Good morning, it’s Friday!
On this day in 1944, members of the Allied forces invaded Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
Otherwise known as D-Day, this effort kicked off what was known as Operation Overlord – a concerted effort by the Allies (mainly Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France, along with China and Australia) to oppose the Axis powers and liberate Western Europe.
The most infamous element of D-Day was the landings at Normandy, which took place after an extended air and naval assault. Overall, some 2 million soldiers, sailors, pilots, and medical personnel from more than 12 countries were involved in Operation Overlord. For the Normandy landings specifically, approximately 160,000 Allied troops – 73,000 from the United States and 83,000 from Britain and Canada – faced off against some 50,000 Germans soldiers who were defending the beaches.
D-Day marked a turning point in WW II, but it came at a high cost. The Normandy landings were among the bloodiest battles of the entire war, with an estimated 10,000 Allied casualties and 4,414 confirmed dead – including 2,501 Americans. (FWIW, on the German side, exact numbers are very hard to come by; some historians say the number of casualties on their side was anywhere from 4,000 to 9,000).
Of the Normandy landings, the Omaha Beach was the deadliest. If you saw “Saving Private Ryan” you got a taste of how terrifying, brutal, and chaotic that battle was, as the movie is widely considered a very realistic depiction of what happened that day. I personally had a very hard time watching that entire movie, but that sequence in particular…I’m not sure how much of it I actually SAW, as I had my eyes covered for a lot of it.
This is the 81st anniversary of D-Day, and every year there are fewer and fewer veterans of the engagement who are still around to remember it. Most of those still alive are now in their 90s and 100s and some of them are not longer healthy enough to make the trip overseas to participate in memorial events. Last year, American Airlines announced that it flew nearly 70 veterans to Normandy for the 80th anniversary commemoration.
All told, only 66,143 of the 16.4 million Americans who served in World War II were alive as of last year, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Approximately 131 veterans of that war are believed to die every day. If you have the privilege to know one of them who is still around, now would be a good time to sit down and listen to their stories – and thank them for their service – before it’s too late.
After a spate of absolutely glorious and seasonably appropriate weather, we are facing a not-so-fabulous forecast over the next several days – just in time for the weekend. Why?
Today will bring scattered showers and potentially even thunderstorms, with temperatures topping out in the high 70s. Saturday it will be slightly cooler – no higher than the mid-70s – with showers in the morning and then a mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon, which I guess isn’t too terrible, all things considered.
Sunday is the best of the lot if you’re planning to spend some time outside the weekend. There’s a slight chance of a shower, and temperatures will remain in the mid-70s.
In the headlines…
Multiple allies caught in the middle of the implosion between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk were delicately attempting to broker peace between the two men yesterday when their quiet conversations were disrupted by a post on X.
“Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” Musk wrote, stunning those with close relationships to Trump and Musk.
Taking to their respective social media platforms, Trump threatened to cut Musk’s government contracts, while Musk said Trump would not have won in November without him.
Two House Democrats on a key investigatory committee sent a letter asking Attorney General Pam Bondi and the F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, to more quickly release files in the Epstein case and seeking information about whether Trump kept them hidden.
The drama started when Trump confirmed the deterioration of his relationship with Musk, saying he was “very disappointed” in the tech billionaire after he repeatedly blasted the president’s sweeping domestic agenda bill in recent days.
As the relationship between Trump and Musk unraveled, bystanders flooded social media with memes comparing them to the main figures in some of the most legendary feuds, including the frenemies of “Mean Girls” and rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Musk has the right to speak out on behalf of his companies amid the ongoing feud between Trump and the Tesla CEO.
Musk’s decision to launch a sudden scorched-earth campaign against the GOP’s domestic-policy megabill has forced House Speaker Mike Johnson into a sudden scramble to save the centerpiece of the Republican legislative agenda.
“Let me say this. It’s very disappointing. I have come to consider Elon a good friend. He’s obviously a very intelligent person, and he’s done a lot of great work,” Johnson said. “(W)ith all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big beautiful bill.”
Johnson said he was “pleading” with Senate leaders to keep the state and local tax deduction cap at the same level it was at in the House-passed version of the bill containing Trump’s agenda.
The F.B.I. has reportedly targeted another round of employees who ran afoul of conservatives, forcing out two veteran agents in Virginia — one of whom is friends with a critic of Trump — and punishing another in Las Vegas.
A federal judge late yesterday temporarily blocked Trump’s proclamation that blocks visas for foreign students planning to attend Harvard University until after a hearing later this month.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs’s order came swiftly after Harvard rushed to court to ask the judge to immediately block Trump’s proclamation, which he signed a day earlier.
For more than three hours, the inspector tallied enough violations at Trump’s New Jersey golf club to give it a score of 32 out of 100 – one of the lowest ratings earned by any establishment in Somerset County this year.
New surveillance video shared with Gothamist shows that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security officer pushed a staffer in Rep. Jerry Nadler’s Manhattan office before she pushed him back and was subsequently handcuffed.
Warning of potential “price gouging,” a group of congressional Democrats wants the Federal Trade Commission to survey concession prices at major airports and sports venues.
The head of the state’s cannabis regulating board will be replaced by another board member just weeks after saying she had no plans to leave the job after her annual salary was eliminated in the budget.
