Good morning, it’s Friday, and no one could be happier about that fact than me.
This time of year, I tend to get every overwhelmed with work and spin my wheels in a million directions, accomplishing less than nothing – or so it feels. I really do welcome the arrival of the weekend.
Things have been a little heavy here of late, looking back on the past several posts – either extremely personal or very sobering or a connection of the two. So, in honor of the weekend, it’s time to lighten things up a bit, conceptually speaking, at least. Because the topic of today’s post is not, in practice, actually terribly light.
Happy National Donut Day!
I must confess before we get underway here that I originally wrote “doughnut” and then thought better of it. Donut just looks wrong to me, and, as it turns out, to most of the rest of the world, too.
Most dictionaries note that the former spelling, while acceptable is not widely recognized outside the US. If you want to be safe – especially if you’re writing in an official capacity – you can’t really go wrong using the latter. Unless, of course, you’re specifically referencing a company that prefers “donut”.
Not Dunkin’, of course, which dropped the whole donut/doughnut thing altogether in 2018. At the time, they deployed what I consider to be a rather brilliant message, saying the company wanted to be on a “first-name basis” with customers, but really because it is moving toward being more of a “beverage-lead” retailer.
But I digress.
I’m not a huge donut/doughnut fan, but I do find it hard to say “no” to a freshly made cider version when the weather turns cooler and leaves are on the ground. Otherwise, I consider them sugar-laden gut bombs that I can very easily pass up in favor of a bagel.
Where do doughnuts come from? Something more or less resembling a round cake-like object has been found at ancient sites, but the thing that most resembles the modern-day version of this delicacy appears to have originated with the Dutch.
As per usual, though, there are a lot of competing interests who would lay claim to the mantle of doughnut inventor, or at least say they had a hand in the process, including but not limited to Russian exiles, French bakers, Irving Berlin, Clark Gable and indigenous people.
Dutch settlers reportedly brought with to New Amsterdam (AKA today’s New York) them something aptly called “olykoek” (oily cake) when they arrived in New Amsterdam, which were often fruit-filled and fried, though without any holes in the middle. The ring-shaped version didn’t show up until much later, allegedly created by the mother of a New England ship captain, who ostensibly got the idea of hollowing out the center of the doughnut, which often tended to be undercooked – even raw.
Unrelated – but equally compelling – were the so-called “doughboys” – the nickname bestowed on members of General John Pershing’s American Expeditionary Forces, who crossed the Atlantic to spell the Allied armies fighting on the Western Front during WWI. (If you really want to go deep on that, click here or here – that second link will also educate you on the origin story behind the “doughnut dollies”, which I didn’t know existed until today).
In honor of National Donut/Doughnut Day there are freebies and/or deals to be had at a wide variety of purveyors, including but not limited to Dunkin’, Sheetz, Krispy Kreme, Duck Donuts and more.
Another not great day, weather-wise, is on tap, with gray skies and periods of showers throughout the day. Temperatures will be in the high 70s. This weekend will be on the cooler side – in the low 70s on both Saturday and Sunday – with clouds on the former and more potential for rain on the latter.
In the headlines…
World War II veterans in the winter of life, many of them using wheelchairs or supported by canes, returned alongside President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and other dignitaries to remember a bloody day that changed the world.
What the allies did here 80 years ago, far surpassed anything we could have done on our own,” Biden said in remarks at the 80th anniversary of D-Day commemoration. “Together, we won the war.”
Biden will meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in France this week at a tense moment in ties between the two governments as Kyiv has grown frustrated by the pace of military assistance and U.S. criticisms of Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts.
The president was adamant that U.S. weapons would not be used to strike Moscow or the Kremlin after he authorized Ukraine to use them in Russia.
Biden issued a fierce critique of Russian President Vladimir Putin while defending his decision give Ukraine permission to carry out limited strikes within Russia using US weapons.
The N.A.A.C.P., the oldest and largest civil rights group in the nation, called on Biden to “draw the red line” and halt weapons shipments to Israel over the mounting civilian death toll in its war in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, top Republicans announced.
