Good Tuesday morning.
It’s easy to get depressed these days. The state of the world is, well, not great. Let’s face it. Especially when it comes to fighting climate change, on a lot of levels we seem to be going backwards, losing the minimal ground we were able to gain over the last several years.
I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately (lot of miles to run before an upcoming race), and a number of them have been focused on the topic of Earth Day, which, as you know, is today.
As a society, we have been lulled into a false sense of personal responsibility, somehow cowed into believing that micromanaging our own small carbon footprints make more of a difference than, say, what some ginormous company like Exxon decides to do on a daily basis.
This is NOT an indication that small steps don’t matter. But one person’s decision to, I don’t know, take a stand against fast fashion and all the damage it does to the planet by thrifting all their clothes instead of buying new, isn’t going to make a dent the size of what a global shift in policy would when it comes to adequately protecting the environment.
And on that level, there isn’t much cause for optimism right now, I’ll admit, thanks to the Trump administration’s many reversals of previously pro-planet approaches – like withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, halting work on the National Climate Assessment, and potentially targeting the tax exempt status of environmental nonprofits across the nation, (especially if they do legal work), just to name a few.
I am not the type to hide my head in the sand. Nor am I a glass half-full sort of person. Most people who know me use words like “intense” and “driven” to describe me – and those are the nice descriptions. There are quite a few others that get deployed on the regular that aren’t so kind.
That said, I feel like when it comes to the environment and highlighting efforts to protect it, which is what Earth Day is all about, it might be a worthwhile exercise to look for the silver lining in all the clouds that have gathered of late. So, here are a few good news stories that you might have missed:
- Scientists discovered what is believed to be the world’s largest coral colony, measuring 112 by 105 feet, which is bigger than the world’s largest animal, a blue whale – during an October 2024 expedition in the Solomon Islands.
- Two specimens of a rare tree that botanists had previously believed to be extinct were located in Eastern Tanzania. The Millettia sacleuxii, which is so rare that there isn’t even a common English name for it, is now being cultivated.
- Officials in Colombia reported that deforestation in the country fell in 2023 to its lowest level in 23 years, with much of the gains realized in the Amazon rainforest – a key ecosystem that is not only home to significant numbers of flora and fauna, but also helps regulate climate change.
- Global sales of pre-owned clothing soared last year, reaching $197 billion, and are projected to reach $350 billion by 2028, according to a GlobalData report that was conducted for the online resale site ThredUp. This signals a shift not only in cost consciousness but in a desire on the part of consumers for more eco-friendly options.
- India doubled its tiger population in less than a decade by protecting them from poaching and habitat loss, reducing conflict between big cats and humans, and ensuring they have enough prey, creating a blueprint for the conservation of other species around the globe.
- Scientists at the University of Hawaii are training a marine fungi to eat plastics in hopes of reducing the pollution choking the world’s oceans and endangering its wildlife.
There’s a lot more where all that came from here, here, and here. Go down the rabbit hole and get inspired – if only for one day.
It’s going to be a good day to get outside and enjoy some nature, with clouds in the morning giving way to sunny skies in the afternoon. Temperatures will flirt with 70 degrees.
In the headlines…
Pope Francis, 88, who died after a papacy in which he spoke out tirelessly for migrants and the marginalized, was praised by world leaders and Catholics around the globe.
“Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis,” Cardinal Kevin Farrell said in a statement on Vatican News. “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.”
Francis’ death after suffering a cerebral stroke leaves the church’s leadership with a critical decision: Choose a new pope who will follow his welcoming and global approach, or restore the more doctrinaire path of his predecessors.
Within hours of the announcement that Francis had died, cardinals around the world began heading to the Vatican to bury the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and prepare for the task of choosing his successor. Every cardinal under 80 has a vote.
Experts say there isn’t a single front-runner to be the next pope, but several names have been cited as indications of which direction the Roman Catholic Church might take.
Trump’s first international trip of his second term will be to the memorial service, where officials from across the world will gather in honor of the late pontiff.
“Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We look forward to being there!”
Trump acknowledged the pope’s death in a one-line Truth Social post, writing: “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!” Trump and Francis clashed repeatedly in recent years.
Catholics across New York City mourned the death of Pope Francis, praising him for his welcoming message of love and inclusivity as leader of a changing church in a changing world.
Trump endorsed two Republican candidates vying to be Arizona’s next governor. In a post on Truth Social, he said he likes both GOP candidates, businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson and Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.).
Trump World is playing defense amid mounting criticism of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after new revelations that he shared sensitive military information with family members.
Trump personally threw his support behind Hegseth and said any concern over his defense secretary’s decision to share military attack plans in a Signal group chat was a “waste of time.”
The commander of Fort McCoy was relieved of duty after the US Army base failed to install photos of Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Hegseth on a wall displaying their chain of command.
The independent government agency charged with protecting federal workers’ rights will drop its inquiry into the more than 2,000 complaints that the Trump administration had improperly fired probationary employees.
Democrats plan to force a floor vote in the U.S. Senate next week to reverse recent tariffs imposed by Trump on imports from other countries.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters in Albany that he thinks Democrats can secure the four Republican votes necessary for the resolution to pass.
