Good Wednesday morning.
So the best thing about the holidays in my humble opinion, (and remember that I’m Jewish, and so the whole ethnic-dinner-and-a-movie-on-Christmas-Eve thing is an amazing tradition, but it’s not the BEST thing, necessarily), is cookies.
Now, those of you who know me well are probably reading this and thinking: What the heck is she talking about? She doesn’t eat cookies
It’s true. I don’t, as a rule, eat much sugar, and especially not cookies. They don’t agree with me on so many levels.
BUT, from a conceptual standpoint, I love the vast variety of holiday sweets, and the creativity, time, and care that goes into making them, and the exchanging of them, and, of course, the consumption of them, even if I have to do that very sparingly – if at all.
If you were to really hold my feet to the fire, I MIGHT say that I like peanut butter cookies with Hersey’s kisses in the middle the best. But, I also have a soft spot for intricately decorated sugar cookies in the shape of trees, reindeer, and Santa.
ALSO, I am very partial to gingerbread, which ages very well and is nice because it’s not over-the-top sweet.
And also those butter cookies with the jam in the middle? Or the Italian cookies with the white icing and the sprinkles?
Or the, what do you call it, reindeer munch – the sweetened Chex mix mess that is reminiscent of Puppy Chow or muddy buddies? (Apparently, some people call it monkey munch, according to Google, but I’ve never heard of that).
Anyway, there are SO MANY varieties of holiday sweets. And why am I bothering to chronicle all this? Yeah, you guessed it.
It’s National Cookie Exchange Day.
A cookie is very loosely defined as a sweet, flour-based cake that can be held in the hand. But, then again, there are all sorts of bars and treats that are made out of things other than flour – like Rice Krispies, for example – that I could be convinced fall into the cookie category.
Anyway, while you’re wrapping your head around that…Cookies reportedly originated as test cakes for bakers who wanted to see if their ovens were ready from a temperature standpoint, and they’re believed to date back as early as 7th Century AD in Persia (now Iran), which was one of the first countries to grow and harvest sugar cane.
The butter cookie was the earliest version of the modern-day treat – something akin to shortbread, of which I am a big fan.
The tradition of exchanging cookies dates back centuries, and if you’re interested in engaging in a formal cookie swap, there are apparently rules of engagement that you should know.
As for me, I’ll live vicariously through your cookie enjoyment – share your cookie photos, if you’re so inclined. You know where to find me.
It will be partly cloudy today, with temperatures in the 40s – perfect weather for driving around like a mad person, trying to get that last-minute shopping done. Good luck with that.
In the headlines…
Fighting the omicron variant surging through the country, President Joe Biden announced that the government would provide 500 million free rapid tests, increase support for hospitals under strain and redouble vaccination and boosting efforts.
Biden aimed to reassure vaccinated Americans that they can still proceed with their holiday plans without fear of becoming seriously ill, announcing a number of new efforts to combat a surge of Covid-19 cases in the United States.
“We should all be concerned about Omicron, but not panicked,” Biden said in an afternoon address delivered from the White House, adding that vaccinated Americans should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays as planned.
While travel hasn’t fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, some airlines said they are expecting flights to be even fuller than they were over Thanksgiving, when daily passenger volumes hit their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.
Biden gave credit to the Trump administration for the development of the Covid-19 vaccine and praised his predecessor for getting a booster shot – marking a rare moment where the two men have found common ground since Inauguration Day.
“We’ll see some fully vaccinated people get Covid, potentially in large numbers,” Biden said. “There will be positive cases in every office, even here in the White House, among the vaccinated, but these cases are highly unlikely to lead to serious illness.”
Even as the president outlined new plans for battling the highly contagious Omicron variant, public health experts warned that the measures would not be sufficient to prevent a grim rise in infections and hospitalizations over the next few weeks.
Two of the three monoclonal antibody treatments that doctors have depended on to keep Covid-19 patients from becoming seriously ill do not appear to thwart the latest version of the coronavirus, and the one that works is in short supply.
Harris County Public Health in Texas reported the first known Covid-19 death in the county caused by the Omicron variant. The patient was an unvaccinated man between the age of 50 and 60 who had been infected with Covid-19 in the past, the agency said.
Asked if Sen. Joe Manchin broke his word by opposing BBB, Biden said: “I’ve told you before that some people think maybe I’m not Irish because I don’t hold a grudge…I want to get things done. I still think there’s a possibility of getting Build Back Better done.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer readied plans for the Senate to vote on the bill early next year despite Manchin’s opposition. Manchin’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden’s remarks.
