Good morning, it’s Monday and the end of September is upon us.
We are moving into October – peak fall! Even though the weather still seems to be intermittently hanging on to summer, I hope you’re enjoying all the things – apple picking, cider doughnut eating, leaf raking/jumping etc.
There was a lot of good fodder to choose from today, but I decided to keep it on the light side. There’s enough crap news that we’re going to have to wade through in just a few minutes. Why not make the entry into that experience a sweet one?
On Saturday, I went for a long bike ride. One of the things I’m still working on after all these years of endurance training is nutrition, which is sometimes referred to as the “fourth discipline” of triathlon – after swimming, biking, and running, that is. Nailing your nutrition can mean the difference between an amazing performance and spending hours on end on the struggle bus.
There are all sorts of formulae out there related to exactly how much – both calories and liquid – one should be consuming, not only per hour of working out, but also before a hard workout or race and after it. A lot depends on your size, intensity, and how much you sweat, not to mention what your body can stomach – literally.
I am a big fan of whole food on the bike, namely peanut butter. (Big surprise there, I know). But this is easiest to consume on the bike – really, that’s where the bulk of one’s in-race consumption occurs, because you can’t eat while swimming and eating while running is just plain hard – especially if it’s really hot and your body is just not having it.
While running, I have found that eating whole food doesn’t always agree with me, and so I am constantly looking for something that I can tolerate, that tastes not horrible, and is easy to carry so I can keep my energy up. I’ve done gels, energy bars and balls – both pre-packaged and homemade – sport beans, blocks, and liquid calories. All of these have their benefits and their drawbacks.
In terms of taste, one of the most palatable products around, in my opinion, is something called a product called an “energy waffle” produced by the company Honey Stinger. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like – a sort of flat, chewy waffle-cookie thing that comes in a variety of flavors.
For the uninitiated, the closest I can come to describe this is that it’s a lot like a stroopwafel, which is a Dutch cookie made of two thin and crispy waffle layers held together by a caramel filling.
The name translates to “syrup waffle”, and the traditional way to consume this delicious morsel is to place it atop a cup of warm liquid – coffee, tea, hot chocolate etc. – which magically renders the stroopwafel soft on one side and crispy on the other. You can also cut tot he chase and microwave it, if you’re not in the mood for a warm beverage.
According to the 3Bros Dutch Cookies website, the stroopwafel originates from a city called Gouda in the Netherlands and dates back to the late 18th or early 19th century. (If the name of this municipality rings a bell, yes, it’s also the home of one of the world’s most popular cheeses). As these treats aren’t terribly expensive to make, they were enjoyed by the lower classes, and were originally known as “armenkoeken,” AKA “poor man’s cookies.”
For reasons that I have been unable to sleuth out on the interwebs, today is World Stroopwafel Day. I personally am not mad about it. Any excuse to indulge in this crispy-yet-soft and not-too-sweat treat works for me. You don’t have to work out to enjoy one, either. Apparently, they’re enjoyed at all times of the day and all around the world – even in the friendly skies!
Today will be warm (in the mid-70s) but cloudy.
In the headlines…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to assassinate the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah capped a series of moves that reflected his renewed confidence in Israel’s military strength and his own ability to navigate and defy foreign criticism.
Netanyahu’s authorization of the strike that killed Nasrallah came a day after the US, Israel’s main benefactor, called for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Gideon Saar, a member of Israel’s opposition, announced yesterday that he would be joining Netanyahu’s government, giving the Israeli leader’s fragile coalition an added layer of support.
Hezbollah confirmed that another one of its top commanders, Ali Karki, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday.
The Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group said Karki, who was the commander of Hezbollah’s units in southern Lebanon, was killed alongside Nasrallah, The Associated Press reported.
Hamas today said that its leader in Lebanon had been killed during an airstrike in the southern part of the country. The attack appeared to be the latest in a series of moves by Israel targeting the leadership of militias backed by Iran across the Middle East.
Former President Donald Trump’s series of demeaning insults calling Vice President Kamala Harris “mentally impaired” and “mentally disabled” drew rebukes from Republicans and Democrats alike.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, pushed back on Trump’s remarks, which came in what Trump himself admitted was a “dark” speech.
