Good morning, we made it through another week to Friday.
I know it is hard to believe, but meteorologically speaking, it has been summer since June 1. Given all the soggy days – especially weekends – and cool-ish temperatures we’ve seen to date, it has been very hard to get into the summer spirit.
Yesterday’s heat advisory was a bit of a shock to the system, at least for me. It was a little like weather whiplash, though I, for one, was there for it – at least mentally. My body, on the other hand, was not at all acclimated to the high heat and humidity, as my less-than-stellar workout results can attest.
The coming week is looking comparatively better, with temperatures in the low-to-high 80s and at least partly sunny skies (I’m opting for partly sunny instead of partly cloudy in an attempt to look on the brighter side of things). There’s a chance of scattered thunderstorms on Sunday morning, but otherwise the forecast looks (fingers crossed) largely dry.
So maybe we can consider the Summer Solstice, which is occurring tonight at 10:42 p.m., to be a reset and the start of better – warmer, sunnier, and, most of all, less wet – things to come.
A refresher: The Summer Solstice is the start of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s when the North Pole is tilted most directly in the sun’s direction, resulting in the longest day and shortest night of the year. The sun will reach its highest point at exactly midday and stop moving north at that moment – this is where the word “solstice” comes in, as it’s a mash-up of the Latin words for “sun” and “stoppage.”
This is all well and good, but the bad news is that we’ve been slowly gaining in daylight duration up until this moment, adding a few extra minutes and/or second every 24 hours. However, directly after the Summer Solstice, we start going in the opposite direction, with the loss of daylight slowly accelerating over time us we move toward the Autumnal Equinox.
So, in some ways, this is the beginning of the end of a summer that feels like it has barely gotten started yet. But let’s try not to focus on that.
This is a time for celebration! Historically, the Summer Solstice has been observed in a variety of ways, viewed by ancient people as a time of fertility and agricultural significance (lots of produce is starting to become available around now). Pagans did and still do mark this day (also known as Midsummer) with ritual bonfires and feasts, while indigenous people may perform ceremonial sun dances and engage in prayer and reflection.
However you choose to celebrate this moment, it looks like the weather will cooperate. The heat will break today, with temperatures topping out in the more comfortable high-80s. There MIGHT be a stray shower or thunderstorm, which, let’s face it, is pretty common for this time of year (as opposed to endless days of rain) , but there will be a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day.
In the headlines…
President Trump said he will decide whether the US will attack Iran “within the next two weeks,” adding in a statement released by the White House that “there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.”
Trump’s wariness over bombing Iran is due in part to concerns about creating “another Libya” if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is toppled, administration insiders said.
Trump’s decision to open a two-week negotiating window before deciding on striking Iran sets off an urgent effort to restart talks that had been deadlocked when Israel began its bombing campaign last week.
U.S. intelligence agencies continue to believe that Iran has yet to decide whether to make a nuclear bomb even though it has developed a large stockpile of the enriched uranium necessary for it to do so, according to intelligence and other American officials.
Smack in the middle of Pride Month, the Trump administration has announced it will eliminate services offered through the national suicide prevention hotline that are tailored to specifically provide support for LGBTQ+ youth.
Starting July 17, the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline “will no longer silo LGB+ youth services,” shutting down what’s known as the “Press 3 option,” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said in a statement.
Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the short-form video app to an American owner by another 90 days.
“I’ve just signed the Executive Order extending the Deadline for the TikTok closing for 90 days (September 17, 2025). Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump said on Truth Social.
“He’s making an extension so we can get this deal done,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “It’s wildly popular. He also wants to protect Americans’ data and privacy concerns on this app. And he believes we can do both at the same time.”
An appeals court yesterday allowed Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids.
In a unanimous, 38-page ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the conditions in Los Angeles were sufficient Trump to decide that he needed to take federal control of California’s National Guard and deploy it.
The Los Angeles Dodgers turned away Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempting to enter parking lots at Dodger Stadium yesterday morning, the team said.
A journalist known for covering immigration arrests in Georgia was taken into ICE custody this week after he was arrested while reporting on a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies over the weekend.
The Department of Homeland Security has imposed new limits on visits by members of Congress and their staff to immigration enforcement facilities, intensifying a conflict between federal immigration officials and Democratic lawmakers.
In guidance released this month, ICE asserts that it has broad power to “deny a request or otherwise cancel, reschedule or terminate a tour or visit” by lawmakers or their staff under a number of circumstances.
Seven members of Congress are accusing federal authorities of blocking their right to examine conditions at what is supposed to be a temporary stop for detained immigrants in New York City.
