Good Thursday morning. We interrupt the usual litany of holidays, observances, and memorials to being you some real live NEWS of the celestial sort.
A rare, hybrid solar eclipse is set to appear for the first time in almost a decade. Sadly, by the time you read this, it will already be over, and unless you happen to live along a narrow path in Australia, Timor-Leste and Indonesia (West Papua and Papua), there probably wasn’t too much to see anyway.
But I’m sure there will be footage all over the interwebs to catch up on. And this is a very cool thing.
You shouldn’t feel too badly for having missed it, because it is actually first of two that will occur this year. This one, however, was special, because of all the eclipses that have occurred in the 21st century, hybrid solar eclipses – also known as annular-total eclipses – have accounted for less than 5 percent of them, according to Space.com.
So what IS a hybrid eclipse, anyway? I wish I could tell you for certain.
I’ve read about 10 different articles about this, and other than to understand that it’s a pretty rare thing – the last one occurred in 2013 and the next won’t happen until 2031, and then after that on 2164 (assuming the planet is even still around by then – I’ve got to confess that I haven’t the foggiest idea.
I THINK it has something to do with the fact that some people will experience this (or did, rather) as a total eclipse (the moon is the same size as the sun and appears to block it out), while others will see the moon as smaller than the sun (an annular eclipse).
Why this phenomenon occurs I think is related to the proximity of your location as the Earth rotates and the sun and the moon move around in their respective orbits. Depending on how they align, eclipses provide a unique view of either the sun or the moon, and all told, there are 4 types of solar eclipses: Total, Annular, Partial, Hybrid.
If you really want to go deep on this, click here, here, here or here.
Even though you won’t be doing any eclipse watching, this seems as good a time as any to review best practices for the next opportunity you might have to do so. NASA says that the next annular solar eclipse will take place on Oct. 14, and it will travel across North, Central and South America. Now is as good a time as any to get ready for that.
There’s only a very brief moment – when the moon completely covers the sun – that it’s safe to look directly at a solar eclipse without risk of injuring your eyes. But since that moment is so fleeting and hard to gauge, it’s better to just avoid the direct viewing altogether.
The easiest way is to craft a pinhole projector – a fun project to do with your kids, if you’re so inclined. If you want to invest a few bucks, there are special safety glasses you can buy. Better safe than sorry.
I don’t want to move onto the headlines without noting that Eid al-Fitr – the feast that marks the end of Ramadan – starts tonight and will last through tomorrow (or up to three days, depending on where you are in the world). I’ll write more about this tomorrow. For those who will be celebrating, though, Eid Mubarak!
We’re heading into a mini warm spell, with temperatures on an upward trend that will apparently peak tomorrow by hitting 80 degrees or more (!) Today will be in the mid-to-high 60s with partly cloudy skies, which will be nice, since the past several days have been very chilly.
In the headlines…
The White House is planning to nominate Monica Bertagnolli, a Boston cancer surgeon, to run the National Institutes of Health, just months after she became the first women to be appointed as director of the government’s National Cancer Institute.
President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next labor secretary, Julie Su, will testify to the Senate today with key Democrats unwilling to voice support for her confirmation, creating uncertainty about her prospects in the narrowly divided chamber.
If confirmed, Su would become the first Asian American to serve as a Cabinet secretary under Biden, something that advocates consider long overdue.
Biden denounced “MAGA Republicans in Congress” in a speech contrasting his economic agenda with the GOP’s in an escalating standoff over the debt ceiling.
House Republicans’ plan to raise the debt limit would block Biden’s signature student debt cancellation program and take a hammer to his administration’s other student loan policies.
The proposal would impose work requirements on food stamp and Medicaid recipients and repeal funding to beef up tax enforcement.
The fraught politics of tax season have been met by the White House with a perhaps surprising response: a welcoming embrace.
Top Democratic donors are set to huddle with Biden in Washington late next week as part of the ramp-up to his expected re-election campaign, eight sources familiar with the meetings confirmed.
The huddle with top donors is the latest signal that Biden is ramping up for a reelection campaign, which Democratic officials have said could be announced as early as this month or stretch into the summer.
An exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is kicking off his campaign with the support of 14% of voters who backed Biden in 2020.
Actress Cheryl Hines says she supports her husband’s decision to run for president, issuing a statement the same day he made an official announcement regarding his 2024 campaign.
The “Tennessee Three,” the trio of state lawmakers punished for participating in gun protests, will visit the White House next Monday to meet with Biden.
Two men appeared in courtrooms in different parts of the country yesterday, charged in shootings that came after minor missteps on everyday tasks.
In upstate New York, Kevin Monahan, 65, was denied bail in a case where prosecutors say he fatally shot Kaylin Gillis, 20, after she and a group of friends mistakenly drove up his driveway while looking for another friend’s house.
Andrew Gillis, reeling from the loss of his daughter, lauded Washington County Supreme Court Judge Adam Michelini’s decision to deny bail and said he hopes Monahan “dies in jail”.
Monahan’s attorney Kurt Mausert said his client did not intend to hurt anyone. Monahan pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder charges and is being held in the Warren County jail.
Mausert has disputed official accounts of a reckless shooting, noting his client has a nearly spotless record — except for a 43-year-old misdemeanor for drinking and driving — and accusing the county sheriff of prejudicing the case.
Blake Walsh, Gillis’ boyfriend, said he was driving the car the night they drove up the wrong driveway. He said he, his late girlfriend, and two friends were looking for a party. Four friends were traveling in another vehicle and also went up the wrong driveway.
Andrew Lester, 84, who shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in Clay County. His attorney pleaded not guilty on his behalf yesterday. His next court appearance is set for June 1.
Lester, who is out on $200,000 bond, attempted to speak with the judge throughout the proceeding but was not argumentative.
The Supreme Court extended for two days a pause on a lower-court ruling that had sought to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone, ensuring that the drug would continue to remain widely available for now.
In a brief order, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. announced that the pause would lapse on Friday at midnight, giving the court more time to consider the case, though it could act before then.
The manufacturer of a generic form of the abortion pill mifepristone is suing the Food and Drug Administration in an effort to preserve access as federal litigation threatens to overturn the FDA’s approval of the drug.
In the aftermath of ethics questions emerging around Justice Clarence Thomas and a series of politically charged rulings, a coalition of more than 30 progressive groups plans to initiate a nationwide campaign calling for structural changes to the Supreme Court.
A board appointed by Ron DeSantis to oversee government services at Disney World asked lawyers to prepare a resolution to “void” a recent development agreement and restrictive covenants giving Disney vast control over expansion at the resort complex.
As DeSantis escalates a fight against his state’s largest private employer, his potential rivals for the White House see an opening to attack.
A former prosecutor for the Manhattan DA’s office must appear for a deposition before the House Judiciary Committee, despite the DA’s contention that House Republicans are trying to interfere with his investigation of former President Donald Trump.
In a ruling yesterday, U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil sided with the arguments presented by the committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, that its subpoena of former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz was lawful and proper.
“Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law,” Vyskocil wrote after hearing arguments in court on the matter earlier in the day.
If Trump declines to attend his trial next week in which he stands accused of defaming and battering writer E. Jean Carroll, his attorney wants the jury to know it would be to spare New York City the burden of keeping him safe.
Trump “wishes to appear,” the lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, wrote to the judge overseeing the trial, but may stay away to spare New Yorkers the traffic jams, blocked streets and high security that would inevitably accompany him, his lawyer said.
People all over the world lost confidence in the importance of routine childhood vaccines against killer diseases like measles and polio during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from UNICEF.
In 52 of the 55 countries surveyed, the public perception of vaccines for children declined between 2019 and 2021, the UN agency said.
A growing number of state lawmakers are indicating that “good cause” eviction will be a line in the sand for them when it comes to including a housing package in the budget.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins says Democrats in the upper house will stand firm to include tenant protections in the final state budget, which is 19 days late.
For now, top Democrats and Hochul are not discussing the key topic of whether tax rates for upper income New Yorkers should increase.
