Good morning, and welcome to the last day of November. The end of the year is almost upon us.
Oh, and it’s Tuesday, in case you lost track.
Here’s one of those thing that doesn’t make sense. Yesterday was Cyber Monday, as you know, an opportunity for everyone to get a jump on their holiday shopping from the comfort of their own homes, or cars, or boats, or wherever they happened to be.
That means a lot of people were signing on to various electronic devices and, presumably, handing over their credit card numbers to complete transactions.
Today is National Computer Security Day, which was established to raise awareness about the need to protect your sensitive personal online data from cyber threats. Did you know that 4,000 cyber crime attacks take place EVERY DAY in the U.S.?
Close to 50 percent of Americans experienced identify theft in 2020 alone, and there was a significant increase during the first year of the pandemic due to unemployment-related identity theft.
(If you really want to get depressed and go down a statistics rabbit hole on this one, click here).
Anyway, back to National Computer Security Day, which was created in 1988 shortly after an attack on ARPANET -the internet’s predecessor- that harmed 10% of connected computers.
This would be a good time to update your password, which, if you’re anything like me, you are guilty of reusing many times over because you simply can’t remember anything anymore. And no, 12345 is not a strong password. Sorry. Neither is your birthday, your mom’s birthday or your spouse’s and/or child’s birthday.
Maybe the dog’s birthday? I digress. (And no, that’s not a hint, for all you cyberstalkers out there who might be reading this).
Also, it’s a good time to update your spyware and malware, if you have them, and install some programs if you don’t.
Since we’re on the subject of computers, today’s Google Doodle celebrates a mathematician, computer scientist, electrical engineer, AI researcher, and professor emeritus of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley named Lotfi Zadeh, who is the father of fuzzy logic.
Today is the 57th anniversary of the concept’s creation. Fuzzy logic was an early approach to artificial intelligence and served as the basis for modern-day technologies like facial recognition, air conditioning, washing machines, car transmissions, weather forecasting, stock trading and even rice cookers.
It’s also, as our contributor Leanne Ricchutti noted, Giving Tuesday, which is a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of the true meaning of holiday spirit and donate to any number of the many, many nonprofit organizations in the Capital Region, state, nation, and world that are doing good things to help people and the planet we inhabit.
Slightly warmer today – I mean, high 30s! WOOOOHOOO! – and overcast with a few flurries or snow showers possible after dark.
In the headlines…
Prompted by growing concerns about the Omicron variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that all American adults “should” get booster doses of the available coronavirus vaccines.
The World Health Organization warned that the global risk posed by the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus was “very high.”
President Biden sought to reassure the nation about Omicron, telling Americans the variant is “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” and his administration was working with manufacturers to modify vaccines and booster shots should that prove necessary.
Biden said a new lockdown is not necessary “for now,” if Americans get vaccinations and wear masks.
The president also said that he doesn’t expect the U.S. to impose additional travel restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus omicron variant, sending some airline stocks higher.
A federal judge blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate on thousands of health care workers in 10 states that had brought the first legal challenge against the requirement.
The preliminary injunction by St. Louis-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp applies to a coalition of suing states that includes Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
The court order said that the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid had no clear authority from Congress to enact the vaccine mandate for providers participating in the two government health care programs for the elderly, disabled and poor.
Stéphane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna, said in an interview published today that current vaccines for COVID-19 will likely be much less effective against the new omicron variant.
Drugmakers raised the prospect that existing Covid-19 vaccines might be less effective against the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which could create a need for modified vaccines that better target the concerning new strain.
As countries begin to reinstate border restrictions over concerns about the omicron coronavirus variant, China is celebrating its decision to stick with strict limits on international travel as part of a “zero covid” strategy.
Pfizer and BioNTech are expected this week to apply for regulatory approval for a booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.
Some hospitals, nursing homes and other healthcare providers are preparing to operate without up to a third of their staff at the start of next year, if those workers don’t comply with a federal mandate to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will tell lawmakers that inflation is likely to last well into next year and that the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus creates more uncertainty around the economic outlook, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
Biden met with the CEOs of a number of major retailers and grocers to discuss the holiday shopping season, part of the administration’s ongoing effort to emphasize the strength of the nation’s supply chains amid growing concerns.
