Good morning, it’s Monday and it’s March! We’re on the downward slope toward spring – just 17 days to go, though after the weekend we just had, you could be forgiven for feeling a little weather whiplash. From the 40s to the 30s and then the 20s in a single 24-hour span is a lot – even for upstate New York.
March is a big month for holidays, starting with Ramadan, which actually kicked off on Friday, Feb. 28, and will last through March 29. As a reminder, this is a monthlong observance during which Muslims fast every day from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from food, drink (including water) and sex. One is also supposed to forgo lying, backbiting, gossiping and/or arguing.
The goal is to get closer to God by exercising self control – a practice that is common across religions. By forgoing pleasure and experiencing slight discomfort, the thinking goes, one is able to better focus on spiritual matters, study of sacred texts, and compassion for those less fortunate.
During Ramadan, it is traditional to rise before sunlight and consume a light breakfast called suhoor (I’ve also seen it spelled sahur, sehri, and sahari), the word in Arabic means “the last part of the night.” Then at sunset, the daily fast is broken with a meal called iftar, which usually starts with dates and water and then moves on to something more substantial after the Maghrib prayer is complete.
The end of the month of Ramadan is marked by Eid al-Fitr, which we’ll get deeper into when the time is right. Other religious holidays that occur during March include but are not limited to: Holi, the start of Lent, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Palm Sunday, Purim, Naw-ruz, and Nowruz.
It’s going to be a busy four weeks trying to keep up with all that.
Turning our attention back to today. It’s the anniversary of President Herbert Hoover’s signing of a congressional act to make the The Star Spangled Banner the official national anthem of the Unites States.
The song, which started out as a poem called “Defence of Fort M’Henry” penned by attorney Francis Scott Key after he witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, had been around for a very long time. it was Key’s brother-in-law who set the poem to music, which were subsequently published under the name “The Star-Spangled Banner”, and quickly joined the roster of patriotic sounds that were sung around the country at that time.
In 1916, “The Star Spangled Banner” was adopted by President Woodrow Wilson as a de facto “national anthem” but never not codified the ruling. In 1929, “House Resolution 14” was presented to Congress by Rep. John Linthicum of Maryland to name the song as the official national anthem.
As it turns out, not everyone was on board with the idea – some thought it was too militaristic, too difficult to play, singe, march and/or dance to. Also objectionable were the references to slavery (in the third verse, which I hazard to guess most people probably don’t know), and the fact that the tune had its origins in an English drinking song. Linthicum persisted, however, and was bolstered by petitions, letters, and telegrams from around the country.
The bill was approved by the House on April 21, 1930 and finally passed the Senate on March 3, 1931. Interestingly, Hoover studiously avoided weighing in on the debate over the national anthem while it was taking place, saying it was a matter for Congress to decide. He signed the bill into law without ceremony, and refused to make any public statements about the matter.
“The Star Spangled Banner” continues to cause controversy even to this day. And, to be honest, what’s more American than that?
Things will warm up slightly today, with temperatures rising into the low 30s. Skies will be mostly sunny. Enjoy that while you can.
In the headlines…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia as part of a broader effort to draw President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia into talks on Ukraine and a new relationship with the United States.
Crowds protesting Vice President JD Vance the day after an Oval Office blowout over Ukraine lined roadways Saturday near a Vermont ski resort where he planned a weekend vacation with his family.
Vance was forced to move his family to an “undisclosed location” after hundreds of pro-Ukraine protesters swarmed the Vermont ski resort where they were vacationing.
President Donald Trump and Vance berated their guest, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a hitherto unseen public implosion of a key global relationship.
European leaders held an emergency summit yesterday in London to rally support for Ukraine as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to wrestle control of negotiations over the war away from the US.
Starmer dismissed calls to cancel Trump’s invitation for a state visit to the United Kingdom, following the explosive Oval Office meeting with Zelensky on Friday.
Russian officials and state media expressed glee at the highly public diplomatic breakdown, while the White House, made clear that it views the showdown as an overwhelming win that underscores Trump’s “America first” leadership.
Facing a wave of criticism from his former Senate colleagues, Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed the complaints lobbed by Trump and Vance against Ukraine’s leader.
