FRIDAY. We made it through another week. Amen and Hallelujah!
For the record, today is the 59th day of winter and 31 days remain until spring. But you could be forgiven for not believing that, given the incredible unseasonable weather we’ve been seeing of late. I’m enjoying it, to be clear, but it’s also very unsettling and not normal.
Today will bring another 50-something degree day, but it’s all downhill from here, as far as I can tell. Next week…well, best to live in the moment and let tomorrow be what it is, right? Let’s not think about tomorrow right now.
Have you ever gotten up to the head of the coffee line only to find that the person ahead of you – or even several people ahead of you – has already paid your bill? Or, back in the day when there used to be toll booths, that the driver before you had paid your toll?
Such a small gesture of kindness, but so significant in its ability to lift your spirits and restore your faith in humanity – at least temporarily.
People you know probably do nice things for you all the time. That’s sort of the definition of a relationship, right? One person supports another and picks them up when they’re feeling low – be that through the gift of time or something more tangible.
But when someone you DON’T know goes out of their way to do something nice for you, just because they can, that really hits different. It’s more impactful, somehow, because they didn’t have to do it, and yet did it anyway, expecting nothing in return and with the full knowledge that they might never actually see the seeds of their generosity bear fruit.
Such is the power of the random act of kindness.
The term random act of kindness was coined in 1982 by Anne Herbert, who wrote a book by the same name in 1993. The full, original phrase is ‘random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty’. Her expression was an attempt to counteract the phrase ‘random acts of violence and senseless acts of cruelty’.
I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that being nice to others actually comes back to you in the form of making you feel good about yourself AND making you just feel, well, good. Practicing acts of kindness – random or otherwise – is clinically proven to release your happy hormone, officially known as oxytocin, and also has been shown to help reduce depression.
If you need an excuse to go out and indulge in your desire to do something nice for strangers, today is Random Act of Kindness Day.
This day was founded in 1995 in Denver, Colorado by a nonprofit organization called The Random Acts Of Kindness Foundation. The event spread to New Zealand nine years later, in 2004, and the observance of the holiday became more and more widespread.
If you can, do something nice for someone else today, someone you don’t even know. Even just holding the door open for the person behind you, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation etc., takes almost no effort and might make someone else feel a little less harried and stressed during their day.
If you’re feeling at a loss of what might constituted a random act of kindness, not to worry! The Foundation has you covered with some ideas.
It really doesn’t have to be elaborate, although I’m sure anyone would certainly appreciate a batch of freshly-basked cookies if you have time to whip some up. Just sending a random text of appreciation or love out of the blue to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while will do the trick.
And if I happen to stumble on one of those coffee lines where you’ve already pre-paid, thanks in advance. I owe you one.
We already discussed the weather at the top of this post, since it’s so top of mind (for me, anyway). So let’s get to the good stuff.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden said that three unmanned aerial objects shot down over the weekend by the U.S. military were “most likely tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions,” not the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down on Feb. 4.
“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were but nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country,” Biden said in his first formal remarks on the issue.
Biden said the U.S. is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country.
Former Vice President Pence blasted Biden’s briefing on the objects that the U.S. has shot down over the past couple of weeks, saying the explanations from the president yesterday were “too little, too late.”
Biden, 80, underwent a closely watched physical examination yesterday morning ahead of an expected announcement that he is seeking a second four-year term.
Biden’s three-hour session with doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021.
Biden said his routine physical exam “went well,” adding: “Thank God for small favors.”
“President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency,” his physician, Kevin O’Connor, wrote in a memo.
The physical did result in a small lesion on Biden’s chest being removed for a biopsy, the results of which are still pending.
High-level Democrats are rallying to Biden’s reelection, not because they think it’s in the country’s best interest to have an 82-year-old start a second term but because they fear the alternative: the nomination of Kamala Harris and election of Donald Trump.
Biden signed an executive order to continue the advancement of racial equity and uplift underserved communities.
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio penned a letter to Biden demanding that he fire Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of the train derailment that dumped toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month.
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency traveled to Ohio with promises of aid but faced skepticism from residents outraged over what they saw as a delayed response to the toxic spill unleashed by the recent train derailment.
For many influencers across the political spectrum, claims about the environmental effects of the train derailment have gone far beyond known facts.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott who has emerged as a leading Republican inflation hawk on Capitol Hill, hit Biden over the latest Producer Price Index report showing the price of eggs increased 209.3 percent compared to January a year ago.
Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded, checked himself in to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to receive treatment for clinical depression, his office said.
A special grand jury that investigated election interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies in Georgia said it saw possible evidence of perjury by “one or more” witnesses who testified before it, according to portions of the jury’s final report.
