Good morning, it’s Monday.
I neglected on Friday to note that the weekend would mark the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. Mea culpa. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful, but I was traveling for work, operating on very little sleep and was out of my element.
So before we tackle another week head-on, let’s take a moment to remember that fateful day two decades and a year ago when two planes flew into the Twin Towers, a third hit the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, and a fourth went down in a field in Shanksville, PA, never reaching its intended target, thanks to the bravery of passengers and crew aboard Flight 93.
All told, 2,997 people were killed in the attacks, thousands more were injured or irreparably damaged due to long-term health impacts of the poisonous cloud created when the towers collapsed, and 19 hijackers committed murder-suicide.
All these years later, the remains of victims are still being identified.
Just like my father recalls vividly where he was and what he was doing when JFK was assassinated, I remember quite clearly the moment I learned the first plane had hit in Lower Manhattan on an impossibly clear and beautiful Primary Day. I was living outside the state and spent many frantic hours trying to get through the jammed phone lines to check on friends and family.
And then I went to a bar and got drunk in the middle of the afternoon.
i didn’t know what else to do. It felt like the world was collapsing and nothing would ever be the same. And, of course, that was both completely true and completely untrue. Time marched on, as it does. And now the youngest kids of the 9/11 victims are in their 20s, teetering on the cusp of adulthood having grown up without ever knowing their parent.
I flew home this past Saturday night and changed planes in Philadelphia. I got a window seat in the (admittedly too small for my comfort) jet plane on the side that offered an unobstructed view of the Tribute In Light as we flew past. The night was hazy, which provided a perfect canvas for the towers of light to be seen shooting high up into the sky.
At first, I was confused and thought it was a sort of klieg light that clubs or special events sometimes use. And then I (obviously a little delirious from running non-stop for three days – including a 20-minute sprint from Terminal B to Terminal F to make a connection in Philly) thought it might be the Batman beacon.
I did finally get my bearings and realize we had reached Manhattan. It was beautiful and haunting and eerie and made me remember – which is exactly what it should have done. It also made me feel – for just a few moments – lucky to be in the air at that very time and place, which is a feeling I NEVER experience. I really hate to fly.
I soon returned to clutching the armrests and muttering mantras under my breath and believing that my anxiety-fueled vigilance was the only thing keeping the plane in the air.
The world is changing so quickly. We’re on the cusp of another seminal event: The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will take place today at Westminster Abbey in Central London – the first time a monarch’s funeral has been held at Westminster Abbey since the 18th century.
The funeral will be followed by a committal at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, which is where the Queen’s parents, sister Princess Margaret and her beloved husband Prince Philip are laid to rest. If you want a rundown of all the details, click here.
A lot of high-profile people are expected to be in attendance today, including President Biden, who, despite initial speculation to the contrary, is NOT going to be accompanied by an official delegation.
There has been some talk that former President Donald Trump will be a member of that coterie.
This would not have been unprecedented, as previous presidents invited former presidents to funerals of world leaders during their time in office. In 2013, for example, then-President Obama (who might also be at the Queen’s funeral, with his wife, Michelle,) invited former President George W. Bush to Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
Trivia: The Obamas are the only former first family to have been invited back to visit the Queen after Obama left office, and are believed to personal favorites of hers.
I can’t imagine that Trump would have agreed if Biden did extend an invite. It’s not like the two of them have been on the same page of late, and they’re both gearing up for a potential re-match in 2024.
But, if the Queen’s death was enough to spur the warring Prince brothers – William and Harry – and their wives – Kate and Meghan – to make peace, if only temporarily and publicly, then I guess anything might have happened. It’s moot, though, as the White House says Buckingham Palace only invited Biden himself, and didn’t extend to him the ability to assemble a delegation.
Oh, and in case you were wondering and worrying – as I was – who would take care of the Queen’s beloved two surviving corgis, they’re staying in the family. Phew. Though she apparently has some other dogs, and it’s unclear where they will go.
It’s going to be on the warm side again today, with temperatures in the high 70s. Skies will be mostly cloudy.
In the headlines…
President Biden yesterday touted the killings of two al Qaeda leaders following the 9/11 attacks as he marked the 21-year anniversary of the attacks during a ceremony at the Pentagon.
Biden marked the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, taking part in a somber wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon held under a steady rain and paying tribute to “extraordinary Americans” who gave their lives on one of the nation’s darkest days.
“I know, for all those of you who lost someone, 21 years is both a lifetime and no time at all,” Biden said. “It’s good to remember. These memories help us heal, but they can also open up the hurt and take us back to that moment when the grief was so raw.”
