Good morning. It’s Holy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples, where it is believed that he established the sacrament of Holy Communion – the most important religious symbol in the Christian church.
As a Jew, I have always found Communion the most difficult of the church’s rituals to understand. I have spent a fair amount of time in churches, both in a personal capacity (being married to a semi-lapsed Catholic) and a professional capacity (a surprising number of political events take place in churches, in spite of the whole separation of church and state thing).
There are a lot of similarities between many of the world’s major religions. For example, the Last Supper was, many assume, a Seder, though scholars have debated this. There is not, however, anything (that I know of, anyway) remotely like transubstantiation in Judaism.
Transubstantiation is the formal word for the conversation during the Eucharist (Holy Communion or Mass) of the bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Christ.
So, these elements are not mere representations of Jesus, but actually Jesus himself is present in them after this conversion takes place, even though both the bread and wine continue to look, smell and taste like, well, bread and wine. This is a central doctrine in Catholicism, though it’s not widely held by other Christian denominations.
Holy Thursday also celebrates the sacrament of the priesthood, and encourages the faithful to perform acts of service.
It is believed that the last act of service that Jesus performed for his disciples was to wash their feet after partaking of the Last Supper with them. He washed each disciple’s feet (except for Judas, who had already departed to betray him) and said: “I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
The foot washing ritual – also known as the Ordinance of Foot-Washing or the Ordinance of Humility – features into the Holy Thursday mass, where members of the congregation are selected to have their feet washed by the priest. This rite is known as the “Maundy”, which is derived from the Latin word “mandatum” (commandment) and refers to Jesus’ commandment that his followers love one another.
We are now deep into Holy Week, which will be followed by Good Friday, Holy (or Black) Saturday, and finally, Easter Sunday.
Let’s just put yesterday’s weather firmly behind us and say no more about it, OK? Today is going to help erase that bad memory, with clouds in the morning giving way to mostly sunny skies in the afternoon. Temperatures will climb into the high 50s.
In the headlines…
A federal judge in Washington threatened to open a high-stakes contempt investigation into whether the Trump administration violated an order he issued last month directing officials to stop planes of Venezuelan migrants from being sent to El Salvador.
Under a 46-page opinion by US District Judge James E. Boasberg, the administration would have several off-ramps for avoiding an actual criminal contempt prosecution against any federal officials or Justice Department lawyers.
“The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions. None of their responses has been satisfactory,” the judge wrote.
The judge said he could hold hearings and potentially refer the matter for prosecution if the administration does not act to remedy the violation. Justice Department leadership won’t prosecute the matter, Boasberg said he will appoint another attorney to do so.
The IRS is reportedly weighing whether to revoke Harvard’s tax exemption which would be a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s attempts to choke off federal money and support for the leading research university.
The Trump administration plans to eliminate the IRS’ Direct File program, an electronic system for filing tax returns directly to the agency for free, according to two people familiar with the decision.
Trump slammed Harvard University as having “lost its way” for hiring former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, suggesting it was further evidence the school should no longer receive federal funds.
President Trump has appointed Jay Clayton, who served as the top Wall Street enforcer during Trump’s first term, to be the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, the president said in a social media post yesterday.
“The Southern District needs strong leadership NOW, and I thank Jay for taking on this role while we continue to pursue his Senate confirmation,” Trump said.
The action came after U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and minority leader, said he would block Trump’s nomination of Clayton, 58, for the U.S. attorney post, using a prerogative given to home-state senators.
For the rank-and-file prosecutors in the office, the intentions of Clayton — who has never worked as a prosecutor — are a mystery.
The Trump administration is moving to effectively eliminate a crucial protection in the half-century-old Endangered Species Act by redefining a single word: harm.
A proposed rule from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would repeal a longstanding interpretation of what it means to harm imperiled plants and animals to exclude the destruction of habitat.
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that autism was preventable while directly contradicting researchers within his own agency on a primary driver behind rising rates of the condition in young children.
Kennedy made his comments at a news conference, responding to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that rates of autism had increased to one in 31 among 8-year-olds, continuing a long-running trend.
Kennedy declared that autism is a rapidly growing “epidemic” in the U.S. and vowed to identify the “environmental toxin” he says is to blame.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, a leading Republican Trump ally, is considering running for governor of New York in 2026, according to three people directly familiar with her thinking.
Stefanik told NY1 after accepting an award from New York Republicans that she was “honored” to be considered for the role, and less than 24 hours later, she blasted out a statement mocking Hochul’s latest Marist poll numbers.
“This latest bombshell polling proves what every New Yorker already knows: that we must FIRE Kathy Hochul in 2026 to SAVE NEW YORK. Hochul is the Worst Governor in America and it’s not even close,” Stefanik argued in a statement.
Stefanik will be keeping her seat in Congress now that the White House has scuttled her cabinet nomination. But tensions are still running high among the Republicans who were jockeying to succeed her.
Stefanik blasted the Saratoga Springs school district’s “gender-expansive” policies and warned federal funding could be at stake because they contradicted Trump’s executive on transgender athletes in girls sports.
Hochul complained she couldn’t afford eggs for an annual Easter event even though she and her husband raked in more than $1 million last year, tax returns show.
Hochul acknowledged that lawmakers had reached a breakthrough in negotiations to revamp the state’s discovery laws — even as she insisted it didn’t count as a “deal.”
Hochul was joined by business leaders and the boroughs’ district attorneys yesterday as part of an ongoing effort to change New York’s criminal discovery laws.
