Good morning, it’s Friday. Hooray!
I seem to be on something of a roll when it comes to issues related to parenting and children, which is ironic given the fact that I do not have any biological offspring – save for the furry, adopted kind.
It is really amazing to me, and, quite frankly, a little sad, the degree to which child rearing (and I include education in this broad brush category) has become politicized.
Every stage of a child’s life – from gestation to college, more or less – seems to be fair game from a political standpoint. We are even fighting over who should be able to use what bathroom and who should be allowed to compete on what sports team.
What is the world coming to? This sounds awfully naive of me, doesn’t it? I guess it’s more of a head-shaking lament than a disbelief thing, to be clear.
Even something as seemingly basic and simple as providing nourishment for your child has turned into a political debate, particularly when it comes to breastfeeding.
Let’s first leave aside the whole question of breastfeeding in public and the decency argument, which, for the record, is legally NOT considered indecent exposure in New York, though the laws do vary from state to state on this. Let’s also state for the record that there is ample scientific data that breastfeeding is healthy for mother and child alike.
But it’s also not for everyone, for a variety of reasons. No judgement here. If you choose not to breastfeed, or are unable to do so, that’s your choice. But if you do opt to nourish your baby (or toddler) in this manner, you should have the right to do so and get the support you require.
You might not have been following along back in 2018 when the Trump administration reportedly bullied other countries’ governments in an effort to prevent the passage of an international resolution promoting breastfeeding.
World health officials were shocked by the U.S. delegation’s embracing of the infant formula manufacturers’ interests in rejecting a resolution that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes.
The attempt to soften the resolution’s language was ultimately unsuccessful, though only after Russia stepped in to champion it. Ecuador, which had introduced the measure, backed down from it after receiving threats from the U.S. of retaliatory trade measures and the withdrawal of military aid.
The New York Times’ reporting on the dustup raised the former president’s hackles. He insisted the issue was about preserving the option of formula feeding for parents – even though the resolution said nothing about limiting access to it.
Why am I dredging up this old issue when there are plenty of new indignities to be incensed about?
Because it’s World Breastfeeding Week, which runs Aug. 1-7 and is supported by the WHO, UNICEF, many Ministries of Health and local partners.
The theme for 2024 is Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all, with the goal of “emphasizing the need to improve breastfeeding support as a critical action for reducing health inequity and protecting the rights of mothers and babies to survive and thrive.”
A heat advisory will be in effect from noon to 7 p.m. today, with heat index values of 95 to 100 expected. Rain will be developing later in the day. The weekend is looking…not great. Tomorrow, will bring more rain and the chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, and Sunday will bring more scattered thunderstorms. Temperatures will be in the mid to high 80s.
In the headlines…
The US and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free.
Here’s a (very long) back story of the negotiations to free Gershkovich, who, to the end, remained true to his journalistic roots.
Gershkovich requested an interview with Russian President Vladimir in one last show of bravery and defiance against the Kremlin before he was finally freed as part of a hectic, top-secret deal to release three Americans imprisoned in Russia.
Vadim Konoshchenok, a self-described “colonel” for Russia’s intelligence agency who plotted to get around sanctions to send ammo and tech from the U.S. to the Russian military in Ukraine, was part of the swap, federal prosecutors confirmed in a court filing.
An aide to Joe Biden hailed a complicated prisoner swap as an act of “vintage Joe Biden” diplomacy. As he greeted freed Americans, the president seemed intent on showing the world what that meant.
The exchange offered a measure of validation for Biden soon after he abandoned his bid for re-election.
Former President Trump posted a photograph of Vice President Kamala Harris wearing an Indian sari as he continued to push false racially charged claims that the Democratic presidential candidate isn’t really Black.
Harris has condemned former Trump’s remarks about her ethnicity. But she also made it clear she would not engage in a debate with a white man critiquing her Black identity.
For a Republican Party that has acclimatized itself to a decade of combustible comments from Trump, the reaction to his latest remarks had the feeling of a familiar routine: Republicans mostly rolled their eyes in private and held their tongues in public.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, one of the front-runners to be Harris’s running mate, has abruptly canceled a three-event fund-raising swing through the Hamptons just days before Ms. Harris is expected to make her selection.
The Trump campaign said that it and its allied groups had raised $139 million in July, an enormous sum — but well short of the $200 million Harris’s campaign said it brought in amid a huge burst of enthusiasm about her candidacy.
A New York appeals court rejected Trump’s arguments seeking relief from a gag order in his hush-money case as “unavailing.”
Trump is urging the judge who oversaw his Manhattan criminal trial to step aside, claiming in a legal filing that the judge has indirect ties to Harris and therefore an “actual conflict and appearances of impropriety.”
