Good morning, it’s FRIDAY. Weird. Such a short week. I was just getting back into the swing of things, it felt like, only to be caught up short by the weekend. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, just sort of pointing something out is all.
Political reality will start settling in today when the 119th Congress is sworn in, putting Republicans in full control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 2019. There could be some sparks flying in the House, where members may or may not revolt against reinstating Mike Johnson as speaker – even though he has the backing of President-elect Donald Trump.
Remember: It took House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, of California, 15 rounds to win the gavel in 2023, and the swearing in ceremonies were delayed by several days as a result.
If that happens again and there’s no speaker in place by Jan. 6, which is the date when the results of the 2024 election are to be certified (also the anniversary of the 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters who were angry about the outcome of the last election), things could get ugly.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
I’m sure there are those of us out there who are like “oooooh, political turmoil, let’s make some popcorn!”
Personally, though I think that given the crazy quotient that has been upped considerably in the political realm of late, it might be time to up our snack game to something a little more substantial and decadent – but also small enough not to break the bank when it comes to any health-related resolutions we might or might not have made for 2025.
Something like a chocolate covered cherry, which, for some reason perhaps known only to the National Confectioners Association, is being celebrated nationally today. I guess it’s a good precursor to Valentine’s Day, getting people thinking about the sorts of treats they might purchase for a loved one?
But I say: Why wait? Something as good as a chocolate covered cherry – a chocolate covered anything, really – should not be saved for a special occasion.
My dad used to be a big fan of chocolate covered cherries. He also likes chocolate covered raisins, for the record, which gives you some additional insight into his tastes and preferences. I probably inherited quite a bit of that from him. He is also the one who taught me about glove compartment chocolate – preferably Cadbury dark with nuts and berries – as it’s very bad to be caught unawares in the car without sustenance. Very bad. No one like a hangry driver.
But I digress.
So, chocolate covered cherries are sometimes referred to as cordials – particularly if they contain an alcohol-based syrup in their interior, which is not always the case. This was a practice adopted by both the Americans and the English, while the French apparently just went straight for the chocolate covering and didn’t mess around with anything else.
There’s an argument to be made that chocolate covered cherries are good for you in moderation – especially if they’re dark chocolate covered (antioxidants, mood elevating, inflammation busting etc.) and don’t have too much, if any, syrup/alcohol/additives etc.
Cherries alone contain both fiber and potassium, which are good for your heart, and the tart version, in particular, has been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and also, in juice version, potentially induce sleep.
But honestly, do we need a reason to indulge with moderation, per se, other than just, you know, because it feels good? I say no.
Winter is back with a vengeance. Snow squalls. Gray skies. Temperatures in the 20s. Just, you know, get used to it.
In the headlines…
President Joe Biden has reportedly decided to block the $14 billion takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel of Japan in an announcement expected as soon as today based on grounds that the sale poses a threat to national security.
The decision on whether to let the deal proceed was referred to Biden on Dec. 23 after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States failed to reach a consensus, said U.S. Steel.
Biden awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, to 20 people yesterday afternoon, including former Representative Liz Cheney and two close personal advisers, Ted Kaufman and Christopher J. Dodd.
GOP Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, in a statement, said Biden “was either going to pardon Liz Cheney or give her an award. She doesn’t deserve either. She represents partisanship and divisiveness — not Wyoming.”
The outgoing president is planning to ban more offshore drilling before his replacement takes office, setting in place some permanent protections for coastal waters.
Biden intends to invoke an obscure provision of a 1953 law, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, that would give him wide latitude to withdraw federal waters from future oil and gas leasing.
The Biden administration, in a final push to shore up the nation’s pandemic preparedness before Trump takes office, announced that it would nearly double the amount of money it was committing to ward off a potential outbreak of bird flu in humans.
Biden and his family were given tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from foreign leaders in 2023, with the first lady, Jill Biden, receiving the single most expensive present: a $20,000 diamond from India’s leader.
Sen. Bernie Sanders says Elon Musk “is wrong” when it comes to his support of the H-1B visa program, which allows high-skilled foreigners to legally work in the United States.
Musk and fellow Trump adviser Vivek Ramaswamy are “right” that the U.S. needs a skilled and educated workforce, Sanders said in a statement, but the visa program needs “major reforms.”
Bourbon Street reopened yesterday, about 36 hours after a U.S. Army veteran plowed a pickup into a New Year’s crowd in the French Quarter.
Five years before a man in a pickup mowed down dozens of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, a confidential security report warned that the iconic Bourbon Street tourist strip was vulnerable to a “vehicular ramming” attack.
Thousands safely attended the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans between No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Notre Dame, which was delayed by a day due to the attack.
