Good morning, it’s Friday. Let me say that louder for those of you in the back: IT IS FRIDAY!!
If you are not engaged in dry January, there might be some consumption alcoholic beverages on your agenda for the weekend. If you ARE engaged in dry January it might interest you to know that today marks the day in history when the ENTIRE NATION went dry (theoretically speaking, more on that in a moment) for 13 years.
On this day in 1920, the Volstead Act when into effect in support of the 18th Amendment, effectively placing a nationwide moratorium on the manufacturing, sale, and consumption of alcohol.
This was the culmination of a years-long campaign for so-called “temperance,” which focused on the many ills followers believed were caused by alcohol – poverty, crime, illness, domestic violence etc. and so forth. Overall, those who believed in temperance were convinced that drinking booze was not only immoral but a public health hazard.
The movement had religious roots, but as time went on, it gained mainstream support, which lead to a decline in drinking during the 1803s. But that was insufficient progress for the social reformers who were hell bent on not merely reducing alcohol consumption but mandating that Americans abstain completely from drinking.
Hence, the 18th Amendment was born. In 1919, it was ratified by the three-quarters of states required to make it constitutional. Later that same year, the aforementioned Volstead Act, which required the U.S. government to enforce prohibition, also passed.
Ironically, Prohibition – in some ways – had the exact opposition effect that the reformers intended. It’s human nature to want something extra badly when you’re told you can’t have it. This is why extreme dieting is unsustainable.
When alcohol was outlawed, demand for it rose exponentially, which provided an opportunity for gangsters and sparked a rise in organized crime, corruption, and violence. It also spurred a whole culture of bootleggers, speakeasies – pretty much all the things that the so-called Roaring 20s were known for.
As an side, if ever there was an era that I would like to have the opportunity to travel back in time and experience, the Roaring 20s is it. I already have the short hair covered; ditto the “unladylike” behavior. I love flapper dresses and jazz. I feel like I could learn to do Charleston, if pressed.
On the crime question, I found an interesting article that actually challenged the convention wisdom linking Prohibition and a crime wave, citing research that other factors – rapid urbanization, for example – along with modernizations in transportation and mass communication, and general social rebellion, were, in fact, to blame. There is some evidence that banning alcohol did, in fact, cause some categories of crime to drop, at least temporarily.
Nevertheless, Prohibition didn’t last. It was expensive and difficult to enforce, had a significant economic impact (no alcohol sales = no alcohol tax revenue, which the country sorely needed during the Great Depression), and, over time, grew to be unpopular. was repealed in 1933 via ratification of the 21st Amendment.
We’re in for a brief warming trend, with temperatures rising into the mid 30s today and flirting with 40 degrees on Saturday. We’ll see intervals of clouds and sun today, followed by a mostly cloudy day tomorrow. Sunday is looking like kind of a bust, with temperatures again dropping into the low 30s and snow showers developing as the day progresses.
In the headlines…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a meeting of Israel’s political security cabinet to vote today on the Gaza cease-fire deal after Israeli and Hamas negotiators worked out their remaining differences.
Netanyahu said that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war.
The deal is a fragile one, and the logistics of it will be extremely complex — even Hamas getting the hostages safely to a handover point will present significant security challenges.
The Gaza cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas has yet to be ratified by Israel’s government, but the battle over Netanyahu’s political future has already begun.
President Biden, in his final television interview in office, which aired on MSNBC last night, defended his choice to steadfastly support Israel throughout the conflict.
Biden issued an executive order requiring software companies selling their product to the federal government to prove they included ironclad security features that can thwart Chinese intelligence agencies, Russian ransomware gangs and others.
The president has issued policy decisions in a number of areas in the final days of his term to cement his agenda, including environmental justice, prison reform and immigration, and constrain his successor.
Biden’s staff released a behind-the-scenes video of the retiring president ordering milkshakes and chatting with staff during his final days as commander in chief.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House who retired from her leadership position two years ago, will skip President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, a spokesman said, extending a long-running feud between the two.
