Good Tuesday morning.
One of my favorite childhood reads was “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which I devoured (pun intended) in record time, reveling in the technicolored – and slightly ghoulish – fantasy world created by author Road Dahl.
Let’s face it, anyone whose imagination creates a slightly bonkers candy maker who delights in creating a contest that involves eliminating the contestants by, say, turning them into a living blueberry that needs to be juiced, is probably more than a little bit sick in the head.
All of Dahl’s writing is more than a tad on the dark side. “James and the Giant Peach“, for example, is downright creepy at times, and also based on a tragedy. The plot: James’ doting parents are eaten by a rhino and he has to go live with his very mean aunts, from which he escapes via a peach that is spurred to grow to outsized proportions vis a doze of magic crocodile tongues.
And “Matilda” is really quite scary; ditto “The Witches.”
Today, if you hadn’t already guessed, is Roald Dahl Day, held on the birthday (Sept. 13, 1916) of the man who has been called “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century” and whose books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Dahl had quite the career before he put pen to paper. He was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot, an intelligence officer, and a diplomat. His early life was fraught with tragedy, which actually explains quite a bit about his world view. His father and sister died when he was only three years old, and he was brutally abused while attending boarding school.
He suffered tragedies as an adult too, with one children dying of measles encephalitis at the age of 7, and another suffering a severe brain injury when his stroller was hit by a taxi in New York City.
Dahl actually wrote his first children’s book, “The Gremlins”, published in 1943, for Walt Disney. Its main characters were mischievous mythical creatures that RAF pilots blamed for otherwise unexplainable mid-air mechanical issues and mishaps.
In Dahl’s take, the gremlins sabotage English planes as payback for the destruction of their forest home, which was leveled to accommodate an airplane factor.
Dahl wrote several popular adult books, including Someone Like You (1953) and Kiss Kiss (1959), as well as screenplays for hit films like “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and even a James Bond thriller (You Only Live Twice, 1967). A number of his children’s books have been adapted for the big and small screens – some of them more than once.
Like so many high-profile accomplished individuals, Dahl’s legacy is not without controversy and complications.
Shortly before his death at the age of 74 in 1990, Dahl admitted to being antisemitic – something for which his family has posthumously apologized on his behalf.
There have also been numerous reports of alleged misogyny and racism. “The Witches”, for example, has been banned by some libraries due to its perceived negative portrayal of women. And Dahl’s ex-wife, Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal, nicknamed him “Roald the Rotten” due to his alleged mistreatment of her.
Oh, and the Oompa-Loompas from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”? Very problematic.
The whole idea of separating an artist from their art is a very complicated one. Is it possible to appreciate and even enjoy the latter while disliking, rejecting, or even despising the former? I’m struggling with this one, and probably will continue to do so for some time.
I still really like “James and the Giant Peach,” though. And some of Dahl’s books for an adult audience are really good reads.
More thunderstorms are likely today, and may contain strong gusty winds, so be on the lookout for that. Temperatures will be in the mid-to-high 70s.
In the headlines…
On the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s famous moonshot speech, President Joe Biden laid out his new plan for a new “American Moonshot,” an effort aimed at eradicating cancer “as we know it.”
“This is a, all the way back ’62, the moonshot was announced, we’re gonna have a moonshot for cancer, for real. We’re gonna cure cancer over time. I’m gonna lay out how we’re gonna do that,” Biden said as he departed Washington for Boston, Massachusetts.
Biden told an audience at Boston’s John F. Kennedy Library and Museum that his goal is to cut cancer death rates by at least 50% in the next 25 years and to “create a more supportive experience for patients and families.”
Biden is launching a new initiative to encourage biotech production and research in the U.S., the latest move by the White House to boost domestic industry.
The president signed an executive order implementing the initiative and addressed how biotech can help fight cancer. On Wednesday, the administration will host a summit and announce new investments from several federal agencies.
Biden and members of his Cabinet have been in touch with the unions and companies involved in the high-stakes freight-rail labor negotiations, as alarm about a possible strike continues to grow inside the administration.
Railroads have until a minute after midnight on Friday to reach tentative deals with hold out unions representing about 60,000 workers. Failing to do so opens the door to union strikes, employer lockouts and congressional intervention.
Freight railroads said they are planning to halt the transport of hazardous materials and sensitive cargoes, such as chemicals used in fertilizer and chlorine for water purification, as they continue negotiations with two labor unions.
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked a federal judge to deny the Justice Department’s request to immediately restart a key part of its criminal investigation into his hoarding of sensitive government documents at his residence in Florida.