Trump nevertheless escalated his baseless attacks on Harris’s mental fitness, as his fellow Republicans cringed, and a growing list endorsed the Democratic Presidential candidate, citing the need to “put country over party.”
Trump also ratcheted up his attacks against Harris over immigration, calling for her to be impeached over the weekend.
“Kamala’s Illegal Migrants. It’s the biggest crime story of our time. She should resign or be IMPEACHED!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
Trump said if he wins he plans to ask the Justice Department to prosecute Google for what he claimed is an illegal system to only reveal bad stories about him and good stories about Harris.
The New Yorker magazine endorsed Harris, saying she has “displayed the basic values and political skills that will enable her to help end, once and for all, a poisonous era defined by” Trump.
Harris continued her efforts to bait Trump into debating her again, telling a crowd at a rally in Las Vegas that she was “all in” — even if the former president was “ready to fold.”
Her remarks came at the end of a lucrative weekend of fund-raising in California that her campaign said pulled in $55 million.
Harris will discuss racial identity, police brutality and more today on the sports and pop culture podcast “All the Smoke,” which is hosted by two retired N.B.A. players.
Republicans have unleashed a flurry of lawsuits challenging voting rules and practices ahead of the November elections, setting the stage for what could be a far larger and more contentious legal battle over the White House after Election Day.
Helene was the strongest storm to ever hit Florida’s Big Bend region. As it tore through the Southeast, it ravaged western North Carolina, decimating towns with floods and mudslides.
As of Saturday morning, 52 deaths had been linked to the monstrous storm system, at least 15 of them in Georgia.
Raging floods and mudslides unleashed by the remnants of Hurricane Helene have dealt an “unprecedented tragedy” in the mountains of western North Carolina, leaving at least 37 people dead in the region and communities struggling to cope.
New Yorkers are giving significant amounts of money to presidential candidates Harris and Trump, along with political hopefuls up and down the ticket.
New York City’s embattled mayor pleaded not guilty Friday to federal corruption charges after prosecutors accused him of using his power and influence to garner free trips, luxury hotel stays and questionable campaign donations.
Prosecutors pursuing corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams appear to have some solid evidence, but winning a conviction is far from a given, experts say.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Willians’ focus on $10 million speaks to chillingly far-reaching implications of the Adams campaign’s abuse of the public financing system, which aren’t isolated to the Turkey incidents chronicled in this criminal case.
Not all experts agree. “You’d expect prosecutors would take that dramatic step only when they have amassed irrefutable evidence. But the bribery charges against Eric Adams fail to match the hype.”
Adams’ corruption case could derail Democrats’ push to win back suburban congressional seats critical to controlling the House of Representatives, political strategists say.
Adams solicited prayers from the city’s faithful during back-to-back church visits yesterday, defiantly vowing not to resign and instead claiming, “I’m going to reign” — two days after he was arraigned on sweeping federal corruption charges.
The mayor also visited a Queens church on Saturday, saying: “So I do a lot of praying, and I’m looking forward when I leave here to go on to continue to do what I do and move our city forward. That is what needs to take place now.”
Rev. Al Sharpton urged Gov. Kathy Hochul not to use authority to remove Adams from office — arguing such a move would have “no precedent,” days after the governor said she is mulling her “options and obligations” in relation to the mayor’s indictment.
The governor indicated that she was examining her options, but removing a reliable ally could create political problems.
Adams aide and close personal friend Timothy Pearson insisted that FDNY officials meet with a controversial AI company at the same time he had a personal relationship with a consultant for the firm.
The same day Adams was indicted on wire fraud and bribery charges, two FBI agents probing the NYPD showed up at the downtown Manhattan office building where Pearson and Phil Banks – two top mayoral advisors, both former cops – work.
Maureen Dowd: “When I wrote about Adams, his biggest scandal — which I learned at our dinner — was that he still ate fish even though he claimed to be a vegan. But it seems that wasn’t the only fishy thing about him.”
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the mayor’s chief adviser and longtime confidante, recounted on live radio how, fresh off a flight from Japan, she was intercepted by state and federal investigators at JFK Airport and maintained that she — nor Adams — did anything wrong.
“We’re not thieves,” Lewis-Martin said. “And I do believe that in the end, that the New York City public will see that we have not done anything illegal to the magnitude or scale that requires the federal government and the DA office to investigate us.”
