Good morning. It’s Wednesday, in case you needed a little bit of a reminder. We have arrived at the middle of the week and it’s all downhill from here, theoretically speaking.
I was born in the early 1970s, and my earliest memories of my parents (helped by photos from an old album I like to look at from time to time) feature some serious hair of the era.
Mom wore hers frosted – I actually do remember being very freaked out when she put that rubber cap on her head and pulled the strands out, making her look like some kind of weird sea creature. Dad, meanwhile, had some significant sideburns and a VERY bushy mustache.
I did toy with putting photos of them up for your enjoyment – neither of them spend much time online, after all, so the likelihood of me being found out is rather low. But in the interest of protecting the innocent, not to mention preserving my familial relationships, I’m erring on the side of caution and leaving it all up to your imagination.
So, Dad wore that ‘stache all the way through my young formative years. I do not recall exactly when he shaved it off, but I do remember being very upset and unmoored by the sight of his naked upper lip. Sure, he looked younger and cleaner without it. But this new clean-shaven version of my Dad took some getting used to.
November is a month during which men’s facial hair takes center stage.
The movement known as “Movember” (it’s a portmanteau of “moustache”, which is how they spell it in Australia and the UK) started in 2003. It’s an annual event that encourages the growing of upper lip hair (or beards, or sideburns, or whatever they fancy, really) to raise awareness about men’s health issues – everything from prostrate and testicular cancer to mental health and suicide.
During “no-shave November”, men are encouraged to take the money they would have spent on facial hair grooming/removal and donate it to a men’s health-related cause.
The goal is to “change the face of men’s health” (change the face, get it?). The effort started in Australia and has since grown to be worldwide, and has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects across the globe.
From the website:
Movember participants, known as Mo Bros and Mo Sisters, sign up on movember.com and then choose to Grow a moustache, Move by walking or running 60 miles throughout the month, Host a Mo-ment by gathering friends or create their own challenge with Mo Your Own Way.
Women are encouraged to get involved, either by volunteering to move for 60 miles during the month (for the 60 men lost to suicide every hour), hosting a “mo-ment,” donating, encouraging men to be more proactive about their own health, and finally by “supporting and showing love for the moustache.”
While trolling the interwebs for information about Movember – and facial hair, specifically – I did come across one site that promoted “science-backed reasons” why shaving is good for your skin…but you should take that with a grain of salt, considering the source. And I’ve seen other sites that argue why shaving is bad (irritates the skin, threat of cuts etc.) – especially for women.
It’s going to be warm – in the mid-60s – and partly cloudy today. I’ve been seeing a lot of people gallivanting around in shorts. Frolic while you can, upstaters, winter is coming.
In the headlines…
President Biden and first lady Jill Biden have been meeting since September with senior advisers at the White House residence to prepare a potential 2024 reelection campaign, according to multiple people familiar with the planning.
Top Democratic officials, lawmakers and strategists are openly second-guessing their party’s campaign pitch and tactics, reflecting a growing sense that Democrats failed to coalesce around one effective message in time to stave off major losses next week.
Two prominent Republican critics of former President Donald Trump, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, are campaigning for Democrats and independents in key races.
Voters are giving Republicans a late boost in support just ahead of the midterm elections, as pessimism about the economy and the direction of the country jump to their highest levels of the year, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds.
Biden was in South Florida where he had a full day of events scheduled in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Biden promised Charlie Crist he would boost Democrats in Florida this year, and showed up a week ahead of the election even as the state appears increasingly out of reach for the party.
Biden ripped Republicans who responded to the attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband by making jokes about it, criticizing those who didn’t offer a full condemnation of the incident.
Biden described Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 rival, as “Donald Trump incarnate” while stumping for Democratic gubernatorial nominee Crist.
Biden took his own playful swing at Philly’s infamously ornery sports fans — including one real close to home.
“Phillies fans are the most virulent, obnoxious fans in the world,” he said while campaigning in Florida. (“Philly girl” Jill Biden is set to attend Game 4 of the World Series at Citizens Bank Park tonight).
The man accused of brutally attacking Paul Pelosi appeared in state court to face attempted murder and other charges.
California prosecutors also charged David DePape, 42, with assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening a public official in connection. He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
DePape increasingly spent time online in recent months and was consumed with conspiracy theories, according to his employer.
The attacker told the police that he had other targets: a local professor and several prominent state and federal politicians.
U.S. Capitol Police security cameras captured the break-in at Pelosi’s San Francisco home last week in which her husband was viciously assaulted, but costly minutes went by before anyone reviewed the footage, according to a person familiar with the matter.