Over the weekend, Trump directed federal agencies to examine ways to bypass endangered species protections and other environmental regulations to ramp up timber production across 280 million acres of national forests and other public lands.
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw foreign aid and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development is likely to cause enormous human suffering, according to estimates by the agency itself.
Rather than boycott Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, some Democratic lawmakers are inviting former federal workers to the speech tomorrow to protest the mass firings and funding cuts that have defined his first month back in office.
A group of moderate Democrats quietly gathered in Virginia last month — and hatched a comeback plan to try to distance the party from the far-left and win back the working class by embracing “patriotism.”
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the measles outbreak in west Texas is a “call to action,” as he encouraged parents to consider whether to get their children vaccinated. “The decision to vaccinate is a personal one.”
“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote.
In a first test of the Trump administration’s ability to respond to an infectious disease emergency, its top health official has shied away from one of the government’s most important tools, experts said: loudly and directly encouraging vaccination.
At least 146 measles cases have been identified in the South Plains and Panhandle since January, according to the latest available information from the Texas Department of State Health Services.
“All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy wrote in an op-ed published on Fox News Digital.
Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office is running a digital ad in Washington, D.C.’s Union Station to recruit laid-off federal employees to work for New York State amid the Trump administration’s efforts to slim down the federal government.
Hochul’s “you’re hired” campaign to fill 7,000 public sector roles follows similar jobs initiatives in other states aimed at people who were laid off in the Trump administration’s federal government overhaul.
Long before she became a champion for congestion pricing, Hochul spent a decade opposing tolls in upstate New York — and was even hailed as a “stop-the-tolls pioneer.”
A coalition of business and trade groups is suing the Hochul administration over a law that will force oil, natural gas and coal companies to pay $75 billion for spewing carbon emissions.
Hochul joined pediatric patients and families yesterday at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside, to call out federal Medicaid funding cuts.
As the U.S. prepares to impose increased tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, business owners and industry leaders across the state are navigating a market tinged by uncertainty as they prepare themselves — and their customers — for the hammer to fall.
The State Police are investigating the death of a prisoner over the weekend in a facility near the central New York prison where another inmate was fatally beaten by guards in December.
Correction officers at multiple state prisons continued striking yesterday, violating a deadline they were given to return to work and end a walkout that has crippled New York’s correctional system since Feb. 17.
New York state officials warned prison guards who are still participating in an ongoing wildcat strike yesterday to get back on the job — or prepare to be out of one — in an apparent last-ditch effort to end the illegal work stoppage.
New York state corrections officers who continue to strike will lose health coverage if they don’t return to work today, according to a warning from the state’s top prison official.
Anti-Israel protesters who display the flag of terror groups such as Hamas or Hezbollah could face up to four years behind bars under a new state bill to be introduced by Manhattan Democrats state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblyman Micah Lasher.
A popular yet controversial home care program has a month to hand over the administrative reins of services for at least a quarter-million people to a statewide health care company. Skeptics are doubtful New York can meet that timeline.
Changing regulations, bureaucratic backlogs and out-of-state cannabis finding its way to New York retail shops have harmed many cultivators who invested heavily in their crops.
Israel-bashing former Rep. Jamaal Bowman is creating a Super PAC aimed at ousting pro-Israel candidates. “From Yonkers to Gaza and everywhere in between, we will fight for justice and reclaim our humanity,” says the new “Built to Win”.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is officially running for New York City mayor. He announced his candidacy in a video posted to X Saturday after months of flirting with a return to electoral politics.
“Today it is necessary to launch a bold action plan to turn New York City around, to save our city,” Cuomo said, becoming an instant contender in a crowded Democratic primary field that includes incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and a slew of liberal challengers.
As Cuomo runs for mayor, political opponents are previewing attack lines regarding the harassment accusations that led to his resignation as governor.
Outside a carpenters union rally in Lower Manhattan yesterday, more than 50 women chanted, holding signs that read “Say No to Cuomo” and “Serial Sex Harasser.”
Cuomo, 67, was introduced by his daughters at the carpenter’s union headquarters. It was his first appearance since his announcement, and he told supporters that he saved the city during the pandemic and he can now save it from its current woes.
