Good morning, it’s Monday.
All the upheaval in Washington these days is very anxiety provoking, but for a hypochondriac like myself, perhaps nothing has been quite so disturbing to witness as the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of U.S. Health and Human Services.
I am firmly in the “vaccines save lives” camp. And if disagree, well, I’m not sure we can be friends. I am very much a live and let live sort of person, more a libertarian than anything. I don’t care what you do with your body as long as it doesn’t impact mine. So, for example, I am fine with you drinking and drugging as much as you’d like, just as long as you don’t get behind the wheel or any sort of vehicle.
When it comes to vaccines, there’s this little thing called herd immunity, which means that a sufficient number of people in a particular area are protected against a virus/infectious disease – either because they’ve had that illness and survived, or have been vaccinated against it – to make it very difficult for the infection to spread.
In other words, whether you or your kids get vaccinated potentially has a direct impact on me and mine. And since I very much freak out any time I so much as sneeze, I feel very strongly about this particular issue – especially when our esteemed Health and Human Services secretary has such a laissez faire attitude about vaccination.
This is particularly concerning when you realize that certain infectious diseases that you might have considered done and dusted are, in fact, on the rise. And I’m not talking about measles here, though that is most definitely a problem. I’m talking about tuberculosis, rates of which, after a solid 30-year period of decline in the U.S. have been rising annually since 2020.
Across the world, tuberculosis – or TB, as it’s more commonly known – is a significant killer. Last fall, the WHO reported that approximately 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023, which is the highest number recorded since the organization began global monitoring for the disease in 1995. Deaths from TB are down, which is good news, but infections overall are up.
The frustrating thing about this phenomenon is that TB is entirely preventable and treatable, when sufficient funds are invested in doing so. (Don’t even get me started on the Trump administration’s USAID cuts, which yes, are expected to result in an increase in TB deaths). Although, the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is on the rise, which is a very big worry.
Though TB is highly infectious, people who live in close quarters such as prisons and/or homeless shelters have a higher risk of being exposed. Other major risk factors include: undernutrition, HIV infection, alcohol abuse, smoking (especially for men), and diabetes.
Treating TB can be tricky because a pretty significant number of people who have it don’t know they’re infected. Some 90 percent of those with latent TB never go on to get sick, and those who are not symptomatic cannot spread the disease to others. There is a TB vaccine, but it’s not in wide use here in the U.S.
New York has a pretty significant history with TB, having launched the first campaign in the nation to try to control it back in late 1800s. They were pretty strict about it, too, going so far as to detain individuals who were infectious but refused to comply with protocols. TB also spiked in the city in the early 1990s along with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
My fellow upstaters are probably aware of the historic link between Saranac Lake and TB, thanks to Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, a New York City doctor who came to the Adirondack community after contracting TB himself and found the clear mountain air helpful.
He went on to found the first TB sanatorium in the entire nation – the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium in 1884 – and followed that up with the Saranac Laboratory for the Study of Tuberculosis in 1894. This was the precursor to the Trudeau Institute, which still exists to this day, transitioned by Livingston’s grandson, Dr. Frank Trudeau, in the 1950s from a sanitarium to a research center devoted to the study of basic biological research.
Saranac Lake attracted TB patients from all over the world, who came to the Adirondacks to take the “rest cure.” Evidence of so-called “cure cottages” with large screened-in porches where the sick would convalesce, sill remain.
Today, in case you hadn’t already caught on, is World TB Day, which, according to the UN, is observed annually to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of the disease and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.
Another meh day is on tap, with temperatures hovering in the mid-40s. We’ll kick things off with some rain and snow, and then move on to just overcast skies later in the day.
In the headlines…
Relations between Greenland and the United States sank further yesterday as the Greenlandic prime minister erupted over what he called a “highly aggressive” delegation of senior officials the Trump administration said it would send to the island this week.
Usha Vance, the second lady, and Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, are among the officials headed to the island, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, though President Trump has vowed to make it part of the US “one way or the other.”
Vance will visit Greenland on Thursday with the US delegation to tour historical sites, learn about the territory’s heritage and attend the national dogsled race, the White House said in a statement.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede said the planned visit to the island was an act of “clear provocation,” amid Trump’s continued threats to annex the territory and bring it under U.S. control for national security purposes.
Therapy and other mental health services at Veterans Affairs facilities across the U.S. have been thrown into turmoil amid the dramatic changes ordered by President Trump and pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Venezuela announced Saturday that it had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to resume accepting deportation flights carrying migrants who were in the United States illegally.
