Good morning. It’s Friday the 13th, and you know what that means.
Actually, what DOES that mean?
I have never personally had a problem with Friday the 13th, (and now that I’ve said that, of course, I’m jinxed myself for seven years of bad luck…or is that breaking mirrors? Or walking under ladders? Or having my path crossed by a black car?
The point is that this is all about superstition, the formal definition of which is: “A widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief.”
So deeply embedded is the belief that the number 13 is somehow unlucky that there are not one, but TWO words paraskavedekatriaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia – that describe the medical term for those who have a fear of it.
There’s no exact date that can be pinpointed as to when 13 became known as highly unlucky, but suffice it to say that has been the case for a very long time.
Some believe that dates back to the Code of Hammurabi – one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C. – as it eliminated from its list of legal rules No. 13. But maybe that was a typo? There’s no one around to ask anymore, so it’s hard to know for sure.
There’s also the Biblical version of the “13 is bad” origin story, which stems from the fact that there were 13 attendees at the Last Supper – specifically, Judas the Apostle, who is said to have betrayed Jesus – was the 13th guest.
Even if you don’t buy into the whole Friday the 13th superstition thing, there’s no denying that a number of bad things have occurred on this date throughout history, including but not limited to, according to History.com:
The German bombing of Buckingham Palace (September 1940); the murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens (March 1964); a cyclone that killed more than 300,000 people in Bangladesh (November 1970); the disappearance of a Chilean Air Force plane in the Andes (October 1972); the death of rapper Tupac Shakur (September 1996) and the crash of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Italy, which killed 30 people (January 2012).
I’m sure there’s more, but that’s quite a lot, actually – almost enough to make you wonder…maybe the superstition is warranted?
Perhaps just proceed with a wee bit more caution than usual today, just in case.
More rain in the forecast, though it will be unusually warm today – 50 degrees or so. The rest of the weekend looks kind of…not great, with temperatures back in the 30s. Clouds on Saturday, maybe sun on Sunday? I’ll believe it when I see it.
In the headlines…
Attorney General Merrick Garland named Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney during the Trump administration, as special counsel to examine why classified documents were found at President Biden’s home and office.
Garland’s decision caps a tumultuous week at the White House, where Biden and his team opened the year hoping to celebrate stronger economic news ahead of launching an expected reelection campaign.
Biden’s embarrassment over classified documents found in his former offices is spiraling into a major political crisis that threatens to undermine the case for Donald Trump to be charged for his own hoarding of secret material.
U.S. inflation eased in December for the sixth straight month following a mid-2022 peak as the Federal Reserve aggressively raised interest rates and the economy showed signs of cooling.
Inflation slowed on an annual basis for a sixth straight month in December, a relief for households and an encouraging signal for the Federal Reserve and the White House that the worst of America’s pandemic-induced inflation burst may be in the past.
The consumer price index, which measures the cost of a broad basket of goods and services, fell 0.1% for the month, in line with the Dow Jones estimate. That equated to the largest month-over-month decrease since April 2020.
Biden cheered news that a key indicator of inflation fell for the first time in more than two years, saying “it’s clearer than ever” that his economic policies are working.
Fresh data showing inflation eased in December are likely to keep the Fed on track to reduce the size of interest-rate increases to a quarter-percentage-point at its meeting that concludes on Feb. 1.
Biden criticized House Republicans who have taken control of Congress for backing tax measures that he said would benefit the wealthy at the expense of middle class taxpayers, and make inflation worse.
Sweden’s inflation rate reached double digits for the first time in more than three decades in December, as price increases show little sign of abating despite the central bank’s efforts.
The Federal Aviation Administration said its preliminary investigation into a nationwide flight disruption this week found that it was the result of actions by personnel who failed to follow procedures.
“Our preliminary work has traced the outage to a damaged database file. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyberattack,” the FAA said.
The software that failed and forced the Federal Aviation Administration to ground thousands of flights on Wednesday is 30 years old and not scheduled to be updated for another six years, according to a senior government official.