Trump made no statement about Juneteenth, the federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, other than saying there were too many like it. Lesser occasions routinely garner official proclamations.
Bars and restaurants will be able buy a small amount of wine and spirits from liquor stores if Gov. Kathy Hochul signs a bill passed by the state Legislature this week that is among the only changes to New York alcohol laws to be passed during this year’s session.
Administrative investigations of two county sheriff’s departments by a special unit in the state AG may be focused on whether the agencies committed civil rights violations in any work they did with federal immigration authorities over the past seven months.
Tense video captures the moment an investigator assigned to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ security detail cuffed a young woman who allegedly clipped his parked car in a Manhattan fender-bender this week.
The New York Police Department is investigating threats against Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, one of the leading candidates in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary.
Mamdani reportedly received multiple death threats in recent weeks, including a threat to blow up his car. The same unidentified man left two voicemails that mix racist bile with chilling threats of violence, sources said.
The final sprint in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary featured Andrew Cuomo slamming Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and Mamdani blasting the millions Mike Bloomberg has poured into a pro-Cuomo super PAC.
Mamdani recently dropped an ad almost entirely in Hindi and Urdu. Even with English-language subtitles, the video, crammed with vintage Bollywood references, would be fairly impenetrable for most New Yorkers. But was a hit for many South Asians.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander – both Democratic primary mayoral contenders – cast early ballots in the race.
City election officials said they are taking steps to keep voters and poll workers cool and safe during an anticipated heat wave as early voting winds down this Sunday and Primary Day takes place Tuesday.
The ramped-up heat precautions were criticized as inadequate by Cuomo’s campaign, which earlier this week demanded that Mayor Eric Adams ensures the Board of Elections installs portable air conditioning units at all sites that do not have centralized A/C.
The leading candidates in New York City’s June 24 Democratic mayoral primary hit the campaign trail yesterday to attack each other.
While at an event in Manhattan, Mamdani responded to accusations of antisemitism after he appeared to defend the slogan “globalize the intifada” during an interview.
Mamdani continued to stumble defending the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry – as even fellow Democratic candidate Brad Lander, who cross-endorsed him, joined a pileup of criticism.
The Democratic primary contest, in many ways, looks like a referendum on the type of candidate best equipped to lead the party out of the wilderness of Trump’s second term.
Former three-term GOP Gov. George Pataki claims Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa has a chance to win City Hall, given how far the Democrats have veered left or have been tainted by scandal.
Mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams declined to say who she voted for, even as her opponents — and chief supporter — have begun to capitalize on the city’s ranked-choice voting system in their collective quest to block Andrew Cuomo’s return to power.
City comptroller frontrunner Mark Levine cozied up to a Big Apple MAGA supporter and election denier while locking down the Jewish bloc — after the Democrat campaigned that he would “take on Donald Trump.”
The heated Democratic mayoral primary in New York City has been engulfed by ideological arguments over the city’s management and the leadership vacuum among national Democrats. Similar issues are animating the party’s race for public advocate.
The Adams administration has inked a nearly $1 billion no-bid contract with the hotel industry for emergency shelter space — despite boasting that the migrant crisis is tapering off.
Dogs are so much more than just possessions, a Brooklyn judge just ruled, in allowing the heartbroken family of an adorable, Tuxedo-wearing dachschund named Duke to sue for emotional distress after the tiny pup was cruelly mowed down by a driver.
A majority of New Yorkers don’t want to give Airbnb access to the Big Apple’s housing market, a new poll paid for by the Airbnb rival Hotel Gaming and Trades Council found.
New York City public schools will soon be required to translate many official messages to families into three more languages other than English, expanding the total to 12.
A decade after Uber upended New York’s yellow taxi industry, another Silicon Valley giant is threatening to push the city’s cabbies to the brink of extinction: Waymo, a robot-driven car service owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet.
The 22-year-old son of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon faces rape and strangulation charges after a woman accused him of choking and hitting her while sexually assaulting her, court records show.
A 15-year-old boy survived a lightning strike in Central Park, police say. The boy was standing under a tree when lightning hit and an electrical current transferred to a chain necklace around his neck, a law enforcement official said.
ICE agents did not inform local police about a “targeted enforcement action” in midtown Kingston on Tuesday, resulting in a resident calling to report suspicious activity after plainclothes agents knocked on her door, claiming to be police.
Northern Rivers Family of Services launched its first Youth Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program in Rensselaer County to provide intensive in-home support and therapeutic intervention to youth with severe mental health challenges.
More than 6,000 National Grid customers in Troy, Rensselaer and the surrounding area were without power yesterday afternoon.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
