Good Wednesday morning.
On this day in 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath, which is viewed as Scotland’s most iconic document, in which the Scots attempted to reaffirm the independence of their kingdom against English claims to overlordship.
It’s actually a letter to Pope John XXII, designed to try to convince him to reconsider his response to the long-running Anglo-Scottish conflict. The Pope responded by urging reconciliation between the two warring factions.
That didn’t quite go as planned, and after a number of developments, which, if you’re really interested in going down the rabbit hole, you can read about here, the conflict recommenced in 1332.
The letter was not originally known as the Declaration of Arbroath. That’s actually a more recent (I mean, more recent than the 1300s) occurrence that came about due to a perceived connection between the document and the Declaration of Independence, which, as we know, dates considerably later – 1776.
Historians continue to debate whether there is, in fact, any linkage between these two documents, which both speak to the importance of nationhood and freedom.
The fact that the connection has not definitively been proven did not stop the U.S. Senate from passing a resolution in 1998 that stated the “special significance” of April 6 for all Americans – especially those of Scottish descent.
Many of the signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence had Scottish ancestry, which might from whence the belief that the Declaration of Arbroath inspired them somehow when they penned their own severance from England.
Whatever the truth, today is now celebrated as National Tartan Day here in the U.S. – a moment to celebrate all things Scottish.
A tartan, for the uninitiated, is a woolen cloth woven in one of several patterns of plaid, each of which is associated with a particular Scottish clan. (Oh, and apparently, there is some disagreement among those who wear kilts whether one is truly supposed to go commando – or regimental, as others might say – underneath…for more on that – much, much more – click here).
If you’re really into the Scottish celebration thing, perhaps you’ll consider consuming some Haggis today. Personally, I think I’ll pass – heart, liver, lungs, oatmeal and spices packed in a sheep’s stomach and boiled? No, thanks very much, but no.
Sadly, after the flat out GLORIOUS day we had yesterday, today is perhaps not really kilt-wearing weather. There will be showers in the morning, giving way to clouds in the afternoon. Temperatures will be in the mid-50s.
In the headlines…
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine gave a fiery speech to the United Nations Security Council, describing horrific war crimes he said Russian troops had committed and lamenting the international organization’s inability to stop the bloodshed.
Zelensky pushed world leaders to impose more “powerful sanctions” on Russian banks and energy companies as he criticized their response to the invasion of his country.
Zelensky told the UN Security Council that Russia should be removed from the council or it should otherwise be dissolved, after warning that newly uncovered atrocities following the withdrawal of Russian forces near Kyiv could be worse than those in Bucha.
A desperately needed aid convoy that has been trying to reach Mariupol since Friday has still not made it to the besieged port city in southern Ukraine.
New video has emerged that adds to mounting evidence of atrocities carried out while Russia’s military occupied the suburban town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv.
The United States has started blocking Russia from making debt payments using dollars held in American banks, a move designed to deplete its international currency reserves and potentially push Russia toward its first foreign currency debt default in a century.
The U.S. is sending up to $100 million in additional military aid to Ukraine as Russia’s invasion of the country continues.
The European Union has proposed sanctioning two of Putin’s daughters, a move that would add the Russian leader’s closest family members to a growing list of individuals sanctioned in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Barack Obama returned to the White House for the first time in five years and, as he started speaking, referred to Joe Biden as “vice president.” (He said it was a joke).
Democrats hope that Obama’s appearance with Biden will give the current president, who has been lagging in the polls, a much-needed jolt of energy.
The Biden administration is expected to announce another extension to the student loan pause this week.
The new plan does not extend the pause through the end of this year or include debt cancellation, something that some Democrats have been calling for.
The delay would be the sixth since the pauses began early in the pandemic, and it would come less than a month before payments were scheduled to restart and affect tens of millions of borrowers.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) knocked Biden after reports surfaced that the administration is expected to announce another extension of the student loan pause, writing on Twitter that the payment freeze is “an insult” to Americans who pay their debts.
