Good morning, it’s Tuesday. Rabbit, rabbit. You know the drill.
Almost a full week has passed since Dolly Parton’s death and the tributes continue to roll in. The iconic songstress was laid to rest last Friday in Nashville following a private family funeral. Over the weekend, the NYS DOT ran some highway signs honoring Parton that apparently ran afoul of federal regulations, though I found them hilarious and touching.
Parton was universally loved, it seems, in part for her generosity and her “I don’t give a hoot” attitude. She was who she was – unapologetically (strategically, one might argue) over the top, regardless of societal norms and expectations, which gave others license to do the same.
Given her larger-than-life persona and her down home attitude, it should come as no surprise that Dolly was a big fan of classic cars – her favorite, reportedly, was a 1997 Cadillac DeVille d’Elegance that was finished in gold. She also was gifted a custom pink-and-white Cadillac by her longtime musical partner, Porter Wagoner, who gave Dolly her first big break.
Parton and Wagoner had a notoriously contentious relationship and warred over her desire to launch a solo career. But they patched things up, and she penned “I Will Always Love You” in his honor and to explain her need to strike out on her own.
It wasn’t Dolly, of course, who made the pink Caddy a THING. That honor goes to Elvis Presley, who, was a very big fan of both the car AND the color. He purchased his first pink Cadillac, a 1954 Fleetwood Series 60, in 1955 – perhaps inspired by the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson – and it was the main source of transportation for Elvis Presley and the Blue Moon Boys (his first professional backing band), until its brakes failed and it was destroyed in a roadside fire.
The King purchased a replacement Caddy, which was blue, but then had it custom painted in “Elvis Pink” and then gifted it to his beloved mother, Gladys, who didn’t have a driver’s license. Elvis drove the car in her stead and it became a significant cultural touchstone. It’s still on display at Graceland.
The pink Cadillac is iconic, having been featured in many a song – including Elvis’ own “Baby, Let’s Play House” and Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love“. The most famous is probably Bruce Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac“, which was released as the B-side to “Dancing in the Dark” in 1984 and has been redone by countless artists, including Natalie Cole and Jerry Lee Lewis.
The pink Cadillac also became synonymous with the Mary Kay makeup company, after its founder, Mary Kay Ash, bought her first Cadillac in 1967 and had it painted pink to match her makeup. The tradition of offering a pink Cadillac as a reward to top Mary Kay salespeople continues to this day, but, amazingly, the pink Caddy is ALWAYS custom. The color is not offered to the general public.
Today is Pink Cadillac Day, and I don’t know why, but I’m here for it (as you can tell).
Today will be wet, with rain throughout the morning giving way to scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Temperatures will top out in the low-to-mid 70s.
In the headlines…
Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, the service’s top civilian leader, who clashed repeatedly with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the ouster of key combat-tested Army leaders, handed in his resignation to President Trump, administration officials said.
Driscoll’s resignation was expected but it comes at a tumultuous time, as the military’s largest service faces its busiest period since the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed construction to continue on President Trump’s luxury White House ballroom, which has been steadily rising to replace the East Wing the president tore down last fall.
In a 5-to-4 vote, the court said the preservationists who challenged the construction of the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom did not have legal grounds to bring their lawsuit because they were not directly harmed by the project, estimated to cost $400 million.
The new director of the CDC ordered agency officials to challenge two measles deaths reported by Pennsylvania, shunning the agency’s normal procedure of accepting data shared by states and amplifying comments made by her boss, the Health Secretary.
Vice President JD Vance called Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee and an outspoken critic of Israel, “very, very evil” at a campaign rally near Detroit on Monday and accused him of heightening racial and religious divisions.
Kalshi said that it would ban former Republican Rep. George Santos from using its platform for life after a federal regulator alleged that the ex-congressman made more than $17,000 by placing bets on his attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address.
Upon taking office five years ago, Gov. Kathy Hochul promised an unprecedented era of transparency. That hasn’t led to speedier schedule releases in recent years.
Hochul granted pardons to six individuals who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation since their convictions, some dating back nearly four decades.
When Hochul pardoned six New Yorkers last week, she included Sae Joon Park, a Korean-born U.S. Army veteran with a Purple Heart who had been forced to self-deport last year after nearly a half-century in the United States.
Hochul joined running mate Adrienne Adams and several local elected officials last week to launch the New York Democrats Queens field office in Jamaica, Queens, ahead of the November general elections.
New York state counties are now sounding the alarm over two issues related to SNAP, the higher costs to implement the program, and the higher costs of so-called “error rate” penalties that will kick in in 2027.
President Donald Trump hit back at Hochul after she said her state wouldn’t use “Lake America,” the administration’s new name for Lake Ontario.
