Good morning, it’s Friday. I know this for a fact because I checked several times…remember, I’m working on a four-day week, and so I’m completely discombobulated.
One of the benefits of having a day off is that one can allocate more time than usual to breakfast. During the week, I don’t typically get around to breakfast until late in the morning – 10 a.m. or even sometimes 11 a.m. By that time, you’re more or less ready to move on to lunch, especially if you have started your day around 5 a.m. or earlier.
To be clear, my absence of food does not extend to caffeine, which is a first-thing, must-have item.
When I am left to my own devices for a weekday breakfast, I usually eat light – toast, which is the world’s greatest food, in my humble opinion, is a frequent choice, as is oatmeal with fruit or cottage cheese with fruit. (Yes, I am still on the cottage cheese train, I am indeed that basic).
Breakfast foods that require more preparation – eggs, for example – are something that I either leave to the weekends or have someone else prepare for me. I’ve never really been able to get the whole omelette thing down. If pressed, I would probably opt for French toast over waffles and waffles over pancakes. I’ve never really been a big pancakes fan – too heavy for my taste.
If you measure by the presence of IHOPs (the pancake house) versus Waffle Houses (a Southern chain), then one could say I’m in the minority when it comes to my preference of waffles over pancakes.
Pancakes are really more of a traditional American food than waffles, whose popularity has grown over time. Waffles date back at least to medieval times, and perhaps even to Ancient Greece, though early versions were probably more like crispy wafers than the fluffy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside versions we know and love today.
Waffles were known as “obelios” in the Middle Ages, and were very fancy – sometimes depicting Biblical scenes and religious icons. The modern-day version of waffles originated in and was popularized by Belgium and the Netherlands. Dutch wafles came to the Americans with the Pilgrims and it was here that the iconic pairing of waffles and maple syrup occurred.
Pancakes, on the other hand, date back even earlier – perhaps to the Stone Age, when people ground up plants, tubers and seeds into a kind of flour, combined it with water, and then cooked it on a hot rock. Doesn’t sound terribly appetizing to me, but I guess you make do with what you’ve got.
Pancakes have the virtue of being fairly easy to make. Mix some sort of floury starch with a liquid, maybe throw in an egg and a rising agent if you’re into fluffiness, turn the batter out onto a hot griddle and voila, as the French would say. Of course, the French version of a pancake is a crepe, sort of a thinner and more sophisticated cousin, which brings us to the many global varieties of pancakes – from Dutch Babies to injera.
According to one account, some 2.5 tons of pancakes – about 75 billion – are consumed every year. The sale of pre-made pancake mix is growing exponentially and that market is predicted to reach $888.11 million by 2030.
Today is National Pancake Day, which is being observed – at the very least – by Cracker Barrel with a $5 all-you-can-eat deal on its “beloved” version of this breakfast staple. This isn’t the only day dedicated to pancakes. Shrove Tuesday, for example, is a big day for pancakes. And the aforementioned IHOP observes its National Pancake Day on March 4 by offering free short stacks at participating locations.
Hopefully you’ll get a chance to slow down and enjoy some pancakes this coming weekend – maybe even an outdoor brunch might be in order, as both Saturday and Sunday are looking to be partly to mostly sunny with temperatures in the high 70s and even perhaps hitting the lower 80s. Today will start out cloudy, with the sun peaking though increasingly as the day progresses. It will be warm for this time of year, with the temperature topping out in the high 70s.
In the headlines…
James Comey was charged with lying to Congress in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.
The indictment makes Comey the first former senior government official involved in one of Trump’s chief grievances, the long-concluded investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, to face prosecution.
Specifically, the indictment alleges Comey testified that day that he hadn’t “authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports” regarding an FBI investigation, when he knew that wasn’t true.
Comey responded to news of his own indictment in a short video posted to Instagram, saying his heart is “broken” for the Justice Department. He professed his innocence and said he is unafraid.