Ken Howery is a quiet, unassuming tech investor who prioritizes discretion. And yet, he has ended up in the middle of two of the noisiest story lines of the incoming Trump administration: Elon Musk and Greenland.
More Senate confirmation hearings for prospective members of the Trump cabinet wrapped up yesterday. Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, called for extending a series of expiring tax cuts and talked tough on Russia and Iran.
Former Long Island GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin emphasized bipartisanship but stopped short of taking firm stances on controversial pollution topics during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing as he seeks to be appointed administrator of the EPA.
Zeldin sought to reassure senators amid calls from Trump and his allies for a rollback of rules on climate change, which the former congressman said he believes is “real.”
Trump has chosen former 22nd Congressional District Rep. Brandon Williams to serve as the next undersecretary for nuclear security at the U.S. Department of Energy.
Key Trump aide Stephen Miller urged House Republicans during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill this week to find new ways to cut funding for sanctuary cities and states like New York while beefing up border enforcement.
Melania Trump has accused the Obamas of trying to hijack her husband’s first term in the White House.
Chaos erupted at Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final press conference after the announced Israel-Hamas cease-fire and hostage deal, with State Department employees forcibly removing reporters who accused Blinken of allowing a “genocide” in Gaza.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in farewell remarks yesterday, denied accusations leveled against his tenure, including by his likely successor, that the Justice Department’s work had become infected by politics.
Rudy Giuliani has reached a settlement with two Georgia election workers who he repeatedly, and falsely, claimed had helped to steal the 2020 election.
Giuliani declared victory and said he was going to hang onto all of a treasure trove of items that included a 10-room apartment on the Upper East Side, a vintage Mercedes-Benz convertible and a signed Joe DiMaggio jersey.
This litigation has taken its toll on all parties. This whole episode was unfortunate. I and the Plaintiffs have agreed not to ever talk about each other in any defamatory manner, and I urge others to do the same,” Giuliani wrote on X.
Judge Lewis J. Liman adjourned the proceeding until next Tuesday. In court documents filed yesterday, attorneys in the case asked for a longer extension so the tentative settlement could be finalized.
Winds have eased in the LA area, helping firefighters make more progress on the biggest fires, as frustration grew among evacuees eager to return home. Officials said it would most likely take at least another week, possibly more.
Even in evacuated areas that seem safe, homes and businesses need to be checked for toxic chemicals, and electricity and other public utilities have to be restored, officials said. Health officials have also warned about compromised water in some areas.
Users of the nation’s largest subway system will start seeing NYPD officers on every overnight train starting Monday as Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a strategy to tamp down rider anxiety that has been rising amid a series of horrific high-profile crimes.
The $77 million strategy will put 750 more police officers on platforms and in stations and 300 more officers on overnight trains.
Two officers will patrol each of the roughly 150 overnight trains when the effort reaches its full strength, Hochul said.
Hochul pledged funding to have at least two cops on every subway train overnight without diverting officers from over patrols — but the NYPD’s top police union says there aren’t enough cops to do the job.
Hochul is taking steps to get kids off of their phones and go outside. The legislation revolves around allocating funding to building and improving playgrounds and community centers, creating sports programs, and providing other recreational opportunities.
Hochul was not always a supporter of a banning cellphones in schools, but input from law enforcement officials changed her mind. She hopes skeptical parents heed the same advice.
State Sen. James Skoufis ended his long-shot campaign to become the next Democratic party leader and endorsed Ken Martin, longtime chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.
The New York State Sheriffs’ Association announced the statewide implementation of the Blue Envelope program, intended to help drivers with autism during encounters with law enforcement officials.
The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office said that it would change its policy regarding detained children after a video shared widely online showed deputies handcuffing an 11-year-old girl the day before.
Mayor Eric Adams unveiled an ambitious $114.5 billion preliminary budget, laying out a spending plan that prioritizes housing, mental health and public safety initiatives while avoiding unpopular cuts that have accompanied the last few budgetary cycles.
The spending plan for the 2026 fiscal year is roughly $2 billion more than New York City’s last enacted budget, with investments in mental health, parks and quality-of-life programs.
