Good Tuesday morning.
This time of year, I’m trying to get as much outside time as possible, knowing that all too soon it’s going to be cold and gray and miserable a lot of the time.
Being outside in the summer requires some preparation to ensure appropriate protection from the elements. One must wear sunscreen, of course, and perhaps a hat and a light-colored long-sleeved shirt. Maybe a parasol might be in order?
Also – at least for me – bug spray is a must. I know people have mixed feelings on bug spray and some swear that the natural stuff works. I have tried it all – lemon and eucalyptus oils, citronella, apple cider vinegar, etc. and so forth. None of it works well enough to prevent me from getting eaten alive.
The most reliable thing that keeps the bugs away, in my experience, is DEET. And even covered in the stuff, I still get bitten. A lot. But it’s this side of bearable. Of course, nothing can deter black flies, but that’s the subject of another post.
I’m speaking here mainly about mosquitos, which, in case you weren’t aware, are the deadliest creatures in the world.
Yes, you read that right. This tiny little winged pest is responsible for some 780,000 to 1 million human deaths annually, as well as infecting up to 700 million people a year (that’s about one in 10).
For the record, humans are No. 2 on the deadliest list, responsible for at least 540,000 deaths a year.
Mosquitoes apparently are attracted to some people more than others, based on blood type, body heat, and odor. If you’re pregnant, drinking, and/or working out, you’re potentially more apt to get bitten. But it’s really more or less about genetics, and I apparently drew the short straw somewhere along the line.
There are a few things you can do – avoid wearing the sort of colors that mosquitoes like (red, orange, and black); avoid potassium-rich foods like bananas and avocados that make your body produce more lactic acid, which some believe attracts the blood-thirsty biters; consume more garlic and onions, which allegedly makes you smell less attractive (not only to bugs, but also potentially to people, which may or may not be a benefit), though the science on that is mixed.
Only the female mosquitos bite. The fact that they use their so-called “blood meal” to produce their eggs – effectively, to feed their babies, doesn’t make me feel any better about getting feasted upon. And, the fact that mosquitoes can carry a wide range of diseases – from malaria to West Nile Virus, Zika virus, Dengue fever, Yellow fever, Encephalitis and more – also adds to the urgency of protecting oneself against them.
This has been a particularly active mosquito season, thanks to the warm, wet weather we’ve been having, and the fact that 2023 was a bonanza year for the biters. New York is not one of the top 10 states when it comes to worst mosquito problems, but New Jersey makes the list, and it’s right next door.
For the record, Michigan, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon are the least mosquito-prone states, in case you’re thinking of relocating any time soon. (Generally speaking, drier climates with less water = fewer mosquitos).
Today, in case you hadn’t already guessed, is World Mosquito Day, which commemorates the day that a British doctor named Sir Ronald Ross found a malaria parasite in the stomach of a female Anopheles mosquito – the first ever evidence that mosquitoes are capable of spreading the disease from one human to another.
The purpose of World Mosquito Day is to raise awareness about the deadly nature of mosquitoes and the illnesses they can cause, and the efforts underway to combat them. Of course, climate change is complicating those efforts by expanding the range and seasons in which mosquitoes are active and creating additional opportunities for them to breed.
In our region, mosquitoes are active through the fall, so don’t put that repellent away just yet. That said, it’s going to be on the cooler side today, with temperatures struggling to get out of the 60s. Skies will be partly to mostly cloudy.
In the headlines…
President Biden used his valedictory address at the DNC to defend his own record aimed at cementing a 50-year legacy of public service, even as he passed the reins to Vice President Kamala Harris as the new face of the party he led until just weeks ago.
Biden grew emotional as he delivered a political farewell to his most fervent supporters. “I’ve given my heart and soul to our nation, and I’ve been blessed a million times in return,” he said, adding that Harris is the best person to lead the country now.
The outgoing president wiped away tears as he was greeted by a minutes-long standing ovation by the crowd that chanted “we love Joe” as he entered the stage. Asked about this later, Biden told pool reporters: “The reception was pretty overwhelming.”