Biden was supposed to speak publicly following the CEO meeting, but the White House abruptly cancelled his address and rescheduled it for tomorrow.
The FTC is seeking information from Amazon, Walmart and others about how they are handling supply-chain snarls, part of a study into whether the problems have led to anticompetitive behavior and higher prices.
The White House does not have any plans to preview “at this point in time” for Biden to visit Waukesha, Wis. after the Christmas parade attack earlier this month.
The man who drove an SUV through the Waukesha Christmas Parade a week ago has been slapped with a sixth homicide charge in the wake of the death of the youngest victim, 8-year-old Jackson Sparks.
Before the end of the year, Americans who contract the coronavirus may be able to purchase an effective treatment on a trip to their neighborhood pharmacy.
Two new antiviral pills — both of which have shown promise in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in people at high risk for severe Covid-19 — are currently being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Chokshi issued a mask advisory, “strongly recommending” New Yorkers to wear masks at all times when inside in public settings. He said that includes people who are vaccinated or those who had already had COVID.
“We’re doubling down on it, basically,” NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said of the mask advisory. “It’s time to re-up that advisory and make it very, very clear this is a smart thing to do at this point.”
The NYC jails boss ordered correction officers to start working 12-hour tours amid an ongoing staffing crisis and continuing resistance to vaccinations.
The NYPD received so many requests from cops seeking exemption from the vaccine mandate that dozens of unqualified lawyers are now processing the applications and sending out rubber-stamp denials, the city’s largest police union argued in a new lawsuit.
NYC Mayor-elect Eric Adams confirmed that he’s bound for Africa — and declared that his time as a police officer has rendered him unafraid of traveling to the continent despite international concern over a new coronavirus variant first detected there.
Adams, who left for Ghana last night on a family trip that doesn’t include any staff and will be there until Dec. 8, said the journey is a spiritual one.
“I made a promise to myself that I would visit Ghana following the 400-year anniversary of slavery in America and the election, to show how far we have come and remember how far we still must go,” said Adams, who will be the city’s second black mayor.
Adams likened the journey, which he is taking despite the worsening Covid-19 outbreak around the globe, to President Barack Obama’s excursion there in 2009.
Adams has selected three top candidates to be the city’s next Department of Education chancellor and police commissioner and will announce his final decisions shortly after returning from Ghana next week.
Philip Banks, a high-ranking former NYPD cop tied to a bribery scandal, is among a narrowing group of candidates under consideration for top jobs in the incoming Adams administration. He also might be deputy mayor of public safety.
Eagle Academy founder David Banks, Philip Banks’ brother and head of the all-boys schools that are a hybrid of public and charter models, is expected to be Adams next DOE chancellor, according to sources.
Gov. Kathy Hochul says she is prepared to deploy National Guard members to nursing homes in upstate New York that have been crippled by staffing shortages.
Hochul affirmed the state is closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) omicron variant that has prompted global concerns, but stopped short of altering visitation guidelines at state-run nursing homes.
Hospitals unable to free up their staffed bed capacity by Friday to at least 10 percent could be required by the state Department of Health to limit or altogether halt elective surgeries, according to Hochul and her new COVID-19 state of emergency.
Following a plea from Warren County officials last week to reopen the state’s mass vaccination site at the Aviation Mall, Hochul said it will reopen tomorrow – and also provide COVID-19 testing, the first testing available at a mass vaccination site.
Thousands of pages of new evidence and sworn testimony show the extent to which ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo relied on allies, including his brother, Chris, to strategize how to deflect a cascade of sexual harassment charges that eventually engulfed him.
CNN host Chris Cuomo used his sources in the media world to seek information on women who accused his brother of sexual harassment, according to the documents released by the New York Attorney General’s Office.
“I would — when asked, I would reach out to sources, other journalists, to see if they had heard of anybody else coming out,” Chris Cuomo said, according to the documents.
Among other things, the evidence compiled by James shows that Chris Cuomo — who’s come under fire for advising his brother, 63, amid the scandal — told investigators that he tried to keep Alec Baldwin from advocating on Andrew Cuomo’s behalf.
