Good morning, it’s Thursday.
So yesterday morning, around 3:30 a.m. or so, I was out walking the dog.
Do not judge me, please. I am a severe insomniac, and as a result, the dogs are, too. I do find this time of the morning incredibly peaceful and a useful time to get uninterrupted work done. It is, admittedly a lot easier to be out at an unusual hour when it isn’t snowing, sleeting, and/or negative something degrees.
But I digress.
Anyway, I was outside with the dog, and I realized all of a sudden that it was very bright out – not daytime bright, but definitely a heck of a lot brighter than usual. I did not need my flashlight to locate any dog leavings. Perhaps you were aware, (I was not), that yesterday brought a triple-whammy in terms of sky watching phenomenon – a supermoon, blood moon, AND partial lunar eclipse.
Do not despair if you’re not an early riser/late-to-bedder, because you haven’t missed out entirely. The moon will appear full through this morning, according to NASA.
As for the partial lunar eclipse, though, it looks like we’re all out of luck, because that occurred yesterday. But there are lots of cool photos, in no small part because the Earth’s shadow partially blocked the sun’s light from hitting the moon, giving it a reddish hue (hence, the “blood” moon moniker, that you can check out here, here, and here.
Supermoons tend to get a lot of attention because they are the biggest and brightest moons of the year. This particular supermoon, most experts agree, is the second of four consecutive supermoons. (For those who track this sort of thing, click here).
The term “supermoon” was coined in 1979 by an astrologer named Richard Nolle in 1979 to refer a new or full moon that occurs when the moon is within 90 percent of perigee, (AKA its closest approach to Earth). Full moons also have a series of informal names, this one is the “Harvest Moon”, which is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox (taking place this coming weekend, Sunday, Sept. 22, at around 8:43 AM).
People think the harvest moon is brighter and bigger than the average moon, but that’s actually just an illusion, caused by how our brains process the view, NASA says.
The first known written use of the phrase “Harvest Moon” in the English language occurred in 1706, and perhaps was coined because the very bright moon gave farmers extra light by which to work longer hours while bringing in the crops.
The next full supermoon will be visible on Oct. 17. The next lunar eclipse will occur on Mar. 14, 2025 – again, according to NASA.
The next harvest, blood, AND supermoon combo won’t occur until fall of 2033, according to EarthDate. And, to make things even more exciting and build your anticipation while you wait for the next eight-plus years to pass, that astrological trifecta will up the ante by including a full lunar eclipse instead of a partial one.
Now that we’ve fully exhausted the topic of the night sky, let’s turn our attention to the day ahead. It will be warm – with temperatures in the low 80s – and dry, with intervals of clouds and sun.
In the headlines…
A fresh wave of explosions in communications devices struck Lebanon yesterday, leaving 14 dead and 450 wounded. This took place barely 24 hours after the near-synchronized pager blasts that left 12 dead and nearly 3,000 injured in Lebanon and Syria.
The two-way radios that exploded in Lebanon this time were larger and heavier than the pagers that blew up across the country on Tuesday, and in some cases set off larger fires, according to a New York Times analysis of the available visual evidence.
The Japanese manufacturer whose name was on handheld radios that exploded in Lebanon said that it had discontinued the device a decade ago and was investigating what happened.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke today about “excellent achievements” by Israel’s military and intelligence branches leading to “impressive results,” but without mentioning the device attacks.
Gallant, is reportedly under consideration by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be replaced, says Israel’s focus has moved to the northern front as a “new phase” of the war is beginning.
The House defeated a $1.6 trillion stopgap spending bill to extend government funding into March and impose new proof-of-citizenship requirements on voter registration – a bipartisan rejection of Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposal to avert a shutdown.
The vote was 220 to 202, with 14 Republicans joining all but three Democrats in opposition. Two Republicans voted present. Government funding runs out at the end of the month.
Johnson delayed a vote on the funding package last week in the hopes of consolidating Republicans’ support, but those efforts could not get the bill across the finish line.
Donald Trump, who has championed baseless claims of widespread non-citizen voting, has pressured Johnson to reject any funding measure unless it includes “election security” provisions, a stance the former president doubled down on hours before the vote.
On the day that he was originally set to return to his hometown and receive the sentence for his 34 felony convictions, Trump found himself a few miles east, basking in the raucous adulation of a packed arena on Long Island.
In front of thousands at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Trump received a local hero’s reception, as he drew an exaggerated depiction of a New York in decline, made false claims and hammered Democrats over crime, inflation and immigration.
In an hour-plus long speech to supporters in a packed arena, Trump warned that New York will be a “third-world nation” should Democrats stay in power, and cautioned against “migrants Kamala let in.”
“I say to the people of New York, with crime at record levels, with terrorists and criminals pouring in and with inflation eating your hearts out, vote for Donald Trump,” he said. “What the hell do you have to lose?”
Harris warned of mass deportations and “massive detention camps” if Trump returned to office, telling an audience of Hispanic leaders in Washington that his immigration agenda was a danger to the country.
The Teamsters, long a stalwart in presidential races, declined to endorse Harris or former Trump, citing a lack of commitment to workers’ rights from either candidate. It’s the first time since 1996 the union has withheld an endorsement for president.
The decision by the Teamsters board, while short of an endorsement for Trump, vindicated his strategy of wooing the union’s president, Sean O’Brien, a leader who has repeatedly signaled his willingness to chart his own path.
Harris is leading Trump by 5 points among likely voters in Michigan and is leading slightly in Wisconsin, while the two candidates are tied in Pennsylvania, according to new Marist battleground state polls.
Former independent presidential candidate and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that Trump wants him to choose leaders for key public health agencies if he wins the election in November.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s new Homes Act could supercharge the federal government’s role in developing affordable housing as millions of Americans struggle to find a place to rent, let alone buy.