Hochul highlighted a policy change with actor Kevin Bacon that eliminates dancing restrictions for bars and restaurants in New York.
Conservatives slammed Hochul for wearing a headscarf during a visit to an Islamic center in New York City over the weekend.
Queens Democrats are pushing Hochul to block a plan that would force the Big Apple’s first full casino to pay a staggering 72% in taxes on its slot revenues.
A bureau chief in state Attorney General Letitia James’ office accused of trying to dig up dirt on President Trump once sued his administration for discrimination — and won a hefty settlement.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is promising to fix the city’s childcare payment problems before the first day of school amid concerns that delayed funds could threaten the rollout of his highly anticipated free 2-K program.
Mamdani pledged that City’s early childhood centers, the backbone of its universal child care system, would have the supplies and funds needed to open next week for the first day of school, after many providers had said they were out of money and might close.
None of the homeowners suing over the rollout of the city’s pied-à-terre tax on New Yorkers’ pricey second homes are actually subject to the tax, a fact that the city told the Staten Island Supreme Court judge hearing the case should lead to the suit’s dismissal.
A lawyer for New York City urged a Staten Island judge to throw out a homeowners’ lawsuit challenging the Mamdani administration’s pied-à-terre tax on Monday, calling it “a policy dispute dressed up as a case” seeking justice for “nobody.”
Mamdani on Monday signed recently passed City Council legislation that re-establishes the city’s year-round outdoor dining program.
At its peak, city data shows some 12,500 restaurants offered outdoor dining. That number dropped to about 1,600 after former Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council passed a set of regulations in 2023 that created new permitting requirements.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is canceling its planned exhibit honoring British designer John Galliano — plans that had led to bitter backlash from the Jewish community and beyond because of the designer’s past antisemitic and racist statements.
A campaign to get Galliano ousted from next year’s Met Gala began before the announcement of his controversial participation was ever made, Speaker of the New York City Council Julie Menin said.
The capabilities of AI have grown a lot in three years. But since state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli found “incomplete and ad hoc approaches” to AI governance in City agencies, progress on filling in the gaps has been comparatively modest.
A woman was shot dead by police in the heart of Times Square Monday after she stabbed two people, one fatally, and confronted cops while wildly waving two knives and threatening to kill them, the NYPD said.
Felony assaults bounced up more than 31% during nights when the New York Knicks played in the NBA Finals — even amid a drop in crime citywide, a new study found.
Construction began on what officials call a “major redesign” of 116th Street in Manhattan. The revamp will include 2.5 miles of new bus lanes and street upgrades that the city DOT says will accelerate commutes across 10 routes for more than 65,000 daily riders.
A jury found Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of orchestrating the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur, marking the first conviction in a case that has gripped hip-hop fans for decades.
The MTA said its OMNY system was back up and running after New York City transit commuters were unable to refill their physical OMNY cards Monday morning.
Eleven days before the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the NYPD on Monday promoted to sergeant a detective whose father was killed at the World Trade Center.
Rescue trucks at the three major airports that serve New York City now have a critical piece of equipment that was missing from a fire truck involved in a fatal crash with a plane at LaGuardia Airport in March.
Suffolk County Democrats are locked in a bitter Civil War as insiders try to boot the party boss over claims he’s made backroom non-aggression deals with the GOP.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is backing legislation that would expand access to paid family and medical leave and create an interstate working group to “harmonize paid leave benefits across participating states.”
Robot lawn mowers are booming across New York, snipping grass at homes, churches, golf courses and even in Manhattan’s Bryant Park – welcome news to some who dislike the noise of traditional mowers, but raising questions about surveillance.
Over the past year, there have been several high-profile announcements regarding the explosion of government and corporate spending on quantum computing research and manufacturing in the Capital Region.
Albany County says demolition of the Central Warehouse is getting nearer as cleanup work inside the long-vacant building nears completion.
A candlelight vigil and condolence gathering was held in Albany on Monday night in memory of those impacted by the deadly flash flooding in Nepal and Tibet.
A state comptroller’s audit found the Galway Town Board failed to document, and Supervisor JD Arnold failed to provide, oversight of employee salaries, stipends, health benefits and PTO, leading to accounting errors spanning more than three years of $27,215.
State officials said a stretch of state Route 9J that connects Columbia and Rensselaer counties will remain closed for possibly another two months after torrential rain and flooding inundated the area and destabilized a bridge.
Three teenagers have been charged in four separate incidents involving flare guns this month — using the guns to commit robbery and set fire to a CDTA bus — according to Albany police.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has confirmed his retirement from international football. The 39-year-old’s last appearance for Argentina was the World Cup final defeat by Spain.
Photo credit: George Fazio
