Good morning, a nice symmetry to this Wednesday, the 24th of July, 2024.
I am about to mark about trip around the sun, as they say. My birthday is tomorrow, and I’m feeling some kind of way about it. The way things are looking, it’s going to be pretty much just another day – work, work out, take care of dogs, etc.
As I get older, birthdays take on less significance in terms of celebration and more significance in terms of “holy shit, I probably have less time in front of me than behind me, so I better get moving if I want to accomplish anything.” I don’t like to dwell on this too much, because it can send a person to a dark place. But maybe the blessing of being on the planet for what will (hopefully) be just another ordinary day is enough in this time of great unpredictability and upheaval.
Of course, the Leo in me wants everyone to make a big deal, but the Cancer in me (I’m on the cusp of both zodiac signs – crabby and vain, a real winning combination) just wants to put my head down and work. We’ll see, maybe there will be a little bit of both.
All this is to preview that I will be taking tomorrow (Thursday, July 25, and Friday, July 26, off from Rise and Shine) – it’s my birthday gift to me. On Friday, I’ll be heading to Maine for a quick weekend trip. I plan to eat lots of lobster and climb lots of hills. Our regularly scheduled programming will be back – bright and early, as per usual – on Monday morning, July 29.
It would be really ideal timing for me if International Self-Care Day (yep, it’s an official thing, established by an organization you probably never heard of, the International Self-Care Foundation (ISF), in 2011) fell on my birthday. Alas, I’m missing it by one day, because it’s today and not tomorrow.
That does not mean, however, that we will be overlooking the need for self care. Really, every day should be a day when you prioritize taking care of you, because, let’s be honest, you’re the only you you’re ever going to get (as far as we know) and if you don’t take care of you, who can reliably be counted on to do it for you?
No one, that’s who.
In case you’re a little murky on the question of what self-care is, exactly – the words get tossed around casually an awful lot these days – the ISF helpfully provides a definition on its website, which I’ve linked above.
Essentially, there are, according to this nonprofit organization, seven pillars of self-care, which include: knowledge and health literacy, mental wellbeing, physical activity, healthy eating, risk avoidance, good hygiene, and “rational use of products and services”.
If you’re thinking that it’s caring for the self is a full-time job, well, yes.
That last pillar – rational use of products and services – strikes me as tricky, as the wording on the ISF website underscores:
“The rational and responsible use of health products and services as part of self-care involves individuals safely and effectively managing their health (and any everyday ailments or minor conditions), where appropriate, with medicines, products, or services. Self-care products and services are the ‘tools’ of self‐care, supporting health awareness and healthy practices, and may include the use of…“
The wellness industry is big business. On a global scale, it was worth 5.61 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, which is projected to grow to just under $8.5 trillion by 2027. So people are out there making a lot of money on your self-care, and this doesn’t event start to scratch the surface of what the pharmaceutical industry is raking in on mental health treatments.
Add on top of that influencer culture and social media, and the self-care thing can go downhill into toxic territory very fast. For today, though, let’s just keep it simple, shall we: Stay hydrated, maybe get outside, move your body in a way that feels good, eat some food that nourishes you, connect with people you care about – or don’t, if that feels better – and maybe consider shutting down the screens for a bit.
It might not be the greatest day for engaging in self-care outside – unless you like walking in the rain. Temperatures will be in the low 80s, and thunderstorms – possibly severe – will be developing this afternoon, bringing potentially strong gusty winds and even small hail.
In the headlines…
Delivering a jolt of enthusiasm to a party reeling from weeks of infighting, Vice President Kamala Harris rallied Democrats yesterday in Wisconsin and laid out a fierce argument against former President Donald Trump.
Harris vowed, in her first rally as the de facto Democratic presidential nominee, to defeat Trump by attacking him as a prosecutor would. She defined a champion of the middle class fighting against a tool of billionaires and as a champion of abortion rights.
Democrats and advocates for reproductive rights are hoping that Harris’ bluntness on abortion — coupled with the administration’s policies — will help sway voters to deliver them not just the White House but key congressional seats as well.
Delegates to the DNC support the party moving forward swiftly to nominate Kamala Harris as their presidential candidate, rather than going through a prolonged and potentially divisive debate, according to interviews conducted by The New York Times.
Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles introduced articles of impeachment against Harris, two days after she became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
In the resolution submitted to Congress, Ogles accuses Harris of “high crimes and misdemeanors” and “extraordinary incompetence” in regard to covering up President Joe Biden’s alleged mental decline and failing in her duties as “border czar.”
The filing expands on previously introduced articles that target Harris’s record on immigration, a GOP rallying cry against the vice president.
The Trump campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), accusing Harris’s campaign of improperly taking over President Biden’s campaign funds when he left the race Monday.
The complaint came after the Biden campaign account changed its name to “Harris for President” on Monday following the president’s announcement that he would not seek reelection.
Trump said that he would “absolutely” be willing to debate Harris, who has already clinched commitments from enough delegates to become the Democratic presidential nominee, “multiple times.”
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff challenged Trump over his attacks on Vice President Harris, brushing off the nicknames for his new White House rival: “Laughin’ Kamala” and “Lyin’ Kamala”.
When his motorcade pulled into the White House gates yesterday for the first time since he withdrew from the race, Biden returned to a vastly different presidency. He is now that creature most dreaded in the Oval Office: a lame duck.
