Good morning. Welcome to the first Monday of a brand-new year.
If you’re anything like me, you’re being inundated in your various online feeds (email, Instagram, Facebook, news alerts etc.) with ads about becoming a better version of yourself.
No more indulging in cookies and wine and cheese and what-have-you – all the things we enjoyed perhaps a bit too much of over the holidays. Nope. It’s time for meditation and fasting and gym memberships and resolutions and diets, etc. and so on.
Blah, blah, blah.
According to a brief search of the interwebs, the vast majority – somewhere in the 90+ percent range – of New Year’s resolutions fail. Then again, only 41 percent of Americans make said resolutions in the first place, which is far less than half of the population.
Maybe those non-resolution makers are onto something? If you don’t resolve in the first place, you can’t fail. Problem solved.
Anyway, assuming you fall into the “making resolutions” category, the likelihood is that you’ve pledged to adopt a new fitness routine and lose weight and/or eat better. Apparently, the third most popular pledge is to save more money. (I can actually get down with that one, having just purchased a new house, which feels like lighting money on fire and throwing it out the window).
You have probably read somewhere that the key to success when it comes to setting new goals is having reasonable expectations. Deciding, for example, to suddenly go cold turkey on ALL carbs, sugar, alcohol, dairy and red meat is likely going to be very difficult to stick with in the long term.
Similarly, saying you’re going to hit the gym every day for an hour in the coming year when you haven’t gotten off the couch in any meaningful way for months is also a surefire recipe for failure.
So, small, realistic goals is the ticket. Moving more – not necessarily like a maniac, but perhaps simply by adding an extra walk outside to your routine – is a good way to start.
Ditto looking to add more healthy foods, specifically fruits and vegetables, to your diet, any maybe cutting out alcohol for a short while to hit the reset button. Dry January is reportedly growing in popularity as “sober-curious” (WTF does this mean, anyway?!) Americans get educated about the downsides of drinking.
On the fitness side, if you’re truly looking to take things up a notch, you might consider turning to a professional for assistance. Today happens to be National Personal Trainer Awareness Day, which is fitting, given how many folks out there might be looking for guidance in the gym right about now.
The fitness trainer/instructor industry is booming, and, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is expected to grow by about 19 percent over the next decade – far faster than most other professions. The job doesn’t pay terribly well, on average, but does allow flexibility (in more ways than one; see what I did there?) and mobility.
Though physical fitness has been around for centuries, the advent of personal training as a profession is actually fairly recent. Having a coach used to be something reserved for serious and/or competitive athletes. But nowadays, everyone seems to have one, and their services are not reserved merely to the gym, but to all areas of life.
You can even get a coach to help you sleep or improve your sex life.
Personally, I’ve benefitted from the expertise of a variety of trainers and coaches for years. They’ve helped me become a better runner, finish several Ironman-length triathlons (and too many shorter races to count), recover from injuries, lean out, put on muscle, and learn how to lift weights safely.
I highly recommend doing some research if you’re going to go in this direction, though, because there are a lot of influencers out there who claim to be experts, but don’t really appear have all that much in terms of credentials.
Weather-wise, it is a GREAT time to get outside, which certainly can help quite a bit in the sticking-to-resolutions department. The unseasonably warm temperatures are going to be with us for a few more days, with the mercury flirting with 60 on Wednesday, though it looks like more rain is in the forecast.
Today, we’ll see a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures in the high 40s.
Quite a bit of news occurred during our week off. I’m not even going to bother to try to catch you up on all of it. Hopefully, you did a little reading on your own here and there. Let’s get back in the swing of things, shall we? It’s nice to be back with you.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden, after returning this week to a politically reshaped Washington, will join top Republican officials to herald his infrastructure law as he seeks out bipartisan cooperation in a new era of divided government.
The president will be appearing with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky to announce a major project funded by the infrastructure law.
Biden begins 2023 politically stronger than 12 months ago, bolstered by his party’s surprise midterms success, a robust set of legislative accomplishments and the resilience of the alliance he rallied to support Ukraine after Russia’s invasion.
Before 2022 ended, Biden pardoned six individuals who had already completed sentences for their offenses, including drug-related crimes and second-degree murder, and had become active in their communities following their release.
Also prior to the end of last year, Biden signed a $1.7 trillion federal spending bill that includes a number of administration priorities and officially avoids a government shutdown, ending what he called a “year of historic progress.”
The Covid omicron XBB.1.5 variant is rapidly becoming dominant in the U.S. because it is highly immune evasive and appears more effective at binding to cells than related subvariants, scientists say.
The CDC projected Friday that about 40% of confirmed U.S. Covid cases are caused by the XBB.1.5 strain, up from 20% a week ago. In the Northeast, about 75% of confirmed cases are reported to be XBB.1.5.
Since October, the Covid-19 hospitalization rate among U.S. seniors has been at least four times higher than average.
