Good morning, it’s Monday, and a brand new month is upon us! Welcome to June. Rabbit rabbit.
Today is also the first day of meteorological summer, which will run through Aug. 31. As a reminder: meteorologists and climatologists use this timeline to align the season with the year’s hottest temperatures, making it easier to track data maintain consistency.
Astrological summer, meanwhile, won’t happen for a few weeks yet – the summer solstice is on June 21, which is when the longest day and shortest night of the year will occur.
This past weekend didn’t feel like summer one iota, with temperatures hovering in the 60s and low 70s. For reference: During this time of year, we typically see temperatures in the mid-to-high 70s and even the low 80s, though the mercury does generally dip down in the evenings.
Today will bring more of the same unseasonably cool temperatures, with highs stuck in the 60s. Skies will be partly cloudy, and there will be a slight chance of a rain shower. (What else is new?) Take heart, though, because looking ahead it appears things are on an upward trend where the thermometer is concerned.
Hang in there.
June 1 also marks the start of Pride Month, which has its roots in the response to the Stonewall uprising that occurred in New York City after a police raid on June 28, 1969, of the Stonewall Inn, a popular Mafia-owned LGBTQ bar in Greenwich Village.
(The response, for the record, was hardly the first time the LGBTQ community had fought back against government persecution, but it did mark a turning point in the gay rights movement – in New York and across the nation and the world).
To mark the one-year anniversary of Stonewall, a Gay Pride Liberation March was held in Manhattan. At the time, the event was called the the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. Participants stepped off at noon from Washington Place in Greenwich Village, marched up up Sixth Avenue, and then ended with a “Gay-In” in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow.
Organizers, who had made a point of noting that they would welcome participation by people of any age and did not require the adherence to a dress code, which was a standard practice at the time, were surprised that the march drew thousands of individuals.
Pride and protest marches were simultaneously held in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. And so, a tradition was born.
Probably not surprisingly, but also not well known unless you are a student of the movement, there was tension among gay rights activists who didn’t all agree on the rules of engagement and how radical they should be – with some wanting to work from within the establishment to change it and others wanting to overthrow it outright.
Annual pride marches and events steadily gained in popularity and participation both in the U.S. and across the world. But it wasn’t until 1999 that then-President Bill Clinton issued the first official presidential proclamation that declared June to be “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month”. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama expanded the recognition to include the entire LGBT+ community.
The current administration does not recognize Pride Month and even sought to have the rainbow flag removed from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City, though that decision has since been reversed. Pride 2026 again takes place against a backdrop of battles over discrimination, inclusion, and equity.
We dispensed with the weather up top, so let’s get right down to the business of the news.
In the headlines…
The United States and Iran traded strikes heading into this morning, potentially complicating negotiations over a framework for a deal to end the war.
The United States said late yesterday that it had conducted “self-defense strikes” on military targets in southern Iran over the weekend, the latest in a series of U.S. attacks over the past week.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and lead negotiator, has accused the US of breaching its ceasefire with Iran, including by continuing its blockade of Iranian ports and failing to restrain its ally Israel from escalating attacks in Lebanon.
Trump has said musical performances celebrating the country’s 250th birthday should be called off after several artists dropped out, citing the event’s affiliation with the White House.
“Cancel it,” he said in a post on Truth Social, calling the slated performers “overpriced” and “boring” – only a few musical acts were still scheduled to perform out of nine featured artists originally announced last week.
Trump has suggested that an event celebrating America’s 250 birthday should instead be a Make America Great Again rally after many of the artists who were announced to perform dropped out.
Speculation about Trump’s health took a twist late Friday after the White House released a three-page memo summarizing his visit to Walter Reed Military Medical Center the prior Tuesday that concluded he was “in excellent health” and “fully fit” to serve.
While they were more comprehensive than some past readouts, the memo from physician Sean Barbabella didn’t put to rest persistent questions about about apparent bruising on Trump’s hands, swollen ankles and his alertness during some public events.
Trump’s upheaval of the federal government has led to an exodus of more than 10,000 lawyers since the beginning of 2025, a striking loss of legal talent that has left some agencies pushing to find attorneys to carry out his agenda.
Sen. Cory Booker said he had “concerns” that the candidacy of Graham Platner, the presumptive Maine Democratic Senate nominee, could be damaged by revelations that Platner exchanged sexual messages with women outside his marriage.
Asked on ABC’s “This Week” if he was worried that Platner’s messy personal history could hurt Democrats’ chances of winning a potentially critical seat, Booker said: “Yeah, I have concerns. That guy has questions to answer. And that’s what campaigns are for.”
Platner struck a defiant posture yesterday in response to reports that he had sent sexual messages to women outside his marriage, accusing a former aide of false claims and news outlets of “journalistic malpractice.”