Justice Department officials have seized the phones of two top advisers to Trump and blanketed his aides with about 40 subpoenas in a substantial escalation of the investigation into his efforts to subvert the 2020 election, people familiar with the inquiry said.
The Justice Department said that it was willing to accept one of Trump’s picks for an independent arbiter to review documents seized during an FBI search of the former president’s Florida home last month.
Trump repeatedly told aides in the days following his 2020 election loss that he would remain in the White House rather than let Biden take over, according to reporting provided to CNN from a forthcoming book by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate allegations that the Justice Department under Trump sought to use the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan to support him politically and pursue his critics, the committee’s chairman said.
U.S. gasoline prices have fallen for 13 weeks in a row, the longest consecutive weekly slide in more than three years, as global demand for oil continues to fall.
The labor market appears hot, but the share of people who are either working or actively looking for a job still hasn’t quite recovered.
Goldman Sachs is planning on cutting several hundred jobs this month, making it the first major Wall Street firm to take steps to rein in expenses amid a collapse in deals volume.
Nearly half of the country’s governors – all Republicans – have signed off on a letter to Biden asking him to withdraw his student loan forgiveness plan that would cancel up to $20,000 for federal aid borrowers.
“We support making higher education more affordable and accessible for students in our states, but we fundamentally oppose your plan to force American taxpayers to pay off the student loan debt of an elite few…” the governors said in a letter.
“(F)or the students who took out loans, it was their decision: able adults and willing borrowers who knowingly agreed to the terms of the loan and consented to taking on debt in exchange for taking classes,” they added.
Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, is among the heads of state traveling to London for next Monday’s funeral, which will be packed with presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, and kings and queens from other nations.
Since Buckingham Palace didn’t extend an invitation for Biden to bring a delegation with him to the funeral, it’s unlikely either Barack Obama or Trump will attend.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified during a press gaggle that while she can’t speak to the funeral’s full guest list, the invitation given to the White House was only for the president and first lady.
Events to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II are continuing across the U.K. this week, after King Charles III was proclaimed monarch at a ceremony in London over the weekend.
On a day of solemn ceremony and ancient tradition, a huge crowd jammed the center of the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, reciprocate her deep affection for Scotland, and watch the arrival of the new king, Charles III.
China’s tourism sector ended yet another public holiday with revenue well below what it was before the pandemic hit.
Authorities in Shanghai have denied a report by a leading Chinese real estate research firm that claimed more than a third of shops in a major mall had been shuttered because of strict Covid curbs.
What is the secret behind Covid super-dodgers?
New York’s COVID-19 state of emergency is coming to an end, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.
The governor said she will not extend special pandemic powers that included a suspension of state contract rules and the easing of regulations related to hospitals and health care workers.
Ten states still have Covid emergency orders in place.
Life expectancy declined nationwide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York state, hit hard and early by the spread of the virus, saw the steepest drop in the average expected life span by three years, according to the CDC.
New York lawmakers and animal advocates are making a final push to have Hochul sign a measure banning the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits from retail stores.
State lawmakers and advocates who support an increase in New York’s minimum wage are making a renewed push for the measure amid rising costs, a tight labor market and a recognition of labor’s contributions as the summer ends.
The Board of Regents moved closer to tightening regulations over private schools amid mounting pressure to address long-running allegations that ultra-Orthodox-Jewish yeshivas are systematically failing to teach tens even rudimentary academic skills.
The decision would require a sea change in how yeshivas and other private schools teach high school classes. About a hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered outside the state Education Department Monday morning, promising to ignore the new rules.
Two Democratic congressmen — Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries – expressed serious concerns, with Nadler saying it was clear that some of the Hasidic schools were “utterly failing.”
At its first meeting on Monday, the state’s new ethics commission voted to name Hochul appointee Frederick A. Davie as its interim chair.
A coalition of conservative Democrats are in Lee Zeldin’s corner. The Republican gubernatorial candidate rolled out endorsements from a small group of current and former lawmakers who say they’re no fans of Hochul.
Just 36% of respondents had a positive opinion of Hochul, compared to 41% unfavorable – but she had a 54% to 39% lead over Zeldin, according to data compiled by Public Policy Polling on behalf of her political allies.
A new political action committee aims to mobilize ethnic voters on behalf of Zeldin through social media platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and WeChat as some polls suggest a tightening race against Hochul.
Republicans are accusing Hochul supporters of “dirty tricks” for sending voters pre-filled applications for absentee ballots — with COVID-19 already checked as the reason for voting remotely.
Zeldin blasted the MTA’s planned congestion pricing program as a cash-grab by officials.
