Good morning, welcome to Friday. I, for one, am relieved to have made it here.
Even with the ongoing winter weather, there are a number of signs that spring is around the corner. It feels like small animals and birds, in particular, have been more active of late.
Since we’ve moved to a house with a sizable backyard that backs up on a wooded area, I’m constantly amazed by the plethora of wildlife with whom I am sharing my space. (Or maybe they’re sharing their space with me; since they were here first – or their ancestors were).
We routinely see deer, rabbits, and all manner of birds – including owls, which I have thus far only heard but not yet seen – and turkeys. Before the snow fell, I spotted a few snakes and also some toads.
And, of course, there are also the mice, a few of which we have trapped under our kitchen sink. Sorry, as much as I want to live and let live, I’m not interested in exposing my dogs to the myriad of insect pests and diseases that mice may carry.
Despite the veritable zoo that exists right outside my front door, the reality is that there are fewer animals on the planet than there used to be.
Quite a bit fewer, actually. According to the Living Planet Index, a measurement system that has been in use for the past five decades, the global animal populations shrunk by an average of 69 percent between 1970 and 2018.
This means that the planet’s biodiversity (in short, the variety and variability of all life on Earth, from microorganisms, fungi and plants to all sorts of animals, including humans) is shrinking, and that is NOT good for the overall health of the world.
Today is World Wildlife Day, a United Nations International day that is held both to awareness about and celebrate all the world’s wild animals and plants and underscore the important contributions they make to our lives and to the Earth’s viability.
Today also happens to be the birthday of CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – which was signed in 1973, and is an agreement between the governments of 184 countries that aims to ensure international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
It is possible to reverse some biodiversity loss, but not all of it. If this seems like too big of a problem for one person to tackle, consider this:
Research has also shown that agricultural intensification (mass farming, basically) contributes significantly to the loss of biodiversity. You certainly have the power to make more informed choices about what you eat and where that food comes from, right? Seems like as good a place as any to start.
Small changes add up over time.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re under yet another winter storm watch, starting from about 6 p.m. today and lasting through roughly the same time tomorrow. Heavy snow is possible, with accumulations of up to 10 inches and snowfall reaching about 1 inch per hour at times. if you’re in the Berkshires, it’s possible you could see wind gusts of up to 40 MPH.
Sigh. Happy weekend everyone.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden surprised Democratic senators when he told them that he won’t veto GOP-led legislation to rescind a controversial Washington, DC, crime law.
The measure to overrule the D.C. Council has the support of Republicans and some Democrats. Sen. Joe Manchin has indicated he would support the measure. Sen. Angus King said he would “probably support” it as well, making it more likely to pass.
He later elaborated on Twitter, saying that his concern about softening sentences outweighed his opposition to Congress interfering in the affairs of the District of Columbia.
House Democrats were infuriated and taken aback by Biden’s announcement. Last month, 73 of them voted along with what they thought was the White House’s stance that Biden would veto the resolution in an attempt to stand up for the District’s “home rule.”
Biden said he plans to visit the site of a toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, “at some point” — nearly a month after the disaster.
“I’ve spoken with every official in Ohio, Democrat and Republican, on a continuing basis, as in Pennsylvania,” Biden told reporters. “I laid out a little bit in there what I think the answers are … and we will be implementing an awful lot to the legislation here.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that it will require Norfolk Southern to test for dioxins in East Palestine, Ohio, in the wake of last month’s train derailment.
Frustrations boiled over last night in the largest public confrontation yet between the people of East Palestine and the operator of the derailed freight train, with angry residents lashing out at the lone company representative who took questions at the meeting.
Norfolk Southern and its rivals said they have agreed to join a federal system that lets employees confidentially report close calls, a program the biggest freight railroads had refused to join for years.
The Justice Department told a federal appeals court that it should reject former President Donald Trump’s claims that he is absolutely immune from being sued over his actions related to the attack on the Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
The department told the court, which is considering private lawsuits against Trump for his conduct in the lead-up to the attack, that a president can’t be absolutely immune for speech on a matter of public concern if the speech is found to have incited violence.
According to four Trump aides who spoke with Semafor, the former president is now facing an unofficial ban at Fox News, with the network refusing to book him or even talk much about him in the context of the Republican presidential primary.
The House Ethics Committee announced it’s launching an investigation into Rep. George Santos, who faces sanction by his peers for fabricating details about his past and law enforcement probes over his use of campaign dollars during his congressional run.
The inquiry will cover several areas where Santos has been accused of misconduct in formal complaints — including one filed by two of his House colleagues.
Santos responded in a tweet. “The House Committee on Ethics has opened an investigation, and Congressman George Santos is fully cooperating,” his office’s Twitter account wrote. “There will be no further comment made at this time.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez likely received “impermissible gifts” when she attended the 2021 Met Gala, and didn’t pay for her “Tax the Rich” dress she wore until congressional investigators reached out to her, a House ethics report has found.
