Good Monday morning. We’re back at it after a nice four-day weekend. I hope your holiday was restful, joyful, and full of good things – to eat and otherwise.
I also hope you weren’t flying this weekend, because chances are good that you might not yet be at your destination.
We had a very low-key holiday. We didn’t even eat turkey; we had pork loin, potatoes, stuffing, and two kinds of pie – apple and pumpkin. It was delicious and not as expensive as the traditional fare, as it was a banner year for the big bird in terms of cost.
With Thanksgiving behind us, the holiday shopping season is now officially upon us, and it’s shaping up to be not-so-merry for some retailers – especially those in the clothing business – who are experiencing a glut of product and fewer shoppers interested in buying, even when deep, DEEP discounts are offered.
Black Friday was reportedly a bust in many markets, with thin crowds and ample parking, though the reporting is decidedly mixed on that. In some areas, stores welcomed more in-person shoppers who spent a longer time browsing, but perhaps didn’t want to spend as much as usual.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), about 166 million people were planning to shop through today’s Cyber Monday event, (more on this later), which is about 8 million more than last year.
According to the NRF’s annual survey, more than two-thirds (69%) of holiday shoppers planned to shop during Thanksgiving weekend, with many saying that the deals offered this time around and simply too good to pass up (59%).
Many shoppers are citing inflation and rising costs for necessities like rent, food, gas, and electricity as a reason for cutting back on holiday spending.
Also, the joy of in-person shopping has been dampened somewhat by the ongoing labor shortage, which is causing many retailers to be short-handed at a critical time. A lot of people just aren’t interested in waiting on line, even when prices are rock bottom.
Apparently, the big box stores’ loss was small business owners’ gain. A survey conducted by Bankrate.com found that 59 percent of holiday shoppers – especially younger consumers, including millennials and members of Gen Z and Gen X – were likely to shop on Small Business Saturday, while 56 percent planned to stick with Black Friday.
That’s great news for the unique small businesses that are the backbone of the New York economy and make our respective communities interesting and vibrant.
However, both Black Friday and Small Business Saturday (founded by American Express in 2010 and co-sponsored by the Small Business Administration) are expected to be surpassed in a big way today when shoppers opt for the ease and access of on-line shopping.
That same Bankrate.com survey revealed that 66 percent of consumers planned to do their holiday shopping (and maybe also pick up some stuff for themselves while they’re at it) on Cyber Monday.
The National Retail Federation coined the term “Cyber Monday” way back in 2005, but the day really hit its high point in 2020 during the height of the Covid crisis when cooped up shoppers spent a whopping $10.8 billion – to this day, the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history.
This year isn’t expected to break any sales records, and in fact, spending might actually trend down for the first time, well, ever. Experts are also predicting that sales will be stretched out over a longer period of time, and prices will drop significantly as retailers try to entice reluctant shoppers to part with their hard-earned cash.
Yesterday was actually a great day for staying inside and getting a jump on your online shopping. Wet. Rainy. Yuck. It was especially hard to bear after Saturday’s gift of 50+ degrees and sunny. Today will be, meh. With clouds in the morning and some breaks of sun possible in the afternoon, with temperatures in the low-to-mid 40s. A shower of rain or wet snow is possible. Bring an umbrella.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden went holiday shopping on the Massachusetts resort island where he spends Thanksgiving, patronizing smaller independently owned stores on what the retail industry has called “Small Business Saturday.”
Biden said while out shopping that he wasn’t having any conversations about whether he will run for reelection.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the word to go forth: He’s not going to challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024.
Newsom is facing off with local government officials, many of whom are fellow Democrats, over responsibility for the lack of progress combating homelessness in America’s most populous state.
Musician Jon Batiste is on tap to perform at Biden’s first White House state dinner on Thursday that will highlight long-standing ties between the United States and France and honor President Emmanuel Macron.
“An artist who transcends generations, Jon Batiste’s music inspires and brings people together,” said Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, whose office is overseeing dinner preparations.
