Good morning. It’s Friday, and for those of you who live by the legislative calendar, New York still doesn’t have a state budget. The outlook for a deal anytime soon is not looking good, from where I sit, though I’m certainly not as close to it as I once was.
I try not to look too far ahead these days. I’ve written before about my attempt to live more in the moment. The future is so uncertain – especially with things (like, I don’t know, tariffs, for instance) changing at a breakneck pace. The only thing we can count on is right now, and sometimes even that seems questionable.
But I think looking ahead a single day is fairly safe, especially when it’s going to bring something that requires a lot of preparation. Those in the know might have guessed that I’m speaking of the Jewish holiday Passover, which begins tomorrow at sundown and lasts through next Sunday, (April 20, which just so happens to be Easter) also at sundown.
Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, which was a pivotal moment in Jewish history. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus three days after his crucifixion – it marks the end of Holy Week, which also includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and also the end of Lent.
There are a number of connections between Easter and Passover, the most notable of which is that the Last Supper was a Seder, where, Catholics believe, Jesus instituted the Eucharist (communion).
I’m getting ahead of myself here by introducing the concept of the Seder – the traditional Passover meal – before talking about all the prep that’s required before the holiday begins.
During Passover, Jews who are observing do not eat leavened products (AKA chametz), which includes bread, cereal, cakes, crackers, cookies, pasta, certain liquors etc., Basically, anything that is made of grain and contain agents to produce fermentation is off limits during this period.
Instead, Jews eat matzah, an unleavened bread that’s sort of a very dry and flat and more or less tasteless oversized cracker, commemorating the Israelites’ rapid departure from Egypt when they didn’t have time for bread to rise. To prepare for the holiday, one is supposed to completely eradicate all chametz from one’s home, traditionally using a feather and a spoon to scoop up the smallest crumbs.
Given the cost of food these days, simply throwing away all leavened products seems wasteful. Thankfully, there’s an answer to that – “selling” one’s chametz to a non-Jewish friend or neighbor for a minimal fee and then buying it back when the holiday is over. If you’re in need of someone to buy your chametz, there’s a handy online service for that.
Once your house is clear of all chametz, you can start preparing for the seder, which means “order” or “procedure” in Hebrew and involves the retelling of the story of how the Jews escaped slavery in Egypt and wandered in the desert, as described in the book of Exodus.
The retelling of this story is a very involved process that requires reading from a book called the Haggadah, which includes not only that narrative but a series of prayers and songs and rituals that Jews engage in before they get to eat a celebratory (and leaven-free) meal.
The rituals center around the seder plate, which includes a series of symbolic foods (matzah, bitter herbs, and charoset – a mixture of fruits, nuts, and wine), and matzah, as well as the drinking of four cups of wine.
Needless to say, all this takes a considerable amount of time if you follow all the steps to the letter. If you’re invited to a seder and have never before attended one, I suggest that you accept the invitation, because it’s a really good time and matzah ball soup and brisket are very tasty. Pro tip: Have a snack before you go. Arriving at a seder hungry is not a good move.
We’re looking at another dubious weather forecast, starting out with some more clouds with a mix of rain and snow this morning, along with temperatures that will eventually rise into the high 40s.
Tomorrow will be a bit of a bust, with more rain and snow in the morning switching over to all rain by the afternoon. Temperatures will again be in the 40s. Sunday looks like the most promising day for any outdoor activities, with clouds giving way to partial sunshine in the afternoon and temperatures maxing out in the low 50s.
In the headlines…
The Supreme Court instructed the government to take steps to return a Salvadoran migrant it had wrongly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
In an unsigned order, the court stopped short of ordering the return of the migrant, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, indicating that courts may not have the power to require the executive branch to do so.
The ruling appeared to be unanimous. But Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, issued a statement that was harshly critical of the government’s conduct and said she would have upheld every part of the trial judge’s order.
The White House is pressuring migrants to “self deport” by placing them in the Social Security’s “death master file” and seeking to cut off their access to credit cards, bank accounts and other financial services.
