Good morning, it’s Monday.
I was never really a Disney kid. I watched a few of the movies, sure.
Of course I saw Bambi, which scared the hell out of me (the hunter shooting his mom, the fire). Snow White, ditto (the Evil Queen is terrifying, and half the damn movie is very dark and creepy – she more or less dies after eating a poisoned apple!). Also, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and, more recently, Tangled, which I actually thought was very cute, and Big Hero 6, which made me cry like a bay.
For the record, I’m talking about the animated originals here. I’m not even going to try and wade into the controversy over the Snow White live-action remake with Rachel Zegler, Gal Godot et al.
There are literally hundreds of Disney films – far too many for a person who has only passing interest in most of the franchises to bother trying to watch. And, of course, there are the cartoons, the parks – I’ve been to those, and I am not a huge fan, as I find them too crowded, too expensive, too hot.
I did run the Disney Marathon back in the day for Team in Training, raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and I’m toying with the Dopey Challenge, as several friends of mine have done it and say it’s well worth the effort.
Anyway, all of this is really just a long winded way of saying that I don’t pay a lot of attention to Disney and therefore don’t have a favorite character, necessarily. But if I were pressed to pick one, it would probably have to be Donald Duck.
I like a little edge in my life, and Mickey Mouse with his squeaky voice and squeaky clean demeanor is a little too nice for my taste, though it should be noted he didn’t start out that way. Donald, an impatient, immature, prankster who tries to always look on the bright side until something occurs to ruin his day, throwing him into an unintelligible rage, is more my speed.
Today may or may not be Donald Fauntleroy Duck’s birthday (and yes, he does indeed have a middle name).
On this day in 1934, the sailor suit-wearing, muttering duck made his debut as a minor supporting character in the animated short The Wise Little Hen. This, according to Disney, today’s the day we should be celebrating the fabulous, mischievous quacking cartoon character.
However, there are other dates associated with Donald Duck’s birthday, including Friday the 13th (supposedly connected to his chronic bad luck), and March 13.
Regardless of which date you celebrate – perhaps all three – it’s certain that Donald turned 90 last year. During that remarkably long career, he has been voiced by only three main talents: Clarence Nash, who was Donald’s voice for 50 years until his death in 1984, followed briefly by Jack Wagner in 1985, and then in 1986 by Tony Anselmo, who continues in the role to this day.
Donald Duck was technically created to play second fiddle to Mickey, who was the first cartoon character to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978 as part of his 50th birthday celebration. (Minnie Mouse, didn’t get her start until 2018, while Donald got his in 2004).
But given his staying power, I think it’s fair to say that Donald Duck is a star in his own right.
After a mixed bag of weather this past weekend – sun? rain? storms? heat? make up your mind, please, Mother Nature! – today will bring more of the same. There will be showers in the morning, followed by clouds in the afternoon. It will be unseasonably cool, with temperatures struggling to get out of the 60s.
In the headlines…
At least 2,000 anti-ICE protesters took over a major highway in downtown LA while rioters lit self-driving cars on fire as the LAPD chief admitted that his officers “are overwhelmed” by the violence and vandalism on the third day of demonstrations in the city.
A heavy military presence was seen in downtown Los Angeles early yesterday morning after unrest sparked by ICE raids in the L.A. area and ahead of what is expected to be a third day of protests.
President Donald Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops to be deployed Saturday night after a raid in Paramount earlier in the day that set off a chain of destructive demonstrations.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration early this morning over the president’s deployment of 300 National Guard troops to LA, even as the LAPD chief admitted Sunday his cops “are overwhelmed” by the riots.
ABC News suspended the network correspondent Terry Moran after he wrote on social media that Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff, was “a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” and called him “a world-class hater.”
Trump said in an interview with NBC News that he had no desire to repair his relationship with Elon Musk and warned of “very serious consequences” if Musk gave money to Democratic candidates.
New York’s U.S. senators were bracing for an uphill fight as the Republican-controlled chamber returned this past week to take up a megabill filled with Trump’s second-term priorities, putting them on the same side as Musk.
Three Democratic members of Congress from California and two from New York said they were barred from entering federal detention centers in their respective states to check on people who detained in immigration raids or in protests against the raids.
An aid vessel launched by Greta Thunberg and other international activists headed for Gaza was boarded by Israeli forces on yesterday, mere hours after Israeli officials demanded they “turn back,” the coalition announced in a Telegram post.
The civilian ship, called the Madleen, has been operating under the auspices of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international grass-roots campaign that opposes the nearly two-decade-old blockade of Gaza.
Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado’s decision to run against his boss — Gov. Kathy Hochul — is being met with frustration and even derision by some of his former colleagues on Capitol Hill.
Delgado revealed he stopped speaking to Hochul months ago as public disagreements and private pettiness – including the governor stripping him of his state Capitol office and official email – escalated between the pair.
Hochul on Friday morning published a letter urging U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune to mitigate the potentially “egregious harms” of the legislative package that has come to be known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
After eliminating the $229,000-a-year salary of Tremaine Wright, a former state assemblywoman who was appointed chair of the Cannabis Control Board in September 2021, Hochul has moved to replace her with Jessica C. Garcia, another board member.
