Good morning, it’s Friday. Enough said.
I think I’ve said before in this space that I am not a big soda person and never was. Probably this has something to do with the fact that I was not allowed to consume it as a child – or, at the very least, that it wasn’t in the house, so I never developed a taste for it.
Unlike some other forbidden substances – namely, sugary treats, which also weren’t allowed in abundance while I was growing up – soda just didn’t develop the same banned allure.
When we went out to eat or at special occasions – like while waiting for election night returns to come in when my Dad was running for county legislature – I would order a Shirley Temple, which, if memory serves, was more about the grenadine and the cherry garnish for me than the soda. (As as aside, if you are not familiar with this kid who has become semi-famous for his online rankings of Shirley Temples, you are missing out).
When I was allowed soda, it was usually Sprite or Ginger Ale, because neither of them contain caffeine and I was definitely hyper enough as a kid.
The sugar boost that those would provide was more than enough, in my parents’ eyes, and did not require the added energy amp that the 34 mg of caffeine contained in a single can of classic Coca-Cola would deliver. (As an aside, a Diet Coke contains considerably more – 46 mg – which is less than the 95 mg found in a standard 8 oz cup of coffee).
Coke has, since its inception, been intended as an energy booster. Originally, it contained not only caffeine (from kola nuts), but also cocaine (from coca leaves) – hence, the name. The very first Coca-Cola was sold on this day in 1886 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist, chemist, and Confederate States Army officer, at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.
The officer part is germane because Pemberton sustained a saber wound in the war, which caused him lasting and chronic pain that was treated with morphine, to which he became addicted. He tried to curb this addiction by mixing a variety of substances and landed on a concoction of wine and cocaine that was marketed to those who suffered from pain and/or “nervous prostration.”
In 1885, Fulton County, GA, voted to go dry. Pemberton was forced to create a non-alcoholic version of his painkilling syrup, which at the time was known as French Wine Coca, substituting sugar syrup for the wine. A drugstore owner named Willis E. Venable helped Pemberton perfect the recipe and convinced him to sell it as a fountain beverage rather than a medicine.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Sadly, Pemberton didn’t make much money off what would eventually be a veritable beverage goldmine. He was ailing and desperate for cash in 1888 when he sold his rights to the Coca-Cola patent to his business partner, another Atlanta pharmacist named Asa Griggs Candler, for $300. He died shortly thereafter – still addicted to morphine – from stomach cancer at the age of 57.
Coca-Cola is now a globally recognized brand worth $338 billion and change, with 1.9 billion servings of its drinks consumed in 200 countries every single day, making it the world’s 39th largest company.
In the first three months of this year, Coca-Cola saw an increase in sales, bringing in $12.5 billion in just three months. Coca-Cola is celebrating its 140th anniversary this year. This year-long celebration happens to also coincide with America’s 250th, which the company is taking full advantage of by issuing a new collection of limited-edition America250 packaging.
The weekend is looking not great from a weather perspective.
Today will be partly cloudy with high temperatures in the low 60s. Saturday will be more or less a wash, with periods of rain throughout the day and temperatures struggling to get out of the mid-50s. Sunday looks for the moment to be a little better, though not fabulous, with considerably cloudiness all day long. Things will be a bit warmer, though, with highs flirting with 70 degrees.
In the headlines…
The US said it hit military sites in Iran in retaliation for “unprovoked” attacks amid a tenuous month-old cease-fire and officials’ claims the two countries were discussing a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the American blockade on Iranian ports.
Trump brushed off Iran’s attack on three US Navy ships as the White House clung to what’s left of an increasingly challenged cease-fire and burgeoning framework for peace talks.
Trump insisted late yesterday that the cease-fire with Iran was holding, even after the United States said it had attacked Iranian military sites in retaliation for strikes on U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
A panel of federal judges found President Trump had violated the law when he imposed a 10 percent tariff on most U.S. imports, dealing yet another legal setback to the White House in its efforts to wage a trade war without the express permission of Congress.
Early results from nationwide elections in Britain suggested a historic drubbing for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and sweeping gains for hard-right Reform U.K., led by Trump ally Nigel Farage.
Though many results were still coming in this morning, the overall picture will heap pressure on Starmer, an unpopular leader beset by speculation his colleagues may move against him.
Starmer vowed to fight on to deliver on his promise to bring “change” to Britain after his Labour Party suffered heavy losses in local elections that deepened doubts over his ability to govern.
The effort to monitor the spread of hantavirus from a cruise ship currently off the west coast of Africa is expanding, including in the United States, after health officials confirmed the virus on the ship is the rare strain that is transmissible from human to human.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reportedly classified the hantavirus outbreak as a “Level 3” threat and activated its Emergency Operations Centers.
As American women have fewer babies each year, the number of young children in the United States is dwindling. The trend is now catching up to the nation’s public school districts.
Nearly $2 trillion in economic growth has left blue states and headed for red states in the last decade, according to economic data from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, a conservative economic group.