The $114.5 billion spending plan anticipated $2 billion less in asylum seeker costs, but also called for an additional $550 million for non-migrant shelters.
Adams’ next city budget includes $100 million to keep a key summer program going for at least another year. But $112 million allocated for 3-K was left out of his accounting, putting thousands of slots at risk of being rolled back or eliminated by July.
Adams will sit down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago today as rumors swirl of the indicted mayor angling for a pardon. The mayor was traveling to Florida yesterday evening ahead of the meeting, which will take place just days before Trump’s inauguration.
The mayor “has made quite clear his willingness to work with (Trump) and his incoming administration on behalf of New Yorkers — and that partnership with the federal government is critical to New York City’s success,” an Adams spokesman said.
Amid mounting legal bills, Adams’ defense trust is nearly $1 million in the red after raising just over $2,000 in the latest reporting period — most of it from a convicted businessman pardoned by Trump during his first White House term, a new filing reveals.
Progressive City Council members are forming the resistance to the “draconian immigration policies” of the incoming Trump administration — as they blasted Adams for cozying up to the president-elect.
Ahead of the inauguration, New York City officials have hosted staff training sessions on the city’s sanctuary laws and sent legal guidance to city agencies urging their compliance with those rules, which limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Federal authorities are investigating allegations that police officers may have paid bribes or offered other gratuities in exchange for promotions, according to a letter filed in court yesterday by a lawyer suing a former top Adams adviser.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander now boasts more in his campaign coffers than the embattled incumbent Adams in this year’s race for mayor, according to filings made to the City’s Campaign Finance Board this week.
Scott Stringer, a former New York City comptroller running for mayor, has an idea to help struggling parents — even if their children may not like it – xtending the public school day to 4:30 p.m.
As he officially launched his campaign for mayor yesterday, Stringer released a plan he says will generate an estimated 20,000 new affordable homes over five years.
Stringer also rolled out an ethics plan as Adams battles corruption charges. Topping the list: a proposed ban on political donations from anybody doing business with the city and a one-year waiting period for lobbyists getting city jobs.
Stringer is setting an ambitious — and potentially unattainable — goal of hiring 3,000 cops to backfill the depleted NYPD ranks and assign officers to each subway train as he ramps up his campaign to challenge Adams.
A major service disruption yesterday evening left thousands of New Yorkers scrambling for alternative ways to reach their destinations during the busy evening commute.
NYPD cops are reportedly looking to question Wu-Tang Clan rapper and founding member Method Man after a 28-year-old man filed a complaint accusing him of an assault at a Staten Island gym.
Rapper Busta Rhymes was arrested after he pummeled a man during an argument in Brooklyn, police said. The Brooklyn-bred artist, whose real name is Trevor George Smith Jr., got into an argument with his 50-year-old assistant.
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, who is seeking to be the Republican nominee for the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, has also applied to be the next president of Hudson Valley Community College.
Colonie Center’s lenders have foreclosed on a $110 million loan the mall received in 2014. Shoppers should notice no difference at the mall while the case plays out in court.
The Community Loan Fund, a nonprofit community development financial institution based in the Capital Region, is in search of a new executive director.
Tree House Brewing is adding local staff, a sign the popular Massachusetts-based beer maker is getting closer to opening its sprawling restaurant, brewery and taproom on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs, the company’s first location in New York.
Another week, another store-related announcement at Stuyvesant Plaza in Guilderland. This one involves a new tenant. Free People Movement is coming to the upscale strip mall later this year.
Looking for an affordable and exciting way to explore the country? Through today, you can get the Amtrak USA Rail Pass for only $299 (regularly $499).
David Lynch, a painter turned avant-garde filmmaker whose fame, influence and distinctively skewed worldview extended far beyond the movie screen has died at 78.
His family announced the death on social media yesterday, but provided no details. In 2024, Lynch announced that he had developed emphysema after years of smoking, and that as a result any subsequent films would have to be directed remotely.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
