FRIDAY, yes. Good morning.
Around this time of year, thoughts often turn to things for which we’re thankful and counting our blessings. We gather friends and family around us and shut down (ostensibly) our phones to try to have some real quality face time with the people we care about.
There are a lot of things I take for granted and really should spend more time appreciating. A nice home. A loving husband. Three amazing fur babies. The fact that I live in a country that (more or less) values personal and bodily autonomy. The Bill of Rights.
Yes, you read that right. The Bill of Rights is a VERY important document, the underpinning – in fact – of so many of the freedoms we too often take for granted – its addition also helped convince some fence sitters to get off the stick and ratify the Constitution.
According to the National Archives: “The Constitution might never have been ratified if the framers had not promised to add a Bill of Rights. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution gave citizens more confidence in the new government and contain many of today’s Americans’ most valued freedoms.”
The Bill of Rights, in case you’re fuzzy on your middle school Social Studies curriculum and require a refresher, make up the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and were added to (among other things) guarantee specific personal rights and freedoms and make clear that all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government would fall to the states and/or the people.
The Bill of Rights was ratified on this day in 1791, largely thanks to the efforts of Rep. James Madison, who went on to become the country’s 4th president. He took it upon himself to study the deficiencies of the Constitution, which had been rather vehemently pointed out to be lacking by the Anti-Federalists, which resulted in his drafting of corrective proposals.
Madison’s congressional colleagues reportedly weren’t terribly keen on prioritizing constitutional amendments. But he was insistent. The whole process of passage by both houses and ratification by the states took about three years, and whittled 17 original changes down to the 10 we have today.
The civil rights and liberties guaranteed to the individual in the Bill of Rights are the fundamental elements that get cited all the time by advocates of all stripes – including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
The Bill of Rights also sets rules for due process of law, when someone is denied “life, liberty or property” (5th Amendment), which is further bolstered in the 14th Amendment.
Happy Bill of Rights Day, all. Celebrating by exercising those liberties and freedoms, or perhaps just by familiarizing yourself with the document in question.
It’s going to be unusually and unseasonably warm today – pushing 50 degrees, if the forecast is accurate – with lots of sun. Get outside if you can; it will be a good day for soaking up as much Vitamin D as possible.
Saturday and Sunday will be in the mid-to-high 40s, which I am happy to take. It should be clear for most of the weekend, though some light rain will likely fall later in the day on Sunday.
In the headlines…
Biden administration officials want Israel to end its large-scale ground and air campaign in the Gaza Strip within weeks and to transition to a more targeted phase in its war against Hamas, American officials said.
Diplomatic rifts are deepening as a new US intelligence assessment shows that nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions used by Israel in Gaza have been unguided so-called “dumb bombs.”
While the number, equating to thousands of devastating strikes, is shocking, Israel hasn’t exactly hidden its use of the controversial weapons.
The body of a 28-year-old Israeli man who was kidnapped by Hamas militants during its Oct. 7 terror attack was recovered by Israeli soldiers in Gaza, Israeli authorities announced early this morning.
Israel has canceled a planned trip to Qatar by the head of its foreign intelligence service to restart talks on a possible second hostage release deal.
The Bronx Defenders is one of the most influential public defense organizations in the United States. But allegations of antisemitism have dogged it and have grown louder since Oct. 7.
Hundreds of thousands of older Americans could pay less for some of their outpatient drug treatments beginning early next year, the Biden administration announced.
The White House unveiled a list of 48 drugs — from chemotherapy treatments to growth hormones used to treat endocrine disorders — whose prices increased faster than the rate of inflation this year.
“For years, there’s been no check on how high or how fast big pharma can raise drug prices,” Biden said at an NIH lab. “Let’s call this for what it is – it simply is a rip off. They’re ripping off Medicare. They’re ripping off the American people. We’re now fighting back.”
The House overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill, clearing the measure for Biden after overcoming the far right over the exclusion of restrictions sought to abortion access, transgender care, and racial diversity and inclusion policies at the Pentagon.
In exchange for approving more Ukraine aid, congressional Republicans want Democrats to agree to dramatically limit the options migrants have to claim asylum from the US and to ramp up detention and deportation of migrants. Biden is seriously considering it.
Hungary blocked the EU from approving a financial aid package for Ukraine, though E.U. leaders agreed to officially open accession negotiations for Ukraine to join the bloc, an important breakthrough for Kyiv as it tries to bolster support from its allies.
Biden will travel to Milwaukee next Wednesday to discuss his economic policy plans and highlight recent small business growth both in Wisconsin and around the country as the 2024 presidential race kicks into full swing.
Nassau County and Queens Republicans nominated first-year Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip as their candidate to run in the Feb. 13 special election to replace ousted GOP Rep. George Santos.
The party’s choice comes after an intensive vetting process by local leaders determined to redeem themselves after supporting Santos, the ousted congressman indicted on criminal fraud charges.