Chris Cuomo persisted through his program last night without addressing the controversy.
CNN said it would review the newly released records. “We will be having conversations and seeking additional clarity about their significance as they relate to CNN over the next several days,” the CNN statement said.
Andrew Cuomo appeared defiant in newly released video from his summer testimony relating to the sexual assault allegations that led to his eventual resignation.
The footage shows Cuomo sipping coffee from a Dunkin’ cup, sitting back in his chair, positioning his reading glasses and becoming agitated as attorneys ask him repeatedly about whether or not he ever touched, kissed, hugged or spoke to staff inappropriately.
Long Island Rep. Thomas Suozzi announced he is running for governor, broadening the field of candidates running against the incumbent, Hochul, and becoming the first Democrat to take direct aim at her support among moderate suburban voters.
Suozzi characterized himself as a “common-sense Democrat” who shouldn’t be given a label like “moderate.” But it’s clear he’ll be running as a centrist, attempting to win support from party members who might otherwise back Hochul.
Asked about whether control of his seat – or the House more generally – mattered much in his decision, Suozzi said it “wasn’t a big factor.”
Suozzi is the 18th House Democrat planning to retire or run for higher office in 2022. By contrast, Republicans have only 11 members retiring. At this point in the 2020 election cycle, only eight Democrats had called it quits as compared to 20 Republicans.
The NY Post is not happy with Hochul.
Republican North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik took to Twitter to chide Hochul for her tweet about a “holiday tree,” saying it’s “called a Christmas tree.”
The sex-trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s former romantic partner and employee, got underway in Federal District Court in Manhattan with opening statements and testimony from one of the pilots who flew Mr. Epstein’s private planes.
Federal prosecutors and Maxwell’s defense team offered opposing portraits of the British socialite and sparring over her role in financier Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex abuse of underage girls.
Amid a sharp rise in shootings and other violence across the city, gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams has been one of the most outspoken advocates of defunding the NYPD, while living on a Brooklyn Army base that is one of the city’s safest sections.
The MTA’s antiquated overtime system continues to work OT for cash-grab scams as the agency’s $31 million effort to curtail potential payroll pilfering is “at-risk,” according to the agency’s Inspector General.
A Westchester County man has been nabbed in the 1999 murder of a Bronx teen — putting the 22-year-old cold case to rest.
In the latest attempt by lawmakers to preemptively refine New York’s cannabis licensing process, state Sen. Jeremy Cooney introduced a bill that, if passed, would ensure equity benefits extend to individuals who identify as transgender and non-binary.
After over a year of discussion about a possible merger between St. Peter’s Health Partners and Ellis Medicine, the two healthcare organizations will embark on what is called a “management services agreement.”
Rosewood Gardens, the East Greenbush nursing home that needed the state to step in two weekends ago due to a nursing crisis, is in the process of selling off a minority stake in the facility to a new part-owner.
Dr. John Graham, who was temporarily in charge of SUNY Potsdam, died suddenly over the weekend.
Prosecutors in Pennsylvania asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a state court ruling that had overturned the sexual assault conviction of entertainer Bill Cosby.
The criminal trial of Jussie Smollett began with opening statements yesterday, nearly three years after the actor said he was the victim of a hate crime that prosecutors allege was a hoax orchestrated by the actor himself.
Jack Dorsey stepped down as chief executive of Twitter, the social media site he co-founded in 2006 and navigated through the tumultuous years of the Trump administration and increasing calls for regulation from lawmakers around the world.
Dorsey was replaced by Parag Agrawal, who as the company’s chief technology officer had recently been working on technologies associated with cryptocurrencies, which have become a fascination of the tech industry’s power brokers, including Dorsey.
Dorsey’s departure was driven in part by investors uncomfortable with his roles running two large, publicly traded companies, according to people familiar with the matter. He’s also CEO of digital payments company Square Inc.
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr honored George Harrison on the 20th anniversary of their Beatles bandmate’s death.
A bipartisan amendment introduced in the US Senate by Kirsten Gillibrand would ramp up the study of UFOs by the federal government.
