Good Wednesday morning.
There are 16 days remaining until Christmas, and for those who follow the religious calendar, today is the Feast of Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation.
There is a widespread misconception about the Immaculate Conception, which is to say that this feast day does NOT have anything to do with the Baby Jesus. Instead, it has to do with his mother, Mary, who, as doctrine has it, was born in the usual way (meaning to a human mother and father who, you know, conceived her), but without sin – either original or personal.
Pope Pius IX proclaimed the following in 1854:
“The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Saviour of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”
So, basically, Mary was preserved from sin by the grace of God, and as such, was able to become the sinless mother of Jesus, who, by his life, death, and subsequent resurrection, ransomed the human race (well, Catholics, anyway) from sin.
This is all rather difficult for a Jew to get her head around, but I’m trying.
Complicating matters is the fact that theologians questioned the whole immaculate conception thing until Pope Pius weighed in with the aforementioned Ineffabilis Deus, clarifying the importance of it as a divine concept in the Church.
Churches around the world hold a special mass to mark this day, which is even a public holiday in some countries (and also Guam, which is an unincorporated U.S. territory). The Pope traditionally lays a wreath at the base of the Colonna della Immacolata in Rome, which stands at 12-meters tall by the statue of the Virgin Mary.
On a MUCH more secular note, it’s also National Brownie Day. This chocolate treat is quintessentially American in its heritage, though its origin story is disputed.
Also, if you really want to go down a sweet and delicious rabbit hole, which may send you directly to the bakery for breakfast, click here to learn all about the various styles of brownies, which range from fudgy to cakey and everything in between.
I am not really into the forecast today, which is calling for morning snow showers and temperatures in the mid-30s. FWIW, it’s supposed to be close to 60 degrees again this weekend, and raining (on Saturday, at least).
In the headlines…
Face to face for over two hours, President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin squared off in a secure video as the U.S. president put Moscow on notice that an invasion of Ukraine would bring sanctions and enormous harm to the Russian economy.
Biden told Putin that the U.S. is prepared to launch strong economic measures should Russia invade Ukraine, signaling new measures beyond the 2014 sanctions that failed to stop Russia from occupying Crimea.
Putin, meanwhile, accused Kyiv of provocation, and sought guarantees against eastward Nato expansion and deployment of offensive weapons close to Russia.
Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and urged Putin to return to diplomatic talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region, where Kyiv is fighting Russian-backed separatists, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Voters are heading into the midterm election year in a sour mood, pessimistic about the economy and short on confidence in the leadership of Biden and his party on the issues that concern them most, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds.
Senate leaders forged a bipartisan deal that would raise the debt ceiling and prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt obligations next week.
The bill would provide a one-time pathway for the Senate to raise the debt ceiling on a simple majority vote, skirting Republican obstruction.
The House overwhelmingly passed a $768 billion defense policy bill after lawmakers dropped proposals that would have required women to register for the draft, repealed the 2002 authorization of the Iraq war and imposed sanctions for a Russian gas pipeline.
Sen. Joe Manchin declined to commit to voting for Democrats’ roughly $2 trillion social-policy and climate package, citing concerns about inflation and the length of programs, weeks before the Christmas deadline party leaders are racing to meet.
The bipartisan commission appointed by Biden to study possible changes to the federal judiciary unanimously approved a final report that flagged “profound disagreement” among its members on expanding the Supreme Court with additional justices.
Saule Omarova, Biden’s nominee to oversee large national banks, withdrew from consideration amid opposition from Republicans and moderate Democrats who had sought to block her nomination, the White House said.
Critics had called Omarova a Communist. It was not immediately clear whom Biden will turn to next to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the agency that regulates the country’s largest banks.
The Senate approved Biden’s choice to run Customs and Border Protection, filling a key post that has oversight of one of the president’s earliest and biggest challenges: handling the historic spike in illegal crossings at the nation’s southern border.
Amazon’s cloud computing unit yesterday was hit with an outage that took down some websites and services.
A notice on Amazon Web Services’ status page said it was experiencing problems with certain APIs and the AWS Management Console. The issues are impacting AWS’ main US-East-1 region hosted in northern Virginia, so not all users experienced outages.
Anonymous delivery service providers told Bloomberg an internal app used to communicate with drivers wasn’t working, leaving packages stranded in vans and unable to reach customers.
There were reports of outages for Disney Plus and Netflix streaming, as well as games like PUBG, League of Legends, and Valorant.
As companies across the U.S. fight to find workers, Amazon is emerging as a de facto wage-and-benefit setter for a large pool of low-skilled workers.
U.S. district court in Georgia halted the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors, writing that the president likely exceeded his authority.
U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker in Savannah, GA, issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the mandate after concluding that federal procurement law didn’t give the administration the clear authority to impose the vaccine rules for contractors.