Lewis-Martin confirmed that she was served with a subpoena to testify before a grand jury during the surprise encounter at the airport — and that she got heated with the feds, saying she “wasn’t as polite as I normally am.”
Adams issued an executive order that allows Sheena Wright, his top deputy, to delegate her duties to another senior administration official with the stroke of a pen — an unusual move that comes amid speculation she may leave her post.
The order, issued by Adams just hours after news broke that a federal grand jury had indicted him on corruption charges, adds a new section to the rules for senior City Hall staff relating specifically to the first deputy mayor.
Adams 2021 Democratic primary win was in no small part due to Brooklyn’s East New York, where he won more than 60% of the vote in some areas. After his indictment, many residents in the area were reeling over the scandals looming over City Hall.
Saturday’s Martha’s Vineyard wedding of embattled Big Apple schools Chancellor David Banks and First Deputy Mayor Sheena may appear to give the pair cover in a potential federal criminal case — but experts say the marriage doesn’t completely shield them.
Their marriage was said to have been planned for some time, and it followed a yearslong relationship during which they shared a home. But it might also allow Banks and Wright to claim spousal privilege.
Many mainstream and conservative Jews are ready to rally around Andrew Cuomo if he runs for mayor, prominent Jewish activists told The New York Post.
City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams blasted out a campaign fundraising plea off this week’s historic federal indictment against Adams — prompting further speculation the progressive pol is gearing up for a City Hall run.
New York’s business sector is concerned that the possible removal of Adams from office would leave it without one of its biggest boosters.
The New York mayor is accused of accepting free luxury travel in exchange for political favors. How large was he living? A New York Times writer put the experience to the test.
The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would not restore Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the ballot in New York after a state court judge ruled that he had used a sham address on his nominating petition.
The court’s brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when it rules on emergency applications. No dissents were noted.
Hochul is sending over a dozen soldiers, three helicopters and generators to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Georgia.
A judge denied Hochul’s motion to dismiss two lawsuits seeking the reinstatement of congestion pricing. Judge Arthur Engoron made the decision on Friday in Lower Manhattan and will now hold a full hearing.
Andrew Celli, a lawyer representing the City Club of New York, one of the local groups that has sued Hochul, said that the judge’s ruling means the lawsuits will move forward and the governor will have to justify her actions in court.
Hochul’s decision to pause on congestion pricing is now facing a third legal challenge, this time from advocates for straphangers with disabilities.
Investigators investigating if the Sheriff’s Office improperly seized evidence from unlicensed pot shops found more than $100,000 in cash at a Queens office – surprising, given Sheriff Anthony Miranda’s claim his deputies don’t collect money during raids.
An off-duty NYC deputy sheriff was arrested Saturday morning in Manhattan on weapons and menacing charges.
New York City’s fight against rats has entered the furry beasts’ bedrooms, with the City Council approving a measure to lace rat traps with rodent birth control.
New York City telephone numbers could look different in the next few years – that is, if the state’s Public Service Commission approves a request for a brand new area code.
New York City’s tap water might taste a bit different for a while, as a pristine watershed in the Catskills that provides about 90 percent of the city’s drinking water will be reduced by about half, temporarily, and a lesser-used supply will make up the difference.
A newly discovered comet is heading Earth’s way, and should be visible from New York City.
Steuben County Manager Jack Wheeler estimates that the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby caused 50 million dollars worth of public damage.
Jason Schofield remains with an annual salary of just $100 after the Rensselaer Common Council voted 5-1 to overturn Mayor Michael Stammel’s veto of their decision to reduce the city employee and convicted ex-election official’s $40,000 salary by 99.7%.
Four wind developers, offering a menu of 25 configurations, have applied to the state’s fifth “solicitation’’ or request for proposals to build offshore wind farms off the coast of Long Island.
A bouncer at a bar on Fourth Street is in critical condition after being shot by a patron outside the establishment.
John Sawchuk, who, as an assistant principal at Columbia High School, foiled a shooting by a disturbed 16-year-old, died unexpectedly in North Carolina, where he had retied in 2018.
Kris Kristofferson, the vibrant, trailblazing country music hitmaker who wowed audiences in the 1976 remake of “A Star Is Born,” died on Saturday at the age of 88.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
