Good morning, it’s Monday, and there’s some nice symmetry in today’s date 1.6.26. I find this very satisfying, for some reason.
I’ve been reflecting a lot these days on getting older – maybe because there are so many “smart aging” and fitness headlines in the news of late (something to do with the January re-set, I’m sure, or maybe it’s because the people who are making coverage decisions are themselves getting long in the tooth, or the mystery algorithms have figured out I look young for my age?)
There are a lot of reasons why aging is crummy. However, there are a number of modern-day realities that I 100 percent do not regret missing out on when I was a kid.
For example, I am forever grateful that there is no digital footprint of my youthful transgressions – of which there are many – to haunt me when a prospective client, new acquaintance, or future employer does a cursory internet search of my name.
I also appreciate that I got to learn how to drive on a manual transmission car, which I firmly believe made me a more competent driver, though the process of acquiring this skill was harrowing. (This is a subject for a different post; hi Dad, in case you’re reading).
Other things that I remember distinctly from growing up that are debatable in their utility but nevertheless made an impression on me: Rotary phones, cassette tapes, the Walkman and the Discman (apparently, these are making a comeback, along with the iPod, in part due to cellphone bans in schools), soft-baked cookies, Beanie Babies, neon clothing, gummy bracelets, and pudding pops.
This is a very short list, but I think you get the idea.
Another relic from my childhood that it appears has gone the way of the dodo in the post pandemic era: Snow days.
Ever since the academic powers that be figured out that online learning could be a thing, the joys of waking up to a foot of snow and knowing that the day would be filled, not with classes, but with outdoor pursuits like sledding, fort-building, snowball fights, and skating, seems to be a thing of the past.
As an adult, I do understand that snow days are inconvenient for parents – especially those who cannot take a day off from work or work from home. For some kids, school is safer than home. For some kids, not going to school means forgoing breakfast and lunch.
Remote learning strikes me as the worst of both worlds – not only do parents have to figure out child care (even if kids are attending online classes, they still need to be supervised if they’re under a certain age), but kids are stuck inside without their friends and without the ready outlets of gym and recess.
Snow days have been controversial for years now. Especially in New York City, which is the nation’s largest school district, mayors are damned if they do keep schools open and damned if they don’t.
There is not official snow day “origin story,” per se, though way back in the day – I’m talking the 1800s here – harsh winter weather regularly caused schools to close because kids often walked to school (uphill, both ways!) . Then again, school attendance was sporadic at that time anyway, because kids were needed to help around the house or on the farm.
A 2020 New York Times story tracked school snow cancellations by region, providing a fascinating overview of the pros and cons of weather-related closures, which, as students, teachers, and administrators know all too well, is a delicate balance to avoid eating into summer vacation.
Given the considerable amount of snow we received over the past 24 hours, schools are, predictably, closed. It will be interesting to see what online attendance looks like – if those numbers are, in fact, released.
The winter storm warning remains in effect through 7 p.m. tonight for all of eastern New York and western New England as somewhere between 12 and 24 inches of snow is expected to accumulate. If you’re in the Catskills, Berkshires, or Green Mountains, you could see as much as 30 inches of soft, powdery snow.
Don’t go out if you don’t have to…sadly, I will be bundling up and braving the drifts because I have very confused dogs to walk. They’re wondering where all the grass and smells went, poor things.
Stay safe everyone.
In the headlines…
A judge issued a late-night order barring federal officials from destroying evidence in a fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis, as the Trump administration continued to lodge unsubstantiated accusations of domestic terrorism against the victim.
The ruling came after the death of Alex Pretti, 37, a nurse at the city’s VA hospital, and refused to give state investigators access to the scene, despite a search warrant for the public sidewalk obtained by the Minnesota Department of Criminal Apprehension.
Video appears to show a federal officer had taken a gun away from a Pretti prior to a Border Patrol agent fatally shooting him today. Police said he’s believed to have been a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.
Multiple videos of the confrontation Saturday showed federal agents spraying Pretti with a substance and pinning him to the ground before the shooting.
