Good morning, it’s Tuesday.
First, a PSA. Today, as mentioned, is primary day in New York. If you haven’t already cast your ballot during the early voting period, and you are an enrolled member of a party that has primary contests on the ballot in your neck of the woods (remember: we’re a closed primary state), don’t forget to stop by your local poll site sometime today. If you’re unsure where that is, click here.
In this Democrat-dominated state, there are a number of contested contests that will effectively be decided today. This fact alone has spurred quite a few people I know to enroll in the Democratic Party just so they can be assured that their vote will “count.” Personally, I have seen far too many too-close-to-call elections to buy into this sort of thinking, but I know it exists.
One of the most hotly contested congressional races is the face-off between Rep. Jamaal Bowman and his challenger, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who just yesterday received his first endorsement from a sitting House member (New Jersey REp. Josh Gottheimer, co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus).
By the way, if you are looking for an excellent primer on primaries and why they are the way they are, which is to so VERY different depending on what state you happen to live in, look no further than this essay by NYPIRG’s Blair Horner.
Before hearing this on WAMC while driving around doing errand yesterday, I don’t think I was fully aware that there are FIVE different types of primaries – and remember what I used to do for a living. Boy, am I losing my edge. I guess that’s what changing careers will do to you.
And now on to our regularly scheduled programming…
There comes a time when you reach a certain age and start accepting that there are things you probably won’t do before your time on this planet is over.
For example, it’s highly likely that I will never sail around the world or live on a boat for any extended period.
I have likely romanticized this concept significantly. I do follow a few influencer types on Instagram who have done/are doing this, and while they make it seem appealing, they also don’t gloss over the downsides – like, for instance, the lack of personal space on a sailboat and the possibility of capsizing in a storm.
To be clear, I like boats and I like water. But my limited experience of owning a boat – we briefly had a pontoon boat when we owned a house on Sacandaga Lake – was not terribly positive. What’s that saying again? “Boat” is shorthand for “bust out another thousand.” Maintenance, storage, gas, repairs, accessories. Boats are expensive – be they recreational or commerical.
To be honest, boating frightened me frequently, even though I’m a good swimmer and a pontoon boat is hardly a fast-moving or even terribly dangerous vessel. This might have something to do with my unfamiliarity with boats – I did not grow up with them, and so they remain something of a mystery to me.
So, it turns out that I like boats best when I am appreciating them from afar. Cruising is definitely not an appeal, though my parents have recently embraced that form of travel and are enjoying it quite a bit. To me, a cruise ship is a giant accident waiting to happen – the Concordia tragedy only served to solidify this belief – and also a giant floating germ convention.
The truth is, humans have long equated a life on the water with adventure, freedom, escape etc. The truth is that life on the water can be as dangerous as it is exhilarating – pirates (yes, they’re still around), bad weather (increasing as a result of climate change), breakdowns, whale attacks (this IS INDEED A THING). I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting here, but you get the idea.
Even though boats have been around for centuries, they continue to play an incredibly integral role in our way of life – even if we never personally board one. Most industries continue to rely on ocean shipping, making it a backbone of global trade. It is estimated that some 80 percent of goods – the overwhelming majority of what we use and consume – are transported by ships.
Today, we celebrate those who make that transportation possible, the individuals who spend most of their working life on some kind of ocean vessel.
Today is International Day of the Seafarer, which was created in 2010 by the the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to, as they put it: “(R)ecognize the unique contribution made by seafarers from all over the world to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole.”
The focus of this year’s observance, which is also recognized by the United Nations, will be about safety on the water. It also presents an opportunity to publicly appreciate the roughly 2 million seafarers who keep global markets functioning and supply chains going – something for which I’m guessing a lot of us have a renewed awareness and respect for after experiencing pandemic-related shortages of everything from toilet paper to Grape Nuts.
This is a particularly apt moment to this day to occur.
New York Times is reporting that the pandemic’s shortages, which many had hoped would be a thing of the permanent past, have given way to a new global supply chain crisis fueled in part by the intensifying attacks on vessels headed to the Suez Canal by the Houthi rebels, impending dockworkers strikes, and drought-induced water level drops in the Panama Canal.
