As flu cases break records this year, vaccine rates are declining, particularly for children and 65+ adults

 

Details

Written by: Annette Regan, University of California, Los Angeles

Published: 02 March 2025

Space News: What’s up for March 2025

What’s up for March? A good time to catch Mercury, an eclipse approaches, and the dark side of the Moon.

March begins with Venus still hanging out low in the west after sunset, but it quickly drops out of the sky – by mid-month it's getting lost in the glare of sunset. Once it gets dark, you'll find Jupiter and Mars high overhead, keeping you company through the evening. Mars sets a couple of hours after midnight this month, leaving the morning sky "planet free" for the first time in a year.

March also has the best opportunity this year for trying to spot fast-moving Mercury if you're in the Northern Hemisphere. It's only visible for a few weeks at a time every 3 to 4 months. This is because the speedy planet orbits the Sun in just 88 days, so it quickly shifts its position in the sky from day to day.

It's always visible either just after sunset or just before sunrise. On March 7th through 9th, look for Mercury beginning about 30 minutes after sunset in the west, about 10 degrees above the horizon.

You'll want to ensure your view isn't blocked by trees, buildings, or other obstructions. Observing from a large, open field, or the shore of a lake or the seaside can be helpful. Spying Mercury isn't always easy, but catching the fleet-footed planet is a worthy goal for any skywatcher.

There's a total lunar eclipse on the way this month, visible across the Americas. Lunar eclipses can be viewed from anywhere the Moon is above the horizon at the time. The show unfolds overnight on March 13th and into the 14th, depending on your time zone. Check the schedule for your area for precise timing.

Now, during a total lunar eclipse, we watch as the Moon passes through Earth's shadow. It first appears to have a bite taken out of one side, but as maximum eclipse nears, the Moon transforms into a deep crimson orb. That red color comes from the ring of all the sunsets and sunrises you'd see encircling our planet if you were an astronaut on the lunar surface right then.

Afterward, the eclipse plays out in reverse, with the red color fading, and the dark bite shrinking, until the Moon looks like its usual self again.

And here's an interesting pattern: eclipses always arrive in pairs. A couple weeks before or after a total lunar eclipse, there's always a solar eclipse. This time, it's a partial solar eclipse that will be visible across Eastern Canada, Greenland, and Northern Europe.

The dark side of the Moon

The Moon has a dark side, but it may not be what you think. As it orbits around Earth each month, the Moon is also rotating (or spinning). So, while we always see the same face of the Moon, sunlight sweeps across the lunar surface every month as it rotates.

This means there's no permanently "dark" side. The Moon's dark side faces Earth when the Moon passes between our planet and the Sun each month. This is the moment when the Moon is said to be "new," as in a fresh start for its changing phases.

The new moon is also located quite close the Sun in the sky, making it more or less invisible, unless there's a solar eclipse.

Nights around the new moon phase provide excellent opportunities for observing the sky – especially if you're using a telescope or doing astrophotography. Without moonlight washing out the sky, you can better see faint stars, nebulas, the Milky Way, and distant galaxies. So next time someone mentions the "dark side of the Moon," you'll know there's more to the story – and you might even discover some deep-sky treasures while the Moon takes its monthly break.

Above are the phases of the Moon for March. Stay up to date on all of NASA's missions exploring the solar system and beyond at NASA Science.

Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Details

Written by: PRESTON DYCHES

Published: 02 March 2025

Proposed federal budget cuts could ‘devastate’ local health care

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Congressman Mike Thompson, the chair of the Board of Supervisors and local health care leaders warned Friday that the newly passed Republican budget resolution may jeopardize access to care and create more food insecurity in Lake County, and they issued a joint call for action.

The House Republican-backed resolution directs several committees to reduce spending, including $880 billion in potential Medicaid cuts and $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program California, also known as SNAP.

In California, this would slash funding for Medi-Cal and CalFresh, two critical safety net programs, disproportionately affecting communities that heavily rely on them, including Lake County.