House Republicans plan to pressure the Biden administration to substantially ramp up oversight into the nearly $20 billion worth of weapons the US has shipped to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February.
Democrats are bracing for pressure from GOP lawmakers as they threaten investigations of the Biden administration while fighting over who will be speaker when Republicans assume control of the House in the next congressional session.
Biden’s pardons for thousands of Americans convicted of possessing marijuana don’t apply to state charges or many immigrants at risk of deportation.
A spokesman for Biden is sharply criticizing former President Donald Trump for having dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago club last week.
Trump on Saturday said Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is a “seriously troubled man” whom he was trying to help, but also blamed the controversial musician for a dinner in which Trump says Ye brought along a known white supremacist.
Trump criticized Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to oversee criminal probes into the former president, as a “political hit man” and blasted the Justice Department as “corrupt.”
Biden and Trump shared contrasting Thanksgiving messages last Thursday as Americans sat down for their traditional turkey dinner.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said the U.S. is “certainly” still in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic and he is “very troubled” by the divisive state of American politics.
Speaking with moderator Margaret Brennan on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Fauci said he is keeping an open mind, but he reiterated that the evidence is “quite strong” that the virus occurred naturally.
White House public health officials offered cautious optimism that Americans could begin to move on from coronavirus, but cautioned that keeping immunity vaccination up-to-date and combating scientific disinformation remained key.
With the Biden administration urging people to get both a COVID-19 booster and a flu shot as soon as possible, the White House’s Dr. Ashish Jha said that updated vaccinations will help people “move on” from the pandemic.
A South African lab study using Covid samples from an immunosupressed individual over six months showed the virus evolved to become more pathogenic, indicating a new variant could cause more illness than the current predominant omicron strain.
Protests erupted in cities and on campuses across China this weekend as frustrated and outraged citizens took to the streets in a stunning wave of demonstrations against the government’s “zero covid” policy and the leaders enforcing it.
China won’t likely make major changes to its Covid policy in the near future despite this weekend’s protests, analysts said.
More older Americans are living by themselves than ever before. That shift presents issues on housing, health care and personal finance.
Researchers investigating mysterious COVID-19 mutations found signs of the virus in New York City’s massive rat population — sparking concerns the disease could jump from the vermin to humans.
Gov. Kathy Hochul will choose from a list of seven names unveiled last week by a state panel tasked with screening applicants to be chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.
Hochul will be under pressure from fellow Democrats to diversify New York’s top court — by selecting a non-prosecutor — when she nominates a new chief judge before Christmas.
The dean of Albany Law School, Alicia Ouellette, is among seven nominees under consideration by Hochul to be New York’s next chief judge.
A last-minute push by top national Democrats to turn out the vote in New York City may have played a significant role in securing a victory for Hochul, according to a Times Union analysis of state election data.
After decades as a Republican stronghold, Westchester County is now one of the nation’s most influential Democratic suburbs, according to a new analysis of this year’s election data.
This year’s race for governor was fueled by more than $78 million in campaign donations and more than $68 million in spending, which doubled the figures for each of the last four gubernatorial races to a level unseen in 20 years, according to state records.
Republicans used doomsday-style ads to capitalize on suburban voters’ fear of crime in New York, helping to flip enough seats to capture the House.
Democratic strategists and advocates for the bail reform say some of the messaging failed during this past election cycle that saw success for Republicans for a simple reason: No one was explicitly championing the bail laws and the reasons for them to voters.
Legislation awaiting a signature from Hochul would close an existing loophole in state law that has allowed felonious officials in the historically scandal-plagued state to stay in office despite pleading guilty to federal crimes.
New York’s Office of Cannabis Management has asked a federal judge to alter a temporary injunction that is preventing the state from issuing marijuana retail licenses in five of the state’s 14 regions, arguing that it should only apply in the Finger Lakes area.
An attorney for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has asked a federal judge to deny the state attorney general’s motion to quash a subpoena that would require the office to turn over all of its files on the investigation that led to Cuomo’s resignation.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is making a pair of international trips. On Wednesday, he heads to Athens, Greece to attend a conference on anti-Semitism. He’ll then head to Doha, Qatar on Thursday to learn more about the FIFA World Cup.