President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs and other sanctions against Mexico over a long-running water dispute in a potential escalation of tensions with one of America’s biggest trading partners.
Under a 1944 treaty, Mexico must send 1.75 million acre-feet of water to the U.S. from the Rio Grande every five years. Trump is accusing Mexico of breaking the treaty and “stealing the water from Texas Farmers.”
Trump’s longtime goal of claiming Greenland for America has shifted from rhetoric to official U.S. policy as the White House moves forward on a formal plan to acquire the Arctic island from Denmark.
A South African government official is preparing to ease Black ownership rules that Elon Musk claims are racist and prevent his satellite internet provider from operating in his native country.
In a cabinet meeting, Musk said DOGE was on pace to cut $150 billion from the federal budget in one budget year. That would be a sharp drop from his previous stated goal of $1 trillion.
The Senate worked through the night to confirm Trump’s choice to be chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after Democrats blocked a quick vote on the nominee, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, to protest his firing of Gen. C.Q. Brown as the military’s top officer.
The House finally approved a budget yesterday, uncorking the filibuster-skirting power Republicans need to build and enact Trump’s dream bill along party lines this year.
The final vote was 216-214, with two Republicans — Reps. Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Thomas Massie of Kentucky — joining all Democrats in voting “no.”
“It was a good day in the House,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the vote. “I told you not to doubt us. The media always does. The Democrats always do. But we get the job done, and we’re really grateful to have had the big victory on the floor just now.”
Johnson reportedly told Republican holdouts on the party’s crucial budget plan in a private meeting Wednesday night that they could oust him from the speakership if he doesn’t follow through with his fiscal promises.
Two American Airlines flights leaving Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were delayed yesterday afternoon after the planes clipped wings on a taxiway, aviation officials confirmed.
Members of the New York and New Jersey congressional delegations were on the flight headed to JFK. Queens Rep. Grace Meng posted on social media to thank those who had reached out.
Also on the American Airlines plane were Reps. Greg Meeks, Adriano Espaillat, Nick LaLota, and Ritchie Torres – all from New York – and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, from New Jersey.
Two American Airlines jets clipped wings on a taxiway, officials said. Meng said that, in 10 years of flying to and from Washington, “This has never happened to me.”
A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront, killing the pilot and a family of five – three children and their parents – who were visiting New York City from Spain.
Witnesses saw the chopper “split in half” before it went down near Pier 40 on West Houston Street and West Street, the New York City Fire Department said.
The sightseeing helicopter was a Bell 206L LongRanger, a common single-engine aircraft long used for law enforcement missions, medical lifts, news-gathering and aerial tourism.
The flight was operated by New York Helicopters. The company’s owner, Michael Roth, said he was devastated and had “no clue” why the crash happened. He also added: “These are machines, and they break.”
New York Helicopters has a long history of flying excursions around the City, some of which have encountered safety problems.
Agustín Escobar, the chief executive for rail infrastructure for the technology company Siemens, was sightseeing in New York City with his family when their helicopter crashed, killing everyone on board.
The Trump administration, pressed to justify the detention and deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, admits in a court filing that the recent Columbia graduate committed no crime, but condemns his participation in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a memo that Khalil’s actions were “otherwise lawful,” but cited an obscure provision of immigration law that allows the federal government to deport people who threaten the country’s foreign policy interests.
Rubio said Khalil’s presence in the U.S. could jeopardize “U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence, even if his activities were “otherwise lawful.”
The Trump administration is pushing for a legal agreement that would task a federal judge with supervising Columbia University, which is fighting to restore federal funding.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the federal government’s antisemitism task force wants to resolve its dispute with Columbia through a settlement known as a “consent decree.”
Federal regulators from the U.S. Department of Justice said this week the agency has “significant concerns” with the state Department of Health’s ongoing transition of the administration a popular Medicaid home care program.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, sent letters requesting testimony from “sanctuary governors” – including New York’s Kathy Hochul – as part of an ongoing committee investigation into sanctuary jurisdictions and their effects on public safety.