Ocasio-Cortez pitched her social housing proposal along with her Democratic co-sponsor in the upper house, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, in a New York Times op-ed.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates yesterday by half a percentage point, an unusually large move and a clear signal that central bankers think they are winning their war against inflation and are turning their attention to protecting the job market.
The new federal funds rate is about 4.9 percent, a jumbo cut that signals the Fed’s confidence that its war against inflation is coming to an end.
The decisive reduction came alongside economic projections that suggested a more rapid pace of rate cuts than officials had envisioned just a few months ago. Officials now expect to make another half-point reduction before the end of the year.
“Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said during his news conference. But now “the upside risks to inflation have diminished, and the downside risks to unemployment have increased.”
Here’s what to watch for in five key areas of your financial life, as rates fall now — and hopefully (for borrowers at least) even more in the coming months.
Four home care agencies who say they’ll lose lucrative business contracts under the impending shakeup of a state-backed Medicaid program for people with long-term health care needs are suing the state DOH, joining a wave of opposition against the plan.
Two bills intended to help rescue squads and their patients were signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul this week.
The new healthcare laws will help emergency medical personnel save lives in dire situations and ensure that New Yorkers relying on Medicaid can receive ambulatory services without worrying about the bill.
The New York City Council Committee on Aging chair wants Hochul and legislative leaders to overhaul the state’s guardianship system after an investigation found elderly and infirm New Yorkers living in dire conditions while under court-mandated oversight.
The state’s oversight of specialized programs to help students who do not speak English as a first language boost their academic performance may be lacking, according to a new report from the state comptroller’s office.
Uncommon Grounds local coffee and bagel shop is continuing to expand in the Capital Region, with the latest one slated for the Empire State Plaza concourse.
Former Gov. David Paterson says former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is widely speculated to be planning a run for mayor of New York City would really prefer to have his old job back, but will settle for running the Big Apple as a consolation prize.
Emails and congressional documents appear to show how Cuomo not only saw a Health Department report on nursing home Covid policy, which he said at a congressional hearing he never reviewed before its release, but personally wrote parts of early drafts.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority outlined an ambitious long-term capital plan to replace aging subway cars, fix decaying bridges and improve accessibility – even as the money to pay for its current plan remains an open question.
The proposed capital plan, which would run from 2025 to 2029, doesn’t center on new rail lines, but instead on work to simply keep the city’s creaky subway and bus systems up and running.
The Interborough Express — Hochul’s proposed 14-mile light rail that would run between Brooklyn and Queens — advanced after the MTA released its latest five-year construction plan, but construction remains years off.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber left the tough question – how to pay for his big financial ask for 2025-2029 – up to state lawmakers and Hochul. “The MTA proposes, Albany disposes. That’s really when the question about funding is going to be answered,” Lieber said.
New York City police leaders said yesterday evening that officers had done the best they could when they shot a man wielding a knife, also hitting a fellow officer and two bystanders — including one who suffered a grave head wound.
Police officials said in the “next couple of days” they would release body-worn camera footage captured by the officers who fired their weapons Sunday at the man they said had the knife, Derell Mickles, 37. He was hit in the stomach and is expected to recover.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams appears to be making good on his promise to prioritize public corruption as he leads three of the four federal corruption probes touching Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
The FBI’s investigation into the Adams administration turned attention away from the governor’s office after Linda Sun’s arrest.
A new city task force cracking down on “ghost cars” — vehicles with obscured plates, no plates at all or no registration that scofflaws use to avoid tolls or commit crimes — is hitting the streets, Adams announced.
A City Council bill seeking to undo Adams’ controversial elected official engagement form policy has earned the backing of a supermajority of the chamber’s members, all but ensuring the legislation’s passage.
The Adams administration is losing another senior official, Kristen Edgreen Kaufman, the deputy commissioner of public private partnerships and economic development – the third departure in just one week.
Adams might be assailed by FBI investigations, but he was the star of the show at New York City’s inaugural Rat Summit yesterday.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is showing public support for state Sen. Zellnor Myrie’s action on gun violence as Myrie campaigns to replace Adams, though Williams hasn’t issued any formal endorsements.
The family of a Brooklyn hospital worker who was left in critical condition after police opened fire and struck him in the head at a subway station is calling for an investigation of the shooting.
Embattled hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’ was denied bail yesterday in Manhattan Federal Court on sex trafficking charges and will stay at the Brooklyn MDC lockup.
The judge said Combs posed a risk of witness tampering and was a danger to the community while awaiting his sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial.
In a small but likely welcome win for Combs, a Michigan judge has set aside a $100 million default judgement against the rapper in a case in which he’s accused of sexually assaulting a now-inmate.
Disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein is facing sexual misconduct allegations from a new accuser, with the Manhattan DA yesterday unsealing an indictment accusing him of sexually assaulting a woman in the mid-2000s.
Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood producer, pleaded not guilty to a new sex-crime indictment in a Manhattan court yesterday, months after a previous conviction was thrown out.
Valarie D’Elia, a travel reporter who visited 102 countries on all seven continents to advise her viewers and listeners on where to go, how to get there, what the best bargains were and what to pack, died on Sept. 10 in Manhattan. She was 64.
After a month of debate, the Saratoga Springs City Council agreed to move ahead with a special election by year’s end to replace Commissioner of Public Works Jason Golub.
Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins is leaving the department to become the police commissioner for Warren, Mich., near Detroit.
Four Albany police officers were injured when two Albany police SUVs collided at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Quail Street just before 5 p.m. yesterday.
Nya Almodovar, a 10th-grader at Albany High School, won the 114-pound novice title last month at the USA Women’s Boxing Championships at the Cajundome in Lafayette, La.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
