Good morning, it’s Monday. Fall was definitely in the air this weekend. This almost-shoulder season might be my favorite time of year.
Last week, I wrote about the old fashioned art of canning, which dates back to the early 1800s. It was invented by a French candy maker/chef/distiller named Nicolas Appert, who was motivated to develop the method to win a 12,000-franc prize offered by none other than Napoleon Bonaparte. The emperor was looking for a way to keep his troops fed and healthy on long campaigns.
Appert used his prize, which would be roughly $572,000 in today’s dollars, to open the world’s first commercial food bottling and canning factory, which he called the House of Appert (what else?). It operated from 1812 through 1933.
Appert changed the course of culinary history with his invention, which was bolstered by a man named Peter Durand, a British merchant who invented the tin can in 1810. (Early cans were fabricated from wrought iron lined with tin, and could run a thick as almost a quarter inch). Within a few decades, these cans were being mass produced at a rate of 60 per hour – a significant milestone in food preservation.
Oddly, the genius of these early canning pioneers did NOT extend to dreaming up a method to OPEN the cans in which food was preserved. For decades, people opened cans by any means necessary, using a wide array of implements – from bayonets (this one was preferred by soldiers in the field) to hammers and chisels.
The first can opener wasn’t patented until 1855 – almost five decades after canned food hit the market. Another Englishman, this one named Robert Yates (or maybe Yeates), who made a living as a cutlery and surgical instrument fabricator, is credited with filing the first patent for a tool that doubled as a can opener.
The tool in question was a hand-held blade/lever sort of thing that you used to manually punch into a can and then sort of manhandle your way around the lid until you were able to pry it open.
Three years later, an American inventor, Ezra J. Warner, filed his own can opener patent. His contraption was a dual blade doohickey that was employed by Civil War soldiers and then later found its way into grocery stores, where shopkeepers would open cans for their customers to take home with them. (This sort of defeats the whole purpose…doesn’t it?)
The modern-day rotary can opener wasn’t perfected until 1920, and still hasn’t changed all that much to this day. One still resides in my kitchen and causes me endless minutes of frustration on the regular.
For no particular reason that I can determine, today is Can Opener Day, which I guess you can observe by reveling in the pop top OR fighting with your hand-held can opener – your choice.
Skies will be partly cloudy today with a slight chance of showers. Temperatures will be on the comparatively cooler side, with highs reaching into the mid-to-high 70s.
In the headlines…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected today to outline new measures to isolate Iran’s economy, which is already in free-fall because of the war and U.S. sanctions pressure.
According to Bessent, this represents “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary.” He set out the position in a post on X late on Sunday and in a Financial Times opinion article published the same day.
Tehran has cautioned its Gulf neighbors against joining Trump’s “economic D-Day” sanctions after the US said it would look to hit Iran’s financial interests.
Iran’s new security chief, Mohsen Rezaeim, vowed to strike the interests of oil-rich neighbors if they joined U.S. efforts to further isolate Iran, warning that Tehran would seek to prevent “even a single drop of oil” from leaving the region.
President Trump has hit back at Canada after a breakdown in negotiations plunged the two countries into a trade war, writing on social media: “Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!”
Buoys, dog muzzles, capes, national flags and “base metal statuettes” from Canada are now more expensive for U.S. shoppers as a result of the tariffs.
Trump’s economic policies drew a fresh round of concern from some Republicans who criticized his trade policies, as others in the party sidestepped questions about his broader approach amid a midterm election that has put consumer prices front and center.
Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, were driven in the presidential limo around an IndyCar racetrack shaped from the streets of downtown Washington. It was the final, major event planned for the city as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
Trump has claimed that the White House needs a massive new ballroom because it would provide him and future presidents with a secure, hardened facility. But former officials say the argument fails to acknowledge that the presidential complex already has one.
A wildfire burning in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and moving toward Reno, Nev., has forced thousands of evacuations, shuttered two hospitals and prompted emergency declarations from state officials.
A prolonged and dangerous heat wave is set to grip parts of the Southern United States this week, as forecasters warned that temperatures are expected to soar into triple digits, with daily records at risk of being broken.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met privately in recent weeks with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and top outside adviser, and discussed potential areas of common ground, according to five people with knowledge of the meeting.
New York House Democratic candidate Cait Conley’s campaign violated law by coordinating with outside groups in a shady payment deal, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Sports and entertainment mogul James Dolan has emerged as the largest GOP donor in the Empire State this election cycle after backing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s last campaign.
The Working Families Party gave its ballot line to Hochul for the general election, increasing its chances of maintaining its status as one of New York’s four official parties for the next two years while avoiding the possibility of playing a spoiler role in November.
Furious Brooklyn parents are demanding that Hochul resign, accusing her administration of forcing their special needs elementary students to breathe in cancer-causing chemicals near the notorious Gowanus Canal for more than two years.
Hochul has announced an initiative to entice Canadian travelers to visit New York, launching the NY LOVES CANADA promotion, which includes discounts and deals at venues throughout the state and will run through December.
Hochul last week announced the elimination of mandatory fees for graduate students working at SUNY State-operated campuses, making master’s and doctoral degrees more affordable for students.
City and state lawmakers are calling on Hochul to sign the Good Food NY bill, which looks to increase of money institutions can spend to purchase food from qualified in-state vendors, meaning more locally sourced nutritious food on kids’ plates.
Mobile sports betting accounted for nearly half of the gaming complaints made to the New York inspector general’s office last year, as the state continues to emphasize the market’s tax benefits.
