Good Wednesday morning.
On this day in 1945, the United Nations was born via the signing of a charter by representatives of 50 countries who were attending the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco, CA. Poland wasn’t represented at this particular meeting, but later signed and became one of the 51 original UN member states.
This was just over a month after the end of WW II in Europe, (Japan didn’t surrender until later on in the year). The name “United Nations” was born of the war, coined by then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who used the term in reference to the Allied Forces that were fighting against the Axis Powers.
The name was first officially deployed on Jan. 1, 1942, when 26 states joined in the Declaration by the United Nations, in which they pledged to continue their joint war effort and not to make peace on their own individual terms.
The precursor for the United Nations was the League of Nations, which sounds very Marvel comics/Justice League to me. It was created 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles “to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security.” As we know, based on the fact that WW II happened, the League fell well short of this goal and ceased to operate as a result.
These days, there’s a lot of mixed opinions – even consternation and outright opposition – when it comes to the UN, because, much like the League of Nations, it has failed to prevent widespread conflict, violence and war, and has also fallen short on other fronts – most notably, protecting human rights.
The UN does still carry a certain cache and prestige, giving it an ability to sound the alarm on matters of global importance. But it is inherently imbalanced and beset by geopolitical rivalries and differing member state priorities, which makes it very difficult to build consensus when tackling complex challenges that threaten our very existence as a species, such as, say, climate change.
There are far too many links for me to even start to try to choose one – or even a handful – to illustrate this point. If you want to do some research, consider starting by entering phrases like “why is the UN ineffective” or “what could the UN do better” into Google.
The UN does, however, have a pretty robust calendar of international days and weeks during which it works to bring attention to a wide array of issues and/or celebrate a variety of cultures, people, accomplishments and historical moments. Today is a twofer.
It’s both World Drug Day (AKA the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking), which has the lofty stated goal of “achieving a world free of drug abuse”; and the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. (A reminder: Torture is a crime under international law).
It’s going to be warm again today – in the mid-to-high 80s – with partly cloudy skies.
In the headlines…
Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, a member of the House’s left-wing “squad,” was defeated by Westchester County Executive George Latimer in a primary race that exposed Democratic fissures.
The result in the 16th Congressional District is also a victory for pro-Israel groups, which backed Latimer with historic levels of spending during the campaign. According to ad tracking firm AdImpact, the race was the most expensive House primary on record.
Latimer celebrated his victory last night by telling supporters, in a clear jab at Bowman, that the results meant “we turn a page and we say that we believe in inclusion of everybody in our representation.”
Latimer bested Bowman by 17 points with 88 percent of the vote in, making Bowman the first member of the Squad to lose an election since the far-left group formed in 2018.
Bowman conceded defeat to his “opponents,” most likely a nod to big-spending outside groups, but he vowed that the broader fight for “humanity and justice” would go on.
While many contested races had moderate and left-leaning Democrats squaring off, the deciding factor seemed to be the power of incumbency.
Progressives suffered a major blow with the defeat of Bowman in Westchester and the Bronx, but election night was far from a wash for left-wing candidates across the state.
Assembly Member Sarahana Shrestha handily defeated Gabi Madden to hold onto the Hudson Valley seat she first won in 2022. Assembly Member Emily Gallagher similarly held onto her Brooklyn seat despite a challenge from Anathea Simpkins in Brooklyn.
Incumbent Assembly Member Eddie Gibbs came out ahead of first-time challenger Xavier Santiago in the Assembly District 68 primary last night, despite Santiago’s high-profile endorsements.
The victories of Gibbs over Santiago and incumbent Landon Dais over Leonardo Coello in the Assembly District 77 primary represent an ongoing challenge to Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s efforts to elect Dominican representatives in East Harlem and the Bronx.
After seeing razor-thin victory margins last cycle, Democratic Assembly Member Ron Kim declared victory in his reelection bid yesterday with a (slightly) more comfortable margin than he’s been used to lately.
In the 70th Assembly District, Jordan Wright — the son of Manhattan party boss and former Assemblymember Keith Wright — led a four-way race for the seat vacated by Inez Dickens, who is retiring.
In the 69th Assembly District, Micah Lasher — a longtime government hand and former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul, former Attorney General Eric Scheiderman and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg — seemed poised to win the five-candidate race for an open seat.
Five-term Albany County District Attorney David Soares has apparently been defeated in the Democratic primary by Capital Region attorney Lee Kindlon, who fell short the first time they faced off in 2012.
Kindlon declared victory, saying “tomorrow is a new day,” just after 10:30 p.m., but Soares did not concede the race, saying all of Albany County should be heard from before he comments further.
Albany Common Council member Gabriella Romero appeared to defeat a crowded field in the highly competitive and very expensive Democratic primary to succeed Assemblywoman Pat Fahy to represent Albany, New Scotland and Guilderland.
Former CNN host John Avlon triumphed over chemist and professor Nancy Goroff on Long Island yesterday, clinching the Democratic nomination to face off this fall against GOP Rep. Nick LaLota in a battleground district.
The AP declared John Mannion the winner in the Democratic primary in a Syracuse-area congressional seat, setting him up for a November challenge against one of the country’s most vulnerable House Republicans, Rep. Brandon Williams.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican incumbent backed by former President Donald Trump in a deep red upstate district, survived a primary challenge from attorney and businessman Mario Fratto, whom she called a “RINO.”
