Good morning, it’s Tuesday.
It seems like a long time ago, given everything that has happened around the world and across the nation since then, but the successful Artemis II mission, which concluded on April 10, brought a rare moment of pride and unity to Americans and undoubtedly sparked a new wave of space watchers and would-be astronauts.
“Astronaut” is a job title a lot of kids dream of – at least for a little while. It was never something I personally aspired to, given my fear of flight, the dark, and you know, death. But I can see the appeal for those of us who are thrill seekers and enjoy pushing the boundaries of human exploration to new heights.
Becoming an astronaut, however, is no easy feat. Since 1959, NASA has selected only 370 astronaut candidates to fly in space, with somewhere between 38 and 50 of them currently active in 2026. NASA receives up to 18,000 applications of would-be space jockeys every few years, which translates into an acceptance rate of less than 1%.
One the first of those astronauts was Alan B. Shepard Jr., who, on this day in 1961, became the first American in space. He piloted the Freedom 7 capsule on a 15-minute, 22-second suborbital flight that reached an altitude of 116 miles, as part of the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission that took place just a few weeks after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s orbital flight.
This was at the height of the “space race” between the US and the then-USSR and Shepard’s accomplishment gave America a big morale boost.
That could have been the professional accomplishment of a lifetime, but Shepard Jr. didn’t stop there. Ten years later, he was the commander of Apollo 14, during which he became the fifth and also the oldest person (at the age of 47) to walk on the Moon and infamously hit two golf balls its surface.
Shepard was actually one of NASA’s original seven astronauts – known as the “Mercury Seven” or Astronaut Group 1 – selected in April 1959, for Project Mercury. The other military test pilots were: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, and Deke Slayton.
Shepard’s success occurred despite the fact that he suffered form Ménière’s disease, a chronic disorder of the inner ear that causes, among other things, spontaneous, recurrent vertigo attacks and fluctuating hearing loss – not exactly optimal for a top flight pilot/astronaut.
He was cured of this disease after undergoing an experimental surgery in 1968, but not in time for what turned out to be the doomed Apollo 13 mission. He was subsequently reassigned to the successful Apollo 14 mission, during which he walked on the moon – something only 12 humans – all American men – have ever managed to do.
Fun fact: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin suborbital rocket is named after Shepard.
Shepard, for all his accomplishments, was not a terribly nice person. He was reportedly a cutthroat, intensely private, and cold man, and also a serial philanderer, cheating many times on his wife, dubbed “Saint” Louise, for her willingness to put up with him. And he was not alone among US astronauts when it comes to bad behavior.
Like so many other things in life, when you dig beneath the shiny surface of something, you find that the reality isn’t at all like the made-for-public-consumption exterior. Happy Astronaut Day, I guess? We can all now look forward to Artemis III in 2027.
There’s good news and bad news on the weather front today. First, the good: It will be markedly warmer, with highs reaching into the low 80s (!). The bad, the rising temperatures will bring with them the possibility of rain showers and even thunderstorms in the later afternoon. Also, don’t get too used to the warmth, because it won’t be sticking around too long.
In the headlines…
A top Iranian official warned of an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz and accused the United States of violating the fragile cease-fire, a day after the U.S. Navy began an initiative to escort commercial ships through the strait, a vital oil shipping waterway.
The United Arab Emirates said it intercepted Iranian missiles and drones and confirmed a strike sparked a fire at the crucial oil hub of Fujairah. Iranian missiles and other projectiles also targeted U.S. warships and commercial vessels.
Trump said that the U.S. is engaged in a “mini war.” “Our country is booming now, despite the fact that we’re in a — I call it a mini war,” the president said during a small business-focused event at the White House.
A man spotted carrying a gun in the vicinity of the White House by plainclothes officers and agents was shot by law enforcement yesterday after he opened fire on them near the Washington Monument, the Secret Service said.
There was no indication the man, who was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, was targeting anyone in the executive complex, Chris McDonald, a congressional affairs official with the Secret Service, wrote in an email to Congress after the episode.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said a minor was hit by gunfire and taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Asked whether the bystander had been definitively hit by any gunfire from the gunman, Quinn could not say.
President Trump, who promoted a hands-off approach to artificial intelligence and gave Silicon Valley free rein to roll out the technology, is reportedly considering the introduction of government oversight over new A.I. models.
Trump denied that he called ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl to check in on him the morning after the shooting in the vicinity of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner.
In a video he posted to the social platform X on April 26, Karl said that Trump called him just after 7 a.m. EDT and asked if he was “okay.” More than a week later, the president insisted the call never happened.
Former President Obama has been selective in criticizing President Trump during the latter’s two terms in office. But he said in a recent interview that doing so more frequently would reduce the effect.
“For me to function like Jon Stewart, even once a week, just going off, just ripping what was happening — which, by the way, I’m glad Jon’s doing it — then I’m not a political leader, I’m a commentator,” Obama told the New Yorker for a wide-ranging profile.
