Good morning, it’s Monday and a brand-new month is upon us.
Welcome to July, named after Roman dictator Julius Caesar (100 B.C.–44 B.C.), who is the father of the Gregorian calendar that we still use today, with 12 months based on the Earth’s revolution around the sun.
July is known as peak summer and has a lot of things going for it: Independence Day, which falls on a Friday this year, Bastille Day, and Canada Day, the celebration of the Constitution Act (AKA the British North America Act), which created the country now known in some parts of the U.S. as the 51st State, thanks to President Donald Trump.
Canada’s confederation occurred on this day in 1867 when four of Great Britain’s North American colonies joined together to form a new country named the Dominion of Canada. As an aside, the name “Canada” is actually the result of a mishearing or misunderstanding by the French explorer Jacques Cartier of the Iroquois word “kanata”, which means “village” or “settlement”.
Cartier initially used the word “Canada” to refer to the region around what is today Quebec City, and it was later extended to the entire country.
Though our neighbor to the north is actually quite close – it’s only 180 miles from Albany to the Champlain–St. Bernard de Lacolle Border Crossing, which takes about three hours and change to drive – I’ll be the first to admit that there’s a lot I don’t know about Canada.
Despite how close Canada is, I have only been there twice – once to Toronto for a Fishbone concert, of all things, (and yes, I am dating myself in a big way her), and once for a weekend trip to Montreal, which was cold but amazing.
The food scene, in particular, is incredible; I can’t say enough good things about smoked meat. I was still drinking at the time, and the craft beer was particularly memorable. I think I also had at least one serving of poutine – French fries topped with fresh cheese curds and drowning in gravy.
I say I “think” I had poutine because this is an infamous post-partying snack, and the whole point of those is often NOT to recall that you consumed them.
I also really enjoyed getting a chance to brush off my French-speaking skills, which I honed long ago during my junior year abroad in Montpellier, even though the nasal Canadian accent is a little beyond me.
Canada is actually larger than the United States in total area – 3.85 million square miles compared to our 3.79 million – and is the second-largest country in the world behind Russia. It is made up of six geographic regions: the Atlantic Provinces, Quebec and Ontario (Central Canada), the Prairie Provinces, British Columbia (the West Coast), and the Northern Territories (this is where Nunavut is, for my fellow WAMC weather forecast junkies).
Canada Day is NOT Canada’s Independence Day. The British North America Act of 1867 made Canada a self-governing entity within the British Empire. The country did not gain full legal autonomy until 1931, and it didn’t become fully independent until April 1982 with the approval of its constitution by Queen Elizabeth II.
Canada Day is celebrated much the same way Independence Day traditionally is – with barbecues, fireworks, concerts, parades, picnics, singing the national anthem, etc. Also much like the 4th of July, it’s common on Canada Day to sport the colors of the flag on your person – in that case, red and white, as opposed to red, white, and blue.
Another hot day is on tap, with temperatures topping out in the high 80s. Some scattered thunderstorms with strong gusty winds are in the offing today, so be on the alert and stay safe.
In the headlines…
U.S. Senate Republicans yesterday beat back multiple Democratic attempts to derail their sweeping tax cut and domestic policy bill, as they continued to hunt for the votes to pass President Donald Trump’s first-year legislative agenda.
During a marathon day of voting that stretched late into the night, Republicans held firm against Democratic attempts to roll back the measure’s cuts to Medicaid and federal nutrition programs as well as tax cuts for the wealthy.
The sprawling tax and health care bill that Senate Republicans are trying to pass would add at least $3.3 trillion to the already-bulging national debt over a decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said.
The House will need to approve the Senate’s changes to the bill before it can head to the president’s desk for Trump’s signature. And lawmakers are trying to move quickly, with a self-imposed July 4 deadline to get the measure signed.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s top policy aide, appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” last night, about 12 hours into the Senate “vote-a-rama,” to angrily rebut criticisms of the bill and fiercely defend its contents.
Shortly before midnight, Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on X, arguing that the megabill’s border security and immigration provisions alone made it worthwhile.
Four Democratic senators from swing states crossed party lines to back Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s amendment to withhold some federal Medicaid funding from states offering coverage to undocumented immigrants charged or convicted of serious crimes.
As the Senate debated Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” before a final vote, Elon Musk issued a stark warning via his social media platform X.
“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,” he wrote.
Musk suggested that if the G.O.P. bill passed, he would swiftly form a new “America Party.” “If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,” he wrote in one of several posts to his 220 million followers on X.
Trump threatened to unleash Musk’s brainchild, DOGE, against him to investigate his company’s government subsidies — warning his former ally that he may have “to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.”
Trump stepped up his pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower borrowing costs yesterday, accusing its chair, Jerome H. Powell, in a handwritten note of costing the country “a fortune” and demanding that he cut interest rates “by a lot.”
Trump posted on Truth Social complaining that Powell and the rest of the Federal Reserve board of governors “should be ashamed of themselves” for declining to lower interest rates.
“Jerome – You are, as usual, ‘too late.’ You have cost the USA A fortune – and continue to do so – you should lower the rate – by a lot!” Trump wrote.
Trump signed an executive order lifting most of the country’s economic sanctions on Syria, tightening his embrace of a new government in Damascus despite concerns about its leaders’ past ties to Al Qaeda.
Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, has reached a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, according to a letter that prosecutors sent to relatives of the victims.
Under the proposed agreement, which must be approved by the judge in the case, Kohberger would plead guilty to all charges, face four consecutive life sentences and waive all rights to appeal.