Ivanka Trump, former President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, who served as one of his senior advisers, testified for about eight hours yesterday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The interview with the former president’s elder daughter will solidify cooperation with some of his inner circle — Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, spoke with the panel last week for several hours.
“She’s answering questions,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the committee’s chairman, about Ivanka, who served as senior White House advisor during her father’s presidency. She was in the West Wing on the day of the riot.
Among the challenges facing the federal grand jury recently empaneled to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is the sheer number of people who might have information relevant to its inquiry.
Biden has nominated Admiral Linda Fagan to be the next commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Coast Guard announced in a press release. She’s the first woman to led a military branch.
Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt to begin Senate debate on a $10 billion COVID-19 compromise, pressing to entangle the bipartisan package with an election-year showdown over immigration restrictions.
The White House is attempting to speed up the nation’s response to long COVID by establishing a new task force to coordinate research efforts across the government.
The Biden administration announced a major effort to help people with long COVID-19, including providing insurance coverage, expanding support for clinics and enhancing research into the condition.
Federal regulators said they were suspending use of a monoclonal antibody drug known as sotrovimab to treat high-risk Covid-19 patients in the United States because it was unlikely to be effective against the Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.
Germany will not end mandatory quarantine for most people who catch COVID-19 after all, the health minister said, reversing course after concerns were raised that lifting quarantine restrictions would drive even higher infections.
Chinese authorities have extended their lockdown of Shanghai to cover all its 25 million people after a fresh surge in Covid cases.
A new COVID-19 variant has been identified in the UK, but experts say there is no cause for alarm yet. Known as XE, it’s a combination of the original BA.1 omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2. This is known as a “recombinant” variant.
A second booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine provides additional short-term protection against Omicron infections and severe illness among older adults, according to a large new study from Israel.
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said it’s in the U.S.’s “national interest” to vaccinate the world against COVID-19 to protect against potential new variants, days after senators dropped global funding from a coronavirus spending deal.
California Rep. Adam Schiff (D) announced that he had tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.
The BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant continues to rapidly spread throughout the U.S., now accounting for about 72 percent of all new Covid-19 cases, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The “stealth” omicron variant BA.2, which is fueling a fresh COVID case uptick locally, nationally and abroad, now accounts for 84% of virus circulating in New York, a significantly higher prevalence than its national share and a marked increase in the last week.
Rochester Mayor Malik Evans has tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. He was asymptomatic, is working from home and following the appropriate protocols associated with a positive test result, officials said.
New York’s budget is coming together in drips and drabs as Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders continue to hammer out details of the already overdue spending plan behind closed doors.
As Hochul, New York’s first woman governor, runs for a full term in office, she is being dogged by questions about the lateness of the state budget — long the symbol of dysfunction that had plagued the Capitol for decades.
State lawmakers are closing in on an agreement that could expand the circumstances in which cash bail would be required to include charges like gun trafficking as well as alleged repeat offenses.
State lawmakers are poised to strike a budget deal that will add about $4 billion in additional spending to Hochul’s record $216 billion proposal.
Dozens of fed-up crime victims — including the widow of a hero NYPD cop — rallied at state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s Bronx office yesterday to demand a rollback of controversial criminal justice reforms.
Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris said significant progress has been made on the budget “in just the last couple of days” despite efforts to insert what he called “non-budget issues” like alcohol to-go and the reform of 421-a into the spending plan.
Two proposals advanced by the state Legislature, creating greater oversight of New York’s billions in economic development subsidies, are being actively considered as part of budget negotiations.
The Seneca Nation is spending tens of thousands of dollars on television and radio ads criticizing Hochul for committing long-disputed Seneca casino revenue toward building a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills.
Lawmakers from Western New York in a closed-door meeting of state Assembly Democrats this week gave an “eloquent” defense of the plan to fund a Buffalo Bills stadium in Orchard Park using $850 million in taxpayer funding for the construction.
