Good morning, it’s Wednesday.
Given the 24 hours we just had, how ironic is it that today is International Stress Awareness Day? To be clear, though, the focus here is on stress in the workplace, not stress overall.
This day actually falls in the middle of International Streets Awareness Week, which was founded by a UK organization called the International Stress Management Association to, as its website states, “bring national and international attention to the importance of reducing stress and improving mental wellbeing across workplaces and communities.”
The theme of this year’s week is “Shaping the Future of Stress and Wellbeing: Rehumanizing the Workplace”, which I find particularly ironic with rapid rise of AI and broad speculation about its long-term impact on the workforce.
Politics aside, work is one of the main drivers of stress, with 48 percent of U.S. workers saying that they regularly feel tense or stressed during their workday, according to an annual survey conducted by the Psychological Association. In addition, 37 percent of survey respondents said they think their work environment has a negative impact on their mental health, which is up 5 percent from the year before.
And the situation is only getting worse, with workplace stress rising steadily since 2021, according to a different survey conducted by Lyra Health. That’s thanks to a combination of inadequate staffing, excessive workloads, burnout, economic pressures, and an overwhelmingly feeling of lack of employer appreciation and/or recognition.
Constant connectivity and the introduction of fully remote and/or hybrid work also makes it increasingly difficult to create work-life boundaries.
Workplace stress is bad for productivity and also, depending on the nature of the workplace, can present a safety risk. Some employers are trying to strike a balance between supporting their workers and prioritizing their mental health while not jettisoning expectations about professionalism and performance.
There’s a plethora of advice on how to manage workplace stress – one of my favorites is “learn how to relax“, which is far easier said than done for a Type A+ person like myself. That’s why I try hard to shut the computer and keep it closed at least one full day a week and spend that time outdoors with as little cell service as possible.
This isn’t always realistic, due to the nature of the work that I do. But I find when I do manage it, I feel much better and am able to focus more fully on my work during the rest of the week. I hope we all manage to find some outlets and stress management techniques that work, because the world doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
This is going to be the last truly nice day for a bit, with very unseasonably warm temperatures – highs in the mid-70s! – and bright sunny skies. Enjoy it while you can, there’s rain in the forecast tomorrow.
In the headlines…
Democrats are celebrating a triumph in the midterm elections, winning control of the U.S. Senate and the House as voters delivered a blistering rebuke to President Donald Trump and reset the balance of power in Washington.
The romp stretched from coast to coast as Democrats flipped seats that had spent decades in Republican hands and took House districts that had long seemed inaccessible.
President Trump blamed Republican losses on the fact that he was not on the ballot, but said on Tuesday night that he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of the midterm elections, and was prepared to work with Democrats.
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Trump said on Truth Social, despite exit polling showing him with a 38% approval rating, 62% blaming him for higher prices and 71% wanting Congress to do more to check him.
Progressive Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers to win the hotly contested Michigan Senate race, continuing Democrats’ quarter-century Senate winning streak in the state.
Alaska’s closely watched U.S. Senate race remained too close to call early this morning as incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan led Democratic challenger Mary Peltola by only a few hundred votes with thousands more remaining to be counted.
In a historic night for the Democratic Socialists of America, a record number of candidates endorsed by the organization and its local chapters were elected to the House of Representatives.
Socialists more than doubled their ranks in the House of Representatives Tuesday after a series of expected midterm election wins in Democratic strongholds.
A candidate endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America flipped a Florida House seat in Hillsborough County on Tuesday, while Republican Sen. Ashley Moody is projected to beat DSA-endorsed Angie Nixon, in a tight Senate race.
In a seismic shift that was once unthinkable, victories by Democrats James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa in Texas upended decades of Republican statewide dominance in what had been the nation’s most populous conservative state.
Three-term Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott lost re-election to state Rep. Gina Hinojosa in a stunning upset as Democrats swept to power in races across the country — also flipping the governor’s mansions in Ohio and Georgia.
Democrat Troy Jackson defeated longtime Sen. Susan Collins Tuesday in Maine’s midterm Senate election, ending the incumbent’s nearly 30-year-long run in the upper chamber.
Stock futures ripped higher on Wednesday, reversing earlier losses, as traders weighed the impact of the Democrats taking control of Congress and several key gubernatorial wins in the 2026 U.S. midterm elections.
In an election that hinged on an affordability crisis for many Americans, voters made it clear they view Silicon Valley’s AI ambitions not as a technological miracle, but as a resource-draining threat to their wallets and communities.
Federal authorities charged an Oklahoma City man with sending hundreds of letters containing white powder and ominous warnings about treason to public officials ahead of the 2024 and 2026 elections.
Investigators say the man also warned members of the Democratic Socialists of America that they would be targeted for arrest if they tried to vote on Election Day.
As Democrats appeared poised to regain control of both chambers of Congress, two Brooklyn lawmakers — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer — are positioned to take over leadership of the House and Senate, respectively.
Ballot scanners throughout Westchester County malfunctioned early Tuesday, causing confusion as thousands of people tried to vote in statewide races as well as a competitive congressional election.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that he expected all of the votes to be counted by the end of the night.
Lawler conceded defeat Tuesday night to challenger Cait Conley, flipping a key seat in the Democratic Party’s bid to retake control of the House of Representatives.
Republican congressional candidate Anthony Constantino declared victory over Democrat Blake Gendebien in an unexpectedly competitive race to keep the 21st District in GOP hands.
