It’s Tuesday, good morning.
Today is also Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, when honor and recall the 2,403 service members and civilians killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on this date in 1941.
An additional 1,178 individuals were injured in the attack, which permanently sank two U.S. Navy battleships (the USS Arizona and the USS Utah) and destroyed 188 aircraft.
Congress officially designated Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in 1994, and events are held every year at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, culminating in a commemoration ceremony today. This is the 80th anniversary of the attack, which lead to the entry by the U.S. into WW II.
The theme for this year’s remembrance events is “Valor, Sacrifice and Peace.” It’s worth noting that though this day is, (not surprisingly), not commemorated in Japan, the Japanese lost 29 aircraft and 5 midget submarines in the attack on Pearl Harbor. One Japanese soldier was taken prisoner and 129 Japanese soldiers were killed.
Oh, and contrary to popular belief, the Japanese dive bombers involved in the attack on Pearl Harbor were NOT kamikazes. It wasn’t until three years later that the country adopted suicide aerial attacks as an official military strategy.
What did occur at 8 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941 was that 353 Japanese fighter planes from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service, without prior warning, attacked the Naval Station at Pearl Harbor, located on Oahu, Hawaii. The purpose of the attack was to immobilize the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which would then, theoretically, allow Japan to advance into Malaya and Dutch East Indies.
The Biden administration has already issued a proclamation officially declaring this year’s Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which reads in part:
“Our Nation remains forever indebted to all those who gave their last full measure of devotion eight decades ago. We will never forget those who perished, and we will always honor our sacred obligation to care for our service members, veterans, and their families, caregivers, and survivors.”
This day is not a federal holiday, but flags are supposed to be flown a half-staff to honor the dead.
There are no clear figures on how many Pearl Harbor vets are still alive.
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, only 240,329 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are still with us here in 2021. One, Ike Schab, 101, will be traveling to Hawaii for the 80th anniversary of the official remembrance ceremony. The oldest Pearl Harbor survivor died at the age of 106 in 2018.
What a difference a day makes, weather wise.
Yesterday it was in the 50s, but windy as hell, (in fact, there was a wind advisory in effect until the early hours of this morning with gusts of up to 50 MPH expected), while today it’s back to the mid-30s, with mostly cloudy skies.
In the headlines…
President Biden pointedly declined to say if he believes his sprawling social spending package can pass Congress by Christmas — amid doubts that the Democrats’ hoped-for big-spend present can pass by then, or ever.
A recent USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll found 59% of voters disapprove of Biden’s job performance, while Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval rating sits at 28%. Forty-six percent of those surveyed believe Biden is doing a worse job as president than expected.
Even the party’s own polling has the president in the red. A poll from House Democrats’ campaign arm earlier this month showed the president down in battleground districts across the country, with 52 percent of voters disapproving of the job he’s doing.
The U.S. will not send a diplomatic delegation to the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, while Biden‘s administration is giving the U.S. athletes headed to Beijing in February its full support.
The decision is in part a signal of opposition to China’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority in western Xinjiang province, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing.
Republican lawmakers took aim at Biden for his diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics, arguing keeping U.S. officials from attending did not go far enough as they called for removing the games from China.
Biden is expected to encourage diplomatic de-escalation over the conflict in Ukraine when he speaks to Vladimir Putin of Russia today, but will warn him that if he orders the Russian forces to invade Ukraine, sanctions may be forthcoming.
The president will not entertain any of Putin’s “red lines” on NATO expansion in Eastern Europe and will make clear that the US is prepared to respond to an invasion with sanctions and – if needed – additional troops in Europe to reassure nervous allies.
An administration official declined to say whether the U.S. would take direct military action against Russia if there were an invasion.
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., will resign from Congress to become chief executive officer of former President Donald Trump’s fledgling social media company next month, the group said.
Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, has told colleagues he plans to resign from Congress, a House Republican aide said. A spokesman for Nunes didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The SEC is probing two of the most notable SPAC deals struck this year, including Trump’s venture, signaling that regulators are ratcheting up scrutiny of such deals and rushing to keep up with the frenzy of activity.
More voters would back Trump than Biden in a hypothetical matchup if the 2024 election were held today, according to a new Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey.
The Senate is set to vote on a resolution to nullify Biden’s vaccine mandate for private companies, as Republicans and at least one Democrat push back on the rule requiring vaccines or inconvenient testing rules for workers at large businesses.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has put five places in Europe – including one of the world’s biggest tourism powerhouses – on its list of destinations for “very high” Covid-19 travel risk.
