Good morning, it’s Thursday, which brings us one day closer to the weekend.
Even though this was a four-day week, it sort of seems to be dragging on forever.
Just me? OK.
I wanted to dedicate yesterday to Pride Month, giving the kickoff the attention and space it deserved. But in so doing, I neglected to acknowledge Global Running Day, which was first held on June 1, 2016, when more than 2.5 million runners from 177 different countries took part, running an estimated collective 9.2 million miles.
Anyway, now you know – belatedly. Every day is running day for me, so I kind of overlooked this one. Mea culpa.
As for today, there are a few things worth noting. If you’re of Italian descent, you might be aware that June 2 is Republic Day (AKA Festa della Repubblica), which commemorates the 1946 institutional referendum when Italians voted to determine what form their government would take after World War II. – a monarchy or a republic.
They overwhelmingly chose to be a republic with a constituent assembly.
So today is a national holiday in Italy, traditionally marked by a variety of ceremonies, speeches, concerts, and parades across the country, with a hallmark military parade in Rome that is broadcast worldwide.
Another highlight: A flyover by the Frecce Tricolori – the aerobatic unit of the Italian Air Force – while releasing streaks of white, green, and red smoke.
June is also, rather ironically, given the tragedies that have been piling up of late, Gun Violence Awareness Month. I’ll write more about that tomorrow (Gun Violence Awareness Day – AKA #WearOrangeDay – is June 3), but just wanted to give you a heads up.
So we are able to end up a positive note: If you’re a fan of Rocky Road (in the form of ice cream or any other version – candy? cheesecake? I guess), today is your lucky day.
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the history of who created this delicious combo of chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts, is…murky, at best. It was, however, one of the original mix-in flavors, and appears to have originated in Australia.
We’re heading back up into the 80s, temperature-wide today, with cloudy skies and a chance of showers. Don’t leave those umbrellas home just yet.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden said there is little he can do to lower the cost of gasoline or food in the immediate term, an acknowledgment that prices for those goods will remain high as he works to bring down other costs incurred by families.
“There’s a lot going on right now but the idea we’re going to be able to click a switch, bring down the cost of gasoline, is not likely in the near term. Nor is it with regard to food,” Biden said at the White House, where he was discussing the infant formula shortage.
Biden and his top advisers have started to fixate on per-gallon gas prices across the country with an intensity that some aides describe as obsessive.
The Department of Education announced that it will cancel $5.8 billion in student loan debt for 560,000 borrowers who attended the now-defunct network of for-profit schools known as Corinthian Colleges.
The cancellation amounts to the largest one-time discharge ever made by the Department of Education.
Borrowers who attended Corinthian schools like Everest, Heald and Wyotech, located throughout the country and online, have been pressing the federal government for relief for years, especially following the company’s declaration of bankruptcy in 2015.
New data suggest that the U.S. baby-formula shortage is deepening, particularly hitting states in the South and the Southwest.
The Biden administration announced it is acquiring more than 4 million 8-ounce bottles and 380,000 pounds of infant formula from Australia to be delivered to the United States by next week to address the ongoing baby formula shortage gripping the nation.
The move comes just days after the F.D.A. relaxed import regulations to allow Kendal Nutricare, the manufacturer of the formula, to import formula into the United States under the Kendamil brand.
U.S. job openings remained close to record levels in April, and workers continued to quit at an elevated rate, signs of an exceptionally tight labor market that has contributed to historically high inflation.
Biden said the U.S. will not push for the ouster of Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite saying in March that Putin “cannot remain in power.”
The Kremlin said that Biden’s plans to send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine was “adding fuel to the fire.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said supplying his country with long-range weapons doesn’t increase the risk of it attacking Russian territory, despite its invasion.
Soccer legend Pelé urged Putin to stop his “wicked” war in Ukraine, just hours before a Ukrainian national soccer team beat out Scotland in the first of two qualifier rounds for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Though much of the world’s focus in the war has been on Russia’s disorganized and flawed campaign, Ukraine, too, is struggling.
