How New Year’s Eve at Times Square has changed over 120 years
An estimated 1 million people are expected to pack New York City’s Times Square to ring in 2025, as a billion more watch from their homes across the world. Among the throngs of spectators there will be 3,000 pounds of confetti and, of course, the Times Square Ball.
The ball weighs 11,875 pounds, and is covered in 2,688 crystal triangles, all of which have been made for this year’s celebration. But dropping the Times Square Ball was not the original way revelers rang in the year at the Big Apple’s famous intersection.
In December 1904, The New York Times wanted to find a way to celebrate its new headquarters, the Times Tower at Broadway and Seventh Avenue. The paper’s owner, Adolph S. Ochs, decided to throw a celebration on New Year’s Eve at Longacre Square which, thanks to a resolution by then Mayor George B. McClellan, had recently been renamed in the newspaper’s honor — to Times Square.
The inaugural New Year’s Eve festivities did not have a ball, but fireworks and dynamite.
According to The New York Times account of the event, the tower appeared to catch fire as the 200,000 spectators looked on. But it was all part of the show, as well as Ochs’ plan to put his new headquarters front and center.
The pyro display was produced that night by chemist Henry J. Pain, who had worked on the presidential inauguration of William McKinley.
Fireworks would also help usher in the next two new years, but by New Year’s Eve of 1907 fireworks were banned and a new tradition was born. The New York Times replaced explosives with a ball, a take on “time balls” from the 1830s that helped signal the passage of time, especially for navigators of ships.
According to the Times Square Association, the first time ball was installed atop England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. The ball would drop at 1 p.m. every afternoon, allowing nearby captains to precisely set their ship’s navigational sea clocks.
So as 1907 turned into 1908, a 700-pound, electrified ball was lowered from the top of The New York Times building, as waiters around Times Square wore battery-powered hats that lit up to show the year at midnight.
The first New Year’s Eve ball was made of iron and wood, and was decorated with 100 25-watt light bulbs.
1907: 700-pound, electrified wood made of iron and wood.
1920: 400-pound ball made of wrought iron.
1955: A 155-pound aluminum ball.
1980s: The ball was transformed into an apple for the “I Love New York” marketing campaign.
2000: New crystal ball was dropped.
2007: LED lights.
2009: 6-ton geodesic sphere with Waterford crystals.
The New Year’s Eve celebration at Times Square has seen a ball drop every year since ringing in 1908, except for two years, 1942 and 1943, due to the “dimout” of lights in New York City during World War II.
While the ball has changed, the location hasn’t. It’s still being dropped this year from that same building, once called the Times Tower, today known as One Times Square.
Nuclear bunker sales increase amid rising concern of catastrophic events
Have you ever thought about building a private bunker to live through a catastrophic event? A new report shows that sales for survival shelters are on the rise, continuing a trend that’s been a part of history for years.
New numbers from BlueWeave Consulting show the market for U.S. bomb and fallout shelters is expected to grow from $137 million last year to $175 million by 2030.
Recently, people have taken interest in building shelters on their property due to the rising threat of nuclear attacks or civil unrest.
Ron Hubbard, the owner of Atlas Survival Shelters in Sulpher Springs, Texas said he’s continued to see an uptick in sales since the COVID-19 lockdown with his sales more than doubling in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
“People are uneasy and they want a safe place to put their family. And they have this attitude that it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it, not have it,” Hubbard told The Associated Press.
However, not everyone is on board with bunkers. Critics said they create a false perception that a nuclear war is survivable, arguing those planning to live through an atomic blast aren’t focusing on the real dangers posed by nuclear threats.
Government disaster experts also said bunkers aren’t necessary. FEMA recommends simply staying inside, ideally in a basement and away from outside walls.
History of bunkers
The long past of bunkers started with protecting military members against bombings and nuclear attacks. During World War II, they sheltered troops and civilians, followed by the Cold War era when the fear of nuclear warfare led to building numerous public and private bunkers.
The Sept. 11 attacks then reignited interest in bunkers becoming more modern and providing amenities such as swimming pools, theaters and wine cellars.
There’s been a significant increase in the number of wealthy people investing in elaborate doomsday bunkers, a trend driven by a growing sense of insecurity about the future.
Can Trump get rid of income tax and replace revenue with tariffs?
