It’s Monday. It’s a short holiday week, so let’s get right into it. .
I’m going to start off by saying something really controversial: I love canned cranberry sauce.
Yes. There. I said it. I feel so much better now.
I love its weird consistency. I love that it retains the shape of the can from which it came and I especially love the fact that the rings from inside the can are imprinted on its sides, which makes for a nice guide when cutting it into slices.
I will not, for the record, turn down homemade cranberry sauce. I love cranberry anything; the tartness of the fruit, its rich color, just the whole package is great. Cranberry muffins are good. Cranberry bread and cranberry pie? Even better.
But if offered a choice between canned and homemade cranberry sauce, it’s canned hands down for me, every single time.
Sorry, I’m not sorry.
To be quite honest, since we’re in true confession mode here, cranberry sauce is probably the one Thanksgiving-related food that I actually like. I could take or leave the rest of it, which to me is basically one giant mush of soft, overly rich yuck.
Turkey, I guess, is OK, though I do prefer dark meat to light.
And biscuits, if homemade, are fantastic, but they’re not necessarily a dish uniquely related to T-Day.
Ditto apple pie, which I do like quite a bit, and pumpkin pie, which is more seasonal, though I am a crust fan and there is never enough crust on a pumpkin pie to suit my carb-loving tastes.
Anyway, the reason I’m going through all this is not merely because Thanksgiving is (counting today) three days away, and if you are not actively defrosting your bird right now you are now behind the eight ball in a big way.. Get cracking.
Today happens to be National Cranberry Relish Day. And if you are not familiar with NPR host Susan Stamberg’s role in elevating the humble side dish to the prominence it so richly deserves, click here and prepare to do a very deep dive.
And because the internet is an amazing and wonderful place, you can find out all sorts of things about jellied (canned) cranberry sauce by clicking here, including the fact that there are 200 cranberries in every can. And also, there’s a John Lennon connection that I never knew about before today.
If you need any additional convincing on the greatness of cranberry sauce, consider the fact that to consume it is to engage in a deeply patriotic act, as cranberries are one of the few commercially grown fruits that are native to the U.S. Native Americans were known to eat cranberries regularly, and also use them to as a natural dye for clothing.
So the two things I’m looking forward to on Thanksgiving: Running and eating cranberry sauce. That’s about it.
The holiday forecast is looking pretty good in this neck of the woods, though, as mentioned last week, there could be some weather-related travel problems for those of you who are going out of the area. Check the forecast, and be prepared for delays.
As for today, we’re in for cloud skies and temperatures in the mid-40s, with the slight chance of a rain shower.
Also, be aware: Thanksgiving will test whether airlines have done enough to insulate their operations from shocks that have roiled air travel in recent months.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the deadly incident yesterday evening at a Wisconsin holiday parade where more than 20 people, including children, were struck by a vehicle, a White House official said.
“The White House is closely monitoring the situation in Waukesha and our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by this terrible incident,” the official said. “We have reached out to state and local officials to offer any support and assistance as needed.”
Chief Daniel Thompson of the Waukesha Police Department said last night that a person of interest was in custody and that there was no further threat.
Biden has reportedly been letting allies know he’ll be running for president again in 2024.
Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke declined to say if he wants Biden to campaign for him in the state as the president’s approval rating continues to slip.
Biden underwent his annual physical Friday morning at Walter Reed Medical Center, his first such appointment since he was inaugurated as the oldest first-term president in US history.
Afterward, his physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor wrote in a memo Biden “remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations.”
This occurred hours after presidential power was temporarily transferred to Vice President Kamala Harris while Biden underwent a colonoscopy under anesthesia.
Biden turned 79 on Saturday.
Biden said that he and many other Americans feel “angry and concerned” about the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse for killing two men and wounding a third man— but also said that people have to “abide by” the jury’s verdict.
Prominent New York elected officials are among those coming down against the verdict in the Rittenhouse trial.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams issued a call Saturday to keep protests in New York City peaceful after the “not guilty” Rittenhouse verdict.
A resurgence of COVID-19 restrictions in a number of countries has resulted in protests, with some demonstrations turning violent and leading to dozens of arrests.
Riots broke out in cities across the Netherlands yesterday, the third night in a row that police clashed with mobs of angry youths who set fires and threw rocks to protest COVID-19 restrictions.
Faced with rising infections and an anticipated surge in holiday travel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday endorsed booster shots of the coronavirus vaccines for all Americans over 18.
Who should get Covid-19 vaccine boosters? That depends on the public health goal, said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
Gottlieb said that the US officials might eventually consider people “fully vaccinated” for COVID-19 only if they’ve had their additional booster dose of the vaccine.
Breakthrough cases of Covid-19 are hitting older people and those with underlying health conditions particularly hard, according to a new review of data by The Wall Street Journal that sharpens the picture of who remains at risk despite vaccinations.
Recent legislation signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is forcing companies to slam the brakes on coronavirus vaccine mandates for employees.
Disney World near Orlando, Florida has put its COVID-19 vaccination mandate on hold, a spokesperson said.
A pandemic-era exodus of Californians has occurred to the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area known as the Inland Empire, the biggest movement of people in the most populous state in America.
