Good Wednesday morning. It’s a big day most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, who observe the holy month of Ramadan – the most important and holiest month on the Islamic calendar.
Ramadan starts today after the sighting of the moon over Mecca, and will end on Friday, April 21. During Ramadan, observers neither eat nor drink from sunrise to sunset. They’re also supposed to avoid impure thoughts and bad behavior (sex, smoking, and other things traditionally viewed as sinful).
During the monthlong fasting period, the first pre-dawn meal of the day is called “suhoor.” The meal eaten after dark to break the day’s fast is known as “iftar”, and it’s traditional that the first thing one consumes is a date.
It is expected that all adult Muslims will fast, unless they are traveling, chronically ill, menstruating, diabetic, pregnant, or elderly.
Eid-ul-Fitr – the final breaking of the fast, which marks the end of Ramadan – will be celebrated on Saturday, April 22. (Actually, Eid lasts three days, during which Muslims go to the mosque for Eid prayers, visit relatives, eat festive meals, and contribute to charity).
The dates of Ramadan change from year to year, but it always lands on the ninth month in the Muslim lunar calendar. It commemorates the time that Allah sent an angel to the Prophet Muhammad to reveal the Quran, the Islamic holy book, in 610 AD.
This is the first revelation, and it is known as the “night of power” or ‘Laylat Al Qadar’ in Arabic.
Interestingly, Muslims believe that ALL scripture – including the Torah – were handed down by G-d during Ramadan, and there are actually a number of similarities between Ramadan and the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur.
Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars (ritual obligations) of Islam, which are acknowledged and practiced by all Muslims and are viewed as a requirement in order to pursue a mindful life – like the one Muhummad is believed to have lead.
Ramadan lasts 29 to 30 days – however long it takes to get from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.
It’s going to be 60 degrees and partly sunny today – an amazing third day of spring. But don’t get too used to it, because it all goes downhill from here.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden officially designated a new national monument in Southern Nevada while speaking at a conservation event at the Interior Department.
At more than 506,000 acres, the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is one of the largest tracts of land to come under federal protection so far during Biden’s presidency, preserving Nevada’s Spirit Mountain and the desert around it.
Biden also directed the study of a possible marine sanctuary southwest of Hawaii that’s so large it would allow the administration to meet its goal of conserving 30 percent of the nation’s waters.
Biden teased a 2024 run as he celebrated American legends Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight, Julia Louis Dreyfus and more in a White House ceremony.
Biden made a reference to a potential 2024 campaign while introducing author Colson Whitehead, noting he won two Pulitzer prizes for his consecutive novels “The Underground Railroad” and “The Nickel Boys.”
A new poll from Monmouth University finds a stagnant job approval rating for Biden and a low approval rating for Vice President Kamala Harris, although both still have high marks among Democrats.
The survey finds 41% of Americans approve of Biden’s job as president, while 51% disapprove, which is only a slight dip from Biden’s 43% approval rating in January (though the change is well within the poll’s margin of error).
Biden signed into law a resolution to block a controversial Washington, DC, crime bill that opponents have criticized as weak on crime, breaking with the progressive wing of his party and taking a tough-on-crime stance ahead of his expected re-election bid.
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen expressed confidence in the nation’s banks and suggested that the government would step in to protect smaller banks if needed. Shares of many regional banks rallied after her remarks.
American consumers face another test from banking turmoil and tighter financial conditions, as households already grappling with elevated inflation and rising interest rates threaten to trim the spending that has been a hallmark of the resilient U.S. economy.
A former Florida lawmaker pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements in connection with Covid-19 relief fraud, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
Former Republican state Rep. Joseph Harding acquired more than $150,000 in Small Business Administration loans by lying on loan applications, the department said. Harding is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, the release said.
China has for the first time approved a Covid-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology, greenlighting a homegrown shot months after the ruling Communist Party eliminated its strict pandemic restrictions in December.
In a much-anticipated study, experts described a swab that was positive for the coronavirus and contained loads of genetic material from raccoon dogs.
The mRNA vaccine, developed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. and which targets the omicron variant, has been approved for emergency use, according to a statement from the company to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Current and former employees recall rising desperation as Trump administration officials squelched research into the new coronavirus.
To try to convict the former president of a felony, prosecutors might attempt to connect state election law to a federal election.
If in fact Trump is indicted, it would be a remarkable moment in the country’s history in a case with a legal underpinning that appears far from open-and-shut.
Prosecutors in the special counsel’s office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has reportedly taken a swipe at Trump’s “daily drama”, sharpening his attacks on a top White House rival.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, the Florida governor sought to strike a clear contrast with Trump, calling himself a low-drama “winner.”
Nikki Haley has broken her silence to join fellow Republicans in denouncing the Trump hush money investigation.
Trump’s Republican allies in the House are doing what the former president taught them to do – use government power to try to keep his legal threats at bay.
Those who have spent time with Trump in recent days say he has often appeared significantly disconnected from the severity of his potential legal woes.
Trump supporters flocked to the lower Manhattan courthouses yesterday — the day he incorrectly predicted his arrest — with possible criminal charges against the former president expected to land as soon as today in the Stormy Daniels hush money probe.
