Morning News NOW Fat Broadcast – April 8

right now on Morning News Now shrouded in darkness millions of people across three countries in North America are preparing to witness the first total solar eclipse in seven years as the moon moves between the Sun and the Earth temporarily blocking out the light Mexico's Pacific Coast will be the first.

To see the eclipse before it moves North through parts of the United States Canada While most cities on the eclipses path will be blanketed and Shadow for 2 minutes some places like Northwestern Mexico and parts of Texas could see up to 4 and a half minutes of Darkness thousands of people are flocking to places like Texas to catch a glimpse of.

The phenomenon but forecasters say cloudy skies there and elsewhere could obscure the view for many Sky Watchers now despite the potentially gloomy Outlook Health officials are urging people to take precaution when viewing the eclipse that means avoiding looking directly at the Sun and wearing those protective glasses if you.

Do so here in New York Governor Cathy hokel said she was excited to witness the event and it's just 24 hours away this is a once in a-lifetime opportunity to witness the majestry of God's creation as the eyes from the earth look to the heavens it'll be breathtaking to see the sun covered in its totality leaving.

Giving us mere mortals in darkness for over 3 minutes breathtaking indeed good morning I'm Savannah sers I'm so happy to be spending this day with you Joe frier is out this morning NBC News correspondent Mor Morgan chesky joins us from his hometown actually which is very cool of cville Texas for more on this historic.

Event Morgan good morning so over 30 million people live fully in this path of totality as it stretches across the us but kville where you're from where you are is expected to see the eclipse first how are they preparing there what's the buzz like in your hometown how's it feel to be there yeah Savannah good morning lots of.

Buzz here in cville nestled in the heart of the Texas Hill Country we have 4 minutes and 24 seconds of totality expected here come later this afternoon but preparations have been in place for months now the city preparing to potentially quadruple even quintuple in size with people converging on the town uh to witness that rare phenomenon when.

You have that Moon perfectly blocking the Sun and we are going to be in that path of totality rain or shine of course there is a lot of discussion about the weather here we have cloud cover right now a little sprinkling but Savannah I can tell you anyone who knows Texas weather at all knows that you don't make any strong predictions until really a.

Few minutes before the actual event is taking place so we have plenty of time uh for the sun to burn through some of that cloud cover and hopefully give thousands of people here at Louise Hayes Park uh a picture perfect or close to it view of that 4 minutes and 24 seconds of totality keep in mind Savannah that the moon will make first contact with the.

Sun and start to slide over it at about 12:55 local time so the countdown most definitely on here Savannah Texas is just one of the states that's going to face this risk of severe weather that cloudiness that could potentially impact what people are able to see is that what you're thinking is going to happen where you are at all or.

No yeah very good question so there is a chance for cloud cover here although important to note if those clouds are higher and not low hanging clouds you can still get a great view of the eclipse and in some cases it'll you know make those flares coming off the sun look even more dazzling to the eye as long as you have of course those eclipse.

Glasses we do know that there are some isolated thunderstorms not expected to roll in until after that moment of totality and that's good news for the tens of thousands of people expected here at the park there are food trucks here they have a stage setup for a band and I'm just a Stones Throw from where NASA is setting up kville one of a.

Handful of cities that scientists chose strictly because of its time and totality Savannah that 4 minutes and 24 seconds really going to be about the longest we'll see in the continental United States to the south in Mexico there are areas that will see 4 minutes and 28 seconds uh and that going to be the longest for this great North.

American Eclipse uh that everyone has been counting down to for such a long time finger fingers crossed for the weather here though Savannah we still have a few hours though for things to you know clear up there we go let's hope so exactly fingers are certainly crossed for you and anybody else in that path um so tell us Morgan if you are lucky.

Enough to be in the path of totality tell people what they can expect because I think it's um it's a little bit more of a moment than I think people might recognize at least from people I've been talking to people who call themselves Eclipse Chasers who go all over the world trying to catch that moment of totality what's it like when that.

Happens yeah Savannah this will be my second Eclipse my first was actually on board a plane that intersected an eclipse over the ocean and I would love to say that it was an emotional moment but back then I was so concerned about getting that perfect shot of the eclipse in the camera that it really didn't take time.

To soak up and absorb this incredible Celestial phenomenon that's what I'm looking forward to today we know that as the moon completely blocks the Sun's light we are able to actually remove our eclipse glasses or drop our Eclipse visors and witness that time in totality uh during which you can see some prominences come off of the sun and the.