Southwest Airlines has hired an outside consulting firm and is working to strengthen a crew scheduling system after a meltdown roiled its operations during the holidays, Chief Executive Bob Jordan said in an interview.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg avoided some phone calls and requests for public appearances while he was on paternity leave in 2021, according to internal documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Federal aviation regulators, lawmakers and air safety advocates have for years warned about outdated technology and other problems with the pilot-alert system that brought U.S. air travel to a halt this week.
American Airlines raised its revenue guidance for the recently ended quarter as demand for air travel remained strong through the holiday season, even as travelers contended with higher fares.
The Biden Administration released details this week on its plan to overhaul the current income-driven repayment plan known as Revised Pay As You Earn plan (REPAYE) for federal student loan borrowers.
A case before the Supreme Court challenging the liability shield protecting websites such as YouTube and Facebook could “upend the internet,” resulting in both widespread censorship and a proliferation of offensive content, Google said in a court filing.
The Justice Department outlined its sedition case against Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four members of the far-right group, telling jurors during that the five men “took aim at the heart of our democracy” by leading the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
Most U.S. public school districts don’t feel well-prepared to respond to active shooters, even after putting new safety measures in place, according to a newly released federal survey.
State and federal health officials are frustrated that thousands of seniors have landed in the hospital with Covid-19 since the holidays — despite the widespread availability of a vaccine designed to prevent exactly that.
Some vaccine advisers to the federal government say they’re “disappointed” and “angry” that government scientists and Moderna didn’t present a set of infection data on the company’s new Covid-19 booster during meetings last year.
A new review of safety data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found just two incidents of serious adverse events following the nearly 1 million updated COVID-19 booster shots administered to children ages 5-11 since October.
Convalescent plasma – a once-celebrated treatment for Covid-19 that has largely fallen out of favor – does work well for people who are immune-compromised, according to a study published yesterday.
The cancer mortality rate in the U.S. has dropped by a third in the past three decades, a report showed, but an increase in advanced prostate cancer diagnoses threatens to reverse some hard-won gains.
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is kicking off her reelection campaign.
The 56-year-old sent out an email to supporters announcing her 2024 bid. “I wanted you to hear it first,” the email said. “Kirsten is running for reelection to the United States Senate in 2024.”
The battle over New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pick to lead the state’s judicial branch could tumble into the very court system she wants him to oversee — if the governor or her allies are willing to sue.
Hochul says the full state Senate must vote on the nomination of Hector LaSalle as New York’s top judge – regardless of what its Judiciary Committee decides – but she may need to take her fellow Democrats to court to get it done.
“(T)he constitution of the state of New York is clear,” Hochul told reporters. “The New York State Senate has to consent and advise the governor on her appointment.” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins disagrees with that interpretation.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for LaSalle’s bid to become the next chief judge on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Two Democratic on the committee, Sens. Jamaal Bailey of the Bronx and Neil Breslin of Albany, are so far undecided.
Chris Churchill says progressives are “falsely painting LaSalle, an exceptionally qualified judge who would be the first Latino to lead the New York Court of Appeals, as a right-winger hostile to workers, women and criminal justice reform.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is blasting LaSalle over his moderate judicial record while urging supporters to pressure state senators to scuttle his bid to become the first Latino leader of New York’s highest court.
The WSJ editorial board writes: “Welcome to Albany: To revenge the lost gerrymander, Democrats will gerrymander the Judiciary Committee.”
Former New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore’s around-the-clock chauffeur and protection detail cost taxpayers an estimated $1 million a year while she was in office, but there is no record of any written approval for the unprecedented escort, Law360 found.
Hochul’s proposed tuition hikes for SUNY and CUNY schools have alarmed student advocates, who say the financial hit comes at the worst time.
Hochul is pressing the state’s public colleges and universities to make abortion pills available to students — a measure that has been stalled in the Legislature since 2019.
Hochul made it clear in her State of the State speech: she wants more changes to the state’s controversial bail law. While alterations have been made in the past, legislators are reluctant to revisit the issue again.
Western New York state Sen. George Borrello has been appointed to lead the fundraising arm of the Republicans in the state Senate as the party seeks to return to what had been the final power center for the GOP in the state.
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik has introduced federal legislation that would entice New York and other states to change their laws to “hold repeat offenders accountable and bolster public safety.”
