Good morning, it’s Friday.
Even though America has its roots in a distinctly anti-monarch history – it was the colonies’ rejection of the crown, after all, that birthed a free and independent nation – we nevertheless have maintained a fascination with royalty, particularly when it comes to all things related to the House of Windsor.
And so the death of Queen Elizabeth II, England’s longest-serving monarch, (she reigned for 70 years!!) at the age of 96, really did come as something of a shock to many, I’m sure, even though she hasn’t been in the greatest of health for some time.
I, for one, have been paying some attention to the royals on and off for a while now, especially since Meghan and Harry shook things up and changed the paradigm – for better or worse – in recent years.
I am no obsessive, to be clear. I didn’t tune in to live coverage of the aforementioned’s couple’s nuptials, nor did I watch Kate and William get hitched, or even Charles and Di, for that matter.
I did, however, read the coverage about the trio of marriages, and the subsequent scandalous divorce in the case of the man who is now ascending to the throne.
It’s a time of great upheaval for the Brits. They have both a new king AND a new prime minister all in the same week. That’s kind of a lot to process.
Charles, 73, who is the longest-serving heir in history (imagine having THAT on your resume) has been stepping up his responsibilities of late as his mother’s health failed.
Ditto Charles and Kate, though they recently moved their family to the suburbs, expressing a desire for their three kids to have more freedom, normality, and room to move around – to the degree that’s even possible.
As for what will happen with Charles’ second wife, Camilla, whom he married about eight years after Princess Di’s death in 1997, well, it’s complicated…Says the Washington Post:
An agreement was made in 2005, at the time of Charles and Camilla’s wedding, that she would not be known as queen but as princess consort — although now that he is king, Charles could change her title to queen if he wishes. More recently, however, in a statement marking the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne in February, Queen Elizabeth II said she wanted Camilla to be known as queen consort when Charles became king. Charles thanked his mother, saying he was “deeply conscious of the honour” for his “darling” wife.
The AP is reporting that Camilla will be known as the “queen consort,” which is basically a title with no attached powers. By custom, she would be anointed at her husband’s coronation, but that bit could well be omitted, given the sensitivity of the situation.
As for when the coronation itself will take place, that could actually be several months away. First, there will be a 10-day national period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth, who herself wasn’t coronated until more than a year after her ascension to the throne, and then a funeral at Westminster Abbey, making her the first sovereign to have a funeral there since 1760.
RIP, Queen Elizabeth II. We share a name, and so I feel oddly connected to you, though we’ve never met. You had a very good run.
It’s going to be a beautiful day, with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s. The rest of the weekend looks pretty good, too, though it will become progressively cloudier as we approach Monday. Get out there and enjoy it while you can.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden said in a statement on Queen Elizabeth II’s death that “the thoughts and prayers of people all across the United States are with the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth in their grief.”
Biden made a short trip last night from the White House to nearby National Harbor in Maryland to speak at a Democratic National Committee reception.
Biden is set to visit Ohio today for the groundbreaking of Intel’s long-awaited semiconductor manufacturing facility. It’s a victory lap of sorts after he signed the Chips and Science Act of 2022 into law in August, giving $50 billion to the chip industry.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Biden has approved additional military aid to Ukraine worth up to $675 million, an announcement that came as he gathered allies to renew their commitment to military support “for the long haul.”
All told, top U.S. officials unveiled $2.8 billion in new military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Eastern European allies – a shift from just-in-time weapons transfers to Ukraine to a longer-term effort to equip nations all across NATO’s eastern front.
Biden will deliver a speech on the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Monday, aiming to draw attention to his administration’s efforts to halve the cancer death rate over the next 25 years.
The Justice Department asked a federal judge to put on hold part of her order halting its criminal inquiry into documents seized at ex-President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, saying he had no right to the 100 classified documents at the heart of the probe.
Steve Bannon, a former senior Trump adviser, was indicted in New York on charges of money laundering and other crimes in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud donors to a border-wall nonprofit.
The right-wing political strategist previously faced federal charges for the crowdfunding scheme, for which Trump pardoned him during a clemency blitz in his final hours in office. The pardon did not spare Bannon from state prosecution.
A federal grand jury investigating the activities leading up the Jan. 6 attack and the push by Trump and his allies to overturn the result of the 2020 election has expanded its probe to include seeking information about Trump’s leadership PAC, Save America.
Several similar subpoenas were sent to junior and midlevel aides who worked in the White House and for Trump’s presidential campaign.
Digital World Acquisition Corp. failed this week to gain the necessary votes to delay its planned merger with Trump’s media company Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs the Truth Social app the former president frequently posts on.