Whatever anger Biden might have had toward fellow Democrats related to the ignominious end of his re-election bid, Biden channeled all of it toward former President Donald Trump.
Harris and Doug Emhoff joined Joe and Jill Biden onstage to cheers from the crowd after the president delivered remarks effectively passing the torch to the vice president. Harris and Biden embraced.
Due to a 30-minute in the programming, Biden’s farewell speech did not run during primetime.
Eight years after failing to smash the “highest and hardest glass ceiling” in politics, Hillary Clinton urged her party to make Kamala Harris the nation’s first female president.
Clinton, who lost out on becoming the first female president, has been a behind-the-scenes ally for the woman now vying to do so.
The former secretary of state used her primetime speech at the DNC to rip into her former presidential rival as a selfish criminal who Democrats now have “on the run” against Harris.
Hundreds of left-wing protesters were preparing to march in Chicago as the DNC got underway nearby, providing an early test of the city’s security preparations and of Harris’s attempts to project a sense of intraparty unity.
Demonstrators in Chicago were focused on a range of causes, but many said they were angry with the Biden administration’s approach to Israel and Gaza.
American intelligence agencies said that Iran was responsible for hacking into Trump’s campaign and trying to breach the Biden-Harris campaign.
The widely expected finding came days after a longtime Trump adviser, Roger J. Stone, revealed that his Hotmail and Gmail accounts had been compromised.
The investigation marks the clearest sign of the efforts by Iran, and other countries, to try to influence the 2024 election, US officials believe.
Trump, who has notably harbored a grudge against the pop music megastar Taylor Swift, set the internet ablaze when he shared social media posts suggesting that she endorsed him and that her fans could help him win in November.
Manhattan prosecutors left the politically fraught decision of when to sentence Trump in his criminal hush-money case to a judge, declining to endorse or oppose the former president’s request to postpone until after the November election.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Israel accepted a Biden administration proposal to bridge some differences with Hamas on a cease-fire deal, as he pushed “probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity” to secure a truce and free the hostages in Gaza.
Blinken spoke to journalists after a day of meetings with Israeli officials, including a 2-1/2-hour meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Blinken described as “very constructive.”
Hamas’s military wing and Islamic Jihad took responsibility yesterday for what they said was a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv late Sunday, and threatened further attacks because of the “continued civilian displacement and killings” of Palestinians.
George Santos, who spun lies about his life into an 11-month stint in Congress, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a case that led to his expulsion from office and the admission that he’d allowed ambition to cloud his judgment.
Santos, 36, is likely to spend at least six years in prison and owes more than $370,000 in restitution. His guilty plea in federal court on Long Island came weeks before the case was to go to trial. He is to remain free on bond until he is sentenced on Feb. 7.
“I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” the New York Republican said, his voice trembling. Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Santos said he had “allowed ambition to cloud my judgment.”
Two women died after they were swept away by floodwaters as a powerful storm battered the New York City area and parts of Connecticut, where at least 100 people were evacuated, officials said.
A replacement plan for the paused congestion pricing program will be announced by the end of the year, likely after Election Day, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
In one of the most high-profile speeches of her career, delivered at the DNC, Hochul drew a contrast between the current and former presidents, telling attendees, “If you think you’re tired of Donald Trump, talk to a New Yorker.”
“Donald Trump was born a New Yorker but ended up a fraud, a philanderer, and a felon,” Hochul said. “if you think you’re tired of Donald Trump, talk to a New Yorker. We’ve dealt with him for 78 long years.”
New York GOP Chair Ed Cox released a statement ahead of Hochul’s appearance at the DNC, which accused the governor of running the Empire State into the ground.
New York’s manufacturers of craft spirits, cider and mead can now ship directly to consumers.
The measure that was temporarily in place during the COVID-19 pandemic removes a restriction that prevented small distillers, breweries and cideries from shipping their goods directly to consumers and across state lines.
Opposition to the shakeup of a popular Medicaid program intensified as a group of home care agencies asked a state Supreme Court judge to block an upcoming statewide contract they allege infringes on their constitutional rights to do business in New York.