New York City’s congestion pricing program could cut traffic in the busy commercial district but push more vehicles into vulnerable areas in the outer boroughs like the Bronx, making the air there, which is already compromised, even dirtier.
The Public Utility Law Project of New York, or PULP, has appointed their deputy director and counsel – Laurie Wheelock – as executive director.
Albany Democrats have introduced legislation to allow some foot-weary working New Yorkers to sit on the job — despite the risk of creating a future “Seinfeld” security situation featuring a comfy store guard napping on the job.
Mayor Eric Adams took Hochul to task for signing a controversial new class-size law, calling it unfair to disadvantaged kids in his harshest rebuke of his fellow Democrat to date.
Adams asked municipal agencies to cut spending by roughly 8% over the next two years – a belt-tightening measure he said will address looming budget deficits related to growing labor costs but which could strain the delivery of key city services.
Budget Director Jacques Jiha instructed commissioners to cut their spending plans by 3 percent this fiscal year, which ends June 30, and 4.75 percent each of the following three years, according to a copy of the missive sent to every city agency.
Agency heads are prohibited from almost any hiring until they comply, the mayor’s office said.
No agencies will be exempted due to “the magnitude of the threat to our financial stability,” he said. Jiha also warned: “If PEG targets are not met, OMB will identify savings opportunities.”
Adams joined business leaders to roll out an apprenticeship program meant to serve as a pipeline for public school students to enter the private sector — just as city officials are issuing a clarion call about severe staff shortages in the public workforce ranks.
Adams questioned whether NYCHA’s federal monitor has done enough to get to the bottom of an arsenic scandal engulfing a public housing project in Manhattan — and suggested that bankrolling the watchdog’s operation is not money well spent.
The Adams administration is leaning on the City Council to amend a local law as part of a long-running effort to shift thousands of retired municipal workers into a controversial, cost-cutting Medicare plan — infuriating retirees in the process.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is throwing her support behind a bill that would ban the use of solitary confinement in city jails — legislation vocally opposed by Adams, a fellow Democrat.
Credit card companies will now track the purchase of guns through soon-to-be-created merchant category codes — a development that New York politicians demanded two weeks ago and celebrated yesterday.
Columbia University was downgraded to No. 18 from No. 2 in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual college rankings. he last time Columbia was No. 18 was in 1988, when Ronald Reagan was president.
The drop occurred after Columbia admitted it had previously incorrectly reported some data used in the publication’s popular ranking.
Some union members of the New York Times and NBC News’s digital properties vowed not to come to the office this week and instead work remotely, defying their respective employers’ back-to-the-office plans.
As of yesterday, 1,316 Times workers had signed a pledge not to return to the office. This includes 879 members of the News Guild, but also members of the Times Tech Guild and the union for Wirecutter, the paper’s product-recommendation spinoff.
The University at Albany Police Department said it will have officers available to escort students if requested after a reported violent incident happened yesterday afternoon near Alumni Quad at Western Avenue and Ontario Street.
The Port of Albany says in a new legal filing that the Glenmont residents challenging a planned $350 million wind turbine tower manufacturing plant should have their lawsuit dismissed because they failed to participate in the town’s site plan approval process.
After decades of debate, the some 680 registered voters of the village will decide today if the popular tourist destination will remain intact as an autonomous municipality – or be absorbed into the town of Lake George government.
The Walmart store on Route 9 in Halfmoon is getting what is known as a “market fulfillment center,” a robot-run warehouse that speeds up online orders that customers pick up from the location.
The $64 million plan to redevelop Troy’s 1 Monument Square into a mix of residential, commercial and retail space has won public and planning approvals but there remains a $15 million gap to build the the project on the 1.1-acre site, city officials confirmed.
The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said the parole board rejected the latest bid by John Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman, for release from state prison. It’s the 12th time he has been denied since he became eligible in 2000.
“Squid Game,” the dystopian Netflix drama that exploded into an international smash hit, made history yesterday, picking up multiple drama awards at the 74th Emmy Awards.
Lee Jung-jae, the star of the series, took home the top acting prize and became the first person from a foreign-language show to win best actor in a drama. And Hwang Dong-hyuk won the drama directing Emmy.
“Succession,” HBO’s portrait of a dysfunctional media dynasty, won best drama – the second time the series has taken the prize.
Jesse Armstrong, the show’s creator, also took home the Emmy for best writing, the third time he’s won in that category. And Matthew Macfadyen won best supporting actor in a drama for the first time for his performance on the show.
“Ted Lasso,” the Apple TV+ favorite about an English football team and their folksy American coach, played by Jason Sudeikis, took home the top comedy award for the second year in a row.
Here’s the full list of Emmy winners.