Trump directed US Attorney General Pam Bond to pursue penalties against law firms and lawyers that lodge “frivolous” litigation against the government.
The head of the elite New York law firm Paul, Weiss, which cut a highly criticized deal with Trump last week, asserted yesterday that he made the agreement because the firm was unlikely to survive a protracted legal fight with the Trump administration.
Trump and Elon Musk took in the Division I wrestling championship in Philadelphia on Saturday. But some of Trump’s supporters expressed complicated feelings about his billionaire adviser.
As Musk takes a chain saw to government, pushing out some 100,000 federal workers and shutting down various agencies, his company SpaceX is positioning itself to see billions of dollars in new federal contracts or other support.
With Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 83, unlikely to run for president again and Democratic voters fuming at party leaders, many progressives see an open lane for a new leader. But who will fill it? Many are looking to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Israeli forces were expanding their offensive in Gaza yesterday, taking control of more territory and issuing new evacuation orders for residents who had only recently returned to their homes.
The Israeli government voted yesterday to support a no-confidence motion in Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, launching a highly controversial dismissal proceeding.
Baharav-Miara accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of seeking to operate above the law, without any checks on its power, and of seeking to silence the government legal advice system, which she heads.
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Conservative opponent kicked off their election campaigns yesterday against the backdrop of a trade war and annexation threats from Trump.
Carney announced there will be a five-week election campaign before the April 28 vote. It kicks off days ahead of a new slate of Trump tariffs, and as Canadians are increasingly worried he will make good on his threats of economic and cultural takeover.
About 100 protesters rallied outside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Park Slope home yesterday to rip him for folding on a GOP-backed spending bill — with one sign reading, “Lost spine, if found please return to Chuck.”
Schumer — the Empire State’s 74-year-old senior senator and Democratic caucus leader since 2017 — has insisted he won’t step down from his leadership role despite mounting pressure to do so.
Schumer remained defiant in the face of continuing criticism and growing calls to resign more than a week after he cleared the way for a Republican spending bill without negotiating any major concessions.
Schumer rebuffed a recent critique from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi about his decision to support the Republican-backed stopgap spending bill, saying he had no choice but to avert a government shutdown.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is backing a measure that would ease the consequences for prosecutors if they do not share evidence in a timely manner. Her proposal would also let them redact information without a judge’s permission.
Hochul and Democratic legislative leaders will meet behind closed doors this week to negotiate a state budget expected to increase spending for schools and health care while cutting taxes for the middle class, despite likely deep cuts in federal aid.
State leaders are discussing proposals raised by Hochul to ban masks, change the discovery process in criminal justice cases, expand psychiatric involuntary commitment and prohibit use of cellphones in public schools, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said.
New York is doubling down on its commitment to reproductive rights as Hochul signed legislation Saturday to further safeguard abortion providers from legal threats beyond state lines.
The Hochul administration softened its deadline for a pro-union overhaul of the state’s $9 billion home care system -– after a rollout so chaotic one insider called it “a s–t show.”
A group of parents is pushing lawmakers to back Hochul’s proposed ban on cellphones in schools – as concerns grow that politicians are getting cold feet over the plan.
Hochul hopped on an MTA bus Friday to show New Yorkers that congestion pricing is working — just one day after the Trump administration extended the deadline to end the program.
Hochul and MTA officials rode a crosstown bus to their press conference in Chelsea in support of congestion pricing. Once there, the governor led hundreds of supporters in chanting, “Traffic is down, business is up,” at the beginning of her remarks.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy offered some blunt advice on how New York’s governor should address the subway system during a weekend visit to the other side of the Hudson River.
Hochul’s lifelong obsession with Harriet Tubman is propelling an effort to place a statue of the 19th century abolitionist in the U.S. Capitol.
The State Cannabis Control Board approved more than 100 new adult-use licenses, increasing the total number of licenses issued to over 1,600.
Albany lawmakers are pushing a bill that would offer family members of late sanitation workers who cleaned up Ground Zero some of the same benefits provided to loved ones of first responders who died from 9/11-related illnesses.
A coalition of black Queens legislators backed ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s comeback bid for mayor over Council Speaker Adrienne Adams — and didn’t even bother to rank incumbent Mayor Adams, it was revealed Saturday.
Cuomo is suing the New York State Comptroller’s Office to get taxpayers to pay his legal bills for yet another lawsuit the former governor filed against the office of his political nemesis, State Attorney General Letitia James.
