Good morning, it’s Friday.
Technically speaking, there are still 25 days remaining until fall (the Autumnal Equinox, remember, lands on Sept. 22).
But according to Starbucks and Dunkin’, both of which are already well into PSL season, and countless drug store displays, which are rife with back-to-school and even a few Halloween offerings, the time for fall flavors is already here.
One of the things I’ve been enjoying this summer that I will be sad to see go, as I’ve pledged to myself to try to start eating more seasonally, is fresh cherries. They are admittedly not the easiest thing to eat – they make you work for it, so to speak, with their stems and pits. But they are such a tasty treat – and healthy, too!
The deep red color of cherries comes from antioxidants called anthocyanins, which help reduce chronic inflammation. Tart cherry juice has long been a favorite of distance athletes, who swear by its ability to speed recovery and support heart health. In addition, cherries may be able to improve sleep, reduce symptoms of gout and arthritis and regulate your blood sugar levels.
We’re really at the tail end of cherry season, which in the Northeast – for sweet cherries, specifically – runs from mid-June through mid-July. Tart cherries are available for an even shorter window (two weeks in early-to-mid July). New York is not, however, a big cherry growing state. That honor goes to Washington State, followed by California, and Oregon, (for sweet varieties) and Michigan (for tart varieties).
Once fresh cherry season is officially over, I will have to content myself with a variety of cherry products that I also enjoy, like cherry jam and yogurt. I am also a big fan of cherry pie, if done right – none of that gloppy canned filling for me, please – cherry muffins and cherry turnovers.
I have a soft spot in my heart (and stomach) for turnovers, which were a big favorite in my childhood home. Dad was particularly partial to the turnovers made by Freihofer’s – usually apple, festooned with heavy white sugar icing. I think these also came in cherry, but the apple variety was more often than not found in our family fridge.
Today is National Cherry Turnover Day for no particular historical reason that I can discern, though I am 100 percent here for it.
Turnovers – named as such literally because you “turn over” the dough to enclose a filling – have many fathers, or mothers, depending on your worldview. A number of different countries have versions of a handheld dough pocket that can contain either sweet or savory filling. Calzones are a variation. Ditto Empanadas, Samosas, Borek, Jamaica patties, and Cornish pasties.
The apple turnover has a legendary origin story dating back to 17th Century France, when, during an epidemic, a local noblewoman distributed flour, butter, and apples to the local peasants to help keep them fed. They used these ingredients to make a delicious handheld pastry known as a chausson aux pommes, which, I can testify from firsthand experience, are also delicious.
The weekend is shaping up to be pretty good from a weather perspective, with only a few passing clouds today and high temperatures in the low-to-mid 80s. Tomorrow, Saturday, will be sunny but slightly cooler, with highs maxing out in the high 70s. Sunday will bring warmer temperatures, peaking back up in the mid-80s, and a mix of sun and clouds in the morning and more clouds as the day progresses.
In the headlines…
President Donald Trump summoned the press pool to the Oval Office to witness him signing an executive order that directs the Department of the Interior to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America”.
Trump said that “the Canadian officials have treated us very badly. They’re nasty people. They charge our farmers 400% tariffs.”
The order directs the federal government to rename the smallest of the great lakes “effective immediately”, but also outlines administrative steps that must occur first.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that the Empire State would not be referring to Lake Ontario as “Lake America” after President Trump issued an executive order renaming the lake.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said in an interview hours after Trump’s announcement that she plans to introduce a bill Monday that would nullify the name change. The one-page bill is titled the “Hands Off Our Great Lakes Act.”
Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the United States said on Thursday that a pledge from a Trump administration official to not challenge Canadian laws around French language and Canadian culture could provide an opening to renew negotiations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the IRS reportedly could revoke the tax-free status of left-wing nonprofits such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
President Trump and chief of staff Susie Wiles hosted about 20 media influencers for a private party at the White House this week, a gathering of MAGA favorites as the administration prepares to go all-in on the midterm election.
A federal judge is — once again — weighing a bid to remove Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, something a lawyer for the congresswoman who brought the lawsuit called “deja vu.”
A federal judge on Wednesday halted the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul a decades-old grant program targeting housing discrimination, siding with fair housing groups that argued the changes hindered their ability to work.
The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid vaccines on Thursday, clearing the way for manufacturers to ship doses to pharmacies and doctors’ offices.