The United States began requiring international travelers to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test taken no more than a day before their flights. The move, intended to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, is causing headaches for many passengers.
Preliminary data about the severity of the Covid omicron variant is “a bit encouraging,” the White House’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said following early figures from South Africa that suggest it may not be as bad as initially feared.
Promising Covid-19 treatment pills are likely to take longer to reach patients in low- and middle-income countries than in rich ones because of manufacturing and pricing obstacles, despite efforts by drugmakers to make them more available.
A small number of Covid-19 breakthrough cases are beginning to show up among people who got both a full round of vaccinations and a booster shot.
The ages between 13 and 24 can be particularly fraught, and the coronavirus pandemic is taking an extra toll on this age group, a new study has found.
The Omicron variant has prompted South Korea to accelerate efforts to vaccinate schoolchildren, and penalize those who don’t comply, sparking debates over the safety of Covid-19 shots and education access.
A total of 68 doctors and nurses who work at a Spanish hospital have tested positive for COVID-19 since attending a massive Christmas party last week, officials said.
Delaware saw the highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases since January last week. Recently, state officials warned residents to be cautious again as the state sees an uptick in cases and the country reels from the emergence of the omicron variant.
About 200 UMass Memorial Health employees are out of a job because they missed the health care system’s COVID vaccination deadline.
Johnny Rodgers, the 1972 Heisman Trophy winner and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, was in an Omaha hospital intensive care unit yesterday with COVID-19.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a sweeping coronavirus vaccine mandate for all private employers in New York City to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.
The mandate will take effect Dec. 27, impacting some 184,000 businesses, while vaccine proof for indoor dining, fitness and entertainment will be required for children ages 5 to 11.
De Blasio, who is reportedly mulling a run for governor, used an appearance on MSNBC to roll out the vaccine mandate for private sector employees, taking many by surprise.
The mayor’s announcement drew immediate rebuke from trade groups, New York office workers and some fellow elected officials who said the backbone of the Big Apple was “blindsided” by the stunning move.
In less than a month, Eric Adams will succeed de Blasio as mayor, and yesterday, Adams declined to commit to enforcing the new rules, which are intended to stem the spread of the virus, especially the new Omicron variant.
The mayor-elect, who is on vacation in Ghana, intends to “evaluate this mandate and other Covid strategies when he is in office and make determinations based on science, efficacy and the advice of health professionals,” Adams’s spokesman, Evan Thies, said.
Adams is looking to raise his Twitter game — and has turned to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez for help.
Capital Region counties have no immediate plans to follow in New York City’s lead to implement vaccine mandates for private employers.
Unvaccinated health care workers across Western New York who were previously granted religious exemptions to the state’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate have started losing their jobs, which is expected to worsen an existing staffing crunch.
New York State health officials confirmed four more cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, bringing the state total to 12, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
The news of the latest Omicron infections – including two on Long Island – comes as 32 upstate hospitals will now be blocked from performing non-essential surgeries under an emergency order from Hochul that went into effect on Friday.
Albany Medical Center and its associated hospitals in Glens Falls and Saratoga were among a list of 32 hospitals that are to limit non-essential surgeries. The restrictions begin Thursday and will remain in place for at least two weeks.
Hochul announced that New York will be receiving more than a half-billion dollars to help homeowners struggling to pay their bills due to the pandemic.
Hochul called the new fund “a lifeline” for those who have fallen behind on mortgage payments and other bills, and said those who would like to apply for the loan can do so on Jan. 3, 2022 on a first come, first served basis.
Hochul announced the state had identified the first patients in upstate New York (in Oneida County) infected with the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Hochul has hired two formidable operatives from Gov. Phil Murphy’s recent re-election campaign in New Jersey to help her win across the river in 2022.
Hochul picked up endorsements from several Capital Region mayors, her campaign announced.
Former Buffalo mayoral candidate and political activist India Walton endorsed NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams for governor of New York in his progressive bid for the Democratic nomination.
Now that Rep. Thomas Suozzi has joined Rep. Lee Zeldin in announcing he’s running for governor of New York, Long Island could have a rare election with two open congressional seats, a situation that has national implications in the 2022 elections.
Queens Assemblyman Clyde Vanel has announced he’s running for New York attorney general.
Days after being dumped by CNN, embattled broadcaster Chris Cuomo announced that he was stepping away from his “Let’s Get At It” radio show, too.
“The way my time ended at CNN was hard,” Cuomo wrote. “While I have thick skin, I also have a family, for whom the past week has been extraordinarily difficult. So, right now, I have to take a step back and focus on what comes next.”