Schumer and local restaurant owners met in Syracuse yesterday, calling for a stop to this tedious trade tussle. “Central New York is in the frontlines of this Trump tariff war,” the senator said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse was stolen at a Washington, D.C. restaurant Sunday night, according to department officials.
The department in an email didn’t specify what was stolen, but CNN — first to report the story — said the thief took about $3,000 in cash, as well as Noem’s keys, driver’s license, passport, checks, makeup bag, medication and Homeland Security badge.
“Her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren,” the department said via email. “She was using the cash withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”
The wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez from New Jersey was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges after a jury found she conspired with her husband to trade his political influence for cash, gold and other luxury gifts.
The Manhattan jury convicted Nadine Menendez of 15 counts, including bribery and obstruction of justice. Her husband was convicted for his role in the scheme last year and sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Nadine Menendez faces sentencing on June 12 – the same month her husband is due to report to prison to begin serving an 11-year sentence. She wore a face mask during the proceedings and had no visible reaction when the verdict was read.
About 10 demonstrators chained themselves to Columbia University’s campus gates at 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in New York, protesting the detention of two Palestinian student activists by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The Department of Homeland Security denied Mahmoud Khalil permission to attend the birth of his first child, who was delivered at a New York hospital on Monday, according to emails reviewed by The New York Times.
The Trump administration threatened to withhold billions in federal funding for New York City highway projects if the MTA continues to ignore an order from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to shut down Manhattan’s congestion pricing tolls.
In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Duffy outlined a plan for the Federal Highway Administration to hold up money and regulatory approvals for some federally funded road projects in the city.
“President Trump and I will not sit back while Governor Hochul engages in class warfare and prices working-class Americans out of accessing New York City,” Duffy said in a statement that accompanied the letter.
“I received the letter from USDOT extending their congestion pricing threats once again,” Hochul said in a statement. “I repeat: congestion pricing is legal — and it’s working. Traffic is down, business is up and the cameras are staying on.”
State lawmakers and advocates are looking to expand New York’s false advertising laws to include food and beverage ads targeting children.
Nonprofit organizations across the nation and in New York are gearing up amid threats from the Trump administration.
The public policy arm of the state Business Council has launched a “seven-figure” campaign to oppose legislation that would lower the threshold for antitrust enforcement and allow class-action lawsuits for violations of proposed anti-monopoly regulations.
House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer is referring former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution for allegedly lying to Congress.
This is the second time Comer has made this referral; it was initially sent to the Department of Justice during the final months of the Biden Administration, though this time, it comes as he’s running for mayor of New York City.
Comer, a Kentucky Republican, accused Cuomo of making “making criminally false statements” around the state’s management of the pandemic in nursing homes. His decision to return to the referral suggests the Trump administration may be willing to engage.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi dismissed Comer’s letter as “nonsense,” adding: “This is nothing more than a meritless press release that was nonsense last year and is even more so now.”
Cuomo will pick up the tab for his threatened defamation lawsuit against a former aide who accused him of sexual harassment, he told The NY Post — after taxpayers shelled out a whopping $60 million to defend against his scandals.
The New York Working Families Party is in the process of choosing which of its four endorsed candidates should be its No.1 pick for mayor – locking Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander’s supporters in a potential battle.
The Democratic primary race for city comptroller remains up for grabs with a majority of voters still undecided, even though Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine holds a wide lead, a new poll shows.
Mayor Eric Adams announced the next phase of his signature literacy initiative will be extended to more than 100 middle schools, though one much-criticized curricula was notably absent.
Adams owes millions of dollars in legal fees and has no obvious means of paying it off, but he says that’s none of his constituents’ business.
A temporary restraining order signed by a state judge is temporarily blocking the Adams administration from allowing ICE back onto Rikers Island.
The order delays the feds from moving onto the island at least until a Friday hearing, a pause agreed to by Adams. The ruling also blocks the administration from negotiating an agreement, or memorandum of understanding, until then.
The New York City hotel lobby is urging elected officials to slash the hotel occupancy tax rate by nearly half, as it contends with a loss of tourism the industry blames on international tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Homeowners in New York City’s communities of color are being disproportionately fined for building violations, according to a new audit from Lander’s office.
According to the audit, which focused on violations issued to single- and two-family homes in 2022 and 2023, the Department of Buildings relies almost exclusively on 311 complaints, which are anonymous, for its enforcement actions.
Trump to fight for a Long Island town to keep its school’s team name and logo after New York State demanded their removal because of a ban on Native American imagery.
Rep. Elise Stefanik is calling for a federal probe of the Saratoga Springs school district for its “direct violation” of Trump’s executive order banning trans athletes from competing in girls sports.
A former Saratoga Springs public safety commissioner who once texted “arrest those f___rs” to a police official during city clashes with Black Lives Matter protesters was issued an appearance ticket on Saturday over allegations of retail theft.
The false personation charge against Dennis Drue, the man convicted of killing two Shenendehowa High School students and seriously injuring two other teens in a 2012 DWI crash, was dismissed during a brief court appearance.
George Ehinger, a business executive, has been selected to replace Matthew Veitch on the November ballot as the Spa City’s Saratoga County supervisor.
Army Maj. James J. O’Donovan, a native of Cohoes and a highly decorated soldier, was finally laid to rest 80 years after he died inside the Cabanatuan POW Camp in Bataan, Philippines.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
