See photos of the March partial solar eclipse
A partial solar eclipse, where the moon passes in front of the sun, casts a shadow on parts of the Northern Hemisphere, on Saturday morning.
Astronomy fans caught a glimpse of the solar eclipse in parts of North America, along with sections of Europe, Africa, northern Asia, small parts of South America and throughout Greenland and Iceland.
Only part of the sun was blocked, giving it a crescent appearance. While this wasn't a total eclipse — like the one in 2024 — viewers still needed to use eye protection to safely view the phenomenon.
Below are photos of the partial solar eclipse from across the world.
Musk says some will get more Social Security benefits after DOGE, but many worry about access
Deadly earthquakes rock Myanmar, Thailand
Saturday Sessions: Lucy Dacus performs "For Keeps"
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11 hours ago
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NOAA firings, cuts will reduce services used to manage Alaska fisheries, officials say
Fishing boats are seen in Kodiak's St. Paul Harbor on Oct. 3, 2022. Deep job cuts at NOAA Fisheries will negatively affect the scientific work normally done to support fishery management, agency officials warned. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Trump administration job cuts in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will result in less scientific information that is needed to set and oversee Alaska seafood harvests, agency officials have warned fishery managers. Since January, the Alaska regional office of NOAA Fisheries, also called the National Marine Fisheries Service, has lost 28 employees, about a quarter of its workforce, said Jon Kurland, the agency's Alaska director. 'This, of course, reduces our capacity in a pretty dramatic fashion, including core fishery management functions such as regulatory analysis and development, fishery permitting and quota management, information technology, and operations to support sustainable fisheries,' Kurland told the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on Thursday. NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which has labs in Juneau's Auke Bay and Kodiak, among other sites, has lost 51 employees since January, affecting 6% to 30% of its operations, said director Robert Foy, the center's director. That was on top of some job losses and other 'resource limitations' prior to January, Foy said. 'It certainly puts us in a situation where it is clear that we must cancel some of our work,' he told the council. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, meeting in Newport, Oregon, sets harvest levels and rules for commercial seafood harvests carried out in federal waters off Alaska. The council relies on scientific information from NOAA Fisheries and other government agencies. NOAA has been one of the targets of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has been led by billionaire Elon Musk. The DOGE program has summarily fired thousands of employees in various government agencies, in accordance with goals articulated in a preelection report from the conservative Heritage Foundation called Project 2025. NOAA's science-focused operations are criticized in Project 2025. NOAA Fisheries, the National Weather Service and other NOAA divisions 'form a colossal operation that has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry and, as such, is harmful to future U.S. prosperity,' the Project 2025 report said. The DOGE-led firings and cuts leave Alaska with notably reduced NOAA Fisheries services, Kurland and Foy told council members. Among the services now compromised is the information technology system that tracks catches during harvest seasons — information used to manage quotas and allocations. 'We really have less than a skeleton crew at this point in our IT shop, so it's a pretty severe constraint,' Kurland said. Also compromised is the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's ability to analyze ages of fish, which spend varying amounts of years growing in the ocean. The ability to gather such demographic information, an important factor used by managers to set harvest levels that are sustainable into the future, is down 40%, Foy said. A lot of the center's salmon research is now on hold as well. For example, work at the Little Port Walter Research Station, the oldest year-round research station in Alaska, is now canceled, Foy said. 'We're talking about the importance of understanding what's happening with salmon in the marine environment and its interaction with ground fish stocks,' he said. Much of the work at Little Port Walter, located about 85 miles south of Juneau, has focused on Chinook salmon and the reasons for run declines, as well as the knowledge needed to carry out U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty obligations. As difficult as the losses have been, Kurland and Foy said they are bracing for even more cuts and trying to figure out how to narrow their focus on the top priorities. Despite the challenges, Foy said, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center has managed to cobble together scheduled 2025 fish surveys in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, which produce the stock information needed to set annual harvest limits. Some of the employees doing that work have been pulled out of other operations to fill in for experienced researchers who have been lost, and data analysis from the fish surveys will be slower, he warned. 'You can't lose 51 people and not have that impact,' he said. It was far from a given that the surveys would happen this year, Foy said. The science center team had to endure a lot of confusion leading up to now, he said. 