In a presidential campaign cycle filled with tax cut proposals, one is loftier than all the rest. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of getting rid of individual income tax and replacing it with revenue from tariffs.
“Were you serious about that?” Joe Rogan asked Trump of replacing income taxes with tariffs.
“Yeah, sure. But why not?” Trump replied.
This country can become rich with the proper use of tariffs.
Former President Donald Trump
In a Bronx barbershop, Trump expanded on the proposal.
“When we were a smart country, in the 1890s and all, this is when the country was, relatively, the richest it ever was,” he said. “It had all tariffs. It didn’t have an income tax.”
A time before income tax
While income tax has been around for thousands of years, the United States has not. When the Constitution granted Congress authority to impose taxes, most of them were excise taxes, which are taxes placed on specific goods, like alcohol and tobacco.
The country’s first income tax came in 1861 to raise money for the Civil War. It was a flat tax and later repealed in 1872.
This 1868 illustration shows soldiers and others with a prominent banner reading, ‘Reduce taxation before taxation reduces us,’ ahead of the 1868 U.S. presidential election. (Getty Images)
In 1890, the McKinley Tariff, named after then-Rep. William McKinley, raised the average duty on imports to around 50%.
From 1868 until 1913, 90% of all federal revenue came from taxes on liquor, beer, wine and tobacco, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
“And then around in the early 1900s, they switched over, stupidly, to frankly, an income tax,” Trump said.
This was the result of a years-long push by progressives to lower tariffs. The income tax became a fixture of U.S. tax policy via constitutional amendment in 1913.
“The country had grown too big and our industries were stable enough that it wasn’t realistic, nor was it necessary, for us to be able to continue to raise most of our revenues through tariffs,” David M. Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States and chair of the Federal Fiscal Sustainability Foundation, said.
An all-tariff policy today not ‘realistic’
“I don’t think it’s feasible to go from our current system to where we’re totally relying on tariffs. It is possible to go from our current system to where we’re relying primarily, not exclusively, on a progressive consumption tax,” Walker told Straight Arrow News. “But it would be a dramatic change from where we are right now, and government doesn’t tend to do things dramatically all at once.”
Walker served under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He has also run for office in Connecticut as a Republican. He told SAN Trump’s proposal to replace income taxes with tariffs is not realistic today.
“I think it’s important to understand that in 1912, right before the income tax came in the U.S., federal government was only 2.5% of the economy, 2.5%. And now we’re approaching 25% of the economy and growing,” Walker said.
The federal government today is a lot bigger than in the 1800s. And for better or worse, federal spending plays a much more critical role in U.S. economic growth.
The debate around ‘who pays for tariffs’
A lot has changed in the U.S. since the turn of the 20th century. But what is remarkably similar is the debate around tariffs.
“The Republican campaign orators and pamphleteers say that the various import duties levied by Congress are paid by the foreigners who send goods to America, and they deny point blank that the price of any article which may be called a necessary expense will be increased to Americans by the operation of the new tariff law … It is no longer necessary to meet theories with theories. Let the facts, which are multiplying every day, tell who it is that pays the onerous tariff taxes. They will answer that the American people pay these taxes and that the burden of them rests most heavily on the poor.”
The article then went paragraph by paragraph detailing how merchants are marking up everything from clothing to crockery to groceries to horse clippers, all within weeks of the McKinley Tariff passing.
The tariffs proved pretty unpopular and Republicans lost dozens of House seats that election, including Rep. McKinley himself. But McKinley didn’t stay knocked down for long. He later became governor of Ohio and then president.
‘He has one medicine for all ills.’ President McKinley is shown as a physician dispensing strong ‘tariff’ medicine. (Getty Images)
“A president who was assassinated named McKinley, he was the tariff king,” Trump told Rogan. “He spoke beautifully of tariffs. His language was really beautiful.”
Today, Trump makes the same claim of tariffs as Republicans in 1890. It is the same claim he made in his first term as president.
“So we’re taking in many billions of dollars, there’s been absolutely no inflation, and frankly, it hasn’t cost our consumer anything, it costs China,” Trump said of his China tariffs in 2019.
But by 2020, thousands of American companies sued the Trump administration, demanding a reversal of the tariff policy and refunds on tariff payments made by the companies. Among those thousands of companies was Tesla, the company that made current Trump surrogate Elon Musk rich.
