Good morning, it’s Tuesday.
Dairy milk seems to be making something of a comeback. I guess the cows – and, more specifically – the dairy industry – have the MAHA crew and their leader, Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. to thank in no small part for that.
For a long time, Americans were steadily moving away from dairy, with all manner of replacement options – from oat and almond milk to soy, hemp, and hazelnut milk – proliferating in coffee shops and on grocery shelves. But whole milk consumption is again on the rise as consumers are increasingly embracing natural fats and whole foods over processed products.
Chocolate milk, however, remains hotly debated. A few years back now, it benefited from a rebrand in the early 2000s after scientists discovered that athletes who consumed low-fat chocolate milk after a tough workout recovered just as well as those who downed a commercially produced carbohydrate drink.
Far more cost effective than fancy recovery drinks, low-fat (this is key, and we’ll get back here in a moment) chocolate milk has a roughly 3-to-1, or sometimes even 4-to-1, carbohydrate to protein ratio, which is critical for helping to rebuild and repair stressed muscles and tissues. Dairy boards seized on this information and successfully marketed chocolate milk as more than just a nostalgic childhood treat.
The controversy over chocolate milk extends to its origin story. Some corners of the internet claim the treat was “invented” by an Irish botanist named Sir Hans Sloane, who, while visiting Jamaica in the late 17th century, was offered a cocoa-based drink that he found unpalatable without the addition of milk. Sloane brought the concoction back to England, where it was marketed as medicinal.
The people of Jamaica, however, had been whipping up a tasty beverage from cocoa, milk, and cinnamon for many decades before Solane happened upon it. The Spanish explorers – including Christopher Columbus – reported as much during their travels in the so-called New World in the late 1400s.
It’s not clear which company first brought chocolate milk to the commercial market, but the Van Houten company patented a cocoa powder process in 1828. Hershey’s (the chocolate milk people!) didn’t roll out its iconic syrup until 1926.
Chocolate milk became a staple in school cafeterias sometime between the 1960s and the 1970s, but its presence there has been hotly debated, as childhood obesity rates climbed steadily and nutritionists blamed the high amount of sugar and fat consumed by kids for this phenomenon. The USDA considered banning chocolate milk from schools in 2023, but reversed course the following year. (The dairy lobby is very strong in D.C.)
A variety of communities – including New York City – have fought over whether flavored milk like chocolate and strawberry indeed still belongs in school cafeterias, with some opting to remove it altogether. In 2022, then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams, an infamous mostly vegan health nut, backed off his push to remove chocolate milk from the nation’s largest public school system, allowing individuals schools to determine what was best for their respective student populations.
The global chocolate milk market is sizable and expected to grow from $19.4 billion this year to $29.3 billion in 2031.
If you’re too time-pressed or uninterested in stirring up your own chocolate milk, there are plenty of already mixed brands on the market to choose from. And several sites have done taste tests so you don’t have to go through the arduous process of narrowing down which of the wide variety available is the best, though not everyone agrees, of course.
We’re in for a spate of wet weather, which I guess will make the grass happy. It has been looking a little dehydrated lately. It will be cloudy in the morning today, with thunderstorms developing in the afternoon and rain – with the potential to be heavy at times – continuing on through the evening. Temperatures will top out in the high 70s, so a bit on the cooler side for this time of year.
New York City, meanwhile, can expect stormy weather this week after a blissful weekend of near-perfect sun and temperatures, while small creeks and streets could overflow with water in the Hudson Valley as a result of a storm heading over the Great Lakes.
In the headlines…
President Trump said on Monday that there was “a good chance” a new round of diplomacy with Iran could yield a breakthrough, but warned that he would quickly resume the airstrikes he paused over the weekend if that did not happen.
“We’re talking right now,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “Iran took a beating over the last 14 days, and they asked us very nicely, ‘please stop, let’s meet,’” he said, an assertion that Iran quickly denied.
The conflict is entering its sixth month and a period of deep uncertainty. After nearly two weeks of attacks and counterattacks, Trump has held off a major escalation. But major issues between the two sides remain unsettled.
Asked by a reporter if he is frustrated with Pete Hegseth’s advice on Iran early on in the war, Trump expressed confidence in his defense secretary and said he thinks his Hegseth “has done a great job”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected at the White House today at a moment of significant tension between the longtime allies — after months of waiting for an invitation to come.
Netanyahu has not been to the White House since the war began and has been angling for an invitation since at least April, two people familiar with the matter said, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
The GOP’s America First wing fears that Netanyahu is about to pitch the president on ramping up attacks on Iran.
Trump told supporters in Michigan that affordability problems are vestiges of the Biden administration, and spent the better part of an hourlong speech painting a dystopian picture of what the US could look like if Democrats won competitive elections this fall.
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for an executive order by President Trump that restricts voting by mail, setting up a legal showdown as he pushes for more control over voting ahead of the midterm elections in November.
The administration filed the emergency application to the justices after a federal appeals court on Saturday blocked key parts of his executive order.
James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, asked a judge on Monday to throw out the indictment accusing him of threatening President Trump with a photograph of seashells arranged to read “86 47,” calling it a misuse of criminal law to punish free speech.
Senator Mitch McConnell, 84, the former Republican leader from Kentucky, who has been hospitalized for six weeks, said on Monday that he would not be returning to the Senate this week as lawmakers work toward their August recess.
