Good morning, it’s Tuesday.
On this day in 1776, a motley crew of between 100 and 150 American colonists known as the Sons of Liberty – some disguised as Native Americans – boarded three British ships (the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver) that were moored in the Boston harbor.
The colonists dumped about 92,000 pounds (46 tons, give or take) of tea contained in 342 chests overboard into the water (that’s enough to brew some 18.5 million cups). The tea was owned by the British East India Company and was valued at more than 1 million British pounds (about $1.7 million in today’s U.S. dollars).
The purpose of this act of defiance and/or economic terrorism (depending on how you look at it) was done in protest of the 1773 Tea Act, which actually lowered the cost of British tea by giving the East India Company a monopoly to sell its wares directly to the colonists.
So the issue was NOT actually the cost of the tea itself, but rather the fact that Parliament had decided to retain a small tax on the tea. The colonists didn’t appreciate this because they considered it “taxation without representation” (perhaps this is striking a bell in that small part of your brain that still remembers 8th grade History class?) since they were in the New World and didn’t have a say in matters decided back home.
It turns out that there were a lot of things I didn’t remember about the Boston Tea Party, such as the fact that Sam Adams, a leader in the Sons of Liberty who played a key role in organizing the protest, didn’t actually participate in it.
We actually don’t really know how many people DID participate, because many of them kept their identities a secret – that was the whole point of the clandestine operation. To date, 116 participants have been identified by name.
You probably do recall that the implications of the Boston Tea Party were significant, helping to spark the American Revolution that resulted in freedom for the colonies and the eventual founding of the United States of America.
Amazingly, no one died during the Boston Tea Party, though one person was reportedly knocked unconscious by a falling tea crate. Participants were also strictly prohibited from looting, as this was supposed to be a symbolic act.
There was only one person arrested and imprisoned for their engagement in this act of defiance – a man named Francis Akeley, who was a wheelwright and militia man who went on to fight in the Battle of Bunker Hill and eventually die from the wounds he sustained there.
As an aside, as I was writing this, I took a bit of a detour and went down a very deep rabbit hole after thinking to myself that “Sons of Liberty” is a great name for a band.
Of course, I was hardly the first person to have this terribly unoriginal thought. There are, in fact, multiple bands named “Sons of Liberty” – including a rock and blues act based in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, a “hard Southern Rock” act in the UK, and a Southern Gospel trio.
That’s ten minutes of my life that I won’t be getting back.
It will be ever so slightly warmer today, with the high temperature flirting with 30 degrees. Skies will be mostly sunny, so it’s going to feel almost warm and tropical. Just kidding.
In the headlines…
The gunmen behind the mass shooting at a Jewish celebration in Sydney on Sunday were motivated by “Islamic State ideology,” Australia’s prime minister said.
President Donald Trump said that murdered actor-director Rob Reiner had “driven people CRAZY” with his opposition to the Republican chief executive, with his bizarre ranting post on Truth Social prompting outrage from critics of all political persuasions.
Reiner’s son, Nick, who is being held in his parents’ murders, argued with his father at a holiday party the night before the couple’s bodies were discovered on Sunday, according to a person who attended the gathering.
TMZ first reported that Reiner, 78, and his 32-year-old son got into a “very loud argument” at a Christmas party hosted by Conan O’Brien on Saturday night.
After Nick Reiner entered his first drug treatment program around the age of 15, his turbulent life veered between rehab and homelessness, sobriety efforts and relapse.
The Los Angeles District Attorney could announce charges as early as today against Nick Reiner, who was arrested hours after his parents’ bodies were found in their LA home.
Trump signed an executive order that classifies fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction after several months of controversial strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats and “narco-terrorists” from Venezuela in the Caribbean, which some say are illegal.
“No bomb does what this is doing,” the president said in the Oval Office, referencing overdose deaths caused by the synthetic opioid in the United States. “So we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
The U.S. military struck three boats it suspected of carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific yesterday, killing eight people, the U.S. Southern Command announced.
Trump filed suit against the BBC, calling the way it edited a clip of his Jan. 6, 2021, speech to supporters before the U.S. Capitol attack was “false, deceptive, and defamatory.”
The suit, filed in Florida, says that the outlet used its “Trump: A Second Chance?” documentary, released on Oct. 28, 2024, “maliciously, falsely, and defamatorily make it appear that President Trump explicitly called for violent action and rioting” on Jan. 6.
Trump told attendees at a White House holiday party last night that his eldest son, Donald Jr., is engaged to Bettina Anderson, a Palm Beach socialite.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow schools the option of serving whole milk, 2%, 1% and flavored or plain skim milk as part of school meals.
Hudson Valley GOP Rep. Mike Lawler said that President Trump changing marijuana’s classification would be ill-advised because he believes it is “a gateway drug.”
Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene , who is departing Congress next month, confirmed her engagement to Brian Glenn, the chief White House correspondent for conservative outlet Real America’s Voice.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s formal entry into the 2026 gubernatorial race last month had little impact on her standing in the contest, according to a new Siena poll. The results show Gov. Kathy Hochul with a 19-point lead in a head-to-head matchup.
Hochul also leads her Democratic opponent – Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado – by 43 points. She has a 43-41% favorability rating, a little better than November’s 43-45%. Her job approval rating is also four points better than last month, according to the poll.
Hochul used a wide-ranging radio interview to highlight major policy priorities, from education and public safety to health care and faith-based partnerships.
