Good Thursday morning.
If you aren’t a dog person you really should stop right here and go…I don’t know, do whatever it is that non-dog people do in the morning while the rest of us are feeding, walking and picking up after our fur children.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way.
Did you know that mutts, or mixed breeds if you’re feeling fancy, have not one but TWO national days all to their furry selves – today and July 31!
They’re just that cool.
The official definition of a “mutt” is a “dog, especially a mongrel”, more simply put, it’s a dog that is made up of a number of unidentifiable breeds rather than one, “pure” breed, as it were.
Mutts, actually, have stronger constitutions and tend to be healthier than pure breeds, because they have a higher chance of escaping the hereditary conditions of their parents.
They are also FAR less expensive than a pure breed, which ran run thousands of dollars per dog. When you adopt a mutt, you generally have to pay a fairly modest fee to the shelter and also sometimes foot the bill for getting the dog fixed (should you chose to go that route and if it hasn’t already been done, depending on the animal’s age).
A mutt is also a lot less likely to appeal to a thief because they are – strictly technically speaking, of course – “worth” less in a monetary sense. They are REALLY worth whatever they mean to their respective owners, which is generally impossible to put a dollar amount on.
Now I know some of you are reading this and thinking I am a complete hypocrite, since Henry, the love of my life, is a pure breed (mini Goldendoodle).
And yes, that’s true. I have no excuses to offer. I am not sorry for my immense adoration of my dog. And no, I will not tell you how much he cost. He was worth every cent.
But I also do hate to see any animal cooped up in a shelter and awaiting an execution date. If you are thinking of adopting a new furry friend, there are definitely MANY dogs (and cats, too, but they’ll have their day in the sun here at a later date) who need forever/furever homes.
But before you adopt, please do think about whether you have time and space in your life to devote to a dog. They do require quite a bit of effort and attention, as many people who went out and got a pandemic puppy are now finding. And all the poor doggos who got used to having their humans around during lockdown are now having to adjust – again.
And for those who are giving up on their pandemic pets because, as it turns out, they’re actually WORK to have around….well, I have no words for you. None at all, at least none that are clean enough to write here on this family-friendly website.
It is the 162nd birthday of the impressionist painter Georges Seurat. How do I know this? Thank you, Google Doodle, for your rendering of the pointillist masterpiece, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”.
In case you need some good news this morning: An estimated $2.7 billion was donated by Americans on Giving Tuesday, a record.
It’s going to be nice and warm again today – almost 50 degrees! The trade-off is that it’s going to rain. Ah, we can’t have everything. On the flip side, it’s almost Friday. So there’s that.
In the news…
Then-President Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus three days before his first debate with Joe Biden in 2020, two former administration officials said.
In The Chief’s Chief, an upcoming memoir by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, he writes that Trump initially received results on Sept. 26, 2020 that indicated he had contracted the virus. In a second test, Trump tested negative.
Meadows also said the White House was shocked to find out that the president had tested positive, despite a well-attended event in the Rose Garden for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett that very day.
Asked whether he felt Trump put him at risk when the two appeared on stage together at a September 2020 debate in Ohio, Biden said, “I don’t think about the former President,” before leaving the room.
In a statement, Trump insisted “the story of me having COVID before, or during, the first debate is Fake News,” adding, “a test revealed that I did not have COVID before the debate.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused to discuss previous remarks from Biden about Trump which claimed “anyone who is responsible” for so many COVID-19 deaths should “not remain” in the White House.
Biden will extend until mid-March a requirement that travelers wear masks on airplanes, trains and buses and at airports and transit stations, a person familiar with the decision said.
The first known case of the omicron variant has been detected in the U.S. – in a fully vaccinated person in San Francisco, CA – just days after its rapid spread in South Africa prompted worldwide concern, U.S. officials said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, announced the news at a White House press briefing.
The CDC said the fully vaccinated traveler, back in California from South Africa on Nov. 22, has mild Covid-19 symptoms that are improving. The person has been self-quarantining since testing positive, and all known contacts have so far tested negative.
As officials scrambled to contain alarm over the detection of a case of the Omicron variant in California, state leaders portrayed the finding as an encouraging — and inevitable — result of the state’s efforts to be prepared.
U.S. stocks fell in a volatile trading session yesterday, dragged down by news that the first known case of the Omicron variant was identified in the U.S.
With the delta variant of COVID-19 pushing up cases in Europe, and growing fears over the omicron variant, governments around the world are weighing new measures for populations tired of hearing about restrictions and vaccines.
The Omicron variant has fueled a “worrying” surge in coronavirus cases in South Africa and is rapidly becoming the dominant strain, local health officials have said.
The WHO says there’s no evidence to suggest that symptoms linked to omicron are different from those caused by other variants.
