Good Thursday morning.
We MIGHT, maybe, possibly, get a break from the rain today – if only for a few hours – which would be a very good time to get in some outdoor dining, if you haven’t already been indulging in that time-honored summer tradition already.
Really, we have such a short window of warm weather here in the Northeast (though perhaps that window is widening, due to climate change), you need to maximize your experience of it by soaking in every possible moment of sunlight and outdoor time.
Scattered thunderstorms will be developing throughout the afternoon, and temperatures will be in the mid-to-high 80s. (More on this in a moment).
I read this as an invitation to have coffee al fresco, at the very least, and maybe lunch on the deck or under a nice tree somewhere. But NOT if there’s a chance of lightning, though, just to be clear). Be smart and safe when you’re selecting a spot for your fresh air dining experience.
You will notice that I have made it several paragraphs into this post about eating out-of-doors without utilizing the word “picnic.” This is by design, though July IS National Picnic Month, officially speaking.
While doing the usual diving down rabbit holes to research this post, I discovered something I had not heretofore known: The “word” picnic has racist overtones due to its connection to lynchings and is on a number of “do not use” lists.
To be clear the origin of “picnic” dates back considerably further than this dark period in U.S. history. In fact, it derives from the 17th Century French term “picque-nique” which is un repas pris dans la nature, in other words: A meal taken outdoors.
However, lynchings during the Jim Crow era were often social gatherings, at which participants shared food, laughed, and celebrated, and using the term “lynching picnic” to describe these events was not unheard of.
The question of whether “picnic” is truly a racially insensitive word that should be retired has been debated on and off for some time now. Many have chosen to err on the side of caution – including UAlbany, which reportedly chose in 2000 not to call an event honoring Jackie Robinson a picnic and also dropped the word “outing” when LGBTQ students objected.
Though most agree that the etymology of the word isn’t problematic, people still continue to be offended by it and urge the use of alternatives such as “cookout”.
I’m not entirely sure where I stand on this one. I did avoid using the word earlier, but that was to make a point. None of this, I should stress, dampens my love of eating outdoors – preferably in a bug-free environment, and also preferably with a view.
That storm situation I mentioned above? It could be very powerful, which would be a significant problem after all the rain/flooding we’ve had. A flash flood warning has been issued for portions of New York and southern Vermont including Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties from this afternoon through late tonight as severe thunderstorms move through the region.
“The threat is damaging wind gusts and large hail and we can’t rule out the possibility of a tornado,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Ingrid Amberger. “It’s on the table, and we will be watching for the indicators.”
Hail and tornados. Not exactly outdoor dinning weather. Be alert and be careful.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden capped a three-day visit to Lithuania for the NATO summit by vowing that the U.S. and its allies would maintain a united front with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.
His speech seemed to be preparing Americans and his NATO allies for a confrontation that could go on for years, putting it the context of momentous conflicts of the past.
Biden said that “the people of Ukraine remain unbroken” and proclaimed that the defense of freedom is “the calling of our lifetime” in a sweeping speech to close out a NATO summit that exposed tensions about Ukraine’s hopes to join the alliance.
“We are steeled for the struggle ahead,” the president added. Of Ukraine’s partners, he said, “Our unity will not falter, I promise you.”
The NATO summit’s final communiqué, with its ambiguous diplomatic language, does not disguise some serious strains among alliance members in the bitter fight over how to describe Ukraine’s path toward NATO membership.
A group of right-wing House Republicans pushing to load up the annual defense bill with socially conservative policies on abortion, race and gender have another demand: severe restrictions on U.S. military support for Ukraine.
Biden celebrated new data that showed inflation cooling more quickly than expected.
The Consumer Price Index climbed far more slowly in June, a relief for shoppers and a hopeful — though inconclusive — sign that America might pull off a “soft landing.”
Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman or person of color to serve as vice president, made history again yesterday as she matched the record for most tie-breaking votes in the U.S. Senate.
Chinese hackers penetrated the email accounts of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other State and Commerce Department officials in the weeks before Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken traveled to Beijing in June, U.S. officials said.
Republicans bombarded FBI Director Christopher Wray with criticisms about his role in the Trump documents investigation, efforts to address extremist violence and the bureau’s surveillance practices during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Both New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Tim Scott have reached over 40,000 donors for their respective campaigns – the minimum number of donors deemed necessary in order to qualify for the first GOP presidential debate next month.
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to testify in a congressional hearing next Thursday on the federal government’s role in censorship across the nation.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would not be Trump’s running mate if given the opportunity to join him on the ticket, because he’s “not a No 2. guy.”
In a courthouse in Florida, federal prosecutors are trying to put Donald Trump in jail. But in Washington, D.C., a different wing of the Justice Department is trying to shield him from being forced to testify under oath in a long-running lawsuit.
New York officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James, warned consumers this week of potential scams and price gouging in the wake of floods that have devastated parts of the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes.
Hochul said she has “no doubt” the cost from this week’s extreme flooding damage across the Hudson Valley and other parts of the state will reach over $35 million.
Hochul took steps to protect New Yorkers against hate crimes this week, allocating $51 million of state funds into safety and security, and also signed a bill from a number of Queens electeds into law.