Senate and House GOP leaders said in a statement that the speech would offer Mr. Netanyahu the opportunity to “share the Israeli government’s vision for defending their democracy, combating terror, and establishing just and lasting peace in the region.”
An Israeli airstrike in central Gaza early yesterday killed dozens of people at a U.N. school complex that had become a shelter for thousands of displaced Palestinians.
The US has told Israel it must be fully “transparent” over the air strike that reportedly killed at least 35 people.
The Biden administration has cautioned Israel in recent weeks against the notion of “a limited war” in Lebanon and warned it could push Iran to intervene, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official said.
Biden told ABC News in an interview that he will accept whatever a jury decides in his son Hunter Biden’s criminal trial and that he will not use his presidential power to pardon him if he’s convicted.
Asked if he would rule out a pardon for his son, who’s facing three federal gun-related charges, Biden answered simply, “Yes.” Asked if he would accept the outcome of the jury trial, a first for an offspring of a sitting president, he again replied, “Yes.”
Hunter Biden’s ex-girlfriend has testified that she “panicked” when she searched his car and found a gun – a moment that set off a chaotic string of events that has brought the president’s son to a federal courtroom.
Jill Biden, the first lady, left President Biden’s side in France yesterday to make the trans-Atlantic trip back to Delaware, where Hunter Biden is standing trial on gun charges. She is then scheduled to return to France for a state visit on Saturday.
Clear Choice, a group aligned with Biden, is challenging Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s New York ballot petition, saying his campaign lied about his New York residency.
Kennedy Jr. is using former President Trump’s guilty verdict in a New York hush-money trial to court voters on the fence about the former president’s conviction.
Kennedy Jr. narrowly helps Biden and hurts Trump’s chances at winning the White House in key battleground states, a survey released this week found.
In his first campaign event since he became the first American president to be convicted on felony charges, Trump yesterday tried to turn the focus on President Biden by likening his border policy to a criminal enterprise.
A former federal prosecutor says there is an “appreciable chance” Trump could be in prison until the end of his life if he loses the 2024 election, remarking on the number and scope of criminal prosecutions against him.
Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally, must report to prison by July 1 to serve his four-month sentence for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol insurrection, a federal judge ruled.
The Manhattan DA, Alvin Bragg, must present a sentencing recommendation to the judge following Trump’s conviction on criminal charges in his hush money trial. Bragg could face backlash whether he opts for leniency or for a harsh sentence.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has ascended into the highest ranks of the House Republican Conference, is among a list of finalists under consideration to become Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
A lot hangs in the balance on who Trump chooses: His running mate could help shape the future of the MAGA movement. And, the VP nominee could woo voters who lean moderate and are skeptical of Trump, along with other voting blocs he’s looking to tap into.
Twenty-four hours after Gov. Hochul tossed a hand grenade into the MTA’s capital budget by putting congestion pricing on an indefinite pause, there remained no clear plan to fund the agency’s large-scale projects.
State lawmakers in both the Assembly and the Senate told The NY Post they are considering a bill to give the MTA a glorified IOU, enough to cover the $1 billion of expected congestion pricing revenue for each of the next 15 years.
Four members of the MTA board have said that they disagree with Hochul’s decision to suspend congestion pricing, but the governor so far seems likely to get her way.
Hochul pushed a New York City tax hike to replace the $15 congestion pricing tolls she indefinitely postponed — a last-minute funding Hail Mary that drew fierce opposition. But lawmakers rejected it.
Environmental advocate Alex Matthiessen writes: “On an apparent impulse she may regret for the rest of her life, (Hochul) disgraced the office of the governor…and possibly torpedoed her political career, starting with her reelection bid in 2026.”
As recently as two weeks ago, Hochul told world leaders at the Global Economic Summit that investing in public transit like congestion pricing is “what cities are meant to do.”