As this year’s legislative session ends later this month, hundreds of bills will have never been the subject of public debate or voted on by either the state Assembly or Senate.
Suffolk County’s jails are being forced to hold onto 125 felons who were supposed to be transferred upstate — with officials blaming state government chaos for the delay.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie torpedoed a bipartisan bill that would have commemorated the horrific Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, ensuring that it didn’t come up for a vote.
The Rev. Al Sharpton has a to-do list for state lawmakers as they head into their final days of the 2025 session.
Sponsored by state Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblywoman Anna Kelles, a bill pending in Albany would impose a five-year moratorium on the spreading of biosolids in New York.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order at Tribeca Synagogue in Lower Manhattan recognizing a widely used international definition of antisemitism, part of a broader push to confront a spike in anti-Jewish hate across the five boroughs.
With barely two weeks until the start of early voting, the two leading candidates for mayor, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, appeared at the Puerto Rican Day Parade yesterday with an eye toward courting Latino voters.
To coincide with Puerto Rico Day, the “Ahora Quien” star Marc Antony — who was born in East Harlem to Puerto Rican parents — threw his weight behind the former governor, citing Cuomo’s support for the island after a series devastating natural disasters.
Anthony, who was formerly married to Jennifer Lopez, urged voters to consider Cuomo, who he called “a proud New Yorker who has been in the forefront every single time that Puerto Rico needs help,” for the job.
The head of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is endorsing Cuomo for mayor of New York City, marking an unusual foray into Big Apple politics for the organization, which typically only focuses on issues local to the island.
Cuomo refused to condemn state Assembly Speaker Heastie for torpedoing a bipartisan bill that would have commemorated Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack on the Jewish state.
Michael Blake, a former state lawmaker who is running for mayor of New York City, visited The New York Times for an interview.
The Daily News ran op-eds from Mamdani and Brad Lander, respectively arguing why they would be the best next mayor of New York City.
As protests mount against Trump’s immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, New York City mayoral candidate Mamdani says it’s time for Democrats to fight back and defend immigrant communities.
Mamdani has said Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island should be boycotted because of its partnership with an Israel-based school — a stance blasted as “blatant antisemitism.’’
A man is accused of biting a volunteer on the hand at Mamdani’s press conference in Manhattan Friday, police said.
Cristina Cuomo allegedly used her family connections to try to help the posh Surf Lodge in tony Montauk keep its crucial liquor and music licenses.
As temperatures and utility bills rise this summer, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer is warning that thousands of low-income families in New York City and Long Island could struggle to stay cool due to Trump administration cuts to a federal energy assistance program.
In New York City, the Democratic primary for comptroller is a rare instance when reckoning with the actions of the Trump administration is not just political virtue-signaling but part of the job description.
Every school in NYC would be required to have “airway clearance devices” to help prevent choking deaths under a City Council bill gaining bipartisan steam.
Federal immigration officials detained an 11th-grade New York City student while he was at an asylum hearing earlier this week, the city’s schools chancellor said Friday.
Two people were pinned to the ground and arrested by ICE agents who were waiting in the hallways outside federal immigration courtrooms as a blitz of migrant arrests at courthouses continued in lower Manhattan Friday.
Dozens of New York City shelters for homeless adults don’t provide Wi-Fi access in their buildings, making it hard for residents to find work and housing, and stay in touch with friends and family, a new report shows.
The city Department of Education spent $4 million in taxpayer funds to renovate a Brooklyn athletic field — then handed it to a small all-boys public school founded by former Chancellor David Banks, which promptly kicked out three girls’ soccer teams.
Fed-up Roosevelt Islanders want “priority boarding” for residents who are routinely forced to wait in line with hordes of selfie-obsessed tourists who’ve turned the transportation system into a carnival ride.
A man was arrested and more than 20 people were rescued after a boat traveling near Hart Island in the Bronx caught fire Saturday night, seriously injuring one of them, local and federal officials said.
Federal officials said they are capping flights into and out of Newark Liberty International Airport through the end of the year to reduce potential delays from congestion after extensive disruptions this spring.
Starting June 16 and lasting through Oct. 25, arrivals and departures will generally be limited to 34 each per hour, according to an order the Federal Aviation Administration issued Friday.
New York state was ineligible to buy the 36,600 acres of Whitney Park, according to the man who signed a contract to acquire the matchless wilderness terrain of lakes, ponds and forests.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires impacted upstate New York yesterday, with many areas listed in the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” category, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The Siena College Board of Trustees on Friday voted to rename the 87-year-old institution Siena University, a critical step as the school seeks to burnish its reputation and “more accurately (reflect) the breadth of Siena’s current academic offerings.”
More than 30 people gathered on Third Street Friday, many wearing white T-shirts with a message in red across the chest: “Speedy Day” in honor of shooting victim Javon “Speedy” Ward, 30.
“Maybe Happy Ending” collected six Tony Awards last night — the most of any show — including best new musical.
The 78th Annual Tony Awards hosted by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Nicole Scherzinger, a former member of the musical group Pussycat Dolls, won her first-ever Tony Award for her performance as Norma Desmond in the Broadway revival of “Sunset Blvd.,” which also won an award for best musical revival.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
