Good Monday morning.
I was on a Zoom the other day with an acquaintance who I speak with fairly regularly. When they signed onto the call, I noticed a small cut beneath their left eye that I didn’t think had been there the last time we “saw” one another.
When I remarked on it – a sort of innocent “what happened there, are you OK?” comment, or so I thought – I was expecting to hear something benign, a mishap with a wayward cabinet, perhaps, or an overly rambunctious pet. But what they said both surprised and floored me, basically that they have been fighting an aggressive form of skin cancer for some time, which keeps recurring despite prolonged treatment.
Leaving aside how horrible I felt to have intruded on this person’s personal life, (I guess they didn’t have to tell me the truth, but still), this answer made me realize how many people I know who are in the same boat. I can count on two hands at this point friends, coworkers, and clients who have been, or still are, battling some form of skin cancer.
Even Governor Kathy Hochul has had skin cancer, undergoing a procedure to have basal cell carcinoma removed from her nose in September 2024. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, accounting for about 8 in every 10 cases, and usually shows up in places that get the most sun exposure – like the face.
There are three main types of skin cancer, according to the American Academy of Dermatology – basal cell carcinoma (the most common), squamous cell carcinoma (the second most common), and melanoma, (the most dangerous and highly invasive, with the ability to metastasize to other parts of the body).
Often, people dismiss their skin cancer experiences as a small matter – just “having something removed” during a brief in-office procedure. Nothing to worry about. And usually that’s true, if the problem is caught and treated early. Melanoma, however, can spread and become life-threatening at an alarming rate – as little as six weeks.
Invasive melanoma cases cross the country are rising at an alarming rate, increasing by 46.6% between 2016 and 2026. It has been one of the most common cancers in people under the age of 30, with cases increasing by 50% since 1980.
What is causing this phenomenon? UV exposure, mostly. From the sun or, worse yet, tanning beds. But also early detection (a good thing, because it’s preventing the melanoma death rate from climbing) and the fact that we, as a population, are getting older, which gives us more time to develop illnesses and conditions.
It’s only recently, within the past several years or so, that I have started to get serious about my own skin health. I get screening regularly, have had several suspicious moles removed (all benign, thankfully), and try to remember to wear sunscreen daily.
This, along with covering your skin when you’re outside – hats, long sleeves, etc. – and avoiding indoor tanning are the best things you can do to protect your largest and most significant organ. Remember: Everyone is at risk here, so cover up – especially if you’re on the fairer side or have a history of skin cancer in your family – and get familiar with your moles. Anything larger than a pencil eraser and/or is changing appearance in some way should be checked out by a doctor.
Today is Melanoma Monday, which kicks off Skin Cancer/Melanoma Awareness Month.
The weekend turned out to be not too bad, weather wise, if a little on the chilly side. We’ll see a decided warm up today, with temperatures rising into the low 70s. There will be clouds in the morning, but the sun might deign to make an appearance in the afternoon. Fingers crossed.
In the headlines…
President Trump announced the U.S. would “guide” ships not involved in the war with Iran out of the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S.-led task force says it has started the operation.
“For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Iran’s military said today that U.S. forces would be attacked if they entered the Strait of Hormuz, after President Trump announced Washington would begin escorting ships through the blocked waterway.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that it would pull 5,000 troops from Germany, a U.S. ally that has found itself at odds with President Trump.
European leaders said that Trump’s snap decision to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany came as a surprise but is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security.
Foreign doctors will be able to receive visas allowing them to practice in the United States, after the Trump administration quietly changed a policy to exempt them from a travel ban.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, signaled that federal prosecutors were still interested in investigating Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair who had faced a criminal inquiry regarding a renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.
“We continue to litigate the issue,” Pirro said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” vowing again that she would also appeal a federal judge’s order from March that had quashed grand jury subpoenas in the case, a major roadblock for the prosecution.
“We’re going to make a motion to vacate the order of Judge Boasberg, because we think it’s extremely important for us as prosecutors, the precedent that it sets to prevent us from going into a grand jury,” Pirro said.