After a rather uncannily chilly day yesterday – I wore a JACKET, which was a real switch compared to the weekend’s sweltering soup – we will be back in normal summer temperature territory today. The mercury will climb into the mid-to-high 80s, and skies will be mostly sunny, with the exception of a few afternoon clouds.
In the headlines…
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is pleading guilty to one felony charge under the Espionage Act in a deal that will allow him to leave prison and end a legal saga stemming from his role in one of the largest publications of classified information in U.S. history.
Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
He was due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing in Saipan. The island in the Pacific was chosen due to Assange’s opposition to traveling to the mainland U.S. and for its proximity to Australia, prosecutors said.
WikiLeaks shared a video showing Assange boarding a plane to fly out of the UK after he was released from jail under a plea deal with the US that will soon allow him to return home to Australia.
Two federal judges in Missouri and Kansas halted sections of a Biden administration initiative intended to lower student loan payments, raising questions for the millions of Americans impacted by the program.
The two court rulings, in response to lawsuits filed by Republican-led states, prohibit the Education Department from moving ahead with major provisions of Biden’s SAVE loan repayment program.
The decisions prevent the Biden administration from further reducing the monthly payments of millions of borrowers as planned in July or canceling more debt under the program.
Biden is preparing to face a few different Donald Trumps on this week’s debate stage: the more bombastic and “unhinged” one known for his grievance-filled, stem-winding rallies, and a disciplined version who largely refrains from tirades and sticks to policy.
Biden’s aides are working to position him as a campaign-season fighter who can counterpunch on the fly and combat voters’ concerns about his age.
Hillary Clinton, who has debated both Biden and Trump, says expectations for the latter are so low “that if he doesn’t literally light himself on fire on Thursday evening, some will say he was downright presidential.” Biden should be direct and forceful, she says.
Biden campaign Chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon revealed that she doesn’t believe Florida is in play for the incumbent in the 2024 presidential election, but she’s “bullish” on winning a different state that Trump carried the last election − North Carolina.
The nation is bracing for a high-stakes Supreme Court decision that could come as soon as this week on Trump’s arguments that he is immune from prosecution as a former commander in chief.
Attorneys for Trump argued in a court filing that a Georgia appeals court should overturn a lower court decision and disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from her prosecution of the former president, alleging misconduct.
The federal judge overseeing Trump’s classified documents case posed tough questions yesterday to prosecutors who have asked her to bar him from making inflammatory statements that might endanger any F.B.I. agents involved in the case.
The fiscal policies of the Trump administration added twice the amount to the national deficit as have Biden’s, a new analysis has found.
Biden and prominent Democrats condemned protests of an Israeli real estate sale at a Los Angeles synagogue this past weekend, calling the protests antisemitic.
Groups protesting the Israel-Hamas war and U.S. policy towards Israel gathered outside the Adas Torah, synagogue where organizers held an event advertising real estate for sale in “housing projects in all the best Anglo neighborhoods in Israel.”
“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles,” Biden said in post on social media site X. “Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American.”
During his visit to Beirut last week, Biden’s envoy Amos Hochstein reportedly told Lebanese officials Hezbollah is wrong to think the U.S. would be able to stop Israel from invading Lebanon if the militia continues its attacks.
The American message is designed to get the Lebanese-based Shiite militia to back down and de-escalate the brewing crisis along the Israeli-Lebanese border, a person familiar with the discussions said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was still “committed” to an Israeli ceasefire and hostage release proposal backed by the US as he faced blowback from families of Israeli hostages for appearing to walk back his support the day before.
An Israeli strike killed a top official in charge of ambulance services in the Gaza Strip, local health officials said yesterday, as the Israeli defense minister met with top American officials in Washington about a possible new phase in the Israeli offensive.
About 100 Israelis sued the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, saying it pays local employees in dollars that buoy the terrorist group. But the case faces high legal hurdles.
The state Senate passed the Retail Worker Safety Act earlier this month, which would go into effect by 2027 for large retailers if signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
At an event in the Bronx this past weekend, Hochul refused to provide details on her plans to fund mass transit after her decision earlier this month to pause congestion pricing punched a $15 billion hole in the budget of the MTA.
More than 147,000 New Yorkers cast their ballots early ahead of today’s primary elections as voters will decide a number of competitive state legislative races along with local and congressional contests.