Corona that outer atmosphere of the Sun or flares uh extend out past the edge of the Moon uh really just incredible to witness but to your point uh people who witnessed this have said it's it's surreal it's spiritual those others just say this is just plain cool to be in that exact place at that that exact time uh to.

Witness this moment my favorite stat is this Savannah 50% of people when they witnessed their first total solar eclipse they are brought to tears this is my second one but somehow I still feel that I will be uh in an emotional Camp here time will tell there you go crying on television like a real man Morgan chesky thank you so much enjoy.

Your day have fun in your hometown we'll talk to in a little bit well the weather is important every day but as we were just discussing for millions of people you got a little bit more r in on it today let's check in on your forecast Michelle Gman is in studio with us Michelle tell us how's it going to be today for people good morning Savannah I.

Know such a big day and Cloud forecasts are so difficult especially when you're getting down to 4minute time span so let's take a look at that you know path of totality because we'll go up and down the cities and kind of pinpoint what we think will happen let's go around the clock here though the Northern Plains clouds rain and snow that should start.

To wind down later on this afternoon the plains to the Midwest just a few clouds looking better there then we're looking at the golf to the Great Lakes not great because we have a cold front that's going to bring some showers some storms plenty of cloud cover all the way along that span East Coast we're looking at mostly sunny skies looking really nice A.

Little caveat as Morgan sort of alluded to where he is we're going to see some high clouds streaming in as we go throughout the day so that's going to dim some of uh the eclipse but still no worries there so let's go through some of the Cities Morgan he covered it for us uh Jay Gray is in Junction Texas we're going to see the chance for some.

Showers 70% cloud cover that's at 1:32 Central Time Al our friend along with Priscilla in Dallas Texas we're looking at 60% cloud cover and then as we go a little bit further to the north some spots looking a little bit better than others that would be in Indianapolis a little touching go with the forecast there we're looking leester and Tom.

Costello there at 306 looking at 50% cloud cover that should be okay same story in Bloomington Indiana looking really good where Chase Kanan is going to be in Little Rock Little Rock Arkansas at 30% then we have some dicey forecast in portions of New York Brockport where Ryan nobl is going to be 80% cloud cover 40% in Cleveland with.

Jesse curs and also Chris Janson Cleveland had an epic weekend with the uh women's basketball tournament as well then we're looking at Kate Snow Kate Snow got the best spot to be because she's looking at 0% cloud cover will be perfect in Northern New England temperatures are going to be nice in the 60s so a really nice viewing area there.

That's going to be right around 3:32 so let's take a look at what happens during eclipse because it really is so interesting and it really like Morgan said somefield spiritual kind of shows you how vast the universe is but temperatures may drop during the eclipse as it gets dark could drop 10 degrees in some spots also uh dropping temperatures.

Can decrease cloud cover so that would be good news at least for some of that four minute time period relative humidity increases and reduced solar radiation can cause winds to come so there's you know stories that the animals can feel it that we can feel that difference so it will be really fun as we go throughout the afternoon hours.

But we do need to talk about the severe risk also because I want you to give a heads up here you need your tornado plan in place that's in portions of the Southern Plains this afternoon and overnight it looks like it will happen after the eclipse but still could see some showers during this 16 million people at risk we are talking about.

Large large hail up to softball size hail that is damaging on its own winds ging up to 60 m per hour a few tornadoes are possible especially in that orange area that's an enhanced risk also yellow so abalene Dallas sh Port San Angelo San Antonio you could see uh lots of uh activity there also looking at the chance Savannah for flooding rains we're.

Going to this is a two-day event so training Reigns will bring the chance for some flooding in that area as well all right got to keep those things in mind even though there's an eclipse going on today yeah got to remember that yeah Michelle thank you so much well Eileen Collins joins us now with more on the eclipse and what you need to know.

She is a former NASA astronaut space shuttle commander and author of through the glass ceiling to the Stars so just a couple qualifications there to talk with us this morning e thank you very much for joining us so just tell us why do you think and in your experience explain to us why this eclipse is so special well solar eclipses are very.

Rare I was fortunate enough to view one myself back in 1991 I was in Hawaii and it it actually got quite cool out the sky the area around me seemed to turn kind of gray and we didn't even have a total I think it was something like it might have been 99% or something like that but these are very rare in fact I live here in uh.

South Texas and I'm going to after this uh uh talk that we're having here I'm going to get in my car with some friends and we're heading out west to yaldi to yaldi Texas which is at the very southernmost area of today's eclipse and we're going to view it from there I'm hearing good news that the clouds are going to break oh that is great news.

We're hoping for that for anybody with that concern today so there are also these great learning opportunities right during an eclipse for scientists what can actually be studied during an eclipse well I think primarily scientists want to study the sun's Corona so the corona is the outer part of you know where the where the sun's.