Some states want to ensure that Americans who quit their jobs or who are fired over COVID-19 vaccine requirements in the workplace can collect unemployment.
Scientists believe they have found “the trigger” that leads to extremely rare blood clots after the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine.
A new study of NBA players, staff, and household members provides yet more evidence that fully vaccinated people who get a breakthrough case of COVID-19 may be less infectious than their unvaccinated peers.
Biden marked World AIDS Day yesterday by unveiling a new national HIV/AIDS strategy with the goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
The White House announced the “whole-of-society” strategy, which incorporates the latest data, prevalence and trends and expands the focus on addressing social determinants that influence HIV risks and outcomes.
Biden called for a renewed focus in the battle against HIV/AIDS on vulnerable Americans — including gay and bisexual Black and Latino men, who his administration says are too often stigmatized even as they are disproportionately affected.
Biden is using every tool in his arsenal to send a clear message to Americans this holiday season: Don’t pin inflation on me.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted the traditional Hanukkah menorah lighting at the White House.
“Whether it’s in the temple of Jerusalem or the temple of our democracy, nothing broken or profaned is beyond repair, nothing,” Biden said. “We can always build back better, perhaps build back brighter.”
Symone Sanders, a chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris, will leave her post at the end of the year.
The Supreme Court seemed poised to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, in what would be a momentous and polarizing decision to roll back the abortion rights the court has defined over the last half century.
A Supreme Court ruling to weaken or overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in the middle of next year’s midterm election campaign would immediately elevate abortion rights into a defining issue and likely reinvigorate efforts to overhaul the court itself.
Chief Justice John Roberts seemed to be looking for a middle ground to allow states to ban abortion earlier — moving up the viability line from the current 22 to 23 weeks — but leaving in place some remnants of a woman’s right to end a pregnancy.
Compared to some of the other five members of the court’s conservative bloc, Roberts is broadly seen as more likely to be concerned about the institutional impact on the court if it makes a wrenching and politically contentious change in the law.
As the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority seems poised to uphold the Mississippi law, more than twice as many Americans (55 percent) say they want the court to reaffirm its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision as say they want it overturned (24 percent).
An aerial bomb from World War II exploded near a busy Munich train station yesterday, injuring multiple people, authorities said.
Weekly jobless claims are expected to rise after setting a more than five-decade low last week. Still, however, new claims are set to come in near their pre-pandemic levels, highlighting ongoing improvements in the labor market.
At least 37 hospitals in New York facing patient capacity shortages are expected to halt elective health care to free up beds to handle surging COVID-19 cases under a state order taking effect Friday.
Nearly 600 correction officers with the already depleted NYC Department of Correction workforce were expected to be placed on unpaid leave yesterday for not getting inoculated against COVID-19, city officials said.
Some of NYC’s most exclusive private schools are leading the charge in mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all students.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, on his first day of campaigning for governor, criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul’s handling of the pandemic as “piecemeal” and an “afterthought.”
Suozzi praised disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suozzi’s decision to run for governor has set off a scramble for a successor and gives Republicans a chance to take a swing seat they’ve long coveted.
Hochul announced the second round of winners of New York’s “Vaccinate, Educate, Graduate” vaccine incentive program.
Capping the inner-city section of the Kensington Expressway with parkland tops Hochul’s list of priorities for Buffalo-based infrastructure spending under the $1.2 trillion bill President Biden signed last month.
Hochul planned to emphasize the importance of a $2 billion project to rebuild Interstate 81 in Syracuse during a meeting with the White House’s new infrastructure czar.
Hochul signed a bill aimed at protecting New Yorkers from lead exposure from Christmas lights and other holiday decorations.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo said being suspended by the network was embarrassing, addressing the controversy over his role in the sexual-harassment scandal involving his brother, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for the first time since the network took him off the air.
Chris Cuomo made his remarks during the beginning of his radio show, “Let’s Get After It With Chris Cuomo.” After asking for the introductory music to be cut, the anchor addressed his suspension, saying, “It hurts to even say it.”
Chris Cuomo offered no apology over the latest revelations about how he offered to use his cable news resources to try to stem the sexual harassment scandal that forced his brother to resign as governor.
“I understand why some people feel the way they do about what I did,” Chris Cuomo said. “I’ve apologized in the past, and I mean it. It’s the last thing I ever wanted to do, is compromise any of my colleagues.”
Gail Collins: “Where do you draw the line between journalism and family? Maybe at the point where you, the prominent news anchor, start thinking that your job is running down rumors for your brother.”
CNN president Jeff Zucker reportedly hit the roof when he saw evidence showing that Chris Cuomo used his journalistic connections to try to help his brother beat the sexual harassment scandal that forced him to resign as governor.
The New York College Democratic and Republican clubs called for SUNY Chancellor James Malatras to resign for smearing Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to publicly accuse ex-Gov. Cuomo of harassment.
