covid-19 protocols agreed on by the league and players’ union.
Rodgers and Lazard were each fined $14,650, according to the discipline schedule negotiated by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
Rodgers acknowledged how his characterization of being “immunized” in August could be perceived as misleading.
Newsmax White House correspondent Emerald Robinson has been permanently suspended from Twitter for repeatedly violating the platform’s COVID-19 misinformation policy, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed.
A publishing company is suing Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, accusing her of violating the First Amendment after she criticized Amazon’s algorithm for allegedly promoting a book that contains COVID-19 misinformation.
French president Emmanuel Macron said France will continue using the country’s health pass to ensure uptake of booster shots of the vaccine in a national address yesterday evening.
Ingo Rademacher, the longtime star of the soap opera “General Hospital”, has been fired after declining to comply with the production’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Several members of Congress wrote a letter to two of Canada’s top ministers requesting the dissolution of the country’s pandemic-era testing rule for travelers.
Oklahoma’s highest court threw out a 2019 ruling that required Johnson & Johnson to pay the state $465 million for its role in the opioid epidemic.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the expansion of the state’s SUNY/CUNY full scholarship vaccine incentive for kids 5-11 years old. Kids in that age group who received the COVID-19 vaccine will be entered into a pool where 50 winners will later be selected.
“There’s two great gifts you can give your children: One is the gift of good health and that’s what they will get when they get the vaccine, and second is the shot at getting this full ride scholarship,” the governor said.
After consultation with leaders of the 40,000-member New York Hotel Trades Council, Hochul steered a big chunk of her $450 million tourism revival program for New York into ramping up employment at the city’s 300 hotels.
Hochul has a 50 percent approval rating among voters in the state, according to a new poll, nearly three months after she was sworn in as chief of the Empire State.
The survey, conducted by Morning Consult, found that half of New Yorkers support Hochul, who has announced she will run for a full term next year, as governor, a 6 percentage point increase from a survey taken during her first 10 days in office.
Hochul’s approval rating among New York voters is just below that of Biden (54 percent) and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (52 percent), and just above Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (47 percent).
The Rev. Viviana DeCohen will lead the state Division of Veterans’ Services, while Chinazo Cunningham has been nominated by Hochul to become the next commissioner of the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, her office announced.
Section 8 tenants who are seeking emergency rental assistance should have their evictions halted during the process and late payment fees during national emergencies should be eliminated, Attorney General Letitia James said.
Hispanic power brokers in New York say they won’t back a candidate for governor who doesn’t endorse Eric Gonzalez, the Brooklyn district attorney, in his expected bid for state attorney general.
The number of people incarcerated in New York is less than half of what it was in 1999, and the six prison facilities being closed as a result are well below capacity.
Activists around the state, in a coordinated effort, are pressuring Hochul to release more prisoners with her clemency powers.
At a public hearing held by the state Assembly mental health committee, provider after provider laid bare the anger and frustration they feel during Year Two of the coronavirus pandemic.
The State Liquor Authority this week will consider amending or abolishing a controversial program, launched as a six-month solution to a licensing backlog but still in use more than a decade later without official authorization.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris is “seriously considering” another state AG run.
The two candidates who have already filed (or are in the midst of filing) for the 2022 AG race are Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout and the chair of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Shelley Mayer.
Mail-in ballots were submitted to the city Board of Elections in the name of at least two long-dead Democratic voters in southern Brooklyn — where a tight race is still going on.
A cannabis accessories company, Vessel, is urging New York lawmakers to consider bill language that would regulate cannabis waste.
A half-dozen grocery services in New York City offer speed and convenience with 15-minute windows, but critics worry about their effect on neighborhood stores and crowded city streets.
A community group opposed to a contentious Upper East Side rezoning is demanding two city watchdog agencies investigate Mayor Bill de Blasio and a law firm pushing the land-use change, citing what it describes as his “potential conflict of interest.”
At least six major automakers — including Ford, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Volvo — and 31 national governments will work toward phasing out sales of new gas and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040 worldwide, and by 2035 in “leading markets.”
G.E. is making a final break with its storied past, splitting itself into three businesses, a victim of the lingering effects of the 2008 financial crisis and a fast-growing economy less hospitable to global conglomerates.
This move will likely have serious implications for GE’s Capital Region operations, including its historic Schenectady campus, which employs several thousand workers.
The decision, announced by Chief Executive Larry Culp, ends the myth that GE wielded a magic touch to run companies better, and make everyone richer, through its management of varied enterprises around the world.
GE’s decision to break apart reignites the question of the best structure for business: fit and focused, or diversified.
State officials are hopeful that a pilot system will detect if a truck is too tall to fit under the 10-foot, 11-inch Glenville rail bridge, providing a solution for a problem that has led to at least a dozen crashes per year.
Albany County will require any facility that sends waste to its wastewater treatment plant to test for PFAS chemicals.
The Albany County Legislature passed an amendment to its Human Rights Law to prevent employment discrimination based on hairstyles during its meeting earlier this week.
Faltering gunmaker Remington Firearms will cut its 205-year-old ties to New York and move the company’s upstate headquarters to Georgia – the latest iconic weapons manufacturer to flee the restrictive Northeast for more gun-friendly laws in the South.
One day before ballots were scheduled to go out to workers at three Buffalo-area Starbucks in a vote on unionization, workers at three other stores in the area filed petitions with federal regulators requesting elections as well.
Reggie Borges, a Starbucks spokesperson, said the new filings back up the company’s position that all employees in the Buffalo area deserve a right to vote.
But Starbucks is pushing back against efforts to unionize three Buffalo-area stores, by asking the National Labor Relations Board to put the election process on hold.
The National Labor Relations Board’s regional office in Buffalo, which approved the vote last month, is scheduled to start mailing ballots this evening and count the votes on Dec. 9.
Brian Williams will leave his job at MSNBC in December and depart NBC News entirely. Williams has been with NBC for 28 years, though he was shipped over to late night on MSNBC in 2015 after his Iraq War scandal.
A second season of Netflix’s popular series, “Squid Game,” is in the works, according to the show’s creator.
