Good morning. It’s Friday! We made it through the first full workweek of the year. I don’t know about you, but it was a real slog on my end.
It’s still very cold, and when the weather gets like this I gravitate toward warm food. Out with the salads and the smoothies, in with the soups and the eggs and the oatmeal.
Honestly, I do eat oatmeal all year round. It is a go-to food for me, because it’s easy, nourishing, filling, healthy, and provides a blank canvas on which you can pretty much “paint” any taste that suits your fancy.
I know some people have an issue with the texture. I personally like my oatmeal very thick – almost cake-like – which can be achieved by either cooking the daylights out of it, or (much simpler) mixing it with a protein source like egg whites, cottage cheese, yogurt, protein powder or some combination thereof.
I never did get on the overnight oats trend. I tried, I really did. But I am a traditionalist when it comes to oats. I like them warm – especially when it’s sub-zero outside.
Also, while I love a bowl of Scottish or steel cut oats that I can really sink my teeth into, the time it takes to make them – unless you have the presence of mind to think ahead and make them in the slow cooker (I guess a pressure cooker also works, but I don’t own one) – is certainly prohibitive in my book.
That said, the extra few minutes it takes to make actually oatmeal and not instant oatmeal, which tends to be sweetened and/or flavored, is worthwhile. And the calories you save you can make up by adding some arguably more nutritious flavorings of your own, like fruit, nut butter, chia seeds, honey, cinnamon, maple syrup etc.
I will step down from my soapbox now.
To be clear, oatmeal and porridge are NOT, in fact, the same thing, though oatmeal CAN be porridge. Oatmeal is always made from rolled, ground, or flattened oats, while porridge can also be made from other things like legumes or other grains. I personally have warm (see what I did there?) mostly childhood memories of Cream of Wheat, Farina, grits, (which I actually didn’t try until I was an adult), and Pastina (RIP the Ronzoni version).
The consumption of oatmeal, or something akin to it, dates back many centuries. It did NOT, in fact, originate in Scotland, though there is a strong porridge/oatmeal culture in that country. The ancient Greeks and Romans were aware that humans could eat oats, but they mainly consumed by livestock and those who were very poor.
Americans, too, initially reserved oatmeal for animal feed, until it started to gain popularity in the 1900s as a breakfast food. Quaker Oats, which is still around today and since 2001 has been owned by PepsiCo, was trademarked as a breakfast cereal way back in 1877.
Today, oats are a big business, with the North American market expected to reach $2.13 billion by 2033. When it comes to consumption, however, Denmark is No. 1 in the world at 9kg per person annually, followed by Belarus, the UK, Finland and Norway.
Things are looking up in the temperature department, with the mercury heading back up into the high 20s and low 30s starting today and through the weekend. Also, the biting wind that makes things feel even colder is going to die down.
This is the good news. The less good news is that some snow – minimal, but snow all the same – is in the forecast for tomorrow. Sunday looks pretty nice, though, for those who are sick of being stuck inside. No dreadmill for me this weekend!
In the headlines…
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday denied President-elect Donald Trump’s emergency bid to halt his criminal sentencing in New York, all but ensuring it would proceed as planned today.
In a brief unsigned order, a five-justice majority in a 5-4 ruling noted that Trump was not facing jail time and that he could still challenge his conviction “in the ordinary course on appeal.”
Four conservative justices – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh – said they would have granted Trump’s request. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court’s three liberals to side against Trump.
Though the president-elect is expected to avoid jail time, his sentencing on 34 counts will formalize his status as a felon and make him the first to carry that distinction into the White House.
Trump’s sentencing allows him to begin mounting a formal appeal, which could take months or years.
A federal appeals court yesterday said that it would not block the Justice Department from releasing a report by the special counsel Jack Smith about the two now-closed investigations he conducted into Trump.
In a brief and unsigned order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, rejected an emergency request from Mr. Trump’s legal team to stop the report from coming out.
JD Vance said he will resign as a senator today, 10 days before the Ohio Republican is set to be sworn in as vice president.
