Good Thursday morning. Today’s an easy one, since everyone is a little bit Irish, right?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
We celebrate on March 17th because it is said to be the date of St. Patrick’s death in the late 5th century (circa A.D. 493). There really was a “real” St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who is credited with spreading Christianity in that country.
There are a LOT of myths about St. Patrick, however – chief among them the story that he drove the snakes from Ireland, to which snakes were never native to begin with.
Being surrounded by water probably has a lot to do with that, although I do know from personal experience that snakes CAN swim. They can also climb seemingly sheer rock cliffs…and drop on the ground near unsuspecting hikers, sending them screaming down the path gibbering about the end of days.
But I digress.
Back to St. Patrick, who was neither British NOR Irish, though he was born in what is now either England, Scotland, or Wales (opinion on this one varies widely).
He was reputedly enslaved by Irish raiders who ransacked his home when he was a teenager and transported him to the island, from which he later escaped, fled to England, received religious instruction and returned BACK to the island as a missionary.
St. Patrick was familiar with Irish customs, thanks to his six years as a slave there, and so, as he was charged in part with converting nonbelievers, incorporated traditional rituals into his efforts – including superimposing a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is known today as the Celtic cross.
Interesting note: St. Patrick was never canonized by the Catholic Church and therefore is a saint in name only.
He also may never have actually mentioned anything about shamrocks, which have come to be closely associated with St. Patrick’s Day and has been the unofficial “flower” of Ireland for decades.
But legend has it that St. Patrick used the shamrock as an educational symbol to explain the Holy Trinity to nonbelievers.
Today, St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally celebrated with parades, the wearing of the green, the drinking of beer (sometimes also green), and the eating of corned beef and cabbage, (Lenten restrictions against eating meat are traditionally waived on this day) among other things.
Personally, I prefer Irish soda bread, which is delicious any day of the year.
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the U.S. was reportedly held in what is now St. Augustine, Florida in the 1600s, even though both New York City and Boston lay claim to that title.
It’s going to be partly cloudy today with periods of rain in the afternoon and temperatures in the mid-50s. Tomorrow is going to be a stunner, weather-wise, with temperatures flirting with…I cannot believe I’m writing this, given what happened just a few short weeks ago, 70. Thank you, Mother Nature, my faith in you is restored.
In the headlines….
President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine as he sought to answer his Ukrainian counterpart’s impassioned call for help and leadership delivered to Congress earlier in the day.
A Kremlin spokesperson said Biden calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the military action in Ukraine is “unforgivable” when U.S. bombs kill people around the globe.
A war-weary Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking from his office in Kyiv, called on the United States to do more to protect his country and people in a dramatic address to American lawmakers.
Zelensky, wearing stubble and an army-green T-shirt, was speaking as his team is working to negotiate an end to the violence with Russia, talks that haven’t yet produced peace but have shown recent signs of progress.
“Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, the destiny of our people,” said Zelenskyy, who drew a standing ovation from Congress. “Whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy.”
Six Western nations have requested an open session on Ukraine before the United Nations is expected to vote on a Russian humanitarian resolution that has been sharply criticized for making no mention of its invasion of Ukraine.
More than 7,000 Russian troops have been killed in less than three weeks of fighting, according to conservative U.S. estimates.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned his Russian counterpart against “any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.
The Russian journalist fined for holding up an anti-war sign during a live broadcast on a state-run news channel told CNN that leading up to the now-viral protest, she was “feeling a cognitive dissonance” between “my beliefs and what we say on air.”
About 400 bulletproof vests bound for Ukrainian forces were stolen from a Manhattan non-profit that’s been collecting them and other tactical gear donated by law enforcement agencies to help the fight against Russia’s invasion.
The Federal Reserve lifted its policy interest rate for the first time since 2018 and penciled in six more rate increases this year as it tries to combat a burst of quick price increases.
After keeping its benchmark interest rate anchored near zero since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said it will raise rates by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points.
