Good morning, it’s Friday. I personally am thrilled. Not sure about you. This time of year is just a drinking-from-a-firehose experience, 24/7 it seems.
Now that it’s officially spring, I’m noticing signs of the season everywhere. Green things are poking out of the ground. Birds are busily chirping and nest building. Mud is prevalent. Ticks, sadly, have reemerged (if they were ever truly gone).
I’m really looking forward to the moment when the buds on the trees start making themselves known, creating what appears to be a light-green mist across the landscape. Then it will truly feel like spring has fully arrived.
Trees are the longest-living species on the plant, and, as I’m sure you’re aware, play a key role in the health and welfare of the human race and the planet itself. They trap dust, prevent soil ersosion and flooding, remove pollutants from the air, reduce noise, and provide shelter from the sun. Each individual tree removes up to 1.7 kilos of pollutants annually, absorbing carbon dioxide from the air and slowing the rate of global warming.
There are about 73,000 species of trees across the globe, and an estimated 9,000 of them remain undiscovered (most in South America), which is kind of mind-boggling. Forests, which are defined as land that has about 10 percent of tree cover OR could support that percentage, account for about 31 percent of the Earth’s land area.
That’s really a lot when you consider that about 71 percent of the planet is water and only 29 percent remaining is land.
So trees – and the forests that are home to so many of them – are helpful and arguably should be protected. That is, in fact, occurring in some cases, but not so much in others. Across the globe, an estimated 10 million hectares of forest (roughly the size of the entire country of Portugal) are lost every year.
The vast majority of that deforestation (95 percent) is taking place in the tropics, and it is driven largely by farming, logging, and development. The UN notes that some 70 million hectares are impacted by fires, which, as we have discussed in this space before, are occurring with alarmingly increasing frequency and over a longer period of time as a result of climate change.
Good news: About half of this deforestation is offset by replanting/regrowth, with some countries like Brazil and Columbia experiencing a significant decrease in primary forest loss in recent years.
Today is the International Day of Forests, as per the UN, which also notes that forests are “crucial ecosystems for food security.” Some interesting and pertinent facts:
- More than five billion people around the world use forest and non-timber forest products for food, medicine and livelihoods.
- Over 2 billion people rely on wood and other traditional fuels for cooking.
- Wild meat is an important protein source for Indigenous Peoples and rural communities particularly in tropical regions. Over 3,200 species of wild animals are used as food.
- In some countries and regions, forests and trees provide around 20% of the income for rural households.
Truly food for thought.
The weather continues to be predictably unpredictable. Today the mercury will struggle to get out of the 40s, which will be a rude awakening from the past several mild days. There will be a mix of sun and clouds and our old friend the gusty wind will make a return, occasionally reaching speeds of 40 mph or more.
Saturday will bring partly cloudy skies in the morning, giving way to showers int he afternoon. Temperatures will top out in the high 50s. It’s back to the 40s on Sunday, but at least skies will be mostly sunny and clear.
In the headlines…
Nearly two months into his second term, President Donald Trump is trying to consolidate control over the courts, Congress and even, in some ways, American society and culture.
Amid the growing battle between Trump and the courts, a once-unthinkable question is harder to shrug off: Will the administration deliberately defy federal judges if it doesn’t get what it wants?
The Pentagon is scheduled today to brief Elon Musk on the U.S. military’s plan for any war that might break out with China, two U.S. officials said.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the Social Security Administration from granting Musk and members of DOGE access to sensitive records stored in the agency’s systems, or from holding onto sensitive data they had already taken.
Musk is bringing back his most controversial gambit from the 2024 presidential election: paying voters as part of a plan to identify and turn out conservative-leaning ones
The order, issued by Judge Ellen L. Hollander of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, was the latest ruling aimed at preventing Mr. Musk’s team from sifting through an agency’s databases because of privacy concerns.
Trump rescinded an executive order targeting a prominent Democratic-leaning law firm after it agreed to provide $40 million in free legal services to support his administration’s goals.
Paul, Weiss — one of three law firms targeted by Trump as part of his retribution campaign — said it resolved the conflict by agreeing to a range of commitments.
Trump signed an executive order to increase domestic production of critical minerals, including uranium, copper, potash, gold and possibly coal.
Trump directed federal agencies to compile lists of pending mineral projects and expedite their review in coordination with the National Energy Dominance Council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a White House official said.
As expected, Trump instructed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to begin shutting down her agency, which can’t be done without congressional approval, setting the stage for a political and legal battle over the government’s role in the nation’s schools.
The US Embassy in South Africa said it received a list of more than 67,000 people interested in refugee status in the U.S. Trump’s plan to relocate members of a white minority group he claims are victims of racial discrimination by their Black-led government.
London’s Heathrow Airport was closed early this morning and will remain shut through the rest of the day, bringing one of the world’s busiest airports to a halt after it lost power because of a nearby fire.
The fire at an electrical substation in western London quickly disrupted travel across the globe. Around 4 a.m. local time, London’s fire brigade said it was still trying to bring the blaze under control, five hours after it had knocked out power to Heathrow.
It could take several days for airlines to rebook passengers as up to 290,000 people who were scheduled to fly to or from Heathrow could be affected by the closure, said Mike Arnot, a spokesman for the aviation analytics firm Cirium.