President-elect Donald Trump suggested “radical Islamic terrorism” and President Biden’s “open borders” were to blame for the deadly New Orleans truck attack, even though the suspect was an American-born military veteran.
Although he did not specifically name the New Orleans killings of 15 New Year’s revelers, Trump left little doubt that he was referring to the attack allegedly carried out by a Texas man who had pledged allegiance to the radical Islamic State terror group.
The man who was driving a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning shot himself in the head immediately before the vehicle was engulfed by fire, the authorities said.
The driver has been identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, an active-duty US Army Green Beret. The FBI is investigating whether the explosion is tied to terrorism, and officials noted the implications of the Tesla vehicle and the hotel’s namesake.
“Am I comfortable calling it a suicide mission?” Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said. “I’m comfortable calling it a suicide, with a bombing that occurred immediately thereafter. I’m not giving it any other labels.”
Trump has promised to increase the pace of U.S. military shipbuilding. But his pledge to also clamp down on immigration could make it hard for shipyards already facing workforce shortages.
Trump also announced a flurry of picks for the Treasury Department, and tapped Joe Popolo Jr., the founder and chief executive of a Dallas-based private investment firm, Charles & Potomac Capital, as ambassador to the Netherlands.
Two people are dead and 18 are injured after a small plane crashed into the rooftop of a commercial building in Southern California yesterday, according to authorities.
The people who died were believed to have been on the plane, while those injured were inside the building. The deceased victims will be identified after officials have contacted the next of kin, the Fullerton Police Department said in a statement.
Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the New Orleans attack calling it a “horrible reminder of the threat terrorism of all stripes poses to our country, our freedom and our way of life.” She has directed the New York State Police to be on high alert.
Hochul is urging New York residents to exercise caution going into the upcoming weekend amid the forecast for several feet of lake effect snow.
Changes to New York law in 2025 are coming to paid sick leave, insulin costs, restaurant reservations, gym membership cancellations and protections for fashion industry workers.
The state attorney general’s office, citing a potential conflict of interest, has recused itself from the criminal investigation into the alleged beating death of an inmate at Marcy Correctional Facility.
AG Tish James has asked Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick to take over the case as a special prosecutor.
Mary Anne Krupsak, a Democrat who defied her party’s leadership in becoming the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor in New York and later challenged her boss, Gov. Hugh Carey, died on Saturday at her home on Seneca Lake in Geneva. She was 92.
The former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, could be held in contempt of court after failing to fully comply with orders to surrender millions of dollars in assets to election workers he defamed.
The NYC Department of Transportation will soon allow building owners to install outdoor e-bike battery charging cabinets, officials announced.
An on-duty letter carrier with the United States Post Office was stabbed to death at a bodega in Harlem yesterday afternoon, a Police Department spokesman said.
Nearly 1,000 public-sector doctors across three boroughs of New York City plan to go on strike Jan. 13 if their union cannot reach a deal on a new contract before then.
Queens Council Members Robert Holden, Joann Ariola and Vickie Paladino have called on the MTA to pause congestion pricing until a number of ongoing lawsuits are resolved.
Ten young people were wounded in a mass shooting outside a Queens nightclub holding a “celebration of life” for a teen shot to death three months ago, police said.
The shooting took place outside an “upscale private event space” in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Philip Rivera, the Police Department’s chief of patrol, told reporters.
A 20-year-old man recorded himself breaking into Gracie Mansion and swiping a Christmas ornament from the mayor’s home in the early hours of New Year’s Day, police said.
Michael Aromando was arrested inside a bedroom in the mayoral mansion at 4:24 a.m. New Year’s Day, shortly after hopping a perimeter fence and leading cops on a short foot chase.
During an interview at a local police precinct, Aromando showed detectives a cellphone video he took of himself removing a Christmas ornament from a drawer in the house, according to a criminal complaint.
The former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, could be held in contempt of court after failing to fully comply with orders to surrender millions of dollars in assets to election workers he defamed.
The NYC Department of Transportation will soon allow building owners to install outdoor e-bike battery charging cabinets, officials announced.
St. Peter’s Health Partners announced it reached a multi-year agreement with Aetna to keep the health insurance in-network for patients.
The New York Phoenix, a new professional basketball team in Schenectady, is holding open tryouts this weekend for its inaugural season.
“Oklahoma!” will be sweeping down the plains to Washington Park for Playhouse Stage Company’s annual free outdoor musical. For the first time in 15 years, the production will receive direct financial support from the City of Albany.
Callum Crawford, one of the National Lacrosse League’s all-time greatest scorers, is still pursuing his first championship, and has signed a one-year contract with the Albany FireWolves, off to a 1-3 start after reaching the NLL Finals last season.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
