Good Thursday morning. There’s some nice symmetry in today’s date the 24th day of October 2024.
Seems auspicious to me for no other reason than things that match please me. Hey, there’s no accounting for taste.
I’m going to assume that I’m not alone in having a long list of strong likes and dislikes. In the “likes” column: Dogs, coffee, peanut butter, the smell of woodsmoke on a crisp Autumn day, toast, thrifting.
In the “dislikes” column, well, let’s just say it’s very long – maybe even longer than the “likes” column, which is sad, I know, and probably says something about me. I’ll spare you the gory details. However, one thing that is definitely on there: Zoos.
I understand I might be in the minority here. A lot of people like zoos, especially kids. And while I do understand that they have their place in terms of the conservation, breeding, and protection of potentially endangered species, seeing animals in enclosed spaces – no matter how luxurious and larger they might be – just makes me deeply sad.
I avoid zoos as an adult. I think the last one I visited was pre-pandemic in San Diego, where I have to grudgingly admit that I did enjoy feeding the giraffes rolled up leaf pellets – they unrolled their blue-black tongues to delicately lap up each piece! – though the price to do so was quite steep, if I remember correctly.
I will also give zoos this: If not for their existence, I would have never been able to see a wide variety of exotic animals in person – including kangaroos. Kangaroos are definitely on my “likes” list. I do recognize, however, that much like other marsupials – most notably, koalas – while adorable, are neither sweet nor cuddly.
In fact, kangaroos are the exact opposite of the way they’re often portrayed in movies and cartoons. They are aggressive and known for fighting – both each other (the males, anyway, and sometimes to the death) and humans, if they feel provoked.
Kangaroos, like koalas and other marsupials (mammals that give birth to premature young and then carry them around in a pouch on their abdomen), are primarily found in and around Australia. In fact, the country adopted the kangaroo as its national symbol in 1908 by including the animal (along with the emu) on its coat of arms.
Kangaroos are not endangered. There’s an estimated 50 million of them, (yes, you read that right), about 48 million of which are in Australia, where they outnumber people and are actually something of a nuisance, so culling them is allowed, though it is hotly debated.
Kangaroos can also be found in far more limited numbers in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and even Hawaii. They do face the same sort of threats that pretty much any animal on the planet does these days, all of which are connected to humans – hunting, getting hit by a car, extreme weather events caused by climate change, habitat loss, etc.
Fun kangaroo facts: They can jump as high as nine meters, which is 29 feet, and when they’re really moving, they can reach speeds of 30 mph or more. They are herbivores, which means they eat plants – mostly leaves and grass, along with fruit and flowers – and not meat. They travel in groups called “mobs.”
Today, if you hadn’t already guessed, since this topic seems to be a bit random, is World Kangaroo Day and also National Kangaroo Awareness Day, which offers an opportunity to learn about these fascinating hopping marsupials and raise awareness about them.
The stretch of unseasonably warm weather has, sadly, come to an end. Today will be much cooler, but still comfortable, with temperatures in the high 50s, and partly cloudy skies.
In the headlines…
Vice President Kamala Harris called former President Donald Trump a fascist, elevating what until recently was an argument made only in the lower ranks of a Democratic Party that has spent years attacking him as anti-democratic, unfit to serve and a criminal.
Early in a CNN town hall in Pennsylvania, Harris readily agreed with the host, Anderson Cooper, when he asked whether she believed Trump met the definition of a fascist. “Yes, I do,” she quickly shot back. “Yes, I do.”
Harris blasted Trump for his reported praise of Adolf Hitler and said the Republican presidential nominee “wants unchecked power.”
Later, she used the word herself to refer to Trump for the first time in public, saying voters care about “not having a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.”
Other than that, Harris largely stuck to her talking points during a CNN town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper yesterday night, where she took questions from voters in the crucial state of Pennsylvania.
Harris called it “deeply troubling” that her Republican rival had apparently invoked the German dictator in conversations with one of his former chiefs of staff, John F. Kelly.
Trump’s campaign and his closest allies are again trotting out theories of hacked voting machines as part of a late-campaign strategy to assert that this year’s election is rigged, although this time his campaign appears to be largely acting behind the scenes.