In a letter to the judge two months after Trump was convicted of falsifying documents to hide a sex scandal, Trump’s lawyers said that the judge’s daughter “has a longstanding relationship with Harris,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump remains barred from launching verbal attacks against employees of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and their relatives until his sentencing on Sept. 18, the mid-level appeals court ruled.
CNN host Kate Bolduan asked Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul if she was upset that all Harris’ potential vice presidents are white men. Hochul said she wasn’t bothered at all, adding: “I don’t want to look at gender here. I don’t think it’s fair.”
Hochul said that there is “zero” chance Trump will become the first Republican presidential candidate to win New York in 40 years in the November general election.
Rep. Elise Stefanik sent a letter to Hochul urging her to submit a request for a presidential disaster declaration to FEMA following flash flooding on July 10, that severely impacted counties and municipalities across her North Country district.
As New York continues to lose correctional officers, Hochul said she is considering making some changes to the pay scale and age requirements associated with the job in a bid to get more people into vacant positions.
The state AG’s office, which will enforce new laws that prohibit social media companies from collecting personal data from children or using addictive feeds to keep them online, took the first step toward setting up rules to ensure the statutes are followed.
New York’s governor has retained a private law firm to challenge her own attorney general’s report on her disgraced predecessor’s alleged predations.
Two NYPD sergeants were shot while attempting to arrest an armed gang member suspected of robbing a Lower East Side mahjong parlor yesterday afternoon, police said.
Sgt. Carl Johnson, 43, of the 5th precinct was struck in the groin and Sgt. Christopher Leap, 34, of the 7th precinct suffered a graze wound after 22-year-old robbery suspect Joshua Dorsett fired one shot amid a struggle that ended in his arrest.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban’s 2023 junket to Qatar, paid by the country’s government, cost upward of $10,000 – one of five trips he took that were bankrolled by non-city entities, documents from the Conflicts of Interest Board show.
Camille Joseph-Varlack, Mayor Eric Adams’ chief of staff, plans to amend her latest financial disclosure after failing to include the fact she’s still serving on the board of an energy company that does business with the city.
A Manhattan judge ruled that the City Council overstepped its authority in enacting a package of bills expanding eligibility for the popular CityFHEPS rental assistance program – a win for Adams, who refused to implement the measures out of cost concerns.
A state judge sided with the Adams administration in its refusal to enact a set of laws expanding access to city housing vouchers — tossing out a lawsuit brought by the Legal Aid Society and the City Council seeking to force him to implement the measures.
Attorneys for the city “established that the City FHEPS reforms laws are invalid” because state law empowers local social services agencies — not legislative bodies like the City Council — to set eligibility rules, the judge wrote in his decision.
Adams celebrated the ruling in a statement, adding: “We are hopeful that our partners in the Council will join us in remaining committed to working to connect New Yorkers in need with safe, affordable, permanent housing.”
A 900-page draft audit of Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign in New York City found widespread errors that could lead to fines or forfeiture of public matching funds.
Auditors requested further information on whether certain expenses were for legitimate campaign purposes, including more than $10,000 spent on parking tickets and car repairs.
New York City’s city hall is lit up in red, white and blue to honor Team USA’s Olympians competing in Paris. “New York City is the Olympic Village of the world,” Adams said on X.
One day after federal prosecutors announced that they had struck a plea deal with three men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, New Yorkers and family members of victims had mixed reactions to the sudden news.
New York’s hundreds of hotels are subject to less regulatory scrutiny than many other businesses. The industry is resisting City Council efforts to change that.
Nearly half of MTA bus riders are not paying the $2.90 fare, and the MTA is admitting its attempts to stop the problem have not been particularly effective.
The leader of one of New York’s most elite private schools has left his post after an academic year marked by infighting among parents, students, faculty and alumni over the war in Gaza.
Comedian and actor Pete Davidson canceled his Sept. 14 performance at the Palace Theatre in Albany. The Saturday Night Live alum is entering a rehabilitation facility for mental health treatment.
The City of Albany celebrated the completion of three projects meant to transform Clinton Square into a gateway to the city.
Two airlines at Albany International Airport will add flights in the coming days and months.
The city aims to create a master plan for Prospect Park instead of continuing piecemeal investments in the 80-acre site with panoramic views, extensive recreational areas and a historic but decaying swimming pool, Mayor Carmella Mantello said.
Proposed legislation in the town of Bethlehem could institute a local ban on gratuities for public servants, mirroring a rule already established in New York state law.
After winning the all-around gymnastics title, Simone Biles wore a sparkly necklace in the shape of a goat, for Greatest of All Time. But she is not done yet: She has three more chances to win medals in Paris.
With her silver medal in the 4×200 freestyle relay last night, Katie Ledecky now stands alone as the most decorated female American Olympian, in any sport, with 13 medals. And she still has one more race to swim in France.
After Lauren Scruggs, 21, became the first Black American woman to win an individual Olympic fencing medal, she clinched the first-ever gold for the U.S. team.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