Hochul is more of an outsider to New York City than most of her predecessors. Critics say that put her at a disadvantage in dealing with congestion pricing.
No state pursues workers for overpaid unemployment benefits as aggressively as New York. A proposed reform is colliding with New York’s own repayment problem.
For the third year in a row, lawmakers are sending a contentious bill to Hochul that would broaden New Yorkers’ ability to collect wrongful death damages when a family member dies.
Certain yeshiva advocates are again seeking to delay or roll back the way nonpublic school officials will have to prove — beginning a year from now — that they’re providing a “substantially equivalent” education or face the loss of taxpayer subsidies.
Hospitals in New York would have to provide more public notice and opportunities for community engagement when they’re looking to close, under a bill state lawmakers passed yesterday.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is launching new license plates based on the signs of the zodiac. Every Empire State driver under the stars can now choose one of 12 custom designs to express their interest in astrology.
A former federal prosecutor is urging New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate a foundation set up to protect the legacy of artist Helen Frankenthaler — but which is instead, allegedly, promoting the interests of its directors.
The State Liquor Authority chairwoman is expected to be confirmed for a full term by the state Senate.
The number of high-speed police chases across New York has surged since 2020, with car crashes and deaths increasing in tandem.
The New York City Council has passed a bill to expand its approval authority over high-level appointments in the mayoral administration — a measure that has prompted fierce pushback and political maneuvering from Mayor Eric Adams.
Rana Abbasova, the aide to Mayor Adams whose home was raided as part of a federal probe into his campaign’s ties to Turkey, flew to the Middle Eastern country for free in connection with her official government duties, official records show.
A slightly pared-back version of the Adams administration’s “City of Yes” plan to modernize “laughably” outdated zoning rules for businesses, easing how and where they can operate, was passed yesterday by a final 36-14 City Council vote.
The part of the plan the Council considered initially sought 18 zoning changes. Fourteen were revised by the Council, such as lawmakers eliminating a proposal to allow corner stores in all residential neighborhoods and a plan to protect industrial jobs.
A high ranking NYPD Internal Affairs official pressured an active duty lieutenant to withdraw his account of sexual harassment and retaliation by senior mayoral adviser Timothy Pearson, a new lawsuit alleges.
Queens Councilman Jim Gennaro accused Tiffany Raspberry, a top aide to Mayor Adams, of recently lying under oath, marking the latest escalation in an increasingly heated war of words between the two sides of City Hall.
The New York City Department of Education will soon send letters to parents of schoolchildren advising them on how to safely store firearms, Adams and Rep. Dan Goldman said.
The NYPD is banning beards just four years after it decided to allow them. The rule, which follows a recent crackdown on sloppily-dressed cops, does not apply to undercover officers or to those who have been granted religious or medical exemptions.
Rex Heuermann, who was arrested last summer and has been accused of murdering four women in the Gilgo Beach serial killings on Long Island, was indicted yesterday on murder charges in the deaths of two more women.
The Nassau County County legislature intends to pass a law to reinstate a ban on transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports at county-owned athletic facilities.
The influential Working Families Party is pulling its funding and ground support for Democrat Mondaire Jones after he threw his fellow Democrat Jamaal Bowman under the political bus this week by endorsing his opponent in a tough Congressional primary.
The passport of Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector who in recent years has been a high-profile defender of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has been revoked by the U.S. Department of State.
University at Albany freshman Alexa Kropf, who suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck by someone riding a dirt bike in April, is “making progress but there is still a long road ahead” according to a statement shared by her father, Jim Kropf.
The Rev. Kenneth J. Doyle has been honored posthumously by the Albany Common Council, which has renamed portions of Hurst Avenue and Hopewell Street outside the Mater Christi Roman Catholic Parish where he was pastor in his honor.
A mid-level appeals court upheld the town’s Industrial Development Agency’s decision to seize unused streets in the town to allow the construction of a Costco Wholesale store there.
Union College is considering changes to its academic programs in an effort to attract more applicants and improve the college’s bottom line.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
