Good morning, it’s Thursday already! This first full week of 2026 is just steaming right along.
With the new year comes a whole slew of health and wellness content in my feed as everyone and their mother seeks to turn over a new leaf in the wake of the holiday season excesses.
Even though I 1) didn’t overindulge, and 2) already have a pretty detailed exercise regime, I am nevertheless bombarded on the regular by all manner of hype about products, diets, exercise programs, and habits that I should be adopting to achieve optimal mental and physical health.
That said, even an old dog can learn new tricks, as the saying goes. Since I have been struggling mightily with sleeping of late, I am always open to new suggestions about improving my sleep hygiene.
I’ve been trying really hard to avoid doomscrolling before bed, though that doesn’t always stick. I avoid caffeinated beverages afternoon. We keep the bedroom very cold (in part because the insulation in the 1940s-era house isn’t the greatest). I wear earplugs and a sleep mask to keep things as quiet and as dark as possible.
I also use all manner of supplements, teas, sprays, mantras, deep breathing, counting, and word game techniques to try to distract my hamster brain long enough to fall off its little wheel and into slumber.
All of these work to varying degrees, depending on how anxious and/or exhausted I am. Lately, I’ve also incorporated brief warm baths to try to relax myself before bed. This is particularly enjoyable now that it’s cold out, though I don’t love the moment when you have to get out of the bath and dry yourself off – that discomfort almost defeats the whole otherwise relaxing enterprise.
I usually don’t put anything in the bath – sometimes epsom salts if I’m feeling really sore. I’ve never been a bubble bath girl, though I know people who swear by the soothing and heat-retention properties of scented soap suds.
First let us discuss the many benefits of warm baths. (Sorry in advance to all you cold plunge zealots out there).
Not only can a good soak lower your stress hormones and relax your mind, but it can also boost serotonin levels, improving your mood, and help regulate your body temperature, which can lead to more restful and deeper sleep. In addition, if you add epsom salts to your bath water, you can help ease achy joints and soothe arthritis pain, while also potentially reducing your blood pressure and burning calories in the process.
To avoid the drying downside of baths, it’s recommended that you 1) do not take a bath every day (this is also a good way to limit the high water volume required for a bath as compared to a shower), and 2) limit your soaking time to 10 to 15 minutes – basically, when your fingers start to get wrinkly, it’s a good sign that you’re done.
Also, keep your tub clean and your towels fresh to avoid bacteria build-up. And don’t forget to moisturize with a fragrance-free and hypoallergenic lotion upon existing the water. As for adding oils, soaps, washes etc., the jury is out on this. Even though today is National Bubble Bath Day, which is what spurred this post, if you opt for an oil or powder or soap with a lot of additives, you could risk further drying out – or even irritating – your skin.
The practice of taking baths – with and without bubbles – dates back centuries. If you want go deep on the history of bubble baths, and how Hollywood played a role in popularizing them, click here.
Prepare yourself for a stretch of unseasonably warm weather, with temperatures reaching into the low 40 degrees. Sadly, that will bring some rain with it, but I will take rain over snow any day. Today, however, we will see mostly cloudy skies and maybe even a little peak at the sun in the afternoon. Fingers crossed.
In the headlines…
A Minneapolis woman was shot and killed when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fired a bullet through the windshield of her Honda SUV amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the city.
Video shows an ICE agent approaching a vehicle blocking a roadway in a residential neighborhood, roughly a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in May 2020. As the SUV begins to drive off, a shot struck its 37-year-old driver in the head.
The ICE agent who shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis was hospitalized and lucky to be alive after the “disorderly” woman hit him with her vehicle, President Donald Trump said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who shot and killed a Minneapolis woman was hit by her car in the episode.
Minneapolis Public Schools announced that classes would be cancelled today and Friday “out of an abundance of caution” after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis.
World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency company founded and run by Trump’s family, announced that it applied to become a national trust bank.
The New York Times sat down with Trump in the Oval Office yesterday evening for an exclusive and wide-ranging interview.
Trump said expected the US would be running Venezuela and extracting oil from its huge reserves for years, and insisted that the interim government of the country — all former loyalists to Nicholas Maduro – is “giving us everything that we feel is necessary.”
Trump withdrew the US from dozens of international organizations intended to foster multinational cooperation, cutting ties with a wide range of prominent forums addressing international security, law, trade, economics and human rights.
Trump proposed setting U.S. military spending at $1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times.” The 2026 military budget is set at $901 billion.
Trump signed an executive order to pull the US out of a UN coalition that State Department officials claim has been pushing unconstitutional and racist policies — including a push for global reparations.
The Trump administration released new dietary guidelines yesterday, and with them, an inverted food pyramid that has steak, cheese and full-fat milk near the top and whole grains at the bottom.
At a press conference, the administration unveiled a new food pyramid with red meat, cheese, vegetables and fruits pictured at the top and whole grains near the bottom.
“My message is clear: Eat real food,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a White House briefing.
The updated guidelines issued say that people should consume less alcohol “for better overall health” and “limit alcohol beverages,” but they do not recommend clear limits or warn that alcohol may heighten the risk of breast cancer and other malignancies.
