Good morning; it’s Thursday.
I have a confession to make…I seem to do that a lot here, come to think of it. Hopefully, you are not opposed, though I guess if you were you would have stopped reading long ago?
Anyway, the confession: Though I am an avid reader – and my husband can attest to the fact that I have probably spent far more than he would like on books since we first met – I am woefully behind when it comes to consumption of the classics.
War & Peace? Never read it. Anna Karenina? Ditto. The Metamorphosis? Haven’t cracked it.
I did do some Shakespeare in high school and college, but not by choice, and I haven’t picked any of it up since. (Technically speaking, The Bard isn’t considered a classic, though it appears from a brief Google search that the definition varies widely).
Also, I did read Lord of the Flies, because hasn’t everyone? And the Odyssey, of course, and Beowulf. (Hated it, FWIW). But left to my own devices, I often gravitate toward things that I find fun and diverting – books about food and politics, essays (like David Sedaris and Malcolm Gladwell), mysteries, thrillers, biographies.
OK, you get the picture. My tastes are eclectic, to say the least, and I like to flatter myself that I am widely – if not well – read.
Another glaring hole in my reading repertoire: Lolita, the controversial novel by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabakov, which details a grown man’s obsession with 12-year-old Dolores Haze, whom he secretly calls Lolita.
Sorry, sanctioned pedophilia does not appeal to me. Apparently, I’m not alone in this, either. I think a lot of people believe they know Lolita, but haven’t actually read it, and then are really blown away when they do – for a whole host of reasons.
That said, I don’t condone the widespread banning of this book – or any other, for that matter. Lolita was banned as obscene in France from 1956-1959, in England from 1955-59, Argentina in 1959, and New Zealand in 1960, but never in the U.S. And all the banning did, really, was drive up interest and demand for the book.
The book was challenged as recently as 2006 in the Marion County public library in Ocala, Florida, for its themes of pedophilia and incest. (As a total aside, Lolita is also the name of an orca who used to be on display at a Miami aquarium, and who some advocates are pressing to be released back into the wild).
I’m not sure whether I will ever read Lolita, but its cultural importance and impact cannot be denied. And it was on this day in 1958 that the book was first published, which seemed noteworthy enough to me to dedicate an entire post to it. That and the fact that i just couldn’t figure out what to say about ice cream pies.
I should note, however, in an interesting juxtaposition, that on this day in 1920, history was made when the 19th Amendment was formally adopted into the Constitution, giving women the right to vote in the United States. Two years ago, we marked the 100th anniversary of that significant milestone in women’s suffrage.
Also, technically speaking, the 19th Amendment did not affirmatively grant the vote to all women — or even to any women in particular. All the text says is: “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
After yesterday’s (rather unwelcome) hint of what’s to come when fall rolls around (Sept. 22 is the autumnal equinox, in case you were wondering), we are back to summery temperatures in the low 80s, with cloudy skies and a slight chance of rain.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden’s dismal approval rating is beginning to show signs of a turnaround after a recent stretch of accomplishments that few saw coming earlier in the summer.
A judge’s order that forced the Biden administration to resume sales of oil and gas leases on federal land and waters was vacated by a federal appeals court in New Orleans. It was a temporary victory for the president, but the immediate effect was unclear.
After efforts to delay the proceeding, former Donald Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani appeared in a Georgia court for several hours on yesterday to face a special grand jury over efforts in the state to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
It is not clear what Giuliani said in his closed-door appearance. It came as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, also saw new challenges to her inquiry.
Giuliani and his lawyers were relatively speechless upon leaving a Fulton County courthouse. “I can tell you that we were ordered to be here, we showed up, we did what we had to do,” Bill Thomas, the former mayor’s local attorney, said following the hearing.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp asked a court to quash a subpoena seeking his testimony before a special grand jury in Atlanta on the same day Giuliani was compelled to appear before that panel.
Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said he’d support a 2024 presidential bid from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis turning his back on Trump.
Biden called Liz Cheney after the Wyoming congresswoman and vocal critic of Trump was defeated in her state’s Republican primary.
Cheney said she is contemplating a 2024 presidential bid as part of her stated mission to try to block Trump from ever winning the White House again, a possibility that has both major political parties awaiting her next move.
After Trump-backed Harriet Hageman claimed Cheney never fully conceded their Wyoming GOP primary race, the defeated incumbent released her receipts.
Allen H. Weisselberg, for decades one of Trump’s most trusted executives, has reached a deal to plead guilty today and admit to participating in a long-running tax scheme at the former president’s family business.