Hochul has already signaled she is willing to testify: “We just received notification of their interest in my opinion on state laws, which I’m happy to share with them,” she told reporters at an unrelated event.
Hochul announced a special election will be held on Tuesday, May 20, to fill the vacancy in the 22nd Senate District following the resignation of Simcha Felder, who is returning to the City Council.
The state legislature passed another extension for current spending through Tuesday before skipping town nine days after the April 1 deadline that came and went with negotiations largely at a stalemate.
New York state budget negotiations are “stuck” over policy debates, a top lawmaker said, but reaching a budget could get trickier as each passing day brings more news of cuts to federal aid and a darkening economic outlook.
Students whose tutoring was abruptly ended three months before the end of the school year are now being championed by a coalition of 16 attorneys general, including New York’s Leticia James, who filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.
New York City voters have nine Democrats to consider in this year’s mayoral primary, a crowded race made more complicated by the return of ranked-choice voting.
In a New York Post op-ed, Mayor Eric Adams argues that it would be inhumane not to move ahead with expanding involuntary commitment for individuals who are mentally ill.
Fuzzy math was all City Hall officials had to offer when pressed on how they’ll pay the salaries for 3,700 teachers that Adams triumphantly announced will be hired next school year to help meet the state’s class size law.
Adams’ top deputy mayor insisted that ICE won’t start deporting inmates en masse from a resurrected outpost on Rikers Island — as progressive City Council members threatened to sue Hizzoner for allegedly betraying sanctuary city policies.
The City Council empowered itself to sue Adams over his decision to let ICE agents operate on Rikers Island, arguing the move is “the poisonous fruit” of a deal he has been accused of making with Trump’s administration to get his corruption case dropped.
An NYPD unit that will focus on non-emergency issues like illegal parking, outdoor drug use, aggressive panhandling and noise complaints will begin work in five precincts across the city starting Monday, city officials said.
The Quality of Life division will crack down on low-level crimes, which critics say could disproportionately target low-income residents.
The Hotel Trades Council and 32BJ, two of New York’s most influential unions, are throwing their political weight behind Justin Brannan’s bid for city comptroller — the labor groups’ first citywide endorsements in the 2025 cycle.
New York City will make plans to build more than 1,000 new public bathrooms over the next decade under a bill passed by the City Council that seeks to address a serious shortage of toilets open to all.
The bill was conceived with a specific focus on the plight of delivery workers, homeless people, street vendors and other vulnerable groups who often can’t afford to buy a $5 coffee to use a private business’s facilities.
A massive wind power project off the coast of New York blew past Trump’s executive order to block or pause all new wind energy leasing in federal waterways — which opponents claim will destroy aquatic life and the commercial fishing industry.
State troopers and Saratoga County sheriff’s deputies opened fire on a man and killed him after he allegedly pointed a BB gun at police responding to a domestic disturbance yesterday morning.
Efforts to expand highways like Albany’s I-787 would be subject to new restrictions under the Get Around NY Act, a bill sponsored by Brooklyn state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Amherst Assemblywoman Karen McMahon.
Republicans with Democratic endorsements launching primaries against GOP-backed candidates were told by the Saratoga County Board of Elections they need to drop their bid for the GOP line by 5 p.m. that evening or prepare to defend their candidacy in court.
A state Supreme Court justice, Robert Muller, is retiring after being censured for not exiting cases involving lawyers involved with his 2022 campaign for election, according to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.
An Albany County Family Court judge, Susan Kushner, is leaving her post less than two years after being elected to a second 10-year term, saying she wants to focus more on her personal life and spend time with family.
The Saratoga Springs commissioner of accounts, who was ticketed for allegedly concealing public records, rejected a plea deal in city court and is headed for a bench trial.
City, county and economic development officials said that they will do things a bit differently this June to mark the occasion of the second Belmont Stakes run at the Saratoga Race Course in hopes of keeping people in and around downtown.
Five months after the UAlbany Student Association abruptly closed its Adirondack wilderness retreat, the problem was revealed to be a wage dispute. Eight current and former Dippikill employees have been pushing for overtime pay for the past six years.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