In his first public appearance since dropping his bid for reelection and recovering from Covid, Biden told reporters he’s feeling “well” before boarding Air Force One.
Biden spent nearly a week recovering from COVID at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, as he weighed his 2024 candidacy, ultimately dropping his campaign and preparing to address the nation about his decision to not seek another term in office.
A federal judge rejected a bid by a tree-trimming company to block a U.S. Federal Trade Commission rule from taking effect that would ban agreements commonly signed by workers not to join their employers’ rivals or launch competing businesses.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has stepped down after widespread calls from lawmakers for her to resign following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Cheatle said in an email to staff. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
A Pennsylvania State Police colonel testifying before a House panel gave more answers about security for the rally where an assassination attempt on Trump took place than the Secret Service director had, but raised more questions.
The Secret Service has recommended that the Trump campaign no longer schedule outdoor rallies in the wake of the assassination attempt against the former president.
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez will resign on Aug. 20 following conviction in his federal corruption trial. Staff members were informed yesterday; an official resignation letter was submitted to Gov. Phil Murphy, who will select an interim replacement.
Menendez has maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal a guilty verdict, but ultimately bowed to intense pressure from Democratic colleagues who had pushed him to step down or face an expulsion vote.
The roughly monthlong delay in leaving gives his staff time for an orderly transition, Menendez wrote in his resignation letter to Murphy. The date also coincides with a Senate payday.
When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel arrives on Capitol Hill tomorrow afternoon to address a joint meeting of Congress, he will confront a legislative body divided over his leadership in the face of international censure over the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s address to Congress comes at a crucial crossroads for the war. US officials have voiced optimism about the prospects of a deal that could free Hamas-held hostages and bring the conflict to an end.
Protesters against the Gaza war staged a sit-in at a congressional office building yesterday ahead of Netanyahu’s address to Congress, with Capitol Police making multiple arrests.
It took less than 48 hours for the cracks that had begun to widen between Democrats in New York about this year’s elections to be sealed after Biden dropped his reelection bid Sunday.
Before dawn yesterday, F.B.I. agents swept into a small cul-de-sac on Long Island’s North Shore to search a $3.5 million, five-bedroom house where Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Kathy Hochul lives with her husband. Why remains unclear.
Hochul held a roundtable discussion with local educators and stakeholders in the Southern Tier as part of her statewide listening tour focused on addressing smartphone use in schools.
Hochul joined by company leadership, employees and community stakeholders, announced that Wells Enterprises is significantly expanding its state-of-the-art ice cream manufacturing facility in Dunkirk.
Two state legislators representing Manhattan’s West Side are opposing Related Companies/Wynn’s plan to erect a glittering casino in Hudson Yards near the High Line.
Mayor Eric Adams blamed bad information he received on the shooter who attempted to kill Trump, which led the New York Democrat to previously link the would-be assassin to social media.
A commission backed by Adams dropped its controversial final report, with recommendations for ballot measures that would make it tougher for the City Council to pass bills. The five ballot proposals range from street cleaning to businesses to public safety.
The proposals come just two months after the commission was initially established. Adams defended the work of the body before its final report was released later in the day.
New York City voters will most likely be confronted in November with a referendum that may dilute the City Council’s power on public safety issues.
The NYPD will install gun-scanning metal detectors at a select few city subway stations later this week, Mayor Adams announced, brushing off criticism from civil rights advocates who have questioned the efficacy of the technology.
City Council members already opposed to Mayor Adams appointing Randy Mastro as the city’s next top attorney are opening another front in their ongoing battle against the controversial lawyer.
Some 40,000 New York City computers were down yesterday, days after a global “blue screen of death” outage – as the depth of the crisis slowly comes into focus.
NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey reportedly likely won’t face a departmental trial on charges that he abused his authority after voiding an arrest of a retired cop buddy who threatened a group of teens with a gun.
Correction Department staff in May reportedly prevented medical workers from entering the Rikers Island infirmary cell of a 23-year-old woman, who later died, for at least two days — despite the fact she had a rash covering much of her body.
A Manhattan man was indicted yesterday on charges that he fatally stabbed his neighbor on the steps of a Washington Heights subway station, in what prosecutors called a “senseless, vicious act.”
A long-promised cellphone ban for New York City public schools could see students stashing their devices in $30 pouches bought by cash-strapped schools.
Mosquitoes with West Nile virus have been confirmed in all five boroughs of New York City, according to city health officials.
The former president of Hudson Valley Community College is not eligible for a standard severance package because he was fired, according to HVCC officials, but he will collect more than $69,000 as per his contract.
Sarah Gilbert, a former executive with the BBC and NPR, has been hired as the next president and CEO of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
The pilot in the June 30 plane crash that killed five family members from Georgia returning from a baseball tournament in Cooperstown had been warned of “moderate and heavy precipitation” minutes before the plane crashed in the Catskills.
Jasmine Norman was appointed to succeed retiring City Court Judge Peter Torncello, Watervliet Mayor Charles Patricelli said.
The Saratoga Automobile Museum has agreed to help auction off some or all of the assets of Kris Roglieri, the now-jailed Albany loan broker facing a criminal wire fraud charge.
Lola Saratoga, a boutique for designer bags, was the victim of another smash and grab — this time at its Stuyvesant Plaza location early yesterday.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
