Good morning, it’s Tuesday.
The recent spate of frigid temperatures, from which it looks like we’ll be getting a bit of a breather (more on that in a moment), had me digging through my closet for all my warmest and most layer-friendly clothing.
For the record, though I did go make a trip to Dick’s to stock up on extreme cold weather running gear – including a face mask and Smartwool long underwear – in the end I chickened out in the face of double digit below-zero forecast and did my long run on the dreadmill and indoor track. This was misery of a different sort, but at least I could wear shorts.
For non-running, everyday attire, I have been gravitating toward wool, cashmere, and down. I made ample use of my fake fur hat with the ear flaps. And I noticed as I rifled through my vast collection of all types of clothing that there is one thing I do not own a lot of – flannel.
Yes, it’s true, though I have lived for the entirely of my adult life in the great Northeast, I have somehow managed to accumulate just a single plaid flannel shirt, which I think I’ve worn a grand total of once since I purchased it – and that wasn’t even here, but rather during a trip to Nashville, Tennessee.
Flannel has been around for centuries and traces its roots back to 17th Century Wales. It was originally made of carded wool or worsted (a medium thick) yarn, but these days is just as likely to be made from a synthetic fabric as it is wool or even cotton. It can be put through a process called “brushing” to raise the nap of its threads, giving it that telltale soft and fuzzy feeling.
Because of its durability, warmth, and moisture-wicking properties, flannel became a favorite among farmers and other members of the working class. It was particularly popular in France and England during the Industrial Revolution, and was used during the Civil War and WWI as an extra layer in soldiers’ uniforms – again, to provide an insulating layer that added warmth.
The Carhartt brand of workwear is credited with helping to popularize flannel in the United States – especially for those who worked in construction and on the railroad in the early 1900s. Over time, flannel came to be synonymous with rugged, outdoor pursuits – like, lumber-jacking, for example – but it enjoyed a resurgence of popularity, and something of a rebrand, thanks to the 1990s “grunge” music movement.
Kurt Cobain (RIP) was particularly instrumental in elevating the humble plaid flannel to new heights, often employing it as a layer worn over a graphic t-shirt or long-sleeve thermal. But, it’s important to note that not all flannel shirts are plaid, and, of course, not all plaid shirts are made out of flannel. But more often than not, plaid is the pattern of choice for flannel – be it a robe, sheets, or a standard button-down shirt.
Happy National Flannel Day, which, as far as I can tell, is observed annually on Feb. 10 for no other reason than the fact that it is reliably very cold (in the Northeast, anyway), around this time of year.
As mentioned up top, we’re in for a bit of a warming trend, with temperatures heading up into the low 30s today. It will be cloudy, however, and we could see some snow showers developing by afternoon, with the potential of an accumulation of an inch or two by tomorrow morning.
In the headlines…
President Trump threatened to block the opening of a new bridge between the United States and Canada if Canadian officials did not address a long and growing list of grievances, escalating diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Trump said that he would “not allow” the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, “until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them” and Canada treats the US “with respect.”
The Trump administration plans to rescind $600 million in public health funds from four states led by Democrats – California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota – because it finds the grants “inconsistent with agency priorities.”
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction halting the Trump administration’s effort to freeze $10 billion in childcare funding to New York and a handful of other Democrat-led states.
Senate Democrats who voted to end the fall government shutdown are staring down a difficult decision over whether to back a stopgap measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) past the Friday deadline.
The House last night passed its bipartisan housing package aimed at increasing home supply and affordability, setting up an uncertain effort to merge the measure with a Senate housing bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said that he is moving forward with a plan to revive a prohibition on House votes to overturn President Trump’s global tariffs.
Johnson told reporters he believes he will have the votes to include the block in a procedural measure set for House consideration Tuesday. The House Rules Committee approved legislation yesterday that would prevent any further tariff votes through July 31.