Cuomo “really wanted” to stay on Sirius but was told he needed to leave, sources said.
Cuomo’s wife, Cristina, was spotted picking up takeout from a Mexican restaurant and running errands in Sag Harbor without him.
Cuomo is reportedly set to sue CNN if it balks at paying him at least $18 million to cover what’s left on his contract.
More voices are joining the call for the State University of New York’s embattled chancellor, James Malatras, to step down or be removed from his role in light of 2019 text messages that reveal bullying conduct on behalf of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The head of the state Assembly’s oversight committee on higher education, Deborah Glick, demanded that Malatras resign or be fired “for the sake of the future of SUNY.”
“I understand that Jim Malatras — as all of us understand — has been appointed to the position by the trustees. I understand that he’s working with individuals to earn their trust, and I encourage him to do so,” said Hochul when asked about the SUNY chancellor.
New state records revealed LG Brian Benjamin has changed his answers on state background check forms — two weeks after the Daily News reported he provided incorrect information on his original disclosure before being sworn in.
New York City has yet to see its first measurable snowfall of the season — but that could all change in a matter of days. The temperature most certainly will.
A plan to “daylight” Tibbetts Brook in the Bronx would be one of the city’s most ambitious green infrastructure improvements.
A statue of Theodore Roosevelt that has stood on the front steps of the Manhattan museum for more than 80 years is now blocked from view in preparation for its move to North Dakota.
The federal watchdog overseeing efforts to reform Rikers Island slammed the Department of Correction for “the absence of elementary skills” needed to improve the “persistently dysfunctional system.”
Columbia University will not discipline a professor who angered students by using the N-word while quoting a scene from the film “8 Mile.”
Ghislaine Maxwell’s family complained about how she’s being treated during her federal sex-trafficking trial, asking US Attorney General Merrick Garland to intervene “in the interest of justice and common humanity.”
Maxwell spoke in a childlike voice and recruited others to perform sex acts on her boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein because she couldn’t keep up with his insatiable libido, a witness testified at the British socialite’s trial.
A woman identified only as “Kate” told jurors at Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial that Maxwell leveraged their friendship to encourage her to have sex with Epstein.
Former Democratic Rep. Max Rose announced he will try to retake the congressional seat he lost to Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis last year in an effort to maintain Democratic control of the House of Representatives.
Depending on the contours of the district — which now includes Staten Island and a slice of south Brooklyn — following the redistricting process, the contest may represent one of the Democrats’ more promising pickup opportunities.
A Long Island man threatened to turn New York City’s massive Pride parade into a bloodbath that would make the Pulse nightclub shooting, which killed 49 people, “look like a cakewalk,” the feds said.
The Long Island company that insured the stretch limousine that crashed three years ago in Schoharie County, killing 20 people, has been declared insolvent and is being liquidated by the state.
Glenville, Niskayuna, Ballston and Wilton have opted out of allowing marijuana shops. Colonie and Clifton Park are weighing legislation that forbids lounges where people can smoke marijuana.
Sen. Bob Dole’s casket will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday as congressional leaders honor the former Republican presidential candidate and World War II veteran who served in Congress for 36 years.
Medina Spirit, the horse that won the 2021 Kentucky Derby but later failed a drug test, died yesterday morning after collapsing at a California race track.
The thoroughbred collapsed following a workout at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., raising the possibility that his Derby win will be disqualified posthumously.
“Medina Spirit’s [death] is the biggest…in horse racing currently,” Patrick Battuello, founder and president of Horseracing Wrongs, tells the NY Post. “But pubescent horses collapsing and dying — this is just business as usual.”
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who has been very vocal in support of Starbucks employees’ efforts to form a union, joined Buffalo workers for a virtual town hall meeting.
Sanders, an independent politician who nonetheless is in the vanguard of the liberal wing of the national Democratic party, addressed the workers and several others about what he described as the effects of income and wealth inequality in the U.S.
Elon Musk took aim at a signature Biden administration legislative proposal meant to boost electric car adoption and said China is adjusting to its growing position as a dominant world power in an interview.
The Justice Department announced it closed an investigation into the abduction and murder of Emmett Till, the African American teen whose gruesome killing by two white men more than six decades ago in Mississippi helped begin the civil rights movement.
Canadian rapper Drake has withdrawn from this year’s Grammy award nominations.
Rapper Travis Scott is asking a judge to dismiss one of the lawsuits he’s facing after the deadly crowd surge at his Astroworld Festival last month.