Trump is preparing nearly 100 executive orders for when he returns to the White House on Jan. 20, a Republican senator said.
If Trump has his way, “everything the American consumers buy from Canada is suddenly going to get a lot more expensive,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned during an interview with CNN.
New York’s highest court declined to delay Trump’s sentencing for his conviction last year on charges related to a “hush money” payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Sen. John Fetterman plans to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago as the Pennsylvania Democrat cements his role as one of the most moderate members of the party.
A federal judge in Kentucky struck down President Joe Biden’s effort to expand protections for transgender students and make other changes to the rules governing sex discrimination in schools.
“This is a huge win for Tennessee, for common sense, and for women and girls across America,” Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti said. “Because the Biden rule is vacated altogether, (Trump) will be free to take a fresh look at our Title IX regulations.”
The Biden administration had touted the “most comprehensive coverage” students would receive in the nearly half-century of Title IX. It was also an overhaul of the first Trump administration’s rule that mandated how schools must respond to sexual misconduct.
Three days after the Jan. 6 anniversary, former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service in the National Cathedral presented a historical picture of a different kind, one that spoke not of upended norms, but of preservation and strength.
“Character. Character. Character.” Speaking from the pulpit of a hushed Washington National Cathedral, Biden seemed to be eulogizing something bigger than the late US president who lay in a stars and stripes-draped casket before him.
Steve Ford gave his father’s posthumous elegy for Carter at Washington National Cathedral. “I’m looking forward to our reunion,” the 38th president wrote. “We have much to catch up on.”
Former President Barack Obama and Trump shared a seemingly friendly conversation while sitting next to each other at the funeral. (Former First Lady Michelle Obama did not attend).
Carter’s family later attended a private internment service outside the former president’s home in Plains, where he will be buried alongside his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, who died in 2023.
At least 10 people have been killed by a series of major fires in Los Angeles that have also reduced hundreds of homes and businesses to ash, setting an apocalyptic backdrop for first responders and firefighters still working to contain the flames.
A new fire in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles grew ferociously yesterday. The Kenneth fire, broke out in West Hills, north of Calabasas. Firefighters are still unable to contain the two largest fires that have been burning in the region this week.
Actor Jamie Lee Curtis shared in an Instagram post that she and her family plan to donate $1 million to relief efforts, adding that she’s been in touch with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, as well as Mayor Karen Bass and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
California fire chief David Acuna said that although wildfires in the Golden State are commonplace, what has been a “significant shock” is the number of structures destroyed.
As crews fight the fast-spreading fires across LA, they have repeatedly been hampered by low water pressure and fire hydrants that have gone dry. Experts say there are vulnerabilities in city water supply systems not built for wildfires on this scale.
Officials now say the storage tanks that hold water for high-elevation areas like the Highlands, and the pumping systems that feed them, could not keep pace with the demand as the fire raced from one neighborhood to another.
With so many people displaced and looking for rentals, the region’s housing options could grow even scarcer and more expensive.
Rep. Mike Lawler will serve as chairman of the House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over the Middle East and North Africa regions and oversight responsibilities over activities in the State Department.
The Democratic Party’s top two congressional leaders – both New Yorkers – agree: The party lost big in the election over voters’ economic fears and must now overhaul its pocketbook messaging to win again. But not everyone is on board with how to do that.
Counteracting Trump’s plans to expand the national use of planet-warming fossil fuels, New York’s environmental advocates are gearing up for an on-going battle to solidify the shift to cleaner energy sources at home.
New York election officials are being urged to investigate whether RFK Jr. committed voter fraud by casting his November ballot from a discredited address, as the ex-presidential candidate seeks Senate confirmation for a top role in the Trump administration.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a “climate superfund” law forcing the state’s biggest polluters to fund resiliency projects just two weeks ago; legislators are already planning changes to bulletproof it ahead of expected legal challenges from the fossil fuel industry.
The governor said she will push for new laws to make it harder for hedge funds to purchase large numbers of single-family homes in the state.
In a statement, Hochul said she would propose legislation this year that would require a 75 day waiting period before large investment firms could place bids on new homes hitting the market and limit certain tax benefits when the firms purchase homes.
