Good morning, it’s Monday – an incredibly historic, once-in-a-lifetime moment is nearly upon us, a moment about which (unless you live under a rock or have been out of the country for the past month or so) you may well have grown a wee bit tired of hearing.
I must confess that I have.
I’m speaking, of course, about the eclipse – or rather, as I’ve come to think about it in my mind, THE ECLIPSE!!!! Because it feels like that’s all anyone has been discussing for days on end.
On TV talk shows and news reports. On digital billboard counting down until the big day. In the newspaper. On the radio. At parties. On the internet. In my local drugstore, which is hawking eclipse 2024 t-shirts. Even on the damn highway, where multiple signs issue dire warnings about likely traffic jams the closer you get to the path of totality, which just so happens to include, for the first time in almost a century, select parts of western and northern New York.
We are one of 11 contiguous U.S. states along the path of totality, and that area between 108 and 122 miles wide is home to a LOT of people – some 31.6 million, give or take.
I now know – and had not even an inkling just a few short weeks ago – that means people in these regions will be able to view a total solar eclipse, in which the moon completely blocks all but the sun’s extended atmosphere (the corona), and all sorts of amazing sights (stars, planets etc.) are briefly visible in the darkened sky even though it’s the middle of the afternoon.
A lot of people say viewing a total solar eclipse is a life changing event, and it only happens in the same place once every 300 to 400 years. It certainly will have a profound effect on a wide range of animals, plants, and people.
I have learned, thanks to the exhaustive and often breathless reporting available on a wide variety of media outlets, that there are people who dedicate a sizable portion of their time and income chasing total eclipses around the world. These aren’t just scientists, either, but just everyday people who are just really enamored with the experience of watching the sun go momentarily dark.
These people have an official name – umbraphiles, or shadow lovers. And this is only one of MANY eclipse-related terms that I’ve come to be familiar with. Others include but are not limited to: annularity, Baily’s beads, first contact (this has nothing to do with aliens, as I originally assumed), and shadow bands.
Eclipses happen anywhere from four to seven times a year, according to NASA, and a total solar eclipse occurs somewhere on the plant every 18 months or so. Solar eclipses are a much rarer than lunar eclipses (when the moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, causing the former to become darker) because they are only visible from a very small part of the globe each time they take place.
Re-reading this, I realize I am sounding a little embittered, and I don’t mean to. I know this is a really big deal – especially for some of the small communities in the path of totality that expect a massive influx of tourism dollars as a result of this eclipse and have been preparing for months – if not years – for this very moment.
But something about the eclipse freaks me out, maybe because it’s coming on the heels of last week’s magnitude-4.8 earthquake, which, for the record, I did not feel.
I am a little put off by the possibility of doing serious damage to your eyes if you don’t view the eclipse correctly. (PSA time: DO NOT RELY ON CHEAP KNOCKOFF GLASSES YOU MIGHT HAVE PROCURED OFF THE INTERNET. Check here to make sure your eclipse viewing equipment is, in fact, going to cut it).
And, for what it’s worth, I was unaware until today that it’s actually safe to look directly at an eclipsed sun ONLY when it is completely obscured by the moon. This occurs for such a short period of time, however. If you’re smack in the middle of the path of totality, this entire experience is likely to last about four minutes.
It’s safe to remove your glasses when you can no longer see any part of the sun through them or whatever solar viewer you’ve been using. BUT, when even the tiniest sliver of sun starts to appear, get those babies back on your face.
A failsafe alternative, when it comes to eye protection, is to watch the eclipse online, compliments of NASA, which will be broadcasting in both Spanish and English, complete with expert commentary. I’ll be tuning in, in part because I don’t live in the path of totality and also because I have work to do and can’t afford to sit in traffic for hours on end.
The total eclipse will first appear along Mexico’s Pacific Coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, and then travel across a band of the U.S., from Texas to Maine, and into Canada.
The weather is looking a little iffy, from an eclipse-viewing standpoint. Skies will be partly cloudy in the morning, with more clouds later in the day. BUT temperatures will be in the low 60s – hallelujah! – and heading into the low 70s tomorrow. That, of course, is the Albany forecast. Things are looking a bit better elsewhere in terms of cloud cover, so if you’re eclipse chasing, good luck!
