Good morning, it’s Monday and we’re back at it. A brand new month is upon us. We’re all feasted and rested and ready to jump headlong into the holiday rush.
In case you’re counting down…There are 19 days until winter officially begins, 23 days until Christmas Day and the same number of days until the first night of Chanukah. Kwanza starts a day later – on Dec. 26 – and lasts through Jan. 1, 2025.
You might be one of those people who has already handled all your holiday gift buying. I am jealous. I like getting people presents, just not when I HAVE to get people presents.
Under duress, I dither. I never know what to get. You would think that one of these years I would get smart and keep a running list of things people close to me mention that they need or want, or things that strike me as something they would enjoy or never buy themselves and so really appreciate.
I have these epiphanies from time to time, but when it’s time to act on them, those thoughts are nowhere to be found.
I usually avoid the mall like the plague on Black Friday. But this year, we did briefly stop into the Barnes and Noble at Colonie Center because there was a book I had read about in the New York Times and couldn’t get out of my head. I had to have it ASAP.
We happened to be in the neighborhood of Wolf Road, and so we decided to try it. The parking lot was a nightmare, but the mall itself wasn’t too bad. I think we might have been there late enough – around 5 p.m. or so – to have missed the big crowds.
Or maybe it was because everything these days is buying online (more on that in a minute), and Black Friday – when you lined up at dawn and rushed into a store – risking life and limb – to get first dibs on the deals. These days, the deals start weeks before Black Friday – weeks before Thanksgiving, even, and the pandemic has changed the way we shop forever.
So back to my Black Friday experience. I bought a few books, drank a coffee, grabbed a salad from Whole Foods and beat feet, as my retired cop husband likes to say. I did not purchase a single gift, but I did my part to contribute to the economy.
And so did a WHOLE lot of other folks, many of whom shopped from the comfort of their own homes (or cars, or wherever they access their mobile devices, which is where more than half of these purchases were made this year).
Online shopping this Black Friday was predicted to break past records, landing somewhere in the neighborhood of $11 billion – with a big, BIG b. As of Friday evening, spending on online shopping was up more than 8% compared to 2023.
This blew my mind: Shoppers spent $11.3 million online every minute between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., according to the sales tracking firm Adobe Analytics.
And I’m sure that number will be pushed even higher today – Cyber Monday.
This term was coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation to enshrine a trend of shoppers making purchases upon returning to work after Thanksgiving, because, at that time, that’s where many people had faster and more reliable internet access. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sales are expected to be a record-breaking $75 billion or so.
And that doesn’t, I don’t believe, take into account Small Business Saturday, which generates billions of dollars in sales on its own.
Despite inflation and uncertainty in the markets due in part to the impending changes in D.C., this year’s holiday season is expected to generate big bucks for retailers, with even budget conscious shoppers opening their wallets and spending just over $1,000 per person, on average.
The weather certainly has taken a chilly turn, which I’m betting also puts people in a festive/holiday mood. It certainly has been good for skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts for whom the past several seasons have been a bit of a mixed bag.
Today wouldn’t be a bad one to hit the slopes, assuming you’ve got the right cold weather gear. Skies will be cloudy and temperatures will be in the mid-30s. No precipitation is in the forecast locally, though that’s most decidedly not the case elsewhere in New York and parts of the Midwest as well.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden announced that he has pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who faced sentencing this month for federal tax and gun convictions, marking a reversal as he prepares to leave office.
“Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” the president said in a statement. It is a “full and unconditional pardon,” according to a copy of the executive grant of clemency. This official grant of clemency cannot be rescinded by President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden’s grant of clemency — an extraordinary political act with extraordinary legal breadth — insulates his son from ever facing federal charges over any crimes he possibly could have committed over the past decade.
Biden and Trump now agree on one thing: The Biden Justice Department has been politicized. In pardoning his son, the incumbent president sounded a lot like his successor by complaining about selective prosecution and political pressure.
Biden last night embarked on a long-promised trip to Africa, traveling to Angola for a visit aimed at acknowledging the long and painful history between the two nations while committing to a future of economic investment.
Trump had dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday evening at Mar-a-Lago.
The meeting came just days after Trump promised massive hikes in tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada starting on the first day of his administration, specifically calling for a 25% tariff on all products sent to the US.
Trudeau said that he had an “excellent” and “productive” conversation with Trump, discussing many important topics that will require both countries to work together to address.
Trump said he would require countries that are part of BRICS — a China- and Russia-backed group of emerging economies — to commit to not creating new currency or face 100% tariffs during his administration.
The president-elect announced Saturday night that he has picked staunch Trump loyalist Kash Patel as the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Patel, a Trump transition insider, has been one of Trump’s most visible and vocal allies, showing up at his criminal trial in Manhattan, perpetuating conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
In a statement, Trump called Patel a “brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter” who “played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution.”
Several lawmakers expressed support for the president-elect’s plan to install a loyalist who has vowed to use the position of FBI director to exact revenge on adversaries.
Trump also has selected his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, to serve as the next US ambassador to France. Kushner was pardoned by Trump in 2020 after serving a prison sentence following a conviction on federal charges.
Trump is threatening to challenge the Senate’s historic role, and the Constitution, with his prospective nominees and threats to push the boundaries of executive authority.
The mother of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, sent an email to her son in 2018 that sharply criticized his treatment of women, The New York Times reported.
A House-passed bill to reform aspects of Social Security is lingering in the Senate as questions bubble up over its path forward.
Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, announced that he is entering the race to lead the national party.
James Skoufis, an ambitious Orange County lawmaker who was just reelected to his fourth term as a state senator, has launched a long-shot bid to lead the national Democratic party.
