Good morning, it’s Tuesday.
If you happen to be a night owl and/or early riser and you live in Hawaii or the western part of the U.S. you’re in for a treat this morning – the last total lunar eclipse for almost three years will be visible in the wee hours of the morning.
This phenomenon is known as the Blood Moon because it occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and Moon, casting a reddish-copper colored shadow on the moon’s surface.
That color is the result of what’s know as Rayleigh scattering, which I can’t say I totally understand, but from what I can gather, has something to do with blue light getting filtered out as sunlight passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, reflecting only red light onto the surface of the moon.
This only happens when the during a full moon AND when there is perfect alignment between the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth. Exactly how red the moon will appear depends on what’s in the atmosphere at the time of the eclipse.
If there are higher levels of dust, pollution, or volcanic ash in the atmosphere, for example, the shade of red will appear much darker. If there’s not a lot of schmutz (a highly technical term) in the air, the moon will appear much lighter and clearer.
Unlike with a solar eclipse, lunar eclipses are completely safe to view with the naked eye. If you have binoculars or a telescope handy, by all means use them, as they will enhance the viewing experience, but they are not at all necessary.
New Yorkers will be able to glimpse the early phases of totality, in part because the sun will be rising as totality is ending, making the show difficult to see. The lunar eclipse starts very early this morning (March 3) and will last about 5.5 hours – from 3:44 a.m. to 9:23 a.m. EST. The totality itself – when the moon is fully engulfed by the Earth’s shadow, technically known as the umbra – will last from 6:04am to 7:02 am EST.
The next total lunar eclipse won’t occur until the morning of New Year’s Eve 2028 (Dec. 31, 2027). Not surprisingly, sky watchers have already dubbed this the New Year’s Eve Blood Moon.
I would be remiss if I didn’t note that we are smack in the middle of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which is normally a pretty joyous occasion featuring much merriment, costume-wearing, noise-making, and hamantaschen eating.
Sadly, this holiday is coming as Israel and the US are coordinating on what the president has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury”, bombarding thousands of targets inside Iran. Needless to say, that is having a significant impact on holiday observances.
The almost-spring weather roller coaster is truly in full swing. Today, will bring high temperatures in the low 30s, with snow showers that start early and increase in intensity throughout the afternoon. This will change over to freezing rain in the evening as temperatures drop, making for slippery conditions on the roads. Proceed with caution.
In the headlines…
President Trump said that the United States would attack Iran for as long as it took to leave it incapable of posing a threat, indicating that the expanding war in the Middle East could continue for weeks or more.
Trump said that he’s not ruling out sending US ground troops into Iran “if they were necessary” — adding that Operation Epic Fury was “way ahead of schedule” after taking out dozens of Tehran’s top officials.
Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed Trump’s prediction that the fighting would continue, saying “the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military.”
“The Radical Left Democrats, a Party that has completely lost its way, are complaining bitterly about the very necessary and important attack, by the United States and Israel, on Iran,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Two more American service members have been killed in the war in Iran, U.S. military officials said yesterday afternoon. That brings the number of dead troops so far to six.
The United States government closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and ordered nonessential staff in several other countries to evacuate as Iran expanded its retaliatory attacks on U.S. targets in the Gulf region.
First lady Melania Trump presided over yesterday’s meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York City about education’s role in “advancing tolerance and world peace,” as the U.S. military continues strikes in Iran.
Melania Trump became the first spouse of a sitting world leader to preside over the council, calling on member states to protect children’s access to education days after Iranian state media reported that an airstrike killed at least 165 people.
President Trump appeared yesterday with what appeared to be a scabbing red skin rash near his shirt collar, a condition that his physician said was expected to last for “a few weeks.”
Dr. Sean P. Barbabella, Trump’s physician, said in a statement that the president was using a medicated cream as a “preventative” treatment of the skin condition, which was seen extending out of his shirt collar behind his right ear.
Barbabella did not specify why Trump needed the preventative skin treatment, and the White House did not immediately respond to questions about his condition.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) over allegations that she may have engaged in “improper reimbursement practices” and violated House rules.
New footage of the Clinton depositions on late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein released by the House Oversight Committee shows how a frustrated Hillary Clinton nearly stormed out after Rep. Lauren Boebert snapped an unsanctioned photo of her.
In a combined roughly nine hours of questioning Republicans and Democrats grilled the Clintons about their relationships with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019, and Ghislaine Maxwell, his longtime associate.
Clinton got into epic shouting matches with MAGA firebrands during her sworn testimony last week, while her husband, whose hands were shaking throughout his deposition, finally gave answers to longstanding questions about his Epstein ties.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York is in a “high state of alert” after the U.S.-Israel bombings of Iran because “there could be retaliation from these efforts.”
Hochul is warning that the United States may be stepping into another open-ended conflict without a clear plan, saying Americans are worried about what the future holds.
Hochul’s administration said that gas prices could soar by $2.23 over the next five years — as she fuels up to fight with fellow Democrats to try to delay the state’s controversial green energy mandates.
At a roundtable discussion on federal tariffs, the governor mentioned businesses are already struggling, and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East only adds more uncertainty.
The bigwig tapped by Hochul to turn around the beleaguered Nassau University Medical Center has resigned months after his high-profile appointment.
New York’s Commission on Judicial Conduct received a record number of complaints against state and local judges last year, though the numbers remained mostly unchanged compared to the previous year.
