Good morning, it’s Monday. Welcome to a brand-new year.
I have to start off 2026 with an apology – you might have noticed, though hopefully you had something better to do, that there was no “Rise and Shine” on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, as I had originally promised when I posted the holiday schedule way back in 2025.
I got kind of caught up in a few things and lost track of the date in the calendar weirdness of going from a holiday to a single workday and then directly on to the weekend. So, if you did notice and were annoyed, please accept this mea culpa. Not the greatest way to kick off a new year, but such is life.
I didn’t make any New Year’s resolutions, which is a tradition for me. I’m already pretty disciplined when it comes to working out. I quit drinking more than a decade ago. My diet is more or less clean. I’ve never been a habitual smoker. These are all things that usually make the top 10 most common resolutions list.
I certainly could stand to be more organized, as anyone who has the misfortune of working with me would surely tell you. My sleep hygiene is crap. I could definitely stand to reel in my frivolous spending habits, droomscroll less, and prioritize my mental health.
So surely, there are more than enough things for me to work on improving in the new year. Hopefully, I’ll get around to them. But since fewer than 10 percent of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions manage to stick to them for an entire year, I just don’t see the point.
In fact, by the time February rolls around, just under half (49 percent) of those who set a resolution have already abandoned it, with a good 40 percent of them having thrown in the towel before January was over.
Any expert worth their salt will tell you that when it comes to maximizing your chances of sticking to a resolution, it’s best to aim low. In other words, instead of pledging to overhaul your diet or make it to the gym every day, try setting more modest goals – like adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet and/or getting outside for a walk a few days a week.
This might be why the concept of “Dry January” is so appealing. Quitting alcohol altogether might seem daunting, but four weeks or pretty much anything feels more or less manageable. (Maybe this is just me?) Even easier is opting for “Dry-ish” or “Damp” January, in which one cuts back on alcohol consumption without the pressure of abstaining completely.
Dry January’s origin story is a bit murky, (we’ll get back to that in a moment), but the concept has been steadily gaining popularity, with about 30 percent of Americans (1 in 3 adults, or about 75 million people) saying they plan to participate in 2026. About 25 percent of U.S. adults who decided to participate in Dry January 2025 successfully completed that quest.
It should be noted that alcohol consumption in the U.S. is declining overall, not merely during the month of January, as the sober curious movement – and ongoing reports about even a little alcohol being not great for your health – gaining steam.
The benefits of forgoing alcohol are many, including but not limited to better sleep, weight loss, more energy, improved mood and mental clarity, and, of course, a fatter wallet – assuming you don’t replace your alcohol spending with something else, like fancy coffee drinks.
It’s also theoretically easier to quit when you’ve felt the effects of overdoing it, which many people tend to do around the holidays when it comes to both alcohol and unhealthy (ie lots of sugar and high-fat) foods.
That wasn’t necessarily the case with a British woman named Emily Robinson who is credited with launching Dry January in 2011, though there are a few reports that the idea was conceptualized by others even earlier. Robinson reportedly had signed up to do a half marathon in February and decided to forgo alcohol in the weeks leading up to the race to support her training.
Not only did her running performance benefit, but she had more energy and slept better, too. The next year, Robinson joined Alcohol Change UK, and started spreading the word about Dry January.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
We’re kicking off the first full week of the new year with more of the same in the weather department. (What did you expect? It is January, after all). It will be cloudy and cold, with temperatures in the mid-20s, and periods of light snow developing in the afternoon.
NOTE: A lot happened in the news while we were apart. I’m not even going to try to pick up where we left off, as I think we might be here all day trying to recap everything that occurred. So, I’m just going to start with the headlines from the last 24 hours or so and leave it to you to catch yourselves up.
In the headlines…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to pivot away from President Trump’s assertion that the US would “run” Venezuela, saying administration would keep a military “quarantine” in place on the country’s oil exports to exert leverage on its new leadership.
Trump renewed his bid for a takeover of Greenland just one day after a US military operation ousted Maduro at his order — as Rubio also warned that Cuba’s communist government is “in a lot of trouble.”
Maduro and his wife are expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan at noon today, officials said. He’s being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and will be moved under tight security to the courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
Their appearance will be the first step in what undoubtedly will be a yearslong prosecution, after a stunning change of scene from Maduro’s presidential palace in Caracas to the grim and grimy reality of pretrial detention in a Brooklyn federal jail.
Trump administration officials will brief a select group of lawmakers today on the operation in Venezuela to capture and arrest Maduro and his wife.
Professional protesters in keffiyehs yesterday squared off against rejoicing Venezuelans who said the pro-Maduro “fools” have no idea what they’re talking about while outside Brooklyn’s federal lock-up.
Protesters gathered at the entrance of the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh on Saturday to voice their opposition to the extraction of Maduro after news that the deposed leader and his wife were headed there en route to New York City.
Governor Kathy Hochul says her administration is monitoring potential threats to safety in New York following the U.S. capture of Maduro and his wife, and denounced the mission calling it a “flagrant abuse of power by acting without congressional approval.”
