Good morning, it’s Friday. Sometimes it really feels good to write those words. Today is one of those days.
I’m looking forward to some “down” time, which in my world means getting up at 6 a.m. instead of 3 a.m., lingering a little longer over my morning coffee, cuddling multiple dogs, running (or shuffling, I’m not very fast) a lot of miles, and mindlessly sifting through other people’s clothes at Goodwill.
I don’t do a lot of destination downtime. By that I mean going to the mall, the movies, amusement parks, museums, festivals, etc. and so on. Even when I travel, I prefer to spend time soaking up the local scene by sitting in cafes and going for runs or walks, browsing in independently owned shops and such.
I am not a big fan of zoos. Even the well-run ones that play a role in the conservation of endangered species make me terribly sad. I hate to see animals confined and outside their natural habitat – even if that habitat doesn’t really exist anymore thanks to human impact.
Aquariums (aquaria?) are not much better, though I’m not entirely sure how much the fish, crustaceans, octopi etc. are actively aware of their captive state.
If not for the existence of aquariums and zoos, however, I never would have had the pleasure of seeing penguins in person. I don’t think I’ll be traveling to the Southern Hemisphere any time soon, and that’s primarily where penguins are found.
That includes Antarctica, various sub-Antarctic islands, and along the coasts of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Thee’s also one type of penguin – the Galapagos penguin – who makes its home on the Galapagos Islands on the equator (hence the apt name). But I don’t think I’ll be making it there in this lifetime, either.
Penguins are a type of flightless bird species belonging to the order Sphenisciforme. Like other birds, they are warm blooded, enabling them to maintain a consistent body temperature, and have feathers and wings, though they use those for swimming and not soaring through the air. (For the record, puffins are not penguins, though they are very cute; the main differences are that puffins can fly and are found in the Northern Hemisphere).
Though they’re not terribly adept at moving around on land (they waddle at a speed of around 2.5 km per hour and are actually faster when they slide on their bellies), penguins are aces in the water. Their bodies have evolved over time to make them incredible efficient swimmers, with streamlined bodies, dense bones and webbed feet.
There are 18 recognized species of penguins, 11 of which are threatened. I am personally partial to the macaroni penguin – a large, crested variety that looks very much like a mad scientist.
Penguins are good role models when it comes to relationship goals. They are largely monogamous, and some pairs stay together as long as 13 years. This might not seem like a long time to you but given the fact that their average life span is 15 to 20 years, I’d say that’s pretty good.
Both the male and female penguin play a key role in raising their offspring. In fact, the male Emperor Penguins are the primary early life caregivers, balancing the eggs on their feet and covering them with a fold of abdominal skin to keep them warm while the mamma penguins head back out to sea to hunt. The males just stand around holding the soon-to-be babies – sometimes for months on end.
Today, if you hadn’t already figured it out, is World Penguin Day, selected because it corresponds with the date that the Adelie penguins begin their migration northward toward Antarctica.
It will be most un-Arctic today when it comes to the weather, with temperatures again soaring toward 80 – and perhaps even surpassing – degrees. Skies will be mostly cloudy. The weekend, sadly, is looking not so fabulous, with rain in the forecast tomorrow morning, followed by cloudy skies in the afternoon. Temperatures will start to slide downward into the 60s. Sunday will be cloudy and relatively chilly, with temperatures back down in the 50s.
In the headlines…
President Donald Trump made an unusually sharp appeal to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia yesterday, calling on him to stop his bombing campaign in Ukraine and agree to a peace deal after the deadliest attack on Kyiv in nearly a year.
“Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump told reporters he believed Putin would listen to his plea to halt strikes on Ukraine. He said that while there was “a lot of hatred,” “bad blood” and “disgust” between Ukraine and Russia, they both wanted peace, “but they have to get to the table.”
A new U.S. peace plan offered to Russia and Ukraine proposes American recognition of Russian control of the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014.
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said in a new interview that the United States proposal for a peace deal with Ukraine is “moving in the right direction,” but there are still details that “need to be fine-tuned.”
In a number of rulings yesterday, federal judges blocked several aspects of Trump’s agenda that he’s tried to enact via vehicles such as executive orders.
Trump said at an Oval Office meeting with the prime minister of Norway that members of his administration met with Chinese officials to discuss tariffs, a day after China said the two sides “have not engaged in any consultations or negotiations.”
Trump signed an executive memorandum aimed at investigating ActBlue, the leading Democratic fundraising platform, casting it as an effort to crack down on foreign contributions in American elections
The president also signed an executive order today aimed at empowering federal agency heads to more easily fire probationary employees as the administration remains embroiled in litigation over efforts to dismiss government workers.