U.S. and Chinese officials are still working to arrange a face-to-face meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali later this month, the White House said.
The Supreme Court refused to block a Georgia grand jury subpoena seeking testimony from Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, about his activities in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
The court’s order was a paragraph long and did not note any dissents. It said that Graham had been afforded substantial protections by lower courts, which had ruled that he did not have to testify on subjects related to his official duties.
Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked a House committee from obtaining Trump’s tax returns, issuing an administrative order suggesting the Court won’t act on the former president’s emergency plea to shield his finances until after the midterms.
The criminal tax fraud trial against the Trump Organization, founded by Donald Trump and run by two of his sons, was put on pause when a key witness tested positive for COVID-19.
The Trump Organization’s controller, Jeffrey McConney, reportedly tested positive for the virus on a rapid test taken during a lunch break, according to Business Insider, bringing the trial to a standstill just a day after it started,
McConney, the longtime comptroller of Trump’s namesake company, spent at least five hours testifying over two days . His testimony was punctuated by coughing fits, with ADA Joshua Steinglass asking several times if he needed a break.
Chinese stocks listed in the US surged, fueled by speculation that Beijing is preparing to phase out Covid Zero policies — even as the nation’s Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of such a plan.
A drastic and unusually early spike in R.S.V., a respiratory infection that impedes airways, is overwhelming pediatric units across the US, bringing long waits for treatment and prompting hospital systems to rearrange staffing and resources to meet the demand.
An experimental vaccine from Pfizer Inc. significantly reduced the risk of infants developing severe cases of a respiratory virus that kills hundreds of children each year, according to the company.
Fordham University’s new COVID-19 booster shot requirement has sparked outrage on campus — even prompting some students to pursue legal action against the school, their attorney said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead over her Republican challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin, is widening in the state’s gubernatorial race one week from the midterms, according to a new poll.
An Emerson College Polling-Pix11-The Hill survey released yesterday found 52 percent of very likely voters supported Hochul compared to 44 percent for Zeldin. Three percent said they were undecided.
The Syracuse Post-Standard endorsed Hochul, saying she “deserves a shot at putting her stamp on the office and achieving her goals of a more transparent, effective and ethical state government.”
The state division responsible with enforcing New York election law launched a website yesterday morning for the first time — one week before Election Day.
New York has become a bluer state since the last gubernatorial election in 2018, according to party data released by the state Board of Elections.
Hochul’s latest ad ends with her looking directly into the camera: “You deserve to feel safe, and as your governor, I won’t stop working until you do.” It’s a message she has been taking to the streets of New York City in the campaign’s final days.
Hochul doubled down on her remarks blaming “master manipulators” and “data deniers” for manufacturing a “conspiracy” of rising crime in New York to derail her election bid.
A Long Island teen is under investigation over last month’s wild shooting outside Zeldin’s home after the suspect was nabbed with the gun used in the crime, prosecutors said.
Zeldin condemned the stabbing of a correction officer at the notorious jail complex Rikers Island, vowing to declare a “crime emergency.”
After being repeatedly asked about whether they condone a supporter’s sign that called Hochul the c-word and b-word, Lee Zeldin’s campaign finally conceded that “people should not be holding those signs or saying that.”
Key Hasidic groups are endorsing Zeldin for governor in the latest sign that the incumbent is struggling with historically Democratic constituencies ahead of the final day of voting on Nov. 8.
The mother of a 30-year-old Buffalo woman who was killed by her estranged husband said Hochul was just as responsible for the brutal slaying as the man who pulled the trigger.
The New York League of Conservation Voters PAC launched a six-figure ad campaign to back four Democratic incumbents in the state Senate.
The New York State Business Council has backed the bond act, which is meant to spur protections for wetlands, guard against flooding and reduce emissions in lower-income communities.
The state’s absentee balloting rules for the this year’s general election — and in future elections — were upheld in two legal cases argued before a panel of judges on the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court.
The Assembly Democrats’ campaign arm has spent more aiding Assemblyman Phil Steck than any other candidate in New York, indicating a tighter-than-expected reelection contest for the Colonie lawmaker.
Gains in the fight against fatal drug overdoses in New York State have been lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, said State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, calling it a trend going in “the wrong direction.”
Drug overdose fatalities surged during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, with opioid-related overdose deaths increasing by 68 percent to nearly 5,000 individuals from 2019 to 2021.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, heavily favored to defeat his Republican challenger, Joseph Pinion, argued in a recent debate as much for his party as for his re-election.