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer will not run for reelection and end a nearly six-decade career in elected office that spanned his rising-star days in Maryland government to a two-decade run as the No. 2 U.S. House Democrat.
Hoyer, 86, the third-longest-serving member of the House, said he reached the decision over the holidays with his family, feeling content with a career that never brought the House speaker’s gavel but put him at the center of this century’s biggest debates.
“I did not want to be one of those members who clearly stayed, outstayed his or her ability to do the job,” Hoyer said.
Nine House Republicans – including Reps. Mike Lawler and Nicholas LaLota, of New York – voted yesterday to compel the lower chamber to vote on a Democratic bill to revive ObamaCare subsidies after they expired at the start of the new year.
FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro, a former Dutchess County executive and ex-congressman from New York’s 19th Congressional District, is openly exploring a run for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s soon-to-be vacated House seat in upstate New York.
State lawmakers convened this year’s legislative session at the state Capitol yesterday with a promise to address the state’s persistently high cost of living and respond to federal actions that have impacted New York.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders previewed big fights against the Trump administration, with state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins throwing her support behind a bill to expand protections for undocumented immigrants.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman called for a probe of Hochul’s administration as unearthed records revealed her aides kept up chummy relations with Chinese government officials — even after the firing of accused Beijing agent Linda Sun.
New York state officials denounced Trump’s freeze of child care funding, a surprise move that clouds a state push to expand subsidies.
Hochul will be forced to walk a tightrope in Albany this year as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s populist wave has emboldened lefty lawmakers – who aren’t afraid to use her Democratic primary challenge as a weapon.
Hochul plans to join Mamdani in Brooklyn today to talk about her plan to fund universal child care.
Mamdani slammed the Trump administration’s pause on federal child care and family assistance grants as a “cruel decision that plays politics with children’s futures,” throwing his support behind a threat by Gov. Hochul to sue over the frozen funds.
Mamdani appointed a new head of the city Human Rights Commission, picking Christine Clarke, previously a litigator at anti-poverty group Legal Services NYC, to serve in the role.
Mamdani’s newly instated radical-left tenant advocate, Cea Weaver, broke down in tears as she dodged questions from reporters about her gentrification hypocrisy.
Weaver once complained about gentrification in her Crown Heights, Brooklyn, neighborhood — despite being a middle-class white transplant who attended an expensive private liberal arts college.
Mamdani is standing behind Weaver as she faces backlash for years-old social media posts, including messages that called for the seizure of private property and linked homeownership to white supremacy.
Mamdani is eyeing Jersey City, N.J., for ideas as he looks to address New York’s housing crisis. For residents, the surge in development has been a mixed blessing.
Mamdani scheduled a press conference yesterday that was held exclusively for influencers and content creators. The new mayor’s “first new media” briefing was his first from the Blue Room at City Hall — and it was by invitation only.
The Mayor’s Office said the event covered issues ranging from housing and affordability to fitness, parenting, food, sports, personal finance, career advice, comedy, music among others.
Mamdani promised to look into a report that the Adams administration holdover he reappointed as chief business diversity officer oversaw a unit that cherry-picked data to inflate its success helping minority- and women-owned businesses win MTA contracts.
Mamdani tapped budget veteran Simonia Brown to be his go-between with state lawmakers as he presses his socialist agenda.
Julie Menin was elected the City Council’s new speaker, making her the chamber’s first Jewish leader — a historic moment she pledged to use to bridge political “divides,” even amid emerging signs of potential friction between her and Mamdani.
In celebrating her election to speaker of the New York City Council, Menin subtly pushed back against the narrative that has dominated her ascent to victory.
Menin said she’ll push to restrict protests outside synagogues and other houses of worship — as one of her first official acts of office.
Christina Cover, a public school teacher, organizer and a member of the DSA and the WFP, filed papers to run for Assembly District 84. The district is currently represented by Amanda Septimo, who recently launched a challenge to Rep. Ritchie Torres.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber blamed a mom whose 5-year-old daughter got her head stuck in the agency’s widely-panned “modern” fare gates.
Homeowners at Carnegie House at 100 W. 57th St. are now staring at a nightmare financial scenario. The issue: a breathtaking 450% ground-rent increase they spent the last year fighting that, on Monday, a New York County Supreme Court judge upheld.
Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello has accused Troy’s new, all-Democratic City Council of political patronage for considering state lawyer Ian Silverman for legal representation soon after his wife’s failed run for county executive in November.
Residents were temporarily evacuated yesterday morning from homes within a half-mile radius of Taconic Plastics Limited in western Rensselaer County after a propane leak at the plant.
Matt Nelligan, the party’s 2023 candidate for mayor, has been picked to be executive director of the Schenectady County Republican Party.
The Saratoga Springs City Council voted unanimously to accept the state AG’s terms to remedy a pattern of unconstitutional arrests, surveillance and intimidation targeting Black Lives Matter protesters by the city’s police and elected officials.
After parting ways with Rory Fluman last month, Schenectady County has a new manager. Robert Lawton, who served as clerk to the County Legislature more than two decades ago, was unanimously appointed by county lawmakers to serve on an interim basis.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
