Good morning, it’s Tuesday.
Yesterday, I did a very stupid thing and drove 1.5 hours to attend an event that is actually scheduled for next month. Sadly, this isn’t the first time I’ve ever done this kind of thing. My calendar is all over the place – I’m often double or even triple booked and constantly rearranging meetings and appointments.
I’m not really sure what to make of this, other than to say obviously the universe is trying to sending me a message: Slow. The. Hell. Down. You cannot be all things to all people and everywhere, all the time, all at once.
There’s quite a bit of literature out there about how doing less actually makes you MORE productive, intelligent, present, and creative. This, of course, makes a lot of sense. Multi-tasking makes us FEEL like we’re getting a lot done. But, in fact, frantically trying to do all of the things only means we spread ourselves too thin, are less effective at ALL the things, and unhealthier, too.
Anyway, I keep meaning to read those articles about how doing less is good for you…but I can’t seem to find the time.
Sigh.
I was planning on doing a post about International Picnic Day and/or International Sushi Day, or maybe combining the two and suggesting the consumption of the latter (maybe vegetarian and/or cooked versions, just to be on the safe side, because, summer).
But, given the current heat advisory (lasting from noon today through 8 p.m. or so Thursday) and potentially record-setting temperatures, I just didn’t feel right about encouraging uncomfortable and, quite frankly, potentially dangerous behavior.
This really isn’t the right time for dining out-of-doors, unless you’ve got shade, a body of cool water (lake, pool, ocean, stream, pond, ice bucket), a fan, a people mister or all of the above handy. Because heat index values of 100 to 104 are now expected. What does that mean?
According to the National Weather Service, the heat index – also known as the apparent temperature – is how hot it feels to the human body when relatively humidity is combined with the actual air temperature. The more humid it is, the harder it is for your body’s natural cooling mechanism – sweating – to effectively work, making it all the more dangerous for humans to be outside.
This is a good time to review the signs of heat exhaustion and sunstroke (AKA heatstroke).
There are two types of heatstroke – the kind you get in a few hours when you over-exert yourself in the heat, and the kind that creeps up on you over a series of days due to an underlying condition or age.
The latter is so-called “classic” heatstroke, but either one is very serious, leading to brain damage, organ failure, and even death. Both involve a body temperature above 104 degrees F (40 degrees C), and are actually the most severe form of hyperthermia, or heat-related illness.
Heat exhaustion is the precursor to heatstroke/sunstroke. It doesn’t cause neurological problems and isn’t deadly – assuming you catch it and treat it early. It’s most common in urban areas where it’s difficult to get cool, and, due to the lack of trees and the ubiquity of asphalt, brick, and concrete, the temperature can soar.
Signs and symptoms to watch out for include but are not limited to: Dry skin (no sweating); hot, flushed, or pale skin; delirium, dizziness, high or low blood pressure, nausea and/or vomiting and more. Treatment is basically all about getting the body temperature down by getting into the shade, misting the skin with water, removing tight clothing, and sipping cool liquids.
It should go without saying as we head into this heat wave that you should not leave pets and/or young children unattended in cars or outside. Check on your neighbors – especially those who live alone, are elderly, and/or immunocompromised. As for yourself, stay hydrated, exercise in the early morning or in the evening when it’s cooler, wear loose, light-colored clothing, and if possible stay inside in the air conditioning.
I hear the mall, movie theaters, museums, aquariums, and skating rinks are good options if you’re looking for indoor activities.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden today will announce sweeping new protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been living in the United States illegally for years but are married to American citizens, officials familiar with the plan said.
Biden will reportedly detail the policy at the White House while marking the 12-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which protects people who came to the United States as children from deportation.
The policy would apply to people who have been living in the United States for 10 years, and would utilize an existing legal authority known as “parole in place” that offers deportation protections.
It would also open up a pathway to permanent legal status and U.S. citizenship for some beneficiaries by removing an obstacle in U.S. law that prevents those who entered the U.S. illegally from obtaining green cards without leaving the country.
This comes two weeks after Biden enacted his harshest crackdown on immigration with a partial ban on asylum proceedings at the southern border. Immigration remains a top issue for voters and for his GOP rival, former President Donald Trump.
More challenges are facing migrants and the communities where they hope to settle. As more people leave their initial destinations in search of better work and stable housing, more cities and towns are struggling to keep up.
Dozens of environmental, labor and health care groups banded together to file a petition to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke as “major disasters,” like floods and tornadoes.
The petition is a major push to get the federal government to help states and local communities that are straining under the growing costs of climate change.
If accepted, the petition could unlock FEMA funds to help localities prepare for heat waves and wildfire smoke by building cooling centers or installing air filtration systems in schools.
Heat overwhelmed cities across the Midwest and is now headed to the Northeast. High temperatures are expected to linger for days.
Biden’s campaign began its most aggressive effort to brand former President Donald J. Trump a felon, with the introduction of a new TV advertisement that focuses on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s criminal conviction.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has dissolved his war cabinet, an Israeli official said, after the departures of two key members prompted demands from far-right politicians for representation in the influential group.
Government officials said Netanyahu would hold smaller forums for sensitive war issues, including with his security Cabinet, which includes far-right governing partners who oppose cease-fire deals and have voiced support for reoccupying Gaza.
A Biden administration plan to sell $18 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel is moving forward after two top Democratic holdouts in Congress signed off on the deal, according to multiple people familiar with the sale.
Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer will lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to Israel this week, a notable show of support as a sizable number of Democrats say they are considering boycotting Netanyahu’s address to Congress next month.