Biden quoted the late Queen Elizabeth II in his speech, saying: “Grief is the price we pay for love,” Biden said, referring to a message sent by the monarch, who died last week, after the attacks that killed almost 3,000 people.
The president also feted the ideal of American democracy in his speech and invoked the duty of everyday Americans to protect it.
Biden is set to visit the JFK Library in Boston tomorrow to deliver a speech on his “Cancer Moonshot” initiative. The goal is to cut the death from the disease in half within the next 25 years.
Today is the 60th anniversary of JFKK’s “moonshot speech.”
Biden traveled to Ohio on Friday to celebrate the groundbreaking of Intel’s new $20 billion semiconductor plant, one of the first domestic chip-making facilities to come out of the recently passed CHIPS and Science Act.
Vice President Kamala Harris said that she would “proudly” run on a ticket alongside Biden in 2024, despite some political chatter about his re-election viability.
Harris blasted the Supreme Court, voiced concern about the status of U.S. democracy and called for a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants in a wide-ranging interview.
Congress is flashing warning signs about the prospects for passing legislation to speed up permitting of renewable-energy and traditional fossil-fuel projects, as a growing number of lawmakers objecting to the proposal being tied to a must-pass spending bill.
With little public notice and accelerating speed, child poverty fell by 59 percent from 1993 to 2019, according to a comprehensive new analysis that shows the critical role of increased government aid.
Stunned by a lightning advance by Ukrainian forces that cost it over 1,000 square miles of land and a key military hub, Russia acknowledged that it had lost nearly all of the northern region of Kharkiv after a blitzkrieg thrust.
The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Moscow’s worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March. This could prove a decisive turning point in the 6-month-old war.
In a characteristically defiant speech, Vladimir Putin appeared to whitewash the toll of the war, which U.S. officials estimate has killed or wounded 80,000 Russian soldiers. He also said he planned to meet with President Xi Jinping of China next week.
New Zealand is dropping most pandemic restrictions, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced.
The U.S. has recently averaged about 320 new Covid-19 deaths each day, and the average was above 400 before the Labor Day holiday weekend, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
Lea Michele confirmed that she has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be out for a longer period from the Broadway musical “Funny Girl” than initially stated.
“In following production protocol I cannot return to the theater for 10 days,” she wrote on Sept. 10. “Thankfully staying home today and catching this early protected so many members of our company from being exposed.”
Illness caused by Covid-19 shrank the U.S. labor force by around 500,000 people, a hit that is likely to continue if the virus continues to sicken workers at current rates, according to a new study released today.
The labor force would have 500,000 more members if not for the people sickened by Covid, according to the study’s authors.
Marc Lewitinn, 76, believed to be the longest-surviving intubated Covid-19 patient, has died after 850 days on a ventilator.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is slamming COVID-19 rules once again — this time on claims they destroyed small businesses in his California hometown, he said.
New York City may be poised to end its only COVID-19 vaccination mandate for school kids — which has sidelined athletes and others who won’t get jabbed, Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli maintained.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has until the end of today to decide whether to extend some of her last remaining emergency powers as she continues to scale back the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
Hochul has declared a state disaster emergency over poliovirus to get more residents vaccinated amid indications that the disease is spreading in New York.
The order allows emergency service workers, midwives and pharmacists to administer the polio vaccine, and requires health care providers to send polio immunization data to state health officials so that they can determine where to target vaccination efforts.
“On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice,” said the state’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, in a statement. “If you or your child are unvaccinated or not up to date with vaccinations, the risk of paralytic disease is real.”
Hochul holds a lead of 15 percentage points over Republican challenger Rep. Lee Zeldin, according to an Emerson College-Pix11-The Hill survey released on Friday.
The poll found that 50 percent of somewhat and very likely voters polled said they would support Hochul when asked who they would vote for if the election for governor was held today. Zeldin, meanwhile, received 35 percent.
An overwhelming majority of New Yorkers — 61% — blame bail reform for rising crime, the same poll found.
New York’s Hasidic Jewish religious schools have benefited from $1 billion in government funding in the last four years but are unaccountable to outside oversight and as a result, are failing to provide students with a sound, basic education.
Amid calls for intervention, the state Board of Regents is set to vote this week on new rules for holding private schools to minimum academic standards.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said on Friday that Yeshiva University in Manhattan can for now disregard a state court ruling that ordered it to recognize an L.G.B.T. student club – a case she said could be considered by the full Supreme Court.