Tesla had argued in its lawsuit that the tariffs were “arbitrary and capricious,” and said the administration “failed to consider relevant factors when making its decision, and failed to draw a rational connection between the facts found and the choices made.”
Analyzing Trump’s other tariff proposals
Economists and analysts across the board continue to say that Americans pay for tariffs.
“The truth of it is that it is a tax,” said Preston Brashers from the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. “It is something that gets passed along to consumers, and in some cases, it’s going to be something that’s passed along to producers here in the United States when they’re buying products from overseas.”
Trump said his tariff plans will “be bringing in billions and billions of dollars, which will directly reduce our deficits.”
Estimates consistently project the revenue Trump’s tariff proposals would raise will not pay for Trump’s tax cut proposals. These estimates do not consider the loftier “get rid of income tax” idea.
“The important thing with these tariffs is, if they work as intended, they will reduce trade, and so they don’t raise as much revenue as you might think,” Marc Goldwein from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said.
You’re not going to see a fundamental shift away from our historical revenue sources because the gap is just too great.
David M. Walker, former Comptroller General
“Let me give you the bottom line,” Walker said. “Neither major candidate for president has taken our deteriorating financial condition seriously. Both of them are making promises that will make our situation worse rather than better. But one also has to consider that this is what I call the silly season. Lots of promises are made and you have to assess what is the political feasibility of those promises happen[ing], and in some cases even what is the constitutionality of some of those things happening.”
“I think what’s more realistic is you could see selected imposition of tariffs on certain goods from certain countries in order to try to help level the playing field and in order to try to help promote more domestic jobs,” Walker added. “But you’re not going to see, I think, across-the-board approaches, and you’re not going to see a fundamental shift away from our historical revenue sources because the gap is just too great.”
Under the title ‘It Takes Taxes and Bonds,’ the Uncle Sam character, a personification of the United States of America, writes in a large ledger labeled ‘War Budget,’ 1940s. (Getty Images)
Even history shows where tariff-driven revenue fell short: times of war. The United States had to temporarily turn to an income tax to fund the Civil War. The threat of war pushed remaining states to ratify the 16th Amendment, allowing Congress to tax incomes. And during World Wars I and II, Congress dug deep into the income tax coffer to pay for it.
Famous New York lawyer Amos Pinchot led the charge pushing Congress to raise income tax rates on the wealthy ahead of American involvement in World War I.
He correctly predicted, “If we ever get a big income tax on in wartime, some of it – a lot of it – is going to stick.”
Monet piece stolen more than 80 years ago by Nazis returned to family
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) returned a painting by renowned artist Claude Monet dating back to 1865 known as “Bord de Mer,” which was stolen by Nazis on the eve of WWII to the granddaughters of its original Jewish owner. On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the FBI presented the artwork to the family, ending a search more than 80 years in the making.
“We didn’t, we could not believe it,” Francoise Parlagi, the granddaughter of the original owner, said. “We wouldn’t have believed it, but more and more, as we [were] in progress, we had to say well something may happen in the end. There may be a happy ending to the whole thing and now we’re still, I mean, can’t believe it, but it’s happening.”
Adalbert Parlagi had stored the piece of artwork with the rest of this family’s belongings at a warehouse in 1938 before they fled their home in Vienna to escape the German invasion. However, Nazis looted the painting by Monet and sold it off after Austria was annexed by Adolph Hitler’s Germany.
“Nobody knew where it was,” said Francoise Parlagi. “The government, the Austrian government after the war didn’t collaborate with my grandfather trying to search. It was all, it was looted, it was seized, it was belonged to them.”
More than 70 years later, the painting resurfaced at an exhibition in France in 2016. From there, a New Orleans-based antiquities dealer purchased it, later selling it to a couple in Washington state. That couple listed it for sale but agreed to surrender it to the FBI after learning it of its looted history. The piece was then reunited with its pre-war owner’s family this week.
“And to have the feeling that grandfather’s watching somehow and that he would be so, so proud of this moment,” Helen Lowe, another granddaughter of Adalbert Parlagi, said.
The family is still searching for six other artworks, including a signed watercolor by Paul Signac called “Seine in Paris.” The FBI is also helping with that investigation.
Group of Japanese atomic bomb survivors wins 2024 Nobel Peace Prize
Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization representing thousands of survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was announced as the recipient of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, Oct. 11. The survivors, also known as hibakusha, were honored for their activism against nuclear weapons.
