Good Friday morning. The end of the week is upon us, though in the summer all the days seem to sort of blend together. I’m not on vacation, and yet I still have trouble keeping track of what day it is…maybe it’s just me?
Here’s an interesting juxtaposition:
Today is Bastille Day, a French holiday that commemorates the taking by an angry mob of the state prison of that same name, which had come to be seen as a symbol of the monarchy. This signaled the beginning of the French Revolution, and also the beginning of the end for the moneyed old guard known as the ancien régime.
Today is also National French Fry Day – a good opportunity to debunk the myth that, despite what the name of this delicacy implies, potatoes sliced up and fried in oil are actually a dish that originated in France.
Au contraire!
They are actually a gift to the world of France’s next-door neighbor, Belgium, whose citizens have a predilection for dipping their “frites” in mayonnaise.
Actually, this is a habit among many Europeans. If you haven’t tried it, this might strike you as disgusting. But trust me, it’s delicious, though perhaps not terribly healthy. Ditto for fries made in beef tallow or duck fat, neither of which is either 1) vegetarian, or 2) terribly health/heart conscious. But boy, are they tasty.
(FWIW, the whole beef-tallow-in-fries thing caused a bit of a controversy for McDonald’s back in the day, and though beef tallow is no longer used to make the fast food chain’s “world famous” fries, it does still add “natural beef flavor” to the product – though apparently not in India, where cows are sacred and many people are vegetarian.
One of the most iconic bistro meals one can consume in France is “steak frites”, which is just as it sounds – a well-cooked slab of red meat served alongside (or sometimes atop) a pile of crispy fries, though the cut of the meat and the sauce with which the dish is served might vary by region.
Consuming some steak frites might be a good way to get your French on for Bastille Day (AKA le Quatorze Juillet, which became an official national holiday in France in1880).
The way the holiday is traditionally celebrated across the pond has some parallels to our July 4th festivities (fireworks, for example, are traditional, as is eating outdoors). But it also includes things like a military parade on Paris’ iconic Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde.
If you’re in New York City or Washington, there are some French restaurants running Bastille Day specials. It’s probably going to be a lot easier to partake in the many giveaways and premiums available for National French Fry Day, which used to be held on July 13, but was (thanks to the fast food lobby) moved to the second Friday in July so it would always be held on a Fry-Day.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
Another day, another possibility for severe weather in the shape of thunderstorms with potential gusty wind and hail. Temperatures will be int he mid-to-high 80s. The weekend looks pretty meh, with partly cloudy skies Saturday and thunderstorms likely with potentially heavy rainfall on Sunday. Temperatures will be in the low-to-mid 80s on both days.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden signed an executive order that will allow the Pentagon to tap into reserve forces for deployment to Europe as part of its long-standing NATO mission on the continent.
Although it is not clear whether reservists will deploy anytime soon, the move suggests that the U.S. military’s training mission in Europe, along with the deployment of several new brigades after the invasion, has stretched active-duty forces.
Biden declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has already lost the war” in Ukraine.
The president predicted the Ukraine war would not drag on for years and promised the US would remain committed to Nato despite fears Donald Trump might pull out of the alliance if he wins the 2024 presidential election.
Biden said that Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is being “irresponsible” and jeopardizing national security by blocking military promotions over his objections to the Defense Department’s reproductive health policies.
The president wrapped up his five-day European trip in Helsinki after showcasing Finland’s NATO membership, which Western nations see as standing for a reinvigorated and expanding alliance in the face of Russian aggression.
Biden and Nordic leaders came together yesterday to cap off a critical European trip for a summit that carried heavy symbolism both at home and abroad about the president’s vision of America’s role in the world.
A divided House voted to overturn a Pentagon policy guaranteeing abortion access to service members regardless of where they are stationed and to bar health services for transgender military personnel, imperiling passage of the annual defense bill.
The top three Democrats in the House announced late last night that they will vote against the annual defense bill, signaling that a large chunk of the Democratic Caucus will oppose the must-pass legislation when it comes to the floor for a final vote today.
A super PAC aligned with former President Donald Trump paid Melania Trump $155,000 in late 2021, an unusual payment that was not visible in the group’s initial federal reports and came to light only in a filing by the ex-president.
The filing showed that Make America Great Again, Again made the payment in December 2021 for a speaking engagement. The timing of the payment aligns with that of a fundraiser the former president held at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Trump himself earned more than $12 million in speaking fees and at least $13 million from overseas golf and resort ventures since leaving office, according to updated disclosures that offer new details on the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner’s financial picture.
An Iowa state senator who’d previously endorsed Trump is flipping his support toRon DeSantis just days after the former president attacked Iowa’s popular Republican governor, Kim Reynolds.
DeSantis’ presidential campaign is encountering enough turbulence that aides felt compelled to send out a “confidential” memo aimed at quieting concerns among donors.
Federal prosecutors investigating Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election have questioned multiple witnesses — including Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner — about whether Trump privately acknowledged in the days after the vote that he had lost.
Federal prosecutors asked the judge overseeing Trump’s classified documents case to reject a motion by Trump’s lawyers to have his trial indefinitely postponed, a move that could serve to delay the proceeding until after the 2024 election.
