Good morning, it’s Friday and we have a three-day weekend stretching out before us, thanks to Columbus/Indigenous People’s Day.
I’m really at a loss about the appropriate way to refer to this one, given the fact that a growing number – but not all – communities have abandoned one in favor of the other. I think it’s safe to say that this federal holiday, recognized in some form by 30 states and three U.S. territories, according to the Pew Research Center, is one of the nation’s most controversial and hotly debated holidays.
(NOTE: There will be no “Rise and Shine” Monday, and we’ll be returning to our regularly scheduled programming bright and early Tuesday morning).
Several states and American Samoa are splitting the baby by concurrently recognizing both, while a few others – notably Virginia, and Alabama – further complicate matters by throwing a third celebration into the mix, for Yorktown Victory Day and Fraternal Day, respectively.
Maine, Vermont, New Mexico and District of Columbia have formally replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day. Meanwhile, Maryland and Washington have Native heritage that are NOT observed on this day, but rather on the Friday after Thanksgiving. These are paid holidays.
Meanwhile, Día del Descubrimiento de Puerto Rico is observed on Nov. 19 to commemorate the arrival of Christopher Columbus on the island in 1493, naming it San Juan Bautista in honor of Saint John the Baptist, while the second Monday in October is Día de la Raza (Descubrimiento de América) – a celebration of Latin American peoples and cultures.
Further confusing the situation, some states recognize this day – regardless of what it’s called – as a paid holiday (Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut), while it’s observed but not considered a paid day off elsewhere.
To be clear, because I’ve always been confused on this point, states do NOT have to recognize federal holidays, which are established by federal law and apply only to non-essential federal employees and offices. (Of course, with the federal shutdown, assuming it continues into next week, all non-essential federal employees are not working and some might not get to come back).
States can decide if they want to play along or go a different route entirely, though it’s traditional to give state government employees off when their federal counterparts are off.
As for private businesses, they are NOT legally required – at least not by federal law – to give their employees off for federal holidays or even pay them extra to work on those days. Many, however, do one or the other, and some do both. Some states do have specific laws related to this issue; New York is not one of them.
Here in New York, there has been legislation proposed that would formally remove Columbus Day from the state’s holiday roster and replace it with Indigenous People’s Day, though it has yet to pass or even make it out of committee. The issue continues to be a political hot potato – along with the question about what to do with statutes of Christopher Columbus, which recently raised its head as one of the many issues under debate during the New York City mayor’s race.
Whatever you want to call it, you might be lucky enough to have this coming Monday off, in which case you’re going to be interested in what the forecast has in store for you. Well, the weather for the upcoming weekend is going to be a mixed bag. If you have outdoor activities planned, you’re going to want to front load them.
Saturday is looking like the best of the lot, with sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid-to-high 60s. Sunday will be cloudy with occasional light rain in the afternoon, and highs will only top out in the low 60s. Monday will bring rain all day, though it will taper off steady to showers as the day progresses. The high temperatures will only be in the mid-to-high-50s.
The rain is coming compliments of a storm (being called a Nor’easter, which is a coastal storm that forms over the Atlantic and travels up the coast toward Canada, bringing heavy precipitation, strong winds, and coastal flooding) that looks like it’s going to be pretty bad the closer you get to the coast.
As for today, it’s looking lovely with sunny skies and highs in the low 60s. Maybe you can get a jump on the weekend? If so, enjoy!
In the headlines…
Israel’s government has approved an agreement brokered by President Donald Trump that paves the way for a cease-fire in the two-year-old war in Gaza and the return of all remaining hostages held by Hamas.
The approval by Israel’s cabinet — after midnight in Israel, yesterday in the United States — came hours after Trump and the chief Hamas negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, each declared that the war in Gaza was over.
With the Israeli government’s approval of the agreement reached in Sharm el Sheikh, a ceasefire now comes into immediate effect. However, it is not clear if the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has given the order to the Israel Defense Forces to cease fire.
Underlining the cost that the war is inflicting on Palestinians, the death toll in Gaza reached 27 people on the same day Israel agreed to a ceasefire plan that global leaders hope will bring an end to the bloodshed.
The United States is sending 200 troops to Israel to monitor the implementation of the cease-fire deal in Gaza, American officials said.
In his quest to end the Israel-Hamas war, Trump hasn’t turned to longtime diplomats. Instead, he has relied on his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to step in and add momentum to the negotiations, which billionaire Steve Witkoff had been pursuing for months.
Trump lost out on earning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize despite brokering a historic cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas after more than two years of war.
María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan pro-democracy politician, was awarded the Prize for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James has been indicted by a grand jury in Virginia following a monthslong investigation by the FBI examining her real estate and mortgage transactions. Read the indictment here.
The investigation of James, who brought a civil case against Trump, focused on two homes she owned in Norfolk, Va., and Brooklyn. A Trump housing official referred the case to the DOJ, suggesting she may have falsified records related to those homes.
The case against New York’s top law enforcement official was presented to a grand jury by Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s recently appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
In a statement, James called the changes “baseless” and said the indictment was part and parcel of “a desperate weaponization of our justice system” and that Trump was forcing the hand of federal law enforcement.
New York’s attorney general has joined colleagues nearly 40 times to confront the administration over myriad issues as the president pressures Democratic states.
Gov. Kathy Hochul accused federal prosecutors of weaponizing the Justice Department and said New Yorkers know James “for her integrity, her independence, and her relentless fight for justice.”
Democratic NYC mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani said: “New Yorkers know Attorney General James for who she is: a champion for justice who fights relentlessly for the people. Donald Trump knows her only as an obstacle to his corruption.”