Top immigration officials are set to testify today at a congressional hearing in which they are likely to face sharp questions about the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement operation in Minnesota.
Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions during a closed-door congressional deposition yesterday, prompting criticism from a House representative backing efforts to release Jeffrey Epstein investigative files.
Maxwell, now serving a 20-year sentence for her part in Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme, invoked her Fifth Amendment right over video from a prison camp in Texas, after she had been subpoenaed by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie are challenging the Justice Department for redacting the names of six men in the publicly released materials related to Epstein — and they could take matters into their own hands to reveal their identities.
Members of Congress were permitted for the first time yesterday to review the unredacted versions of all the DOJ files related to the convicted sex offender. Massie and Khanna were the two lead sponsors of the bill that forced the public release of the files.
The FBI yesterday said it was “not aware of any continued communication between” Nancy Guthrie’s family and her suspected kidnappers, with a reported ransom deadline having already passed.
“We are at an hour of desperation,” Savannah Guthrie said in an Instagram video three hours before the deadline that her 84-year-old mother Nancy’s purported kidnappers set in a ransom note after she vanished from her Arizona home more than a week ago.
Skier Lindsey Vonn provided a lengthy update after her crash during the alpine ski women’s downhill at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics resulted in a leg fracture on Sunday.
Vonn, 41, was already skiing with a torn ACL, but she needed to be airlifted off the mountain in a scary scene. She posted on her Instagram yesterday, saying her “Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would.”
It’s only the fourth day of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, but at least four winning athletes have already seen their hard-earned medals snap, shatter or split — including Team USA’s first gold.
Olympic organizers announced at a press conference that they are “fully aware of the situation” and investigating possible causes.
Chinese Olympic star Eileen Gu condemned Trump’s harsh criticism of American skier Hunter Hess after he expressed “mixed emotions” about representing the US at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
Assemblyman Robert Carroll from Brooklyn is leading an initiative to host the Winter Games in Lake Placid and New York City, similar to how Milan and Cortina are doing it in Italy. Carroll is traveling to Italy this week to learn from their experience.
Mikie Sherrill has been the governor of New Jersey for less than three weeks, and she’s already won a significant skirmish with her counterpart across the river, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Hochul’s running mate, former New York City Council member Adrienne Adams, voted in favor of allowing some noncitizens to vote in Big Apple municipal elections.
Hochul hosted a roundtable discussion yesterday with local law enforcement and elected officials, focusing on her Local Cops Local Crimes Act.
Queens state Sen. Michael Gianaris won’t seek reelection this year. The powerful Democrat is second in command in the state Senate and has long been viewed as a potential successor to Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
“While the State Senate’s future is in good hands with the current members of the Democratic conference, it is time for me to embrace a new role as the best father I can be,” Gianaris said in a statement posted on X.
Republicans in the state Assembly have chosen Assemblyman Edward P. Ra of Nassau County to be the new leader of their conference in the chamber.
Nassau County Executive and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman announced that Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood has agreed to be his running mate.
Hood accepted Blakeman’s offer to run for lieutenant governor shortly after Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino was said to have declined an offer to jump into the race. “Todd is a solid guy. We’ll make a good team together,” Blakeman said.
The New York Post editorial board said Blakeman “offers New York a refreshingly commonsense agenda with real hope to reverse the state’s long decline.”
Blakeman had decided on his running mate – Giardino – but things quickly got complicated, thanks in part to prominent right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who has close ties to the White House.
New York state’s top judge said that the state needs more resources to address issues like mental illness and housing to help reduce the number of cases that enter the family court system, which is often tasked to address cases it is not designed to handle.
State Sens. James Skoufis and Patricia Fahy, along with Assemblymembers Gabriella Romero and John McDonald III, all Democrats, are backing bills designed to track absenteeism and help school districts craft plans to support struggling students and families.
Funding for the Gateway project remained in limbo yesterday, three days after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to release the money earmarked for the $16 billion Hudson River tunnel project.