Moderna and Pfizer, which make the most commonly used Covid vaccines, are expected to begin shipping soon. However, criteria set by the F.D.A. and a legal dispute stemming from past Trump administration actions could complicate access for some people.
Fears of more flooding clouded the desperate search for survivors of the Himalayan landslide, as the authorities in Nepal warned that more water could rush into ravaged valleys along the Chinese border where more than 1,000 people are thought to be missing.
A visit near the border with Tibet laid bare the effects of a swollen river’s furious speed. Miles of devastation were left behind in a flash flood that killed more than 300.
Hochul is facing a growing uproar from residents fearful about radioactive waste uncovered by an environmental investigation in western New York.
Wayne County Sheriff Robert Milby has joined a coalition of 14 other sheriffs in suing New York state, Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James over a new law restricting local law enforcement agencies from working with federal immigration authorities.
A nearly two-year investigation sparked by a viral dashcam video has led to prison sentences for two men who admitted orchestrating a scheme to stage car crashes on New York highways and file fraudulent insurance claims.
New York will get its first new nuclear plant in nearly 40 years as the state grapples with soaring energy costs while scrambling to meet increased energy demands.
State Sen. Michelle Hinchey and labor leaders are calling on Hochul to sign the AI Labor Information Act, described as first-in-the-nation legislation that will require private employers to report how AI is affecting the state’s workforce and business practices.
The state attorney general’s office on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Rensselaer County Sheriff Kyle Bourgault asking a judge to vacate an agreement the county has with the federal government to coordinate on immigration enforcement.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to attend the September 11th ceremonies, despite calls from some critics. President Trump is not expected to attend. Instead, the administration will be represented by Vice President JD Vance.
Trump plans to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the Pentagon next month, in part because the memorial’s organizers do not allow speeches.
Funding issues and late payments are threatening the rollout of Mamdani’s free child care system for 2-year-olds, two weeks before the program is scheduled to begin, day care providers said.
Mamdani cancelled a $200 million contract issued by former Mayor Eric Adams to provide internet service to public school students with Chromebooks.
NYC school principals are increasingly worried they won’t have access to key software programs — including electronic gradebooks and platforms teachers use to communicate with families — for the first day.
Mamdani’s signature municipal owned grocery store plan could cost $206 million in its first few years, according to an analysis from GOP State Comptroller candidate Joseph Hernandez.
Mamdani publicly mourned an accused career criminal killer who died on Rikers Island this week — and the family of the victim slain in the unprovoked attack is now livid.
The parents of Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the NYC chapter of the DSA, were slapped with a summons for the $1.4 million renovation of their Decatur Street digs in Bed-Stuy where their self-proclaimed anti-capitalist son lives.
Two LaGuardia Airport air traffic controllers in the control tower left work early the night an Air Canada Express flight collided with an airport fire truck on the runway, according to a source familiar with the investigation into the March 22 crash.
The two controllers are among a dozen that the Federal Aviation Administration has taken steps to fire as part of an inquiry into timecard fraud, according to people familiar with the matter.
Transgender New Yorkers and their families say they have some breathing room in their fight to keep their private medical information out of the Trump administration’s hands, but advocates warn the broader battle over their healthcare is far from over.
New York City’s contentious takeover of financially ailing Maimonides Medical Center was approved by state regulators Thursday — despite stiff opposition from the Orthodox Jewish community and other nearby Brooklyn residents.
Most of the items from the historic Whitney Park, one of the last large private inholdings in the Adirondack Park, sold for much more than their estimates.
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, who sponsored legislation to impose a one-year moratorium on data center development in the state, was in Albany on Thursday rallying support to get Hochul to sign the bill, which was passed by both sides of the Legislature in June.
Rensselaer’s Common Council unanimously approved an agreement guaranteeing that the city school district will have a police officer in its buildings this year as the city and district battle over allegations that each owes the other hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Mosquitoes infected with West Nile virus have been discovered in the Hudson Valley and farther downstate, as human cases of the deadly neurological disease are on the rise across the country.
Demetrio Daga, an Albany resident accused of building and hoarding 3D-printed and other illegal firearms, was found guilty on all charges Wednesday
A burglar who gained access to Dolce & Biscotti Fine Italian Bakery in Clifton Park Wednesday night smashed the front window, took out a cake and cookies, and left a cigar.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