Gov. Kathy Hochul nominated board member Jessica García to replace Tremaine Wright as chair of the state Cannabis Control Board. García’s nomination will go before the Senate Finance Committee this morning.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins signaled that after more than a decade of relentless advocacy and pushback in the halls of the state Capitol, the Medical Aid in Dying Act will likely be heading to Hochul’s desk this year.
“Certainly more people have signed on in the Senate than had been over the past few years, and if I get the support, I’ll certainly bring it to the floor,” Stewart-Cousins said.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is seriously considering a run for governor, announced that she has formed the “Save New York” PAC to “ensure Republican victories across New York” this year and also to lay groundwork for a challenge to Hochul in 2026.
The state Education Department offered to ban all school mascots that are connected to any racial or ethnic group, in response to an effort from the federal government to overturn the ban on mascots depicting Indigenous Peoples.
Democrats are now considering an increase to the state’s short-term disability benefit to create a version of paid medical leave in New York, though advocates in support of the measure have quietly questioned their commitment to that change.
New York state lawmakers voted to stop the NYPD’s attempt to block its radio communications from the public, with the bill expected to head to Hochul’s desk.
Elaine Fan, a former senior aide to Hochul, reportedly has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party — sparking concern over foreign influence in US politics as she now serves as chief of staff to New York City mayoral candidate Scott Stringer.
State lawmakers said a bill to strengthen consumer protections in the state will be amended after stiff pushback from New York business leaders about the measure’s potential detriment to small businesses.
Housing for All, a super PAC representing landlords’ interests, announced plans to spend $2.5 million on campaign ads to promote former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral candidacy — the single largest ad commitment of the election cycle so far.
The $2.5 million ad buy from Housing for All is funded by the New York Apartment Association, which represents landlords and lobbies city government and the city’s rent-setting organization, the Rent Guidelines Board, on their behalf.
Cuomo left office in 2021 amid a wave of sexual harassment allegations. As he runs for mayor, he is counting on voters’ having moved on.
Jewish leaders condemned Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for his repeated refusals to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state — slamming it as a disqualifying and “dangerous” point of view.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is hitting the airwaves with her first TV ad in the final days leading up to the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary.
In the 32-second spot, titled “Rise Above,” Speaker Adams broadcasts her campaign’s central message that she is the one candidate in the race who will transcend “the drama” to deliver for New Yorkers.
Former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson became the latest New York City mayoral candidate to veer left, taking a page out of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s book by saying all public transit should be free.
Officials at Citi Bike were scrambling to figure out how to add speedometers to their popular e-bike fleet after Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to impose a citywide 15 mph speed limit on electric bicycles and scooters.
Advocates for students with disabilities said Adams’ Afterschool for All plan won’t actually be “for all” until the city updates bus contracts to provide late-day service, especially for students in special education.
A construction worker died in Brooklyn after a roof collapsed at the site of a former steakhouse where demolition work was being conducted without the required permits, according to the New York City Department of Buildings.
A federal judge is ordering the government not to arrest, detain or relocate a Columbia University student facing deportation for attending protests against the war in Gaza.
Train service was suspended between New York and New Haven because of a downed power line in Connecticut, leaving some passengers stuck on trains for hours and causing delays that were likely to affect today’s morning commute, officials said.
Amtrak halted all service between the cities at least for the rest of the evening, said Beth K. Toll, a spokeswoman for the railroad company. Service to Boston and Philadelphia was also disrupted, Amtrak said on social media.
A jumpy suburban Westchester County cop shot a black bear roaming around a residential neighborhood — drawing outrage from horrified locals and wildlife experts who said the lost animal didn’t need to die.
The New York Civil Liberties Union is asking a judge to dismiss a federal lawsuit against the city of Rochester. This comes days after the city’s attorneys filed a similar request.
The use of sewage sludge on farmland is a rising concern for a growing number of New York towns and counties, so much so that several have intervened in recent months to stop the spread of it over contamination worries.
The iconic Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch at Grand Army Plaza has reopened following its first major renovation in nearly 50 years.
The University at Albany must reinstate a student after a state appeals court found the university failed to follow its own procedures in an investigation into alleged sexual assaults that led to his suspension.
There is friction between Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello and First Columbia President Kevin Bette after the mayor’s decision late last week to give the firm a lease termination letter to stop using the Hedley building as City Hall by the end of 2026.
State Attorney General Letitia James has released the body camera footage of the shooting death of David Levine, the man who opened fire on state troopers outside their Malta barracks in April.
Two people were detained for “causing a disturbance” on an Amtrak train that was delayed in Hudson for nearly two hours due to a brush fire, police and train officials said.
A horse that was pulled up during Wednesday’s Mount Vernon Stakes at Saratoga Race Course was euthanized after scans revealed multiple severe leg fractures, the New York Racing Association announced.
After five days and nights of standing watch over the smoking hulk that used to be Victory Mills, nearly two dozen volunteer firefighters will be able to go back to their normal routines.
After a year with the station, Ireland Walker has left WTEN. While Walker has not posted to her professional social media channels in two months, the departure was confirmed by the station’s news director, Ryan Mott.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