'We've had staff sitting in airports on Saturdays, not knowing if the contract was done to start a survey on a Monday,' he said. At the same time the Trump administration is making deep cuts to science programs, it also is pushing fishery managers to increase total seafood harvests. President Donald Trump on April 17 issued an executive order called 'Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness' that seeks to overturn 'restrictive catch limits' and 'unburden our commercial fishermen from costly and inefficient regulation.' Federal fishing laws, including the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, require careful management to keep fisheries sustainable into the future. Unregulated fisheries have collapsed in the past, leading to regional economic disasters. Part of the impetus for the executive order, a senior NOAA official told the council, is the long-term decrease in overall seafood landings. Prior to 2020, about 9.5 billion pounds of seafood was harvested commercially each year, said Sam Rauch, NOAA Fisheries' deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs. Now that total is down to about 8.5 billion pounds, Rauch said. He acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the reduction, as did economics. At their Newport meeting, council members raised concerns that the push for increased production might clash with the practices of responsible management, especially if there is less information to prevent overharvesting. Nicole Kimball, a council member and vice president of a trade organization representing seafood processors, cited a 'disconnect' between the goal of increased seafood harvests and the 'drastically lower resources' that managers normally rely upon to ensure harvest sustainability. The typical approach is to be cautious when information is scarce, she noted. 'if we have increased uncertainty — which we'll have with fewer surveys or fewer people on the water — then we usually have more risk, and we account for that by lowering catch,' she said at the meeting. In response, Rauch cited a need to cut government spending in general and NOAA spending in particular. That includes the agency's fishery science work, he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'We have to think about new and different ways to collect the data,' he said. 'The executive order puts a fine point on developing new and innovative but also less expensive ways to collect the science.' Even before this year, he said, NOAA was struggling with the increasing costs of its Alaska fish surveys and facing a need to economize. The agency had already been working on a survey modernization program prior to the second Trump administration. The Alaska portion of the program, announced last year, was intended to redesign fisheries surveys within five years to be more cost-effective and adaptive to changing environmental conditions. Foy, in his testimony to the council, said job and budget cuts will now delay that modernization work. 'I can almost assuredly say that this is no longer a 5-year project but probably moving out and into the 6- or 7-year' range, he told the council. Since Alaska accounts for about 60% of the volume of the nation's commercial seafood catch, it is likely to have a big role in accomplishing the administration's goals for increased production, council members noted. Alaska's total volume has been affected by a variety of forces in recent years. Those include two consecutive years of the Bering Sea snow crab fishery being canceled. That harvest had an allowable catch of 45 million pounds in the 2020-2021 season but wound up drastically reduced in the following year and shot down completely in the 2022-23 and 2023-2024 seasons because of a collapse in the stock. Another factor is the shrinking size of harvested salmon. Last year, Bristol Bay sockeye salmon were measured at the smallest size on record. The total 2024 Alaska salmon harvest of 101.2 million fish, one of the lowest totals in recent years, had a combined weight of about 450 million pounds. Past years with similar sizes harvests by fish numbers yielded higher total weights. The 1987 Alaska salmon harvest of 96.6 million fish weighed a total 508.6 million pounds, while the 1988 Alaska salmon harvest of 100.6 million fish weighed in at 534.5 million pounds, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
17 hours ago
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Elon Musk hits back after Trump threatens contracts. SpaceX's government ties, explained
When President Donald Trump took office in January, he began offering plenty of signs that his goals for U.S. spaceflight aligned closely with those of billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk. Now those goals, which included reaching Mars during Trump's second term as a top priority, appear to be up in the air with the volatile fallout between two of the world's most powerful men. As insults have turned to threats, Trump has suggested he'd hit Musk where it could hurt most: His wallet. Musk's SpaceX has spent years positioning itself at the center of American civil and military spaceflight – a profitable relationship that has made the company's founder incredibly wealthy. In response, Musk has floated – and then retracted – the idea of decommissioning a SpaceX vehicle critical to NASA's spaceflight program. Serious threats, or empty words? That remains to be seen as Musk and Trump reportedly consider a détente. In the meantime, here's what to know about what's at stake if the U.S. government's relationship with SpaceX were to crumble: U.S. spaceflight: Dozens of NASA space missions could be axed under Trump's budget The feud between Trump and his former top adviser escalated in a dramatic fashion when the president threatened to cut off the taxpayer dollars that have fueled Elon Musk's businesses, including SpaceX. "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Trump said in a post on his social media platform. "I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!" In all, Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, a Washington Post analysis found. With SpaceX as the fulcrum of much of the U.S. government's spaceflight programs, parting ways with the commercial company would leave a void that would be hard to fill. But NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said in a post on social media site X that 'NASA will continue to execute upon the President's vision for the future of space.' 