The Senate approved legislation that would authorize $925 billion for national defense, giving overwhelming bipartisan support to the annual defense policy bill.
The vote set up a potentially contentious series of negotiations with the House, which has loaded its version of the measure with a range of conservative social policy dictates that the Senate mostly avoided.
A federal judge temporarily blocked National Guard operations in the Chicago area, saying that the Trump administration’s version of events was “simply unreliable” and that deploying troops anywhere in the state would “only add fuel to the fire.”
The order issued by US District Judge April Perry today temporarily blocks the deployment of National Guard troops from any state, including Texas, in the state of Illinois.
Illinois’ governor and Chicago’s mayor celebrated Perry’s ruling that blocked the National Guard from deploying in the state for 14 days, with both leaders emphasizing the court found no evidence of rebellion.
The Chicago ruling comes as a similar legal battle plays out in Oregon, where Trump’s deployment of troops to Portland is currently blocked by several court orders.
Officials in Los Angeles County are considering declaring a state of emergency to provide relief for immigrants they say have suffered financially from continued fear over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
Hochul blasted Homeland Security honcho Kristi Noem and the Trump administration for denying $34 million to the MTA and NYPD over New York City’s immigration laws, as a federal judge indicated he would soon rule on the legality of the denial.
Hochul accused the White House of attempting to “defund the police” by withholding $34 million in antiterrorism and security funding for the New York City subway and regional railroads, stoking a continued feud with the Trump administration.
North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik and Hochul traded swipes over a new, internal poll showing the Republican congresswoman and potential gubernatorial challenger trailing the Democratic incumbent by just a handful of points.
The New York State Division of Budget sent out its annual call letter, giving state agencies until Oct. 24 to submit annual budget requests in which they will be expected to keep funding flat and find ways to scale back regulations in the face of federal cuts.
Hochul announced an artificial intelligence (AI) training pilot program specifically designed for the New York State workforce, the first step toward fulfilling her State of the State pledge to equip employees with the knowledge and training to use AI responsibly.
Across New York City, 3.53 million residents are set to receive inflation refund checks of up to $400. Have you gotten yours yet? If not, keep reading.
Mayor Eric Adams’ exit from the race for City Hall is benefitting independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, though the ex-governor still trails Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani by double digits, according to a new poll released yesterday.
The Quinnipiac University poll, the first major survey since Adams’ Sept. 28 exit, found Cuomo pulling 33% support among likely voters – up from the 23% he netted in a Quinnipiac survey from early September, when Adams was in the race and polling at 12%.
The poll, conducted Oct. 3 through Oct. 7, offered Mamdani and Cuomo cause for both optimism and concern. It had a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.
Cuomo received the endorsement of Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., a former city councilmember with a history of homophobic remarks, after slamming Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani for his own association with an anti-LGBTQ figure.
Cuomo’s best shot at getting more votes on Nov. 4 is to turn out conservative independents and Republicans — without alienating liberals and Democrats.
Many jail advocates and former detainees slammed Cuomo’s call to scrap the current Rikers Island closure plan, noting the city has already spent billions in demolishing older jails and has started construction on one new facility in Brooklyn.
Cuomo’s independent mayoral campaign received a major financial boost yesterday, as the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) voted to award it roughly $2.3 million in public matching funds.
Mamdani said at an ABNY event that he would appoint a “World Cup Czar” to oversee the area’s hosting of the global soccer event next summer.
Nearly every time he name-checked his political ideology – democratic socialism – at the business-centered forum, Mamdani paused for a laugh. And nearly every time, the audience complied.
The fate of a beloved West Village recreation center – featuring a one-of-a-kind Keith Haring mural – is once again up in the air after mayoral candidate Mamdani signaled support for preserving the aging facility instead of tearing it down.
Mamdani refused to credit Trump for helping broker a long-awaited truce deal in Gaza – and instead bashed Israel – as other New York Democrats offered tepid kudos to the commander-in-chief.
Mamdani claimed he didn’t know that the anti-gay Ugandan politician he posed with in a notorious picture, but records show his dad knew the official for years.
Adams said that he “enjoyed reading” a book Jasmine Ray recently published about their romantic relationship, which played out before he appointed her to a senior role in his administration.
“Jas has always led with integrity. Writing this book wasn’t easy, but she wanted people to understand the work, the mission, and the human side behind the headlines,” the mayor, who’s currently in Albania, wrote in a post on X. “I respect her for that.”
After a TikTok video of a woman charging to “car sit” gained attention, New Yorkers were reminded that the price of street parking is rarely paid at a meter.
The NYPD unveiled a fleet of 140 new fuel-efficient hybrid SUVs that feature a high-tech new “perimeter alert” mode to thwart street ambushes.
The number of city households with three or more children has dropped by nearly 17 percent over the past decade as families struggle with the cost of child care and rent, according to an analysis of census data by the Center for an Urban Future.
A few months after WAMC Northeast Public Radio took two weeks to complete its June fund drive, the station that serves parts of seven states met its $1.25 million goal in three days and a morning this week, with contributions coming from nearly 7,000 donors.
Democratic Rensselaer City councilors may consider eminent domain to take over a property with ties to Republican Mayor Mike Stammel.
Schenectady County’s Glendale nursing home was at least partly evacuated yesterday morning after firefighters were summoned to deal with a hazardous materials issue involving fumes that were released inside the Hetcheltown Road building.
A seven-vehicle crash involving a Capital District Transportation Authority bus closed lanes of traffic yesterday morning on Interstate 90, according to State Police.
Photo credit: Sheila Ledgin.
