Good morning, it’s Wednesday.
There were a lot of trends in the 1980s that I whole heartedly embraced. These were my tween to teenage years, so I was most definitely interesting in keeping up when it came to fashion, music, etc. I was also big into collecting, so that often made for a pricey combination.
We lived for a year when I was about 8 in Japan and there I got bit hard by the Hello Kitty bug, which I understand is still going strong. I amassed a significant collection of Sanrio-branded stuff – everything from erasers and pencil cases to coin purses and stuffies – and then refused to part with it when we headed back to the U.S. so my parents had to figure out how to ship it all home.
When it came to clothes I was never big into labels. I spent a lot of time in used clothing stores, trying to emulate my idol at the time: Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink. I wore crinolines as skirts, Army surplus jackets, high-top sneakers, and lots of costume jewelry. I cut my hair short and shaved the sides, much to my mother’s chagrin.
Interestingly, I still have some of these tendencies as an adult. I spend a lot of time thrifting and I have definite magpie tendencies – anything shiny, sparkly, or glittery definitely catches my eye, and I have a pretty big collection of special occasion attire, though I don’t break it out all that often. I do like to look at it.
Anyway, all this is to say that I was definitely not a sneakerhead while growing up. I think Reeboks were a thing at the time, and I had friends who had them – I distinctly remember a baby pink pair with velcro straps. But I was more into Converse. I also wan’t terribly sporty, so I never understood the craze sparked by the release in 1987 of Nike’s first Air Max, which went on to become an incredibly popular line with something of a cult following.
Part of this is due to the innovation and design of the product, of course. But a lot of it has to do with smart marketing. Nike’s annual Air Max Day (which is today, March 26th) helped build a sense of excitement and exclusivity that made collectors pine after their product.
I have to confess that I have gone down many rabbit holes related to the Air Max. I now know more about colorways, limited editions, and friends and family releases than I ever thought possible. I also know that some people out there are willing to spend upwards of $8 million for a collection of sneakers that Michael Jordan himself once wore.
I also know that there are countless websites dedicated to the history of sneakers, the sale of sneakers, and discussion about sneakers by the sneaker obsessed masses. I still do not, however, really understand the allure. I’m more of a Adidas or Puma or Vans girl myself. I do own quite a few pairs, I’ll admit, but none of them cost more than $150 and I’m pretty sure a few pairs were thrifted.
But for those of you who DO understand this sort of thing, it’s probably meaningful that today the Air Max Dn8 will be released. And Nike itself has this to say about Air Max Day – in short, it’s about a lot more than just a sneaker:
Air Max Day celebrates memories, moments and the iconic style that has defined generations. Since 2014, this day has honored the impact Air Max has had on the lives of footwear enthusiasts. And almost every year, Nike introduces a new evolution, propelling Air Max into the future with the same iconic legacy.
Mother Nature is in a bit of a rut this week. Hopefully, she shakes it off soon. It will be overcast and chilly, with temperatures in the mid-40s. Skies will be overcast and a few snow flurries might make an appearance.
In the headlines…
President Donald Trump said an extraordinary security breach was just a minor transgression, insisting top administration officials didn’t share classified information as they discussed secret military plans in a group chat with The Atlantic magazine’s editor.
“So this was not classified,” Trump said during a meeting with U.S. ambassadors at the White House. “Now if it’s classified information, it’s probably a little bit different, but I always say, you have to learn from every experience.”
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe both downplayed the mishap at a contentious Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
Even before he disclosed secret battle plans for Yemen in a group chat, information that could have endangered American fighter pilots, it had been a rocky two months for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Excerpts of the Signal chat published by The Atlantic provide a rare and revealing look at the private conversations of top Trump administration officials as they weighed plans for U.S. strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
Democrats and media commentators have framed the incident as a scandal for which heads should roll but the matter has laregly been dismissed by a number of Republicans.
Several Democrats in Congress called for the resignations of Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, and Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, over their involvement in the Signal group chat discussing U.S. strikes in Yemen.
