Good Wednesday morning. The middle of the week is upon us.
Despite by oft-professed love for eating and drinking outside, I have never really been big on grilling. It’s not that I have anything against it, per se, but rather than I’m not terribly good at it.
All the food I ever tried to grill either ended up burned to a crisp or slightly underdone. I don’t love the taste of smoke, either, so there’s that as well.
Turns out that my aversion is good for my health. Grilling – specifically the compounds created when proteins char and/or and smoke is created when fat drips onto whatever heat source you’re using and burns – can potentially cause cancer.
There are things you can do to minimize the development of these possible carcinogens (heterocyclic aromatic amine (HAA) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). That includes avoiding glazes with a high sugar content that are more likely to burn, not pressing down on your proteins (and thereby forgoing those sexy grill marks), and cooking at a low-to-moderate temperature.
Or, you could skip the grilling thing altogether – because really, who wants to smell like smoke all night? – and go straight to the air fryer or the broiler, which, in my humble opinion, give you a much better outcome anyway, especially when it comes to hot dogs and sausages.
Yeah, it’s true. I am not a hamburger girl. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I just greatly prefer hot dogs. I have a special soft spot for Hebrew National and other kosher brands. I also like sausage of all varieties – chicken, beef, pork, (I don’t keep kosher, FWIW, just like kosher meat), shrimp, etc.
And yes, mustard AND ketchup. And relish. And meat sauce. Give me all the condiments, please – but hold the onions.
I am in the minority, statistically speaking, because Americans eat more hamburgers per year than hot dogs (14 billion to 9 billion) and the former is considered more quintessentially culturally American than the latter. The average U.S. resident consumes 70 hot dogs a year. (I am definitely below average, despite my preference for dogs over burgers).
Nutritionally speaking, though neither could be formally qualified as health food, hamburgers are slightly “better” for you than hot dogs, which have fewer calories but also less protein per serving more sodium.
Today is National Hot Dog Day, which should not be confused with independent hot dog celebrations held in various communities across the nation – including right here in New York in the Village of Alfred. (If you have some time to go down the rabbit hole and have always been curious why hot dogs are sold in 10-packs, while buns typically come eight to a pack, click here).
Also, might you be willing to spend $29 for a hot dog? If so, you’re in luck! Click here. (Note: I am intrigued by this – especially the elevated condiments tray; if you’re game to try this and happen to be in NYC anytime soon, hit me up).
If you are into the grilling thing, today would be a good day to get your fire on. It will be mostly sunny, with temperatures in the mid-80s. Downright balmy.
In the headlines…
Michigan’s attorney general yesterday criminally charged 16 so-called “fake electors” for former President Donald Trump, accusing them of a fraudulent effort to reverse Biden’s victory in the state’s 2020 election.
Among those facing felony charges was Meshawn Maddock, a Trump ally and a former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party.
Trump is facing a possible second federal indictment after receiving a so-called target letter from the special counsel, Jack Smith, in connection with the criminal investigation into his efforts to hold onto power after he lost the 2020 election.
Hours before Trump was scheduled to appear in a primetime interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Biden’s campaign lambasted the former president for sitting for “softball townhalls.”
Trump railed against a Justice Department investigation into his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election hours after he said he was a target of the probe.
Biden announced that his reelection campaign headquarters will be based in Wilmington, opting for the hometown that kickstarted his political career over the city of Philadelphia that helped him clinch the 2020 election.
“My family’s values, my eternal optimism and my unwavering belief in the American middle class as our nation’s backbone comes from my home – from Delaware. That’s why there is no better place for our reelection campaign to have its headquarters.”
Biden met with President Isaac Herzog of Israel yesterday at the White House, a diplomatic overture to one of America’s key allies amid tensions between the Biden administration and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister.
Netanyahu must stop the judicial reform legislation and build a broad consensus, Biden told the New York Times‘s Thomas Friedman in a “clear and direct message to the prime minister.”
Biden said that Israel’s leaders need to instead strive to achieve a broad consensus with opposition parties on the issue, reportedly warning that the “special relationship” between the two countries could sustain irreparable damage.
A super PAC supporting Sen. Tim Scott’s presidential campaign is reserving $40 million in TV and digital advertising from the fall through January, the largest sum booked so far for any presidential candidate and a blitz of ads that could reshape the GOP field.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with his poll numbers sagging and his opponents circling, defended his struggling campaign, saying that he had been “taking fire nonstop” but was putting together the political operation he needed to win the early nominating states.
Across North America, Europe and Asia, hundreds of millions of people endured blistering conditions. The U.S. special envoy for climate change called it “a threat to all of humankind.”
Phoenix broke a 49-year-old record yesterday with the city’s 19th consecutive day of temperatures 110 degrees (43.3 Celsius) or higher, part of a punishing heat wave that spanned much of the Northern Hemisphere.
