Good Tuesday morning. You know yesterday started off on the wrong foot because I forgot to add “Rise and Shine” to the top of the Monday post. Ooof. It was all downhill from there.
Anyway, it’s a brand new day and another chance to get things back on track.
I feel very compelled to engage in my annual reminder about World Blood Donor Day because one of our most loyal CivMix boosters, contributors, readers, and just an all-around great person – Alyssa Lotmore – is a super donor.
No, really, I am not exaggerating here for effect. She donates every 56 days, which is the minimum time a person can wait between givings (for whole blood, anyway, things get more complicated when you start talking about platelets and Power Reds).
The nation – and the world – need more selfless and non-needle-phobic people like Alyssa.
Earlier this year, the Red Cross announced that the U.S. was experiencing the worst blood shortage in more than a decade – the first-ever national blood crisis that was occurring smack in the middle of the Omicron surge.
At the time, the organization had seen a 10 percent decline since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in the number of people donating blood, in large part due to lockdowns, blood drive cancellations and staffing limitations.
If there isn’t enough blood to go around, medical professionals are in the difficult and highly unenviable position of making decisions about who is most desperately in need of life-saving treatments like blood transfusions and putting off surgeries.
A shortage also poses a risk for cancer patients, trauma victims, and others with ongoing health problems.
To mark this World Blood Donor Day, the WHO is calling on all those who can make a donation to do so as an act of solidarity with those most in need, which frequently means women, children, and those of limited means and/or access to good medical care.
You can make an appointment to give blood or platelets by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). If you’re looking for information in the Capital Region, click here.
Oh, and if the free cookies you can receive after giving in situ weren’t enough of an incentive, you can also qualify for a FREE pint of Stewart’s ice cream during the month of June if you donate a pint of blood.
Also, want your mind blown? The first known attempt at a blood transfusion occurred in the 1600s, though the first published record of a successful attempt dates to 1818 when James Blundell, a British obstetrician, performed the first successful transfusion of human blood to a patient for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage.
Oh, and in case you didn’t know – I actually had to look it up to be sure – a blood transfusion is a potentially life-saving and relatively simple procedure that can help replace blood lost due to surgery or injury, or if illness prevents the body from making blood or some of it components on its own.
We’re continuing on the upward trajectory as far as the temperature is concerned. It’s going to be in the mid-80s today, with mostly sunny skies.
In the headlines…
Bipartisan resentment is building among lawmakers who say they are being cut out of President Joe Biden’s trade agenda as he begins brokering deals around the globe.
Congress is pressing ahead with legislation that could rewrite the rules for American companies investing abroad, proposing the screening of investments in countries like China seen as adversaries to protect U.S. technologies and rebuild critical supply chains.
Biden is scheduled to speak at the 29th AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City today.
Biden won’t coerce Attorney General Merrick Garland into indicting former President Donald Trump for his alleged role in the January 6 Capitol riot.
Trump was told repeatedly by top Justice Department officials and members of his inner circle that he hadn’t won the 2020 election but continued to pursue his false claims of victory, according to testimony shown at a House hearing.
Rudy Giuliani was drunk when he convinced former Trump to “just claim he won” on Election Night, fellow MAGA loyalists told the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
In its second hearing this month, the committee showed how the former president ignored aides and advisers in declaring victory prematurely and relentlessly pressing claims of fraud he was told were wrong.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he has tested positive again for the virus that causes Covid-19 for the second time this year.
Biden is not considered to have been in close contact with Trudeau, a White House official said, despite the fact the leaders had a bilateral meeting Thursday in Los Angeles. Neither wore masks, and they were sitting in close proximity.
Biden’s top health official, U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, has again tested positive for COVID-19, less than a month after he came down with virus symptoms while on a trip to Germany.
The Rolling Stones have canceled a concert in Amsterdam after lead singer Mick Jagger contracted Covid-19.
Actor Hugh Jackman has tested positive for COVID-19 – for a second time – one day after appearing at the 75th annual Tony Awards Sunday.
The FDA’s independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee is set to meet today and Wednesday to discuss amending the emergency use authorization of Moderna’s and Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccines to include younger ages.
A Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sanofi SA and GSK PLC to target the Beta strain of the virus produced a stronger antibody response against variants of Omicron when given as a booster compared with certain first-generation shots, two studies found.
The mayor of the Chinese city of Dandong, which has been under lockdown for more than 50 days, apologized for failures in his administration’s work amid widespread dissatisfaction over the government’s heavy-handed approach to handling the pandemic.
In the world’s only wealthy country that does not guarantee paid sick leave, just working through it when one is ill — even for those who could take paid time off — is the norm. Working while sick is an American pastime.
The stock-market selloff deepened yesterday, with the S&P 500 entering a bear market, as investors took another look at Friday’s red-hot inflation data and liked it even less.
The S&P fell 3.9 percent, closing the day nearly 22 percent below its Jan. 3 peak and firmly in a bear market — a rare and grim marker of investors’ growing concerns for the economy.
A string of troubling inflation reports in recent days is likely to lead Federal Reserve officials to consider surprising markets with a larger-than-expected 0.75-percentage-point interest-rate increase at their meeting this week.
One day after a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced an agreement on gun safety legislation to respond to last month’s mass shootings in Texas and New York, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged that he will get the bill on the Senate floor “quickly.”
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia defended the newly reached bipartisan gun deal as a pragmatic step forward that won’t threaten gun owners’ Second Amendment rights.
