Good Tuesday morning. Astronomical spring has officially sprung!
The vernal equinox is upon us. (Well, it will be at 11:06 a.m. EDT). This is when the Earth’s equator is aligned directly with the sun. Another way of saying it: At this time – the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the, and as a result, ALL latitudes experience a nearly equal amount of both daylight and darkness.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the days will be getting progressively longer as we head toward the Summer Solstice, (the longest day of the year in our neck of the woods), which will occur on Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 4:50 p.m. Meanwhile, our friends in the Southern Hemisphere will start heading in the other direction – shorter days, longer nights, and cooler weather. (Sorry, not sorry).
Historically, the vernal equinox has been celebrated as a symbol for rebirth, fertility and new beginnings. Japan has made this an official holiday called Shunbun no Hi, which usually occurs on the 20th or 21st of March, though the calendar fluctuates annually.
Japanese workers have the day off and they usually take advantage of the freedom to visit local parks, where cherry blossoms (sakura) are in bloom.
It’s also traditional to visit the graves of one’s ancestors and make sure things are cleaned up and looking spiffy. Traditional foods to consume on this day include colorful versions of mochi – a cake made from sweet, glutinous rice – some filled with bean paste, others plain.
Today is also the first day of the 13-day holiday Norwuz, which is also colloquially known as Persian New Year. (Norwuz translates to “new day” and is believed to have its roots in Zoroastrianism, which predates both Christianity and Islam. It is celebrated by a wide variety of religious groups and ethnicities in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan, and here in the U.S.
There are a wide variety of activities related to the observation of Norwuz, ranging from open-air festivals and sporting events to singing, dancing, and, of course, eating – in this case a number of symbolic foods that all begin with the letter “s”.
These foods are displayed on a ceremonial table known as a Haft-seen or Haft-sin, along with other items such as a mirror (symbolizing reflection); colored eggs, (for fertility); and a bowl of live goldfish (representing life).
It is also traditional – as it is in many cultures, secular and religious alike – to give one’s home a thorough spring cleaning.
Other spring equinox celebrations take place around the world, including at the pre-Hispanic sites of Teotihuacán, Chichén Itzá and Malinalco, in Mexico. Some believe that cosmic energy portals open around this time at these ancient locations, though historically they have been more closely associated with the observance of solstices as opposed to equinoxes.
In terms of the weather, well, you might have to use your imagination a little bit to get fully into the spring groove. We’ll have cloudy skies today with temperatures in the low 40s.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an Israeli military operation in Rafah would deepen anarchy in Gaza and they agreed that teams from each side would meet in Washington to discuss it, the White House said.
“Our position is that Hamas should not be allowed a safe haven in Rafah or anywhere else, but a major ground operation there would be a mistake,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a briefing where he outlined the leaders’ conversation.
Sullivan said that Netanyahu, at Biden’s request, would be sending a delegation to Washington to try to work out what he called “an alternative approach.”
The call was the first known interaction by Biden and Netanyahu in more than a month as a rift deepens between the two men over the war in Gaza.
The acute food shortage in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip has become so severe that “famine is imminent” and the enclave is on the verge of a “major acceleration of deaths and malnutrition,” a report from a global authority on food security and nutrition said.
Biden signed an executive order aimed at advancing the study of women’s health by strengthening data collection and providing better funding opportunities for biomedical research while chiding Republicans for having “no clue about the power of women”.
The president also announced more than 20 new actions and commitments by federal agencies, including $200 million for research at the National Institutes of Health.
The Biden administration introduced a plan to enhance the transparency of college costs and the provision of financial aid, aiming to curtail unexpected fees and streamline the financial aid process for students and their families.
The initiative mandates colleges and universities to disclose detailed cost information to prospective students before enrollment and financial aid acceptance.
Biden’s campaign released a new ad centered on former President Donald Trump’s “bloodbath” remarks from a campaign rally over the weekend.
Biden campaign officials said that they see “multiple paths” to President Joe Biden winning reelection, targeting a handful of swing states — and even trying to grab states he lost to Trump in 2020.
Trump can’t find an insurance company to underwrite his bond to cover the massive judgment against him in the New York attorney general’s civil fraud case, his lawyers told a New York appeals court.
The filing asks a panel of five Manhattan appeals court judges to let Trump avoid having to post a bond while he challenges a judge’s verdict that he, the Trump Organization and other defendants committed business fraud.
Trump’s lawyers say they’ve approached 30 companies through four brokers and none will accept his real estate holdings as a guarantee on the bond for $454 million and argue the judgment is unconstitutionally high.
Trump raised the question of whether former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson will be prosecuted for her now-disputed testimony about the former president’s actions towards his driver on Jan. 6, 2021.
The legal argument that worked for Trump failed to deliver for one of his supporters as the Supreme Court turned away a New Mexico man who was kicked out of local office over his role in the events of Jan. 6.
Trump accused Jews who vote for Democrats of hating their religion and Israel, reviving and escalating a claim he made as president that Jewish Democrats were disloyal.
Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News, arguing that the anchor George Stephanopoulos had harmed his reputation by saying multiple times on-air that Trump had been found liable for raping the writer E. Jean Carroll.