State Democrats are unlikely to finalize a budget this week because Hochul reportedly wants to personally sign off on all matters big and small rather than empowering subordinates.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said she is hopeful talks are nearing the “beginning of the end” stage as the process has been hampered by complicated and controversial policy items including changes to bail laws and housing proposals.
The tardy state budget is starting to make things difficult for New York City. The mayor and City Council are required by law to release an updated budget of their own by April 26, yet many believe the governor and Legislature will be lucky to wrap up by then.
Hochul announced plans to have State Police and local law enforcement to target drug-impaired driving on New York today – April 20 – an international day associated with marijuana usage.
Caitlin Halligan was confirmed by the state Senate to become an associate judge on the state’s highest court in a 47-12 vote, filling the vacancy created when Rowan Wilson was confirmed to be chief judge.
Environmental groups opposed Halligan’s selection due to her representation of Chevron as it pursued racketeering charges against the human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who successfully sued on behalf of Ecuadorian Amazonian Indigenous peoples.
Halligan is expected to be a left-leaning swing vote on the court previously dominated by a relatively conservative majority under former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who resigned under a cloud of scandal last summer.
Following weeks of threats of legal action and growing concern from both good government groups and legal experts, no GOP lawsuit was filed before Halligan was confirmed.
Black lawmakers across the city and state are pushing for the creation of a task force to investigate the disproportionately high number of missing Black, indigenous, and other women and girls of color.
Access to abortion pills could soon be guaranteed for students at public colleges and universities across New York.
About a year into the migrant crisis, Mayor Eric Adams took direct aim at Biden, saying the federal government needs to provide the city with greater financial aid to address a surge of immigrants at the southern border escaping violence and poverty.
Adams called the influx of migrants “one of the largest humanitarian crises this city has ever experienced.”
“The president and the White House have failed New York City on this issue,” Adams said during a news conference at City Hall, mentioning Biden by name. Every service in this city is going to be impacted by the asylum seeker crisis.”
Adams wants to give landlords of rent-stabilized apartments $25,000 to renovate vacant units if they agree to rent to New Yorkers with rental assistance vouchers, City Hall announced.
The city of New York will pay as much as $53 million to 4,413 people who were held in harsh, isolated conditions at Rikers Island and Manhattan jails between 2018 to 2022, according to a settlement agreement filed in federal court.
The settlement in federal court with people who were held in solitary while they awaited trials is one of the largest involving the city’s Correction Department and its troubled lockups, including Rikers Island.
Adams has lent his support to a pilot program that would make some city buses free, giving an eleventh-hour push to a proposal championed by state legislators amid delayed budget negotiations.
Adams is expected to sign a bill banning the sale of guinea pigs in New York City.
Adams backed NYPD Chief of Department Jeff Maddrey when asked about allegations of abuse of authority against the officer recently substantiated by the police’s civilian watchdog.
The fatal collapse of a parking garage in Lower Manhattan came less than nine months before New York City’s first deadline for such structures to be inspected for hazardous conditions. The parking structure had unresolved safety violations, city officials said.
Coney Island residents overwhelmingly voiced opposition to a proposed casino during a heated meeting last night where developers were put on the defensive.
Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller whose visions of becoming New York mayor faded after being accused of sexual misconduct, filed sworn statements contending his accuser Jean Kim lied about circumstances surrounding their relationship.
A former state Senate candidate who made waves during the pandemic by declaring that he despises “f—ing Brooklyn” has been handpicked by the borough’s Republican Party to run as its candidate in a high-stakes City Council race this year.
GlobalFoundries is suing IBM in federal court claiming IBM stole chip technology that the two companies jointly developed at Albany Nanotech and also has been trying to steal employees from its Fab 8 factory in Saratoga County.
Cohoes is headed toward having two ambulances covering the city, but whether that will be an outside agency or the Cohoes Fire Department remains undetermined as planning starts for a short-term and long-term solution for emergency medical service.
GE and its main union have agreed to a new, two-year contract extension that will give workers at its Schenectady plant a 12 percent raise — at the same time ensuring a smooth transition when GE spins off its Schenectady-based energy unit next year.
Antonio Brown, the controversial former NFL wide receiver, will be the majority owner of the Albany Empire, the team announced.