President Donald Trump declined to say whether the Border Patrol agent who fatally shot Pretti in a Minneapolis did the right thing, saying his administration is “reviewing everything” and will reach a conclusion.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the president did not answer directly when asked twice whether he thinks the agent acted appropriately, even as members of his administration have defended the agent’s actions as self-defense.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said that ICE officers “outnumber” local police in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., amid the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in the state.
Klobuchar dodged a question about running for Minnesota governor, despite her filing to form a gubernatorial committee last week.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz asked Americans to reevaluate their views on the federal immigration crackdown, framing the issue as a moral issue, not a political one.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene urged Trump’s MAGA base to “take off their political blinders” as she expressed skepticism about the use of force deployed during the latest shooting in Minnesota involving a federal immigration agent.
The second high-profile killing by a federal agent in Minneapolis has jeopardized the chances of Congress averting a partial government shutdown as Democrats come out en masse against the funding measure for the Department of Homeland Security.
The White House is hoping that “cooler heads prevail” as Democrats begin pulling their support for the funding measure for the DHS, threatening to derail efforts to avert a partial government shutdown.
Gov. Kathy Hochul called for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign in the aftermath of two fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis this month.
“This nurse with nothing more than his cell phone in his hand, that he was trying to kill them — that’s their story,” Hochul said. “But anyone who’s seen this horrific video, multiple videos, knows that this is a shameless, bald-faced lie.”
Hochul called the actions of federal agents cruelty that “shocks the conscience of every human being with a heart” and promised to hold Noem and other officials accountable once they leave office.
Before the big storm, Hochul advised New Yorkers to stock up on groceries and other essentials, adding that with 12 to 18 inches of snow in the forecast, no corner of the state would be “immune from Mother Nature’s wrath.”
Hochul’s budget proposal maintains a landmark criminal justice law — heading off concerns she’d make changes that result in more teens being charged as adults, and avoiding a fight with her party’s progressives in this year’s re-election race.
Because a reunion between Hochul and her number two, Antonio Delgado, is unlikely, she’ll be running with a new lieutenant governor candidate in 2026. But who?
The state budget volley is underway, as Hochul proposed a $260 billion spending plan for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, including a constitutional amendment freeing up state prison land in the Adirondack Park.
Hochul is proposing to spend $2 million to help the State Police crack down on what she calls a “system riddled with bad actors and fraud.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, accused Hochul of “embracing” Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda and said 2026 election will be an “existential battle” to save New York from Socialism.
The childcare plan unveiled by Hochul and Mamdani elevated their budding alliance far beyond policy: With a single press conference, the unlikely duo tackled some of their biggest electoral challenges in 2026. The planning for that began months earlier.
As he navigated a snowstorm that barreled down on New York City and provided an early test of his management chops, Mamdani employed the same communication skills he used to defeat a dynasty and win the mayoralty last year.
Mamdani said the city has enough beds to accommodate “every single New Yorker in need” yesterday’s snowstorm, and pointed in particular to the dangers of the frigid temperatures.
Five people were reported dead in New York City over the weekend amid freezing temperatures and snowfall, Mamdani said during a news briefing yesterday. He did not confirm the causes of death, or whether the deaths were weather-related.
As snow that could reach a foot or more began lashing New York City yesterday morning as part of a massive storm sweeping much of the nation, the tally of cold-related deaths across the boroughs climbed to at least six.
Community leaders and residents in Queens say people are taking advantage Mamdani’s softer new guidelines for dealing with the homeless crisis and brazenly turning the public walkway under an overpass into their own sprawling camp.
During the storm, The New York Public Library offered residents with a library card the chance to download Rachel Reid’s queer hockey romance series “Heated Rivalry” without a wait.
Mamdani replied to a post on social media that showed video of him helping out dig out a van on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, saying there was “no task too big or no job too small” to help keep New Yorkers safe.
New York City’s public schools are closed today due to the weekend’s snowstorm, and students will join classes remotely, Mamdani and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced.
The move had 500,000 public school students across the city’s nearly 1,100 schools clocking into class from home. Students in high school and grades 6-8 got the day off due to a previously scheduled professional learning day.