Several Republican lawmakers in New York are pushing to restore funding for New York’s crime victim assistance centers as they’re expected to take a funding hit in the coming months.
Amid federal healthcare cuts and declining insurance coverage, AG Tish James said last week that she wants more state residents to know they can request help paying for hospital stays.
A civil rights leader is calling for the resignation of Gustavo Gordillo, the co-leader of New York City’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America — saying his series of scandals proves the DSA now stands for the “Double Standards of America.”
Differing accounts of where Gordillo lives are raising doubts about whether the city’s left-wing organizers are ready for prime time.
Grace Ryan, a 25-year-old chocolate heiress from Ohio who graduated from NYU this spring and worked as an organizer on Brad Lander’s congressional campaign, has emerged as one of the most shameless members of the DSA.
Mamdani has been steering city housing contracts to an administration-linked developer currently evicting at least eight residents — despite his pledge to keep tenants in their homes.
The DOT is set to unveil today a $3.5 to $4 billion plan to rehabilitate the part of the Robert Moses-era highway that runs through Brooklyn Heights, DUMBO, and Downtown Brooklyn between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street — known as BQE Central
Mamdani be the mayor who finally manages to fix the beleaguered Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s (BQE) triple cantilever on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront?
The mayor officially kicked off a new initiative to make emergency repairs at parks, playgrounds, and rec centers across the city, in three weeks or less.
The NYPD has drastically escalated its crackdown on e-bikes since Mamdani took office at the start of the year, new police data shows.
Staten Island, a bastion of conservatism in the city, is the only borough Mamdani lost in last year’s election. It has since become the venue of choice for attorneys filing lawsuits that challenge his administration.
City Hall claimed an early win in a legal battle challenging Mamdani’s promised rent freeze, with a judge ruling that the suit was filed in the wrong borough. That means the suit will have to be moved from Staten Island to Manhattan.
Queens Council Member Phil Wong wants Mamdani’s administration to make flood prevention a priority after constituents in his district experienced severe flooding and property damage at least four times over the past month following intense storms.
New York City has been soaked with more than 8 inches of rain so far this August — making it already the wettest August in at least five years as another round of showers could be on the way.
The MTA plans to begin testing out a “virtual” reloadable OMNY card that New Yorkers can keep on their smartphones later this year.
New York City will hold its first city-sponsored ruck march next month to honor veterans, replacing the ticker-tape parade the previous administration had planned.
Retired NYPD Chief of Department John Chell, who was the highest ranking uniformed officer at the department until his retirement last year, promises cops will hit the jackpot if he’s elected mayor in 2029.
Three cyclists died in hit-and-runs last week in New York City, marking the grimmest week yet in an already deadly year for bike riders across the city.
Two of the elderly victims who were viciously slashed at Grand Central Station by a machete-wielding man who called himself “Lucifer” are blaming the city for their injuries because they claim cops were nowhere to be found during the attacks.
After condemning and threatening legal action over a poll showing him trailing his opponent, GOP candidate Anthony Constantino has fired back with a new poll showing him leading by 10 points in the race for New York’s 21st Congressional District.
Republican State Sen. Peter Oberacker, who is running for Congress in NY-19, in 2015 honored his grandfather, who served in Nazi Germany’s military under Adolf Hitler, in a bizarre resurfaced Veterans Day post.
A federal appeals court has determined that John A. Sarcone III, the top federal prosecutor in New York’s Northern District, was not lawfully appointed to his position last year and was therefore not legally able to issue subpoenas to the office of state AG James.
Investigators have cleared two troopers in the fatal 2025 shooting of a 69-year-old Orange County woman, who raised what appeared to be a handgun but was later determined to be a pellet gun, after officers fired at her and repeatedly instructed her to drop it.
The 35-year-old Albany woman accused of plotting to blow up the New York State Capitol building is a mother of two boys and has a history of mental illness, according to people who knew her personally before her turn to Islamic fundamentalism.
The converted radical Muslim charged with plotting an ISIS-linked bombing at the state Capitol was the roommate from hell who allegedly threatened to blow up their apartment building, her housemates said.
The president of the Albany chapter of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union is facing possible disciplinary action after an independent investigation alleged that he had illegally converted union funds to supply gifts to his outgoing predecessor.
Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs is expressing concerns about increased ICE activity in the Capital Region, especially after an Ecuadoran family was detained — and separated — in the city last week.
As required by state law, the City of Albany will post the chief of police role today and recruit candidates despite Mayor Dorcey Applyrs’ satisfaction with Brendan Cox as agency leader, according to a city announcement issued Friday.
The City of Schenectady has faced more than 240 police calls over e-bikes since June and is now considering potential code changes to locally define how e-motor vehicles should be operated and stored, and how riders who break the law should be penalized.
The Ichabod Crane Central School District has found itself in a financial crisis after unwittingly operating with inaccurate budgets for the past two years.
Albany County is banning the sale and distribution of the substance known as kratom, County Executive Dan McCoy recently announced.
After a decade of Saratoga Springs leaders promising to realize the city’s plan for Complete Streets, the proposed 2027 capital budget omits funding for sidewalks, bike lanes and crosswalks.
On a sweaty summer day, the renovated Sage Hall in Troy welcomed first-year students with the rarest of dorm amenities: air conditioning.
The National Weather Service said the unintentional distribution of a false flooding alert sent last week to some phones in the Albany area originated with a cellphone service provider.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
