Good Thursday morning.
After the lengths I went through yesterday to get everyone good and prepared about the federal emergency alert test that was to take place at 2:20 p.m., you would have thought I myself would not have been surprised when a shrill alarm shattered the peaceful workday silence that normally pervades my dining room/office.
Nope. I was so startled that I jumped off my chair. It took a solid minute for my heart to stop pounding out of my chest.
So much for the best-laid plans and all that.
It looks like we’re in for one more day of fabulous weather reminiscent of summer. Temperatures will be in the low 80s today and then will start to fall through the 70s and unto the 50s (brrrr!) over the weekend. And there’s rain in the forecast, to boot. Boo hiss.
Even though I was lulled into a false sense of security that somehow we might actually dodge another winter, I have long known it was truly fall – not by the arrival of apples and Halloween decorations and pumpkin spice everything – but by the shift in attendance at the gym.
Over the summer, I was often wait-listed for classes at my preferred workout times – 7:10 a.m. or 8:20 a.m. – which work for me because I’m able to get some early morning emails and writing done, have a cup of coffee, and then head out to get my sweat on when I’m good and awake. These days, I rarely have a problem getting into my time slot of choice.
And you know why that is? The teachers are back to work.
It is now almost impossible to get into the 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. classes, because teachers have abandoned their summer schedules and are back to being in the classroom at zero-dark-thirty, as my military friends like to say.
Though I am an early bird myself, I do not envy them this schedule.
The off-all-summer thing, along with winter and spring vacations, is a nice perk, but teachers give up a lot in return for that. They are woefully underpaid compared to other, non-teaching college-educated workers, according to data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute. And that situation has steadily grown worse over time.
These findings have been backed up by the U.S. Census, which says that though teachers are among the nation’s most educated workers, they still earn a lot less on average than most other highly educated workers and their earnings have declined since 2010.
This pay gap, which hit its widest level since the 1960s last year, according to EPI, is made up for somewhat – but not entirely – by the pensions and other benefits teachers enjoy. This, coupled with pandemic-era burnout, might account for the shortage of teachers that many states across the country – including New York – are currently experiencing.
According to the Hochul administration, New York is facing a steep teacher retirement cliff that was exacerbated by the Covid crisis, and will require some 180,000 new teachers over the next decade to meet workforce needs.
Today is World Teachers Day, which gives us an opportunity to take a moment to appreciate the teachers in our lives and recognize their significant and ongoing contributions to society. This day was chosen because it is the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
A nice note of thanks, I’m sure, would go a long way for any teacher you know. And also, it’s apple season! But I’m sure a Starbucks or Dunkin’ gift card wouldn’t be sneezed at, either.
Since we already dispensed with the weather up top, let’s get to it.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden announced that he approved $9 billion in student loan forgiveness for 125,000 Americans.
The relief is a result of his administration’s fixes to a number of programs, including the income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The announcement comes as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and Biden tries to fulfill his campaign promises on debt relief as he runs for reelection.
Biden said he is worried that disarray in Congress could undermine his promise to give Ukraine what it needs for its fight against Russia — concerns that come as the Pentagon warns that military aid in Ukraine is rapidly running out
Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, Biden said that he’s planning to give a major speech on the issue and suggested there may be “another means” to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues to balk.
“I’m going to make the argument that it’s overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed,” Biden said.
The Biden administration announced it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction, marking the administration’s first use of a sweeping executive power employed often during the Trump presidency.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani filed a defamation lawsuit against Biden for calling him a “Russian pawn” during a presidential debate nearly three years ago.
The lawsuit alleges that at two points during the debate, Biden falsely accused Giuliani of being a “Russian pawn,” and dismissed Giuliani’s criticisms of his son Hunter’s laptop, claiming that the ex-mayor believed “a bunch of garbage.”
Giuliani announced the lawsuit at a rambling news conference outside a courthouse in New Hampshire, where he filed to take advantage of the state’s defamation laws.
Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty this week to three federal firearms charges filed after his earlier deal imploded, setting the case on a track toward a possible trial in 2024 while his father is campaigning for reelection.
Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden’s 2-year-old German shepherd, Commander, has reportedly been involved in more biting incidents than previously reported at the White House.
While the US Secret Service has acknowledged 11 reported biting incidents involving its personnel, sources who spoke to CNN said the real number is higher and includes executive residence staff and other White House workers.
First Lady Biden’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Alexander, confirmed that Commander “is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated.”
Alexander did not say where the dog was sent. The 2-year-old German shepherd was last seen Saturday on an upper balcony of the White House.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan both jumped into the race to become the next House speaker, setting up a fight to replace Kevin McCarthy after his historic ouster.
In a letter to his fellow GOP colleagues asking for their support, Scalise notes “now is not the time to slow down,” as Congress is racing to pass appropriation bills to fund the government.
But a wild-card candidate floated by two House members was Donald Trump, the former and would-be president who faces four criminal indictments and several pending major civil lawsuits.
While Trump, 77, has already been deemed the preferred speaker choice for at least two House Republicans, a little-known House GOP rule restricting those with felony indictments from serving in the role could make him ineligible for the post.
Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, has also been making calls expressing interest in the post. There are other names in the mix. including North Carolina Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, who is serving as the interim speaker.
Skittish investors have dumped stocks and bonds on fears that chaos in the Republican Party will cause a government shutdown next month and all but squash the fleeting hopes of a soft-landing economic recovery heading into an election year.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got into a Twitter spat with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler over the divisive fight involving McCarthy.