The Trump administration appealed the court ruling and U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas allowed the feds to hold off on releasing the money until at least Thursday while the case is considered by a federal appeals court.
So far 18 people have died in the cold snap that has gripped New York City for weeks, and now Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s response to the extreme weather will be scrutinized by the City Council.
Administration officials from the Department of Social Services, including a commissioner who announced her resignation yesterday, and public safety are set to appear at an oversight hearing today, the first of Mamdani’s nascent administration.
The commissioner, Molly Wasow Park, said that she had wanted to stay in her role, but that it “did not feel like it was going to materialize,” and she had decided her resignation would be “the right thing for everybody.”
“We appreciate Commissioner Park’s years of service to the city, and the mayor looks forward to working with her through this transitional period. We will be naming a new commissioner in the coming weeks,” Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said.
Critics are enraged by Mamdani’s hands-off policy leaving homeless New Yorkers on the streets during extreme cold, and pleading that the city do anything in its power to protect the vulnerable population.
With New York City experiencing a dangerous freeze, Rep. Dan Goldman last week proposed legislation to steer potentially tens of millions of federal dollars to the NYCHA for boiler upgrades, declaring that adequate heat is a personal security issue.
Police yesterday were asking people to look out for a 94-year-old woman who they said went missing from her Brooklyn home over the weekend during dangerously cold temperatures.
Mamdani has appointed Lisa Scott-McKenzie, a longtime employee of the city’s public hospital system, to serve as commissioner of the Department for the Aging, tapping her to oversee the city’s efforts to support the city’s oldest residents.
Mamdani committed a cardinal sin last week by dissing millions of area Catholics as the first city mayor in nearly 100 years — and possibly ever — to skip the local archbishop’s installation.
Lindsey Boylan kicked off her special election campaign for New York City Council yesterday, centering her opposition to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and her support for Mamdani.
An eleventh-hour school board appointment by Mayor Adams has sparked controversy over use of the word “retarded” to describe a response to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, leaving Mamdani to deal with the fallout over a member he didn’t select.
Adams has agreed to pay a $4,000 fine after New York City’s ethics watchdog found he used city resources to target a political opponent during last year’s mayoral race, city officials said.
The former New York mayor paid a Conflicts of Interest Board fine for having City Hall employees assist in attacking former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations.
Newly retired Cardinal Timothy Dolan is set to serve as one of the NYPD’s top religious leaders, alongside Brooklyn-based megachurch founder Rev. A.R. Bernard.
Nurses have reached tentative deals on new contracts to end their strikes at hospitals run by Mount Sinai and Montefiore after nearly a month on the picketline, the New York State Nurses Association announced.
The strike continues until the agreement is ratified, though picketing was suspended through the weekend because of the dangerous cold. If the agreement is approved by union members, the roughly 10,500 nurses will return to work on Feb. 14.
The NYPD police academy will be renamed after Det. Steven McDonald, a fallen hero of the department who channeled the agony of three devastating gunshot wounds into an enduring message of peace and forgiveness.
The NYU women’s basketball team won its 82nd consecutive game on Sunday, setting a new Division III women’s hoops record.
Attorneys for House GOP candidate Anthony Constantino’s campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to rival Robert Smullen, accusing the assemblyman of making false claims that the North Country printing company CEO didn’t pay taxes in multiple states.
Brad Karp, the Union College alumnus who corresponded with convinced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein about surveilling a woman to discredit her, has resigned from the Union College Board of Trustees.
Uttered in dining halls and along walking paths between stately stone buildings, reactions from Bard College students to revelations that their college president fostered close ties with Epstein seemed to coalesce around a single word: “gross.”
Bard College President Leon Botstein said he doesn’t remember key details about a 2012 trip he had planned to Epstein’s island. But a new email shows a day after the visit, Dr. Botstein emailed Mr. Epstein to say: “I had a great time. The place is great.”
Photo credit: George Fazio.