Federal prosecutors have warned Elon Musk that his $1 million-a-day voter petition sweepstakes may be illegal.
Similar warning letters from the department’s public integrity unit have been sent to businesses and organizations that tied promotions to voting and are intended to suggest that continuing such an activity could result in a criminal investigation.
Mayor Shawn Reilly of Waukesha, Wis., an independent who was a Republican for most of his life, said in an interview yesterday that he was endorsing Harris for president – the first time he has ever endorsed a Democrat.
An Arizona man has been arrested on terrorism charges in connection with three shootings at a Democratic Party campaign office in suburban Phoenix that wounded no one but rattled campaign workers in a bitter election season.
The editorials editor for the Los Angeles Times stepped down after the newspaper’s billionaire owner stopped the publication’s expected endorsement of Harris.
Boeing’s largest union rejected a tentative labor contract yesterday by a wide margin, extending a damaging strike and adding to the mounting financial problems facing the company, which hours earlier had reported a $6.1 billion loss.
The contract, the second that workers have voted down, was opposed by 64 percent of those voting, according to the union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The latest Boeing offer had included a 35 percent wage hike, but did not reinstate a pension plan sought by many employees. The strike by 33,000 machinists was set to begin at one minute after midnight tomorrow morning.
Saying that American Airlines mistreated disabled air travelers who use wheelchairs, the U.S. DOT announced a $50 million fine against the carrier – the highest fine ever levied against an airline for violating protections for fliers with disabilities.
More than $26 million has so far been poured into the battleground 19th Congressional District race between Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro against Democrat Josh Riley – making it the costliest in New York and the seventh priciest in the country.
Rep. Brandon Williams of Central New York is the only House Republican whose race is listed as “lean Democrat” by the Cook Political Report. The increasingly personal race between Williams and Sen. John Mannion is critical for both parties.
The 17th Congressional District in the lower Hudson Valley is one of the most competitive and closely watched races in the country this election cycle.
Tensions ran high during a debate last night between New York Republican Rep. Michael Lawler and ex-Democratic Congressman Mondaire Jones — as the two clashed over opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Lawler said lower Hudson Valley voters should send him back to DC for another term because of his stances on taxes, border security and public safety.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand dipped and dodged a full-on attack from her GOP challenger Mike Sapraicone over her support of Prop 1 during a Spectrum News/NY1 debate.
An indictment rocked New York’s 3rd Congressional District — and the country — not long ago, ultimately costing the House GOP the seat. Republicans are now hoping another legal fight can help them flip the district back.
New York’s locally operated juvenile detention facilities are often failing to conduct timely assessments of many of the adolescent offenders in their custody, a new audit from the state Comptroller’s office found.
For the first time, the share of eligible New Yorkers who have signed up to be organ donors has passed 50 percent, though the state’s health commissioner said that is still not enough.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that will allow New York City to install red-light cameras at up to 600 intersections, up from the current cap of 150, which has been a priority for Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
Hochul signed a package of bills to establish or expand the camera program across the state, including in Nassau County, Mount Vernon and White Plains, as well as other places in New York City’s suburbs.
Adams’ transportation commissioner traveled to the state Capitol earlier this year to push for an expansion of the program.
With the MTA’s finances in dire straits, according to a new state comptroller’s report, the controversial congestion pricing plan may be coming back into the picture sooner than expected — and Hochul appears near-ready to lift the pause she implemented.
However, Hochul defended her decision to pause the program again yesterday, saying it was the right thing to do for consumers, whose costs are already high.
Hochul announced new funding to build more zero-emission homes statewide. The Building Better Homes program will incentivize the design, construction, and marketing of clean new builds. It will also provide training and support to builders and developers.
An Ontario County business owner will pay a $9.5 million penalty for operating an unlicensed cannabis store despite warnings from the state.
The state attorney general’s office this week announced that the owners of a medical transportation company have pleaded guilty to stealing millions from state Medicaid coffers.
Not one member of New York City’s congressional delegation has offered a resounding defense of Mayor Eric Adams — an ominous sign as he fights for his political survival amid a federal corruption indictment. Though this uneasy peace might soon end.
Jesse Hamilton, a top New York City official with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, reportedly overruled the results of a formal bidding process at his agency earlier this year, steering a lucrative contract to one of Adams’ donors.