Former Rep. Mondaire Jones, who is trying to reclaim his former House seat from Lawler, is under fire for a social media post about the GOP congressman and McCarthy that some have called antisemitic.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer again attacked House Republican infighting, saying that the move to oust McCarthy is proof that GOP lawmakers should not have relied on the “hard MAGA right” for their majority.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell praised McCarthy and urged whoever replaces him in the leadership role to get rid of the motion to vacate – the procedural tool that GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz used to force a vote to oust the former speaker.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called on House Republicans to expel Gaetz, saying in a scathing Washington Post op-ed that the Florida congressman is engaging in “childish behavior” and “has become actively destructive to the conservative movement.”
Trump appealed a court ruling that found he committed fraud and ordered his New York business certificates be stripped.
A day after his words landed him in hot water in his New York fraud case, Trump doubled down by brazenly ridiculing the presiding judge and the state attorney general in fierce tirades — and then he left town.
In what the unions said is the largest health care strike in U.S. history, more than 75,000 employees of Kaiser Permanente have walked off the job across multiple states.
Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers took to picket lines, launching a massive strike that the company warned could cause delays at its hospitals and clinics that serve nearly 13 million Americans.
Over 75,000 workers — including nurses, emergency department technicians, pharmacists and hundreds of others — went on strike in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that hundreds of additional cannabis licenses will be available to people and businesses interested in growing and selling legal marijuana. The application period started yesterday and will remain open for two months.
Hochul also said the results of the aggressive enforcement against the illegal sales of cannabis state-wide resulted in more than 8,500 pounds of marijuana being seized with a street value of more than $42 million after 246 inspections.
“We expect to be tens of thousands of individuals – the growers, the distributors, opportunities for retail – so they’ll be able to apply starting today. There will be a process where individuals will be put into a lottery and they’ll be selected that way,” Hochul said.
In preparation of Sunday’s early morning kick-off for the Bills-Jaguars game in London, Hochul directed the SLA to extend the deadline to apply for a special Sunday liquor permit to Friday, waiving the normally required 15-day advance notice.
Hochul joined striking autoworkers on the picket line at the Chrysler Parts Depot in Rockland County.
A group of farm owners escalated their concerns that the state’s enforcement of new union standards for laborers violate their constitutional rights and threaten the livelihood of the agricultural industry.
Mayor Eric Adams touched down in Mexico’s capital city yesterday evening for the first leg of his four-day tour in Latin America, where he will try to dissuade migrants from coming to the Big Apple.
A day after the Adams administration proposed criteria for suspending the city’s right-to-shelter provisions, one of his top advisers suggested the operational strategy around the change would involve policies already in place to manage the migrant crisis.
Nearly two years into his tenure, Mayor Eric Adams hasn’t hired anyone for the “extreme weather coordinator” position his predecessor created a few months before leaving office, City Hall officials confirmed.
Janno Lieber, the head of the MTA, stands to personally benefit from a potential casino site in New York City, a revelation that has sparked concerns about a potential conflict of interest.
Transit officials in New York released a list of the system’s most pressing needs that ranks contending with climate change among the top priorities for the subway and bus network, which was paralyzed last week by a torrential storm.
The cost of several new city transit projects has ballooned to eye-popping heights, a report released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.
A New York City police officer who responded to a call reporting a distraught teenager repeatedly punched the boyfriend of the boy’s mother, a prosecutor from the Manhattan district attorney’s office said at the officer’s arraignment.
The FDNY held an emotional street naming ceremony in Queens honoring Capt. Alison Russo, a beloved medic who was murdered in a random stabbing attack outside her stationhouse just over a year ago.
More city public school students scored proficient in state tests in math and reading in the spring than previously, though the Adams administration acknowledged it’s not an apple-to-apples comparison, because the state recently changed its standards.
Nearly a third of shootings last year occurred on just 3% of the city’s streets, NYPD officials announced.
Bill de Blasio is now officially a Manhattanite — and no, it isn’t so he can run for Congress.
Organizers of the 33rd Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade nearly canceled the event over permitting and funding issues. But now it’s back and will have a formal parade route instead of a gathering in the park for the first time on Oct. 21.
The actress Julia Ormond, known for “Legends of the Fall” and “Sabrina,” accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual battery in a lawsuit filed in a New York court, claiming that the former film producer forced her to give him oral sex during a business meeting in 1995.
A Montauk, N.Y., fisherman accused of vastly exceeding legal limits on how much fluke he could bring ashore was convicted on all charges in a federal court in Central Islip.
Four months after longtime CEO Alan Chartock retired, WAMC’s interim leadership is facing an internal crisis over the decision to end the salaries of a handful of commentators paid to appear on the public broadcaster’s morning radio show.
Colonie police have made a series of arrests in the past week at a Wolf Road hotel where more than 100 migrants have been staying since May.
The CEO of War Horse, a prominent Saratoga Springs nonprofit for veterans, who has posted signs outside her home threatening to shoot trespassers, is now suing her neighbors for $600,000 over claims of antisemitism.
Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen is leaving her position after more than eight years with the county. She plans to sit for a board examination in lifestyle medicine. Her last day with the county is Oct. 26.
The former St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church bell rang one final time yesterday before it was lowered from the bell tower to be cleaned and eventually displayed as part of the City of Watervliet’s promotion of its history as a world center for bell-casting.
New Hampshire man accused of stalking a Schuylerville woman by using his small plane made an initial appearance in court yesterday in Bennington.