The ruling was the latest setback for Biden, who announced a series of measures in September aimed at increasing vaccination rates to fight the pandemic that continues to kill more than 1,000 Americans daily.
U.S. stocks continued to rebound yesterday, as equities and oil prices rose on hopes that Omicron would prove less damaging to the economy than feared.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in her strongest public remarks to date about Biden’s vaccine mandate for employers, said that the requirement is “a problem” for her and state government.
The United States surgeon general warned that young people are facing “devastating” mental health effects as a result of the challenges experienced by their generation, including the coronavirus pandemic.
The message came as part of a rare public advisory from the nation’s top physician, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, in a 53-page report noting that the pandemic intensified mental health issues that were already widespread by the spring of 2020.
The U.S. government is investing $400 million in a new program to help countries get vaccines to their citizens quickly, an effort that comes amid fears that the Delta and Omicron variants will drive a new wave of cases.
Up to one million COVID-19 vaccines are estimated to have expired in Nigeria last month without being used, two sources told Reuters, one of the biggest single losses of doses that shows the difficulty African nations have getting shots in arms.
Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said the drugmaker could have done more to help improve low vaccination rates in poor countries, despite efforts to try to get supply to the countries.
The Omicron variant of coronavirus can partially evade the protection afforded by vaccines, according to laboratory tests conducted in South Africa, but scientists say the shots should still defend those inoculated from severe disease.
South African scientists say the omicron variant significantly reduces antibodies generated by Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, although people who recovered from the virus and received a booster shot will likely have more protection from severe disease.
Canada’s plant-based coronavirus vaccine might soon be the newest option for those looking for protection against the virus.
At one clinic serving low-income children, treatment for health problems that have gone unchecked during the pandemic is more in demand than coronavirus shots.
Minnesota is seeing a record-high number of people hospitalized across the state’s intensive care units. The state, currently battling the delta variant, has reported a 98% occupancy rate of adult intensive care beds for both COVID and non-COVID patients.
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois accounted for the majority of the increase in patients hospitalized with Covid over the last two weeks.
According to data provided by the New York State Department of Health, counties in Western New York are seeing some of the highest infection rates in the state along with some of the lowest vaccination rates.
COVID-19 cases are rising in New York City schools, and parents, teachers, advocates and health experts are expressing concerns that the Department of Education (DOE) in-school testing program isn’t screening enough students and staff to catch outbreaks.
After NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio set a mandate for all private employers, some raised questions about how the city planned to enforce it, while others said they backed the idea.
A few dozen protesters disrupted traffic outside de Blasio’s Brooklyn home last night and expressed outrage over COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
De Blasio’s sudden private sector COVID-19 vaccine mandate is a giant middle finger to Mayor-elect Eric Adams — who will have to figure out how, or if, to enforce the controversial new rule, insiders said.
Incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul holds a firm lead in the Democratic primary for governor of New York, outpacing all rivals by double-digit margins, a new survey released reveals.
The Siena poll showed Hochul with 36% support in a potential June primary, with 18% for AG Letitia James; 10% for NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; and 6% each for Rep. Tom Suozzi and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who hasn’t yet announced.
“Hochul continues to have a double-digit lead over her opponents in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and, unlike what is often seen in early polls, it is not completely based on name recognition,” Siena spokesman Steven Greenberg said.
The Buffalo & Niagara County Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents more than 12,000 union members in Erie and Niagara counties, backed Hochul for a full term in 2022.
It will be a return to tradition for the annual State of the State address as Hochul plans to deliver her first formal message to the Legislature in the Assembly chamber on Jan. 5.
Hochul is dedicating $2 million additional state funds to help Afghan refugees resettle in New York State.
Hochul has called on a federal agency to ensure Yaphank and North Bellport residents have a say in discussions of a proposed $182 million waste transfer station that would be built near the Brookhaven Town landfill.
Offices for the aging from 40 counties across the state are calling on Hochul to support legislation that would increase the rate of pay for home care workers paid through Medicaid in an effort to attract people to the field, and to keep them from leaving.
Lindsay Boylan, who accused ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, called Hochul “shameful” for refusing to call for the SUNY chancellor’s firing after a bombshell transcript release from the state attorney general revealed his profane messages for her.
SUNY officials were aware of complaints about Jim Malatras’ short temper and allegations that he verbally demeaned subordinates in the years leading up to his 2020 appointment as chancellor of the 64-campus system, materials newly obtained by the TU show.
Merryl Tisch, who heads SUNY’s board of trustees, has been calling elected officials over the past week urging them to lay off Malatras, a former top aide and confidante to disgraced ex-Gov. Cuomo, who resigned in August amid a sex-harassment scandal.
The SUNY University Faculty Senate is calling on the Board of Trustees to authorize an independent investigation into Malatras.
