Good morning, welcome to Thursday, which means just one more sleep until Friday.
Here’s an interesting dichotomy: Today is National Beer Day AND also World Health Day.
On the face of things, one might say these are diametrically opposed, though beer contains carbs, and carbs CAN be good for your health (come at me, Keto fans, sorry, the reality is carbs are good energy – in any form, even PopTarts).
Beer has gotten awfully fancy these days. I don’t drink myself, as you know, and so I might not be the best person to be opining on the subject, but beer is, at its root, pretty basic. It’s typically made from water, grain, hops, and yeast.
Malted barley is the most commonly used grain, though you can also use corn, wheat, or rice….also, some brewers get fancy and add fruits, spices, honey, even coffee or tea to generate a unique and tasty concoction.
Beer is usually flavored with hops to add bitterness to balance the sweetness of the malt, and also to act as a preservative. Finally, brewer’s yeast ferments the brew into alcohol, with a content of between 3 and 40 percent, depending on the style and recipe.
Beer is best enjoyed in moderation – pretty much like anything else – though recent reports have thrown a damper on the long-held concept that limited alcohol consumption (mostly wine) is good for your health.
A 12-ounce beer generally has about 150 calories, give or take. (Less for light beer, I know, but why drink that?)
Again, I prefer to eat my calories, but I did used to enjoy a good Guinness, or even a Delirium Tremens, (a popular Belgian beer, for those not in the know), back in the day.
OH, and in case you were wondering why today of all days is National Beer Day, it reportedly celebrates the day in 1933 that the Cullen-Harrison act was signed into law, reversing the prohibition on selling beer in the United States.
Do not confuse today with National DRINK Beer Day, which falls on Sept. 28.
As for World Health Day, it marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO (the World Health Organization) in 1948. Every year, there’s a different theme intended to draw attention to a specific health-related issue of concern to people worldwide. This year’s focus is “Our Planet, Our Health.”
Blurbage: “WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. This includes the climate crisis which is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. The climate crisis is also a health crisis.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Maybe combine the two days and raise a glass of sustainable, ethically-sourced and locally made handcrafted beer in honor of the planet? And make sure you recycle that can. OR, better yet, perhaps invest in a growler.
You’re worth it, and so is the earth.
Rain, rain and more rain. But it brings May flowers, right? So, I guess it’s OK, because Tulip Fest is right around the corner. There will be periods of precipitation throughout the day, with a total of a quarter of an inch of rain possible overall. Temperatures will be just shy of 50 degrees. Brrrr.
In the headlines…
Civilians in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions have been urged to evacuate ahead of an expected Russian offensive in the area.
“You need to evacuate now, while this possibility still exists,” Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister for occupied territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, said on Ukrainian TV. “Later, people will be under fire and under threat of death.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine harangued his allies to find the will to take harsher measures against Moscow, as the European Union prepared to discuss another round of sanctions and a possible ban on Russian coal.
The U.S. House voted overwhelmingly last night to call for an investigation of war crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Six House Republicans voted against the measure.
The Senate struck a deal on a package to end normal trade relations with Russia and codify a Russian oil ban, with the chamber expected to pass the two bills today.
U.S. and European moves to sanction two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin cast a spotlight on a family shrouded for years in secrecy.
The Boston Athletic Association announced a ban on Russian and Belarusian runners living in their home countries from participating in the 2022 Boston Marathon.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a global shortage of sunflower oil that has in turn pushed prices of other edible oils to record highs, hitting food makers and consumers already grappling with inflation.
Biden signed into law legislation reforming the U.S. Postal Service in a bid to increase transparency and stabilize the financial footing of what he called an essential agency.
Less than a year after raising the prices of Forever stamps, the U.S. Postal Service is hiking them up once again. The USPS said that it filed noticed for a two-cent increase which will bring the price of first-class stamps to 60 cents a piece.
Former President Barack Obama said at an event that the U.S. needs to address the allure of dangerous misinformation on the internet through a mix of regulation and industry standards.