Actor Matthew McConaughey, a Uvalde native, applauded the bipartisan deal, stating in an Instagram story that he was happy “something” was being done to address mass shootings, after years of congressional stalemate.
Vice President Harris is slated to meet with privacy, constitutional law, and technology experts to discuss what is at stake if the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling is overturned by the Supreme Court.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a slate of bills that aim to protect out-of-state patients and abortion providers from legal action in other states.
Hochul signed six pieces of legislation in all. They seek to address both criminal charges and civil lawsuits that people providing, assisting with and seeking abortions in New York could face if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
“We’ve already seen the threats of anti-abortion violence, and the climate out there is just getting more extreme every single day, and it’s only going to get worse,” Hochul said. “We need to be ready…That’s what we do here in New York. We don’t talk. We act.”
Hochul told state agency heads that while the budget appears balanced through the end of the fiscal year, they will have to have more modest spending goals for next year and prepare for a possible recession.
Demoractic Queens Councilman James Gennaro ripped Hochul for declining to enact a slew of public safety measures by the end of the legislative session in Albany — demanding that she and state politicians return to the Capitol and get them done.
An Emerson College poll released yesterday shows Hochul and Rep. Lee Zeldin with hefty leads in their respective primaries for governor ahead of the June 28 election.
In the opening moments of the GOP gubernatorial debate, Zeldin attacked Harry Wilson, a corporate turnaround specialist, as a “Never Trumper” and Republican-in-name-only. Wilson, meanwhile, said Zeldin’s campaign was “disintegrating”.
The Wilson campaign clarified after the debate that the millionaire businessman, who is self-funding his campaign, was referring to a Jan. 12 phone call when Zeldin supposedly tried to convince him to run for state comptroller.
Zeldin also regularly attacked ex-Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino as “Rolex Rob,” a nickname used by Democrats in past elections referring to a gift that he received from an individual caught up in a federal bribery investigation.
The biggest reveal of the debate night came from businessman Wilson, who suddenly mentioned that the 77-year-old father of a cousin’s ex-wife was stabbed to death in his backyard last Thursday.
Mayor Eric Adams plans to ask Hochul to veto a bill that would place a two-year moratorium on crypto-mining operations in New York.
“When you look at the billions of dollars that are spent on cryptocurrency – New York is the leader. We can’t continue to put barriers in place,” Adams said.
The New York City Council granted final approval to the Big Apple’s record-breaking $101.1 billion budget for 2023 in a late night vote, after lawmakers and Adams struck a tentative deal on the spending plan last week.
Adams said that his decision to shrink New York City public school budgets by $215 million due to lower enrollment doesn’t count as a “cut.”
Adams insisted that he’s not worried about police officers leaving the NYPD in droves this year — declaring that being a Big Apple cop is an “amazing career,” and that the departures present a chance to “diversify” the force.
The mayor defended striking a city government budget deal that keeps NYPD spending effectively flat, arguing that the department has plenty of resources that it’s not using the right way.
Adams commended federal lawmakers for reaching an agreement on gun-control legislation in the wake of two mass shootings and the Big Apple’s own plague of gun violence, while cautioning there’s still more work to do closer to home to reduce bloodshed.
Six years after New York City officials sounded the alarm over the crumbling B.Q.E., there is still no consensus about what to do with this vital but outdated highway from the 1940s, which carries 129,000 vehicles a day.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the creation of a new special victims unit to be overseen by a chief prosecutor implementing a new approach to cases involving survivors of sex abuse.
The embattled new security boss for city jails was transferred from Sing Sing prison following allegations he made inappropriate sexual and racial comments to subordinates, according to interviews and records.
Preet Bharara, the former federal prosecutor, high-profile Trump critic and host of a popular podcast, is joining WilmerHale, a well-connected law firm that has become home to a number of former government officials.
State Comptroller Tom Dinapoli issued a report revealing that New York owes the federal government $8.1 billion after taking out a loan from the federal Unemployment Trust Fund used to support unemployment insurance claims that rose during the pandemic.
The progressive Working Families Party is switching its endorsement from Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney to state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who’s challenging the five-term incumbent in the Democratic primary.
A tax incentive for residential development that state lawmakers are letting expire this week – 421a – has been dubbed a huge developer giveaway by progressives and affordable housing advocates, but a Furman Center study begs to differ.
State Assembly and Senate members could not agree on four constitutional amendments related to the Adirondack Park before leaving Albany earlier this month, or on giving the Adirondack Park Agency more control when reviewing large-scale subdivisions.
A state Department of Tax and Finance employee arrested on felony cocaine charges at his job last October will resign from his post after pleading guilty to a gun charge that includes a three-year prison sentence.
Pedestrians beware: A new report shows that two local cities — Schenectady and Albany — top the list for the most dangerous cities in the U.S. for pedestrians in 2022.
The Lake George Park Commission will have to wait to carry out its planned use of a chemical herbicide on Lake George after a Warren County judge halted the plan.
Well-known Saratoga Springs nightclub and bar Gaffney’s has settled its case with the State Liquor Authority and has been cleared to reopen after it pays a $70,000 fine and adopts new operating rules that include a 2 a.m. closing time and no DJs or live music.
U.S. State Department officials met with Brittney Griner’s W.N.B.A. team, the Phoenix Mercury, to discuss the status of Griner’s monthslong detention in Russia and efforts made toward securing her release.
