Good Tuesday morning.
First: A public service announcement. Today is Primary Day No. 2. with candidates running in newly-drawn districts. Expect a lot of confusion and low turnout. On tap: Intra-party congressional and state Senate contests. If you want to see if you’re eligible to vote, click here. For poll site information, click here. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Early voting ended Aug. 21.
Remember: New York is a CLOSED primary state, which means you need to be enrolled in a party to be able to vote in its primary. If you are a so-called independent (with a small i) AKA a “blank”, you are out of luck. No voting today for you.
Please go vote, if you’re eligible to do so. Exercising this very basic right is a very big deal. And f you run into problems at your poll site, you can call the state’s election protection hotline at 866-390-2992.
Primaries are taking place in Florida, too. More on that here.
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…
This post might be a little less lighthearted than usual, but I guess that’s sort of par for the course, right? Life is a mix of good and bad. And those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
(It turns out there are a few variations of the aforementioned quote, and so I have chosen not to attribute it to anyone in particular).
Though some might believe that slavery is a relic of the past, the reality is that it is alive and well and flourishing across the globe. Also known in today’s parlance as “trafficking in persons” and human trafficking”, “modern slavery” an umbrella term that is used to denote compelled labor – sexual or otherwise – by and against an individual or a group of individuals.
We are speaking here of involuntary servitude, slavery or practices similar to slavery, debt bondage, forced and early marriage, and forced labor – all extremely exploitative and potentially deadly practices that entrap an estimated 40 million people worldwide.
One in four of that astoundingly high number are children, and 70 percent are women and girls. Considered another way: There are about 5.9 adult victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 adults in the world and 4.4 child victims for every 1,000 kids in the world.
People who end up enslaved are usually impoverished and excluded, making them vulnerable to being exploited, tricked, sold, trapped or otherwise ensnared in some manner of enslavement.
Today is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, intended by UNESCO to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.
This date was chosen to mark the beginning of an Aug. 22-23, 1971 uprising in Saint Domingue (today the Republic of Haiti) that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
Lest you think that slavery has been eradicated here in the U.S., an estimated 17,500 foreign nationals and 400,000 Americans being trafficked into and and within this country every year, with 80 percent of those being women and children.
An interesting datapoint (or lack thereof) from the link above:
“Although multiple government agencies collect data on victims of modern slavery, the United States does not provide one definitive set of statistics on identified victims. This is largely due to federal privacy laws and agency policies that restrict the sharing of personally identifiable information.”
If you want to learn more – including about actions you can take to end slavery in our time – click here.
And to end on an uplifting note, because all that really was sort of a bummer: Today’s Google Doodle is worth a mention, as it celebrates Anna Mani, one of India’s first female scientists, (AKA the “Weather Woman of India”) on what would have been her 104th birthday.
Basketball great Kobe Bryant would have turned 44 today, had he not died in a helicopter crash in January 2020.
More kind of crummy weather on tap: Thunderstorms are likely (again) with temperatures in the high 70s.
In the headlines…
Dr. Anthony Fauci, 81, who has been the face of the nation’s pandemic health response, announced that he intends to retire from government service in December “to pursue the next chapter” of his career.
“After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field,” Fauci said in a statement.
In a statement, President Biden thanked Dr. Fauci, whom he called a “dedicated public servant and a steady hand with wisdom and insight.” The two had worked closely together during a global outbreak of the Zika virus when Biden was vice president.
Biden’s bounce back from his recent record low approval ratings is continuing, with the president’s current average polling at its highest for three months.
Like it or not, we’re heading into a third straight presidential election cycle in which there’s uncertainty around Biden’s future.
Most of the money from Biden’s massive infrastructure bill is being handed out this summer and fall, nearly a year after passage, just in time for a campaign season he hopes will keep his fellow Democrats in power.
Stocks on Wall Street slid yesterday, with the S&P 500 dropping by the most it has in over two months, as a speech this week by Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, loomed over investors who are focused on the path for interest rates in the months ahead.