A former state Senate candidate Democrat John O’Hara, is suing what he called a “scam” political firm after they gathered about 1,000 signatures for his campaign — nearly all invalid.
Brian Benjamin, the former New York lieutenant governor who resigned in disgrace after being arrested on federal corruption charges, is nearly two months late in filing campaign finance disclosures for his scuttled and now-moot re-election bid.
Nearly a half-million New Yorkers will be diagnosed with some form of Alzheimer’s disease within the next three years, state officials said, leaving caregivers of the vulnerable population scrambling for help.
There’s concern among colleagues of Rep. Jerry Nadler, 75, who has spent three decades in the House and just beat veteran Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a key Manhattan primary last month, that he has slowed down considerably. He often falls asleep on the job.
New York — which hasn’t elected a Republican statewide in 20 years — is one of the most unlikely stages of political theater this election cycle.
Congressman-elect Pat Ryan resigned his position as Ulster County executive, and endorsed former state Sen. Jen Metzger in the race to replace him.
Adams is reportedly refusing to release a stash of potentially damning documents showing that the city covered up warnings about dangerous air and health hazards facing New Yorkers after 9/11 — unless the city is granted immunity from lawsuits.
Adams chugged down a glass of drinking water inside an East Village public housing complex Saturday in a bid to end concern that it was contaminated with arsenic.
New testing showed the water at Jacob Riis Houses was clear of arsenic, a recent voicemail promised, but the testing was incomplete — and a disease-causing bacteria, Legionella, might have surfaced in the water.
New York City officials said that new tests confirmed that the water at the development had never been dangerous, and maintained that a separate report of Legionella bacteria in the water was also probably inaccurate.
“I love clothing,” said Adams, kicking off New York Fashion Week with a cocktail party — alongside Anna Wintour, his “angel that wears Prada.”
Adams and major unions representing municipal employees last week agreed on a proposal to clear the way for their long-held goal of switching retired city workers to cost-saving private Medicare Advantage plans.
Roberto Perez, head of the city’s intergovernmental affairs office, is leaving for a job in the private sector — the first high-profile departure of Adams’ young administration.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that he will push Congress for a $3 billion infusion of federal cash to rescue the financially troubled 9/11 health-care fund.
Hochul signed five pieces of legislation to provide support to 9/11 victims, survivors and their families.
A veteran NYPD captain died of a 9/11-related illness on the 21st anniversary of the terrorist strikes yesterday, according to her union.
A former Major League Baseball pitcher who left the mound to become a Port Authority cop was killed in a wrong-way crash yesterday, while headed to work at Manhattan’s 9/11 service, cops and sources said.
Anthony Varvaro, 37, was on the New Jersey Turnpike in Hudson County at about 4:30 a.m., en route to Lower Manhattan for the commemoration, when a Toyota RAV4 going the wrong way struck his Nissan Maxima, causing it to hit a concrete barrier.
Transit workers who labored at Ground Zero say they were erased from the history of the valiant rescue and recovery effort by the National September 11th Memorial and Museum.
A perpetually delayed Greek Orthodox church near Ground Zero wasn’t open in time for the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, officials said.
Explosive new court papers accuse a Brooklyn Surrogate Court judge booted from the bench last year of spewing racist and anti-gay remarks, denouncing Hispanics as promiscuous liars and ranting that homosexuality “is an abomination.”
A woman who accused two ex-NYPD detectives of raping her during an arrest in Brooklyn will settle her civil lawsuit with the city for $125,000 — just days before the case was set to go to trial.
CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez is an avid cyclist.
The most popular football team in New York isn’t the four-time Super Bowl champion Giants or Broadway Joe’s Jets. It’s the Buffalo Bills, according to custom DMV license plate data.
The number of drownings in the state is at the highest level in decades.
New York will produce an estimated 32,300 million bushels of apples for the 2022 crop year, but inflated costs, government regulation and severe weather are burdening orchards with more weight than local farmers can carry.
Seven upstate buildings or neighborhoods have been recommended for the State and National Registers of Historic Places, including a Cohoes machine works and a 1790 Hudson Valley house.
Angelo “Justice” Maddox Jr., a longtime business owner on South Pearl Street, received the 6th Annual Henry Johnson Award for Distinguished Community Service on Saturday.
The Albany County Health Department is offering up to 100 appointments for impacted residents to receive monkeypox vaccine. today.
The future of tennis arrived yesterday with a rocketed serve off the racket of Carlos Alcaraz, a 19-year-old Spanish sensation, who clinched the U.S. Open men’s singles championship, announcing the start of a new era in the game.
