Good morning, it’s Thursday.
I have mixed feelings about breakfast. Apparently, I am not alone.
Depending on which expert advice you follow, breaking your 9-to-12 hour sleep-fast with a healthy, protein-packed meal is either the most important thing you can do to support your health and general bodily functions OR a terrible idea that you should avoid at all costs.
I tried intermittent fasting. It didn’t go well for me. I can go hours without eating quite easily when I’m distracted or busy or just in a place where food is available. But when I am actively TRYING to avoid eating (like on Yom Kippur, for example), I find that all I can think about is food and how many more minutes must pass before I can access some sustenance.
If I do eat breakfast, I try to make it balanced and avoid a big carb-rush, sugar bomb that spikes the glycemic index first thing in the morning. I’m talking eggs, oatmeal with cottage cheese or yogurt and fruit, maybe even a little smoked fish.
However, I have to confess that if left to my own devices and preferences and not trying to keep myself on the planet for as long as possible, I would surely choose something incredibly delicious and fat-filled that can be dipped in coffee and is a vehicle for more butter and a dollop of (preferably homemade) thick fruit preserves.
Something like a croissant.
When I lived in France, there seemed to be a boulangerie on every corner. This is where one would procure the daily fresh loaf of bread – or maybe a morning baguette AND an evening baguette, because stale bread is, except in certain cases, not acceptable.
While some boulangeries also make and sell pastries, that is truly the purview of a pâtisserie or viennoserie, which specialize in the flaky, butter-laden desserts and breakfast treats with which most people identify as an iconic French breakfast.
It turns out, however, that croissants did NOT actually originate in France, but rather in Austria as a descendent of something called a “kipferl” which is a crescent-shaped pastry-cookie situation that is more crumbly than flaky and is often topped with powdered sugar and/or almonds.
At some point in the early 20th century, French bakers replaced the brioche dough used to make kipferl with a yeast-leavened laminated dough, which is the base of the modern-day croissant. If you want to go deep on the croissant origin story, click here.
There is really nothing better than a warm, flaky, well-made croissant, which, I am sad to say, is not something easy to find. (This is developing into something of a trend for me, isn’t it?)
I have had plenty of sad, sub-standard croissants that are more like rolls or even muffins than flaky pastry – the result, I think, of not enough butter. (It should be about 1/2 cup per batch of dough). It also might have something to do with technique and the failure to fold the dough a sufficient number of time, spreading butter on the layers as you go, to achieve the perfect balance of crisp and tender.
I was recently in downtown Troy at The Placid Baker, which definitely merits a visit if you haven’t had the pleasure. In front of me on the line was a French-speaking couple who told the woman behind the counter that the establishment reminded them of an authentic patisserie.
I can think of no greater compliment. (They were, for the record, buying croissants, as was I, along with The Placid Baker’s amazing – and enormous – cheddar-chive biscuits). Happy National Croissant Day! There are, FWIW, some deals to be had, but I can’t personally vouch for the quality of the wares on offer.
In the headlines…
A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River.
There were multiple fatalities, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors. Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter, an Army official said.
The Washington Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department and the Metropolitan Police Department coordinated a search-and-rescue operation that included dive operations, the departments said in a joint statement.
American Eagle Flight 5342, which was coming from Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, American Airlines said in a statement.
The national U.S. body for figure skating said that “several members of our skating community” were on the regional jet.
Officials in Wichita, Kan., said they would hold a news conference at 8 a.m. in City Hall and stream it on the city’s YouTube channel. There will also be a prayer vigil at noon in the Wichita City Council Chambers, the Kansas Aviation Museum said on social media.
President Donald Trump’s budget office yesterday rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal loans and grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country.
A new two-line memo from the acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget directs those with questions about implementing President Trump’s executive orders to contact the general counsels at their agencies.
Trump abruptly fired dozens of officials in the past few days — including inspectors general, a member of the National Labor Relations Board and career prosecutors — in ways that apparently violated federal laws, setting up the possibility of lawsuits.
Federal employee unions and attorneys are urging government workers not to accept an offer from the Trump administration to resign from their jobs by Feb. 6 and be paid through the end of September.
Trump ordered his administration to prepare to house tens of thousands of “criminal aliens” at the Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, the latest prong in his widening crackdown on immigration.
He said the facility at the US Navy base in Cuba, which would be separate from its high-security military prison, would house “the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people”.
“Some of them are so bad, we don’t even trust the countries [of origin] to hold them because we don’t want them coming back,” Trump said. “So we’re going to send them out to Guantánamo. This will double our capacity immediately.”
Trump signed two executive orders on school funding yesterday that fulfill promises he made on the campaign trail, including on school choice and ending funding for schools that support what the White House calls “radical indoctrination.”
Trump signed a bill to require the detention of migrants who enter the US without authorization and are arrested or charged with certain crimes, the first bill of his new presidency and an early victory in his effort to deliver a sweeping immigration crackdown.
“It’s a landmark law that we’re doing today,” Trump said in remarks at the White House before signing the Laken Riley Act. “It’s going to save countless innocent American lives.”
Trump opened his remarks with a victory lap, crediting his immigration agenda for his victory in the election and thanking the Republican and Democratic lawmakers who sent the bill to his desk.
The Trump administration has ordered agencies to shut down programs, grants and other initiatives that “promote or reflect gender ideology,” and that employees who work on them be placed on administrative leave.
In an Office of Personnel Management memo, agency heads were told to take sweeping actions stemming from an executive order aimed at “defending women from gender ideology extremism” and “restoring biological truth to the federal government.”
The Trump administration has revoked an extension of deportation protections that the previous Biden administration granted to more than 600,000 Venezuelans already in the United States.