“Not only did he not push back against the toxic work environment that we now know characterized that administration, he also contributed to its polarized, ‘take no prisoners’ culture,” the Senate said in its letter. “This behavior was, and is, unacceptable.”
State University of New York faculty members are divided over whether Malatras, chancellor of the system, should stay or go.
WNY Democratic Assemblywoman Monica Wallace said Malatras “must resign.”
Hochul is planning an overhaul of the SUNY college system, the specifics of which will come out in her State of the State address.
Chris Cuomo won’t get severance from CNN and lost a publishing deal for a coming book, the latest fallout from the former CNN anchor’s involvement in helping his brother, Andrew Cuomo, respond to allegations of sexual harassment.
During a virtual town-hall meeting with employees, CNN President Jeff Zucker said he wished Chris Cuomo had taken a leave of absence in May when allegations that he participated in strategy sessions with his brother first surfaced.
A representative for the publisher’s imprint Custom House said in a statement, “Custom House does not intend to publish the Chris Cuomo book,” titled “Deep Denial” and set for release next year.
Craig D. Apple Sr., who wants to put the ex-governor behind bars, is known among some fellow Democrats as the “Teflon sheriff” for his ability to persevere, even thrive, through trouble that might tarnish less adept politicians.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo marked his 64th birthday with a tiny party attended by one of his daughters — and two guests who attended via cellphone video, according to a photo he posted online yesterday.
An inner circle of advisers to Mayor-elect Adams has been working to get Queens Councilman Francisco Moya elected as the next Council speaker by blitzing the phones of incoming members, labor leaders and other political power brokers.
Acting MTA Chairman Janno Lieber is looking forward to the change in guard at City Hall, which he hopes will bring with it a more visible NYPD presence in the subways after a rash of violent attacks on straphangers.
The MTA will reactivate the fingerprint readers on its high-tech timeclocks after suspending the feature in the earliest days of COVID-19.
Outgoing NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said his successor and the Adams administration will have a lot of work to do, which includes examining and adjusting to the package of bills the City Council passed aimed at reforming the department.
The NYPD has taken 2,000 body cameras out of circulation after one worn by a Manhattan cop “ignited,” police confirmed.
The embattled NYC Board of Elections bounced its powerful No. 2 official amid a pledge for reform after a series of gaffes. The board replaced Dawn Sandow, the deputy executive director for 11 years, with ex-Staten Island GOP councilman Vincent Ignizio.
The Council is set to approve a bill tomorrow that would let roughly 800,000 other immigrant New Yorkers vote in local elections, making the Big Apple the largest jurisdiction in the country to extend the right to noncitizens.
Christmas tree sellers are struggling to deal with what some describe as the tightest supply of their wares in years.
A man was arrested after setting fire to a Christmas tree outside Midtown’s Manhattan’s News Corporation building early this morning, police and sources said.
A lawsuit filed by the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association accuses state AG Letitia James of abusing new police oversight rules. The union says the AG took advantage of 70-b rules for investigations into incidents involving police.
Three landlords and companies associated with them are suing the City of Albany over “good cause” eviction legislation passed earlier this year.
Leaders of Schenectady and Albany counties urged their residents to wear masks in public regardless of vaccination status.
The Saratoga Springs City Council approved a resolution that will ensure Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan, and future mayors and commissioners who serve a decade, receive paid lifetime health insurance.
A bureaucratic error nearly led the Albany Common Council to approve a revised city zoning code that didn’t have an affordable housing requirement for large residential projects.
Allen Street Pub, an Albany hangout for military veterans that also proved a refuge for beer aficionados after Mahar’s Public Bar closed, is being taken over by veteran area bartender Joe Tersigni.
SUNY’s Rockefeller Institute of Government spearheaded the group’s recently launched marijuana opt-out tracker. The searchable database will be updated on a rolling basis from her work reading minutes, news articles, legal notices and local laws.
New Albany Patroons head coach and general manager Will Brown announced his coaching staff, a group with strong ties to Brown’s past and the Capital Region.
More than 1.1 million people camped in the Adirondacks in 2021, a new record for the park. To manage and respond to more people coming to hike and camp in the Adirondacks in recent years, the NYSDEC created a new Adirondack Coordinator position.
Many top tech company executives are urging Congress to quickly pass the $52 billion CHIPS Act designed to counter China’s accelerating control over the manufacture of computer chips that power everything from phones to cars, airplanes and more.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows had a change of heart and will no longer work with a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Tuesday, effectively flip-flopping on a deal to tell the panel what he knows.
Viagra might help to treat Alzheimer’s disease, according to researchers who have been using the impotence drug to study the effects it has on the brain.
A biographical Michael Jackson musical began previews on Broadway this week with a big budget, a huge fan base, and a looming question: How would the show grapple with allegations that the pop singer molested children? The answer: It doesn’t.