Despite fears of a recession, the labor market is showing no signs of weakening. The number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 222,000 for the week ended September 3, according to Department of Labor data.
The latest claims data is consistent with other recent gauges that show the U.S. job market is strong, but cooling from earlier this year, when layoffs were even lower and hiring more robust.
The U.S. economy has been puzzling so far this year. Economic growth fell the first half of 2022, which, by some informal definitions, signals a recession. But businesses remain desperate to find workers.
U.S. immigration authorities project that they will use up all the extra available employment-based green cards for the fiscal year ending this month, averting the risk that the government would for the second year running let thousands go to waste.
The Michigan Supreme Court said that voters would decide in November whether to add protections for abortion rights to the State Constitution, reversing the decision of a state board that had not allowed the proposal onto the ballot.
The South Carolina Senate voted last night to tighten abortion restrictions but failed to pass a total ban after a heated debate revealed the ongoing struggle among Republicans to define a cohesive post-Roe strategy.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that the state of emergency sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic will end on Oct. 31, nearly three years after the Democratic governor first issued the order.
An unprecedented $19 billion in federal aid could help schools dig out of pandemic problems — if they can figure out how to spend it in time.
China’s consumer and producer inflation slowed in August as sporadic lockdowns suppressed spending and commodity prices fell, giving policy makers enough room to support the troubled economy if needed.
Authorities told citizens to minimize travel during the mid-Autumn festival next week and National Day holidays in October, key periods for domestic tourism, and asked local governments to test all residents regularly for Covid regardless of infection levels.
China’s mega city of Chengdu has extended its Covid lockdown for a second time, with no end in sight as authorities struggle to eradicate an outbreak that is continuing despite stringent restrictions that have upended businesses and daily life.
Scientists have developed a virus-killing plastic that could make it harder for bugs, including Covid, to spread in hospitals and care homes.
By now, it’s clear that even people who are fully vaccinated and boosted can get Long COVID, and recent research suggests that vaccines aren’t the Long COVID shields people wished for.
A simmering feud between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul boiled with the conservative firebrand throwing rhetorical bombs on her record while fundraising for her Republican rival Rep. Lee Zeldin.
Hochul signed legislation mandating smaller class sizes for New York City public schools — after reaching a deal on changes to the controversial bill with Mayor Eric Adams and state lawmakers.
The agreement means the city will soon have to cap classes at 20 to 25 students, depending on the grade level. The change will be implemented gradually over a five-year period beginning next year and ending in September 2028.
Hochul’s administration received an offer to buy 26 million at-home coronavirus tests from a New Jersey-based distributor that happened to be a major campaign donor to the governor.
Millions of dollars in tax relief checks will be hitting mailboxes in the coming weeks for New Yorkers who are eligible for the Empire State Child Credit or the Earned Income Credit, Hochul said.
An event yesterday at JFK airport highlighted how Gov. Kathy Hochul is leveraging her day job against Zeldin while dodging his attacks on rising crime, inflation and her dodging on debates before the Nov. 8 election.
Even as Hochul is winding down COVID-19 restrictions in New York, some Republican lawmakers want her to completely relinquish her power to oversee the pandemic.
Larry Sharpe and the state’s Libertarian Party are waging a last-ditch effort to make their way onto the ballot for the governor’s race in November, asserting the new ballot thresholds for third party candidates amount to “voter suppression”.
New York congressional Republicans announced federal legislation that would block the enactment of a lower overtime threshold for agriculture workers.
As schools opened Adams refused to back down on cuts to the overall education budget, pointing to the dismal financial picture for New York City to come.
City Council leaders have asked Adams to end the Trump Organization’s contract to run a city-owned golf course in the Bronx and to cancel a Saudi-tied tournament next month.
Adams wants to cut losses at the city’s popular but money-burning ferry system by telling prospective operators to pitch new ways to earn revenue — including rentals, concessions and advertising.
A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in McLaughlin Park, in Downtown Brooklyn, after two people approached him and started a verbal dispute that turned physical, the police said.
A police officer for the New York City Department of Homeless Services was suspended without pay, the city said, after a video circulated showing him hitting a shelter resident in the face.
Rudy Giuliani admitted to owing his ex-wife money — but called her lawsuit claiming he’s withholding $260,000 a “gross exaggeration” during a hearing in Manhattan court.
A Delmar man was attacked by a sunk while drinking his morning coffee in his yard.
Authorities investigating the killing of a veteran Las Vegas journalist, Jeff German, said that they found D.N.A. at the crime scene that matched a public official who had been the subject of German’s recent reporting.
Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser declared the busing of migrants to the nation’s capital a public emergency as over 9,000 asylum-seekers have arrived in the district since April.