The House voted to hold in contempt of Congress two more allies of former President Trump for failing to respond to subpoenas issued by a select committee probing the Jan. 6 attack when a pro-Trump mob disrupted certification of Biden’s election win.
The motion refers contempt charges against Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino to the Justice Department, after the former aides refused to comply with subpoenas to appear before the committee.
The contempt action followed hours of raw debate on the House floor as Republicans stood by Trump and charged that Democrats were trying to politicize the attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
Federal Reserve officials signaled they could raise rates by a half-percentage point at their meeting early next month and begin reducing their $9 trillion asset portfolio as part of their most aggressive effort in more than two decades to curb price pressures.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is on track for a Supreme Court confirmation vote this week as Republicans signaled they would not seek to stall her history-making appointment. The vote is expected to take place no later than today.
A fox that bit at least nine people on Capitol Hill, possibly including a congressman, tested positive for rabies, after she had been euthanized in a grim turn in an episode that had briefly captivated those who live and work around Congress.
Researchers trying to devise an updated coronavirus vaccine for use this fall would have to settle on a formula as early as June to meet that deadline, federal officials said, even though some clinical trials are just now getting underway.
A top U.S. health regulator said that asking people to frequently get Covid-19 boosters wasn’t sustainable because of vaccine fatigue and that authorities needed to develop a long-term strategy for protecting the public from the virus as it evolves.
A fourth shot of the Pfizer COVID vaccine increased protection against viral infection for only four to seven weeks, according to a massive study published this week.
A spate of positive coronavirus tests among top officials in Washington, D.C. after the Gridiron Club dinner is a reminder that, even amid an attempt to pivot away from strict restrictions, the pandemic is not over.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced their positive diagnoses after having attended the elite event in Washington on Saturday.
Garland tested positive for Covid just hours after a news conference with FBI Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and other top Biden administration officials.
Also yesterday, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the assistant House speaker, and Rep. Scott Peters of California announced their own positive tests.
Matthew Broderick, who is now starring on Broadway in a revival of the Neil Simon comedy “Plaza Suite,” has tested positive for the coronavirus. He did not perform Tuesday night, and it is not clear when he will return to the show.
New Yorkers should take advantage of booster shots and tests during the spring holiday season, said Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is keen to avoid an Easter resurrection of the winter COVID wave.
Judge Jenny Rivera, one of seven jurists on the state’s Court of Appeals, has been referred to a disciplinary commission and could be kicked off the bench for failing to comply with a rule requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19.
“We had made it clear from the outset that any judge not in and continuing not to be in compliance subjects themselves to a referral to the Commission on Judicial Conduct for their determination,” state OCA spokesman Lucian Chalfen said in an email.
Hochul and state lawmakers failed to strike a budget deal on New York’s overdue 2023 fiscal plan yesterday, with critics slamming the “top secret” negotiation process as “appalling” and “undemocratic.”
Hochul and legislative leaders are nearing agreement on a measure to allow cocktails to go as part of the state budget, which has not yet been approved despite the state’s fiscal year beginning six days ago.
A proposal to boost spending for child care in the New York state budget is running into problems, with some lawmakers raising concerns over whether it could be fully funded.
Manhattan Assemblyman Richard Gottfried is nervous about a proposed casino in Manhattan, a possible inclusion in the delayed state budget still being debated in Albany.
An expansion of Kendra’s Law, which requires people in a mental health crisis receive treatment, remains one of the final stumbling blocks for lawmakers and Hochul as they seek to forge a final state budget agreement.
Environmentalists are planning to protest today following news that a measure to ban gas hookups in new construction across the state starting in 2024 has been left out of the forthcoming budget deal – Hochul’s first since taking office.
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer advised Hochul to “stick to your guns” when it comes to the state budget talks, because “you’re going to win this election rather easily.”
Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to dine with disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo — for a second time — as Hochul attempts to get him bail-reform changes in Albany was an “alarming” and “disrespectful” slap in the face to her, critics said.
The two ate dinner together Tuesday night at Daniel Boulud’s French eatery Le Pavillon.