“Let’s release some of her cray emails!” Malatras wrote in response to another colleague in Cuomo’s inner circle after Boylan criticized the Cuomo administration as a toxic workplace. (“Cray” is slang for “crazy.”)
State taxpayers could be on the hook for $22.7 million in legal costs related to controversies involving former Gov. Cuomo, according to newly updated documents posted by the state comptroller’s office.
Former top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa spoke repeatedly with state police about the bodyguard who began dating his daughter — and briefed her boss once the state trooper got transferred, the aide told investigators.
Ex-Gov. Cuomo once taunted a former top aide, Andrew Ball, by telling him he wasn’t doing his job as well as convicted felon Joe Percoco.
Dani Lever, a Facebook manager who once worked for Cuomo, secretly advised the disgraced ex-governor’s team to “victim shame” a sexual harassment accuser, according to text messages released this week by the New York Attorney General’s office.
NYC Mayor-elect Eric Adams showed off his Brooklyn roots in Ghana last night, stopping by a religious center in the West African nation to honor a major Jewish leader from Crown Heights during a local Hanukkah celebration.
With the stock market headed for another big year and interest rates near zero, Mayor Bill de Blasio slashed the budget gaps he’s leaving his successor by a third in an updated fiscal outlook. But Adams may not owe de Blasio much of a thank you.
As Adams prepares to tackle New York City’s ongoing homelessness crisis, influential advocates and institutional heads are urging him to improve coordination between housing and service agencies to accelerate moves into permanent homes.
Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital will pay a whopping $71 million to resolve claims from dozens of women who say they were abused by a perverted gynecologist.
A woman who accused Ghislaine Maxwell of grooming her to be sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein testified that the late financier took her to meet Donald Trump when she was 14 years old.
Jane told the jury that she competed in Miss Teen USA shortly after meeting Trump with Epstein at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., resort. The Miss Teen USA pageant was organized by Miss Universe, which Trump owned from 1996 to 2015.
A lawyer for Maxwell tried to cast doubt on an accuser’s testimony at the British socialite’s sex-trafficking trial, challenging the woman’s memory and showing inconsistencies with earlier statements she made to federal investigators.
A large explosion erupted outside a multifamily home in Brooklyn early yesterday morning, leaving six people injured and dozens more displaced as flames spread to neighboring houses.
Smoking crack cocaine is officially sanctioned at the “safe injection sites” de Blasio brought to Manhattan this week in a move that has infuriated the centers’ neighbors — and has at least one business owner packing his bags.
De Blasio and his Transportation Commissioner Hank Gutman released a draft proposal for a “streets master plan” at the behest of City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
Charter school champion Michael Bloomberg announced a “historic” $750 million initiative to entrench and expand the sector across 20 metro areas, including New York City, over the next five years.
Steven McLaughlin, a former New York assemblyman known for his outspoken criticism of former Gov. Cuomo, was arrested and charged with stealing thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to settle a personal debt.
McLaughlin was accused of withdrawing $5,000 from his campaign fund in November 2017 when he was still a member of the State Assembly to satisfy a debt to an aide.
McLaughlin is charged with grand larceny, and offering a false instrument for filing. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.
The county executive’s attorney said in a statement: “In regards to media reports of potential charges, Mr. McLaughlin has engaged in no wrongdoing and looks forward to his day in court.”
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the trustee of the state’s pension fund, requested 3M Company and Chemours Company issue a report on environmental justice in light of pollution in the state that he cites disproportionately hurts racial or ethnic minorities.
After months of heated debate and a decision reversal by the school board, the state Education Department has decided the Cambridge Central School District’s Indian symbol and mascot must go.
A former deacon with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany allegedly abused two children, including a relative, during a time when he should have been in state prison on a separate child sexual abuse conviction but remained free due to a bureaucratic error.
A Bethlehem Central High School student has been arrested for allegedly making threats of violence against people at school on Nov. 23, according to school and law enforcement officials.
Michigan school officials met with Ethan Crumbley and his parents Tuesday morning. Several hours later, the 15-year-old opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun on his classmates, police said, in what prosecutors described as a planned shooting.
New details about the suspect’s behavior and actions in the hours leading up to the shooting spree emerged as he was charged with terrorism, four counts of first-degree murder and an array of other charges.
A fourth student died yesterday following the shooting at a Michigan high school.
Stacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat whose narrow loss in the governor’s race in 2018 catapulted her to national prominence, said she would run again for governor in 2022, setting up a high-profile potential rematch with Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican.
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol voted to recommend holding former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark in criminal contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.
Mumps cases continue to circulate in the U.S., largely among vaccinated people, including children.
Alec Baldwin claims he didn’t pull the trigger of the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust.”
For the first time in nearly three decades, Major League Baseball is in a work stoppage.