Manchin outlined some major changes to Biden’s massive spending bill that could elicit his support, one day after he abruptly torpedoed the $1.7 trillion social spending and climate package.
The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), which represents West Virginia coal miners, urged Manchin to revisit his opposition to the BBB.
Senator Mitch McConnell is extending an open invitation to Manchin — come on over to our side. (He has wooed the West Virginia senator, a lifelong Democrat, to flip to the GOP for years).
Manchin’s political action committee saw a surge in corporate contributions this fall, ahead of his decision to oppose – and apparently kill – Biden’s $1.75 trillion social safety net and climate-change bill.
The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule that will require manufacturers of cars and light trucks to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions.
…But as former President Barack Obama’s efforts to use regulations to combat climate change showed, such efforts are subject to the whims of federal judges and can easily be undone by the next president.
The Biden administration is considering extending the payment pause and interest waiver for most federal student loan borrowers once again.
Officials announced approval of two solar projects in California and moved to open up public lands in three other Western states to potential solar development, as part of the Biden administration’s effort to counter climate change by shifting from fossil fuels.
Israeli officials said that the country will administer a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, in a bid to curb the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, and is believed to be the first to do so.
Biden said he is considering lifting a travel ban he imposed last month on non-U. S. citizen travelers from South Africa and seven other southern African countries.
Thousands of federal convicts released to home confinement to reduce the spread of Covid-19 won’t be required by law to be returned to prison once the state of emergency ends, reversing an earlier opinion that would have potentially sent them back.
America’s population grew 0.1% this year, the lowest rate on record, according to Census Bureau figures released Tuesday that show how the pandemic is changing the country’s demographic contours.
A combination of dropping birth rates, higher deaths rates amid the COVID pandemic and limited immigration meant the country added only 392,665 people between July 2020 and July 2021. That’s the lowest recorded increase since the nation’s 1776 founding.
New York continues to lead the nation in population decline, with the number of people living here dropping 1.6% from July 2020 to July 2021, a decrease of 319,000, according to preliminary data released yesterday.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the omicron variant of the coronavirus has “over 50 mutations and because of those mutations, just being vaccinated with two doses may not be enough” ahead of the holidays.
Criminals have stolen close to $100 billion in pandemic relief funds, the U.S. Secret Service said.
Germany will introduce new measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 before New Year’s Eve, including limiting private gatherings for vaccinated people to a maximum of 10 people, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
Chicago businesses such as gyms, restaurants and entertainment venues will have to verify the vaccination status of patrons over 5 beginning on Jan. 3 after Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued new guidelines in response to the “alarming” rise in COVID-19 cases.
Mardi Gras will be back in full force when it returns to the Big Easy on March 1, 2022, closer to the way people know and love the Bourbon St. celebration, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell tweeted.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith announced he tested positive for COVID and has mild symptoms.
Emmy Award-winning reality TV kingpin Andy Cohen, who is fully vaccinated, revealed he was battling a breakthrough case of COVID-19.
The NHL will withdraw from the Winter Olympics after the regular-season schedule was disrupted by coronavirus outbreaks.
…this is a reversal of plans announced in September and a signal of the fears rippling through sports about how the worsening coronavirus pandemic could derail seasons and competitions worldwide.
The NBA indicated that it had no plans to shut down for Christmas. In fact, Commissioner Adam Silver said the league had a responsibility to keep playing.
Companies are struggling to stop employees from leaving and to boost morale in the face of rampant resignations spurred by pandemic burnout. Some are trying mandatory companywide vacation days and blackout hours when meetings are banned.
Higher prices, a worker shortage and a revitalized labor movement are bringing about the return of pay increases tied to inflation, known as cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs.
Federal health officials are considering easing the CDC’s current 10-day COVID-19 isolation guideline — arguing the stealth lockdown restriction may be more harmful to people than the raging Omicron variant.
A former Upstate New York dentist has taken over the National Institutes of Health (NIH), becoming Dr. Anthony Fauci’s boss as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio rolled out a new vaccination deal sweetener – $100 to anyone who gets a coronavirus booster shot before the end of the year.
The incentive comes as the federal government gears up to launch several new testing sites in the city amid an omicron-fueled surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Thirteen CityMD clinics across New York City – all of which offer COVID-19 testing – will temporarily close beginning today due to staffing concerns, according to the company.
The number of reported cases in the city has surged in recent days to more than 15,000 on Monday, the highest level since at least January and about four times the number of cases recorded just one week earlier.
