Good morning, it’s Thursday, which – in case you needed a reminder – is one day away from Friday, and SUMMER Friday, at that.
In the headlines…
For a brief moment in my young, pre-professional life, I thought I wanted to be a a marine biologist.
This was largely due to an obsession with swimming and scuba – something I became licensed to do at the tender age of 16, thanks to the fact that I was lucky enough to have an Earth Science teacher named George Campbell, who was also a diving nut and offered classes and trips to generations of New Paltz high schoolers.
While I was getting certified, I watched a lot of Jacques Cousteau documentaries.
In case you’re not familiar, Cousteau was a French oceanographer and author who is perhaps best known for his work in underwater exploration and marine conservation. He contributed significantly to the world of modern diving by helping to invent the Aqua-Lung – the very first commercially successful demand-regulator system.
He also established The Cousteau Society, which still exists today, and served as a platform for campaigns against ocean pollution, commercial whaling, and other issues that were close to his heart.
Cousteau was born on this day in 1910. Interestingly, he didn’t grow up wanting to be a diver or ocean explorer, but rather an aviator. But after breaking both of his arms in a serious car accident as a young man, he turned to swimming in the ocean as a form of rehabilitation and was subsequently hooked.
As is the case with so many ambitious, accomplished, and famous people, Cousteau was (like all humans) deeply flawed.
He weathered a number of personal and professional scandals, including the revelation a year after his first wife, Simone, died that he had a secret second family. He married his longtime – and much younger – lover not long after Simone’s death, and the factions in his family has pretty much been at war every since.
Cousteau’s biographer also accused him of lying about his wartime resistance activities and harboring antisemitic views, and there has been a decades-long battle over the fate of the Calypso, the research vessel that Cousteau used for more than 40 years.
The Cousteau Society has also undergone its share of challenges. In 2023, for example, the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status after it failed to file administrative returns for three years running. The organization still continues to operate and receive public support, though Cousteau’s son, Jean-Michel, left the society in the 1990s and now runs a different organization with a similar mission.
Happy Cousteau Day!
Not too long ago it seems, we were bemoaning the unseasonably cool weather. Well, no more of that. There are heat advisories in place through Friday night, with heat index values expected to rise above 100.
Reminder: The heat index is the “feels like” temperatures, measuring how hot the air feels to the human body when the temperature and humidity are combined.
When there’s a lost of moisture in the air, it makes it hard for your body’s natural cooling mechanism – sweating – to work the way it should, because the sweat doesn’t evaporate from your skin as easily. This makes things feel hotter, and increases the likelihood of heat-related illnesses.
There will be sun in the morning, with skies growing increasingly cloudy during the afternoon. Temperatures will reach near-record highs of close to 90 degrees.
In the headlines…
President Donald Trump signed a nearly $70 billion package to fund ICE and the Border Patrol today after the Republican-controlled House narrowly passed the long-delayed bill earlier this week.
Trump laid out twin demands for new party-line Republican legislation last night, directing lawmakers to deliver a massive Pentagon cash infusion and to push through an election overhaul that has stalled for weeks in the Senate.
Republicans are struggling to extend a powerful surveillance authority set to lapse this weekend after President Trump alienated lawmakers with his choice of acting spy chief: Bill Pulte, his top housing official who has no national security experience.
Trump appears to have set a new bar: 22 medical specialists assessed him as part of his latest checkup, according to a medical report recently released by the White House. That figure is nearly double the number he has seen in the past.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office “I love the inflation”, then later said his words were taken out of context.
Top lawmakers working on permitting reform in Congress expressed optimism about some form of legislation getting across the finish line this year, but a White House official was cool to key Democratic asks as part of the process.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 500 free World Cup tickets for working families with kids, first responders and military families.
A bill that requires background checks for people working with youths and bans sex offenders from businesses regularly serving minors is headed to Hochul’s desk for final approval after unanimously passing the Legislature last month.
Any advertisements in New York that feature artificial intelligence-generated people in place of actors will now be violating state law if they don’t clearly label that they have used a “synthetic performer.”
Hochul appears to have put Trump in a tricky spot as his border czar Tom Homan promises increased immigration enforcement in New York – even though the president himself has previously assured the governor he would take no action unless she asked.
The state’s Public Campaign Finance Board issued $1.96 million in matching funds payments Tuesday, marking the final day such outlays will be issued before the June 23 primary. Nine candidates received more than $50,000 in payouts.
The two highest-spending NY-21 candidates, Republican Anthony Constantino and Democrat Blake Gendebien, failed to garner endorsements from third parties ahead of the June 23 primaries. So they have created an independent political line to run on.
