Good morning, it’s Thursday, and people are dropping like flies in terms of meetings and calls.
I’ve had so many things that were on my calendar cancel and get rescheduled for after the long Labor Day weekend – as if everyone looked up suddenly and thought: “Holy shit! Summer is almost over and I need to get the hell out of the office while the getting is good!”
Yours truly will be hanging in there until the eleventh hour. There WILL be a “Rise and Shine” tomorrow, but in observance of Labor Day, we will be taking Monday, Sept. 1, off and return to our regularly scheduled programming on Tuesday, Sept. 2. (Don’t worry, I’ll be reminding you of this again).
I’m sure that folks who already got a jump on their holiday festivities or are planning to do so soon have some celebrations in the works that might include alcohol.
Back in the day when alcoholic beverages still agreed with me, I was a big fan of seasonal drinking. To me, that meant “lighter” drinks – like spritzers, while wine, gin and tonics, for example – were to be consumed during the spring and summer, while “heavier” alternatives – scotch, whisky, and red wine – were for the fall and winter.
Wine – white and/or red – was my drink of choice for a long time. This might have been because it was the one thing that was most often in the house when I grew up, usually connected to Jewish holiday observances, since neither of my parents was a very big drinker, or because I spent a year in France, where wine (usually red) was the default beverage at every table, cafe, and party.
Interestingly, white wine is now the global preference, according to the International Organization of Wine and Vine, which, according to its website “provides grape and wine producing and consuming countries with information to develop regulations, minimise barriers to trade, promote sustainable production and protect consumers.”
This is a turnaround from years of red wine dominance. The OIV, as the aforementioned organization is known for short, found in 2023 that white wine accounted for 43 percent of global wine consumption, up 10 percent over the past two decades. And rose is a big up-and-comer, with global production increasing by 25 percent between 2001 and 2021.
Red wine consumption, according to the OIV, has decreased largely in European markets, while it has grown in China, the US, Russia, and Brazil. The rise in popularity of wine white and rose, by contrast, has been driven largely by oenophiles in the US, Germany, and the UK, though France remains a stalwart rose-consumption market.
Young people – if they’re drinking at all, and apparently wine consumption overall is down so precipitously that some are bemoaning a wine “crisis” – are more interested in light, refreshing and crisp white wines, which also pair better with lighter fare – fish, vegetarian dishes, etc. – as opposed to heavy, full-bodied reds that are more frequently associated with red meat.
Some of the decline in wine is due to a shift in weather in specific regions, which is another result of climate change. Trump’s tariffs also are expected to exacerbate an already bad situation for imported wines.
Also, more people are “sober curious” and so eschewing alcohol altogether or just drinking less than they used to, while others are getting on the pre-mixed beverage or bespoke cocktail bandwagon. (Pro tip: If you’re thinking of investing in the alcoholic beverage market, the pre-mixed niche is the only growth area at the moment).
Adding insult to injury, the whole “red wine is good for your health” thing has been more or less debunked. Alcohol is, even in moderation, not great for the body, as it turns out. And the resveratrol in red wine, which has some heart-healthy attributes (like lowering so-called “bed” cholesterol), can be found in non-alcoholic versions – like grapes (the fruit) and grape juice.
As I’m reading back through this, it was a really crummy set-up by me for National Red Wine Day, which comes just as the weather is turning cooler and setting up a season for more robust tastes – alcoholic and otherwise. If you’re still a red wine lover, well, this is your day. If not, you can join me over here with my iced coffee and Stanley of water.
Another lovely late summer day is on tap, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures topping out in the comfortable mid-70s.
In the headlines…
A heavily armed assailant fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis where students were celebrating their first Mass of the new school year yesterday, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old in the pews and injuring 17 others, the police said.
The F.B.I. is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, Kash Patel, the agency’s director, said in a statement on social media.
Investigators have identified the attacker as a transgender woman named Robin Westman, 23, who is believed to be a former student at the school whose mother also once worked there as a secretary.
Westman lived in a three-story brick building in a complex in Richfield, a suburb just south of the church. She worked at a local cannabis dispensary for several months earlier this year.
Just hours before the massacre, Westman posted a series of twisted videos on YouTube, which included a manifesto, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed at a press conference.
The shooting of children at a Roman Catholic church came after a string of violent confrontations, going back to George Floyd, that has left the Twin Cities reeling.
Susan Monarez, who was apparently ousted as CDC director yesterday afternoon after only weeks on the job, said hours later that she had not been fired and would not resign.
The Trump administration is planning a new four-year time limit for foreign students in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced.
The Department of Health and Human Services posted a statement on X around 5:30 p.m. EST saying “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the (CDC).” Less than two hours later, DC attorney Mark Zaid released a defiant statement on Monarez’s behalf.
Dr. Monarez, an infectious disease researcher, was sworn in just a month ago by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but had clashed with the secretary over vaccine policy, people familiar with the events said.
The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid vaccines for the fall season and limited who can get the shots, the federal government’s most restrictive policy since the vaccines became available.
The agency authorized the vaccines for people who are 65 and older, who are known to be more vulnerable to severe illness from Covid. Younger people would only be eligible if they had at least one underlying medical condition that would put them at risk.
People seeking the shots will soon face another hurdle. An influential advisory committee to the CDC must vote to recommend them. But Kennedy has reduced the panel’s size and added some Covid vaccine opponents.