De Blasio, who is considering a run for governor next year, reiterated that he doesn’t want to shut down the city. He’ll make a decision soon about the New Year’s Eve celebration soon, noting it would take place outdoors and vaccination would be required.
The outgoing mayor said he was prepared to “spend whatever it takes” to make boosters a priority. More than 82 percent of adults in New York City are fully vaccinated, but only about a quarter of adult New Yorkers have received a booster shot, city officials said.
Nearly 8 percent of the NYPD’s workforce was out sick yesterday, with many of them experiencing flu-like symptoms, according to sources.
Republican Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis has tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesperson for the lawmaker confirmed. She was vaccinated but had not received a boosted shot when she got infected.
New York City Ballet canceled a performance of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” after several people involved in the production tested positive for the coronavirus.
The surge in coronavirus cases is starting to take a real financial toll on Broadway, just as the industry is attempting to rebound from its lengthy shutdown.
Success Academy, New York City’s largest charter school network, is planning to extend a “vaccine or test” requirement to all of its 20,000 students, school officials said.
The COVID-19 infection rate at the troubled Rikers Island jail is rising at an alarming daily rate among largely unvaccinated inmates amid a citywide surge, the city Department of Corrections commissioner warns.
Regents examinations scheduled for January have been canceled because of the worsening pandemic, state Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said.
The move marked the second year in a row that the annual January tests were scrubbed amid a winter wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mayor-elect Eric Adams announced that he’s canceling his Jan. 1 inauguration event as the omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to drive up infections and hospitalizations in the city.
In a joint press release, Adams, city Comptroller-elect Brad Lander and re-elected Public Advocate Jumaane Williams revealed their joint inaugural will be held at “a later date.”
“I don’t need an inauguration — all I need is a mattress and a floor to execute being the mayor of the City of New York,” said Adams, who slept in his office during the height of the pandemic as Brooklyn borough president. It’s unclear if he’ll have a private event.
More than two dozen incoming City Council members demanded that Adams end solitary confinement at Rikers Island, sparking a war of words with the next mayor days after he said he’d continue to segregate violent inmates from the jail’s general population.
Adams rebuked the 29 members of the City Council who signed the that demanded passage of the legislation, arguing they were “romanticizing this issue.”
Adams carried on with his rollout of top administration appointments this week, announcing the appointment of Matthew Fraser as the city’s next chief technology officer.
Adams also tapped Melanie LaRocca, who currently serves as Mayor de Blasio’s Buildings Department commissioner, to be the city’s first efficiency czar.
Dollar-slice pizza businesses, a staple of New York City’s dining scene, face an existential crisis as food prices rise at their fastest pace in decades.
A six-year-old bill that fueled false COVID-related conspiracy theories was yanked this week from consideration by its sole sponsor, Assemblyman Nick Perry.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a package of bills into law that are intended to help people with disabilities and their families, including a study of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dia Carabajal, chairwoman of the Cayuga County Democratic Committee, is among 13 Democratic county leaders who backed Hochul’s bid for a full term as governor in 2022, calling the move a “no brainer.”
Experts say most of the state may not see marijuana retail shops until very late in 2022 or, more likely, early 2023.
Rochester Democratic Sen. Jeremy Cooney introduced a bill that let enable gay, lesbian and bisexual people qualify as social equity applicants under the state’s marijuana law, following a separate measure that would allow nonbinary and trans people to do so.
All Albany public schools will shift to distance learning today and will resume in-person learning on Jan. 3, according to a memo from the district.
The Albany Common Council unanimously approved two veto overrides Monday night that are designed to give them more control over the city’s federal rescue funds.
Personal income in the Capital Region grew at its fastest rate in 31 years during 2020.
Former President Trump vowed to hold a press conference on the first anniversary of the storming of the Capitol as he steps up his campaign to whitewash the Jan. 6 attack.
Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry rejected the Jan. 6 committee’s demand for testimony about his key role in Trump’s effort to overturn his election loss, escalating a confrontation with the panel.
A jury found Harvard chemist Charles Lieber guilty of lying to the federal government about his participation in China’s Thousand Talents recruitment program.
About 1,400 Kellogg Co. unionized workers ratified a new five-year contract, concluding a 2½ month strike with a deal that the union says maintains workers’ cost-of-living raises and guarantees no plants will be shut down for about five years.
Airplane passengers who act up during flights could face a new consequence: losing PreCheck, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration said.
if you’ve made it all the way to the bottom of the headlines this morning, read this story for a nice heartwarming boost.