The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, rescinded an 18-month extension of the temporary protected status (TPS) program, which allows for people to temporarily stay in the US if they cannot return safely to their home country.
In a 46-24 vote, the Senate has confirmed another one of Trump’s picks to join his administration: Former Republican Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin the new head the Environmental Protection Agency.
Zeldin is expected to work to erase rules to fight climate change and chemical pollution, while shutting down programs designed to help poor and minority communities that are disproportionately affected by pollution.
Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced tough questions during a fiery confirmation hearing from Democrats who pressed him on his views on vaccines and abortion, and asked him to answer for his past statements.
House Democrats launched a multilateral effort to combat the flood of executive actions from Trump, vowing to punch back through legislation, lawsuits and a blitz of counter-messaging.
A group of six Democratic governors pressed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer during a tense call to be more aggressive in fighting back against Trump’s nominees and agenda, all but begging him to persuade Senate Democrats to block what they could.
The call took place last night and Schumer said it was held so he could seek “feedback from states” and focus on coordinating Democratic response to the funding hold.
Schumer attacked Trump over the federal funding freeze memo and credited the American people with precipitating its reversal.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as it seeks to curb stubborn inflation. Fed policymakers have hinted that they’ll be cautious about additional rate cuts, so long as the job market remains solid and prices continue to climb.
“We feel like we don’t need to be in a hurry to make any adjustments,” Fed chairman Jerome Powell told reporters.
Trump slammed Powell and the U.S. central bank, saying they “failed to stop the problem they created with Inflation” and have done a “terrible job on Bank Regulation.”
Trump delivered the broadside on Truth Social two hours after the Fed opted to maintain a key interest rate at its current level. It was the first rate decision of Trump’s term.
Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Trump against the company after it suspended his accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to three people familiar with the matter.
A team from one of Manhattan’s most prominent law firms will handle the appeal of Trump’s criminal conviction, according to court papers filed yesterday that formally announced the appeal.
Former Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison for a bribery scheme in which he traded his influence for stockpiles of cash, gold bullion bars, and other gifts after tearfully pleading with the judge for mercy.
Inside the courtroom, Menendez cried as he pleaded with Manhattan federal Judge Sidney Stein for leniency. Menendez said he’d committed to public service “not for power or glory, but to change the course of events for the people I serve.”
After last year’s controversial housing package, Gov. Kathy Hochul is taking a chill pill this year on that front: Her proposed $252 billion budget does little to address the state’s worsening housing crisis this year.
Hochul called the $200 million she put toward Upstate University Hospital in her proposed budget a “very smart investment,” despite the hospital’s original request for more than twice that amount.
New York City schools stand to lose nearly $350 million under Hochul’s proposed update to the state’s school funding formula, schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said yesterday at a budget hearing in Albany.
Two-thirds of New York City fourth graders are not proficient in math and even fewer proved proficient in reading, the “Nation’s Report Card” shows – despite the Empire State funneling more money into its schools than any other state in the nation.
The state’s top education honcho Betty Rosa defended scoring a hush-hush $155,000 raise — conveniently leaving out that she’s also double-dipping a plum pension.
Senior Justice Department officials under Trump have held discussions with federal prosecutors in Manhattan about the possibility of dropping their corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams of New York, according to five people with knowledge of the matter.
An attorney for Adams has reportedly contacted Justice Department leadership with a plea to drop the case against him, and officials in Washington have discussed the request with prosecutors in New York.
The possibility that the charges against Adams could be dropped threatened to further destabilize a mayor’s race that has been mired in the uncertainty shrouding the mayor’s fate.
One of Adams’ attorneys vehemently denied that the mayor has any plans to resign, batting down rumors that have bubbled up over the past few days as he remains hunkered down at home with a health issue.
Adams is expected to return to his full public schedule today after a three-day break from the limelight due to an undisclosed illness.
A key figure in Adams’ social orbit has gone M.I.A., according to court records filed as part of a sprawling lawsuit over an alleged insurance fraud ring.
The MTA’s congestion pricing tolls have already uncorked some of Manhattan’s worst traffic bottlenecks, according to data released by the agency that officials hope will ease the ire of drivers who are upset about the new $9 charge.
Average morning travel times at all eight river crossings into the congestion zone have gone down significantly, Juliette Michaelson, MTA’s congestion pricing czar, said in a briefing to the agency’s board.
New Jersey tried to buy $500,000 worth of digital anti-congestion pricing ads near local bridges, tunnels and in the new Manhattan toll zone — but the MTA rejected the campaign as too political.
New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy announced the Garden State updated its lawsuit against the federal government over the Biden-era approval of New York’s “congestion pricing” that the Democrat claims is burdening working-class residents.
A former FDNY chief pleaded guilty to accepting $190,000 in bribes in exchange for fast-tracking building reviews and inspections while heading the city’s fire prevention bureau.
A 15-year-old boy in Brooklyn was fatally shot on Tuesday afternoon at an entrance to his apartment building, the police said, sending a wave of fear through a housing complex with hundreds of units.
The deadly outbreak of bird flu ravaging poultry farms and sending egg prices soaring across the country has reached the Hudson Valley.
The City of Albany has been forced to clear debris from a half-built Western Avenue apartment complex that was disturbed by recent high winds in the area.
Schenectady City Council chairwoman Marion Porterfield plans to mount a primary election challenge to hold onto her seat after the city Democratic committee did not endorse the 12-year council veteran.
The Schoharie County Democratic Committee for the second time has recommended a new candidate for the county’s Democratic elections commissioner as they seek to displace the longtime officeholder, Clifford Hay, who was recently reappointed to the job.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