A handful of mayoral candidates teamed up over the weekend to go after Cuomo, specifically criticizing the ex-governor over his handling of nursing homes during the COVID pandemic.
Nearly all the mayoral candidates appeared at a Covid memorial event with a shared message: Cuomo’s pandemic response is a reason not to support him. Only Whitney Tilson, a Democrat, and the embattled incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, didn’t attend.
Cuomo is resurgent, and Rahm Emanuel is considering a presidential run. Are these the tough guys Democrats need?
In a campaign filing submitted last Monday, Cuomo disclosed having had no “intermediaries” — also known as bundlers — that raised money for his mayoral bid. Every other major mayoral candidate has disclosed bundlers.
The progressive state assemblyman from Queens Zorhan Mamdani is building a new coalition of voters for his mayoral campaign, which has focused on the city’s lack of affordability.
Mamdani may not win his election, but his successful use of social media could offer a strategy to the left, which has been flailing in search of an effective way to utilize social media and other non-legacy platforms.
There’s an antisemite running for City Hall, Mayor Eric Adams claimed to Jewish leaders in a closed-door meeting last week, allegedly referring to Mamdani.
Yet another top aide to Adams has resigned, this time the head of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS), a job the embattled mayor once described as a key player in the effort to “root out waste, fraud and abuse.”
The Adams administration created a “federal response tracker” to log statements and social media requests from agencies so that he and the mayor’s office could vet each request and flag any that could cause problems for the Trump administration.
Adams says one of the four new community jails that were being built to replace Rikers Island will now be dedicated to inmates with mental health issues.
The MTA plans to issue a $186 million contract for a consultant to oversee construction of the Second Avenue subway extension to East Harlem, according to documents published by the agency on Friday.
A long-awaited pedestrian path on the Queensboro Bridge appeared to be finished this month. A ribbon-cutting was scheduled. A news release was prepared. Then City Hall hit the brakes.
U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Columbia University is “on the right track” toward recovering federal funding after the elite New York City school agreed to implement a host of policy changes demanded by the Trump administration.
McMahon said she’d had “great conversations” with Columbia Interim President Katrina Armstrong, who, in a public statement on Friday, said the university’s actions reflect ongoing efforts — not just a reaction to federal pressure.
America’s oldest performing arts venue, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, does not draw the attention or audiences it once did. Now it has lost another leader as it works to adjust to an uncertain future for cultural institutions.
Forest Hills Stadium was told there would be no music this summer as negotiations with neighbors fed up with concert noise hit a brick wall.
Following executive orders from Trump ending diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the federal government, a U.S. Army website page about a military base renamed for African-American World War I hero Sgt. Henry Johnson has been scrubbed.
Eleven bridges across New York lack a vulnerability assessment that would show their risk of collapse if a vessel collided with them, according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Hundreds of unionized workers rallied in solidarity Saturday on Long Island on the eve of a “critical” week of contract negotiations as they seek a new deal with National Grid before a potential strike.
As the department reviews the licensed practical nursing program to determine its future, school leaders at Capital Region BOCES hope that they’ve diagnosed the issue and are on track to treat the root causes of the ailing passing rate.
The next steps for the former Kenwood Convent site remain murky two years after a raging fire destroyed the historic former religious center and school.
The attorney for a former Saratoga Springs police officer whose stepdaughter was denied insurance approval for brain surgery after a change in the city’s health plan has filed a notice of claim against the city.
A now-former teacher’s aide allegedly acted with “inappropriate conduct” toward a student at Cohoes High School, officials said.
Northville High School girls’ basketball coach Jim Zullo has been fired after an incident in which he was shown yanking the hair of senior Hailey Monroe after the team’s 43-37 loss Friday evening at Hudson Valley Community College.
Zullo issued an apology two days after the hair-yanking incident, saying: “I wish I could have those moments back.”
Dozens of postal workers and their supporters rallied yesterday on Central Avenue in Albany to protest impending cuts to their ranks as part of the Trump administration’s effort to dramatically reduce the size of the federal workforce.
Steve Smith, the spokesman for the Albany International Airport, has left the airport after 18 months. His last day was Friday.
Meteorologist Tim Drawbridge is back on the air. He returned to broadcast meteorology Friday as the staff at WNYT welcomed him.
Legendary boxer George Foreman has died at 76, according to a statement released by his family Friday night on his official Instagram account. The cause of death was not initially revealed by the family.
All four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Sweet 16, using notably different ways to get there. Sixteen teams remain in the race to the Final Four. They now have a couple of days of rest before resuming play next weekend.
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