Reps. Marc Molinaro and Mike Lawler yesterday joined the growing chorus of New York congressional Republicans calling on U.S. Rep. George Santos to resign. Stefanik has remained silent on the issue.
Unions and environmental groups are joining forces to call on Hochul and lawmakers to make all state-run buildings and facilities fully green by 2040 with the help of organized labor.
Former LG Brian Benjamin is attempting to mount a public comeback after leaving office. The fallout of the criminal case has also cost the state, with the governor’s office recently spending nearly $500,000 in legal fees related to his case.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams prepared for a slowing economy by cutting vacant positions to balance a $102.7 billion budget for the coming year.
Adams’ preliminary $103 billion budget wouldn’t raise taxes. It assumes property tax receipts—the city’s biggest revenue source—will increase around $600 million in the next fiscal year, which starts in July, and stay around $32 billion in the next four years.
For the first time in at least a decade, the mayor has proposed reducing the size of the budget from the current year’s adjusted spending plan — by roughly $5 billion, according to an analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission.
Notably, the budget does not include new cuts to the Education Department. The funding will remain at $160 million-dollars. School cuts were unexpectedly made last year and approved by the City Council.
Adams’ budget sets the stage for a battle with the City Council, whose leaders let it be known they view his proposal as overly austere.
Adams lashed out at state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli after New York’s chief fiscal officer faulted him for not including the $1 billion-plus cost of the migrant crisis in his proposed city budget.
Roughly a dozen students walked out of class yesterday to protest hundreds of millions cut from school budgets last fall in the hope Mayor Adams will restore the money to his spending plan for the next school year.
Adams said that Yankee Aaron Judge will soon be rewarded with a Key to the City of New York. No specifics of when that might occur, but the mayor said the wheels were already in motion.
New York City won’t cater to the “cultural” tastes of migrants living in a massive Manhattan hotel, Adams said, as he vowed to end the epic waste of food they refuse to eat.
More than 7,000 nurses at two New York City hospitals ended a three-day strike and returned to work yesterday, after they resolved what they said was the major sticking point in negotiations with the hospitals: too few nurses.
Around 3:30 a.m., the Mount Sinai Health System tweeted, “the strike is over, and we have an agreement.” The system then thanked its employees for their “unwavering dedication and world-class patient care.”
Nancy Hagans, NYSNA president, said in a statement: “Through our unity and by putting it all on the line, we won enforceable safe staffing ratios at both Montefiore and Mount Sinai where nurses went on strike for patient care.”
Under the agreement at Montefiore, new safe staffing ratios will be implemented in the emergency department. This will come with new staffing language and financial penalties if safe staffing levels are not met in all units.
Thirty-year Congressional veteran Carolyn Maloney will spend the spring 2023 semester as Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Leader in Residence at Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute.
A former Superfund site on Central Avenue has a new owner. The 11-acre property at 1130 Central Ave., the site of the former NL Industries munitions factory, was auctioned by the federal government at the end of 2021.
Christopher Porco, who was convicted of the 2004 ax murder of his father and maiming of his mother in their home, is launching a new bid for freedom that assails the prosecution’s timeline and blasts his former defense team as ineffective.
In a sworn statement made as part of her son’s appeal, Joan Porco raises questions about the work of his trial attorneys and the prosecution’s contention an argument between her husband and son prompted the attack.
Plug Power expects its new $125 million factory in the Vista Technology Campus will be operating at full capacity within the next six months amid surging demand from customers who use hydrogen fuel cells.
A Holiday Inn Express in downtown Albany that was repossessed by a lender after a foreclosure auction last summer has sold for $7.3 million.
Two law enforcement officers will be assigned full-time to cover the City of Saratoga Springs school district’s six elementary schools, the school board decided in a 5-4 vote Tuesday.
Lisa Marie Presley, a singer and the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, who was once married to Michael Jackson, has died after being rushed to the hospital earlier Thursday. She was 54.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley told People Magazine in a statement .
Presley and her mother attended the Golden Globes earlier this week, where actor Austin Butler won best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama for his role as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the biopic “Elvis.”