Weisselberg is expected to criminally implicate Trump’s family real estate business when he pleads guilty to felony tax fraud charges
Federal prosecutors investigating the role that Trump and his allies played in the events leading up to the Jan. 6 attack issued a grand jury subpoena to the National Archives for all the documents it provided to a parallel House select committee inquiry.
Former Vice President Mike Pence called on Republicans to stop attacking the nation’s top law enforcement agencies over the F.B.I.’s search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., home.
Contributions totaling $5 million to Trump’s charity in 2007 and 2009 were among $19.6 million in unrecorded company expenses Vince McMahon paid before he stepped down from WWE amid misconduct allegations, an internal investigation found.
Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos claims Biden “pressed his forehead against mine” during a conversation before he became president, which she claims could technically be considered “sexual harassment” under his proposed Title IX rule changes.
A federal judge ordered three of the nation’s largest pharmacy chains — CVS, Walgreens and Walmart — to pay $650.5 million to two Ohio counties, ruling the companies must be held accountable for their part in fueling the opioid epidemic.
All three companies were found liable for their role in the opioid epidemic in both Lake and Trumbull counties last November. US District Judge Dan Aaron Polster presided over separate proceedings in May to determine how much money should be awarded.
Polster ruled the companies must pay the “abatement” fees over 15 years to help two Ohio counties deal with the fallout from the public health crisis created by the improper sale of the drugs.
The U.S. announced that it and Taiwan will start negotiations for a bilateral trade and investment initiative this fall to deepen ties on a range of issues including technology and agriculture.
An expanding cadre of experts has come to believe that sex between men itself is likely the main driver of global monkeypox transmission. The skin contact that comes with sex, these experts say, is probably much less of a risk factor.
The World Health Organization called for people infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the virus following a first reported case of human-to-dog transmission.
Experts say children are not at a high risk of infection from monkeypox. But they have advice to keep everyone — from toddlers to college kids — safe.
After Covid disparities sent people across borders in search of vaccines, the European Union tried to create a level playing field. But the experience with monkeypox demonstrates it’s still far from complete.
Bavarian Nordic A/S, the only company with an approved vaccine for monkeypox, said it’s no longer certain it can meet demand as cases continue to rise across the world.
Even the fish in the sea are getting caught up in China’s attempts to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The CDC is launching an overhaul of its structure and operations in an attempt to modernize the agency and rehabilitate its reputation following intense criticism of its handling of the pandemic and, more recently, the growing monkeypox outbreak.
Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the CDC, delivered a sweeping rebuke of her agency’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it had failed to respond quickly enough and needed to be overhauled.
Walensky said that she intended to improve the agency’s communication, timeliness and accountability. “In our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” she said.
Two years after having Covid-19, diagnoses of brain fog, dementia and epilepsy are more common than after other respiratory infections, a study by the University of Oxford suggests.
Here’s how a scrappy team of scientists, public health experts and plumbers is embracing wastewater surveillance as the future of disease tracking.
White House Covid coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha said that the newly updated Covid boosters will be available to teens and adults “in a few short weeks.”
People infected with the highly transmissible Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 spew out higher amounts of virus than those infected with other variants, according to a new study.
Moderna Inc. named a new finance chief roughly three months after the Covid-19 vaccine maker’s previous hire for the role departed abruptly due to an internal investigation under way at a prior employer.
State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to update the state’s guidance and emergency regulations to reflect the changes made by the CDC.
Hochul announced her administration will relaunch its statewide #VaxtoSchool campaign, an initiative aimed at increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates among school-aged New Yorkers as they prepare to head back into classrooms.
The New York City Education Department has ended most Covid restrictions for students, although teachers still have to be vaccinated.
While many New Yorkers have returned to activities and gatherings reminiscent of pre-pandemic times, COVID-19 is still sickening and killing far more residents than another virus – the flu – did before March 2020, according to state and federal health agencies.
Hudson Valley Community College will allow students to return without a coronavirus vaccine, saying the rule is unfair and alleging the vaccine is ineffective.
The New York City Health Department has announced that the West Nile virus had been detected in two people, one in Brooklyn and another in Queens, as well as in a “record number” of infected mosquitoes throughout the city.
Scott Solomon, a Saratoga Springs restaurateur who swindled the mayor of Albany out of thousands of dollars in campaign cash, was spotted schmoozing with Gov. Hochul at a recent fundraiser.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin is pressing for a reversal of New York’s ban on a controversial natural gas extraction process, which supporters say would bring much-needed jobs upstate, but critics decried for environmental degradation.
