Trump 2.0, Food rescue in Brewster, and Breckenridge descents
The day after Donald J. Trump was inaugurated for his first term as U.S. president in 2017, the streets of Washington D.C. were filled with protestors at the Women's March, as resistance sprang up in opposition to the former real estate developer and reality TV star.
That included busloads of Hudson Valley Democrats who descended upon Washington to express their displeasure.
Eight years later, as Trump ramps up his second term, the resistance is bubbling up, though not with the same organization and focus.
I had a glimpse of the Hudson Valley opposition on Tuesday when about 200 Trump opponents showed up at U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer's Peekskill office. It was organized by Indivisible Westchester, the left-leaning organization that emerged in early 2017 and has remained active since then.
There was even one woman standing outside Schumer's office, wearing a pink knit woolen pussyhat from the 2017 Women's March.
They'd come as New York voters encourage Schumer to step up his opposition to Trump's agenda to slash the federal workforce and remake the federal government through a slew of executive orders. They were not happy that the world's wealthiest man, Elon Musk, was wielding considerable power as head of unofficial Department of Government Efficiency.
In the background was the Trump-driven crisis over tariffs he wanted to impose on our close allies, Mexico and Canada, joint signatories of the US-Canada-Mexico trade agreement. That crisis was resolved a day earlier when Trump paused the tariffs for a month in exchange for border security commitments from those countries that were already on the table.
The protestors chanted slogans, encouraging Schumer to gum up the works in the U.S. Senate, using whatever parliamentary moves available to delay, and even obstruct, the confirmation process for cabinet appointees they disliked.
Schumer's office pushed back, insisting that the Senate minority leader was working nonstop to lead the opposition. Buckle up for the next four years.
Food rescue in Brewster
A new model to address the needs of food-insecure Hudson Valley residents is thriving in Brewster. I stopped by Second Chance Food in January to learn about the program on a day when a cadre of volunteers, overseen by paid staff, made 1,800 nutritious meals that would be provided to senior centers, after-school programs, and libraries.
The program operates on a three-legged stool of funding: foundations, private donations, and excess food delivered by such industry giants as Trader Joe's in Danbury and Ace Endico in Southeast.
The nonprofit's 20 partners don't pay Second Chance for the meals, and they are provided for free to the hungry.
There's opportunities for volunteers as well who want to help out. You can contact Second Class Foods at 845-723-1315.
Back from Breck
Four years ago, I ventured out to Breckenridge on my annual ski holiday out west. Back then, we were in the grips of the COVID pandemic, as I recounted in a piece I wrote on the trip for USA TODAY.
Those days are gone of masks in ski lines, outdoor dining in the winter at 11,000 feet and outdoor yurts set up by downtown restaurants to keep patrons safe from the COVID bug.
Six days of skiing last week under bluebird skies, temperatures in the 20s, and packed powder surfaces were dream-like. Nothing like breathing the thin air at 13,000-feet above sea level, and then descending through steep snowfields with friends. And who doesn't love doing laps on the T-Bar down Pika or indulging your turns on Peak 6 on a sunny January afternoon.
We also returned to our favorite restaurant, Aurum. We nabbed a 4:30 p.m. reservation during happy hour, with $7 beers on tap. The servings were huge, the prices were within reason, and the food so delicious. My serving of Rocky Mountain trout was so sumptuous that I had enough left over for a sandwich the next day, which I wrapped in tin foil, carried in the pocket of my ski jacket, and ate with a cup of tea indoors at the Pioneer Crossing lodge atop Peak 7.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Business Insider
4 minutes ago
- Business Insider
A YouTuber created a $75 grill scrubber to experience the challenges of making stuff in the US — and it sold out
A really nice grill brush will cost you about $25 at your local big box store, but YouTuber Dustin Sandlin is betting he can get customers to shell out three times that amount for a Made-in-America version. Sandlin traces his passion for US manufacturing to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when he was bothered by the lack of American-made essential goods. "Everybody wanted N95 masks and face shields, and they couldn't get it," he said in a recent YouTube video. "This revealed to me how anemic our manufacturing capacity in America has become, because I was waiting on some billionaire to come save us, and it didn't happen." So began a yearslong deep dive into the challenges of making products in the US, which Sandlin documented for his series on YouTube called "Smarter Every Day." After working with John Youngblood, the owner of a local specialty grill accessories company, Sandlin got excited about the idea of developing a better scrubber. Sandlin and Youngblood wanted to produce it in the US with as many domestically sourced components as possible, and sell it at a retail price. In a video that went live Sunday and has since amassed more than 2 million views, Sandlin shares why he decided to get serious about US manufacturing, explains how he navigated the design process, and makes a sales pitch for viewers to buy it for themselves. On Tuesday, Youngblood told Business Insider the $75 scrubber has sold through its initial production run of several thousand units within a day, and his company is now taking pre-orders. "We're going to have a backlog for a while," Youngblood said. Most grill brushes are meant to be thrown away. This one isn't. Many lower-cost grill brushes aren't typically designed to last more than a year of use — grill-maker Weber recommends changing them after each grilling season. Another problem is that the bristles have been known to come off and can end up in grilled food. Sandlin and Youngblood found that welded chain mail — like the material of a medieval knight's armor — was highly effective at cleaning grill grates without breaking. There was one problem: "We could only find it in China." After a few tries, the team managed to find a US supplier who could make about 2,000 units a month and a supplier in India to augment the rest. Attaching the chain mail to a handle proved to be another adventure. Sandlin said the average one-inch industrial bolt costs around 9 cents when imported, but that jumps to 38 cents for versions made in the US. "Most machine shops I talked to directly, they said, 'Yeah, we can't even get the material for the price of the finished bolts that you're getting from a foreign supplier,'" Sandlin said. Then there was the process of making injection-molded parts to provide support and flexibility, which required machining custom tools and dies (the metal forms that shape a material) for shops to use in production. "This is the moment where this whole experiment came into focus for me," Sandlin said. "I realized at that moment we're screwed." American manufacturing has exported the smart part of making stuff The reason for Sandlin's pessimism is that many of the shops he spoke with send tool and die design files to China to be made and imported for use in US production lines. "I don't want my intellectual property in China, I want to make it here," he said. "And they said, 'Good luck.'" The problem illuminated by this episode goes far beyond a seemingly simple grilling accessory. "We're screwed as a nation if we can't do the intelligent work of tool and die: making the tools that make the things," Sandlin said. "We have flipped it. We are now to the point where the smart stuff is done somewhere else." Sandlin and Youngblood eventually found US suppliers for all of their custom components. They're working to get every piece sourced here. The video shows two instances where Sandlin was surprised by the apparent country of origin being different from what he says he was led to believe: The first batch of knobs arrived in packaging stating they were made in Costa Rica rather than the US. Several boxes of chain mail (ostensibly from India) had markings that suggested they were instead from China. "I'm shocked," Sandlin said. "It's pretty weird to set out to try to make a thing completely in America and to find out towards the end of the process that you made something in China anyways." Sandlin says he's not interested in having America be the dominant world player — he wants more opportunities for people here to have good jobs that allow them to take care of their communities. "If you are ever, ever in a position to make a decision about where your thing is manufactured, take a second and consider making a little less profit, maybe in order to invest in your local community," he said.