A senior U.S. adviser will travel to Israel in a bid to cool rising tensions at the Lebanon border, where recent rains of missiles have reignited the risk of a broader conflict between the Jewish nation and Iran-backed militia.
The Israeli military paused operations during daylight hours in parts of the southern Gaza Strip, as a new policy announced a day earlier appeared to take hold, along with cautious hopes it would allow more food and other goods to reach desperate civilians.
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has called on Congress to pass legislation requiring social media platforms to have warning labels similar to tobacco products to help fight against the rising mental health issue in America — specifically among adolescents.
“In May 2023, I outlined recommendations to make social media safer for kids,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy posted on social media. “Yet parents and children are still waiting for change.” (Read his entire message here).
A federal judge said he has reason to be “extremely concerned” with Rudy Giuliani’s alleged lack of compliance in his bankruptcy case.
Judge Sean Lane has been asked to appoint a trustee to oversee the former New York City mayor’s finances by a group of creditors who argue Giuliani can’t be trusted because of “dishonesty, incompetence and gross mismanagement of [his] affairs.”
A consulting company tapped by state officials to oversee the disbursement of billions of federal dollars for rental assistance will pay a hefty settlement to resolve a lawsuit filed by a former employee and the DOJ over alleged cybersecurity issues.
More than $100 million in projects to combat air pollution in some of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods is in jeopardy now that Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered the MTA to “indefinitely pause” congestion pricing.
Hochul is facing political consequences for her congestion pricing reversal. She now faces a barrage of criticism, following her about-face for a plan she had enthusiastically endorsed just weeks before as a necessity to improve street safety and air quality.
Lawmakers and members of the New York State United Teachers Union gathered at Monroe-Woodbury Central Middle School yesterday to announce the passage of legislation establishing a maximum temperature in school buildings.
A new New York state law requiring employers to provide 30 minutes of paid break time to express breast milk goes into effect tomorrow.
Families caring for children with autism know it can be difficult to find a perfect fit when it comes to education. But New York state is putting some money toward assistance. Hochul announced funding for a center that assists families who have kids with autism.
Mayor Eric Adams accepted free tickets to the U.S. Open last summer, according to an annual financial disclosure released yesterday that also provided insight into his trips abroad and showcased his expanding profile as leader of the nation’s largest city.
The mayor was engaged in “agency interactions” with his own administration concerning a nonprofit group he’s involved with that receives city funding, his latest financial disclosure reveals.
Adams said that the Big Apple is ready for its first heat wave of the year — but reminded city dwellers to prepare for a string of steamy days that could push the heat index up to nearly 100 degrees.
“A heat wave can be more than just uncomfortable,” Adams said at a press conference. “It can be deadly and life-threatening if you are not prepared. But New York City has a plan to beat the heat, and we want all New Yorkers to have a plan, too.”
Cooling centers in New York City will open today and remain open until at least Friday as a likely heat wave settles over the New York metro area, according to city officials.
All classrooms in New York City public schools should have air conditioning, a top education official said yesterday, detailing preparations for the coming heatwave.
Adams said he doesn’t remember everyone he meets when asked why his City Hall team previously said he didn’t know an indicted Harlem woman he met with face-to-face for an hour in May 2021 to discuss ongoing problems at her Harlem housing complex.
Adams said he supports stopping masks at protests and on subways, saying cowards cover their faces, but he did not say how such a ban should account for people wearing masks out of medical necessity.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said that he has questions about Hochul’s proposal to reinstate a pre-pandemic ban on people wearing masks in public.
An Indian man pleaded not guilty to charges of orchestrating a failed assassination plot against a Sikh separatist in New York, a plan that prosecutors say he devised on behalf of an unnamed official in India’s government.
Lamor Whitehead, the Brooklyn pastor and self-described Adams mentee dubbed the “Bling Bishop” for his flamboyant lifestyle, was sentenced to nine years in prison for swindling a parishioner’s mother out of her life savings and other scams.
Whitehead, who prosecutors said was a career con man who ran a church, took in millions, which he spent on cars, clothes and jewels.
The 2 million-plus New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments will see their rents climb for the third year in a row after the board in charge of setting rates approved the increases at its chaotic final vote yesterday.
The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) passed hikes of 2.75% for one-year leases and 5.25% for two-year leases as hundreds of people protested outside Hunter College in Midtown Manhattan.
The decision faced immediate criticism from tenants and activists, who marched along the sidewalk outside the auditorium at Manhattan’s Hunter College, where the board met. Property owners also criticized the decision, wanting higher increases.
City lawmakers will hold a hearing today to discuss a bill that would expand the city’s fertility coverage – which some argue is currently discriminatory against same-sex couples, including gay men.
The New York City office responsible for investigating complaints about sexual misconduct, corruption and other potential wrongdoing in public schools has lost staff even as it faces a record spike in complaints, according to a new City Council report.
Just like a winter storm warning, the extreme heat forecast is leading school districts to proactively announce that they will close early this week.
The city and the Troy Police Benevolent Association have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract that includes raises and a policy for the use of body-worn cameras by officers and dashboard cameras in police vehicles.
The fire that tore through the Champlain Beef factory on Saturday in rural Washington County location not only heavily damaged a three-generation family business but could be leaving at least two dozen people unemployed.
The Loudonville Assisted Living Residence on Saturday hosted “Centennial Celebration: A Century and More of Joy,” recognizing residents who turned 100 years or older.
William H. Donaldson, who made an early fortune as a co-founder of the innovative securities firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and pushed for tighter financial regulation as SEC chair after the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals, died at 93.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