Kennedy said in a social media post that the “vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors.”
The Trump administration is planning a new four-year time limit for foreign students in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday.
Some members of the National Guard deployed to Washington, D.C., are picking up trash and working on the “beautification” of the nation’s capital as part of Trump’s federalization of the city’s law enforcement to crack down on crime.
The deployment of federal agents and National Guard troops has caused some Black parents to return to the days of “the talk” about policing that they had hoped was no longer needed to keep their children safe.
As Trump threatens more federal incursions into American cities in the name of fighting crime, a group of Democratic mayors huddled on a private strategy call yesterday to discuss their plans to fight back.
Trump ripped a recent ruling that Utah must redraw its congressional lines as “absolutely unconstitutional” amid a growing redistricting fight across the country.
Trump said that billionaire George Soros and his son should be charged under racketeering law for allegedly “supporting violent Protests, and much more.”
Hunters across New York are rejoicing after a long fight to make crossbows legally equivalent to other archery equipment ended successfully this week when Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Senate bill S6360 into law.
Sportsmen across New York were lauding the news, saying the decades-old fight to allow crossbows during archery season is long overdue among an aging population of hunters who are finding it difficult to utilize traditional archery equipment.
Federal Department of Transportation officials say they’ll manage to accomplish in two years what has stalled out in fits and starts since the 1990s: remake Penn Station.
DOT officials announced that shovels will be in the ground to start rebuilding the Midtown transit hub by the end of 2027 — a schedule formally presented at the station amid a whistle-stop tour for Amtrak’s new high-speed Acela trains.
The Trump administration is backing off a plan to expand Penn Station by tearing down an entire block of Midtown.
A new bill proposed by State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton would remove restrictions on which businesses can sell pepper spray and let New York residents buy pepper spray online and ship it to their homes without hassle.
A new poll shows what could happen if the New York City mayor’s race were a head-to-head matchup between former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
The socialist candidate would lose 41%-52% in a head-to-head battle against Cuomo and face a much tighter 45%-42% race if incumbent Mayor Eric Adams were his only opponent, according to the poll conducted for the New York Apartment Association.
The NY Post editorializes: “As we push for Zohran Mamdani to clarify his positions on crime, we shouldn’t let the other leading candidate off the hook: As Mayor Eric Adams’ allies note, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo is effectively pretty much the same.”
Trying to jumpstart his campaign, mayoral candidate Cuomo slammed Mamdani’s affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America for their policy stances on the economy, policing and jails.
Adams vowed to crack down on the gun violence that has rampaged across the Bronx over the last week by focusing on street gang activity, which he believes is the root cause of some of the clashes.
Adams is saying he’s sorry for the controversy that has surrounded his administration over the past year amid allegations of corruption against the mayor and his associates.
Adams is complicating an already vexing decision facing Hakeem Jeffries as the House minority leader continues to contemplate endorsing the incumbent mayor’s chief rival, Mamdani.
Mamdani met this week with Jeffries for the second time since winning the Democratic mayoral primary in June – but still couldn’t snag a coveted endorsement.
Adams rallied with sanitation workers yesterday, touting a month-old endorsement from the union while taking shots at Mamdani.
The mayor falsely labeled socialist Democrat Mamdani “a communist,” echoing one of Trump’s frequent lines of attack against the City Hall frontrunner.
A 69-year-old woman died yesterday after she was shot in the face on a New York City street in broad daylight. Neighbors criticized Adams’ response to the incident.
The woman, Robin Wright, was shot in the face near East 110th Street and Madison Avenue shortly before 12:30 p.m., the police said. She was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Mamdani has become the bogeyman in the race for Nassau County’s top prosecutor — as suburban Republicans paint the socialist as the poster boy for “dangerous” soft-on-crime policies.
It’s hard to picture a school lunch tray without chicken nuggets. But starting next summer, the breaded, bite-size childhood staple may be wiped from cafeteria menus across New York City public schools.
New food standards for nearly a dozen city agencies will ban processed meats, create new restrictions on artificial colors and preservatives, further limit low-calorie sweeteners and aim to increase offerings of “minimally processed plant protein foods.”
Immigrant advocates and education leaders urged undocumented students in New York City to continue attending school, amid fears of the Trump administration’s mounting immigration arrests.
A Department of Correction captain and two officers have been suspended in connection with the death over the weekend of a man held on Rikers Island, officials said.
A lawsuit filed on behalf of a Schenectady County child is targeting the popular video gaming platform Roblox over allegations that the girl was sexually exploited by other users as a result of the company’s weak security protections.
Vladimir Ranguelov, whose high-end sports car dealership on Central Avenue abruptly closed earlier this year amid allegations of fraud, finally has lawyers to respond to a bevy of lawsuits that have been filed against him in New York and Florida.
The 19-year-old who allegedly struck and killed 93-year-old Charles F. Allendorph before driving off last week in Cohoes was indicted yesterday in Albany County Court, prosecutors said.
Siena University scientists are rescuing Little’s Lake, a forgotten water body, that has been hard-hit by suburban development.
Saratoga Springs’ former public safety commissioner, who was arrested in April for allegedly stealing $148 of merchandise from Walmart, closed out her petit larceny case by pleading guilty to disorderly conduct.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