The senator, representing most of Orange County and the Catskills, touted his bipartisan appeal in an announcement video posted to his X account.
New Yorkers shopping for clothes dryers may be eligible for retail rebates to offset the costs of buying and installing energy-efficient versions of those appliances.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is contending with pressures from environmental advocates and Trump as she charts a path forward toward meeting New York’s ambitious climate goals.
Hochul declared her intention to personally involve herself in the deportation of illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the state.
Hochul on Thanksgiving announced $27.5 million in additional funding toward the New York State Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program and Nourish New York programs.
Hochul yesterday updated New Yorkers on the lake effect snow currently impacting Western New York, and said that Department of Transportation crews were clearing snow on state roads around the Bill stadium to make them safe for traveling fans.
The storm dumped several feet of snow and disrupted post-Thanksgiving travel in the Great Lakes states and New York. More snow is expected in the coming days.
A tiny hamlet in Lewis County just north of the Tug Hill State Forest had the distinction Saturday night of having one of the highest snow readings in New York — 45 inches of the white stuff after lake-effect snows pushed across Lake Ontario.
The Bills clinched the AFC East for the fifth consecutive year — the longest streak in franchise history — with five regular-season games still to play.
The governor shopped in downtown Troy in support of Small Business Saturday.
A home care provider claimed that the Hochul administration rigged the bid to oversee the state’s allegedly fraud-ridden $9 billion home care Medicaid program — picking one company in a backdoor deal.
Supportive housing is a lifeline for thousands of New Yorkers who benefit from having staff and services onsite where they live, but advocates are concerned it could be on the chopping block under the incoming Trump administration.
More than 155,000 public school students experienced homelessness in New York in the 2022-23 school year, the highest level since at least 2009.
Children up to 6 years old are now automatically eligible for continuous health care coverage under Medicaid, a move officials hope will prevent gaps in medical services.
Democratic registration dropped 7% in New York City and 4% across the Empire State between 2020 and 2024 — the latest sign of disaffection with liberal policies that some pundits is fueling a national push to the right.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the creation of more than 15,000 apprenticeship opportunities in the city in less than three years.
An employee of the office of Adams, whose team is supposed to “bridge cultural divides and provide unity,” was reportedly filmed tearing down hostage posters and then assaulting an eyewitness.
Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres slammed Adams’ administration for giving only a slap on the wrist to the taxpayer-funded staffer caught ripping down an Israeli hostage poster.
A Brooklyn pol is demanding Adams honor a 2021 campaign promise by raising city medic salaries on par with other first responders.
Adams says the corruption cases brought against him are political retribution — and he and Trump have shared a bond over that.
Adams called potential Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade protesters “grinches” and vowed to stop any disruptions — a year after anti-Israel rabble-rousers glued their hands to the parade route.
Federal prosecutors are opposing Adams’ request for an early start to his criminal trial on corruption charges, citing a shift in his stance on whether he should be able to review classified material gathered by investigators as part of his case.
A month after lawyers began laying out their case in Daniel Penny’s trial, they are set to make their final arguments today to the jury that will decide his fate.
Trader Joe’s is suing a new wine store in town for having an all-too familiar name, according to a new lawsuit filed by the grocery giant in New York state court. And that name is Joe.
A steep drop in the influx of migrants has led New York City to close another seven emergency shelters in recent days — bringing the total to 11 over the past month.
A federal judge held New York City’s government in contempt of court last week for failing to improve conditions on Rikers Island — and her scathing ruling says she’s now “inclined” to place the city’s entire correctional system under federal control.
A federal judge is likely to employ a rarely used remedy to try to fix longstanding problems in the city’s jails. But it’s not foolproof.
For a decade, the M.T.A. has not retained a city transit president for longer than three years. Now a 27-year veteran of the authority, Demetrius Crichlow, is taking the job.
Neighbors of a former St. John’s University campus on Staten Island are worried that the bucolic site will become low-income housing – but officials say nothing is in the works yet.
The Rev. Al Sharpton hosted his annual Thanksgiving dinner at the National Action Network’s House of Justice in Harlem.
There are over 58,000 illegal migrants who are convicted felons or facing criminal charges roaming NYC — and close to 670,000 across the country, new data obtained by The Post shows.
An Emmy-winning investigative reporter claims she was abruptly fired from News12 Long Island after calling out her bosses for shortchanging her on resources and air time, while male colleagues had plenty of support, according to a lawsuit.
A woman who snuck aboard a Delta flight from JFK Airport to Paris will remain there — for who knows how long — after causing a disturbance at the City of Light’s main airport Saturday.
A rabies expert called New York authorities “insane” for killing P’Nut the Squirrel – saying the state could have figured out if the animal was dangerous without chopping his head off.
A little-known squad of New York’s medical examiner’s office uses dogs, DNA and any other available clue to identify bodies.
Two underage youths from Schenectady were arrested outside Crossgates Mall Saturday afternoon after allegedly stealing a car and striking a Guilderland police cruiser when they tried to flee.
A Saratoga Springs-based hotel group with five Adirondack Park lodging properties is spending $3.5 million to add a shuttered North Creek inn to its network.
Residents of Fort Edward recently filled a town office building for a community forum, raising concerns about a new proposal to test the removal of “forever chemicals” from soil at a local processing plant.
There are more women than ever enrolled in the automotive program at Hudson Valley Community College.
Table 41 Brewing Company had a garage sale for its restaurant equipment yesterday, days after it closed permanently.
Fast, bright and copious, the Geminids meteors are one of the best cosmic light shows of the year — and they’ll be flashing across the night sky this month.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