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, sought to contrast the Justice Department’s indictment of the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey over a social media post with other instances in which people have shared the same message.
“This is not just about a single Instagram post,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” yesterday. “This is about a body of evidence that [prosecutors] collected over the series of about 11 months. That evidence was presented to the grand jury.”
A manufacturer of the abortion pill mifepristone asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to immediately restore full access to the medication, putting the contentious issue of abortion back before the justices in an election year.
The request came after a lower court temporarily restricted abortion providers from prescribing the pills by telemedicine and mailing them to patients – one of the main ways women seeking abortions have obtained the medication in recent years.
A federal appeals court ruling that prohibits mailing the most common abortion pill nationwide will not immediately disrupt medication abortion access in New York City, providers say. Instead, they’ll mail a different medication.
Saturday’s shutdown of Spirit — the pioneering budget airline that reshaped low-cost travel — has stranded thousands of passengers nationwide. The company canceled all flights, halted customer service and told travelers not to come to the airport.
A Spirit Airlines pilot received a hero’s send-off with the help of a rival airline — and his first officer son — as his retirement flight was abruptly cut amid the carrier’s sudden shutdown.
The company is in its second bankruptcy and was in serious financial trouble well before the Iran war sent jet fuel prices surging. Spirit tried to reach a deal with the Trump administration on an 11th-hour rescue package, but creditors balked at the proposal.
You may be among the tens of millions of Americans who may qualify for IRS refunds or abatements linked to the COVID federal disaster period – but you only have about two months to take action.
The U.S. Army is searching for two service members who went missing while taking part in a joint military exercise in Morocco, according to a statement released by the U.S. Africa Command.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, 81, is in a Florida hospital in critical but stable condition, his spokesman said yesterday. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, called Giuliani a “True Warrior, and the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR.”
Giuliani told viewers Friday on his X show “America’s Mayor Live” that his “voice is a little under the weather, so I won’t be able to speak as loudly as I usually do.” He’s seen coughing a few times on the streamed program.
Three people who were aboard a cruise ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean have died of suspected infections of hantavirus, the World Health Organization said yesterday, referring to a rare family of viruses carried by rodents.
The three dead were cruise passengers, said Oceanwide Expeditions, the company that operates the ship, called the MV Hondius, which is currently anchored in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, an island nation off the west coast of Africa.
At least six people are believed to have been infected with a hantavirus, including one whose infection has been confirmed by a laboratory, and five other suspected cases. One is currently in intensive care in South Africa, the WHO said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul updated reporters on the status of state budget negotiations Friday during her annual visit to the LCA pressroom at the state Capitol, which usually comes as budget negotiations are somewhere in the vicinity of a handshake deal.
Hochul and legislative leaders are nearing a deal to eliminate a lengthy environmental review for certain housing and infrastructure projects, a move the governor hopes will get apartments and condos built more quickly.
Hochul wants assurances from Trump’s administration that a very specific federal immigration officer isn’t operating in New York: The ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is furious that the immigration agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis has been reinstated — and Hochul wants to know if he’s working in their state.
A sweeping state recycling bill calls for scores of companies to stop using plastic wrap when packaging products, which critics gripe could leave crucial everyday items such as diapers and toilet paper soggy.
Some of the most infamous killers in history, including John Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman and “Son of Sam” serial murderer David Berkowitz, could soon be freed if Albany passes a pair of parole reform bills, critics warn.
Albany Sen. Patricia Fahy wants to take a page from New York City’s playbook by introducing a bill that would let municipalities across the state impose an opt-in tax on luxury second homes and investor-owned properties worth more than $5 million.
Democrats in New York could by early June make their first move toward potentially redrawing the state’s congressional districts as early as 2028, lawmakers said this week at the state Capitol.
Less than a third of NYC Jewish voters think Mayor Zohran Mamdani is doing a good job — and most link the Big Apple’s rising antisemitism to the mayor and his comrades mainstreaming anti-Zionism, a new poll shows.
Forty percent of Jews who voted in last year’s mayoral race think Mamdani is doing a “poor” job, 32% rate his performance “excellent” or “good,” 18% say he’s doing a “fair” job, and the rest are undecided, according to The Jewish Majority poll.