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2 Growth Stocks to Stash and 1 to Question
Growth is a hallmark of all great companies, but the laws of gravity eventually take hold. Those who rode the COVID boom and ensuing tech selloff in 2022 will surely remember that the market's punishment can be swift and severe when trajectories fall. Deciphering which businesses can sustain their high growth rates is a challenge for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory. On that note, here are two growth stocks expanding their competitive advantages and one climbing an uphill battle. One-Year Revenue Growth: +25.3% Founded in 2009 by enterprise software veteran Tom Seibel, (NYSE:AI) provides software that makes it easy for organizations to add artificial intelligence technology to their applications. Why Does AI Fall Short? 15.5% annual revenue growth over the last three years was slower than its software peers Extended payback periods on sales investments suggest the company's platform isn't resonating enough to drive efficient sales conversions Historical operating margin losses point to an inefficient cost structure stock price of $25.72 implies a valuation ratio of 7.4x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than AI. One-Year Revenue Growth: +32.3% Founded in 2014 and named after the dreaded first day of the work week, (NASDAQ:MNDY) is a software-as-a-service platform that helps organizations plan and track work efficiently. Why Is MNDY a Good Business? ARR trends over the last year show it's maintaining a steady flow of long-term contracts that contribute positively to its revenue predictability Software is difficult to replicate at scale and results in a best-in-class gross margin of 89.5% Strong free cash flow margin of 30.4% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently is trading at $305 per share, or 12.7x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it's free. One-Year Revenue Growth: +20% Founded in 2010 and named for a combination of 'docs' and 'proximity', Doximity (NYSE: DOCS) is the leading social network for U.S. medical professionals. Why Should DOCS Be on Your Watchlist? Billings have averaged 23.5% growth over the last year, showing it's securing new contracts that could potentially increase in value over time Well-designed software integrates seamlessly with other workflows, enabling swift payback periods on marketing expenses and customer growth at scale DOCS is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders At $58.44 per share, Doximity trades at 19x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it's free. Market indices reached historic highs following Donald Trump's presidential victory in November 2024, but the outlook for 2025 is clouded by new trade policies that could impact business confidence and growth. While this has caused many investors to adopt a "fearful" wait-and-see approach, we're leaning into our best ideas that can grow regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Take advantage of Mr. Market by checking out our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.


USA Today
8 minutes ago
- USA Today
ICE raids meat production plant in Omaha, dozens detained
ICE raids meat production plant in Omaha, dozens detained WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - An immigration raid on Tuesday at a meat production plant in Omaha, Nebraska was the "largest worksite enforcement operation" in the state during the Trump presidency, the Homeland Security Department said. U.S. Congressman Don Bacon told local media 75-80 people were detained. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid happened at a plant of Glenn Valley Foods. The food packaging company said it was surprised by the raid and had followed the rules regarding immigration status. Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, said the plant that was raided used E-Verify, a federal database used for checking employees' immigration status. He told Reuters that when he said this to a federal agent, the agent responded "the system is broken" and urged him to contact his local congressional representative. ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on U.S. President Donald Trump's promise of record-level deportations. The White House has demanded the agency sharply increase arrests of migrants in the U.S. illegally, sources have told Reuters. More: Curfew enacted for parts of LA; Newsom says Trump chose 'theatrics over public safety' Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles over the weekend when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse, according to migrant advocates. Local police in Omaha said they were informed by immigration officials about the raid in advance while the company said it got no notice about the operation ahead of time. Hartmann said federal agents had a warrant that said they had identified 107 people who they believed were using fraudulent documents. "This was the largest worksite enforcement operation in Nebraska under the Trump Administration," the Homeland Security Department said on X, adding no law enforcement official was hurt. ICE said a criminal investigation was ongoing into what immigration officials called a large-scale employment of immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally. More: In LA's Paramount neighborhood ICE raids hit hard. Here's why. "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal law enforcement partners, executed a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods, today, based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States," an ICE spokesperson told an ABC News affiliate. More than half of all meatpacking workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank. Rights advocates, including the ACLU of Nebraska, condemned the raid. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing by Michael Perry)