Good morning, it’s Friday and you made it through (almost) another workweek. Kudos!
It’s a twofer today, really just because I couldn’t decide between two equally worthy (in my eyes, anyway) topics.
First up: A warm-up for Independence Day. If you’re feeling a little un-patriotic these days, I certainly do understand. There’s a lot going on that is demoralizing for even the staunchest fan of small-d democracy. Politics just keeps getting more and more base and vitriolic, and the electoral choices are, shall we generously say, underwhelming – at best.
Still, it’s worth remembering that this country is pretty great, on the balance. We have a lot of freedom, a strong economy (comparatively speaking), no war on our shores, a functioning legal system. Also, puppies, kittens, and ice cream. Truly, we are blessed.
Today is Flag Day, commemorates June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress agreed on the composition of the emblem that would represent the new nation, writing: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation making June 14 Flag Day. Apparently, however, its observance dates back a lot longer than that – all the way back to the late 1880s, thanks to a young teacher in an unincorporated Wisconsin village called Waubeka, which to this day considers itself the birthplace of Flag Day.
Interesting New York-centric aside: In 1897, the governor (Republican Frank Swett Black) ordered that the flag be displayed over all public buildings statewide, which is believed by some to be the first observance of the anniversary of the flag’s adoption outside of the schools.
Three decades after Wilson’s proclamation, President Harry S. Truman made Flag Day official, enshrining its observance into law. Flag Day, by the way, falls during Flag Week, June 6-15.
In its early years, the American flag went through a lot of iterations as the new country continued to add states to its roster. Today’s 50-star flag came into being in 1960, and on July 4, 2006, it became the longest version of the flag in use.
BTW: I’m not sure who adheres to all of these, but there are a LOT of best practices when it comes to handling, displaying, showing respect for, storing, and disposing of the American flag.
I know I said there were two worthy topics today, and though this post is starting to get a little long in the tooth, I don’t want to give short shrift to the fact that it’s Word Blood Donor Day, which, as per the UN “serves to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.”
This past January, the Red Cross announced that the fewest people in 20 years were giving blood, leading to an emergency shortage.
Over the past two decades, the number of people willing to tap a vein in the interest of helping others has dropped by 40 percent. Some of that is a post-pandemic hangover, with fewer organizations hosting in-person blood drives. Eligibility changes have also played a role.
Closer to home, just this month the New York Blood Center declared a blood emergency due – again – to a precipitous drop in donations just before and after Memorial Day. Summer is not a good time for blood banks, since donations go down due to vacations, travel etc., and demand goes up due to a seasonal rise in traumatic accidents.
If things slow down for you in the summer, you might consider taking an hour or so and seeking out an opportunity to donate blood. Even for the needle-phobic among us (ahem, like me), giving blood really isn’t all that taxing, AND you get cookies at the end – or juice, or crackers, or what have you.
Giving blood is an indoor activity, and today would be as good a time as any to engage in this sort of thing, since thunderstorms are in the forecast, starting in the late morning and lasting through the afternoon – potentially accompanies by gusty winds and small hail. Temperatures will be in the high 70s.
The weekend is looking pretty good, though, with temperatures sticking more or less in that window, with sunny skies on Saturday and mostly sunny skies on Sunday.
In the headlines…
The United States and Ukraine signed a bilateral security pact on the sidelines of the G7 in Italy, laying out a path for the US’ long-term security relationship with Kyiv that still could also be undone by future US administrations.
Zelensky said Thursday that the bilateral security pact that Ukraine and the United States signed will serve as a bridge to Kyiv’s attempt to join NATO.
“Collectively, this is a powerful set of actions, and it will create a stronger foundation for Ukraine’s success,” Biden said during a news conference alongside his counterpart from Kyiv, who wore his usual army green uniform.
Biden and his counterparts from the wealthiest democratic nations also reached a deal to give Ukraine a $50 billion loan this year backed by frozen Russian assets, signaling a determined commitment to beat back Russia’s invasion, U.S. officials said.
In a meeting with House Republicans, former President Donald Trump implied that Taylor Swift had endorsed Biden.
Trump made a rare appearance in Washington to lay out his second-term agenda to Republican lawmakers as he continues to stress party unity in the wake of his historic felony conviction and a month from becoming the party’s official nominee.
The meeting was behind closed doors. Multiple sources said the former president praised House Speaker Mike Johnson as doing a “good job.” Trump also criticized the Department of Justice as “dirty bastards” as he aired grievances about his legal challenges.
Trump said his vice president pick was “probably” in the room with him while meeting with House and Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill, adding intrigue to the long-anticipated decision.
Politico’s Playbook newsletter recounts that the GOP presidential contender was overheard “dropping frequent F-bombs” in his call with Johnson on May 30 as he told the speaker: “We have to overturn this.”
Trump is preparing for a scenario in which he will be unable to attend the Republican National Convention, a decision influenced in part by the possibility that he could be sentenced to home confinement after his historic conviction late last month.
Former Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a vocal Republican critic of Trump who’s aiming to flip a Democrat-held Senate seat in his blue state, apparently has the support of the former president.
Trump reportedly told a group of America’s most powerful chief executives on Thursday that he intended to cut the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 21 percent.
Legislation that could have ended a years-long freeze on pay raises for lawmakers was changed to uphold the pause as it passed out of committee yesterday.
The House Appropriations Committee sent the annual spending bill to fund the legislative branch to the floor for consideration with a 33-24 vote.