New York is continuing to see an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in November as the holiday season approaches, according to the latest state data released Saturday.
New York’s growing COVID-19 surge threatens to trigger a crushing wave of infections in many communities outside the New York City area, casting a cloud of uncertainty over the coming holiday season.
Three dozen NYC Sanitation workers have been suspended amid an ongoing probe of vaccination fraud by NYC employees, their union said.
Twelve upstate counties Saturday reported seven-day averages of positive tests greater than 10 percent — while most of New York City’s boroughs continue to see positive test rates under 2 percent, according to data posted by the state.
New Yorkers can get coronavirus vaccine booster shots at a number of places, including pop-up vans, churches, local pharmacies and community health clinics.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has slammed her 2022 primary target, Governor Kathy Hochul, over her alleged failure to address the rising COVID-19 rates in the state.
Looking to expand beyond her Brooklyn base, associates of James have quietly started vetting potential running mates for 2022 — and it looks like Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone is leading the pack.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio this weekend sought to burnish his legacy as he takes steps toward a run for governor, promoting his education record and statewide year-round schooling proposal.
An investigation by the New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee has found that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration “materially misrepresented” the extent of deaths that occurred in nursing homes in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report’s sexual harassment section includes “a couple things that made my jaw drop,” Sen. Mart Beth Walsh said. The nursing home section did not go far enough for her, perhaps because “after the governor resigned, any cooperation ended.”
“People who know Hochul well say she isn’t an ideologue. Instead she’s a small-d democrat with almost no fixed positions — a cipher, essentially.”
A temporary state program created to supply produce to New York’s food pantries during the height of the pandemic will now be permanently funded thanks to a state bill signed into law by Hochul.
Hochul wants to nominate Janno Lieber as the permanent chairperson and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a role he’s been serving in an acting capacity for more than three months.
Heating and utility bills are expected to surge this winter and Hochul wants New Yorkers to be aware of the state’s numerous heat and utility assistance programs.
Adams revealed that he’s trying to convince Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, a longtime political ally who is considering a 2022 run for governor, to join his administration as a deputy mayor.
“I am very flattered that the mayor-elect would like me to help him in a big way to tackle the challenges in NYC…Lots to think about over Thanksgiving,” Suozzi said in a statement.
Suozzi got his deal on altering the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, as a provision in the Build Back Better Act approved last Friday by the House.
Adams called out political fringe groups across the U.S. during an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday, saying they’ve co-opted civil discourse while urging Americans to “take our country back.”
“What I believe that we must take into our own hands, my plea to America: We must take our country back,” Adams said. “We are allowing the fringe elements in both of these conversations to really hijack what everyday Americans want.”
Steve Cuozzo has some advice for Adams: “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Adams has scored a bit of praise from tech bros — and a bit of scorn from economists — by putting Bitcoin at the top of his agenda in recent weeks.
For the broad left, the City Council provides a chance to have tremendous influence over city affairs despite Adams’s hostility.
Though Republicans in the chamber have expanded their conference to five members, two of their newly elected are reportedly mortal enemies.
Citing a rise in hate attacks, Damian Williams, the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the creation of a civil rights unit in the office’s criminal division, signaling a new focus for one of the country’s most powerful prosecutor’s offices.
A Manhattan real estate developer was charged on Friday with scheming to conceal contributions to a candidate in this year’s New York City comptroller’s race in a bid to get as much public financing for the candidate as possible.
The A Harlem real estate entrepreneur backed the city comptroller bid of now-Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin. He was arrested and charged with fraud and identity theft in an alleged scheme to illegally secure public campaign matching funds.
A spokesman for Benjamin, who was appointed as lieutenant governor after losing the Democratic primary for comptroller, noted neither Benjamin nor his campaign were accused of any wrongdoing.
In an extraordinary move, Teamsters Local 707 has sent delinquency collection notices to off-track-betting workers and other members it says are in arrears for union dues totaling hundreds or even thousands of dollars a pop.
The alcohol- and drug-fueled antics of a star Hunter College professor cost the City University of New York $1.25 million to settle claims by his aggrieved staffers.
The American Museum of Natural History’s statue of Theodore Roosevelt will head to Medora, N.D., where it will eventually be displayed at the new TR Presidential Library — located near Roosevelt’s former Badlands cattle ranches — as a long-term loan.
A state panel that oversees wage issues for farm workers could be just weeks away from deciding the decades-old question of whether these laborers should, for the first time in state history, be entitled to a 40-hour workweek.
Schenectady’s holiday parade returned.
After a six-year absence, a school resource officer will return to the Watervliet school district after a new agreement between the Board of Education and Watervliet City Council.
A new transatlantic budget airline hopes to put the “international” back in New York Stewart International Airport starting this summer, but U.S. authorities have not yet approved them for takeoff.
Trans rights advocates around the world took a moment Saturday to reflect on the growing epidemic of violence affecting the community, while honoring the lives of those who were brutally killed for being who they are.
Photos of missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai were posted Friday on Twitter, inaccessible to most in China, amid attempts to quell fears regarding her disappearance.
Shuai, who disappeared from public life for more than a week after she accused a former top government official of sexual assault, appeared in a live video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee and other officials with the organization.