The Supreme Court yesterday restored nationwide access to a widely used abortion medication in a temporary order that will, for now, allow women to once again obtain the pill mifepristone by mail.
In a brief order, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. paused a lower-court ruling from Friday that had prevented abortion providers from prescribing the pills by telemedicine and shipping them to patients, causing confusion for providers and patients.
Alito’s order will remain in effect for another week while both sides respond and the court more fully considers the issue.
Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani was still in critical condition as he recovered from pneumonia in a Florida hospital yesterday, his spokesman said.
The spokesman, Ted Goodman, said that the lung infection had overwhelmed Giuliani and that he had required a ventilator to breathe. But as of yesterday, Giuliani was breathing on his own “with his family and primary medical provider at his side.”
Goodman said that Giuliani had been diagnosed with restrictive airway disease stemming from his proximity to ground zero in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, and that the condition made respiratory illnesses more threatening.
“I’m wishing strength and recovery to former mayor Rudy Giuliani and his loved ones during this difficult time, and I hope that his recovery is steady, and I hope that his family finds peace in one another during this time,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
John Sterling, whose mellifluous voice became the soundtrack of spring, summer and quite a few Octobers to generations of Yankees fans and who during one stretch broadcast 5,060 consecutive games, has died at 87 years old.
Gov. Kathy Hochul expanded her lead over Republican Bruce Blakeman to 16 percentage points in the race for New York governor, even as her job approval and favorability ratings slipped, according to a new poll published this morning.
Hochul, seeking her second full term in office, increased her lead over Blakeman to 49%-33%, up 3 points from 47%-34% in March, the Siena Research Institute poll found.
Hochul’s favorability rating sits at 41-46%, which is down from 45-44% in March and is her lowest favorability rating since June 2025. Her job approval rating also fell from 52-40% in March to 48-44%, her lowest job approval rating since April 2025.
Now over a month late, the state budget is still set to be the biggest in New York history. But according to a new Siena poll, voters say lawmakers should be spending even more money than they already are.
A state comptroller’s report found that sales tax revenues by local counties were up during the first three months of 2026, although the full impact of sky-high gas prices on collections remains to be seen.
An ICE agent appeared to tase a man several times while another agent tried to forcefully drag him out of his car as the man screams in pain and begs for help, as captured in a video obtained by THE CITY.
Mamdani condemned the immigration enforcement that led to a tense standoff between New Yorkers, the NYPD and federal immigration agents outside of a Brooklyn hospital Saturday night.
“I’ve been very clear about my views on ICE raids as a whole. I think that they are cruel. I think that they are inhumane. I think that they do not serve any interest of public safety,” Mamdani said at an unrelated Bronx press conference.
Mamdani was once one of the NYPD’s fiercest critics. But the mayor and the police department are aligned in supporting how officers responded to protests sparked by ICE agents bringing a detained man to a Brooklyn hospital for treatment.
At this year’s Met Gala, some famous public figures were hidden behind masks, blindfolds, headpieces and makeup that created the illusion of a marble statue or an aging man. You might not know it to look at them, but the night was a celebration of the body.
On the eve of the Met Gala, which Mamdani did not attend, his office spotlighted in i-D some lesser-known New Yorkers in the fashion industry, including a tailor and union organizer, a Macy’s employee and former Amazon delivery employees.
“New York is built by its workers, and the Mamdani administration believes they deserve to be seen with the same care and attention usually reserved for the red carpet,” the mayor said in a statement.
Mamdani has condemned “antisemitic hatred” after several synagogues and homes in the Forest Hills and Rego Park neighborhoods of Queens were vandalized with swastikas and antisemitic slogans overnight on Monday.
The owner of an apartment building in Inwood that burned early yesterday, killing three people, had recently been cited for multiple fire hazards in an adjoining building, court records show.
A three-alarm fire broke out yesterday morning at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on Broadway — which shows “The Book of Mormon” — causing substantial damage to the fourth floor of the building, according to the FDNY.
Newly released NYPD crime stats show that major crime is down 9.5% across the five boroughs through the first four months of the year — with documented murders hitting an all-time low in April.
Malba, a small subsection of Whitestone near the Nassau County line, is now one of the priciest neighborhoods in all of New York City, according to a new study — bringing a Queens enclave into the top five most-expensive spots for the very first time.
The New York Times won three Pulitzer Prize awards yesterday, including for an investigation into how President Trump is profiting from his deal-making, and news photography documenting starvation and destruction in Gaza.
Here is the full list of Pulitzer winners and finalists.
Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice and New York Attorney General Letitia James argued before a federal appeals court over whether the top federal prosecutor in New York’s Northern District was lawfully appointed to his position.
Troy has received a state grant to help bring wastewater residue ponds into compliance with environmental permit standards and remediate a local tributary where the grime has entered again and again over the course of decades.
Twenty Rotterdam Republican committee members recently resigned in protest over their party rescinding support for incumbent Town Supervisor John Polimeni.
A bridge linking North Greenbush to the hamlet of Poestenkill shut down last week following an inspection by the state Department of Transportation.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