New federal assistance is available for farmers in New York after the damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Beryl in July.
Middle Eastern and North African business leaders want to expand economic opportunities through state legislation that would create a separate racial category for members of those groups on government forms, in research and potentially in contracting.
A bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general have filed an amended complaint against Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., and it’s subsidiary Ticketmaster that will seek compensation for consumers allegedly harmed by the companies’ practices.
A major insurer for many New York state retirees improperly paid over 200 insurance claims costing over $5 million, according to an audit by the state comptroller’s office.
Legalizing marijuana in New York brought seismic changes. It also brought sticker shock. A 3.5-gram jar of flower costs $60 at a licensed Queens dispensary, compared with about $40 to $50 from dealers and unlicensed shops.
A New York judge last week barred Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from appearing on the state’s November ballot based on his residency. Yesterday, his opponents began trying to have him blocked a second time for good measure.
A woman who accused Mayor Eric Adams of sexually assaulting her in 1993 told nine people about the encounter and documented her account in emails years ago, her lawyer said in a legal filing on Monday.
Gary Jenkins, a former social services commissioner under Adams, is leaving his job at a consulting firm run by a top mayoral ally, Frank Carone, to work for a major homeless services nonprofit.
Adams touted the success of New York City’s enhanced Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) while helping to cut the ribbon for a new federal credit union branch in Queens.
New York City officials began clearing out an encampment of homeless migrants on Randall’s Island yesterday as the city contends with a growing number of migrants sleeping outside.
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will stay in New York until he’s retried on sex crimes charges before being returned to California to serve out his sentence there, according to the Queens district attorney’s office.
A skull and bones were found on the shoreline near the carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday morning, police said.
Drivers who don’t pay up for traffic tickets are more likely to have their cars ensnared with so-called “boots” than they have been at any point since before the pandemic all but shut down enforcement, according to New York City data.
Most Columbia students who were arrested or faced discipline for participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations will return to campus, according to information released by a Congressional committee investigating the school’s response to antisemitism.
George Snyder, an FDNY marshal who led the department’s newly formed lithium-ion battery task force, was mourned at a St. Patrick’s Cathedral funeral yesterday, as a sea of thousands of firefighters showed up to pay their respects.
Marylou Whitney’s longtime husband John Hendrickson has died at the age of 59. He was married to the “Queen of Saratoga”, Whitney, who died five years ago at the age of 93, for more than two decades.
The 59-year-old reported feeling unwell just before lunch at Cady Hill, the Saratoga Springs home he had shared with his late wife. He died at Saratoga Hospital holding the hand of his longtime friend, Maureen Lewi.
Hoosick Falls will receive an estimated $3 million from a class-action settlement involving 3M and DuPont, chemical manufacturers that allegedly contributed to the decades-long pollution of the community’s water supplies.
A robust multimillion-dollar recruitment effort for health care workers will soon be launched across upstate New York, led by a Capital Region hospital trade group that will scour community colleges and high schools for job candidates.
The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for much of the Capital Region as a powerful line of thunderstorms moved across the area yesterday afternoon.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and County Legislature Chair Joanne Cunningham released the names of the six people they appointed to the Pine Hills Land Authority which will oversee the future of the former College of Saint Rose campus.
Town government in the Hilltown community of Berne is in a state of administrative paralysis after the abrupt resignation of three Town Board members last week.
The University at Albany student who was seriously injured after being struck by a dirt bike plans to resume her studies this fall. Alexa Kropf continues to make progress as she recovers from a traumatic brain injury.
Longtime TV talk show host Phil Donahue, who in the 1960s reinvented the television talk show with a democratic flourish, died on Sunday night following a long illness, his family said. He was 88.
Donahue died at his home surrounded by his family, including his wife of 44 years, actor Marlo Thomas, his sister, his children, his grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie, his family said in a statement.
In a lengthy Instagram post, the actress thanked her followers for their support after Donahue died at the age of 88. She also announced that she would be taking a hiatus from social media while she grieved her loss.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