A New York judge ruled that prosecutors can introduce a variety of damaging evidence in Trump’s coming criminal trial, including references to the infamous “Access Hollywood” recording in which he boasts about groping women.
Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz plans to vote for Trump, saying his assessment that Biden’s “mental condition is really scary” outweighed his concern over the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Former President Obama dropped by No. 10 Downing Street for an “informal” meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minster Rishi Sunak yesterday, Downing Street officials confirmed.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. supported Republican-backed lawsuits against the White House over social media censorship, claiming Biden also attempted to censor his social media posts.
A majority of the Supreme Court seemed wary of a bid by two Republican-led states to limit the Biden administration’s interactions with social media companies, with several justices questioning the states’ legal theories and factual assertions.
Most of the justices appeared convinced that government officials should be able to try to persuade private companies, whether news organizations or tech platforms, not to publish information so long as the requests are not backed by coercive threats.
Supreme Court justices appeared receptive to NRA claims that a former New York state official violated its free-speech rights by pressuring banks and insurance companies to blacklist the group after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The dispute, which began after a gunman opened fire in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., was one of two cases that centered on when government advocacy crosses a line to violate the Constitution’s protection of free speech.
Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered a review of the way New York State licenses cannabis businesses after calling the sluggish rollout of legal cannabis a “disaster.”
The governor tapped OGS Commissioner Jeanette Moy to conduct the analysis, saying Moy would embed with the Office of Cannabis Management for at least a month and carry out a “top-down review” focused on hastening permitting.
The assessment was also announced days after a top official at the cannabis agency was put on administrative leave following a New York Cannabis Insider report that alleged the agency had selectively enforced rules to punish a marijuana processor.
Hochul launched a statewide effort to protect New Yorkers ahead of the Total Solar Eclipse on Monday, April 8.
New York lawmakers must renegotiate the tax foreclosure process – as local municipalities face the loss of a multimillion-dollar cash stream.
Debate over the cost of higher education for New Yorkers is ratcheting up as budget negotiations intensify at the Capitol this month.
State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has reportedly been dating a lobbyist, and it’s all the talk in Albany — but he is refusing to comment on her and scoffs at the notion of a conflict of interest, insisting that “my life will never be in conflict with my job.”
Some state senators want to stop New York pols such as ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo from using any more taxpayer dollars for legal fees when facing lawsuits from their time in office.
Hochul recently announced that three New York City properties have been recommended for historic recognition, highlighting their unique contributions to the city and state’s architectural and cultural heritage.
Mayor Eric Adams’ sexual assault accuser detailed in new court papers allegations of how he sought a sexual favor from her when he was cop in 1993 in exchange for helping her in her career.
Lorna Beach-Mathura claimed she asked Adams for help when he led the Transit Bureau NYPD Guardians Association, which fights for the rights of Black employees, since she’d been passed over for promotion as a Black woman in the NYPD.
“Defendant Adams preyed on her perceived vulnerability, demanding a quid pro quo sexual favor and sexually assaulting Plaintiff, revealing himself not to be the ‘Guardian’ he purported to be, but a predator,” charges the Manhattan Supreme Court suit.
Adams gave the woman a ride home from work and then demanded oral sex, the suit claims. When she declined, he masturbated in front of her, it continued.
Adams is again denying the allegations, with his city attorney calling them “outrageous.”
“While we review the complaint, the mayor fully denies these outrageous allegations and the events described here,” New York City counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix said in a statement. “We expect full vindication in court.”
A Chinese business titan pleaded guilty to federal charges that he made more than $10,000 in straw donor contributions to political candidates — including, a person familiar with the case said, to a New York congressman and Adams.
One of Adams’ top budget officials assured lawmakers that the administration’s proposed budget cuts to CUNY wouldn’t severely affect its academic programing. But officials within the university system discredited these claims.
A settlement agreement between the city and Legal Aid establishes new rules for migrant adults who have arrived in the U.S. since March 2022. Several advocates, including the earliest architect of the right to shelter, said that’s a troubling concession.
New York City will put 180 new electric school buses on its roads thanks to a multimillion dollar federal grant, Adams announced.
From public safety to schools, New Yorkers across all five boroughs feel that their city’s quality of life has worsened in recent years, according to a survey.
New York City’s education department is “fighting like heck” to save pre-K, 3K and other popular programs from budget cuts as officials scramble to make up for tens of millions in dried-up federal COVID funds, Schools Chancellor David Banks said.
A new 170-unit residential community is being proposed on North Street in Delmar. It would include both condominiums and apartments.
The City of Albany has about half the money it will need to level two derelict apartment towers in the South End.
A military plane carrying the remains of two New York Army National Guard pilots killed in a March 8 helicopter crash near the Mexican border landed yesterday afternoon at Albany International Airport.
Accompanied by Roberto Mandje, New York Road Runners’ senior adviser for running engagement and coaching, rapper Lil Nas X was among more than 27,000 finishers of the NYC half marathon, completing the race in 2 hours 32 minutes 53 seconds.
The legendary rapper, best known for his lyricism and storytelling, will star in “An Evening with Nas” on July 19 at the Palace Theatre in Albany.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