Even as the US grapples with its most recent wave of Covid-19, new research suggests that variants on the horizon may keep case levels high.
The United States is now in its fourth-biggest Covid surge, according to official case counts – but experts believe the actual current rate is much higher.
Pfizer said that is has completed its emergency use application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to administer its COVID-19 vaccine to children under the age of 5.
The World Health Organization has cast doubts on North Korea’s claims of progress in its fight against a Covid-19 outbreak, saying it believes the situation is getting worse, not better, amid an absence of independent data.
Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland are the latest members of Biden’s cabinet to be infected with the coronavirus. The president is not considered a close contact of either.
Elon Musk told employees they are required to spend at least 40 hours a week in company offices. Those who did not do so would be fired.
At least four people are dead and multiple people are injured following a shooting at the Natalie Building at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, according to police.
Police said the incident lasted about five minutes before the shooter killed himself.
Police said the attack was not random, but declined to give additional details. The remaining injuries were not life-threatening.
In the final moments of her life, Eva Mireles, a teacher at Robb Elementary School, was on the phone with her husband, Ruben Ruiz, a school district police officer, the senior county official said.
Ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic candidate for governor of Texas, renewed his criticism of Gov. Greg Abbott over the state’s gun laws, which he said allowed an 18-year-old in Uvalde to kill 21 people with a legally and easily acquired military-style weapon.
The man accused of carrying out a racist shooting at a Buffalo supermarket has been indicted by a grand jury on 25 counts, including murder, domestic terrorism and other charges in relation to the May 14 massacre, which left 10 Black residents dead.
Payton Gendron, who has been in custody since the May 14 shooting, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Erie County Court.
A temporary state law suspending several taxes on fuel went into effect yesterday in New York, immediately delivering some drivers a slight respite amid surging gasoline prices.
The Democrat-led Legislature gave final approval this week to measures that will protect abortion providers from extradition, arrest and legal proceedings in other states, and bar medical misconduct charges for performing reproductive health care.
A proposed amendment to New York’s constitution that would enshrine abortion rights and gender equality has hit a roadblock as the final legislative session’s days wind down.
Gov. Kathy Hochul turned to familiar friends and wealthy business owners in Central New York to help her raise about $10.3 million for her campaign over the past four months.
Hochul spent nearly twice as much on her election campaign in the last five months as her two Democratic primary opponents combined and still has far more on hand to spend in the June primary than either of her rivals.
Hochul issued a proclamation designating June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
She also announced the first Latino openly LGBTQ+ judge nominated to the New York State Court of Claims, along with several additional measures recognizing LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and celebrating their contributions to our state.
The governor announced construction of a $55-million mixed-use housing development in Syracuse. The new construction is to help increase the number of affordable housing in the area.
A sprawling new terminal for Delta Air Lines officially opened at LaGuardia Airport, capping the years-long $8 billion reconstruction of the airport terminals that President Biden once compared to a “third world country.”
In an attempt to become as competitive as possible for a coming wave of computer chip factory projects planned across the US, Hochul’s economic development team is looking to codify the state tax breaks it will be willing to offer companies to build here.
The Central Terminal – Buffalo’s last major architectural jewel still to be restored – will benefit from the biggest investment toward its revival since the last Amtrak train left the 17-story art deco station in 1979: $61 million in state funding.
New York could have the power to say ‘no’ to more pollution in certain communities — but first the governor must get on board.
New York’s cannabis board voted to advance regulations for the state’s adult-use industry, which establish standards for drug testing facilities and ban cartoonish branding that could appeal to individuals under 21.
City health officials reported two new possible cases of monkeypox, bringing the total number of people affected to four in the Big Apple.
With the number of shootings in New York City still at heightened levels, Mayor Eric Adams is expected to appoint a “gun violence czar” just as the summer’s traditional spike in firearm-related violence looms.