The most prominent stars and highest-ranking executives at Fox News privately ridiculed claims of election fraud in the 2020 election, despite the right-wing channel allowing lies about the contest to be promoted on its air, a court filing revealed.
Off the air, the network’s stars, producers and executives expressed contempt for those same conspiracies, calling them “mind-blowingly nuts,” “totally off the rails” and “completely bs” – often in far earthier terms.
Leaders of the far-right Proud Boys say they intend to subpoena Trump to testify in the ongoing trial pertaining to the group’s alleged conspiracy to forcibly derail the transfer of power from the former president to Biden.
China’s top leaders declared a “decisive victory” over COVID-19, claiming the world’s lowest fatality rate, although experts have questioned Beijing’s data as the coronovirus tore across the country after largely being kept at bay for three years.
The U.S. Navy is rolling back requirements for COVID-19 vaccines, axing the consideration of vaccination status when making decisions about the deployment of sailors.
For at least 10 months after a Covid-19 infection, your immune system can provide good protection against symptomatic illness the next time around, a new study found, and the risk of severe illness is even lower.
That’s on par with what’s provided through two doses of an mRNA vaccine.
New York City’s bid to toss an NYPD sergeant’s vaccine mandate lawsuit was shot down by a Manhattan judge — in what could be the first such ruling since Mayor Eric Adams lifted the COVID-era rule requiring Big Apple workers to get the jab.
Republican Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. quit his position as a NYPA Board of Trustees member over Gov. Kathy Hochul’s green policy pushes – especially a proposal to effectively ban gas stoves in new buildings.
The State Senate’s rejection of Justice Hector LaSalle leaves New York’s leaders in uncharted territory, with Hochul’s next steps uncertain.
There are no hard feelings over how the Hector LaSalle confirmation was handled by Democrats in the state Senate, Hochul this week said in an interview with WAMC.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also sought to tamp down the prospect of any lingering fallout over the LaSalle fight and said both she and the governor are focused on the state spending plan.
Hochul has introduced a state budget absent any language ensuring two of her major initiatives will employ unionized labor. That has sparked speculation in labor circles about the administration’s motives, and may generate further friction.
County governments are protesting a potential cost shift in Hochul’s $227 billion budget they warn could make it harder to keep property taxes down.
New York lawmakers are proposing ways of getting companies responsible for pollution and climate change to pay up.
Health benefits for volunteer firefighters could be strengthened in New York under legislation that cleared the Democratic-led state Senate this week.
After two years of pressure from progressive groups and a public showdown last summer, Hochul has included a scaled-back version of the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) in her proposed budget for 2023.
Mayor Eric Adams appointed Ya-Ting Liu, a former transit advocate, as the city’s first-ever chief public realm officer, delivering on a key promise from his State of the City address.
Liu’s new role was created to improve how the city uses and manages its public spaces, including parks, plazas and streets.
It’s one thing Adams and democratic socialists in office agree on: the U.S. Supreme Court should be expanded to include more justices.
Adams joined Kimora Lee Simmons for a late-night dinner at hotspot Nobu Fifty Seven amid New York Fashion Week.
Dozens of New York City real estate firms accused of discriminating against people with rental assistance vouchers will soon be forced to explain their practices in court.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams confirmed she did not sign the Progressive Caucus’ controversial new mission statement — but remains a member of the group nonetheless due to an administrative quirk.
New York should make permanent a pandemic-era tax credit for low- and moderate-income families to help them raise their children, advocates said at a rally yesterday.
Former City Councilman Andy King, who was expelled from the chamber in 2020 over a litany of professional misconduct complaints, could be eyeing a run for his old Bronx seat.
Several New York City government agencies risk “biased outcomes” due to a lack of guidelines for their use of artificial intelligence, according to a new state comptroller’s report.
Terminal 1 at Kennedy Airport in New York was closed to air traffic yesterday due to a fire caused by an electrical panel failure, sparking lengthy delays for passengers and scrambling flights at one of the world’s busiest airports.
For the first time, an exception to the prohibition against “carrying” on the day of rest includes most of the borough of Brooklyn for observant Orthodox Jews, allowing, among other things, children to be pushed in strollers.
As the chancellor of the City University of New York, Félix Matos Rodriguez is accustomed to being a guest on television. Now he is appearing as a host.
Several employees at a Tesla factory in Buffalo have been fired a day after launching union organizing efforts, according to Tesla Workers United, but the company says they’re not related.
The family of actor Bruce Willis released a statement announcing that the actor’s aphasia condition has progressed into frontotemporal dementia.
Willis, 67, was previously diagnosed with aphasia, which prompted him to retire from acting. “FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone,” the family wrote.