Fears of additional sharp interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 643 points, taking some of the wind out of this summer’s stock-market rally.
Donald Trump reportedly held on to more than 300 classified documents after leaving office, half of which were recovered in January by the National Archives, which alerted the Justice Department in what led to the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property.
The National Archives in January recovered 150 classified documents, while another set, which was also at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, was given to the Justice Department in June by Trump aides.
Trump filed a lawsuit seeking the appointment of a special master to review the materials seized by the FBI during a search of his Mar-a-Lago home and asked a judge to order investigators to immediately stop examining the items.
The Florida federal magistrate judge who signed the warrant authorizing the search of Trump’s private club and residence issued a formal order directing the government to propose redactions to the sealed affidavit that justified the search.
However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart lowered expectations about how much, if any, of the search warrant affidavit he’ll ultimately release following a motion from media organizations seeking its disclosure.
The judge left open the possibility in a written order that the affidavit would be so heavily redacted that releasing it would be “meaningless.”
Trump has endorsed more than 200 candidates for state and federal office during the 2022 midterm elections, an unusually wide-ranging effort by a former president to consolidate and enhance his personal political influence.
A new conservative nonprofit group scored a $1.6 billion windfall last year via a little-known donor, electronics manufacturing mogul Barre Seid — an extraordinary sum that could give Republicans and their causes a huge financial boost for years to come.
America’s mass killers fit no single profile and certainly no pattern of insanity — many, if not most, had never been diagnosed with a serious psychiatric disorder.
The defense lawyers in the Parkland shooter’s trial say he was born “damaged,” and his biological mother’s drug and alcohol use irreparably harmed his brain. Then his adoptive mother became overwhelmed with treating his many problems.
Even as roughly half the states have moved to enact near-total abortion bans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, activists are pushing for a long-held and more absolute goal: laws that grant fetuses the same legal rights and protections as any person.
Moderna will supply 12 million doses of its COVID-19 shot adapted to target the Omicron variant of the coronavirus to Canada, the company said.
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have asked U.S. health regulators to clear use of a Covid-19 shot modified to target the newest versions of the Omicron variant. The FDA is expected to clear the shots for use in the coming weeks.
The CDC did not add any new destinations to its list of nations and territories with a “high” risk of Covid-19 yesterday. However, locations at “high” risk – designated as Level 3 – still account for almost 130 of the roughly 235 places monitored.
The CDC signed off on the use of Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 through 17.
A group of Apple Inc. staffers is petitioning for a more flexible working environment after the tech giant recently told employees they will need to be in the office at least three days a week.
Japan is set to more than double the number of people it lets into the country and may scrap a negative Covid-19 test to enter, as the last rich economy with stringent entry requirements still in place looks to join the rest of the world in easing pandemic curbs.
Millions of students in the Philippines headed to school as in-person classes began to fully restart for the first time in more than two years, ending one of the world’s longest pandemic-related shutdowns in a school system plagued by severe underinvestment.
One year ago this week, Kathy Hochul took a new oath of office, stepping up following several turbulent months for her predecessor to become New York’s first female governor.
In the 12 months since replacing Andrew Cuomo, Hochul has sought to forge her own path and distance herself from her scandal-scarred predecessor while also mounting a run for a full term in office.
Only half of New York City residents have received a COVID-19 booster shot even as nearly two-thirds reported catching the virus since the outbreak first arrived in the Big Apple in 2020, a new health survey reveals.
New York state is lifting COVID-19 restrictions for K-12 schools ahead of the new academic year, Hochul announced.
Students will no longer have to isolate or quarantine if they are exposed to someone who is COVID-positive, and entire classrooms won’t have to be sent home over a single case anymore, the governor said.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said New York is changing the way it administers monkeypox vaccines as cases surged to nearly 2,800 statewide.
The state health commissioner said there was a minimal risk that children would catch monkeypox in school — but parents should be informed about the disease.
