FRIDAY.
Good morning.
The great thing about writing this stream-of-consciousness morning post is that I not only get to muse aloud about a whole array of things that interest, amaze, and/or annoy me, but also have the opportunity to learn about things and people making a difference in the world, about which/whom I perviously had no knowledge.
That includes an activist named Annie Hopkins, whose life was sadly cut short in 2009, when she was in her early 20s. Both Annie and her older brother, Stevie, were diagnosed at Type II Spinal Muscular Atrophy, or SMA.
SMA refers to a group of hereditary diseases that progressively destroy motor neurons in the brain stem and spinal cord that control essential skeletal muscle activity (speaking, walking, breathing, and swallowing etc.), leading to muscle weakness and atrophy.
Type II SMA is typically diagnosed in young children, and it dramatically reduces life expectancy. It can be difficult to diagnose, though prenatal genetic testing has become more standard and improved the outlook there.
Steve and Annie, who both used wheelchairs, were very close, and they focused on what they could do rather than what they were unable to do as a result of their disabilities. They created a family company called 3E Love in 2007 to, as its website says, “promote their unique symbol and social model of disability.”
They trademarked their logo – a wheelchair heart symbol that Annie initially created to be featured on a dorm t-shirt in 2004, when she and Steve were undergraduate students at the University of Illinois.
The symbol – now known as the International Symbol of Acceptance – was a big hit, and Annie had it tattooed on her shoulder, leading a number of others in the disability community did the same.
The siblings went on to different life tracks after graduating with their BAs, with Annie pursuing a PhD and getting more involved in disability activism. They planned to eventually join forces again and focus on 3E Love, but never got the chance, after Annie unexpectedly and tragically died following what was supposed to be a routine surgery that led to a deadly infection in 2009.
Steve decided to honor Annie’s legacy by carrying on with 3E Love in her memory.
Today, Jan. 20, is the International Day of Acceptance, which is held on the anniversary of Annie’s death in part to remember and commemorate her and her work, and also to promote widespread social acceptance of disabilities.
The first International Day of Acceptance was held in 2010 – one year after Annie’s death. The purpose, her family said, was not to mourn her, but rather to celebrate the work that she had done during her life and to elevate and amplify and spread it.
Just a reminder: We are still under a winter weather advisory, which will last through 1 p.m. this afternoon. Rain, sleet, and snow will change over to light rain and possible snow showers. It’s going to be a wet and slippery mix of yuck, basically, which will – again – make untreated roads, sidewalks, stairways etc. potentially treacherous. Proceed with caution.
Saturday is looking a bit better, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 30s (as opposed to 40s today), but then we’re back to more precipitation on Sunday, with rain and snow showers predicted for the afternoon.
In the headlines…
The U.S. Supreme Court revealed the details of an investigation into the leaked draft opinion that struck down Roe v. Wade, a probe that concluded the court was unable to identify who was responsible.
But the more than 20-page report did provide new details about the circumstances of how the investigation was conducted and highlighted shortfalls in the high court’s protection of sensitive documents.
In a statement, the court said that the investigative team “has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.” It is also unlikely the leak resulted from a computer hack, the statement said.
Several employees acknowledged that they had told their spouses or partners about the draft opinion and the vote count in violation of the court’s confidentiality rules, the report said.
Chief Judge John Roberts tapped former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to conduct an independent review of the investigation. Chertoff, who served under former President George W. Bush, described the court’s investigation as “thorough.”
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates defended press freedoms after former President Trump called for journalists who reported on the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on overturning Roe v Wade to be investigated and possibly jailed.
President Joe Biden said that he had no regrets regarding his handling of documents, following the discovery of Obama-era classified materials in multiple private locations associated with him.
I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there,” the president told a reporter who asked if he regretted not divulging that classified material was found at his office before the midterms.
Biden’s public approval rating was close to the lowest level of his presidency this week amid criticism from Republicans over classified documents found in his home in recent months, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley hinted at a possible 2024 presidential bid and said if she runs, she’ll be doing so to oust Biden and usher in a younger generation of Washington leadership.