Trump signed an executive order on that will require proof of U.S. citizenship on election forms, in an aggressive push to catch and combat voter fraud, which is exceedingly rare but constantly cited by Mr. Trump as a reason he lost the 2020 election.
The order calls for the EAC to require people to show government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, and directs state or local officials to record and verify the information, and also to count ballots by Election Day.
A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s push to close down Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a federally funded news organization that was born out of the American efforts to counter Soviet propaganda during the Cold War.
The judge, Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued a temporary restraining order, saying that the Trump administration cannot unilaterally shut down RFE/RL, even if the president has ordered the closure.
“We’re confident the law is on our side as the US Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power of the purse,” Radio Free Europe CEO Stephen Capus said. “It is unlawful to deny us the funds that Congress has already appropriated to RFE/RL for the rest of this fiscal year.”
Vice President JD Vance announced that he is headed to Greeland later this week along with his wife, taking over a controversial visit that officials there have made very clear they don’t want at all.
Vance announced his visit on X yesterday afternoon, elevating a trip that his wife, Usha Vance, was scheduled to headline, but that Greenland’s leaders characterized as an uninvited trip meant to intimidate them.
“There was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday, that I decided that I didn’t want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I’m going to join her,” Vance said in a video released on the social platform X.
An appeals court ruled that the Trump administration must admit thousands of people granted refugee status before Jan. 20, but declined to stop the president from halting the admission of new refugees.
The ruling did not directly address the question of whether the government must restore billions of dollars in funding to nonprofit groups that help resettle refugees after they have reached the United States.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing ICE officials from detaining a Columbia University student who is challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to put her into deportation proceedings.
“Nothing in the record has indicated in any way that she is a danger,” Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said from the bench in barring ICE from taking the student, Yunseo Chung, 21, into custody while her lawsuit against the Trump administration proceeds.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Chung had “engaged in concerning conduct,” including being arrested at a protest.
Chung’s lawyers say her case shows the government isn’t just targeting leaders, but also minor players in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University.
Current and former Columbia and Barnard students involved in campus protests are urging school administrators not to share disciplinary records with members of the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
A lawyer for Columbia University said that a demand from the Trump administration for dramatic changes in student discipline had merely sped up policies the university had already been planning to enforce.
Two groups representing Columbia University faculty members yesterday sued the Trump administration over $400 million in federal funding cuts and demands that the school make dramatic changes to student discipline and admissions policies.
One lawsuit takes a broader approach than a flurry of other recent lawsuits challenging the federal government’s deportation policies on college campuses, challenges the Trump administration’s overall approach to deportation, saying it is unconstitutional.
The Senate last night confirmed Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon, to be the Food and Drug Administration commissioner in a 56-44 vote, with three Democrats voting in favor.
Hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip took to the streets yesterday for a rare protest against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has controlled the war-torn strip for nearly two decades.
Video showed large crowds, estimated to be thousands of people by a CNN journalist on the ground, marching through the streets of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, chanting “For god’s sake, Hamas out,” “Hamas terrorists” and “We want an end to the war.”
Gazans, at least publicly, tend to blame Israel for much of the death, destruction and hunger the war has brought. But at least some hold Hamas responsible, as well, for starting the conflict by leading the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislative leaders are asking Trump to sign off on more federal funding to help pay for crucial repairs to New York City’s mass transit system, even as the president’s transportation secretary threatens cuts to the MTA.
Hochul sent a letter to Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and other Republicans demanding a fair share of federal transportation funds for the MTA. The price tag to fund the MTA stands at more than $68 billion.
The seemingly civil letter follows an exchange of hostilities between Trump, Hochul and Duffy regarding the ongoing congestion pricing lawsuit in federal court.
Duffy railed against Hochul in a social media post, blasting the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as “horribly run” as the federal government and Empire State continue to spar over a controversial Manhattan congestion toll.