Families of the victims met with prosecutors last week to discuss the possibility of a plea deal, which the prosecution in the letter said “weighed heavily” in the decision-making process.
Kohberger is scheduled to change his plea in court tomorrow. This development has, however, left the family of a victim, Kaylee Goncalves, infuriated.
Messages and online posts from the Ph.D. student now charged with four murders show that he was once detached and suicidal before he became fascinated with criminals’ minds.
New York now has a permanent state office dedicated to combating gun violence in what Gov. Kathy Hochul described as a sharp rebuke to Trump.
The agency was created by executive order in 2021, overseen by the state Department of Health, with the goal to use this data to track emerging gun violence hotspots and deploy resources to those areas that need it most.
Unemployment benefits in New York will go up by more than $300 per week starting in October, thanks to legislation recently approved in Albany.
Hochul joined the HTC, AFL-CIO, to celebrate the passage of state legislation that pays off the nearly $7 billion federal Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund loan and raises the longtime cap on jobless benefits for workers in New York.
Hochul’s intent to build a nuclear power plant in Upstate New York has sparked near-instantaneous interest and acute concern among state lawmakers.
A truly “competitive process” for siting the new nuclear capacity in New York would look beyond the three existing nuclear plants Constellation Energy owns near Lake Ontario, one analyst said.
Hochul unveiled the state’s first Master Plan for Aging, featuring nearly 400 pages of more than 100 proposals to address several areas and needs of New York’s rapidly growing aging population
Linda Sun, the embattled ex-aide to Govs. Hochul and Andrew Cuomo accused of being a Chinese spy, will stay free on bail after facing a federal judge yesterday on fresh bribery charges.
Buffalo-area Rep. Nick Langworthy hosted a sold-out luncheon yesterday at Kloc’s Grove in West Seneca. The guest speaker was North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is contemplating a run for governor.
The Rent Guidelines Board approved increases of at least 3 percent for New York City’s one million rent-stabilized apartments, rejecting the call for a rent freeze that helped Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani surge to the lead in the Democratic mayoral primary.
Mayor Eric Adams, who appointed the members of the board, has supported rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments every year since he took office. Mamdani, likely to face Adams in November, has promised not to do the same if he becomes mayor.
Mamdani’s “freeze the rent” promise is predicated on installing new members of the independent board who would be more sympathetic to tenants and less likely to approve rent hikes — people “who understand that landlords are doing just fine.”
The nine-member panel elected to raise rent by 3% on new one-year leases and 4.5% on two-year leases – higher than the minimum of the range the board voted on in the spring and will take effect on leases signed on or after Oct. 1.
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is backing her former Democratic primary rival Mamdani for mayor — though she raised doubts about his chances in the general election.
Mamdani — who would become the city’s first South Asian and Muslim mayor if he prevails in the unusually crowded general election — handily clinched a commanding lead in Asian neighborhoods representing many ethnicities across the five boroughs.
Mamdani is facing criticism over remarks made at a Young Democratic Socialists of America conference, where he urged attendees not to compromise on goals like “seizing the means of production.”
Bodega owners and workers sounded the alarm over Mamdani’s plan to launch city-owned grocery stores — claiming it’ll put them out of business.
Since no candidate received 50 percent of the vote on Primary Day, the Board of Elections proceeded to ranked-choice tabulations, which will be released today.
Mamdani already declared victory on election night last week after gaining a commanding lead over Cuomo, who swiftly conceded. But more results are needed to establish the victor due to the city’s ranked choice voting model.
Nearly a week after Mamdani blindsided Cuomo and the New York political establishment, those who delivered the biggest political upset in the city’s history sound more determined than ever to help Mamdani triumph again in the general election.
Muslim Americans in New York and across the United States said the country is seeing a spike in Islamophobic rhetoric in response to Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primaries.
Adams didn’t follow the proper procedures when he declared a state of emergency and blocked a local law restricting the use of solitary confinement on Rikers Island, a New York state judge ruled.
“Mayor Adams acted beyond the scope of his emergency powers,” wrote Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Pearlman in his decision. “He cannot suspend the law because he disapproves of its impact.”
The key players from Cuomo’s campaign are lining up to woo the socialist they scorned and scathed as they begin to jockey for influence inside a City Hall that looks more and more likely to be led by a democratic socialist.
Lawyers with the Legal Aid Society in New York City, the state’s largest provider of criminal and civil legal services for indigent clients, were locked in a struggle for higher pay yesterday after authorizing their union to strike.
If negotiations fail, members could walk off the job for the first time in 30 years, leaving the courts scrambling to cope with the sudden absence of more than 1,000 lawyers who represent the most vulnerable defendants.
An initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board described the moments before a Mexican Navy ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge.
A 23-year-old New Yorker was nabbed for allegedly unleashing bear spray at a massive crowd of Pride revelers inside Washington Square Park, apparently out of fear of being assaulted himself, cops and sources said.
There will be no G train service between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues on select weeknights and weekends starting July 14 through Aug. 18 as the MTA resumes work on its long-running signal modernization project.
Just one day after the Republican Saratoga County district attorney said she was stepping down, a number of the county, city and town GOP committees announced they were backing Brett Eby to replace her.
While city halls in Albany, Cohoes, Saratoga Springs and Schenectady have been cited by the National Register of Historic Places, the center of Troy’s government has moved four times since a fire destroyed its own historic structure in 1938.
Plattsburgh International Airport wants to expand its operations abroad and become Montreal’s second international hub, but a roadblock stands in the way.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
