Good FRIDAY morning!
Since it’s still pretty warm out, I’m thinking a lot about hydration these days. I’m drinking my coffee iced, for example, as I am one of those people who changes with the weather – hot coffee on cold days, cold coffee on hot days. I have to confess to being completely flummoxed by people who drink it iced all year ’round.
I’ve also been very into kombucha and hop water, which are nice alternatives to alcoholic beverages for teetotalers like myself. I am thankful that a lot more bars and restaurants are starting to offer creative non-alcoholic options, because I do enjoy sipping on something that feels a little special – I just don’t want a hangover to go with it.
For training, I’ve been switching between LMNT, a zero-sugar, salty electrolyte drink – very helpful on really hot days – G2, a lower sugar/calorie version of Gatorade; and Liquid IV, which purports to be a “hydration multiplier” (whatever that means).
I’m not really trying to avoid sugary drinks, per se, I just don’t have a taste for them. This is probably because I wasn’t allowed to have them when I was young and my taste buds were still in formation. My mom was a health food fanatic long before that was a thing. We were not a sugary drink household – no soda, no Tang, no Juicy Juice, no Capri Sun, no Snapple, and definitely no Kool-Aid.
I think the first time I encountered Kool Aid was in summer camp, where it was actually a watered down (and perhaps off-brand?) version we affectionately called “bug juice.” Of course, I was a big fan. I was a big fan of anything sweet, since it was off limits at home. At sleep-away camp, we elevated our Kool Aid (and instant iced tea and lemonade) consumption by forgoing water entirely and just eating it straight, sort of like Fun Dip, which, as it turns out, is still a thing today.
I can’t really remember the last time I actually drank Kool-Aid (drank the Kool-Aid? See what I did there?) Remember, I grew up in a time when there was nowhere near the plethora of canned and bottled drink options available today. (I will admit, Celsius is a guilty pleasure, I’m probably poisoning myself slowly).
But this popular powdered drink mix is still going strong today – though it’s hardly a best seller in a very crowded market – and is undoubtedly cemented as a pop culture touchstone – thank-you, Tom Wolfe.
Kool-Aid was invented in Hastings, Nebraska, by a guy named Edwin Perkins, whose interest in drink concentrate started with a product called Fruit Smack. Fruit Smack was originally bottled, but the bottles were ungainly – heavy, leak-prone, and breakable. In the late 1920s,
Perkins figured out a way to remove the liquid and package just the powder, so it could be sold in far more convenient envelopes. He initially called this new product “Kool-Ade,” which later morphed into “Kool-Aid” (trademarked in 1934).
The drink was affordable, making it popular during the Great Depression, when its canny producers halved the price from ten cents to five to keep it within reach of penny-pinching consumers. Perkins sold Kool-Aid to General Foods in 1953, and the infamous Kool Aid Man was created not long after. OH YEAH! Kool-Aid is now owned by Kraft Foods.
Every year during the second weekend in August, Hastings, Nebraska hosts a celebration of Kool-Aid. This tradition started in 1998 when Kool Aid became the state’s official drink.
It’s going to be hot today – close to 90 degrees – which makes hydration ultra important. For the record though, very sugary drinks actually can dehydrate you, especially if they also contain caffeine. If you’re interested in getting outside, today looks like your best bet, with sunny skies on tap. The rest of the weekend is kinda iffy, with clouds tomorrow and showers on Sunday. Temperatures will be in the high 70s to low 80s.
In the headlines…
The Biden administration unveiled the results of landmark drug price negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical companies.
The move allows President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to cast themselves as confronting the drug industry on behalf of older Americans at a critical moment in the presidential campaign.
Taxpayers are expected to save billions as a result of the deal. But how much older Americans can expect to save when they fill a prescription at their local pharmacy remains unclear, since the list cost isn’t the final price people pay.
A set of policies proposed by the Biden administration this week could make it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions, speak to customer service agents, get flight refunds and more.
The Secret Service has reportedly bolstered former President Donald Trump’s security in a variety of ways since the assassination attempt on him last month, including by temporarily shifting part of Biden’s protective team to Trump.
Harris participated in a mock presidential debate on Monday at Howard University in Washington, taking time out of her campaign schedule to refine her approach to former Trump before their scheduled debate on Sept. 10.
Trump’s latest financial disclosure lists more than $100 million in liabilities stemming from three civil lawsuits he lost in New York that required him to obtain bonds to pay the judgments.
The disclosure also showed profits from licensing fees at Trump-branded properties in Dubai and Oman, as well as income that he made from his post-presidential books, including $300,000 from a Trump-endorsed Bible.
It also reveals tidbits about how the president keeps his fortune, from millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency to a six-figure investment in gold bars.
Trump also reported $513 million in income from US resort and residential properties including his Doral, Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster clubs, as well tens of millions of dollars of liabilities and debts related to his legal troubles.
Trump is seeking to delay his criminal sentencing in Manhattan until after the presidential election, imploring the judge overseeing the case to allow him additional time to challenge his conviction.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance agreed to take part in a vice presidential debate with Democrat Tim Walz on Oct. 1 hosted by CBS News, meaning both parties are now on board with facing off.