Zeldin and Hochul agree in concept that they should debate before the November election, but haven’t settled on how many times they might face off and where.
The wide-ranging domestic spending bill signed into law this week by Biden will help keep millions of New Yorkers on their health insurance plans, state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said.
New York regulators approved a slate of health insurance rate increases for next year, covering individual market and small group plans in the state.
Mayor Eric Adams is getting more complaints about trash on city streets and sidewalks than his predecessor — a problematic trend for a mayor who has so frequently promised to deliver a cleaner and safer New York.
Hispanic firefighters are pushing Adams to name a Latino to lead the Fire Department.
So many Latin American migrants are arriving in the city on a weekly basis that the Adams administration plans to turn upward of 5,000 hotel rooms into emergency housing for them as the homeless shelter system remains overcrowded.
Adams will endorse State Sen. Kevin Parker in his bid for reelection, Parker’s campaign told City & State. New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli will also announce their support for Parker.
Times Square’s marijuana truck business is going up in smoke thanks to city government weed whackers. The NYPD seized 19 brightly-colored trucks and buses found selling cannabis-laced edibles without proper permits at the Crossroads of the World.
Trump made unwelcome endorsements last night, sarcastically offering his support to Rep. Carolyn Maloney and attorney Dan Goldman – two candidates who once helped lead impeachment efforts against him.
Trump’s unexpected meddling in two New York City congressional primaries drew immediate denunciations from the candidates.
Goldman, who’s running for the 10th Congressional District in next Tuesday’s primary and served as the lead Democratic counsel during Trump’s first impeachment, is “honorable, fair, and highly intelligent,” the ex-president wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump falsely claimed in a separate post that Maloney has “said terrific things about me” and would support him no matter what. Between Maloney and Rep. Jerry Nadler, Trump called the congresswoman the “better man.”
Five of the top Democratic candidates in the House race to represent lower Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn met in a key primetime debate last night that offered plenty of substance and a splash of Trump-inspired sparring.
During the debate, Rep. Mondaire Jones emerged as the main contender to thwart former House impeachment lawyer Goldman in the Democratic race to represent Lower Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn in Congress.
House candidate and assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou said she would vote “no” on any pro-Israel resolution opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against the Jewish state.
The New York Times is under fire for its endorsement of Goldman, as there are ties between the families of Goldman and the paper’s publisher A.G. Sulzberger, who took an interest in the endorsement.
The paper’s endorsement of a wealthy white attorney in a newly created congressional district provoked a serious backlash.
Campaign finance has become a double-edged sword for embattled Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney as he fights for his political life against state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who is accusing him of deploying “deceptive” fundraising tactics ahead of the Aug. 23 primary.
Female political leaders in the 17th Congressional District are accusing Biaggi of ageism for suggesting last month that women past “child bearing age” wouldn’t be effective legislators.
Republican congressional candidate Carl Paladino said on a radio show last week that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland “probably should be executed” following the raid of Trump’s estate in Mar-a-Lago. He later said he was being facetious.
The analyses of Board of Election voting records by Gotham Relations for the NYS chapter of the AARP found that two-thirds of the voters who cast ballots in New York City during the June 28 primaries were ages 50 and above.
Some of New York City’s wealthiest interests are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into State Senate races in hopes of warding off the political left – and in some cases outspending the candidates themselves.
Lower Manhattan’s 9/11 Tribute Museum — a nearly 30,000-square-foot space located three blocks from the World Trade Center site — shut its doors yesterday, just weeks shy of the 21st anniversary of the terror attacks.
A viral TikTok video produced by a tenant of The Lofts at Harmony Mills quickly ignited controversy about handicap accessibility at the apartment complex during the ongoing filming of HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”
The Schenectady puppy that a police officer found with signs of being repeatedly abused is recovering, the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society said.
Backed by the grassroots labor group that secured the first-ever union victory of an Amazon warehouse in the U.S., workers of another warehouse filed a petition for an election in upstate New York in the hopes of a similar outcome.
One of the main buildings at Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel, once the gem of the borscht belt that inspired the movie “Dirty Dancing,” was demolished after a devastating fire delivered the killing blow following decades of decrepitude and abandonment.
By the time the first crews arrived at the site, located near state Route 52 and Sullivan Avenue in the town of Liberty, the three-and-a-half-story building was engulfed in flames.
