Good morning, it’s Friday.
You’re probably well aware (unless you live under a rock) that it’s Groundhog Day – the day a series of small, furry beasts compete for the title of “chief weather-rodent” by predicting the length of winter based on whether or not they see their shadow.
Not a highly scientific practice – I imagine the hype and coverage drives professional meteorologists a little nutty – but it’s a longstanding one.
For the record, the groundhog (AKA Marmota Monax), is one of 14 species of marmots (Marmota), and is more or less a giant North American ground squirrel. They’re also colloquially known as “woodchucks”, “beavers”, “whistlers” and even “whistle pigs.” There are a LOT of them around – as many as 1.3 per acre in certain parts of North America.
In terms of aspiring groundhog forecasters, well, there are a lot of those, too. (Sadly, the beloved Massachusetts groundhog, Ms. G, is under the weather this year, and won’t be predicting the weather). The most famous of the bunch is probably Punxsutawney Phil, of Punxsutawney, PA. Some version of Phil has been engaging in this weird weather prediction tradition since the late 1880s.
Groundhogs reportedly can live up to 14 years in captivity, but average between two and three years in the wild. But according to local lore, Phil sips a magic “elixir of life” every summer, which buys him another 7 years. So, officially speaking, there has only ever been ONE Punxsutawney Phil.
The town, which is kind of in the middle of nowhere but has it’s own airport, makes a very big deal out of Groundhog Day and its festivities have been known to attract a crowd of many thousands.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the story about the groundhog named Staten Island Chuck that bit former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg? Or the groundhog named Charlotte that squirmed out of the grip of Bloomberg’s successor, Bill de Blasio, and later died?
You can’t really blame the groundhogs for their bad behavior. I mean, they are the ones being rudely awakened from hibernation for some silly political photo op. And groundhogs are among the world’s few true hibernators, curling into tight and seemingly lifeless balls, with their body temperature dropping, their heat rate and breathing slowing.
They go about 150 days without eating, which would make me damn ornery, too.
Interestingly, Groundhog Day is loosely linked to another holiday that falls on Feb. 2, the Christian tradition of Candlemas, which is a festival that falls midway between the winter solstice and spring equinox, during which during clergy members would bless and distribute the candles necessary to make it through the remainder of the cold, dark season.
Candlemas was born of a Celtic festival that marked the midpoint of the winter season known as “cross-quarter day.” The Christian Church appropriated it, as it did with so many pagan/Celtic etc. traditions, and turned it into a commemoration of the purification of the Virgin Mary and her presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple.
Different countries looked to a variety of different animals – bears, badgers etc. – for a sign of how long the winter would last, but when immigrants come to the New World and were unable to find much other than groundhogs, which were (as noted above) quite abundant, a new tradition was born.
We’re in for clouds in the morning and sunshine in the afternoon, with temperatures unseasonably warm (around 40 degrees or so).
The weekend is shaping up to be not too bad (which to me means no snow or ice or rain or hail in the forecast). Saturday will be partly cloudy in the mid-30s, while Sunday will be sunny and in the mid-to-high 30s.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden issued an executive order targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been attacking Palestinians, amid fast-growing frustration in Washington at Israel’s trajectory in the midst of its war in Gaza.
The order initially imposes financial sanctions and visa bans against four individuals, and US officials said they were evaluating whether to punish others involved in attacks that have intensified during the Israel-Hamas war.
The sanctions will initially be imposed on four Israelis, who will be cut off from the U.S. financial system and from accessing any American assets or property.
The order came as Biden is under growing pressure, including from Democrats, to be tougher on Israel as critics say its military campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is a disproportionate reaction to the Hamas attack of Oct. 7.
Biden, whose approval rating has suffered amid high inflation, is beginning to pressure large grocery chains to slash food prices for American consumers, accusing the stores of reaping excess profits and ripping off shoppers.
Biden looked to capitalize on last week’s high-profile endorsement from the United Auto Workers, heading to Michigan to meet with members of the union as he battles Donald Trump for their votes.
Biden won a strong pledge of support from union autoworkers crucial to his re-election bid in Michigan, while yet more protests over his backing of Israel’s actions in Gaza put pressure on the trip.
A judge in London threw out a lawsuit by Trump that accused a former British spy of making “shocking and scandalous claims” that were false and harmed his reputation.
A verdict in the New York civil business fraud trial of Trump — which had been anticipated Wednesday — is now expected to arrive in early to mid-February, a court spokesman said.