More than 1,300 flights are affected by the emergency closure, with potentially over 100,000 people having their travel plans altered, CNN reported.
Some inbound Heathrow flights from the US were turned around mid-air. A United Airlines flight from San Francisco was due to land in Washington, DC rather than completing its planned transatlantic trip.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump’s escalating attacks on the judiciary have resulted in a constitutional crisis in the United States.
Schumer says that a new Trump administration executive order will jeopardize billions of dollars in business loans and mortgages approved in disadvantaged neighborhoods each year.
Schumer is taking a real pummeling for what a wide range of Democrats see as a betrayal and a surrender of Democratic leverage by caving to Republicans and Trump.
Liberal youth groups are piling onto Schumer, urging him in a new letter to fight more aggressively against Trump or resign as leader.
Schumer is in survival mode, calling colleagues and reaching out to Democratic groups to address concerns about his leadership.
North Country GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, at long last, has an exit date from Congress on the horizon. She’s scheduled to be confirmed as ambassador to the United Nations on April 2.
On that date, two Trump-endorsed Republicans are expected to fill a pair of seats that were left vacant after the departures of former Representatives Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz of Florida, leaving House Speaker Mike Johnson with some wiggle room.
Stefanik’s confirmation vote will happen immediately after the new members are seated, a Trump official involved in the process told Axios. It’s not expected to be a controversial vote.
The Trump administration extended the deadline for New York to end congestion pricing by 30 days, after Gov. Kathy Hochul made clear she wouldn’t end the program today.
“Know that the billions of dollars the federal government sends to New York are not a blank check. Continued noncompliance will not be taken lightly,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote.
MTA spokesperson John McCarthy wrote in a statement that “the status quo remains for congestion pricing, adding: “As we’ve said, there was exhaustive study, projected benefits were right, and we can’t go back to gridlock.”
New York City’s controversial local law that would have allowed some people without U.S. citizenship to vote in city elections was ruled unconstitutional by the state’s highest court in a decision released yesterday.
The Court of Appeals agreed in its decision with arguments from Republican elected officials that part of New York’s founding document limits voting in all elections to U.S. citizens.
Hochul’s office has reportedly floated the idea of increasing a tax on large New York City employers to help pay for billions of dollars in repairs and improvements to the MTA’s bus and rail systems.
Lawmakers, advocates and contractors are appealing to Hochul to delay the April 1 deadline for the CDPAP transition, warning that tens of thousands of people could lose their home care.
Hochul is pushing a ban on smartphones in schools, and reaction is favorable, with one notable exception: parents who can’t stop monitoring their children.
Republicans in the state Assembly have been privately discussing the prospect of negotiating a two-year delay for the effective date of a law that places limits on their outside income.
Mayor Eric Adams named Randy Mastro, whose attempt to become New York City’s top lawyer failed last year amid widespread City Council opposition, as first deputy mayor. Mastro takes over the post held by Maria Torres-Springer, who resigned this winter.
“I know this mayor. I know he’s not afraid to speak up. He’s a person of conviction. And I don’t see a future where he won’t speak up when the city needs defending. We’re here to do one thing: act in the best interest of the city,” Mastro said.
No Council consent was required for Adams to tap Mastro, a longtime associate, as the first deputy mayor — who coordinates operational efforts across various agencies and works to advance administrative priorities.
Adams may be coy about his re-election plans, but at a recent town hall in the Rockaways, he had no problem opening up about his dating history.
The Adams administration’s latest plan to build out of the dire housing crisis is targeting the third-busiest train station in New York City.
Adams reminisced on the good ole days of taking the A train to visit his “shorty” in Far Rockaway during a town hall in the neighborhood this week.
Adams touted the results of a program aimed at getting homeless people out of the subway system.
Dozens of donors to Adams’ first mayoral run have defected from him this year and instead are giving to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, a Daily News analysis of contribution filings found.
Since launching his mayoral campaign this month, Cuomo has largely refrained from the sharp criticism of Trump that has marked the rhetoric of many of his opponents, and some Trump supporters are opening up their wallets for the former governor.
Comptroller Brad Lander is urging the Adams administration to nix a contract extension that would steer nearly $20 million to a hotel owner indicted last month in an alleged corruption scheme involving one of her government-funded Queens properties.
Union officials say the city is holding a new contract with NYPD sergeants hostage unless the union agrees to work 12-hour tours — a nonstarter the Sergeants Benevolent Association says would endanger both their members and the public.
The Brooklyn Bridge and the Golden Gate in SanFrancisco are among those that need assessments of their vulnerability to a strike by a large ship like the one that hit the Key Bridge in Maryland last March.
Six yeshivas have been told that they are no longer legally considered schools as the state Education Department begins to enforce regulations designed to ensure every student receives a “sound, basic education.”
Yeshiva University said that it would recognize an L.G.B.T.Q. student club on campus, bringing to an end a bitter years-long legal battle over whether the school could deny the group official recognition on religious grounds.
A Republican New York City Board of Elections employee was charged with taking kickbacks in exchange for jobs working the polls in the Bronx. Other employees say it did not end with her.
Skidmore College faculty approved their first union contract this week, with 100% voting yes after the union and the college spent two years negotiating the deal.
The father of a 15-year-old boy who killed himself after being accused of sexual misconduct and questioned alone by school administrators before being expelled is suing the tiny Clinton County school district where his son was a student.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