A new report from Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee outlines crimes committed by Jan. 6 rioters since the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Hochul will propose new privacy standards for young New Yorkers online, including safeguards that would automatically bar strangers from viewing, tagging or messaging minors.
The state Legislature is set to return to Albany this week to kick off the 2026 legislative session, which runs from January through early June.
New York reported a record-high number of flu hospitalizations in a single week, the State Department of Health announced on Friday.
After striking a deal this month with Hochul on the most significant package of prison oversight legislation in years, Democrats in the state Legislature say they’re not done with the New York corrections system.
A controversial bill that would create new judicial districts in Onondaga, Monroe and Erie counties was delivered to Hochul’s desk on New Year’s Eve. She is using a procedure in the state constitution to buy herself an extra month to consider the legislation.
Health care premiums will increase by nearly 40 percent for some New Yorkers, starting this month, according to Hochul.
New York workers who earn tips would get a state tax break that matches a new federal deduction for tipped income under a budget proposal that Hochul says she’ll make.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a statement on X criticizing the military action as “a violation of federal and international law.” Then he placed a brief call to Trump, during which he personally raised objections to the U.S. actions in Venezuela, he said.
Mamdani, a staunch critic of Israel and its treatment of Palestinians, knew he would not extend several Adams administration-era executive orders that backed Israel, but he had to decide how and when he would rescind them.
Under fire from an array of Jewish and pro-Israel groups, Mamdani defended his decision to revoke an executive order issued by Adams under which New York City adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.
Mamdani chose the third full day of his tenure to announce that he will complete the full safety redesign of deadly McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint — a project created under Mayor Bill de Blasio, but watered down by Adams in a corruption scandal.
Mamdani kept his focus on housing during his first days in office, naming his housing commissioner yesterday and signing an executive order that directed the city to hold hearings where renters could share concerns about poor living conditions.
Mamdani named Dina Levy, a former state official and longtime advocate for affordable housing and tenants’ rights, to lead the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Mamdani announced a new Office of Mass Engagement Friday to foster community participation as he looks to retain the grassroots momentum that helped him win in November.
Mamdani signed an executive order calling on city agencies to hold “Rental Ripoff” hearings across the city, where New Yorkers will share the challenges they face as tenants, from poor living conditions to hidden fees.
Mamdani’s promise to freeze rents for roughly 2 million New Yorkers survived a late-game challenge when a homeowner advocate on Friday night rejected ex-Mayor Adams’ 11th hour offer for her to serve on the city’s Rent Guidelines Board.
If Mamdani represents the rise of progressive politics in America, San Francisco is fast becoming the deflating counterpoint for the left.
Some 56% of city voters support Mamdani’s brand of democratic socialism, but voters are split on whether his views are extreme or represent the mainstream of Democratic voters in the city, according to a new poll conducted by the Honan Strategy Group.
Mamdani is kicking off a “new era” for City Hall – a task that by day two has already included revoking nine executive orders issued by former Mayor Adams and deleting and archiving Adams’ old tweets.
New year, new fare. Yesterday, the cost of taking the subway or bus in New York City rose to $3 from $2.90 for most riders, the first increase in more than two years, and many straphangers say they’re already frustrated with the 10-cent increase.
Gotham’s fleet of horse-carriage drivers will be mandated to have their animals undergo a city-hired veterinarian inspection or risk losing their coveted licenses, under an executive order signed by Adams hours before successor Mamdani took the reins of the city.
Sgt. Jordan Mazur spent eight years deciding what the public could — and couldn’t — know about the NYPD. Now, he’s written a how-to guide for prying records out of government agencies’ hands.
Since congestion pricing began one year ago, about 11 percent of the vehicles that once entered Manhattan’s central business district daily have disappeared.
Big Apple tourism went up by a fraction in 2025 but still fell millions of visitors short of projected totals — as the city still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, an eye-opening new report said.
Arts, entertainment and the burning question of whether or not Albany is fun took center stage Friday as Mayor Dorcey Applyrs spent part of her second day on the job announcing the formation of a nightlife advisory council.
Warren County became the victim of a $3.3 million phishing scheme recently after its treasurer’s office wasn’t informed a private contractor for the county warned in July that bad actors may try to trick customers into wiring payments to fake bank accounts.
Adirondack groups are teaming up to warn about damage caused by wakeboats and urge towns to limit their use on sensitive lakes.
After a year of being closed for $2 million in renovations, Saratoga Arts reopened for a free celebratory weekend with a cocktail party, music, a new exhibition, drop-in workshops and tours.
Some residents in Saratoga Springs recently received a water system notice from the city after a contaminant was found to exceed a state drinking water standard.
An electric bike rider died early yesterday morning after he hit a vehicle in Arbor Hill, according to Albany police.
Crews began battling a fire early yesterday morning that ripped through a domestic and sexual violence services center on 102nd Street in Lansingburgh.
John Mulrooney, a comedian whose career took him around the world and aboard Albany’s airwaves for morning commutes, died suddenly at his Coxsackie home on Dec. 29; the cause of death was not immediately available. He was 67.
Jasper L. Mills III, a well-known criminal defense attorney from Albany, was indicted on multiple felony charges for allegedly disclosing the name of a confidential witness in a murder case in violation of a court order.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