After a series of storms battered California over the past few weeks and left behind such destruction, Biden traveled to the state to see it himself, and pledged that more money is on the way to help communities rebuild.
More than 500 FEMA and other federal personnel have been deployed to California to support the emergency operations. Thousands of bystanders gathered for the president’s visit and cheered him on.
The U.S. reached its self-imposed debt limit on yesterday, the Treasury Department said, forcing the government to temporarily use accounting tricks to prevent a default, and focusing attention on Capitol Hill divides that could complicate efforts to lift the cap.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged lawmakers to “act promptly to protect the full faith and credit” of the U.S., and warned that the length of time her measures will work is “subject to considerable uncertainty.”
Accounting maneuvers, which include suspending investments for certain government accounts, will allow the Treasury to keep paying obligations to bondholders, Social Security recipients and others until at least early June.
A bipartisan group of senators is pushing ahead in the new Congress with efforts to reach an agreement on border security and immigration policy, after talks ran out of time last year.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that contractors “unintentionally” deleted files used for its alert system, leading to the outage that delayed or canceled thousands of flights earlier this month.
The FAA said in a statement that the contract personnel were working to correct synchronization between the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system’s primary live database and its backup one when they deleted the files.
A federal judge in Florida sanctioned Trump and his legal team more than $900,000 for what he characterized as a “continuing pattern” of misusing the court to pursue political interests in response to a “frivolous” case against former Sen. Hillary Clinton.
“We are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose,” wrote Judge John Middlebrooks wrote in his order.
Middlebrooks also noted that “Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries” and said “he knew full well the impact of his actions.”
Newly unsealed transcripts from Trump’s deposition in the E. Jean Carroll case show that the former president mistook Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples in a photo.
Trump’s comments under oath threaten to undercut his repeated denials of Carroll’s allegations, claiming she’s “not my type.”
Trump, who relied on evangelical voters in 2016, has accused Christian leaders of “disloyalty” as some waver in support of his 2024 re-election bid, and blamed them for Republicans’ disappointing midterm performance.
Japan will consider revising COVID-19 measures as early as this spring, downgrading the disease to a less serious category and relaxing guidance that people wear masks in public indoor places, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
The change would be a big turning point toward the normalization of social and economic activities in the country, and would probably result in foreign nationals being able to enter Japan without PCR tests or quarantine.
In scenes reminiscent of the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Chinese hospitals are struggling to cope with a surge in Covid-19 cases following the country’s decision to scrap its “zero-Covid” policy in early December.
Israel has not identified any evidence linking strokes to an updated coronavirus vaccine made by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE , according to a health ministry official.
Fresh off an unprecedented defeat by members of her own party, Gov. Kathy Hochul was cagey about what she will do next after the Senate judiciary committee said “no way” to her nomination of Hector LaSalle to head the state Court of Appeals.
Hochul refused to rule out taking legal action, saying “we’re certainly weighing all of our options.”
Asked if her administration failed to adequately count votes or come up with a better strategy for getting LaSalle confirmed, Hochul put all the blame on the state Senate.
Manhattan Democratic Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the chairman of the judiciary committee, stood by his belief that the Senate fulfilled its constitutional duties, calling potential legal action a waste of “time, energy and money.”
Hoylman declared that progressive Democrats would not allow anyone who ever appeared on the Conservative Party line to get a judgeship.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin gained support from Hochul. The two spoke by phone, with Hochul posting a note on her Twitter account referring to Hamlin as “an inspiration.”
Hamlin told Hochul he wants to use his story of recovery after suffering cardiac arrest and collapsing on the field to inspire others.
Hochul announced that residents and businesses in New York State will receive help in paying past-due utility bills.
Advocates for reform to school discipline in New York say suspensions disproportionately affect children of color, children living with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Bipartisan, cross-state legislation was announced in New York and New Jersey to stop congestion pricing, which could cost drivers up to $23 to cross through Midtown and below.