The lack of specialized Covid-19 treatments for people with weak immune systems has left millions of Americans with limited options if they get sick as the pandemic heads into an uncertain winter.
When homicides surged across America during the pandemic, murders of Black women and girls rose more dramatically than other groups, while the proportion of those killings solved by police fell faster than other demographics in nearly two dozen cities.
China’s public health officials say that possibly 800 million people could be infected with the coronavirus over the next few months. And several models predict that a half million people could die, possibly more.
Outgoing Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said he fears for the future of the country if former President Trump isn’t charged with a crime related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, though he believes the Justice Department will “do the right thing.”
In the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack, Twitter employees raged at their own company and its leadership, blaming them for the social media giant’s inept handling of Trump and other top MAGA figures’ incitement to violence.
Trump wanted to trademark the phrase “Rigged Election!” after he lost the election in 2020, according to a newly released transcript of an interview his son-in-law Jared Kushner gave to the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot.
Trump blamed the “abortion issue” for Republicans underperforming expectations in the 2022 midterm elections.
Trump invited journalists to a surprise slot of “media availability” at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on New Year’s Eve. But in a likely blow to the former president’s ego, not a single cable news network covered it.
The new Congress could commence in chaos this week as California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy struggles to clinch support for his effort to become House speaker.
McCarthy offered some key concessions to his detractors in a House Rules package released by Republicans on Sunday, but it is still far from clear whether the moves will help him lock up the votes necessary to become Speaker on Jan. 3.
Nine House conservatives expressed doubts about electing McCarthy as the next speaker of the House, calling for a “radical departure from the status quo” ahead of today’s vote.
Rep.-elect George Santos’s unraveling biography has sparked multiple law enforcement investigations and calls from Democrats to resign. But his fabrications pose a threat to Republicans nationally as they clutch onto a tight majority in the House in 2023.
Over two days, the state attorney general’s office, the Nassau County district attorney’s office and the Queens district attorney’s office all signaled that they had set Santos in their sights.
Santos, under scrutiny for lies about his background, is set to be sworn into Congress today even as records, colleagues and friends divulge more about his past.
Texas Republican Rep. Kevin Brady said Santos should consider resigning after he admitted that he fabricated and “embellished” several claims about his background involving his education and work history.
“This is troubling in so many ways. Certainly, he’s lied repeatedly,” said Brady, who is retiring from the House. “He certainly is going to have to consider resigning.”
Records that Santos’ campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission show 37 expenditures, on office supplies, hotels, ride-share app Uber, restaurants and more, for the exact same amount: $199.99.
Santos, under scrutiny after fabricating much of his résumé, also spent campaign funds on $40,000 worth of air travel.
Brazilian officials say Santos confessed that he stole a checkbook in 2008 and was charged with making fraudulent purchases, even though he now denies he has ever committed any crimes.
To rise through the Trump-era G.O.P., North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik gave up her friends, her mentors and her ideals. Will it be enough?
Trump reportedly enjoyed watching Stefanik defend him, but allegedly does not trust the third-ranking House Republican who replace Rep. Liz Cheney as chair of the GOP conference in 2021.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took aim at Stefanik, accusing her fellow New York congresswoman of “embracing neo-Nazism.”
The suspect in the killings of four University of Idaho college students plans to waive his extradition hearing this week, his attorney said, to expedite his return to the Gem State, where he faces four counts of first-degree murder.
The arrest of Bryan Kohberger, now charged with murdering four University of Idaho students, eased fears but raised a troubling new question: What was the motive?
The family of Kohberger, 28, the suspect arrested in the brutal slayings of four University of Idaho students, said they are cooperating with law enforcement to “promote his presumption of innocence” in their first public statement released Sunday.
Kathy Hochul became the first woman to be sworn in to a full term as governor of New York yesterday, a landmark moment that she said she would seize to lead a state confronting fears over crime and a crisis of affordability.
Hochul emphasized that her bid for the office had not been primarily motivated by achieving the historic first. “I didn’t come here to make history,” she said. “I came here to make a difference.”
In her first inaugural address, Hochul briefly acknowledged other women who made history before her, name-checking Harriet Tubman and Hillary Clinton, before turning to the “worthy pursuits” and fights she said she would take on in the next four years.
“Right now there are some fights we have to take on,” Hochul said after taking the oath of office at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. “First we must and will make our streets safer.”
Hochul is starting the new year off on uneasy footing as she sticks by her controversial Court of Appeals chief judge nominee.
Despite an ever growing number of state senators announcing their opposition – which currently stands at 13 – the newly elected governor has said she intends to push ahead with Justice Hector LaSalle.
It appears Hochul needs to rely on votes from Republicans to confirm her appointee, who has been a Supreme Court justice since 2009 and was appointed as an appellate division justice in 2014 by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Hochul made an “unforced error” in picking moderate LaSalle to be the state’s top judge when key backers of her reelection bid had expressed distaste for the choice, former Gov. David Paterson said.