Consumer groups are warning New York state political leaders about a growing crisis facing utility customers as one in five have gone more than two months without paying their bills.
The AG’s office office reaffirmed that it has an active criminal probe into whether Andrew Cuomo illegally used staffers in preparing his lucrative coronavirus pandemic memoir, days after he sued the government watchdog agency to keep the proceeds.
Councilmember Shaun Abreu is urging Hochul to help reduce the volume of eviction cases in state housing courts to prevent what he described as the possible “collapse” of a city program that provides free legal services to low-income renters facing eviction.
A majority of the City Council’s members called on Mayor Eric Adams to immediately halt his administration’s “cruel” homeless encampment crackdown and instead focus on expanding social services.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at an ad campaign launched by Adams in the Sunshine State urging Floridians to move to New York City “where you can say whatever you want.”
Adams’ reported policy to vet all communications to the press is unrealistic and indicative of a lack of understanding of government’s inner workings, depending on how seriously he follows through with it, according to some top political operatives.
The city Law Department attorney who was fired after confronting Adams over the toddler mask mandate had repped Gotham in a slew of high-profile cases before being canned, court records show.
New Yorkers could see more subway service on nights and weekends — and fewer trains during weekday rush hours — after Richard Davey takes over as NYC Transit president next month.
With violent crime on the rise and showing no signs of a let up, a majority of voters said their family would be better off if they fled New York City, a new survey reveals.
A long-dreaded wave of eviction cases has arrived as the city eases out of the pandemic — and public defender groups say they’ve run out of lawyers to represent low-income tenants.
Thousands” of MTA employees did not complete New York state’s mandatory annual sexual harassment training in 2017 and 2019, the authority’s IG said, and transit officials don’t expect to have full participation until the end of this year.
Despite the urgent need to move away from burning fossil fuels that accelerate climate change, NYC is embracing electric vehicles at a tortoise-like pace and lagging behind other major American cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle.
Residents of some of New York City’s most expensive luxury buildings may have to open doors themselves, retrieve their own packages, and take out the trash themselves as doormen, superintendents, porters, and other staffers threaten to strike.
Liberal WNYC radio is nothing but a “toxic” cesspool of race and gender discrimination where bullies harass colleagues, a just-booted top editor, Jami Floyd, charged.
A New York State judge whose home was searched by law enforcement authorities last month against the backdrop of the federal prosecution of one of his former clients killed himself yesterday, one of his lawyers said.
The state attorney general’s office has intervened in the investigation of a fatal crash in Albany in which a 13-year-old boy was killed when a stolen car that was being driven by another teenager slammed into a building on Broadway as they fled police.
The family of the William S. Hackett Middle School student who died in a car wreck Monday night has set up a GoFundMe page to assist with funeral costs.
Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen said she is disturbed that Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino went public with allegations that three white teens beat an African American teen at a late-February house party.
A 2021 candidate for city office was convicted in Saratoga Springs City Court on one of two misdemeanor counts of mishandling her ballot petitions.
The Menands school district said it went into a lockout mode yesterday after a staff member received a threatening email at about 8:40 a.m.
The Capital Region saw a 3.6 percent unemployment rate in February, one of the state’s lowest and down from 5.9 percent a year ago.
Oklahoma’s Legislature passed a near-total ban on abortion, one of the most sweeping bans passed this year as Republican-led states test the constitutional limits of abortion rights.
The measure, Senate Bill 612, would make performing an abortion “except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency” a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.
Twitter Inc. said it would appoint Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk to its board, bringing the billionaire social-media agitator inside the fold.
Tiger Woods vowed to attempt his most startling comeback yet: returning to golf’s greatest stage, the Masters Tournament, roughly 14 months after a car crash so devastating that doctors weighed amputating his right leg.
Animal control officers descended on Capitol Hill after reports of lawmakers, staff members and reporters being attacked by a wild fox believed to have been nesting on the Capitol grounds.