In the headlines…
Israel’s military announced it withdrew forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, wrapping up a key phase in its ground offensive against Hamas and bringing its troop presence in the territory to one of the lowest levels since the six-month war began.
But the Israel Defense Forces is “far from stopping” military operations in the Gaza Strip, its chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said at a news conference.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Israel to protest the inability of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of the remaining hostages, the BBC reported.
Earlier on Saturday the Israeli government announced that it had retrieved the body of Elad Katzir, 47, who was kidnapped on Oct. 7.
The Israeli strikes that killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers in Gaza are “unforgivable,” the organization’s founder, José Andrés, said as he criticized the Israel Defense Forces inquiry into the killings.
Israeli and Palestinian officials downplayed reports that a truce and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas could be reached as early as this week.
Biden will announce his latest effort to broaden student loan relief for new categories of borrowers, nearly a year after the Supreme Court foiled his administration’s first attempt to cancel debt for millions who attended college.
The president will make his student loan announcement in Madison, WI, a week after primary voting in the Midwest battleground highlighted weaknesses for the Democratic president and Donald Trump, his Republican challenger.
The president’s advisers hope to use the rules to begin canceling waves of student debt in the run-up to the November election, but the exact timing of the effort will depend on how quickly the administration can finalize the regulations.
When Biden welcomes Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, to Washington this week for a visit highlighted by the pomp of a state dinner, there will be an inescapable subtext to all the ceremony: Both leaders are in a fight to keep their jobs.
There could be potential general election ballot access concerns for Biden in Ohio, the state’s Secretary of State’s office said in a letter to Ohio Democratic Chair Liz Walters on Friday.
According to Ohio law, there is an August 7 deadline “to certify a presidential candidate to this office.” But this year’s Democratic National Convention — where delegates officially select the party’s nominees for president and vice president — starts August 19.
Biden raised more than $90 million for his reelection campaign and the Democratic Party in March, a whopping haul in a month that saw him pivot to a general election posture.
The campaign announced it has a war chest of $192 million cash on hand – describing it as “the highest total amassed by any Democratic candidate in history at this point in the cycle.” It also boasted its “strongest grassroots fundraising month since launch.”
Trump’s campaign said it raised $50.5 million at a Saturday fundraiser in Florida, a staggering sum as the former president’s political operation scrambles to close its big financial gap with Biden and the Democratic Party.
The event was held at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of billionaire investor John Paulson. Other major donors in attendance included New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, energy executive Harold Hamm and sugar mogul Pepe Fanjul, Sr.
For the second time this election cycle, former first lady Melania Trump was publicly seen joining the former president for a political occasion after she was last seen with her husband publicly at a polling location in Palm Beach on Florida’s primary election day.
House Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC allied with Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, announced that it would spend $186 million on TV and digital advertising for the 2024 cycle, its largest investment in the group’s history.
Michael Whatley, the new RNC chair, did not directly answer questions about the integrity of the 2020 election, underlining the challenges the GOP faces in crafting a message for the presidential election in November without re-litigating the previous one.
Polls show Trump is ascendant with the youngest bloc of the electorate, even leading Biden in some surveys, as less-engaged young voters spurn the incumbent president. But Biden is stronger with seniors than four years ago.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson endorsed Biden during the 2020 election, but the pro-wrestler turned movie star isn’t planning to weigh in on the 2024 race.
Trump is reportedly ready to pressure Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas border region as a price for peace with Russia.
Trump, speaking at a fund-raiser, reportedly lamented that people were not immigrating to the US from “nice” countries “like Denmark” and suggested his well-heeled dinner companions were temporarily safe from undocumented immigrants nearby.
After visiting the site of the deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse on Friday, Biden said that his administration is taking swift action to try to ease the disruption at Baltimore’s port and help workers and small businesses affected by the port closure.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said that Biden’s timeline is “realistic” of having the Port of Baltimore, which was compromised by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, fully functioning by the end of May.
At 309 major bridges on navigable waterways in the US, inspections in recent years have found protection systems around bridge foundations that were deteriorating, potentially outdated or nonexistent, leaving the structures perilously exposed to ship strikes.
A massive container ship lost power in the waters around New York City and came to a rest near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Saturday night — less than two weeks after failure on another massive cargo vessel caused it to collapse Baltimore’s bridge.