Outgoing Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi’s Long Island seat could flip Republican in a red wave, a new analysis from The Cook Political Report maintains.
Lawsuits against a retired NYPD detective running for Congress in Nassau County have cost New York City taxpayers $82,500 in settlements — a fact his opponent has seized upon in what will likely to be a tight election.
Brian Fox, a Republican state Senate candidate in Brooklyn who’s campaigning on a “law and order” platform, has a criminal history in New Jersey that includes spending time behind bars over a drunk driving incident.
New York City Buildings Commissioner Erich Ulrich is expected to surrender today on unspecified charges as part of a probe linked to a larger federal investigation.
Investigators for the Manhattan district attorney questioned Ulrich as part of an illegal gambling investigation and seized his phone yesterday morning, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Ulrich is under investigation as part of a gambling probe, with him possibly racking up debts during card games with mob associates and working to use his position to pay them back, law-enforcement sources said.
Dozens of all-electric school buses are about to hit city streets thanks to funding from Biden’s infrastructure package, Mayor Eric Adams and federal officials announced.
A security firm launched by Adams’ top public safety director, Philip Banks, scored a portion of the MTA contract to send unarmed guards to patrol subway turnstiles as part of a new crackdown on fare-beating.
Best-selling billionaire author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott delivered an unsolicited $11 million gift to Ascend Public Charter Schools, where Chief Executive Officer Recy Benjamin Dunn was both proud and thrilled by the donation that will fund expansion.
The list of jobs offering the chance to make over $200,000 includes careers in a wide a range of industries, one of the early revelations from New York City’s new salary transparency law.
Less than 24 hours after New York City’s new pay transparency law went into effect on Nov. 1, companies had already found a way to circumvent its core requirement.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was hugged and kissed on a Manhattan street by a stranger and said: “She hugs me, she kisses me. That was sexual harassment? No, it’s not.”
Standing at 82 feet tall, 50 feet wide and weighing in at 14 tons, an approximately 90-year-old Norway Spruce from Queensbury was announced as this year’s Rockefeller Center holiday tree.
The New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association told its members last week that it had ended its contract with an Orange County insurance brokerage that had indirect ties to two longtime PBA officials.
Adam Weitsman, the business mogul of a $1 billion scrap metal enterprise, is the pending new owner of Palazzo Riggi in Saratoga Springs.
Despite a new government report’s determination the DOT and DMV didn’t do enough to potentially prevent the 2018 limousine crash in Schoharie, the families of the 20 victims likely won’t ever get paid a dime from the state for its missteps in the tragedy.
The death of a man found in a Congress Park pond in Saratoga Springs does not appear to be foul play, city police said.
Saratoga County officials said the government will spend $3.2 million less next year and give taxpayers a 5 percent tax cut.
Capital Region residents are once again caught in the middle of a dispute over reimbursement rates between the Albany area’s largest health insurer and St. Peter’s Health Partners, one of the region’s largest health care providers.
Construction workers in the Albany metropolitan area saw a 9 percent wage increase from 2019 to 2021 — but a recent report also shows that rising inflation and interest rates could trigger continued cutbacks in spending.
The Schenectady Police Department regularly exceeds its annual overtime budget and the practice is all but certain to continue next year despite efforts by City Council to cut overtime spending.
Twitter is facing an exodus of executives and skittish advertisers as Elon Musk and his advisers take control of the social media company, prepare to lay off employees and make changes to the product.
Musk is looking to quickly boost Twitter Inc.’s revenue by embracing subscriptions, aiming to make the social-media company less dependent on digital ads as Madison Avenue signals a cautious stance toward the site after the billionaire’s takeover.
Julie Powell, the writer whose decision to spend a year cooking every recipe in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” led to the popular food blog, the Julie/Julia Project, a movie starring Meryl Streep died at her home in Olivebridge at the age of 49.
Bernard Rosen, the dependable first deputy budget director who advised four New York City mayors on how to close looming deficits by scraping together tens of millions of dollars here and tens more there, died last month in Queens. He was 91.
The rapper known as Takeoff, a subtle vocal technician and one-third of the chart-topping group Migos, whose singsong flow helped define Atlanta’s ever-evolving, influential rap sound, was shot and killed outside a Houston bowling alley at age 28.
Gael Greene, who reinvented the art of the restaurant review with sass and sensuality in four decades as New York magazine’s restaurant critic, died at her home in an assisted living facility in Manhattan. She was 88.