Adams’ attendance at the conference comes on the heels of a foiled potential attack on a synagogue in Manhattan. Two men were arrested last weekend at Penn Station after making social media posts suggesting an attack on the city’s Jewish community.
The Rev. Al Sharpton used his annual Thanksgiving address to boost Adams’ public safety agenda — and blast its critics as “latte liberals.”
The Big Apple’s first son, Jordan Coleman — aka rapper “Jayoo” – took to the stage in the capital city of Tirana last Wednesday night to compete in the Albanian equivalent of “American Idol.”
Adams’ Republican rival in the mayor’s race last year, Curtis Sliwa, is calling on the Department of Investigation to probe the mayor’s dealings with convicted felons and his hiring of cronies with checkered pasts or questionable qualifications.
Adams spent part of his Thanksgiving on Rikers Island. The trip followed followed appearances by the mayor at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Action Network headquarters in Harlem on Thursday.
Adams took a supportive if somewhat cryptic tone after Hochul signed legislation this week limiting some cryptocurrency mining in the state, casting the new law as an acceptable step toward smart tech policy.
The Texas construction company hired to build Adams’ shuttered migrant tent camp overcharged the city more than $130,000 as part of a separate contract related to COVID vaccination sites, according to a new audit from Comptroller Brad Lander’s office.
A controversial bill prohibiting Big Apple landlords from performing criminal background checks on prospective tenants – even those convicted of murder and other heinous crimes – is on a fast track to becoming law.
Brooklyn City Councilman Justin Brannan brought his hardcore punk band Indecision back together for a gig in the borough this past holiday weekend, marking the subgenre quintet’s first live performance in years.
Many former prisoners are broke until state settlements arrive. Tiding them over has become a niche market for finance firms. An investment can reap 33 percent interest.
Felony crimes — including murder, rape and robbery — have surged on the subway system by 40% so far this year compared to 2021, according to newly released NYPD stats.
The roof of the MTA’s largest bus depot is filled with “excessive” trip hazards, holes and puddles, the state Department of Labor has charged in official documents.
Two NYPD officers were forced to retire after the department discovered they lied about investigating cases, including domestic violence and drug complaints, department documents say.
A Bronx woman was in custody after her two sons, aged 3 years and 11 months, were found fatally stabbed in the neck and torso in a bathtub in a family shelter on Saturday night, the police said.
A derelict Queens rail line is being reimagined as a linear park, like Manhattan’s High Line. But in a borough that lacks both green space and transportation, locals wonder whether its best use would be the original one.
The state Business Council and an array of progressive groups are aligned on criminal justice reform as it relates to the sealing of conviction records for those released from prison, due to a belief it will help ease the ongoing labor shortage.
Just five months ago, Biden nominated Jorge Alberto Rodriguez to be a federal judge in the Northern District of New York. He’s no longer in line for the judgeship — and could be subject to sanctions from an existing judge on that bench.
The ongoing mediation between the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany and attorneys for hundreds of plaintiffs who filed sexual abuse claims under the Child Victims Act is teetering on collapse.
A study of Guyanese immigration to Schenectady found that increases in foreign-born population did not affect neighborhood crime and that increased homeownership, among all residents, was associated with declines in homicide and car theft.
A collision between two runners vying for fourth place in the Troy Turkey Trot’s 10-kilometer race has become a viral video and resulted Friday with one of the runners being disqualified from the race.
Saratoga Springs officials are considering solutions to a recent spate of violence, including an old one that has never gained traction, closing bars earlier than 4 a.m. because, as one bar owner put it, “nothing good happens after 2 a.m.”
Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a flight yesterday morning after sparking concerns he was “seriously ill” and declining to leave the plane, Miami-Dade Police said.
Oscar-winning singer and actress Irene Cara, known to many for her work on the movies “Fame” and “Flashdance,” has died, her publicist said Saturday. She was 63 years old.