The state Assembly returned to Albany yesterday to approve a temporary budget extender through April 11, a bare-bones spending bill that will ensure the state’s payroll will go out on time this week.
It was a day earlier than lawmakers were scheduled to return, allowing Assembly members to go back to their districts for the eclipse. The Senate, meanwhile, declined to alter its schedule and is scheduled to approve the measure this morning.
As budget talks to suppress New York’s thriving illicit cannabis market continues, lawmakers are pushing to create a fund to help New Yorkers impacted by marijuana prohibition transition to the legal industry and curb operators without a license.
Jessica DeCerce, a Syracuse native, is New York’s unofficial “eclipse czar”, tasked by the governor with to maximizing tourism while avoiding disaster. (She’s not thrilled with the nickname, saying she’s just “a person who got a cool assignment.”
The governor says officials have treated the event as if it were a large blizzard or storm in an effort to keep people safe. Residents should prepare for high traffic volume, delays and backups throughout the day.
Many school districts in upstate New York are canceling class today or dismissing students early as traffic is expected to snarl the region in and around the zone of totality, though New York City schools are staying open despite some parents’ concerns.
Millions of Americans are hitting the road for the eclipse, which is expected to cause a traffic nightmare on at least 30 interstate highways in the path of the totality, where the sun will be completely blocked by the moon’s shadow for up to four minutes.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered all state agencies to review critical infrastructure and assess the potential for damage following the 4.8-magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that shook New York City, upstate and Massachusetts.
“At this time, we are aware of no injuries and minimal damage from this earthquake,” the governor said. “We will continue monitoring the situation and updating New Yorkers as necessary.”
Twenty-six minutes. That’s how long it took New York City officials to send out an emergency alert about the earthquake that rattled the region. A wireless emergency alert took event longer, even though word had already spread widely on social media.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy came under fire after he did not return to the Garden State following the historic earthquake on Friday that left residents rattled.
Hochul was dinged on social media Friday after saying that the 4.8 magnitude earthquake that shook New York hit “west of Manhattan” rather than mentioning New Jersey.
Hochul recently announced a $19 million dollar infrastructure improvement project aimed at repairing and resurfacing a section of the New York State Thruway.
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continued a back-and-forth spat with New York City Mayor Eric Adams over Abbott’s busing of migrants from the Lone Star State to the Big Apple, which is a sanctuary city.
Federal authorities investigating Adams’s campaign fund-raising reportedly have been examining valuable flight upgrades they believe he received from Turkish Airlines that elevated him to its highest class of seats available on international trips.
The February arrests of two violence interrupters has caused simmering tensions with the police to boil over and threatens to undermine a key part of Adams’s approach to curbing shootings and murders
Queens Assemblyman Ron Kim — who once vowed to defund the police — has lately taken to boasting of his pro-police bonafides to voters in his district.
The Teach Coalition, an arm of the Jewish Orthodox Union, has pledged to spend millions of dollars to mobilize Jews and other faith-based groups to vote in upcoming primaries and fall elections in several states.
Six months after the allegations of widespread abuse and Medicaid fraud against Kenneth Rozenberg were made public, New York approved a 5-year, multibillion-dollar contract with the state’s largest and highest-paid managed care company that he also owns.
Albany County DA David Soares has paid back the $23,000 in bonus funds he gave himself using state grant money, but said he’d hold on to about $20,000 in longevity payments that were also called into question by a report commissioned by county officials.
The Albany County Legislature is considering giving $25,000 to a group that said one of the major impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on its operations was its founder’s inability to travel to the United Nations during the government-mandated lockdowns.
Albany is set to receive nearly $400,000 in federal infrastructure funding as the state eyes a major transformation of Interstate 787 to improve access to the Hudson River waterfront — long choked off from widespread pedestrian access because of the highway.
It’s perfection for South Carolina. The Gamecocks completed an undefeated season with a thrilling 87-75 victory over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the NCAA championship game on Sunday in Cleveland.
“I’m so lucky,” Clark said after Iowa fell to the Gamecocks, finishing as the runner-up for the second consecutive season. “I’m so fortunate. That’s what I always remind myself.”
Photo credit: George Fazio.