Between June 15 and June 23, 102,883 residents voted early. Nearly half of those — 46,241 — came from New York City voters. About 56,642 came from voters in the other parts of the state. Statewide, the highest turnout day was the last day, June 23.
Super PACs backed by the charter school industry, real estate and Wall Street are spending big in this year’s Democratic primaries – mostly against socialist and progressive candidates.
The New York State Board of Elections is warning voters of scam text messages with incorrect poll site information ahead of the primary election.
Politicians who aren’t on the ballot today are getting in on the action, picking sides in key congressional and state legislative races.
Mark Schaming, director of the New York State Museum and deputy commissioner of the Office of Cultural Education, is retiring.
Mayor Eric Adams penned a Daily News op-ed on his inclusive learning efforts to ensure every child in New York City receives a world-class education.
New York City’s elected officials and community boards couldn’t be bothered with helping residents cope with the stifling weekend heat wave — despite a direct appeal from Adams’ administration.
Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg calls on Adams to reinstate a cell phone ban in the city’s public schools.
Saying that New York City public school students often struggle with math, Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks yesterday unveiled NYC Solves, a new and innovative program.
“Students develop a fear of math from the earliest grades, and we have kids who will say, ‘I’m not a math person… but even worse than that we have teachers who say ‘I’m not a math person,’” Banks said.
With Adams’ 2021 campaign facing federal investigation and dismal polling numbers with high disapproval from New Yorkers, it’s no surprise that candidates have already raised their hand to try and make him a one-term mayor.
While New Yorkers sweltered last weekend under a heat dome, Adams was partying in the Hamptons.
Adams’ charter commission is first taking aim at council spending — dodging public safety, the sticky main issue the mayor tasked the group with addressing, a new report shows.
The city’s powerful teachers union has pulled support for a push to shift retired city workers into a controversial Medicare Advantage plan, further complicating the Adams administration’s ability to implement the program.
When an unheralded candidate for the State Assembly submitted a six-figure request for matching funds under New York’s new public campaign finance system, it came with glaring red flags.
Dozens of protesters swarmed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office building yesterday to rip him for nixing charges against members of the anti-Israel mob that attacked Columbia University — calling the move “a betrayal.”
MSNBC hosts and correspondents will descend on Fort Greene, Brooklyn later his summer for a first-of-its-kind live event – “Democracy 2024”, which will be held Sept. 7 at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
The millionaire investment banker who slugged a woman in the face during a Pride event in Brooklyn earlier this month has resigned from his job, the company said.
New York’s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church has elected its new senior pastor, likely bringing an end to a national search to replace the late Rev. Calvin O. Butts, who had served the church for a half-century before his death in 2022.
The New York health care system has stockpiles of medicine and has worked out “a lot of the kinks” since the Covid pandemic. But experts still have some concerns about a bird flu outbreak.
New train cars are coming to the Staten Island Railway for the first time in 50 years — but MTA officials couldn’t estimate when passengers will be able to ride them.
The perils and risks of entering a train’s public restroom may become a thing of the past for commuters on the Long Island Rail Road.
Nassau lawmakers approved a bill backed by County Executive Bruce Blakeman to bar transgender female athletes from taking part in women’s and girls sports on county properties, despite opposition from civil rights groups and LGBTQ+ advocates.
In May, a judge ruled that Blakeman did not have the authority to impose such a ban, a decision he is appealing. The court a legislative body could pass such a measure, and so the battle moved to the majority-Republican Nassau County Legislature.
But the county will now face multiple legal challenges from civil rights groups and top Democrats in the state.
Some Albany County Democratic voters received unusual text messages over the weekend, urging them to vote in today’s primaries. The texts were sending voters to incorrect polling locations — in some cases, more than three hours away.
A leading Capital Region pharmaceutical company, Curia New York, will pay a $425,000 penalty for exceeding the emission levels specified on its air permit for the last two decades, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Demolition of the industrial building at 13 Thacher St., Albany, that was largely destroyed when severe microburst storms hit the area will likely take most of the week due to hazardous chemicals stored on the premises.
Jehovah’s Witnesses return to the MVP Arena on South Pearl Street in Albany next month for a motivational program “to comfort and encourage the public.”
Photo credit: George Fazio.