It was a bold gamble by the Long Island GOP, better known for nominating older, white establishment figures. They believe Pilip, 44, a mother of seven, could become a breakout star, particularly as Israel’s war with Hamas is reordering American politics.
A New York appeals court rejected former President Donald Trump’s challenge to a gag order and $15,000 in fines in a high-stakes civil fraud case that threatens an estimated $250 million in damages and Trump’s ability to do business in the state.
The court also determined that the “extraordinary remedy” requested by Trump’s lawyers did not match the minimal potential harm from barring statements about Judge Arthur Engoron’s staff.
Trump appears to be out of options to appeal the limited gag orders in his civil fraud trial, with his own lawyer describing his options as “procedural purgatory.”
Trump is “not a conservative”, the former Republican House speaker Paul Ryan said, but “a populist, authoritarian narcissist”.
“Trump’s not a conservative,” Ryan said. “He’s a populist, authoritarian narcissist. So, historically speaking, all of his tendencies are basically where narcissism takes him, which is whatever makes him popular, make him feel good at any given moment.”
New York has become the second U.S. state to protect their residents’ credit scores from being tarnished by unpaid medical bills.
“Medical debt is such a vicious cycle. It truly hits low-income earners, but it forces them to stay low-income earners because they can’t never get out from under it,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at the bill- signing ceremony in New York City.
Three New York state lawmakers and a crew of advocates rallied yesterday in support of legislation to ensure free legal counsel for immigrants who are detained or at risk of deportation.
Several Republican members of the state Assembly are on a surprise trip to meet with Chinese Communist Party officials.
State AG Letitia James, along with 19 other attorneys general, urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to rule that the Fearless Foundation can continue operating to provide grants, mentorship and assistance to women of color entrepreneurs.
A congressional subcommittee probing New York’s handling of the pandemic – and the deaths of more than 15,000 nursing home residents — is continuing its efforts to interview former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top officials who served in his administration.
A state-of-the-art software system will direct snowplows for a city that hasn’t had plowable snow for nearly two years, said Mayor Eric Adams.
The new system, BladeRunner 2.0, is replacing what Adams and his sanitation commissioner, Jessica Tisch, described as an outdated department database launched in 2015.
Longtime Adams allies are lining up to help raise money for his legal defense fund, which he launched amid the ongoing probe into his 2021 political campaign.
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Adams projected unity this week, when he signed her housing bill into law, but they could soon be at odds over his more ambitious City of Yes plan.
The political left is ready to pounce on the moderate mayor, emboldened by a new poll that reveals Adams’ weaknesses.
Cuomo doubled down on his claims that the state was at a “tipping point.”
A momentary power outage caused lights to flicker across parts of New York City late last night, the authorities said, followed by what witnesses described as an explosion and rising smoke at an electrical substation in Brooklyn.
The local district attorney’s office said that it had opened an investigation into the stunning Bronx building collapse that displaced more than 100 people, though it remained unclear what caused the structural failure.
A former New York City police officer was indicted in federal court in Brooklyn on charges of coercing a boy to engage in sex and soliciting explicit sexual conversations and nude photographs from boys.
Police shot and killed a man in Manhattan’s Chinatown yesterday after a two and a half hour standoff that ended when he fired at officers who had entered his apartment, NYPD officials said.
The Daily News and six other news organizations are calling on the NYPD to stop plans to remove reporters from their longstanding offices inside Police Headquarters and relegate them to an outside trailer.
A federal judge held the New York City Department of Correction in contempt of court after she learned that jails officials had put detainees accused of fire-setting in a specialized unit without sprinklers in cells, and failed to inform a federal monitor about it.
A former FBI spy chief was sentenced to over four years in federal prison for abusing the skills and influence he gained in one of the most preeminent espionage jobs in the country to go to bat for a sanctioned oligarch with close ties to Russian President Putin.
A Texas Longhorn was spotted running across New Jersey Transit train tracks in Newark yesterday morning, causing delays of up to 45 minutes for commuters heading into the Big Apple.
The Otsego County Sheriff’s Office has named the person killed in Saturday’s house explosion at 18 Richards Ave. while also pointing to a possible cause for the blast — “human error.”
Saratoga County residents can expect a decrease in their county property taxes in the coming year.
Darrow School, a private boarding school in Columbia County, could close due to aging buildings and lack of tuition.
Warren County sheriff’s deputies are looking for two suspects they believe kidnapped a Maltese-Shih Tzu puppy mix from the Pet Zone at the Aviation Mall.
A 28-year-old Schenectady man who allegedly fired two shotgun blasts outside the Temple Israel synagogue while an early childhood center was in session appeared in U.S. District Court to face new federal charges yesterday.
RIP Matthew Peter, the county legislator who represented the Fifth District in the city. He died suddenly yesterday at the age of 38.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