Mamdani said on Saturday that Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson led a copious review of 311 records to identify communities across the five boroughs historically underserved during snow storms.
One day before the second U.S. citizen in less than a month was fatally shot by a federal agent deployed to Minneapolis, New York Mamdani sharply criticized the ongoing federal immigration enforcement operation as “horrific.”
Mamdani said he’s been texting with Trump ever since their November White House meeting, adding: “He gave me his number. I’ll say that the conversations between the president and I are private, and I’ll keep them there.”
Part casting director, part media guru, Morris Katz, 26, who helped Mamdani win the mayor’s race in New York City, is behind the biggest Democratic campaigns this cycle.
Mamdani said on Friday that “everyone” is encouraged to apply for the city’s free child care program, and that his administration is “proud” that New York City is an “immigrant city.”
Community leaders and residents in Queens say people are taking advantage Mamdani’s softer new guidelines for dealing with the homeless crisis and brazenly turning the public walkway under an overpass into their own sprawling camp.
As the New York City nurses strike hit the two-week mark Saturday, Hochul extended the disaster emergency she declared earlier this month to help keep the health system afloat during the work stoppage.
The order, extended through Feb. 2, allows clinicians licensed in other states to work in Manhattan and the Bronx, where nurses are striking — a measure hospitals say has been crucial to dealing with strike-related staffing challenges.
New York City’s new transportation commissioner is looking to cities like Bogotá, Tokyo and Paris for inspiration as he seeks to realize Mamdani’s mandate to make NYC’s streetscape “the envy of the world.”
NYPD cops have been ordered to cut back on overtime — in what the rank-and-file fear is just the beginning under Mamdani, who campaigned on eliminating the department’s entire OT budget.
Councilwoman Linda Lee plans to introduce legislation this year exempting many co-op and condo buildings from pricey construction costs mandated in Local Law 97, which requires conversion from oil-and-gas burning heating systems to electric.
Kaz Daughtry, a top official in ex-Mayor Adams’ administration, is slated to join the Department Homeland Security as a law enforcement liaison, the Department of Homeland Security.
After nearly a year and a half without a permanent leader as pro-Palestinian protests and extraordinary federal scrutiny rocked its campus, Columbia University tapped Jennifer Mnookin, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as its next president.
A federal judge granted a request by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for an expedited response to their request for a stay — pending the outcome an appeal — of an order invalidating two grand jury subpoenas served on the state attorney general’s office last summer.
In just four years, Bard College met its fundraising goal to create a $1 billion endowment. But it’s not enough, Bard President Leon Botstein said. The college needs $1.5 billion to $2 billion for its long-term future and will start a new fundraising campaign soon.
Schenectady Police Chief Eric S. Clifford is looking forward to retirement and spending more time with his family, confident that he leaves behind a police force with capable leaders who will help the department continue to flourish.
A Democratic delegation of state legislators slammed the state Office of Court Administration for what one of them described as the agency’s kneecapping of the city and its taxpayers in the protracted dispute over Schenectady’s court facilities.
An officer with the Albany Police Department was arrested by State Police on Friday and accused of selling illegal drugs while off-duty.
There’s something in the air that’s making employees at the state Department of Health’s regional office on Central Avenue sick.
After a probe into last year’s fatal State Police shooting of David Levine, the state AG’s office concluded “a prosecutor would not be able to disprove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the troopers’ use of deadly physical force was justified under the law.”
A man who accuses a trooper of severely beating him as he held his 3-month-old baby is suing State Police and Saratoga County Sheriff’s deputies for inflicting “physical pain, emotional distress, humiliation, loss of dignity, reputational harm and other injuries.”
The Albany health insurer CDPHP has signed a new health coverage agreement with St. Peter’s Health Partners, allowing its members access to its doctors and medical practices without interruption.
Pierce Hoyt, a fixture of Grafton who helmed Rensselaer County’s youth department, died last Friday, his family announced. He was 79.
Drake Maye ran for 68 yards and threw for 86 in sloppy, snowy conditions and scored New England’s only touchdown on a 6-yard keeper, propelling the Patriots to their 12th Super Bowl with a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