Hochul has come out in opposition to a tax break rule – the federal-level state and local tax (SALT) deduction – that she said robs “middle-class families of their hard-earned money.”
“The New York Republican delegation owes middle class New Yorkers a full repeal of the SALT cap. This cap has cost New Yorkers as much as $12 billion every year since it took effect in 2018, robbing middle-class families of their hard-earned money,” she said.
Four cannabis shop owners who say their new businesses could be harmed by competitors who received authorization to open within hundreds of feet of their stores have filed a lawsuit alleging state regulators are violating New York’s “proximity” protections.
SUNY wants to make it easier for students to transfer within the sprawling system of colleges and universities, and changes will begin this spring to bridge the communication gap within the state’s 64 SUNY institutions.
In his fourth – and possibly his last – State of the City address, an embattled Mayor Eric Adams committed to investing $650 million to support people experiencing homelessness and severe mental illness.
The pledge is part of a suite of proposed investments Adams unveiled with an eye to New York City families and their uncertainty moving forward.
The mayor vowed to build 100,000 new housing units across Manhattan over the next decade — adding to the roughly 900,000 dwellings already on the island.
Appearing at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, the mayor highlighted his accomplishments and focused on a theme of making it easier for families to live in the city.
Adams will pursue these and other initiatives, which address some of voters’ most pressing concerns, as he pursues reelection against a crowded field that may include former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Federal prosecutors who brought corruption charges against Adams last fall have recently presented additional evidence to a grand jury in his case, suggesting that they are taking steps to seek more charges — either against him, other people or both.
New York City’s economy roared back to life in 2024, with record levels of employment and a tourism industry nearly returned to its pre-pandemic peak. But uncertainty clouds the outlook for the new year as Trump could make dramatic policy changes.
If you didn’t know a highly controversial, immigration-hostile, locally indicted Republican president was about to be sworn into office in 11 days, you certainly wouldn’t find that out from Adams’ State of the City speech.
Congestion pricing is in full swing in much of Manhattan — presenting a new avenue for phishing scammers to pose as legitimate tolling agencies.
Charging drivers to enter Lower Manhattan vindicates the lifelong mission of a Nobel laureate who, as it happened, died behind the wheel of a car.
A woman killed in a chain-reaction crash while walking on a Queens sidewalk was a beloved wife, mother and community activist devoted to helping those in need, her husband said.
An MTA track cleaner collapsed on the job in Brooklyn this week, dying a short time later of an apparent heart attack, the Transport Workers Union said.
Hundreds of NYPD sergeants demanded “fair pay” from the city, slamming a contract trifle that’s caused them to get paid less than the officers they supervise.
Buffalo, the second largest city in the state, has emerged as the country’s hottest housing market for 2025, according to Zillow, as high demand and limited supply send prices soaring.
With two new jobs created for every home built, Buffalo’s booming economy is drawing young families and professionals — but the city’s construction industry is struggling to keep up.
Former state Supreme Court Justice Erin T. Gall—who the state’s judicial conduct watchdog concluded that she had threatened violence against Black teens at a party—is not eligible to ever serve in a judicial office again, the Court of Appeals ruled.
A potential showdown between interim Supervisor Erin Cassady-Dorion and popular Niskayuna High School Principal John “JR” Rickert has been set up now that the incumbent has said she wants to run for a full two-year term to hold onto the post.
In the bitter cold weather this week, some classrooms at La Salle Institute in Troy have not had heat.
Multiple GameStop stores in the Capital Region are closing as part of what seems to be a broader string of closures for the video game and electronics retailer.
A Schenectady business owner pleaded guilty to stealing over $700,000 from the state’s Medicaid program through his medical transportation company.
A 17-year-old Albany High School student is accused of threatening people with a knife, which led a police officer to draw his weapon.
Ten Thousand Villages in Stuyvesant Plaza announced plans to close 13 company-owned stores and restructure its support office as the company shifts focus to e-commerce growth and wholesale partnerships.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