Hochul is preparing a state budget proposal in the coming weeks ahead of what could be a potential economic downturn for the country, one that could hit New York’s finances hard and upend plans to fulfill funding promises for schools.
In her final official act of 2023, Hochul approved a law increasing the annual pay of state lawmakers by $32,000 and making them the highest paid state Legislature in the country.
The governor awarded funding to help provide services for up to 5,000 units of supportive housing to serve older adults, survivors of domestic violence, veterans, individuals with mental illness, and homeless families.
Hochul signed legislation to legalize natural organic reduction, popularly known as human composting, making New York the sixth state in the nation to allow that method of burial.
New York joins five other states (Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont and California) that in recent years allowed the eco-conscious burial method.
New Yorkers who donate a kidney or liver can now be reimbursed for their expenses, including lost wages during recovery, thanks to a new law.
Warehouse workers at delivery and courier firms including Amazon and UPS will have new protections against what activists say are unrealistic work quotas, thanks to a law signed by Hochul.
Those old rugs and carpets in your house should be a lot easier to get rid of now that Hochul has signed a law ordering carpetmakers to develop and enact plans for recycling.
All new passenger cars and trucks sold in New York will be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said.
A New Jersey company tied to an alleged $637 million pay-to-play scheme involving Hochul is now suing her administration — accusing Albany of wrongfully denying it additional business.
Scammers will face higher penalties and tipsters will reap greater rewards in cases of COVID-19 pandemic fraud thanks to two new laws signed by Hochul.
New York State’s six-month suspension of its gas tax has expired.
The State Assembly’s Judiciary Committee is not making any recommendation about the residency status of incoming GOP Assembly member Lester Chang.
The first public sales of regulated cannabis in New York began at a dispensary in Manhattan’s East Village last Thursday at 4:20 p.m., hours after the first sale was made to a city official, Hochul announced.
The widely anticipated opening of the first state-sanctioned dispensary, which is operated by the nonprofit Housing Works, paves the way for a string of openings expected in the coming months in New York.
Demand at New York’s first legal recreational marijuana storefront showed no signs of easing on its second full day of operation, as the line to enter the shop on Broadway at E. 8th St. in the East Village looped around Astor Place.
Amid the hubbub over the start of legal, recreational-use sales, the Sheriff’s Interagency Enforcement Task Force was on the lookout for illegal storefront operations.
Authorities are investigating whether a man who attacked three police officers with a machete at a New Year’s Eve celebration eight blocks from Times Square, striking two of them, was inspired by radical Islamic extremism.
A young Maine man who reportedly recently became fixated with radical Islamic jihadism wounded two NYPD cops with a massive curved knife just outside the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, fracturing a rookie officer’s skull before being shot by police.
In his first year as mayor, Mayor Eric Adams focused his attention on fighting crime. But critics say he is not moving quickly enough to address New York City’s other urgent challenges.
Adams hailed the “resiliency” of the city and touted New York as “moving in the right direction” in 2022 during an appearance on Fox News on New Year’s Eve as the nation counted down to 2023.
The self-professed mayor of “swagger,” whose press conferences were even spoofed on Saturday Night Live, Adams has injected the role with the bravado of past New York City mayors like John Lindsay, Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani.
Police have stopped and questioned more New Yorkers this year than last year, according to data collected by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Adams strongly rebuked reporters questioning his whereabouts at the end of last week while a storm ravaged parts of Queens, announcing he “deserved” time away. (He was on vacation in the Virgin Islands, which as not publicly announced).
A bipartisan coalition of Big Apple lawmakers is demanding the city lift a controversial pandemic-era mandate prohibiting unvaccinated parents from attending events at public schools.
A veteran New York City firefighter who died while preparing for a training exercise was remembered last week as a loving husband and father who was dedicated to his profession and public service.
No one knows how many are helped or how much Veterans Treatment Courts in New York cost. Supporters say it gives defendants who were in the armed forces a second chance.
A household in Brunswick awoke on New Year’s Day to find unexpected guests prowling around the yard. They appeared to be bobcats, the residents said, four of them.
Bubbakoo’s Burritos, a Mexican-fusion brand with nearly 100 locations nationwide, made its Capital Region debut this week with the opening of a Troy store.
Saratoga Springs City will likely have to boil their water for at least the next couple of days following a major water main break yesterday.
Rensselaer County’s Republican elections commissioner abruptly resigned after it was reported he was scheduled to plead guilty to federal criminal charges in January in connection with an ongoing voter fraud investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Archdiocese of New York recently was ordered to turn over more than 120 pages of confidential files related to an internal investigation of sexual abuse claims against Howard J. Hubbard, who was bishop of the Albany diocese from 1977 to 2014.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday. He was 95.
Barbara Walters, the trailblazing television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent who shattered the glass ceiling and became a dominant force in an industry once dominated by men, died last Friday. She was 93.