Allen H. Weisselberg, a longtime lieutenant to Trump, is negotiating a deal with Manhattan prosecutors that would require him to plead guilty to perjury, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The gender gap is growing between supporters of Biden and Donald Trump, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is trailing Trump in a new poll in the Palmetto State as the pair are set to compete in Haley’s home state’s Republican presidential primary later this month.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would set up a test vote next week on a measure pairing an immigration crackdown with tens of billions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine and Israel, but the package is facing a rough road with Republicans.
“Our southern border is in urgent need, in urgent need, of fixing,” Schumer said in a floor speech.
Schumer said he expects to schedule the first vote on proceeding to the controversial package for Wednesday, giving senators a chance to pass it before the two-week Presidents Day recess.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III appeared in the Pentagon briefing room to take questions from reporters for the first time in more than a year, beginning what is expected to be a protracted period of explaining why hid his prostate cancer and surgery.
“It was a gut punch,” Austin, 70, told reporters in his first appearance before the media since he was rushed on Jan. 1 to Walter Reed National Military Hospital “Frankly, my first instinct was to keep it private.”
Democrat Tom Suozzi is focusing on the crisis at the southern border in an unusual effort to outflank Republican Mazi Melesa Pilip in their Feb. 13 special election battle for the Long Island congressional seat previously held by disgraced ex-Rep. George Santos.
Suozzi admitted “left-wing” progressives were hurting his party as he fights to win back his former House seat in a special election this month.
The House Rules Committee approved a bill led by New York Republicans yesterday that would increase the state and local tax (SALT) deductions cap, setting up a potential floor vote on the measure next week.
Gov. Kathy Hochul launched the first open gangway train into service yesterday morning amid the ongoing battle over congestion pricing.
Hochul said that the reported migrants who were recorded on video assaulting two police officers over the weekend in Times Square should be deported.
“Get them all and send them back,” Hochul told reporters during an unrelated press conference announcing the rollout of new open-gangway subway cars. “You don’t touch our police officers. You don’t touch anyone,” she said.
Legislation that would codify the conditional cannabis licensing program, which prioritizes applicants with prior drug convictions, is gaining traction and allegedly has support from Hochul’s administration, according New York Cannabis Retail Association members.
A marketing company will pay nearly $20 million into New York’s opioid settlement fund, the latest in a series of payouts state Attorney General Letitia James and attorneys general in other states have secured in legal settlements related to the opioid crisis.
State Police Superintendent Steven G. James cleared out most top positions on his first day in the job, removing multiple colonels and deputy superintendents from key roles in one of the agency’s biggest one-day leadership shakeups on record.
State Sen. Neil Breslin, an Albany-area Democrat, won’t seek re-election this fall and is retiring at the end of his term. Assemblywoman Pat Fahy has received the Albany County Democratic Committee’s endorsement as his successor.
An uptown Manhattan community board district is set to become the first in the city where trash containerization will be universally mandated under a plan rolled out by Mayor Eric Adams.
Adams unveiled a prototype of a new side-loading garbage truck that will be used to lift large trash containers in an effort to get bags off the streets.
Adams unveiled a new “super weapon” aimed at eliminating mountains of black garbage bags that clog city streets — an automated side-loading garbage truck designed to pick up large stationary on-street trash containers.
Manhattan Councilman Shaun Abreu was told not to attend the press conference where Adams unveiled the new trash collection program for his district after he refused to help City Hall disrupt the Council’s override of the mayor’s “How Many Stops” bill veto.
Schools Chancellor David Banks went hat in hand to Albany yesterday to beg lawmakers for additional cash to help the city comply with the new state-enforced class size mandate.
Adams’ administration has signed another series of emergency hotel deals — with a total $137 million price tag — to house the thousands of migrants heading to NYC each week.
The first evictions of migrant families with children under City Hall’s 60-day shelter policy began on Jan. 9. Since then, about 1,600 families have been forced to leave their shelters, while another 7,200 received 60-day notices that will expire in the weeks to come.
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli estimated the MTA needs $43 billion to fund repairs and upgrades over 20 years starting in 2025, according to a new report released by his office, detailing the agency’s aging infrastructure and procurement issues.
There are 100 subway stations citywide where fare evasion summonses were concentrated. They represent only about a quarter of all stations, but they account for almost 70% of fare evasion tickets.
It has taken a full decade to conceive, but a $10 billion transformation of New York City’s dreary main bus terminal may get rolling in the next few months.
A Manhattan jury found an Upper East Side woman guilty of funding terrorism after she used cryptocurrency to send financial support to several groups operating in Syria.
Hoping to counter last summer’s historic shortage, New York City is again bumping pay for lifeguards under a new deal struck by the city Parks Department and the city’s largest municipal employees union, District Council 37.
The temporary Albany County Rail Trail bridge over New Scotland Road will likely end up becoming the permanent one.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