“The hibakusha helps us describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable and to grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons,” Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman, said. “The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes nevertheless to acknowledge one encouraging fact — no nuclear weapons have been used in war in nearly 80 years.”
The prize was awarded as conflicts rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, with the Nobel Committee expressing concern that “the taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure.”
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country was changing its nuclear doctrine, widening the threats it considered would warrant a nuclear strike from Moscow.
“In awarding this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honor all survivors who despite physical suffering and painful memories have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and engagement for peace,” Frydnes said.
The survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings are the latest anti-nuclear activists to win the peace prize. The most recent of the winners, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, received the honor in 2017.
Over 200,000 people were killed in the two U.S. atomic bombings. About 114,000 of the approximately 650,000 survivors are still alive today.
Portland election to overhaul government with new City Council structure
Portland is preparing for a significant transformation this November as voters get ready to overhaul the city’s government structure. After enduring four tumultuous years marked by over 100 days of protests, a fentanyl and homelessness crisis, and the decriminalization of all drugs, the Rose City is seeking a reset.
In 2020, an overwhelming 74% of Multnomah County residents supported Measure 110, which decriminalized all drugs. However, the aftermath of this policy, combined with existing financial challenges, has intensified issues such as rising drug use and homelessness.
City Council member and mayoral candidate Carmen Rubio described the situation as “a perfect storm.” She is one of many local politicians running for office amid a political free-for-all.
The city will transition from four at-large City Council seats to 12 district seats. Nineteen candidates are vying for the mayoral position, while 98 are competing for City Council seats. Most candidates lean to the Left and include Black Lives Matter activists, nonprofit leaders, business owners, and police officers.
With the exodus of the old government comes a population decline, with nearly 12,000 residents leaving Multnomah County between 2020 and 2023. Downtown Portland, once vibrant, is now struggling economically.
Retiring longtime Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., lamented that some areas resemble “Dresden in World War II,” stating, “I’ve spent 54 years trying to make Portland the most livable city in the country or in the world. No one’s going to describe it like that now.”
Residents’ biggest concerns include crime, drugs, homelessness, and economic revitalization. The upcoming local elections will determine which issues the city prioritizes in its efforts to revitalize.
Sudden WWII bomb blast forces airport shutdown in Japan
A World War II-era U.S. bomb exploded Wednesday, Oct. 2, at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan. The explosion created a large crater on a taxiway and forced the cancellation of over 80 flights. No injuries were reported.
Japanese officials confirmed that the 500-pound U.S. bomb had been buried for decades before its sudden detonation.
Videos recorded by a nearby aviation school and broadcast on Japanese television showed debris flying through the air and a crater approximately 23 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, though Miyazaki Airport, built in 1943 as a flight training field for the Imperial Japanese Navy, unearthed several unexploded bombs in the past. The airport was used for kamikaze missions during the war.
The blast came just days after Japanese troops successfully disarmed and removed another WWII-era bomb in Okinawa. The 551-pound unexploded ordnance, discovered at a construction site in Naha City, prompted the evacuation of 1,400 people from nearby homes and businesses. Ground Self-Defense Forces defused the bomb and moved it to a storage facility. Japanese forces plan to detonate it at sea.
Okinawa officials estimate that about 2,000 tons of unexploded ordnance remains undiscovered from the intense bombardment during the Battle of Okinawa.
Crews have already disposed of nearly 22 tons of ordnance between April 2023 and March 2024, and the Ground Self-Defense Force has pledged to continue removal operations to ensure the safety of residents.
WWII survivor advances nuclear tech after being saved by the atomic bomb
In 1945, the U.S. dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan to bring an end to World War II. For Jeff Eerkens, the military operation did more than end the war — it saved his life. Eerkens was imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp in the Pacific when the bombings helped secured his release. The nuclear event inspired him to dedicate his career to nuclear technology.
“Energy is man’s third most important need after water and food,” Eerkens said in a statement. “We are entering a war-like energy-deprivation period as serious as World War II. Strong Manhattan-project-like leadership is now needed. Green nuclear power is the only practical solution to simultaneously ameliorate global warming, avoid dependence on foreign oil/gas, and overcome oil/gas depletion.”