City Council Transportation Chair Selvena Brooks-Powers urged Hochul in a letter to boost subsidies for offsetting future subway and bus fare increases in her forthcoming budget proposal, amNewYork has learned.
New York is officially the first state in the country to require filmmakers and advertising companies to disclose if they use artificial intelligence, or AI, performers in commercials.
A lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James alleges that the delivery giant UPS for years chiseled seasonal workers in New York by manipulating its timekeeping systems.
An investigation by the state AG’s office isongoing into the 2024 campaign of Republican state Senate candidate Caleb Slater, who allegedly paid donors for campaign contributions, including homeless people who never gave any money to the politician.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh will start a new job in February as director of the state Canal Corp., which oversees New York’s canal system, where he’ll earn $215,000.
Three casinos are coming to the five boroughs — two in Queens and one in the Bronx. The New York state Gaming Commission made the official announcement yesterday, capping off a process that has been a dozen years in the making.
The projects are Mets owner Steve Cohen’s and Hard Rock’s $8.1 billion plan to bring a gaming complex near Citi Field, Genting-Resorts World’s casino at Aqueduct Racetrack and Bally’s plan to open a casino on Trump’s former golf course in the Bronx.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has reportedly tapped a controversial lawyer who defended an al Qaeda terrorist and a radical anti-Israel campus leader at Columbia for a “high-ranking” position at City Hall.
Jack Gross, a member of Mamdani’s mayoral transition and top fundraiser for his campaign, once celebrated vile anti-NYPD chants and called for America to be “punished for its sins.”
Mamdani says he will appoint a “World Cup czar” to push FIFA to lower ticket prices for the 2026 tournament.
Mamdani plans to unveil several top-level hires for his administration this week, potentially including Sherif Soliman, a seasoned city government veteran, as his director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget.
Park advocates are ramping up pressure on Mamdani to quickly get to work on his promise to earmark 1% of the city government’s budget for spending on New York City public parks.
Incoming First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan said that the Mamdani administration intends to push ahead with its sweeping affordability agenda without breaking the city’s bank.
A new poll released by Siena University found that nearly two in three voters across the state favor government funded universal child care and would support Mamdani’s plan to pay for it by increasing taxes on those earning more than $1 million a year.
The incoming Mamdani administration’s early attempt at a broad housecleaning at City Hall is now facing a common city obstacle: union protections. More than 30 of the 179 mayoral staffers notified they wouldn’t have a job have formal civil service job titles.
Mayor Eric Adams has “no desire” to remain in public life after he leaves City Hall at the end of December, he said in a media briefing for select outlets yesterday, indicating that at least for now he’s done with government service.
Adams has tapped former Republican City Council leader Joe Borelli to sit on the oversight panel of local public schools, as the outgoing mayor continues to stack boards related to housing, policing and now education before Mamdani takes office.
A records request more than two years old about the city’s response to the air quality concerns after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will not be answered by Mayor Eric Adams, who was an NYPD lieutenant at the time.
New York immigration advocates and City Council members are calling for more rigorous training of city shelter staff, following a Gothamist investigation that raised questions about whether the workers properly followed the city’s sanctuary city protections.
Councilwoman Vickie Paladino is facing calls for formal disciplinary proceedings after publishing dozens of anti-Muslim posts on social media, including one Sunday calling for the “expulsion of Muslims from western nations.”
A transgender former shelter resident is suing New York City, saying city shelters failed to place her in a shelter for women or transgender people, putting her at risk of assault on multiple occasions.
Jews across New York gathered to light the menorah yesterday after the Hanukkah attack in Sydney, Australia, in public ceremonies and private at-home gatherings that were marked sharply by feelings of both sorrow and resilience.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who takes office next month as New York City comptroller, was one of the Jewish elected officials who attended public menorah lightings in what he called a “show of defiance”.
Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal is a shoe-in to succeed state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, but she still hasn’t decided whether to run in the special election for his seat.
Two of the largest food-delivery app companies have made a last-ditch effort to overturn tipping laws in New York City that go into effect in January just as its next mayor, who has been highly critical of the companies and the app industry, takes office.
Flu season has arrived early this year in New York City, with cases climbing dramatically during the past month.
Nearly every subway turnstile in New York City will soon be fitted with metal shark-like fins and plastic paddles designed to make it harder to skip the fare, MTA officials announced during a meeting yesterday.
Temperatures are expected to rise to nearly 50 degrees in part of the Capital Region later this week, lowering the odds of a white Christmas this year.
Newly promoted New York Naval Militia Rear Adm. MaryEtta Nolan, of Greenfield Center, assumed command of the New York Naval Militia during a ceremony last month at the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs Headquarters in Latham.
Rensselaer County government’s largest-ever renovation project will soon begin. The $111.7 million overhaul of Van Rensselaer Manor nursing home in North Greenbush is expected to take two years to complete once crews start work in February.
Several residents have sent a clear message to the Town Board: We don’t want government surveillance cameras in Poestenkill.
Chanting “no contract, no coffee” and holding signs in the frigid morning air, baristas at the mid-Hudson Valley’s only unionized Starbucks rallied yesterday, the 11th day of their strike over what baristas nationwide have described as unfair labor conditions.
A federal judge has ruled in favor of Norfolk Southern Corp. and its plans to build a crew-changing station in the village of Voorheesville.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