It was not clear what the responsibilities of a gun violence czar would be. Adams has also considered declaring a state of emergency related to gun violence.
Adams fumed about some state lawmakers he says are preventing him from improving the Big Apple’s public school system, labeling them “professional naysayers.”
“If you water it down, if you take away the tools that we need, if you don’t give us the opportunity to do so, then we are failing our children again,” Adams said.
A group of parents blasted state lawmakers for undermining Adams’ ability to oversee the New York City public school system.
Adams vowed to “supercharge” economic development in New York City by implementing a plan that relaxes zoning and other regulations he believes hinder job and housing growth.
Adams has proposed changing the city’s zoning regulations to allow New Yorkers to dance more easily in bars and restaurants.
The three proposed amendments, which need approval from the City Council to take effect, were laid out by Adams during a breakfast meeting held in downtown Manhattan by the Association for a Better New York, a business group.
Adams was not diagnosed with a learning disability until college. Now, he is making dyslexia screenings a central policy issue.
Adams’ top adviser rolled out a strict remote work policy for city government employees under which they must report in-person at their offices five days a week with few exceptions.
Adams continues to insist that municipal office employees work in person as the city continues its economic recovery — but he signaled for the first time that he may allow a limited amount of remote work once the pandemic ends.
Carlina Rivera, a progressive Lower East Side City Council member first elected in 2017, announced that she’ll be running for Congress, vying in the newly redrawn 10th District spanning lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
The progressive New York Working Families Party (WFP) endorsed Rep. Jerry Nadler in his reelection bid amid a contentious member vs. member primary that is pitting him against Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
State GOP Chair Nick Langworthy announced a primary challenge to Rep. Chris Jacobs in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area.
A heavyweight showdown between Manhattan Sen. Brad Hoylman and former NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer for state Senate has been headed off as Stringer announced he is not running.
An ambitious plan to bring affordable high-speed internet to millions of people across New York City has been put on pause, leaving the poorest New Yorkers hanging while the Adams administration decides whether to proceed.
In a settlement this week for a lawsuit accusing Port Authority police of discrimination and false arrests, the agency said it would not resume plainclothes sting operations in bus terminal bathrooms.
Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple announced he is discontinuing his short-lived campaign for state Senate in the 43rd District.
A civil jury in state Supreme Court took less than two hours to unanimously find that Albany Medical Center Hospital negligently botched a heart emergency that took the life of Court of Claims Judge Michael Melkonian in 2019.
The owner of the recently closed Thai Thai Bistro avoided incarceration for human trafficking involving a chef from Thailand, and instead was sentenced Wednesday to five years of probation and community service, according to her attorney, Andrew Safranko.
John DeLucie, a chef and restaurateur who built and rebuilt a top New York City culinary career over nearly 20 years that included the likes of The Waverly Inn and King Cole Bar at the St. Regis Hotel, is opening a restaurant in Hudson.
New warehouse district projects are raising questions about how the city will balance the needs of developers, new residents, and existing businesses in an area built around Broadway in the northern end of Albany.
Colonie Center is inviting owners to bring their dogs shopping where about 30 stores, including LL Bean and Nordstrom Rack, will welcome them inside.
As Playhouse Stage Company prepares to open its 2022 summer production at the end of this month at Albany’s Washington Park amphitheater, it is also looking forward to fall through next summer for its 35th anniversary of musical theater.
A jury has found both Amber Heard and Johnny Depp liable for defamation in their lawsuits against each other.
Jurors awarded Depp a total of $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million.
Sheryl Sandberg announced that she will be leaving her role as chief operating officer of Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc.
Marion Barber, 38, the former Pro Bowl running back for the Dallas Cowboys, was found dead in his apartment in Texas.
The U.K. is throwing a once-in-a-lifetime celebration for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, starting today with a Trooping the Color, though she will appear on the balcony at Buckingham Palace and not join her family in traditional carriage rides.
The 96-year-old queen is the first British monarch in history to reach a Platinum Jubilee, which marks 70 years on the throne.