Following the war, Eerkens went on to develop a groundbreaking laser process to make uranium more suitable for use as nuclear fuel. Now known as the “Father of Laser Enrichment,” Eerkins co-founded LIS Technologies, a company focused on using this method for a variety of applications, including giving nuclear power plants the resources they need to produce energy.
“With lasers, the process can be more targeted and energy efficient,”Christo Liebenberg, who co-founded LIS Technologies with Eerkens and now serves as the company’s CEO, told Straight Arrow News. “You can reduce the operational costs of nuclear fuel production, but it also has a reduced environmental impact. Nuclear power is a key player in decarbonization, as the world pushes towards net zero carbon emissions, nuclear power will play a central role.”
While major nuclear accidents like Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island turned public opinion against nuclear energy, the global push to reduce carbon emissions is giving nuclear power a second chance. Countries are increasingly considering it as a key part of their strategies for a low-carbon future.
“After the Three-Mile-Island reactor meltdown in 1979 in the U.S. and Russia’s Chernobyl accident in 1986, public hysteria fanned by fear-mongering antinuclear activists caused cancellations and moratoria on construction of new nuclear plants,” Eerkens said. “Any further delay of a committed worldwide nuclear energy program will cause certain impoverishment and death of many people by 2050.”
LIS Technologies claimed their laser enrichment method is safer, more cost-effective and more environmentally friendly than traditional approaches. As Eerkens reflects on his life, he hopes the technology that once helped secure his freedom will now contribute to the world’s clean energy future.
Putin orders major expansion of Russian military by 180,000 troops
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to expand the size of the country’s armed forces by 180,000 troops, increasing the total military personnel to nearly 2.4 million. The decision comes as Moscow continues its protracted military campaign in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
Getty Images
The new decree will increase the number of combat troops to 1.5 million, a move designed to bolster Russian forces as they face increasing pressure from Ukrainian counteroffensives. The expansion will officially take effect on Dec. 1, 2024.
This is the third major troop increase since the start of the war. Last year, Putin ordered a mobilization of 300,000 reservists after Ukrainian forces made significant territorial gains in eastern Ukraine. That mobilization sparked protests and led to a mass exodus of Russians fleeing the draft. Since then, the Kremlin has shifted its recruitment efforts toward volunteer soldiers, offering high wages to fill the ranks.
Reuters
The latest troop boost follows a recent incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russia’s southern Kursk region, marking the first foreign invasion of Russian territory since World War II. Russian officials have also reported ongoing efforts to push back Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region, where fighting has intensified in recent months.
While Moscow has not disclosed official casualty figures, reports suggest that personnel shortages have been a key challenge for the Russian military. Despite the increase in manpower, the conflict shows no signs of stopping.
US says Iran is giving ballistic missiles to Russia to attack Ukraine
The United States and Britain accused Iran of supplying Russia with short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday, Sept. 10, and warned that Moscow plans to use the weapons soon. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comments alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a joint press conference.
“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukrainians,” Blinken said.
“This development, and the growing cooperation between Russia and Iran, threatens European security and demonstrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches far beyond the Middle East,” Blinken said.
Meanwhile, Iran has denied the accusations and said it has not supplied Russia with ballistic missiles.
According to Blinken, an announcement on sanctions against Iran would come later Tuesday.
The U.S. secretary of state’s comments come before a trip on Wednesday, Sept. 11, to Ukraine with Lammy. The pair will reportedly meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to talk about bulking up Kyiv’s defenses.
“I think it’s a critical moment for Ukraine,” Blinken said. “In the midst of what is an intense fall fighting season with Russia continuing to escalate its aggression. Its aggression against civilians, against critical infrastructure, and of course, against Ukrainian forces. We see it ramping up its attacks on cities, on people, in particular, targeting the energy infrastructure, electricity, in advance of the coldest months. Putin’s winter playbook of weaponizing energy and electricity.”
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff responded to Blinken’s statements, arguing that imposing sanctions on Iran is not enough. He urged Western allies to allow Kyiv to launch deep strikes into Russia using Western weapons.
However, it did not stop Kyiv from using its own weapons on Tuesday as it launched its biggest drone attack on Russian soil since the start of the war, striking multiple regions, including Moscow.
All of this is happening while Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk continues. Russia is still struggling to mount a defense against the invasion into its territory, the first since World War II.