Hochul sparked controversy by saying political opponents like Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Lee Zeldin ought to ditch New York as she rallied with fellow Democrats ahead of a special election in Congressional District 19 in the Hudson Valley.
Hochul owns a home on a man-made, 17.5 mile-long lake in Virginia.
Zeldin demanded that Hochul say publicly whether she supports efforts to strip police officers of legal protections shielding them from lawsuits over certain alleged civil rights violations.
State Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs criticized Zeldin for ignoring the revelation that WNY House candidate Carl Paladino suggested that Attorney General Merrick Garland “probably should be executed” for authorizing the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.
New York student loan borrowers carry a median debt of $19,000 — amounting to some $90 billion owed. With a federal student loan repayment moratorium set to expire at the end of the month, state lawmakers are considering ways of easing the burden.
There have been 148,331 early votes cast for the August primaries in New York state, numbers released yesterday by the state Board of Elections found.
Voter turnout during the early voting period ahead of today’s primary was about 3% in New York City, which is extremely bad by historical standards.
Just hours before Election Day, New York City candidates in two of the most tightly contested congressional races of the election cycle pounded the pavement one last time in a final push to get out the vote.
After NY-10 candidate Dan Goldman claimed he could not remember his top choice in last year’s Democratic race for New York City mayor, his House primary rivals had little trouble recalling their votes.
Progressives are pushing to coalesce support behind a single candidate over concerns that Goldman will win against a divided field.
Rapper Fetty Wap, whose legal name is Willie Junior Maxwell II, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy drug charge that carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence.
The plea in Central Islip on Long Island came before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Locke, who had revoked Maxwell’s bond and sent him to jail two weeks ago. No sentencing date was immediately set.
Mayor Eric Adams took aim at a report that raised ethical questions about his frequent club and restaurant outings — but rejected the notion that he should produce receipts or other information to quell concern about the matter.
Adams berated The New York Times for publishing a “silly, silly story” on its front page that examined his embrace of the Big Apple’s pricey and high-end nightlife and City Hall’s repeated refusal to document who is footing the bills.
It’s unclear if the mayor pays his check at La Baia, which may put him on murky ethical ground.
Adams turned out last night to tout a ticketing blitz against tractor-trailer trucks that park overnight in residential neighborhoods in southeast Queens.
Actor Allu Arjun was honored by Adams as he represented India as the Grand Marshall in the annual Indian day parade.
New York City jail stabbings and slashings are on an alarming rise even as the numbers of detainees sinks, city statistics show.
Proposed fees on city drivers that are supposed to generate billions of dollars for mass transit upgrades also threaten to take a crippling toll on the livelihood of cabbies and the long-suffering yellow taxi industry.
The Independent Power Producers of New York contends that the state’s climate law does not “define zero emission sources” and that environmental groups are unfairly twisting language to argue that hydrogen isn’t allowed in power plants.
Assemblyman John McDonald and several other local elected officials are calling on Hochul to sign three bills that would help local governments deal with properties that were abandoned or not following building codes.
Students at Hudson Valley Community College will now have to get vaccinated against COVID-19, after the State University of New York gave the college until yesterday to comply with its system-wide mandate.
The state University at Albany police department last night issued a “timely warning notification” that described a frightening scene in which a couple with a flat tire said they had been robbed and briefly had a child in their vehicle kidnapped.
State Police and tax authorities announced they raided four smoke shops in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley last week, seizing 57 pounds of cannabis along with untaxed cigarettes, cigars and hundreds of pounds of loose tobacco.
Hawaii has the highest life expectancy of any U.S. state, according to new federal figures released by the CDC. The combined average life expectancy for men and women there was 80.7 years old, the only state with an average expectancy rate above 80.
Cineworld Group PLC, one of the world’s largest movie theater chains, which owns Regal Cinemas, said that it is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and similar actions elsewhere.
HBO’s “House of the Dragon” drew nearly 10 million viewers in the U.S. during its Sunday night debut and briefly led the HBO Max streaming platform to crash for some users, in another sign of the interest in the prequel to “Game of Thrones.”