NYPD officers gave out thousands of criminal summonses to cyclists and e-bike riders this year, until Mayor Mamdani finally fulfilled his campaign promise to call off the Adams-era crackdown nearly three months into his term.
Mamdani is delaying the city’s $127 billion budget as he pressures the state to limit a tax credit used by hedge funds, private equity firms and other businesses.
Recreational footballers across New York City are begging the parks department to leave the lights on. Organizers of local soccer leagues said they’ve spent weeks asking the city to permit more night games in parks, but have been rebuffed.
Roughly 32,000 cyclists from near and far – including Mayor Mamdani, who wore his signature tie – braved windy conditions to take over city streets on Sunday for the 48th annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour.
Mamdani made history as the first sitting mayor to ride the 40-mile tour and stop in all five boroughs.
The New York Working Families Party has declined to endorse anybody in the Manhattan Congressional race to replace retiring WFP ally Rep. Jerry Nadler – but John F. Kennedy’s grandson has them rethinking that decision.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist House candidate who has participated in anti-Israel demonstrations, has been accepting campaign cash from firms whose technology has been used to monitor protesters.
The city’s Panel for Educational Policy, long considered largely a rubber stamp has increasingly been flexing its political muscle.
Students at NYC’s New School voted to strip funding for its campus Hillel chapter — an unprecedented move critics ripped as “despicable” and school officials insisted was unauthorized.
Starting today, PATH train riders will find themselves 25 cents poorer as a fare increase geared toward paying for the revitalization of the 118-year-old system goes into effect.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is poised to file a civil rights lawsuit against The New York Times, centered on the allegations of a white male employee who did not get a sought-after promotion and argued it was because of his race and gender.
A Bronx man who was shot by NYPD officers responding to a 311 call in 2023 filed a new lawsuit against the department and the city last week, and is seeking damages for his injuries as well as an injunction to prohibit police-run mental health crisis response.
City officials are criticizing federal immigration enforcement after a crowd of protesters clashed with authorities outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Bushwick on Saturday night, leading to eight arrests, according to police.
ICE agents brought a man they had detained to a Brooklyn hospital, sparking a chaotic protest in which nine people were arrested, police said.
Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs revised the city’s estimated 2025 budget deficit Friday, saying the gap is $19.6 million, not the $15 million her administration initially calculated when they reviewed last year’s spending plan.
The Albany Common Council last week weighed seeking the assistance of the state comptroller’s office to help navigate the city’s budget woes.
WRGB CBS 6 Albany is adding an experienced journalist to its anchor desk and investigative unit. Tom Bosco has joined the station, taking on a role previously held by Greg Floyd, who retired at the end of 2025 following a 45-year career in broadcast journalism.
A Georgia man has been charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly brought an assault rifle onto campus at Siena University.
Supported by associates and town business owners, Unconventional Concepts Inc. founder Michael Hopmeier made his case to the Lewis Town Board on April 30 for a firing range that would be used to test artillery for the U.S. military.
A sign in the center of North Creek has sparked community debate and federal scrutiny over the limits of political expression. It uses the word “neutralize” in reference to the president, sparking complaints to the FBI and divided residents.
Saratoga Springs cyclists are dismayed that the city is disregarding its Complete Streets Plan and will repave Henry Street and Union Avenue without including the plan’s promised bike lanes and crosswalks.
A Ravena man arrested on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material was allegedly part of a group of online predators who coerce children into sadistic or sexual acts, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Hudson Falls residents who have long despaired over the Wheelabrator Hudson Falls incinerator that sometimes belches white smoke and often emits foul odors over their homes, now have a glimmer of hope.
Golden Tempo’s big day came with an extra bit of history. The horse, which rallied from all the way from last place to win the 2026 Kentucky Derby, made Cherie DeVaux the first woman trainer to win the Run for the Roses.
DeVaux, a Saratoga Springs, N.Y., native, got her training license in 2018 and earned her first win in 2019 on just her 29th start. Since then, she has collected nearly 300 victories.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