Lawyers for the federal government briefly published internal correspondence detailing a laundry list of flaws in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s legal strategy to shut down the MTA’s congestion pricing tolls.
The document, dated April 11, was mistakenly posted on the docket of the MTA’s federal lawsuit challenging U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s effort to kill the tolls by revoking federal approval.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said it took the extraordinary step of replacing the federal lawyers defending it in a lawsuit over New York City’s congestion pricing program, after accusing them of undermining the department’s bid to end the toll.
The Trump administration said it is “cautiously encouraged” by Yale University’s actions to combat antisemitism on campus amid the administration’s crackdown on Ivy League universities.
One of the country’s largest reproductive health advocacy groups is suing the Trump administration for withholding millions of dollars in federal family planning grants earlier this year.
Moody’s Ratings announced this week that it was downgrading D.C.’s credit rating amid a wave of mass federal workforce cuts and hits to the local economy.
Moody’s said in a new report that it was downgrading the district’s issuer rating from Aaa to Aa1, a blow to the city that will likely make it more expensive for the local government to borrow money and cost taxpayers more.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of the New York State Adaptation and Resilience Plan to establish climate adaptation planning and implementation efforts throughout New York communities.
Hochul announced $4.85 million in grants is being awarded to municipalities across the state to support the installation of electric vehicle chargers as part of the State’s Municipal Zero-Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Grants program.
Negotiations on involuntary commitment of mentally ill people to New York hospitals are “probably done” as lawmakers near a deal on the state budget, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said.
Upstate city elected officials put the pressure on state leaders to put more unrestricted aid in budget for municipalities as several consider tax increases to overcome double-digit budget deficits.
State legislators are preparing to virtually meet throughout the weekend to continue discussing the state spending plan.
State leaders are negotiating a potential deal to include a long-desired rental voucher bill in the state budget, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.
AG Letitia James has hired well-known criminal defense attorney Abbe Lowell in response to recent allegations made by a Trump administration official who said some of her real estate and mortgage transactions dating back decades may have been fraudulent.
James’ attorney blasted the Trump administration for using “cherry-picked” information against her in a federal criminal referral — although she admitted to “mistakenly” listing a Virginia home as the Democrat’s primary residence. More here.
Mayor Eric Adams is pleading with Trump to revive a wind farm off Long Island’s coast that was halted by the administration in the middle of construction last week.
The 2025 NYC Mayor’s race is entering a new phase with the release of TV ads as the June 24 Democratic primary draws closer.
New York City lawmakers approved legislation that would limit helicopter use in the city, including for tourist flights like the one that crashed in the Hudson River two weeks ago.
One bill prohibits “non-essential” flights from city-owned heliports if the helicopters do not meet the most stringent federal noise standards.
The measure was accompanied by separate resolutions to call on state lawmakers to establish a noise tax and prohibit certain flight operations, and to call on the FAA to ban all nonessential helicopter travel.
Another bill, Intro 246-A, which would add the gender “X” to city documents, where such information is requested, passed the Council despite conservative backlash.
Behind the scenes of Andrew Cuomo’s campaign to become New York City’s next mayor, the former governor is fighting an expensive legal battle to clear his name. New Yorkers are on the hook to pay for almost all of it.
A lawyer with a background in private equity lured women he met online to his apartment near the Empire State Building, prosecutors said. Then, he raped, drugged and tortured them for hours, sometimes using a shock collar and a cattle prod.
Columbia University cracked down on access to campus as it braced for the possible return of pro-Palestinian encampments, just over a year after the first tent demonstration was erected and sparked a national wave of campus protests.
Three state correction officers who beat and choked a Black inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility two years ago and threatened to “give him the George Floyd challenge” pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges and could face up to a decade in prison.
The first of four legal challenges involving Democratic-endorsed Republicans who are launching primaries against their party’s endorsed picks got under way in state Supreme Court in Saratoga County yesterday.
A Niskayuna assisted living facility is addressing Legionella bacteria in its water system after a resident was hospitalized in February and tested positive for the disease.
The student senate voted to keep its Dippikill retreat closed next year, despite University at Albany officials’ last-minute attempt to reopen the 800-acre Adirondack camp.
Circumstances surrounding the suspension of a Rensselaer County village’s public safety official remain shrouded in mystery.
The 45-year-old Kingsbury man State Police shot after he allegedly refused to drop a shotgun Wednesday now faces felony charges.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