A new bill in Congress would punish the MTA — by denying it needed federal funds — if it goes ahead with proposed tolls for car trips in Manhattan below 60th Street, two bipartisan bill sponsors say.
Mayor Eric Adams appointed six new educational policy members to the Panel for Educational Policy, who will be collaborating with New Yorkers on decisions impacting the city’s schools and students.
In a Washington Post op-ed, Adams laid out six steps for solving the migrant crisis.
Adams said he is looking for an alternative to the city’s borough-based jail plans, giving a glimmer of hope to those who oppose a jail tower, the tallest in the world, slated for the edge of Chinatown.
Adams told business leaders that “organized crime” is partially to blame for an uptick in retail thefts that have plagued the city since the beginning of the pandemic — and slammed those who frame the enforcement of anti-theft laws as “criminalizing the poor.”
City Council leaders announced they have no plan to pass a bill pushed by Adams that would allow his administration to charge retired municipal workers for health insurance — and multiple sources said that the legislation is unlikely to ever get a vote.
The Big Apple’s new year is starting off with a thud — as NYPD statistics show serious assaults surged more than 18% compared to the same period in 2022.
New York’s second-state licensed cannabis shop will open next Tuesday on Bleecker Street in the Village. Smack LLC will be the first weed dispensary run by an owner with a prior marijuana conviction, Roland Conner.
Edward D. Mullins, one of the most powerful and combative leaders in the history of the New York City sergeants’ union, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud in a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the organization and its members.
Wearing a navy suit and a baseball cap, Mullins, 61, appeared in Manhattan Federal Court around 3:30 p.m. to enter his plea. He surrendered in February on charges he plundered more than $1 million from his union’s bank accounts.
In September 2020, federal authorities charged Baimadajie Angwang, a Marine Corps veteran and NYPD officer, with acting as an illegal agent of China. Since then, the government has quietly changed its mind and requested the charges against him be dropped.
As advocates are pushing the city to plant more trees, new research shows the role of urban greenery in absorbing carbon emissions.
Dozens of New York City employees who lost their jobs for not complying with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate have filed a $250 million lawsuit seeking to end the rule as the pandemic is winding down, new court papers show.
St. John the Divine’s beloved peacock trio -Harry, Jim, and Phil – is retiring.
Dazed and abused by high taxes and rising crime, more New Yorkers fled to Florida in 2022 than any year in history, according to new data.
New York City is challenging a state Department of Agriculture and Markets ruling that prevented the implementation of a ban on the sale of foie gras within city limits.
The City of Albany is proposing a massive redevelopment project that would change the face of the South End and bring a community college campus to the neighborhood.
All three Capital Region locations of the Smashburger chain appear to have closed suddenly earlier this week.
The city of Saratoga Springs’ long-awaited civilian review board to oversee police conduct has been delayed once again.
Federal safety investigators cited an Amazon distribution center in Windsor, NY along with facilities in Illinois and Florida, for putting workers at serious risk of injury from the bending, twisting and lifting required to rapidly move and stack packages.
Wading into a debate that has divided designers and accessibility experts for decades, the United States Department of State said this week that it would stop using the Times New Roman typeface, replacing it with the sans-serif typeface Calibri.
Actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Halyna Hutchins. New Mexico prosecutors have been weighing whether to bring criminal charges for months.
Baldwin, who has maintained he was not aware the gun he fired contained a live round, called the New Mexico prosecutors’ decision “a terrible miscarriage of justice,” according to his attorney, Luke Nikas, who vowed to fight the charges.
The prosecutors who decided to bring criminal charges in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer said Baldwin should have ensured his gun was safe. Some armorers questioned that.
“We’re trying to definitely make it clear that everybody’s equal under the law, including A-list actors like Alec Baldwin,” Andrea Reeb, a special prosecutor appointed by Santa Fe County’s district attorney to help handle the case, said in an interview.
David Crosby, the outspoken and often troubled singer, songwriter and guitarist who helped create two of the most influential and beloved American bands of the classic-rock era of the 1960s and ’70s, the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died at 81.