“Outrageous! Governor Hochul is asking for MORE money for the horribly run MTA,” Duffy wrote in an X post. “The MTA is running a deficit thanks to NY’s financial mismanagement, and they already receive billions in federal funding.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said it’s unfair that New York receives just 17% of the nation’s mass transit funding when the state is home to 43% of the country’s mass transit. He’s also tired of the general dynamic between the state and Washington, D.C.
The leaders of the state Legislature have yet to fully endorse Hochul’s bid to reshape New York’s twisted evidence laws — even as her plan sees a surge of bipartisan support.
Hochul’s eleventh-hour request for a mask crackdown in the state budget has ripped apart Democrats — dividing lawmakers of color who worry about aggressive policing and Jewish legislators who want to tackle antisemitism.
Hochul recognized Equal Pay Day, as a New York State Comptroller report showed 2023 NY women earned 87 cents on a man’s dollar.
New York’s energy industry is prepping for turbulence as uncertainty looms around federal energy policy and as state lawmakers have shied away from enforcing fast-approaching clean energy deadlines.
The Trump administration’s 20 percent China tariff added to an already existing 25 percent levy on imported agricultural products and supplies used by the legal marijuana industry — is driving up prices for cannabis farmers, manufacturers and retailers.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo remains far ahead of the rest of the Democratic primary field after nearly a month as a declared candidate in the 2025 NYC mayor’s race, according to a new poll released yesterday.
Cuomo picked up three points from an earlier poll in February, before he announced his candidacy. Pollster Bradley Honan said 51% of women support him, despite the sexual harassment allegations.
Cuomo privately expressed regret to a receptive audience about elements of rent reforms he approved as governor, two people familiar with his remarks said.
The same poll also found that 80% of Democratic voters said they would not support Mayor Eric Adams no matter what he says or does.
There is a growing rallying cry in the city’s mayoral race: D.R.E.A.M., or in other words, “Don’t Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor.”
At the same time he was pushing for a rent moratorium during the pandemic, City Comptroller Brad Lander, now a leading mayoral candidate, charged his Brooklyn tenant more than $1,600 per month in rent, according to a review of his financial disclosures.
Adams has quietly expanded the portfolio of Kaz Daughtry, his controversial public safety deputy, granting him the power to help run the law enforcement units of a slew of civilian New York City agencies, including the departments of Sanitation and Parks.
A document unsealed yesterday from the criminal case against Adams may raise questions about the testimony of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche during his Senate confirmation hearing.
The nominee for deputy attorney general had testified that he had no direct knowledge of administration officials’ decision to abandon the case against New York’s mayor.
New court documents offer a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how federal prosecutors built and then tried to salvage their criminal case against Adams in the face of unprecedented pressure from Trump’s Justice Department.
The top prosecutors Adams’ bribery case reportedly scrambled to distance themselves from their “self-serving” former boss Damian Williams — who they accused of using the historic prosecution to springboard his own “political aspirations.”
A new environmental report finds that rising salt levels in New York City’s water supply could make some of it undrinkable by the turn of the century.
Luigi Mangione isn’t the one stoking terror among the public — law enforcement is — attorneys for the accused killer argue in a new motion filed in state court.
Another veteran local meteorologist is swapping TV stations. Alyssa Caroprese, who came to CBS6Albany in 2015, is joining the News10abc weather team.
In response to growing national hostility toward immigrants and the trans community, the Saratoga Springs board of education is expected to pass a resolution to restate its policy to ensure “safe, inclusive and high-quality education for every student.”
Outgoing Rotterdam Town Board member Joe Mastroianni pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with his caught-on-camera theft of a political opponent’s campaign mailer from a homeowner’s mailbox this past fall, according to a court clerk.
Mavis Discount Tire has until April 30 to oppose a motion by the estates of two victims of the 2018 Schoharie limousine crash to amend their original civil lawsuit against the company.
After coaching high school football at La Salle Institute for the past seven years, John Audino has decided to step down as the Cadets’ head coach to return to college football as an assistant for Marist University under coach Mike Willis.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