The education vendor at the center of an investigation into New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels over a no-bid, $180,000 contract with an unapproved vendor claimed that he’s being scapegoated for Samuels’ “poor decisions.”
The city Department of Education’s independent watchdog was accused of rigging an investigation into Samuels over a shady contract he signed when he was a district superintendent.
Two high-ranking members of the City Council are demanding greater oversight of contracts in the city’s school system, expressing concern about an investigation into the chancellor over his involvement in a $180,000 no-bid deal for foreign language teachers.
“I’m proud of the way that he has been delivering for New York City public school students, as well as teachers and families, and I continue to be confident in his leadership.” Mamdani said of Samuels.
Mamdani reiterated his support for a ban on carriage horses in Central Park just hours after a horse collapsed and died in the park at W. 72nd St. and West Drive Tuesday evening — and as a bill on the controversial issue heads back to the City Council.
The Justice Department announced that it is probing the City University of New York over alleged racial discrimination.
A scaled-down watch party outside MSG for the Knicks and Spurs’ Finals Game 4 was abruptly canceled late Wednesday afternoon, after the Garden’s owner, James Dolan, abruptly pulled the plug on the event.
Dolan said Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch were not experienced enough to handle a major event, leading to the myriad of security measures.
The cancellation was the latest escalation in a growing feud between Dolan and city officials over whether viewing parties outside the Garden could go forward.
The New York Knicks made a record comeback from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 last night.
OG Anunoby soared for the greatest put-back in New York Knicks history, finishing off the biggest in-game comeback in NBA Finals history and moving the New York Knicks to within one win of their first title since 1973.
“I don’t know if there was a play bigger than any other play in the history of Knicks basketball,” Knicks coach Mike Brown began, later adding: “That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball.
Mamdani paid roughly $1,000 for a standing-room-only ticket to Game 3 of the N.B.A. finals, using access to house tickets not available to regular fans.
Grammy winner Taylor Swift was cheer captain and in the bleachers last night when she visited Madison Square Garden to support the New York Knicks during Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
The musician, who is believed to be planning a wedding in the city, showed up in a musical take on Knicks gear. Swift waved to the crowd and talked to some fans while wearing an orange-and-blue T-shirt that read “Stevie Knicks.”
Spurs fans celebrating their team’s Game 3 victory over the Knicks were harassed and assaulted following Monday night’s NBA Finals matchup at MSG, prompting condemnation from San Antonio leaders and warnings for fans traveling to New York.
In the thick of his campaign for Congress, former City Comptroller Brad Lander went on trial in Manhattan Wednesday to fight a ticket stemming from his arrest last year at 26 Federal Plaza.
Mamdani said that he had not seen resurfaced social media posts from Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier before endorsing her, but he continued to support her campaign and said her views had evolved.
New York City received the go-ahead from a judge on Wednesday to move its main intake shelter for homeless men 20 blocks south, to a building in the East Village of Manhattan, ending a lawsuit that had delayed the move for more than a month.
Severe weather will bring sizzling temperatures and strong thunderstorms to New York today and Friday — even offering intense enough conditions for a tornado to form, according to forecasters.
As the city braces for an impending heatwave, Mamdani has released a Public Service Announcement urging residents to prepare for what could be the hottest days of the year.
The speaker of the City Council, Julie Menin, will announce today a proposal to build affordable housing atop three aging libraries, one each in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.
Brooklyn serial killer Harvey Marcelin won’t get a chance to slay a fourth woman, after a judge sentenced the 88-year-old murderer to life without parole.
Omni Plaza in downtown Albany is being sold to Jankow Cos., a real estate development firm based on Ontario Street, for $10.1 million.
Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy opened the new Central Park18-court tennis facility, marking the end of a $3.5 million renovation project. He also paused pay-to-play fees — which are rarely enforced — for 30 days.
Rotterdam Town Supervisor John Polimeni wants to have a flagship park in his Schenectady suburb — and a $4 million boon helps. That money in the recently passed state budget will pay for the tentatively named “Rotterdam Commons” project off Phillips Road.
Workers at GE Vernova were busy reinstalling the iconic General Electric sign on top of Building 37 at the historic GE campus in downtown Schenectady yesterday.
A knife blade was found in the tire of progressive incumbent Justin Chaires’ car on June 1 amid a heated Democratic primary battle to keep the Schenectady City Council seat he was appointed to earlier this year.
The Schenectady Democratic Committee is calling into question portions of Chaires’ City Council resume as he heads toward the primary against their preferred candidate, Rachael Ward.
Troy officials are warning people to stay on marked trails at Poestenkill Gorge after a man fell and rescuers had to pull him from the water.
Rensselaer County leaders are weighing a drone first responder program as supporters tout quicker scene awareness and critics push for more public input.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