The group used IRS data from the years 2012 to 2023 to calculate the movement in cumulative income between states, which were classified as red “Trump states” or blue “Harris states” based on which way they voted in the 2024 Presidential Election.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said yesterday morning that she had reached a deal on a $268 billion state budget with Democrats in the state Legislature, who called that announcement “premature,” and claimed no such agreement had been struck.
Hochul claimed victory for a state budget agreement that is already five weeks overdue, and clearly still needs more work.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he conveyed to the governor Wednesday evening that he was comfortable with her telling reporters they were close to a deal – not that they had reached an agreement.
“There is no budget deal,” Heastie said, adding that he did not care if the budget “doesn’t get passed for six months,” adding: “I’m not conferencing anything else until I know what the financial picture is.”
“No you didn’t reach an agreement,” state Sen. Jabari Brisport (D-Brooklyn) posted to Hochul on X. “You do this every year. Please stop.”
Hochul’s office claimed the supposed budget deal includes several earmarks for improvements to the NYC public transit system, with nearly $190 million going toward subway safety efforts and mental-health outreach.
Hochul that she has had productive talks with leaders in New York City, but it’s proven tricky to determine a method for assessing the high-value second residences that she and Mayor Zohran Mamdani seek to tax.
Empire State Democrats will approve a package of sanctuary-like measures meant to protect undocumented immigrants from President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign – a direct blue state challenge to his signature issue.
Lawmakers and Hochul have agreed to amend the 2019 Climate Act to head off what the governor’s administration, as well as business and energy sector leaders, warned could be significant price increases for utility and gasoline prices for consumers.
Hochul’s version of the long-stalled “Stop Super Speeders” bill will be included in the final budget, allowing New York City to require repeat reckless drivers to install devices that prevent the vehicles from being driven at excessive speeds.
Border czar Tom Homan schooled Hochul as the New York governor looks to reduce local cooperation with ICE – claiming the Dem leader’s only hurting the migrants she’s trying to help.
The New York City board that sets the rent for roughly 1 million regulated apartments voted to consider a rent freeze yesterday in a move that, if enacted, would fulfill a key campaign pledge of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The board approved a range of possible rent levels in its preliminary vote: 0 to 2% for one-year leases and between 0 to 4% for two-year leases.
Mamdani is facing mounting pressure from progressive leaders to enact stricter rules on how the NYPD can interact with federal immigration authorities – the latest sign of a broadening chasm between the mayor and his own supporters.
Billionaire bigwigs Ken Griffin and Marc Rowan are taking thousands of jobs out of the Big Apple and setting their sights elsewhere as a “direct consequence” of Mayor Mamdani’s “tax the rich” antics — stoking fears that a big-money exodus is underway.
New York leaders are desperately trying to stop billionaire bigwigs from hightailing out of the Big Apple with their cash, businesses and thousands of jobs — as fears mount that Mamdani’s policies will accelerate the Empire State’s nation-leading loss of wealth.
Seven community organizations across the five boroughs offering addiction recovery services will receive $12 million to fund rehab programs led by people who have dealt with substance abuse firsthand, Mamdani announced.
The city’s main independent overseer of the NYPD is operating with less than one-third of its workforce — and might even have more interns than staffers right now — defying Mamdani’s campaign promise to rein in the department’s lax internal oversight.
Liberal City Council members are pushing a bill that would automatically enroll residents in programs to receive social benefits — even if they’re undocumented.
Opera lovers who caught a matinee of La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera House last month later received emails from the Met Opera letting them know that one of their fellow attendees had measles, the opera house has confirmed.
Lawyers for the Nigerian immigrant whose weekend arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sparked protests in Bushwick have filed a petition in federal court challenging his arrest and detention.
SummerStage released its lineup late last month, and now the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival — the city’s other significant and long-running source of free outdoor music each summer — has also made its lineup public.
Cornell University’s trustees announced that they would investigate an April 30 incident in which the president, Michael Kotlikoff, bumped into students with his car after a debate over the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Over 30% of New Yorkers, about 5.8 million, speak a language other than English at home. In recent years, however, the distribution of those speakers at home has been shifting — especially varying in the Capital Region.
An immigrant rights group says it helped prevent several detentions by ICE agents in Columbia County this week, calling the incident a “victory” for its rapid response team.
Albany County Comptroller Susan Rizzo, who previously served as chief city auditor, has been calling for the City of Albany to revive a comptroller position that was abolished as part of changes to the city charter in 2009.
A local Conservative Party leader has been suspended from his job at the Rensselaer County Courthouse after repeatedly using a homophobic slur on social media to refer to a longtime Capital Region elected official.
SUNY Schenectady is reducing its footprint after many years of declining enrollment, ending off-campus leases for its minischool.
The former head of an upstate nonprofit for girls was arrested after investigators say she stole nearly $80,000 in organization funds, using them on items ranging from kayaks to a show at the Las Vegas Sphere.
The annual celebration of nursing in the Capital Region honored veterans as well as young professionals serving their communities.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