Vance also accepted a proposed second VP debate on Sept. 18 on CNN, but Democrats have not yet agreed to that.
“The American people deserve as many debates as possible,” Vance tweeted in a response to Walz’s post challenging him. “Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1st, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week. “I’ve been honored to accept the invitation to appear Monday night,” she told reporters during a question-and-answer session in Manhattan.
The number of private sector jobs in New York increased over the month by 10,800, or 0.1% in July, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted figures released yesterday by the state Department of Labor.
For the last 117 years, adultery has had a spot in New York’s penal code as a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail. But that may not be the case for much longer. A bill that would repeal the state’s adultery law is awaiting action by Hochul.
Billboards opposing New York’s proposed “Equal Rights Amendment” — which critics claim would allow transgender athletes to compete against women in sports — will sprout up across the state ahead of the Nov. 5 ballot.
Two years after its passage, the $52 billion federal CHIPS and Science Act has led to New York state’s semiconductor sector being showered with billions of dollars in government subsidies and private-sector investment.
A voting law that Republicans claim could lead to rampant voter fraud in New York is now in the hands of a state appellate court, which will decide if it should remain on the books or be struck down as unconstitutional.
After three separate chemical exposure incidents at Western New York prisons, hospitalizing several corrections officers lawmakers and the officers union, NYSCOPBA, want Hochul to know they are fed up with feeling unsafe at work.
The Citizens Budget Commission has launched a last-ditch effort to derail a four-year extension of a commercial property tax break that costs New York City more than $500 million a year.
An overhaul of how New York distributes funding to school districts is expected next spring but the question of what that change could look like is already being considered across the state.
Federal prosecutors investigating Mayor Eric Adams of New York and his 2021 campaign have served a new round of grand jury subpoenas in their long-running corruption inquiry, issuing them to Adams himself, to City Hall and to his election committee.
“Like previous administrations that have gone through subpoenas, you participate and cooperate,” Adams said. “You see the subpoena, and you respond. At the end of the day, it will show there is no criminality here.”
The subpoena to City Hall is an expansive request for information that pertains to the related issues under investigation, which includes links to Turkey and foreign travel.
In a statement, Adams’ lawyer said the campaign has been conducting its own investigation and its findings undermine what has been reported in the media.
A woman who’s accusing Adams of sexually assaulting her over three decades ago filed papers identifying “more than” 50 people who allegedly have “personal knowledge” about her claims — but the mayor’s lawyer argues her information is overly vague.
The New York City Council unanimously approved a plan that would radically transform a section of the Bronx, replacing low-slung industrial buildings with thousands of new apartments as the city contends with its worst housing shortage since the late 1960s.
The rezoning plan will remake a 46-block corridor around the Morris Park, Van Nest and Parkchester areas, adding about 7,000 housing units near four new commuter rail stations, which are scheduled to be completed by 2027.
A new City Council law seeks to pressure schools to undo bias in enforcing a dress code across the nation’s largest school system.
Big Apple college campuses are woefully unprepared to respond to the fresh wave of “potentially dangerous” anti-Israel protests expected when students return to the classroom this fall, CUNY cops warned.
Drivers, take note: The MTA will begin fining drivers who illegally block bus stops or double park near them right away, instead of first issuing a warning.
A state judge has ordered New York City to allow a convenience store in Queens to reopen after it was accused of selling cannabis illegally, a decision that could significantly affect the city’s effort to wipe out thousands of unlicensed sellers.
The resignation of the Columbia University president, Nemat Shafik, was met with mixed reactions, but some on campus are optimistic for a fresh start.
Buyers from outside the five boroughs accounted for nearly a quarter of all New York City home purchases in the first half of the year, even as the number of foreign buyers plummeted, according to a new analysis of real estate trends.
The report from research firm PropertyShark found that people with addresses from other states or counties purchased more than 23% of one- and two-family homes, condos and co-ops between January and July.
The Albany County Airport Authority Board said it would hire a national executive search firm to find a new CEO after it decided not to renew CEO Phil Calderone’s contract.
Rep. Paul Tonko held a roundtable to see what the federal government can do to help with the affordability crisis facing people and families in the Capital Region and nationwide.
The head of safety for the Schenectady School District is urging school leaders to consider placing weapon detection systems — different from traditional metal detectors — at school buildings and sporting events.
Blackbirds Tavern, under development for three years in Voorheesville as part of a project by Ed and Lisa Mitzen, founders of the Saratoga Springs-based Business for Good foundation, will be operated by Druthers Brewing Co., which runs five local restaurants.
Two doctors and Matthew Perry’s live-in assistant have been charged, as have multiple drug dealers, in connection with the actor’s sudden death last year at age 54.
In documents filed in federal court, prosecutors said Perry’s assistant and an acquaintance had worked with two doctors and a drug dealer to procure tens of thousands of dollars worth of ketamine for Perry, who struggled with addiction.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