The FTC has opened an investigation into OpenAI, the artificial intelligence start-up that makes ChatGPT, over whether the chatbot has harmed consumers through its collection of data and its publication of false information on individuals.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing a bill to create a commission with authority to declassify government documents about U.F.O.s and extraterrestrial matters, to force the government to share all that it knows about unidentified phenomena.
About 160,000 television and movie actors went on strike at midnight, joining screenwriters who walked off the job in May and setting off Hollywood’s first industrywide shutdown in 63 years.
The leaders of the union, SAG-AFTRA, approved a strike yesterday, hours after contract talks with a group of studios broke down. Actors will be on the picket line starting today.
Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan told the crowd at the film’s London premiere yesterday that the cast of his film had left and are “off to write their picket signs” as SAG-AFTRA prepares to go on strike.
Fran Drescher, who became a household name for her role on a 1990s sitcom, is now president of the union going on strike.
The Food and Drug Administration approved a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription for the first time in the United States, a milestone that could significantly expand access to contraception.
The medication, called Opill, will become the most effective birth control method available over the counter — more effective at preventing pregnancy than condoms, spermicides and other nonprescription methods.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s attempts to circumvent the state legislature by using an executive order to revive a generous tax incentive for developers that expired last summer has not been well received among lawmakers.
Last month, New York lawmakers approved one of the nation’s toughest bans on non-compete agreements. While it awaits Hochul’s signature, finance industry lobbying groups and other business associations have gone to work pushing for exceptions.
A New York court ordered new congressional maps be redrawn ahead of the 2024 midterms, siding with Democrats who want the chance to overturn several embarrassing losses last November.
The appellate court reversed a lower court and ordered the state’s redistricting commission to start work on new proposed state congressional lines impacting 26 House seats. Republicans vowed to take the politically charged case to New York’s highest court.
That looming decision will potentially reshape the political calculus in the congressional elections in New York, which has emerged as one of the country’s top battlegrounds.
Republicans won narrow control of the House last year as the party picked up or held a handful of key seats in New York. But this time, the court is a little different.
Inflation for the third year in a row will result in allowing local governments across New York to raise their property tax levies by the maximum amount of 2%, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office announced.
Forest rangers in the state Police Benevolent Association who traveled to Nova Scotia and Quebec to assist in this summer’s record-breaking Canadian wildfires want state lawmakers to take action next year to ensure the state will be better prepared.
Mayor Eric Adams suffered a stinging political setback as the City Council overrode his veto of a package of bills vastly expanding access to a rental assistance program benefiting low-income New Yorkers.
The override passed by a vote of 42 to 8, after which most members of the City Council cheered and loudly applauded.
For the first time since the Bloomberg years, the council voted to override a mayoral veto. Council members said a package of bills expanding access to housing vouchers is a crucial step in addressing the housing crisis.
Adams has reportedly pledged to correct his annual financial disclosure form filed with the Conflicts of Interest Board, after failing to report his cryptocurrency holdings.
Even though the question on the form specifically mentions crypto, Adams spokesman Fabien Levy said that the mayor didn’t list off his Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings on the disclosure because he thought he only needed to report securities, not currencies.
Adams — like most of his recent predecessors — hovers around a 50 percent approval rating. It’s hard to govern when only half the city is on your side.
Many New Yorkers weren’t impressed with Bill de Blasio as mayor. But the way he’s handling his separation from his wife, Chirlane McCray? “Inspiring.”
Madison Square Garden is slated to receive the phone records of a State Liquor Authority investigator whom it accused of “colluding” with lawyers banned from the arena.
Just one day after New York police officers raided two Empire Cannabis Club locations—seizing edibles, flowers, and vapes—the questionably legal marijuana dispensaries reopened for business.
A New Rochelle police officer shot Jarrell Garris, 37, after he was accused of eating some grapes and a banana without paying, his family’s lawyer said. The police said he tried to grab an officer’s gun.
Albany’s sprawling Catholic hospital network is taking heat from the local diocese over its decision to close Burdett Birth Center at Samaritan Hospital in Troy.
The woman-owned provider of Schenectady-based Casa Visco has unveiled its new limited-edition products: Feminist Fra Diavolo and My Body, My Choice Homestyle Pasta Sauce. All proceeds from the sales will go to Planned Parenthood of Greater New York.
The former president and CEO of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce pleaded guilty to grand larceny for stealing money from the organization when he led it.
As part of the 50th anniversary of the champion thoroughbred racehorse Secretariat, a new statue of the famous horse was unveiled at the opening day of the Saratoga Race Course.
Construction on the Albany County Rail Trail Bridge in Slingerlands was stopped immediately after the bridge buckled underneath the crew.
A World Health Organization agency declared that aspartame, an artificial sweetener widely used in diet drinks and low-sugar foods, could possibly cause cancer.
Gabby Douglas, 27, who in 2012 became the first Black woman to win the highest individual Olympic gymnastics competition and drew attention to the abuse perpetrated within the sport, announced on Instagram that she’s returning to competitive gymnastics.