As the announcement of a deal to make changes to New York’s discovery laws pushed relentlessly by Hochul appeared imminent, state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is getting a share of the credit for an unconventional maneuver.
The Trump administration has begun to scrutinize the real estate transactions of state Attorney General Letitia James in what could be the opening move of President Trump’s first investigation into one of his foremost adversaries.
James listed a Virginia home more than 300 miles from her office in New York City as her “principal residence” in official public documents, but neighbors said that they’ve never seen her.
Assemblyman Joe DeStefano, a Republican from Suffolk County, is facing allegations that he engaged in a romantic relationship with a member of his staff but then asked her to resign last summer less than two weeks after they broke up.
Just as construction was starting on a massive wind farm off the coast of Long Island, the Trump administration ordered an immediate halt yesterday that could spell a serious setback for hopes of powering New York City with offshore wind.
“Staff of the Department of the Interior has obtained information that raises serious issues with respect to the project approvals for the Empire Wind Project,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum wrote in a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Hochul quickly responded that she would “fight this decision every step of the way,” adding: “This fully federally permitted project has already put shovels in the ground…it’s exactly the type of bipartisan energy solution we should be working on,”
The city’s Law Department will not represent Mayor Eric Adams or his administration in the City Council’s lawsuit against him over an executive order that would allow federal immigration authorities on Rikers Island, according to court papers filed yesterday.
Adams’ office declined to send anyone to testify at a City Council hearing called to review his plans for dealing with federal funding cuts, drawing outrage from members who argued the no-show signals the mayor isn’t taking the threat of Trump seriously.
Adams is buried under a growing mountain of unpaid legal bills he racked up during a historic bribery case — as donors to his defense fund completely disappear.
The months of legal work that played out before, during and after Adams’ charm offensive won over Trump has left the mayor with $3 million in debt.
Adams announced he is reversing $167 million in planned cuts to preschool programs for 3-year-olds and children with disabilities, a move that comes as the cost of raising children ranks as a major concern for New Yorkers during an election year.
Adams is coming under intense pressure to increase the city’s reserve funds as the threat grows of both big cuts to federal aid and an economic downturn that would reduce tax revenues.
The City Council is considering spending $1.1 million on a measure aimed at speeding up the closing of Rikers Island — a bid Adams’ office slammed as a “redundant, bureaucratic measure.”
Adams again bashed New York City media, blaming the press for overshadowing his administration’s success and creating the appearance of a Big Apple in “disorder.”
Both Mayor Adams and ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo have filed for extensions on their 2024 tax returns, meaning the public likely won’t get to see either of their disclosures until this fall at the earliest.
Democrats running for mayor hashed out hot-button immigration issues last night – but frontrunner Cuomo was notably absent from the forum on the topic.
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani wants to raise the income tax rate for City millionaires by 2% and use revenue from that and other tax hikes to fund some of his most ambitious policy proposals, like free bus service and expanded universal childcare.
Mayoral candidate Scott Stringer is proposing a new zoning designation to block Trump from auctioning off federal buildings to luxury developers.
Democratic Manhattan Borough president candidate Keith Powers, a City Council member representing Manhattan’s 4th District, just scored two major fire union endorsements in addition to his already impressive list of labor industry backers.
One year after a sweeping corruption takedown at NYCHA, law enforcement’s scorecard reads: 64 convictions out of the 70 housing authority employees arrested on charges of taking cash bribes to hand out contracts to vendors performing public housing repairs.
Jailed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein filed an emergency request to send him from Rikers back to his cushy setup at Bellevue Hospital because of a worsening tongue infection, according to a newly filed lawsuit.
The city agency tasked with serving New York City’s most vulnerable adults has rejected 95% of the people referred to it for assistance this year, officials said.
Two New York state corrections officers were charged yesterday with the murder of Messiah Nantwi, an incarcerated man who authorities say guards beat to death during the recent unauthorized prison strike.
The officers, Jonah Levi and Caleb Blair, are accused of beating and stomping Nantwi’s head for several minutes at Mid-State Correction Facility in Marcy, N.Y. on March 1. Blair is also accused of beating him in a holding cell in the prison’s infirmary.
Alive at Five is returning to Albany this summer, but with a twist. Relocating the free summer concert series from its longtime home at Jennings Landing to its original home on Broadway is aimed at encouraging attendees to spend more time downtown.
City of Schenectady officials and community leaders are criticizing what they see as efforts to keep two incumbent council members, who both come from marginalized communities, away from the city council primary.
An effort to end alcohol sales earlier in Saratoga County has failed once again. The measure went down by a weighted 9-6 vote by the county’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday, with eight members absent for the vote, according to county records.
Two cross country and track coaches who were investigated over their training techniques, Art and Linda Kranick, have officially resigned from their coaching positions, effective immediately, the Saratoga Springs City School District Athletic director announced.
The Hudson River Mill Museum on Corinth’s Pine Street suffered extensive damage after vandals allegedly rampaged through the institution on the site of the former administrative offices of International Paper, the area’s lifeblood for more than a century.
A team of researchers is offering what it contends is the strongest indication yet of extraterrestrial life, not in our solar system but on a massive planet, known as K2-18b, that orbits a star 120 light-years from Earth.
A repeated analysis of the exoplanet’s atmosphere suggests an abundance of a molecule that on Earth has only one known source: living organisms such as marine algae.
This is the second, and more promising, time chemicals associated with life have been detected in the planet’s atmosphere by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). But more data is needed to confirm these results.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