'We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President's objectives in space are met,' Stevens wrote. Elon Musk, the world's richest man, founded SpaceX, in 2002. The commercial spaceflight company is headquartered at Starbase in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The site, which is where SpaceX has been conducting routine flight tests of its 400-foot megarocket known as Starship, was recently voted by residents to become its own city. SpaceX conducts many of its own rocket launches, most using its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, from both California and Florida. That includes a regular cadence of deliveries of Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and occasional privately-funded commercial crewed missions on the Dragon. The most recent of SpaceX's private human spaceflights, a mission known as Fram2, took place in April. SpaceX was also famously involved in funding and operating the headline-grabbing Polaris Dawn crewed commercial mission in September 2024. SpaceX also benefits from billions of dollars in contracts from NASA and the Department of Defense by providing launch services for classified satellites and other payloads. Gwynne Shotwell, CEO of SpaceX, has said the company has about $22 billion in government contracts, according to Reuters. The vast majority of that, about $15 billion, is derived from NASA. SpaceX's famous 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket ‒ one of the world's most active ‒ is routinely the rocket of choice to get many NASA missions off the ground. For instance, the rocket is due in the days ahead to help propel a four-person crew of private astronauts to the International Space Station for a venture with NASA known as Axiom Mission 4. NASA also has plans to use SpaceX's Starship in its Artemis lunar missions to ferry astronauts aboard the Orion capsule from orbit to the moon's surface. The rocket, which is in development, has yet to reach orbit in any of its nine flight tests beginning in April 2023. SpaceX's Dragon capsule is also a famous vehicle that is widely used for a variety of spaceflights. The capsule, which sits atop the Falcon 9 for launches to orbit, is capable of transporting both NASA astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station. Under NASA's commercial crew program, the U.S. space agency has been paying SpaceX for years to conduct routine spaceflights to the orbital laboratory using the company's own launch vehicles. The first of SpaceX's Crew missions ferrying astronauts to the orbital outpost on its Dragon capsule began in 2020, with the 10th and most recent contingent reaching the station in March for about a six-month stay. Standing nearly 27 feet tall and about 13 feet wide, Dragon capsules can carry up to seven astronauts into orbit, though most of SpaceX's Crew missions feature a crew of four. The Dragon spacecraft also was the vehicle NASA selected to bring home the two NASA astronauts who rode the doomed Boeing Starliner capsule to the space station in June 2024. Certifying the Starliner capsule for operation would give NASA a second vehicle in addition to Dragon for regular spaceflights to orbit. Because Boeing is still developing its Starliner capsule, Dragon is the only U.S. vehicle capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. It's also one of four vehicles contracted to transport cargo and other supplies to the orbital laboratory. For that reason, Musk's threat June 5 to decommission the Dragon "immediately" would be a severe blow to NASA if he were to follow through on it. Musk, though, appears to already be backing off on the suggestion, which he made in response to Trump's own threats. In response to a user who advised Musk to "Cool off and take a step back for a couple days," Musk replied: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.' Seven astronauts are aboard the International Space Station, including three Americans. Four of the astronauts rode a SpaceX Dragon to the station for a mission known as Crew-10, while the remaining three launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Contributing: Joey Garrison, Josh Meyer, USA TODAY; Reuters Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump SpaceX contracts threats in Musk feud: What that could mean
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17 hours ago
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Why Jeff Bezos Might Emerge As The Biggest Winner In The Trump-Musk Feud
NASA and Pentagon officials have taken swift action to urge competitors of Elon Musk's SpaceX, including Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, to expedite the development of alternative rockets and spacecraft following the public feud between President Donald Trump and Musk. What Happened: The government officials were taken aback by Musk's response to Trump's threat. Musk, in turn, threatened to cease flying its Dragon spacecraft, a critical component of NASA's astronaut transportation to the International Space Station. Although Musk later retracted this threat, it caused significant concern among NASA and Pentagon officials, according to a report by The Washington Post. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Following the public disagreement, government officials have approached commercial space companies, including Rocket Lab, Stoke Space and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, to inquire about the readiness of their rockets for government missions. During Trump's first term, he frequently criticized the Bezos-owned Washington Post. However, in March, Trump praised Bezos' move to make significant changes with the Washington Post and said, 'He's trying to do a real job.' SpaceX, a major recipient of government contracts, is responsible for transporting astronauts and cargo to the ISS, launching Pentagon satellites, and developing intelligence agency satellites. The growing tension between Musk and Trump intensified after the White House withdrew Musk-ally, Jared Isaacman's nomination for NASA It Matters: This recent development underscores the potential impact of political tensions on the space industry. It also highlights the increasing competition in the sector, with companies like Blue Origin making significant strides in their space exploration efforts. Just recently, Blue Origin unveiled a new vehicle for lunar and Martian missions, further cementing its position as a key player in the industry. Bezos' Blue Origin has been a key player in the space industry, competing directly with SpaceX. Bezos has also made moves in the satellite internet market, launching the first operational satellites for his ambitious Project Kuiper, which directly challenges Musk's Starlink. Meanwhile, Bezos has been making efforts to improve his relationship with Trump, a move that could potentially impact Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) sprawling business. The Amazon founder appears to be seeking a reset by visiting Mar-a-Lago, contributing $1 million to Trump's inauguration and reportedly signing a $40 million documentary deal with First Lady Melania Trump. Read Next: Are you rich? Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. These five entrepreneurs are worth $223 billion – they all believe in one platform that offers a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends Image via ShutterstockUp Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Why Jeff Bezos Might Emerge As The Biggest Winner In The Trump-Musk Feud originally appeared on