Long Island Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen declared victory Tuesday night after decisively holding onto her seat for another two years — a victory over her GOP challenger considered crucial to helping decide which party holds the House majority.
On Long Island, it appeared that all four congressional incumbents will return to Washington, D.C. in January, but the races for both Republican seats were much closer than expected.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 37-year-old democratic socialist from Queens, defeated her Republican opponent, Diamant Hysenaj, on Tuesday, winning a fifth term in Congress, according to The Associated Press.
Twenty minutes after polls closed in New York, with 45 percent of ballots tallied, Ocasio-Cortez had secured nearly 79 percent of the vote.
Democratic Rep. Josh Riley cruised to a second term Tuesday, beating Republican state Sen. Peter Oberacker for the competitive upstate New York district.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul won a second full term Tuesday night — notching a victory after bashing her Republican foe, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, as a MAGA acolyte and touting her efforts to address spiking costs.
The Associated Press and other major news outlets called the race for Hochul immediately after polls closed at 9 p.m.; she garnered more than 60 percent of the vote to Blakeman’s 39.7 percent.
In her victory speech, Hochul directly addressed Trump, pledging to work with him when it’s in the best interest of the state, but warned: “if your actions threaten our rights or put New York families at risk, I’ll stand up to you and fight you every single time.”
Hochul is set to jet to Puerto Rico for an annual political junket this week, but won’t hold her gala at the local governor’s residence after she endorsed Blakeman in the governor’s race.
John Rich is blasting Hochul over the state’s renewable energy policies, accusing her administration of silencing farmers and overriding local officials in upstate New York.
The state has begun its annual collection of toys, coats and school supplies for the season. Donations will go to community-based organizations that assist New Yorkers.
Hochul committed $10 million in funding on Monday for the first phase of a two-part plan to transform the shuttered hangars at New York City’s first commercial airport into a public space that can host educational programming as well as cultural events.
Kalshi is pumping millions of dollars into New York public schools initiatives, as state Attorney General Letitia James and regulators launch a legal battle claiming the betting market is bypassing Empire State gambling laws.
James won a third term, declaring victory over Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy. James led Komatireddy 65.1% to 32.8% with more than half of precincts reporting, according to the state Board of Elections.
Tina Abrams was elected president of the Seneca Nation of Indians on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to be chosen as chief executive in the modern history of the largest tribe in New York State.
Three of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s allies are headed to Washington after winning their elections Tuesday. The elections of Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier were a foregone conclusion after their victories in the June primaries.
City voters gave a confident “yes” to all five of the ballot measures advanced Mamdani’s first Charter Revision Commission, approving the slate of proposals intended to streamline government processes and help the city better plan for its financial future.
Democrats swept four state legislative races in southern Brooklyn, soundly defeating their Republican opponents and taking back ground in one of the few parts of New York City the party had lost their grip on in recent years.
New York City schools were closed for Election Day — and many parents said they’d cast a vote for no more remote learning days if it were on the ballot.
Education officials are proposing to shutter two of New York City’s smallest schools, the first formal closure plans this academic year as Mamdani grapples with a growing number of underenrolled schools.
Leaders from New York City’s public hospital system anticipate a crisis of coverage as federal healthcare policies force hundreds of thousands residents to lose their Medicaid plans.
Mamdani has criticized the owner of Madison Square Garden, one of the city’s largest entertainment venues, arguing that the company’s surveillance technology should not be allowed.
The contract covering 90,000 New York City municipal workers in AFSCME District Council 37 (DC 37) is set to expire on Friday, marking a new stage in the developing confrontation between labor and Mamdani.
Mamdani quietly released a City Council-mandated plan to expand the number of public restrooms in the city Friday—but flushed many of the concrete commitments.
It was a banner week for the subway system. Last Thursday, 4.72 million people rode the subway, the most in a single day since the COVID pandemic shut the city down in 2020. The next day, the system saw its highest Friday ridership day since 2020 at 4.5 million.
The jogger savagely stabbed in the neck in an apparently random attack at a popular Brooklyn promenade has died, her stricken mom said Tuesday — telling her daughter’s killer, “You took an angel.’’
After more than four decades in the New York State Legislature, Republican State Senator Jim Tedisco seems on the brink of defeat.
Democrat Chloe Pierce has declared victory in the race for New York’s 107th Assembly District. The Associated Press called the race for Pierce over incumbent Republican Scott Bendett.
There’s a 364 vote difference – just 0.3% – in the Senate District 43 race between the Republican incumbent Jake Ashby and his Democrat opponent Devin Lander.
A man who allegedly held up an East Greenbush Applebee’s employee at gunpoint last month faces charges under an anti-racketeering law federal authorities used over the years to convict public officials, lawmakers, and gang leaders.
Market 32 and Price Chopper are offering veterans, active-duty military personnel and their immediate family members an 11% discount on one shopping trip on Nov. 11, in recognition of Veterans Day.
The Schenectady City Council could not muster enough votes Monday to pass next year’s budget, missing the mandated deadline and forcing more negotiations on the spending plan.
Three family members who operate medical transportation companies in Schenectady have been charged with stealing more than $4.7 million from the state Medicaid program by billing for dozens of trips that were never made.
A new holiday market hosted by Albany County is coming in December. The free, family friendly event will take place at MVP Arena and along Pearl Street in downtown Albany.
If you’re a fan of loud trucks, stunts and big air, get ready for the return of Monster Jam. The action-packed show will be at MVP Arena in April.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