After collecting endorsements from the carpenters’ and painters’ unions, the former governor wasted little time sharpening lines of attack accusing his rivals of adopting stances too far left on crime, homelessness and Israel.
Cuomo will start today to introduce his proposals to improve the city, starting with a plan to make it more affordable. It will include expanding free preschool for 3-year-olds, creating free bus routes, building affordable housing and reducing taxes for some.
Adams is losing support from a crucial cohort whose members say he is damaging the political prospects of other Black officials.
The Trump White House is hitting back at a lawsuit from Adams over $80 million being taken from a New York City bank account.
In a Friday court filing, the Trump administration argued that it had the right to remove the funds from the account, which prompted the Adams lawsuit.
Four Democratic mayors from sanctuary cities – including Adams – are set to testify Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee in what observers expect will be a contentious hearing focused on immigration policies.
Taxpayers are facing a bill topping $300,000 for private lawyers hired to handle four lawsuits accusing top ex-Adams aide Timothy Pearson of sexually harassing a female employee and then retaliating against other staff who complained about his behavior.
Adams talks a big game about rolling back NYC’s sanctuary laws, but he refuses to direct his Charter Revision Commission to put the controversial issue on the ballot for voters to decide. Now a group of City Council members are demanding it.
Brooklyn Councilmember Shahana Hanif used her discretionary funding to pay nonprofits where her husband is involved, including Arab American Association of New York, The Arab American Family Support Center and the New York Immigration Coalition.
Councilmember Christopher Marte has introduced legislation that would end the use of artificial turf in New York City parks. Critics said the fake grass hurts people and the environment.
Judges in Queens dismissed more than 11,000 criminal cases last year because prosecutors missed deadlines for turning over evidence, Queens DA Melinda Katz said last week, arguing new laws around sharing evidence are hampering prosecutions.
In Corona, a once-vibrant New York City enclave home to generations of Latino immigrants, the threat of mass deportations has made many residents afraid to go outside.
An LGBTQ group marched for the first time under its own banner at Staten Island’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade yesterday in what organizers called a “huge day for the queer community.”
Chris Churchill: Lukee Forbes is running for Albany Common Council with the backing of the Working Families Party. Safe to say, the party’s endorsement has raised a few eyebrows.
An Albany County legislative committee approved a $6 million transfer to the Pine Hills Land Authority as “seed money” to operate the former College of Saint Rose campus.
The Clapper Road water treatment plant in Selkirk reopened after being shuttered briefly due to bird flu concerns following the discovery of 12 dead geese.
The City of Schenectady’s new 25 mph speed limit in most parts of the municipality took effect Saturday. Motorists who speed will eventually face fines that increase with each violation.
The New York Racing Association is considering installing a Ferris wheel at the Saratoga Race Course during its four-day Fourth of July festivities.
GOP Ballston Spa Supervisor Eric Connolly, who ran and won on a promise to slow growth in 2019, faces a primary challenge from former Councilman John Antoski, who has said the town needs leadership that will listen to the people who zoning enforcement.
Hazel N. Dukes, an early and unwavering crusader for civil rights who survived personal, professional and political setbacks to serve for nearly a half-century as the president of New York State’s N.A.A.C.P., died Saturday at her Harlem home at the age of 92.
The 2025 Academy Awards concluded last night with Anora capturing five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Sean Baker) and Best Actress (Mikey Madison), in a star-studded ceremony hosted by Conan O’Brien on Hollywood’s biggest night.
Adrien Brody won his second Best Actor award, for The Brutalist, while Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) and Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Pérez) took home Oscars for supporting roles.
Actress Zoe Saldaña celebrated her historic win at the Academy Awards for best supporting actress in “Emilia Pérez” by using her acceptance speech to express pride in being the child of immigrants.
Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner “A Real Pain’s” Culkin was censored during his speech when he shouted out his former “Succession” co-star and fellow category nominee Jeremy Strong.
Morgan Freeman paid tribute to Gene Hackman, who was found dead last week along with his wife and dog in their New Mexico home. And Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah honored Quincy Jones, who died in November.
The complete list of winners at the 97th annual Academy Awards can be found here.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