“We feel the economy is very strong and will be able to withstand tighter monetary policy,” Fed Chair Pro Tempore Jerome Powell told journalists during a post-meeting press conference.
As a result, rates on credit cards, savings accounts and different kinds of loans (home, student etc.) will move higher, as will car financing.
U.S. stocks rocketed higher in a volatile session and bond yields jumped to the highest level in almost three years after the Federal Reserve officially said it would raise interest rates for the first time since 2018.
The Biden administration is allowing Afghans who have been residing in the United States to remain in the country legally for at least another 18 months, an attempt to provide them more stability as gaining permanent residency could take years.
An Afghan present in the U.S. on or before March 15 would be eligible for the protection, known as temporary protected status or TPS, which shields them from deportation and allows them to work legally for 18 months, a term that can be renewed.
Southeast Asia is grappling with high poverty levels as recurring waves of Covid-19 have dealt a blow to the region’s labor market, said the Asian Development Bank.
Britain’s medicines regulator said it had approved AstraZeneca’s antibody-based COVID-19 treatment for patients with poor immune response, marking a major step in the fight against the pandemic.
A surge in coronavirus infections in Western Europe has experts and health authorities on alert for another wave of the pandemic in the United States, even as most of the country has done away with restrictions after a sharp decline in cases.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, known as the Taoiseach, tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday while attending a gala in Washington, DC, that had just been addressed by Biden.
The Taoiseach had to leave the Ireland Funds Gala event at the National Building Museum, where he was photographed sitting maskless beside Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Multiple ceremonial St. Patrick’s Day events in the nation’s capital were canceled as a result of the Taoiseach’s positive test.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued more than 900 civil penalties worth over $644,000 against individuals who did not comply with federal face mask requirements.
The Biden administration has clawed back $377 million in federal emergency housing aid from states and counties, most of them controlled by Republicans, and redirected it to states that have been clamoring for more help, including NY, CA, and NJ.
Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, and Dr. Jay Varma, a top health adviser to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, called on the city for a plan to encourage New Yorkers to get their booster shots and protect residents from any future waves of COVID.
Mayor Eric Adams said he expects to eventually roll back the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for private sector employers — but won’t make any exceptions for star athletes in the meantime.
“We’re going to continue to peel back, but let’s be clear: Everyone that’s focusing on a sports area, they’re focusing on one person,” Adams said. “I’m focused on 9 million people. And so, I am not looking at one person, I’m looking at my city not closing down again.”
Even with the news that New York City’s vaccine mandate could keep unvaccinated players on the Yankees and Mets from playing in the city, the topic is not one that is discussed much in the clubhouse among teammates.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a package of legislation focused on workplace harassment amid the fallout from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation due to allegations of sexual misconduct.
“From day one, it has been one of my top priorities to clean up Albany, change a culture of harassment and abuse, and ensure safe, respectful workplaces,” Hochul said at a news conference.
“This is a new day in New York,” Hochul added during a bill signing ceremony at the Javits Center as part of Women’s History Month.
Hochul’s campaign has reimbursed taxpayers an additional $10,742 stemming from three days in which she used state aircraft for campaigning but improperly billed taxpayers for the travel.
Cuomo is considering a run against Hochul as part of an attempt at a comeback after resigning in disgrace amid multiple accusations of sexual harassment by former aides, according to people familiar with the matter.
A source close to the ex-governor confirmed that Cuomo has fielded calls from supporters and longtime friends about a run and is commissioning internal polling as he weighs a potential showdown with his one-time lieutenant governor.
Cuomo would need to move relatively quickly — at least if he wanted to compete against Hochul in the state’s June Democratic primary. He would need to have voter-petition signatures filed next month, but could opt to run for his old job as an independent.
Richard Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesman, said the former governor “has thoughts and opinions about the direction of this state and the Democratic Party as a whole and he won’t hesitate to make them known.”
Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is seeking a $125 million arbitration award, claiming the network wrongly terminated him, his legal team said.
In a statement, Cuomo’s attorney argued that CNN “wrongfully terminated” its star anchorman and “violated the express terms of his employment agreement by allowing its employees to disparage him.”