McConnell’s office released a new photo and statement from the longtime senator, who says he is still undergoing rehabilitation and will have to miss the annual Fancy Farm Picnic in Kentucky – a must-do for the state’s politicians – this weekend.
A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit southwest Japan today, igniting fires near its epicenter, cutting power for tens of thousands and injuring an unknown number of people, according to Japan’s state broadcaster.
The earthquake struck at 4:27 p.m. local time near Uto, a coastal city in Kumamoto Prefecture, according to the United States Geological Survey. The agency initially reported it as a 7.1-magnitude quake before revising it down.
Bryan Kohberger claims there was an “exculpatory discovery” in his case before he admitted to slaughtering four Idaho college friends — and he should be allowed withdraw his guilty plea and have a new trial.
Kohberger claimed “coercion, disinformation, false promises, and the withholding of exculpatory discovery” pushed him to enter a bogus guilty plea last year, according to the legal petition obtained by the New York Times.
As the race for governor between Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul and Republican Bruce Blakeman moves toward its fall peak, signs are increasing that the Trump administration’s deportation program could take a larger presence in the state.
Democrats blocked Blakeman from speaking during the Bronx Dominican Day parade on Sunday — with one state pol admitting she snubbed him over ties to President Trump.
A major infrastructure project supporting nearly all Metro-North Railroad riders has been completed years ahead of schedule and nearly $200 million under budget, Hochul said.
Hochul announced that SUNY and CUNY will offer expedited late-admissions reviews for New York residents affected by Howard University’s recent disenrollment of more than 500 students.
Hochul communicated with the Bank of China’s U.S. arm through WeChat, a Chinese messaging app that is notoriously susceptible to Beijing’s surveillance and censorship. But the governor’s team claims it can’t find the messages.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin criticized Hochul’s controversial push for large-scale solar farms, specifically on prime farmland.
An effort to expand psychiatric emergency services across the state is moving forward with several projects poised to begin construction.
New York’s largest teachers union is calling for statewide guardrails on artificial intelligence in schools amid a rural district’s controversial plan to launch an AI-powered robot.
In a letter to State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa and Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young, NYSUT President Melinda Person took aim at Salamanca City Central School District over its plan to seat the robot, “Sally,” in a high school classroom.
An audit by the state comptroller’s office found that state housing officials failed to properly oversee a program meant to assist disabled military veterans, resulting in unspent funds and a lack of proper outreach.
Small business groups are already queasy over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to slap a 30 percent discount on items at city-owned grocery stores, raising concerns about competitiveness.
The city recently put out a request for proposals to private grocery chains to run the stores, asking potential bidders to estimate the figure themselves through an annual “Affordability Payment” to cover the losses from selling below retail prices.
Mamdani, who made affordability a key component of his campaign last year, said the city-owned grocery stores his administration plans to open would save the average shopper about $1,000 annually.
A veritable who’s-who of the Big Apple’s upper crust — from movie stars to billionaire philanthropists — were named and had their addresses revealed on a list of New Yorkers who might be subject to the state’s new pied-à-terre tax.
“It’s a reckless and foolish move, especially considering there are potentially thousands of properties on this list that do not qualify as second homes or whose owners will successfully dispute their inclusion,” said Council Minority Leader David Carr, whose own home is listed.
An online petition calling for Mamdani not to attend the 25th 9/11 remembrance ceremony has purportedly drawn thousands of signatures, including some victims’ families.
“I will proudly honor the families, the survivors, the first responders forever impacted by that horrific terror attack, by standing alongside them at this year’s 9/11 commemoration,” Mamdani said, brushing off the petition.
Jewish lawyers’ groups expressed their frustration to Mamdani that his 18-member advisory committee on the judiciary appeared to have no Jewish representation.
The family of the 18-year-old Indian tourist who was killed last month in a Central Park carriage horse crash announced plans on Monday to sue the city over his death.
A group of New York City Council members announced opposition last week to some of the ballot proposals New Yorkers will decide on in November.
New York City’s Health Department has identified 56 buildings on the Upper East Side that had active Legionella bacteria living in their cooling towers before an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has so far killed five people.
New York has endured significant Legionnaire’s disease outbreaks in recent years. Some experts say officials should focus more on risks in plumbing systems, even shower heads.
One day after a 12-year-old was fatally shot in the Mount Eden neighborhood of the Bronx, the NYPD said officers assigned to the Bronx Dominican Day Parade and related enforcement recovered 16 guns in the same precinct.
Six months after leaving office, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams is the newest pitchman for several real estate-related technology companies, working as a business development consultant for multiple firms selling rebar, facilities cleaning and more.
Frank Carone, who served as Adams chief-of-staff and now faces federal corruption charges, has hired Marc Agnifilo, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Jacob Kaplan, the team of attorneys representing Luigi Mangione in his upcoming murder trial.
A former substance abuse counselor at the Camino Nuevo methadone clinic accused of sexually abusing a client was formally charged Monday in Albany County Court.
There’s no consensus yet over the progress of an advisory group the Schenectady City Council created after failing to reach a consensus about certain housing policies.
Hochul is touting a drop in gun violence in several cities throughout New York state, including Schenectady.
Mechanicville Police Chief William Rabbitt said Sarah Myers’ four children were murdered and Myers and her mother, Amy Steadman, died by suicide.
Timothy O. White, publisher of the Times Union during the 1990s, died on July 20. He was 83.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