Trump hailed the indictment as “JUSTICE FOR AMERICA!” Attorney General Pam Bondi, a Trump loyalist, and FBI Director Kash Patel, a longtime vocal critic of the Russia investigation, issued similar statements. “No one is above the law,” Bondi said.
Bondi said in a post on X that the indictment “reflects this Department of Justice’s commitment to holding those who abuse positions of power accountable for misleading the American people. We will follow the facts in this case.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Comey’s indictment a “disgraceful attack on the rule of law” and argued that the criminal justice system has been “viciously weaponized” by the Trump administration.
Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, argued that there is “very little chance” that Comey will ever be convicted.
Trump yesterday announced a slew of steep tariffs on pharmaceuticals, semi trucks, kitchen cabinets and furniture, saying import taxes on those products would go into effect on Oct. 1.
The effects of the new tariffs are likely to be felt across sectors of the economy, from housing and health care to logistics. The tariffs range from 25 percent to 100 percent.
While Trump did not provide a legal justification for the tariffs, he appeared to stretch the bounds of his role as commander-in-chief, saying that the taxes on imported kitchen cabinets and sofas were needed “for National Security and other reasons.”
Trump’s latest tariffs sent shock waves throughout Asia, heaping additional turmoil on companies already grappling with uncertainty, while adding further complexity for trade officials ironing out the details of recently struck trade agreements.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned scores, and perhaps hundreds, of generals and admirals from around the world to meet on short notice next week at a Marine Corps base in Virginia but has not disclosed the reason for the gathering.
A 15-year-old pleaded guilty this week to the attack of a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee, which sparked President Trump’s crime crackdown in Washington, D.C. this summer.
The Trump administration will withhold more than $65 million in federal grants from magnet schools in three large school districts after they refused to overhaul their policies regarding transgender and nonbinary students or to change their DEI programs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was met with both praise and criticism after announcing a new $1 billion climate plan to advance clean energy projects across New York.
A top Republican senator from Louisiana accused Hochul and Empire State Democrats Wednesday of trying to “undermine workers’ rights” by claiming the state can intervene in labor disputes in the absence of federal mediation.
Hochul and state Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs were scheduled to appear together last night on Long Island at a fundraiser Jacobs is hosting for Seth Koslow, the Democrat challenging Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
The state’s power authority has revised a rate increase for its municipal power customers after an initial plan drew backlash from local officials and Hochul.
Hochul announced that $25 million in project grants will go toward the development of Regional Disability Health Clinics through the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, or OPWDD.
Good-government groups want Hochul to get behind a push supported by the state’s ethics watchdog to require lobbyists to disclose their contributions to political campaigns.
A new district attorney has been appointed to serve Monroe County. Hochul announced yesterday that Brian Green, a senior deputy county attorney in the town of Irondequoit, will take over the role following the resignation of Sandra Doorley.
A New York judge temporarily ruled in favor of legal cannabis shops that were under threat of being shut down over a dopey mistake by state regulators.
Two Republican super PACs paid nearly $1 million this month to quietly settle an inquiry into whether they illicitly coordinated with the campaign of Lee Zeldin, a member of President Trump’s cabinet, during his 2022 run for governor of New York.
Addressing the latest swirl of rumors that he may soon pull the plug on his longshot reelection bid, Mayor Eric Adams would only say that his campaign has been playing “three dimensional chess” to figure out the best path forward as November’s contest looms.
Adams has been railing against policies that allow transgender students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identities — but his own schools chancellor said nothing’s going to change.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed in an interview published by the New York Times that he recently spoke to Frank Carone, the mayor’s campaign head. Cuomo didn’t say in the interview what the two spoke about.
Weeks after suspending his independent mayoral campaign, Jim Walden formally endorsed Cuomo yesterday and urged all remaining candidates besides Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani to also line up behind the ex-governor.
Cuomo called Zohran Mamdani’s candidacy “abhorrent” and said that the race for New York City mayor has exposed a “civil war” in the Democratic party.