The record-breaking temperatures are being driven by emissions of heat-trapping gases, mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels and by the return of El Niño, a cyclical weather pattern.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a series of executive actions to promote residential real estate development and ease the housing crisis, in a bid to salvage some of her housing ambitions after negotiations over a broader agreement imploded earlier this year.
New York’s housing crisis isn’t going away, and I’m committed to doing everything in my power to make New York more affordable and livable for all,” Hochul said.
The governor launched a program allowing certain multifamily developments in Gowanus to receive tax breaks akin to 421a, which expired last June.
“It is not just a shortage, it is a crisis. That is one of the number one reasons people leave this state,” Hochul said at a news conference in Gowanus. “Doing nothing is not an option anymore.”
The governor’s executive orders will also move communities that agree to build more housing to the front of the line when applying for grants from Albany to help finance projects like downtown redevelopments and transit improvements.
The state Cannabis Control Board is poised to pass a measure today that would temporarily allow marijuana industry stakeholders to sell stockpiled crops at venues such as fairs, festivals, concerts and other events.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli painted a bleak fiscal future for New York in a sobering report released yesterday, estimating a jaw-dropping deficit of $36.4 billion by 2027.
A day after the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan called for New York City’s jails to be taken over by an outside authority, the judge who would make the decision expressed strong disapproval of the city’s management of its lockups.
Mayor Eric Adams declared himself to be the “best person” to turn around the city’s troubled Department of Correction — not even 24 hours after Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor Damian Williams called for a federal takeover of the jails on Rikers Island.
A day after he was formally named NYPD commissioner, Edward Caban joined Adams at Police Headquarters to announce the department’s new deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism.
Rebecca Weiner, a 17-year NYPD veteran, was sworn in as deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism — becoming the first woman to serve in the role on the department’s executive team.
Adams’ latest $1.3 million fundraising haul got a boost from several real estate heavyweights — signaling continued support from an industry that’s enjoyed a friendly relationship with City Hall.
SL Green Realty chair Marc Holliday and founder Stephen Green — who stepped down from day-to-day operations several years ago — each contributed a maximum $2,100 to Adams’ reelection campaign.
Despite falling poll numbers and critical news coverage, Adams clearly has the continued monetary support of two influential spheres of influence: real estate leaders and the donor class from New York City and beyond.
Adams’ administration is promoting reparations in a bid to curb health and wealth disparities of black New Yorkers — but the effort is being met with accusations that it’s “sowing racial divisiveness.”
Adams is standing behind his deputy mayor of public safety, Phil Banks, who was recently named as a defendant in a lawsuit against the city alleging ageism.
Community members working and living near the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village have mixed responses to the Adams administration’s proposal to erect a sprawling tent facility to house asylum-seekers on the campus grounds.
New York’s ex-transit chief Pat Foye may have violated state ethics laws by leading a $12.5 billion bid to reconstruct and operate Penn Station, government watchdogs say.
The union that represents Staten Island Ferry workers and has sought a contract for 13 years said that a deal might finally be on the horizon.
You’ll need three more nickels to ride New York City’s subways and buses under a fare hike the MTA is expected to approve today. The new base fare of $2.90, expected to take effect Aug. 20, will be 15 cents higher than the current $2.75.
An MTA panel tasked with helping set tolls for New York City’s congestion pricing plan isn’t allowing public comment at its first meeting today — so a few dozen cabbies showed up at the agency’s headquarters yesterday with bullhorns in the rain.
A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in the back in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon, the police said, the latest in a disturbing rise in shootings involving young people in New York City, even as shootings in general have dropped.
Almost five years after plans were first announced for a statue honoring political trailblazer Shirley Chisholm at Prospect Park, city officials have approved a final design.
Stephanie Hill Wilchfort, who for the past eight years has served as president and chief executive of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, will be the next director and president of the Museum of the City of New York, the institution announced.
Manhattan investigators have seized $69 million worth of stolen artifacts bought over the years by a major Metropolitan Museum of Art trustee and art collector
The New York attorney general’s office will not seek charges in a fatal shooting involving a Hyde Park police officer and a local woman last year after finding that the officer’s use of deadly force was justified under state law.
The Super 8 motel on Carman Road abruptly kicked out guests from all of the rooms at the establishment yesterday to make room for asylum seekers, according to Rotterdam Town Board Member Joe Mastroianni.
On June 6, three-term Marbletown Supervisor Rich Parete and a 17-year-old high school senior got into a scuffle that ended with two broken bones in the minor’s hand and as yet undisclosed injuries for the elected official.
On June 6, three-term Marbletown Supervisor Rich Parete and a 17-year-old high school senior got into a scuffle that ended with two broken bones in the minor’s hand and as yet undisclosed injuries for the elected official.
The ViaPort Rotterdam Mall here may get an infusion of activity, and local competitive swimmers may have a venue to call their own as a local swim club is moving forward to build an Olympic-caliber pool inside the mall.
As tens of thousands of actors go into their fifth day of a strike versus the Hollywood studios, the two sides have shown no signs of returning to the bargaining table — and are even exchanging barbed messages that underscore how far apart they are.