With millions of vehicles on the road still needing safety fixes, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is urging drivers to take a few minutes to check whether their car has an open recall during Vehicle Safety Recalls Week, which runs from March 2-8.
In 2025, New Yorkers filed nearly 30,000 complaints with the state attorney general’s office, a snapshot of an economy where fraud, hidden fees and deceptive business practices have plagued consumers.
The New York attorney general’s office has ordered a major Manhattan hospital to resume providing puberty-blocking medication and hormone treatments to transgender adolescents, just two weeks after the hospital had stopped doing so.
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lower court order that would have forced New York to redraw Staten Island’s congressional district ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
The court’s six conservative justices voted to grant the stay. Justice Samuel Alito wrote separately to explain his reasoning, saying the lower court’s order amounted to “unadorned racial discrimination.” The other justices in the majority did not join his opinion.
“This blatantly political case violated both the New York State and federal constitutions and, as Justice Alito stated, the lower court’s decision was a full-blown racial gerrymander,” state GOP Chair Ed Cox said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Parks Department plans to become New York City’s “agency of affordability” for New Yorkers who can’t spend hundreds of dollars on private gyms and after-school programs, though the mayor has not increased the agency’s funding.
During an unannounced meeting with President Trump last week, Mamdani brought up four pro-Palestinian protesters pursued by federal immigration authorities: Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Leqaa Kordia.
A Bronx public school student detained last year by federal authorities should be added to the list of immigration cases that Mamdani is asking President Trump to dismiss, immigration advocates and lawyers say.
Even as the Mamdani administration pushes to build $4 million worth of new bathrooms in busy neighborhoods and high-need areas, dozens of existing public restrooms in city parks remain out of service.
Mamdani appointed Kenny Minaya, a longtime tenant and immigrant advocate and consumer protection official, to lead the city’s Department of Small Business Services.
Top Department of Transportation (DOT) officials will face sharp questions from members of the City Council’s Transportation Committee today over the agency’s struggles to build the number of bus and bike lanes required by the 2019 Streets Master Plan.
As Mamdani prepares to unveil property tax reforms, he must weigh a plan he inherited from his predecessor.
New York City’s health department is largely known for the letter grades it puts in restaurant windows after food-safety inspections. Its new commissioner is determined to change that.
Former Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos has taken a job as a high-ranking advisor at HMH, a company that does millions of dollars in city business each year as one of three literacy programs New York City schools were required to adopt.
Local lawmakers are calling on Columbia University and the NYPD to release video evidence, including any security and body-worn camera footage, of the moments surrounding the ICE arrest of a student in her off-campus apartment.
A new caucus spearheaded by Council Member Harvey Epstein and Speaker Julie Menin is advocating to make New York City more friendly for animals and those who care for them.
New York City lawmakers are pushing to ban private businesses from using biometric tools like voice and facial recognition software to track the public.
Transit crime spiked nearly 20% in February as cold weather policies prevented NYPD officers from booting rule-breaking passengers from the subways, the police department said.
A New York police sergeant was charged with killing a 61-year-old man, more than a month after she drove the wrong way down the Taconic State Parkway and slammed her car head-on into his vehicle.
Federal prosecutors have charged a New Jersey man with intentionally damaging religious property after authorities say he repeatedly rammed his car into the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Crown Heights earlier this year.
A man who burned an Israeli flag during a protest at Columbia University in 2024 is expected to pay $25 to the flag owner and do 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to low-level crimes in a Manhattan state courtroom.
New outreach teams from New York City’s public hospital system include a clinical professional to evaluate the needs of homeless New Yorkers.
Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park is on track to become part of the city’s public hospital system by April 1, even as an ongoing lawsuit aims to stop the city takeover, according to the head of NYC Health and Hospitals.
A small plane from Long Island plunged into the icy Hudson River last night while attempting to make an emergency landing — and the pilot and passenger miraculously escaped by swimming through frigid waters to safety, according to authorities.
Hochul called the safe rescue of the two people “another miracle on the Hudson,” in a post on X late yesterday.
Justin Timberlake is trying to keep police body cam footage of his embarrassing 2024 Hamptons drunk driving bust under wraps, according to newly filed court records.
The Berkshire DA’s Office has determined that an Adams police officer’s use of force during an officer-involved shooting on Jan. 27 was justified after reviewing a use of force report and an investigation by the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit.
Approximately $850,000 in federal funds have been earmarked to get the East Greenbush Police Department out of a cramped, deteriorating space and into a larger, more modern facility, according to U.S. Rep. Josh Riley’s office.
A yearlong investigation into drug-dealing at a notorious downtown high-rise apartment building has culminated in the arrest of two tenants in what authorities are calling one of the most significant drug seizures in Schenectady County history.
A $4.4 million project is planned for Saratoga Spa State Park’s Lincoln Bathhouse to upgrade accessibility, parking and site circulation. The state is also advancing a $2.5 million interior rehabilitation of the building.
As some Capital Region butchers close their doors, one local business is hoping to help customers with obsolete gift cards. Cardona’s Market has launched a gift card exchange program that will run throughout March.
As spring approaches, Indian Ladder Farms is gearing up for its 2026 season opener Thursday and announced some changes guests will see this coming season.
A major boost is coming for trade skills training in the Capital Region with a $25K commitment from the Business for Good Foundation.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