The civil fraud case against Trump won’t be affected by a potential indictment in an unrelated criminal investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, has quietly bankrolled a group that is flooding the airwaves with ads to support Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget plans.
Healthcare workers by the bus load arrived at the Albany Capitol with a message for Hochul: “no healthcare workers in poverty”.
The politically influential 1199SEIU health care workers union called on Hochul to give more money to safety net hospitals, increase Medicaid reimbursement rates and ensure fair wages for home care workers.
About four out of five hospitals in New York are on a fiscally unsustainable path, Greater New York Hospital Association President & CEO Ken Raske said.
The pipeline for expanding the new housing supply in New York City continues to lag this year as state lawmakers and Hochul negotiate a state budget that could include new goals to expand housing statewide.
Campaign staff for Hochul had their post-election salaries effectively covered by the hospital industry — even as its top lobbying group pursued preferential policies in her proposed state budget.
Democratic legislators joined labor leaders in a direct challenge to Hochul and key parts of the $227 billion state budget she has proposed ahead of an April 1 deadline.
As Hochul butts heads with her fellow Democrats over bail reform, Republican Sen. Jake Ashby is proposing an overhaul he says will grant judges more discretion and still keep low-level offenders from being jailed simply because they’re poor.
Hochul hosted a community roundtable with political officials in central New York to discuss plans to build 800,000 new homes in the state throughout the next decade, in response to New York state’s housing crisis.
Hochul announced the start of construction on Huntington Apartments, a $24 million adaptive re-use of the 19th-century era Huntington Building in Seneca Falls.
Hochul and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced the appointment of additional members to the May 14th Memorial Commission, established in October 2022 in response to the mass shooting at a Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue.
New York state officials are being urged to step up the enforcement of illegally smuggled cigarettes amid state budget talks that could lead to a $1-per-pack tax increase as well as a ban on menthol cigarettes.
New York transportation authorities appear poised to improve bus service to La Guardia after a plan for a rail link was scrapped last week.
The US Supreme Court refused to consider forcing New York to give more children medical exemptions from the state’s school vaccine requirements.
“Why can’t we do a real examination of the rules that state every bedroom must have a window?” Mayor Eric Adams asked during a housing panel hosted by WNYC.
Adams announced a plan to crack down on unregulated e-bike and e-scooter batteries, which in recent years have sparked hundreds of fires across the five boroughs.
Adams unveiled $55 million in new funding to build a new pool in Queens and to rehab an already existing indoor pool — both to be located at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans.
Retired municipal workers furious over the city’s effort to enroll them in a cost-cutting Medicare Advantage Plan are focused on a contract loophole they believe could permit them to stay on traditional Medicare at no extra cost — but they need Adams’ buy-in.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said she agrees with the “premise” that the city’s budget should prioritize community investments like housing and mental health services over funding to the NYPD.
A man who investigators said sped through a red light at a Brooklyn intersection that had been the focus of a safety campaign was charged with killing a driver and a pedestrian, according to the New York Police Department.
A dispute between satellite and digital carrier DirecTV and a local Fox affiliate, which blacked out the World Series and Super Bowl, has landed in federal court.
Charlotte Diffendale, an Albany resident who works as a postal carrier, was a contestant on “Jeopardy” this week.
Religious leaders and climate activists marched through downtown Albany to call on major banks to stop financing the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.
The Upper Washington Neighborhood Association believes the developer looking to build an affordable housing development on Colvin Avenue is misrepresenting the group’s position on the project as it seeks to gain support and financing.
This fall, University at Albany is launching two new degree programs – a Bachelor of Science in Nursing completion program and a Master of Science in Population Health Nursing – to help alleviate the nurse shortage in New York.
Smith’s Restaurant, a historic dining spot on Remsen Street that closed early in the pandemic, is being redeveloped for a summer opening with the name Smith’s Public House by Rob Tario, who owns Ship’s Pub and is a partner in the Tipsy Moose restaurants.
One of Albany’s two methadone clinics is proposing a nearly 4,000-square-foot expansion. The Whitney Young Jr. Health’s Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Treatment Center at 10 Dewitt St. is seeking a conditional use permit from the Planning Board.
Showtime’s popular series “Billions” has shot part of its seventh season in the Adirondacks, according to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.
State forest rangers and State Police last Friday found the body of a hiker in the Mohonk Mountain Preserve area who had been missing for the previous week and is believed to have died in a fall in that area’s steep, mountainous terrain.
USA Today reported that Buffalo, the city who made the chicken wing their own, was recently ranked number nine on America’s top 10 best cities for pizza.
Bus drivers, special-education aides, custodians and other support staff in Los Angeles schools walked off the job yesterday, triggering a citywide strike that shut down schools for 420,000 students as workers demand higher wages.
Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress and lifestyle entrepreneur, is expected to testify in a civil trial in the coming weeks after a retired optometrist accused her of violently crashing into him while skiing in Park City, Utah, in 2016.
The 50-year-old actress turned Goop founder, whose days are usually spent discussing her “wellness” routine and the body part-scented candles she sells, arrived in a Utah courtroom yesterday for her civil case.
Willis Reed, the brawny and inspirational hub of two Knicks championship teams that captivated New York in the early 1970s with a canny, team-oriented style of play, has died at the age of 80.