The U.S. Supreme Court maintained access to a widely available abortion pill, rejecting a bid from a group of anti-abortion organizations and doctors to unravel the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the pill.
In a unanimous decision, written by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, the court held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the F.D.A.’s actions.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called on the Court to reconsider a 1977 precedent that has allowed advocacy groups, trade associations and other organizations to routinely bring court challenges to government policies on behalf of their members.
The Supreme Court has denied an attempt to trademark the phrase “Trump too small” for T-shirts, in a case that didn’t directly involve the former president but rather was a dispute between the person who wanted the trademark and the federal government.
The decision was unanimous but fractured in rationale, with several justices objecting to the majority’s use of a history-based test.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Starbucks in a challenge against a labor ruling by a federal judge, making it more difficult for a key federal agency to intervene when a company is accused of illegally suppressing labor organizing.
U.S. Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would codify the right to access fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization, in the latest election-year bid by Democrats to spotlight G.O.P. opposition to protecting reproductive freedoms.
With her prosecution of Trump bottled up in a state appeals court fight, the Georgia district attorney who brought the case pushed back at her conservative critics, appearing to single out recent remarks made about her Trump’s co-defendant Rudy Giuliani.
A federal magistrate judge has ruled in favor of the state AG and found that sovereign immunity shields that office from having to turn over files to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo from the investigation that found he sexually harassed multiple women.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she is considering a ban on face masks in the New York City subway system due to concerns about people shielding their identities while committing antisemitic acts, and has discussed the matter with Mayor Eric Adams.
Hochul told reporters the exact details of the policy are not clear but it would contain “common-sense exemptions” for health, cultural or religious reasons. Many people concerned about COVID-19 and air pollution routinely wear masks on the subway.
The state’s anti-masking law was first enacted in the 19th Century to prevent people from wearing masks — like members of the Ku Klux Klan — and not terrorize private citizens. The policy was repealed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adams is working with law enforcement and officials in Albany to answer many open-ended questions about banning masks at protests while still trying to respect health risks and constitutional rights
Hochul thinks congestion pricing would cost Manhattan drivers too much dough. During a news conference, Hochul claimed pizzerias would pass along the cost of the tolls to hungry New Yorkers in search of a cheap bite.
Congestion pricing was the latest ambitious proposal that couldn’t navigate New York’s rocky political terrain. It’s a tall order to achieve substantial change in the city.
Members of the state’s stretch limousine safety task force say they are hoping the Assembly and Hochul will get behind a last-ditch effort to extend the task force’s operations through 2025.
State Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs’ reelection campaign recently sent out mailers to residents in his Harlem district touting support from several prominent New York politicians — even though they haven’t endorsed him.
Adams announced the appointment of Ronald Porcelli as the director of the NYC Unity Project — a citywide program focused on LGBTQ youth — and shifted oversight of the city’s Family Acceptance of LGBTQ+ Youth Services to the Unity Project.
In her signature red dress, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar has become one of Adams’ most dedicated and reliable allies. Now, she hopes to capitalize on that support as she’s mulling a run for city comptroller.
A group of unlicensed New York City smoke shop owners claim the Adams administration’s crackdown on illegal cannabis sellers is unconstitutional, according to a new federal lawsuit.
DocGo — the controversial COVID testing-turned-migrant-shelter firm — quietly nabbed a nearly $41 million no-bid contract with the Adams administration to run a massive asylum seeker site in Queens.
More than 250 former juvenile detainees have filed lawsuits against New York City — including 100 people just this week — alleging sexual abuse as children by staff and other detainees at four past and present detention centers.
An MTA bus driver and union official retired this spring amid an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General into allegations of overtime abuse.
A suspect has been arrested for hurling a rock that hit a pro-Israeli protester in the face outside Columbia University in April as two other activists ripped an Israeli flag from the victim’s grasp and set it on fire, cops said.
New York City’s child care centers say it’s increasingly difficult to hire and retain workers because they make thousands of dollars less than their counterparts employed by the city’s public schools, who often work fewer hours.
The number of people sleeping on New York City streets this year ticked up slightly but remained largely flat compared to 2023, according to new official figures released yesterday. Street homelessness is still at its highest level in at least 15 years.
An annual count by the city found more than 4,100 people sleeping on streets and in subways. It was the most since the city began keeping track nearly two decades ago.
New York City’s first big heat wave of the year is expected to arrive next week — the start of what climate experts believe will be a historically hot summer.
Nearly 100 illegal scooters were seized from Queens streets and sidewalks in the latest clampdown on menacing mopeds, authorities said.
Idina Menzel will return to Broadway early next year in a new musical called “Redwood,” about a grieving woman who seeks healing among ancient trees.
The Capital Region’s newest Chick-fil-A restaurant will be “coming soon” to the site of the old Armory Garage auto dealership on Central Avenue, according to a sign posted at the location.
Unionized nurses at Ellis Medicine have voted to ratify a new labor contract with management, according to the NYSNA, which represented the approximately 600 people employed at Ellis Hospital, Bellevue Woman’s Center and a facility in Clifton Park.
With lower-than-expected ridership this year following an attenuated schedule last year, one of two shuttle buses established in recent years to serve hikers entering the Adirondack High Peaks is in danger of being discontinued.
Col. Edward Ryan, 85, came out as gay in his viral obituary. Fearing ostracism during careers in military, fire department and in retirement, he felt he couldn’t be open until after death but can “forever rest in peace”.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