At a press conference Friday at the Lake County Tribal Health Consortium’s Lakeport campus, Thompson, Board of Supervisors Chair Eddie Crandell and six local health care leaders warned that these cuts could lead to hospital closures, reduced health care services, increased mental health crises and worsening food insecurity — outcomes they repeatedly called “devastating.”

In Lake County, over 35,000 out of its total 68,000 residents—more than half of the population — rely on MediCal for health care, and one in four residents depends on CalFresh for food, according to Lake County Behavioral Health Director Elise Jones.

“If these cuts go through, services will be reduced. Certain hospitals and facilities will cease to exist. Others will pare back their services to make way for those cuts,” Thompson said. “That means that everybody in the community will be punished.”

“So this is not a Tribal Health or Sutter or Adventist issue,” said Tribal Health CEO Ernesto Padilla. “This is a Lake County issue.”

Tribal Health receives 60 to 70% of its funding from Medi-Cal, Padilla told Lake County News after the press conference.

“This could be crippling,” Padilla said of the potential cuts.

A matter of life and death

While the cuts would impact the entire community, people relying directly on these federally funded health and food programs would suffer the most.

“For many who rely on MediCal, CalFresh and IHSS, this is truly a matter of life and death. Protecting these programs protects people,” said Jones.

“I see first hand how Medicaid funds critical mental health and substance use treatment that keep our residents housed, employed and alive,” Jones said, explaining the importance of each of the programs that will potentially get cut. “If these cuts move forward, we can expect devastating outcomes.”

For Rod Grainger, CEO of Mendocino Community Health Clinics, these cuts just “fly in the face of any compassionate, community-based, mission-driven organization.”

“We're going to be seeing — if this goes through — large increases in our health care deserts that already exist and are struggling,” he added.

“We then see the downstream from that, which then impacts other jobs and other industries within our county system. So please think long and hard about this, because it will impact all of us, not just people who have Medicaid or Medicare,” said Chuck Kassis, administrator for Adventist Health Clear Lake.

“These are not just statistics. They are real people in our community—our neighbors and friends,” said Lisa Morrow, executive director of the Lake Family Resource Center.

She highlighted the real-life impact of the cuts, pointing to single mothers struggling to provide for their children and elderly residents relying on Medicaid for essential medications and health checkups. There also is the potential for cuts to services such as suicide prevention, and support for victims of sexual assault and human trafficking.

For many families that are already struggling, “Medicaid provides them with a lifeline,” she said. “The consequences are dire and far reaching.”

Crandell told Lake County News that Jones and Social Services Director Rachel Dillman Parsons have been monitoring developments and updating the Board of Supervisors as the situation unfolds.

“County leadership is strategizing in order to be ready to adjust from the potential impacts,” he said.

Calling for action

The speakers at Friday’s press conference urged the public and policymakers to recognize the impact and take action to stop the cuts.

“The proposed cuts to Medicaid funding threaten to unravel the safety net that so many in our community rely on, we must remember that behind every policy decision, real lives are at stake,” Morrow said, urging policy makers to reconsider these cuts.

“I urge all of our federal representatives to fight these cuts as if their own life depended on it,” said Jones.

Crandell acknowledged the community’s resilience but stressed that some crises can and should be avoided.

“It’s unfortunate that we’ve been experienced with crisis, but we’ve always pulled together in a time of crisis,” Crandell said. “However, that doesn’t need to happen.”

“You, who are watching, please reach out to your elected officials or anyone that’s related to you that has elected officials,” Crandell said.

Thompson agreed, thanking Crandell for highlighting the community’s history of overcoming natural disasters.

“This is not a natural disaster; this is a man-made disaster,” Thompson said.

Thompson argued that these cuts at health care and food programs put the elderly, the disabled and children at risk, to finance “tax cuts to the richest people in our country — people making over $743,000 a year.”

“Please get the word out, let your friends know, your neighbors know,” Thompson said at the end of the press conference. “Let's not be silent about this.”

Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Details

Written by: LINGZI CHEN

Published: 01 March 2025