Adams said that “cooler heads prevailed” in Albany on negotiating changes to progressive-pushed criminal justice policies enacted in 2019, as state lawmakers and Hochul continue to try and work out a deal for the overdue state budget.
Crime is running rampant throughout Manhattan’s key commercial neighborhoods — and local business leaders are banding together to demand help from Hochul.
Members of the state Opioid Settlement Board are calling on Hochul to activate and convene the newly established group so it can provide recommendations on how the state spends money received as part of opioid litigation settlements.
Adams said he had no role in the firing of a New York City mom who crashed a press conference to question him over his decision to maintain the toddler mask mandate.
Adams’ urgency to make the city safer — and dismissal of critics he thinks don’t understand crime-fighting — isn’t working so far.
Major crime in New York City rose by 36.5% in March from a year ago despite Adams’s efforts to reduce a spike of incidents that have persisted since the pandemic began.
Shoplifting complaints in the Big Apple have skyrocketed 81% this year compared to last as the city continues to reel from a crime surge that’s eclipsing pre-pandemic levels.
Seven people were taken into custody after cops and city Sanitation workers cleared out a homeless encampment in the East Village — the latest crackdown in an effort by Adams to shut down encampments across the city.
Shootings in New York City rose during 2022’s first quarter compared with the same period last year, even as homicides declined, the continuation of a drumbeat of violence that emerged early in the pandemic, and has not ebbed with the virus.
The NYPD quietly issued orders banning steamy relationships between bosses and subordinates, weeks after a lap-dance scandal rocked the department,
Pandemic school closures, the economic downturn and budget cuts took a toll on school arts programming in New York City, and more dedicated funding is needed to right the ship, educators and advocates argue.
Pilots nearly lost control of their Boeing 777 during an Air France flight from New York to Paris in what French aviation investigators labeled a “serious incident.”
Voting in New York will become easier for blind and disabled residents following the settlement of a lawsuit against the New York State Board of Elections this week.
Despite months of speculation, no prominent progressive has so far come forward to challenge the Democratic majority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has worked hard to shore up his left flank. How did he do it? Omnipresence.
Schumer has secured a $25 million grant to help GlobalFoundries and a Silicon Valley company develop a next-generation “quantum” computer that would leapfrog today’s most advanced systems.
A Bronx man best known as a founding member of the pioneering rap group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was convicted of manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of a homeless man on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk five years ago.
The father who lived in his daughter’s college dorm room has been convicted of sex trafficking, forced labor, tax evasion and money laundering after less than a day of jury deliberations, the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District announced.
Two police officers who were pursuing a stolen vehicle when it slammed into a building, killing a 13-year-old passenger, have been placed on administrative leave as the offices of the state AG and Albany County DA investigate the events that preceded the crash.
A full-time staff attorney for state Sen. James Sanders Jr., who chairs the Senate’s banking committee, is facing eviction from an Albany residence where he has allegedly not paid more than $13,000 in rent dating to last July, according to court records.
A student demonstration at the Schenectady High School that included speeches and a march protested the school board’s narrow decision last week to bring more city police officers work in the district’s schools.
The beloved Betty Boops Diner on Albany’s Philip Street is preparing to ring in 10 years of serving the neighborhood hearty chicken parmigiana and French toast with a tasteful side of cartoon flappers.
Amtrak has asked the TSA to start screening some of its passengers against the Terrorist Screening Database watchlist maintained by the Threat Screening Center to see if known or suspected terrorists have been riding the rails.
The Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Amir Locke, a Black man, during an early-morning raid in February at an apartment complex will not face criminal charges, prosecutors announced.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said in a joint statement there was insufficient admissible evidence to file charges against Officer Mark Hanneman.
Conservative TV anchor Greg Kelly raged against “gay cookies” (AKA Oreos).
Eric Boehlert, a veteran journalist who was a fierce critic of right-wing misinformation and hypocrisy in the news media, died on Monday in New Jersey. He was 57. He was struck by a New Jersey Transit train while riding his bicycle.