The Office of Congressional Ethics unanimously recommended the House Ethics Committee continue its investigation into Ocasio-Cortez’s attendance at the Met Gala and subpoena the designer who outfitted her in the couture gown.
Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Patchogue in Suffolk County, LI to offer a defense of her controversial affordable housing agenda, as part of what’s shaping up to be a statewide tour to build support for her push ahead of budget negotiations this month.
The New York state Cannabis Control Board and the Office of Cannabis Management will double the number of adult-use licenses in the state from 150 to 300, Hochul’s office announced.
State lawmakers have introduced several bills that would ban corporal punishment in private schools after The New York Times reported that students in some Hasidic Jewish religious schools have been regularly hit, slapped or kicked by their instructors.
The battle over Hochul’s plans to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and hit smokers with an additional dollar-per-pack tax is heating up as supporters launch a new ad campaign.
Republicans in the state Assembly have signed onto a federal lawsuit challenging New York’s concealed carry law, Minority Leader Will Barclay said.
The Senate and Assembly want to be ready to go virtual if need be holding a hearing this week on videoconferencing their proceedings, with the lone witness appearing via videoconference.
Frustrated Long Island Rail Road commuters are furious over new schedules that went into effect on Monday. The LIRR and Hochul have weighed in on what they’re doing to fix the problems of overcrowded trains and chaotic transfers.
In a political climate in New York where vices like marijuana smoking and sports gambling are now legal, some lawmakers are pushing to decriminalize sex work in New York State.
In an effort to address one of New York City’s greatest challenges as the city recovers from the pandemic, Mayor Eric Adams announced a mental health agenda that expands key services for people with severe mental illness.
Adams’ plan includes adding “mobile treatment” teams, expanding a program that sends medical professionals rather than police officers to 911 calls, and investing in “clubhouses” — centers of community for people with mental illness.
Adams also focused on overdose deaths in the city, saying that he wants the city to make more overdose reversal drugs, like naloxone, available, as well as other supplies. He also expressed his support to open more overdose prevention centers.
New York City wants to have five “safe” drug injection sites up and running by 2025. The mayor said the goal would be to reduce overdose deaths by 15% over the next three years.
Adams held a ‘Breaking Bread, Building Bonds’ dinner at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Adams said he believes divine intervention played a hand in his ascent to the mayoralty, and defended his pronouncement this week that kids need more religion in their lives.
Biden’s team is moving quickly to build a “national advisory board” stocked with Democratic governors, senators and other political stars – including Adams – who will travel and speak on Biden’s behalf during his expected reelection campaign.
The de facto dean of the City Hall press corps, Sally Goldenberg, is leaving the city beat she has covered since 2007 to follow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ coming presidential campaign for Politico.
An August press conference by Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell violated the law when sealed criminal records were blasted to the press during, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled.
The Democratic leader of the City Council is punishing Brooklyn Councilman Ari Kagan for switching to the Republican Party — stripping him of his committee chairmanship and relegating him to a smaller office.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her reelection bid on Tuesday night. Her third place finish is being attributed to the race becoming a referendum on crime and policing, amid the Windy City’s high crime rate. Should Adams be sweating?
New York City grew more ethnically diverse and less racially segregated between 2010 and 2020, according to a new CUNY report for the city’s Districting Commission.
Despite criminal justice reforms enacted over the past few years, Black people were jailed at a rate 11.6 times higher than white people in 2021 — more than double what it was five years earlier, according to a new report.
A Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” that was battered and boosted by offstage drama will finish its roller-coaster ride over Labor Day weekend, the show’s producers announced.
Columbia University will no longer require SAT or ACT scores in undergraduate admissions, making it the first Ivy League college to implement the pandemic emergency measure as its official policy.
The FBI is investigating whether a body stuffed in two duffel bags and dumped behind an upstate New York home is a missing Brooklyn man who disappeared after going into business with two men to sell high-end watches, federal authorities allege.
Tennessee became the first state to sharply restrict drag performances as the state’s governor, Bill Lee, signed a bill banning the shows on public property and in places where they could be watched by minors.
The new law came amid attacks by Republicans on the rights of transgender and L.G.B.T.Q. Americans across the country. Yesterday, Lee, a Republican, also signed a separate bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
Alex Murdaugh, the fourth-generation South Carolina lawyer whose family long exerted influence in small-town courtrooms across parts of South Carolina, was convicted of murdering his wife and son. He is set to be sentenced today.
SpaceX launched a crew to the International Space Station early yesterday, a makeup flight for a mission that the company and NASA scrubbed earlier this week due to a technical issue.
Half the world will be overweight by 2035, a health group warns.