With only days to go until he faces off against President Joe Biden in tomorrow’s CNN debate, Trump is escalating his demands that Biden take a pre-debate drug test, something the Biden campaign rejected as “desperate.”
Biden and Trump each amplified the case of a particular undocumented immigrant last week, using vastly divergent language in a preview of the sharp contrast they plan to draw on immigration during their debate.
The killing of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston has become the latest crime seized on by Republicans to attack Biden over his immigration policies.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden treated their various Delaware real estate holdings like a personal ATM for years, taking out several mortgages and refinancing a whopping 35 times, according to a report.
Health officials in the Biden administration pressed an international group of medical experts to remove age limits for adolescent surgeries from guidelines for care of transgender minors, according to newly unsealed court documents.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan partially lifted Trump’s gag order in his hush money case — enabling the Republican frontrunner to publicly speak about witnesses and jurors in the case — just two days before the first presidential debate.
Trump, however, cannot discuss any prosecutor, court staffer or their family members, according to a court order from Merchan. That aspect of the gag order remains in effect at least until the former president’s sentencing, which is set for July 11.
Once Trump is sentenced on July 11, the judge ruled, he can publicly assail others who are currently covered by the gag order, including prosecutors and their relatives.
Judge Aileen M. Cannon appeared to all but dismiss a request from Trump’s legal team to suppress evidence from the search of Mar-a-Lago.
As protests over an impending tax hike sparked a deadly military response in Kenya, President Barack Obama’s half-sister, Auma Obama, was teargassed live on air in the capital.
The MTA Board will vote today to agree to Gridlock Gov. Kathy Hochul’s indefinite pause of congestion pricing, according to language in the agency’s Board meeting briefing materials.
The resolution, included in the materials for today’s meeting, is an official recognition of Hochul’s order to “pause” congestion pricing until the city, state, and federal government sign a Value Pricing Pilot Program agreement that officially authorizes the toll.
But even while acknowledging the pause, the resolution keeps the door open to revive the program — and the MTA makes clear it wishes to do so.
Regular maintenance, accessibility upgrades and expansions like the Second Ave. subway are all at risk following Hochul’s decision to suspend the state’s congestion pricing program, according to a report issued by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
“The MTA will be forced to put off badly needed investment in expansion and improvements to the system. Those choices will directly affect riders,” DiNapoli said in a statement.
At least 101,500 jobs could be lost in New York if the state does not find another way to fill the multibillion-dollar hole left in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget, according to a report released by Reinvent Albany, a watchdog group.
A majority of those jobs would have been created by private companies that work with the authority to build new trains and buses and install new propulsion systems, among other things.
The pension fund for public retirees in New York saw significant investment returns for the previous fiscal year, according to DiNapoli’s office.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is proposing more traffic enforcement as a way to address gridlock on New York City’s busiest streets in the wake of Hochul’s decision to delay congestion pricing.
Sixty-nine public school districts across New York State participate in the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York’s June financing, Hochul announced.
The state has stripped away COVID sick leave from its own employees, effective immediately.
The Adams administration disputed recent assertions by Albany County officials that roughly 1,000 migrants who have been staying in Capital Region hotels and other areas of upstate will be relocated downstate.
Adams shrugged off news that the city teachers union no longer supports his controversial effort to enroll retired municipal workers in a Medicare Advantage plan, saying he’s confident his team will “resolve” the matter and everything’s “going to be fine.”
Feds probing Adams and a key aide whose home they have raided are reportedly looking for private emails and records of trips they made to China.
Dozens of delivery bikes parked outside The Roosevelt Hotel, which has been converted into a shelter for migrants, have been cleared away by NYPD as part a stepped-up crackdown on unregistered and illegal mopeds and e-bikes across the city.
A former NYPD cop who shot and wounded her ex-girlfriend and killed the woman her ex was currently dating has pleaded guilty — but survivor Jenny Li still carries emotional scars along with the bullet that struck her.
A man who beat a taxi driver to death in Queens was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to the borough’s district attorney. The man, Austin Amos, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in May.
The Empire State Building is now ranked the world’s No. 1 tourist attraction on Tripadvisor, edging out the Eiffel Tower and Anne Frank’s house, which came in second and third, respectively.
The city is giving away 10,000 free tickets to prime July Fourth fireworks viewing spots on the West Side — after the NYPD previously landed in hot water for roping off areas for private parties.
CUNY ‘s Board of Trustees this week approved an eye-popping $320,681 salary for Gayle Horwitz, who was elevated to senior vice chancellor as well as secretary to the board.
The Capital Region was red-hot in the manufacturing sector in 2023, according to a new study by the Center for Economic Growth.
The City of Troy comptroller walked out of a finance meeting last Thursday following a presentation before the City Council where he was unable to answer some questions and after a heated exchange with its council president.
A year after agreeing to replace the district’s sports moniker, the Silver Warriors, Niskayuna school leaders have decided they want to keep it after all.
Huck Finn’s Playland’s new owner is taking advantage of all his business ventures by cross-promoting both the small city amusement park with the theaters he owns.
Stuyvesant Plaza’s annual Summer Market filled with live music, sidewalk sales, and food and drink tastings will return from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 20. The Market will be the inaugural event hosted on the shopping plaza’s new greenspace, The Lawn.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