Mamdani holds a 20-point lead over Cuomo, his closest opponent, in a Suffolk University CityView poll released this week.
The City Council approved a plan to build a housing complex in the Bronx for former inmates with serious health issues in spite of opposition from Mayor Adams, whose team said the vote is moot and the project won’t move forward.
Cuomo wouldn’t rule out another political comeback tour if loses the mayoral race, while admitting he still keeps in touch with longtime Adams confidante and Brooklyn power broker Frank Carone.
GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa claimed deep-pocked donors have been trying to “bribe” him to drop out of the New York City mayoral race – but his message to them yesterday was: “Stop calling.”
Grand Central Station completely lost power for more than 30 minutes last night, sinking the commuter hub into darkness and sparking confusion. It was not immediately clear what caused the outage.
The City Council pushed through a controversial supportive housing project for ex-inmates in the Bronx, with Council leaders skewering Adams’ last-minute opposition as irrelevant.
The City Council overwhelmingly approved new rules for installing appliances yesterday despite critics arguing the mandates would mean higher costs for building owners — and larger rent bills.
Two local casino — Resorts World in Queens and MGM’s Empire City in Yonkers — took key steps toward winning licenses to become full casinos yesterday, with a pair of votes advancing them to the final round of consideration for a license by the state.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan asked the judge presiding over Sean “Diddy” Combs’ case to reject his bid to get his conviction overturned and his argument that filming his girlfriends having sex with strangers was protected First Amendment activity.
A minivan driver who allegedly killed a German tourist after reversing into her and her husband in a horrific hit-and-run near Bryant Park in Midtown was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and misdemeanor offenses yesterday.
A federal agent shoved a woman and pushed her to the floor in front of her two young children yesterday during a confrontation at an immigration courthouse in Manhattan.
Videos show a wrenching encounter in a hallway of 26 Federal Plaza in which the woman and a girl are desperately clinging to the woman’s husband, who is being detained. Agents pull the hair of the woman and the girl to get them away from the man.
City correction brass violated the Big Apple’s controversial “sanctuary city” rules by allowing a department investigator to tip off the feds about illegal immigrant inmates, a scathing new report said.
The report found that a Department of Correction investigator provided information about two detainees to Department of Homeland Security agents on two occasions, helping federal officials arrest one of the detainees after his release from jail.
New York City is poised to pay $2 billion to build a platform over a Manhattan rail yard at the behest of one of the country’s biggest developers, who would then erect mostly luxury housing along the Hudson River.
A 37-year-old elementary-school teacher in Queens was charged with distributing hundreds of sexual videos and images of minors, federal prosecutors in New York said.
New York City will pay for 3,500 cats to be spayed and neutered as part of a new pilot program in Brooklyn.
Jimmy Kimmel is returning to his home turf next week following his successful return to his late-night post after being “indefinitely suspended” by ABC/Disney. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will be back in Brooklyn the first time since 2022.
Lorenz F. Kraus is in police custody after he confessed in a television news interview to killing his parents in their home and later burying their bodies in their backyard, where investigators discovered human remains this week.
“I buried them in their property,” Kraus, the son of Franz and Theresia Kraus, who disappeared without a trace in 2017, said during a jaw-dropping exclusive interview with CBS6 in which he framed his killing of his aging parents as an act of mercy.
Roger Ramsammy is suing Hudson Valley Community College a year after he was fired as its president following an investigation of allegations by a female colleague that he had sexually harassed her.
Police searching the Adirondack Mountains for Anthony “Tony” Bechand, a Cohoes man wanted for allegedly killing his girlfriend, believe he took off after his truck ran out of gas in a remote town.
After more than four years of delays, the Saratoga Springs Civilian Review Board, which is to provide oversight of city police, is nearly ready to get started.
Someone tied to Guilderland Elementary School has contracted typhoid fever, a potentially deadly illness if not treated promptly.
Three candidates vying to represent the city by filling two open seats on the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors all say the county must address problems associated with homelessness, but they disagree on the solutions.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