Adams announced the final rules governing the city’s first-in-the-nation municipal trade-in pilot program for unsafe electric bikes and other electric-powered mobility devices and their batteries.
Adams’ administration recently carved out part of a citywide traffic camera contract in a way that stands to benefit a firm whose president is an ex-top aide to Phil Banks – Adams’ own ex-aide who’s entangled in a federal corruption probe.
New York City residents won’t just be voting for their elected representatives in this November’s general election — they’ll also be saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to proposals to amend the city charter, the living document that effectively serves as the city’s constitution.
Attorney Jim Walden, who has worked on cases in and around city politics for decades, is running for mayor and is pitching himself as an apolitical technocrat who will emulate Michael Bloomberg.
After months of contentious negotiations with the hotel industry, the New York City Council overwhelmingly approved a bill on yesterday aimed at improving safety at hotels for workers and guests.
The bill, known as the Safe Hotels Act, will require hotels to obtain licenses in order to operate, and to adhere to the licensing requirements. Hotels must schedule staff at the front desk at all hours, provide panic buttons to employees and keep rooms clean.
New Yorkers might soon be able to use their paid sick leave to take their pets to the veterinarian or to be with them during surgery, if the City Council passes a bill that was introduced yesterday.
The bill, by Manhattan Democratic Councilman Shaun Abreu would amend the Earned Safe and Sick Time Act so paid sick leave, which employees can take to care for themselves or family members, can be used for both household pets and service animals.
About 1,500 nurses are threatening to go on strike at Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side and two of its sister sites in Manhattan if owner Northwell Health doesn’t accede to demands to boost pay and improve staffing.
The M.T.A. chose Demetrius Crichlow, a nearly 30-year veteran of the authority, to serve as president of New York City Transit, which oversees the city’s subway and bus networks – the first Black person to fill what is arguably its second-most important job.
The NYPD is investigating a disturbing staged accident on the Belt Parkway that went viral on TikTok — as experts said such insurance scams are on the rise in New York because fraudsters are “getting away with it.”
Jahmeik Modlin was found emaciated in a Harlem apartment stocked with food. His family’s child-welfare case had been closed two years before.
Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul who was charged with a new sex crime in Manhattan last month, will face a single trial, likely next spring.
Weinstein’s lawyers plan to hire a private investigator to look into a new allegation against the movie mogul that will now be part of the case.
A haggard-looking Weinstein was wheeled into a Manhattan courtroom yesterday, appearing for the first time since reports surfaced about his cancer diagnosis. He brought a copy of the political thriller “Conclave” with him.
A newly discovered fault line in the Northeast may explain why April’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake had very little impact near its epicenter in New Jersey, but shook millions of people 40 miles away in New York City.
A new study announced by Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory this week identified unusual movements along the fault line on April 5, the day of the quake.
A child therapist on Long Island has been charged with distributing sexual abuse imagery of children as young as infants on social media, according to a federal complaint.
The human remains found earlier this week at the Burden Pond Preserve in Troy do not belong to Jaliek Rainwalker, the Washington County 12-year-old who disappeared in 2007.
More students who are new to the English language are coming to Albany — in a surge that includes migrants placed in suburban motels a year ago.
GE Vernova, which has significant operations in Schenectady and Niskayuna, lost $99 million during the third quarter of the year as its offshore wind business continues to drag down the company’s financial results.
Michele Riggi, who recently moved from Saratoga Springs to Lake Placid, is now in the hospitality business, renting one of the cottages on her 40-acre mountain compound as an Airbnb.
Village of Scotia police said an “investigation has now been opened” into an allegation of state Assembly candidate Joe Mastroianni stealing campaign mail out of a resident’s mailbox.
City of Schenectady leaders are poised next week to adopt a revised 2025 budget that raises property taxes by around 3%, increases the residential trash collection fee by $52 per customer a year, and gives the mayor a nearly 19% pay raise.
For the second time since August, consumers are being warned to avoid drinking raw, unpasteurized milk from a dairy farm in Montgomery County.
Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski, who fled the United States decades ago after confessing to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl, has settled a separate underage rape case that was set to go to trial next year.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