Days after Italian-American activists claimed Hochul was snubbing Little Italy with a $20 million grant for neighboring Chinatown, the governor announced the state will kick in $1 million to complete construction of the new Italian-American Museum there.
Adams rolled out a controversial new NYPD unit dedicated to getting guns off the streets, fulfilling a campaign pledge to revamp and revive a team that was disbanded over concerns about police brutality.
The rollout of the new units known as Neighborhood Safety Teams began on Monday. It came as the city undergoes another week of unsettling violence.
Adams slammed civilians who film police officers arresting perpetrators at a close distance, warning they’re creating a “dangerous environment” and making the jobs of law enforcement even harder.
“There’s a proper way to police and there’s a proper way to document,” Adams said. “If your iPhone can’t catch that picture with you being at a safe distance, then you need to upgrade your iPhone.”
Dozens of City Council members and advocates pushed back hard against Adams’ budget plan, arguing that cuts he’s proposing to housing and education would hurt New Yorkers still struggling with the pandemic’s fallout.
Adams will be an in-demand endorser this year, but insiders said, so far, he’s not going out on a limb, and only supporting folks he knows and likes.
Former Brooklyn City Councilmember Laurie Cumbo, who has stirred controversy for remarks decried as anti-immigrant, is set to take over the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs.
New details have emerged about the bizarre, unprovoked shooting spree targeting homeless men across two cities, Washington, D.C., and New York, that resulted in the deaths of two men and the wounding of three others.
Despite New York City’s claims to have made progress in remedying the crisis on Rikers Island, the jail complex remains awash in violence and disorder fed by chronic staff absenteeism, according to a report filed yesterday in federal court.
Five people acting as agents of the Chinese secret police stalked and harassed American-based Chinese critics of the Beijing government — including a candidate for Congress in New York, federal prosecutors said.
Hundreds gathered in Times Square to denounce anti-Asian violence a year after the Atlanta spa shootings — with many saying fear is an every day reality in the Big Apple.
Former NYPD Sgt. Ed Mullins, who faces federal fraud charges, is being sued for $1 million by the sergeants union he used to run.
The pandemic looks poised to claim another institution: the 9/11 Tribute Museum in Lower Manhattan, the smaller of two museums built in response to the tragic events of that day. It is likely to soon close permanently due to too much debt.
Hochul authorized a one-month extension of legislation allowing public bodies to continue conducting meetings virtually, but she also encouraged those entities to begin meeting in-person as soon as possible.
Backed by four county sheriffs, one of them a former judge, state Sen. James Tedisco implored state leaders to repeal the state’s 2020 criminal justice changes and to grant judges the power to detain defendants they consider dangerous.
NYRA, which receives state subsidies to operate horse racing tracks, spent money “lavishly,” without adequate oversight and broke competitive bidding and other purchasing rules in recent years, according to an audit released by the state comptroller’s office.
The state’s stretch limousine safety task force spent a good portion of its meeting this week discussing whether older limousines should be automatically taken off the road after a certain number of years.
Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for governor, has opened a commanding 31-point lead over his GOP rivals seeking to challenge him in a primary, according to a poll released by his campaign.
Hiram Monserrate, an ex-con and perennial New York politician expelled from the state Senate for assaulting his girlfriend, is gearing up to launch a campaign for a Queens Assembly seat this year.
A Massachusetts-based real estate developer will soon own the majority of Stuyvesant Plaza and is looking to make some changes to the shopping center.
North Colonie officials are investigating swastika drawings allegedly discovered on a wall at Shaker High School.
Last week, Capital Region schools reported the fewest cases of COVID-19 since classes began in September.
City of Albany police said they arrested a man on criminal mischief counts after tires on several cars were punctured and a window of the Steuben Street Market on Pearl Street was shattered.
An Illinois appellate court ruled that the actor Jussie Smollett be released from jail on bond pending his appeal of his conviction for falsely reporting that he had been the victim of a hate crime.