Aviation start-ups and the Trump administration want to replace helicopters with electric aircraft, but the new vehicles still have to pass arduous tests before the public can use them.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka declared a curfew around the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center amid clashes between protesters opposing the conditions inside, armed ICE agents, and pro-ICE demonstrators who arrived this weekend to stage a counter-protest.
Family visitation at a New Jersey immigration detention center was set to resume after being suspended amid days of protests, arrests and clashes outside the facility, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday signed into law a set of sweeping protections for immigrant New Yorkers, including a ban on law enforcement officers wearing masks and a measure barring local police statewide from enforcing civil immigration laws.
New York leaders changed state immigration laws to hold federal agents accountable for their deportation tactics, but their efforts will face opposition from the Trump administration.
Just before the Israel Day Parade began, Hochul announced the signing of the Buffer Zone Bill, legislation that creates a 50-foot security perimeter between protests and houses of worship.
“Being assaulted verbally and sometimes physically in a state built on the premise that it should be a refuge for people, especially after Oct. 7, is shocking to me as the governor of this state, the hate that it unleashed in our home,” Hochul said.
In a crucial year to pass constitutional amendments, Hochul’s proposal that would have freed three of six prisons from development restrictions has failed to make it into the $268 billion state budget.
Saritha Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging state AG Letitia James in this year’s election, is criticizing the incumbent for saddling taxpayers with nearly $20 million in contracts for private law firms.
Fruit growers across upstate New York report losses as high as 100% after an April cold snap killed buds that emerged during an early warm spell. State officials are seeking a disaster declaration from the federal government.
Taxpayers are on the hook for $5.2 million to pay the swollen salaries of the information ministers in Mamdani’s new City Hall Office of Engagement – a staggering 175% more than first thought.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped Sunday’s unifying Israel Day Parade in the city he governs to instead spend part of his day touting his bid for re-election — in 2029.
Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a staunch supporter of Israel who has long donated to Jewish causes, marched in the parade, as did NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, former Mayor Adams and Hochul. “This is Bloomberg sticking it to Mamdani,” a source said.
Hochul said the group was marching “in defiance”, adding: “When you go to worship with your families, you should not have to endure harassment, intimidation or hatred from anyone. We’re going to stand up to make sure that you’re protected.”
NYC Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels signed and then covered up an improper, $180,000 no-bid contract with an unapproved Department of Education vendor when he was superintendent of an Upper West Side school district.
Mamdani is endorsing five candidates for state office, and they include just three of the seven state-level campaigns backed by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, along with two other Working Families Party-endorsed Democrats.
Between the two of them, Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have now endorsed almost all of the candidates backed by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America – but they have mostly not endorsed the same candidates.
Kindergartners in New York City could receive as much as $3,000 toward their college education from the city under a plan by elected officials that aims to combat income inequality and expand access to higher education.
NYPD Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley, the cop embroiled in an suburban parking lot clash with a young man in which a shot was fired, told investigators he was punched in the head twice before pulling his gun, a source close to the chief told The News.
SailGP, a two-day competition some say is like Formula 1 on the water, has replaced part of the normal traffic in New York Harbor with high-tech catamarans.
Concerts under the Kosciuszko Bridge in north Brooklyn have drawn more than 350,000 people since 2022 and raised millions to maintain local parks and open spaces.
After a father and his 4-year-old daughter were detained by federal agents in Albany while they were on their way to school on Friday, protests over their detainment erupted in two counties within 48 hours.
A decision by acting Supreme Court Judge Vincent Versaci delivered earlier this week in an Article 78 lawsuit paves the way for the construction of a Starbucks with a drive-thru window in downtown Schenectady.
Filming for the fourth season of the HBO series “The Gilded Age” kicked off in Schenectady’s historic Stockade District on Friday.
David J. Rush, the ex-CIA official accused of stealing $40 million in gold bars from the agency, allegedly lied about earning a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy on multiple applications, according to an FBI affidavit.
Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs has asked local businesses and philanthropies to help underwrite the cost of operating the city’s swimming pools, warning that the aquatic facilities will be forced to run on limited schedules without the financial support.
An Albany County sheriff’s official allegedly violated the rights of suspects during at least five different traffic stops between the summer of 2022 and early spring of 2025, according to a report by the state attorney general’s office.
Since George Floyd’s death, more than 400 officers in the Adirondack Park have participated in a community policing training program sponsored by the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, or ADI, a project of the Adirondack North Country Association.
Six years ago, the teenage nightclub at Guptill’s Arena was packed with young teens. But it never reopened after the COVID-19 shutdown. Now, Guptill’s does not welcome any minors without direct parental supervision. And this business is not alone.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
