Good morning, it’s Thursday.
If you’ve been paying even a little bit of attention to the news of late, you might have heard something about the so-called “Blood Worm Moon”. This sounds like a horror movie, (to me, anyway), but it’s actually a pretty cool phenomenon, which will make the moon look red to the naked eye during a total lunar eclipse.
The full moon will reach its peak illumination at 2:55 a.m. EDT tomorrow morning, but the red hue caused by the total lunar eclipse will be present today into tomorrow – depending on your time zone, according to NASA. You’ll be able to witness this as long as you’re somewhere in the Western Hemisphere, which includes the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
As a reminder: Lunar eclipses take place when the Earth travels between the sun and the moon, which causes a shadow to be cast over the moon’s surface. When the moon moves through the Earth’s umbra (the the innermost and darkest part of its shadow, where the sun is completely blocked) then “totality” occurs, which causes the red tint you see.
The lunar eclipse will reach its maximum phase – when the moon is completely covered by Earth’s umbra – at 2:59 a.m. EDT Friday.
The moniker “Worm Moon”, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, might have something to do with the re-emergence of earthworms and/or insect larvae as spring nears (remember: the first day of the season is officially March 20, which is one week from today!)
There are a bunch of other names, too, including Eagle Moon, Goose Moon, Crow Comes Back Moon, Sugar Moon, Wind Strong Moon and Sore Eyes Moon.
If you aren’t able to see the moon because the weather isn’t cooperating (more on that in a moment) you easily find the whole thing streamed live online. Try here or here or here.
If there happens to be a little moisture in the air when the full moon occurs, you might be lucky enough to witness a moonbow, which is a rare-ish occurrence that is sort of like a rainbow, but generated by moonlight. Moonbows only happen when the full Moon is low in the sky, so look for that a few hours after sunset when the sky is dark.
It will be cloudy and in the 50s today, with some partial clearing as the night progresses, which might improve your sky-watching experience.
In the headlines…
Senate Democrats said that they would refuse to back a Republican-written stopgap bill to fund the government through Sept. 30, significantly raising the chances of a government shutdown at the end of the week.
After two days of intense closed-door party meetings, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said members of his party could not support the bill approved by the House to keep most federal funding flowing at current levels for the next six months.
“Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input — any input — from congressional Democrats,” Schumer said.
“Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR. Our caucus is unified on a clean (CR) that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass,” he added.
Senate Democrats appear to be moving toward securing a vote on their preferred 30-day stopgap bill in exchange for helping the House bill, which funds government through September, clear the 60-vote filibuster hurdle — even if they ultimately oppose it.
President Trump’s simultaneous trade wars with Canada, Mexico, China and the EU amount to a huge economic and political gamble: that Americans will endure economic pain in return for the distant hope of re-industrializing the American heartland.
Trump is using the tools of the federal government to launch a crackdown not only on those who break the law — but also on dissent more broadly.
A federal judge ruled that Trump’s firing of the head of a board that resolves disputes between federal employees and the government was unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan’s ruling in favor of Susan Grundmann, the Democratic-appointed FLRA chair, is the latest to push back on Trump’s efforts to consolidate control over independent agencies in an expanded view of presidential power.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that it will slash a broad suite of rules and determinations that aim to cut pollution or mitigate climate change — including from cars and power plants.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin reframed the purpose of the agency in a two-minute-and-18-second video posted to X, saying he is changing its mission is to “lower the cost of buying a car, heating a home and running a business.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a Pentagon-wide review of the physical fitness, body composition and grooming standards currently in place in the armed forces.
Prominent Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, arrested and detained over his role in 2024 protests against the Israel-Hamas war at Columbia University, will remain in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana for now following a procedural hearing in New York.
Lawyers for Khalil, a legal permanent resident who the Trump administration has claimed is a national security threat, say they have not been able to hold a private conversation with their client since his arrest.
Mayor Eric Adams complained that reporters are covering the arrest of Khalil far more closely than a recent Justice Department legal filing that he believes proves his corruption case was politically motivated.