After losing several congressional seats outside of New York City in 2022, Democrats are looking to reverse their fortunes, launching a statewide coordinated campaign to get everyone in the famously fractious party working together to win.
A yeshiva reform group demanded that state education officials follow up on what it believes was a lax city investigation of whether seven ultra-Orthodox schools provide students with basic education in subjects like reading and math.
More than 60% of New Yorkers are worried they’re destined to become a victim of a crime and have taken steps to better protect themselves — including purchasing a gun, according to a new Siena poll.
Seventeen percent of city residents questioned in the poll admitted that they’ve bought a firearm in the last year to protect themselves.
The poll revealed 41% of New York residents have “never” been as concerned about their personal safety as they are now – while 87% responded that crime is a very or somewhat serious problem in New York State and New York City.
Mayor Eric Adams used a new TV interview to downplay a recent poll revealing New Yorkers are still terrified about crime — and blamed the media for the latest numbers.
As if Mayor Adams didn’t have enough problems with people evaluating his administration’s work, the New York City Council is taking out its own red marker to annotate his recent housing voucher op-ed.
Adams’ administration made the “difficult choice” to end a free Manhattan bus shuttle for newly-arrived migrants due to a lack of resources and a shift in the way asylum seekers are entering New York, a top City Hall official said.
NYPD Inspector Howard Redmond, who headed former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s security detail, has been suspended amid an obstruction probe by Manhattan prosecutors, records show.
At a New York City Council hearing, municipal agency heads were grilled about what they knew and when they acted during the wildfire smoke crisis that swept the metro area in early June.
New York City Council members and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams criticized the city’s response to several days of hazardous air quality in June, suggesting that the city should have communicated earlier and more widely the risks of being outside.
Adams and other officials have repeatedly said that New York had never faced anything like the smoke conditions, and that they did their best to respond to a threat they could never have anticipated.
“It was the appropriate response based on the science and we trust the science,” Emergency Management commissioner Zach Iscol told the lawmakers. “I’m telling you that based on the forecasting abilities, we did everything that we should have done.”
New York City officials are set to propose indoor air quality regulations, legislation that has been in the works for nearly a year but found new urgency after heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires shrouded the skies along the East Coast.
Planned renovations at 15 public housing playgrounds are “paused” due to lack of city funds, records reveal — despite a mayoral campaign pledge from Adams to prioritize those repairs.
The city has finished work to upgrade sewers in Gowanus, Brooklyn that are designed to reduce flooding in the low-lying neighborhood, officials announced.
Fewer migrants are being bused to New York City from Southern states, and more are coming from elsewhere in the country, according to Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom.
New York City’s public housing agency now needs more than $78 billion to repair or renovate aging kitchens, leaky pipes, faulty elevators and other problems over the next 20 years, officials revealed. That number has grown more than 70 percent since 2017.
The housing authority’s own analysis blames the 73% spike on rising construction expenses, accelerating deterioration and new initiatives to abate lead and asbestos.
A new law requiring smaller classes at New York City public schools could cost nearly $2 billion a year when fully implemented, according to a new analysis from the IBO, underscoring the challenge the city will face in meeting the mandate.
Two construction workers were seriously hurt when a gas tank exploded at a 37-story landmark office building in Midtown early yesterday, city officials said.
While the city may be on the cusp of regaining jobs lost in the pandemic, numbers show the retail sector is still coming up short.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler has reportedly been banned from Wikipedia after repeatedly editing his own profile and even adding himself to his alma mater’s list of distinguished alumni.
State Sen. John Mannion, a two-term Democrat, plans to seek his party’s nomination for Congress in a bid to unseat Rep. Brandon Williams in the 2024 election.
The freshman Westchester lawmaker made dozens of tweaks to his own profile in 2021, a year before he won an upset victory over Democratic powerbroker and ex-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.
GlobalFoundries announced that its newly-hired chief financial officer, Tim Stone, will not be taking the job as expected. Current CFO David Reeder will remain on the job until the end of the year.
Construction to replace the rail trail bridge over New Scotland Road was stopped yesterday after the structure buckled, according to Albany County officials.
The Troy Pig Out barbecue competition and festival, a staple of summer celebrations in the city, will return Sunday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began three years ago.
Common Council President Corey Ellis called for a new approach to addressing quality-of-life issues businesses and residents face in the City of Albany at a news conference.
When racing fans get to Saratoga, they will notice a major difference at the admission gates. Instead of a $7 admission charge for the grandstand and $10 for the clubhouse, the new everywhere admission charge will be $10, giving patrons access to both.
The city and Albany County are each putting in $250,000 to redo one of the fields The College of Saint Rose uses at the Christian Plumeri Sports Complex at Hoffman Park.
Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, has asked the F.D.A. to investigate a popular beverage created by the YouTube influencers Logan Paul and KSI over its high caffeine content.
“Succession,” HBO’s operatic saga about a media dynasty and a two-time best drama winner, scored 27 Emmy nominations for its farewell season yesterday morning, the biggest haul of any series.
Here’s the full list of nominees.