The embattled mayor showed up to the reopening of Planet Hollywood in Times Square Tuesday night, and got booed while walking the red carpet.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, visited Albany to support GOP lawmakers in their efforts to overturn laws blocking ICE agents from accessing DMV records and established sanctuary policies for individuals he said are in the country illegally.
Homan threatened to double the number of federal immigration agents in New York if Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn’t cooperate amid growing anger over the administration’s crackdowns.
Homan warned that the feds could flood New York state with agents if Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn’t cooperate on immigration crackdowns — all while praising Mayor Eric Adams for his work with the Trump administration.
Several dozen Democrats gathered outside the door as Homan spoke with the press, and angrily confronted him and followed him down the hall as he exited while chomping on an apple.
Assemblymember and NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani was among others who used Homan’s visit to Albany to voice their dismay, particularly over Khalil’s recent detention.
Homan used his appearance in Albany to praise Trump-friendly Mayor Adams — who he’s reportedly expected to meet later this week — and take aim at Hochul for exploring whether to fire him.
Mayoral hopeful Andrew Cuomo shouldn’t have a role in politics if he still supports sanctuary city and immigrant-welcoming policies that he enacted as governor, Homan said.
Lawyers who’ve pocketed millions in taxpayer cash by defending Cuomo and his associates against COVID-related and sexual harassment claims are hosting a fundraiser for his mayoral bid.
Speaker Adrienne Adams does not expect to meet the threshold for matching funds by the Monday fundraising deadline in the crowded mayoral 2025 race, she said.
For the past two academic years, student protests against the war in Gaza have forced Columbia into a high-stakes balancing act between the competing demands of free speech and student safety.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have reportedly issued a criminal subpoena to a hotel in Manhattan seeking a full list of names of migrants residing at it and potentially New York government officials.
Federal prosecutors sent a subpoena to the Hotel Chandler in Midtown, requesting information related to the migrant shelter program and “a list of full names of aliens currently residing there, ”including nationality, dates of birth and identification numbers.
The Hotel Chandler has been used as a homeless shelter, but reportedly doesn’t house migrants The similarly named Candler Building in Times Square has been used as a migrant shelter. It was immediately unclear whether it received a subpoena.
Political bigwigs and common community folks filled a Harlem church yesterday to bid a rousing farewell to civil rights icon Hazel Dukes, 92, the longtime NAACP leader who died earlier this month without ever taking a break from the struggle.
“We’re living in times of uncertainty, discord, difficulty, tough times ahead and it seems especially cruel that we would lose a trusted friend and a leader and a voice,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the standing-room-only crowd.
New census data reveals that New York City is finally growing again after a steep population drop during the pandemic. It reached 8.48 million in July 2024, up from 8.39 million in July 2023.
A man is in critical condition at a Brooklyn hospital after he was shot by an NYPD detective during an altercation yesterday afternoon, police said.
New York City residents skate for free at Wollman Rink this weekend. (After Sunday, the Central Park rink turns into a pickleball complex for the summer.)
A Long Island baby tested positive for measles as health officials issued an ominous warning Wednesday that at least 12 more people may have been exposed to the virus.
Nassau’s top elected official celebrated the county’s anti-”sanctuary” status at his State of the County yesterday, doubling down on his promise to work with federal immigration officials.
Bracing for the spread of a particularly infectious variant of bird flu, New York has started testing its dairy milk.
A federal judge in Albany said he will allow seven child sexual abuse lawsuits against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany to go to trial after mediation efforts in the diocese’s bankruptcy case have languished.
After nearly six years of serving as head of the Poughkeepsie City School District, Eric Jay Rosser will soon leave his post and travel across the state to serve as the superintendent for Rochester schools.
War Room Tavern owner Todd Shapiro said his lawyer had sent a cease-and-desist letter to the lieutenant governor of Texas as a prelude to a lawsuit that claims that changing the name of the New York strip steak would bring economic harm to restaurateurs.
The Cohoes ethics board is recommending a change to the city charter after a nine-month investigation into whether Mayor William Keeler engaged in improper electioneering at City Hall on behalf of former Albany County DA David Soares.
A Schenectady woman is suing the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area, accusing two of their workers of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual acts in a lawsuit filed this week in federal court.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