Rays are uh extending out into the solar system and this is a rare opportunity so the scientists will not only be studying from the ground but NASA is going to launch some sounding Rockets out of Wallops which is a area uh a Center in Virginia I think they're going to launch you know uh several of these and the key thing for them is to get above the.

Atmosphere because they can get a much clearer view without the you know obviously getting above the clouds but also getting above any humidity or atmosphere so it it's so important for us to understand the sun I mean obviously every day the sun rises and it gives us heat it gives us light our crops grow and it we we have to have the.

Sun obviously in our everyday life but the Sun changes it's in a cycle and there's short cycles and there's long cycles and this gives the N scientists an opportunity to to study that oh one other thing even during the partial eclipse they can see uh sunspots a little bit better than they could see uh without the eclipse so this is a great.

Opportunity and I know scientists around the country are going to be traveling uh to the eclipse to do these studies so cool I me there's also a crew of astronauts on the International Space Station right now tell tell us their experience what does this look like for astronauts in space versus how we see the eclipse here on Earth tell us how.

They're preparing oh so to me this is very exciting I wish I was up there so the space station has something called a Koopa and it's it's it's like a small room on the space station it has Windows all the way around and they can look straight down at the Earth they get a nater view now they will see a shadow like a small black circle that is moving.

Along that Eclipse path that you showed earlier the eclipse moves it about a on the ground about a thousand miles an hour I mean it varies depending on the uh you know where where it is but let's say it's at average of a th000 miles an hour so it's moving very very fast but the space station is also moving fast that.

It's it's something like 18,000 miles an hour so the timing has to be just right so the way I understand it the last I heard the astronauts will see part of the eclipse from space and they will photograph it and film it so I'm hoping to see what they see afterwards and the shadow is very very small so they're going to have to zoom in on it and we'll.

I'm anxious to see what what will come from it you can also see that from an airplane if you go up in an airplane you can look down and see the sun shadow which is something I've never seen but I think that's going to be very exciting oh yeah I know there are a couple flights today specifically that are almost sort of eclipse chasing which is.

What a neat perspective to see this from Eileen Collins thank you so much enjoy today have a safe drive out to you Baldi thanks well for more on how to stay safe during the eclipse we are now joined by Dr Sarah kinof an optometrist at Studio Optics here in New York in fact right in our building here at 30 Rock good morning thank you so much for.

Joining us so millions of people right are going to be looking up at the skies this afternoon trying to see this eclipse and remind us exactly what it is that we need to do to keep our eyes safe why it's important to not look directly at this Eclipse no matter exciting unless you have those specific glasses morning it is so exciting um but.

You um the real damage can happen to the retina and that's irreversible because the the light of the sun can absolutely just burn through that retina and there's the retina doesn't really regenerate and so we want to protect that retina at all costs and if you are in the path of totality you can actually take these glasses off once there is.

That moment of totality is that right that is correct only in that moment of totality but um if we're not in the path of totality it's really kind of scary because on a very very bright day we understand that it hurts to look at the Sun but on a day when you know there's this eclipse and a lot of the sun is blocked we think oh it's okay to take.

Off our glasses but in fact it's really not because even a few seconds of that sunlight can burn the retina and that's very very dangerous so let's talk about these glasses our viewers are watching it's kind of this mesmerizing video actually of all these glasses being made kind of an incredible process to to see so much of um tell us exactly what the.

Right ones look like because there are you know unfortunately knockoffs and things like that out there that actually you might think hey great I got these things on they're actually not offering the proper protection at all how can you make sure that you've got the right ones right so first of all they're really really dark when you put them on you.

Actually can almost see nothing which is kind of crazy but the second thing that you're going to look for is something that says ISO on it and um you know that's the international um board that governs this but the other thing is you know somebody can just write that on a pair of glasses so just get them from a reputable Source that's really the most.

Important thing and for those unable to get a pair of glasses there's something called a pinhole projector a way to kind of try and do this on your own how can we make one and then also use one safely yeah that's a great question first of all I just want to say I love your shirt I'm sure it was on purpose it was on purpose thanks for noticing even though.

Stars really are not in the equation here it's just Celestial it's awesome sorry na just Sor it's all good um and so that's a really good question that's called indirect viewing and what that is is essentially you take a p you can look on YouTube there's about a million videos um you you can take a piece of cardboard and then they tell you to put.

A piece of tin foil and then punch a hole and what you're doing is with this with the to your back you're going to let the eclipse go through that teeny tiny hole which is basically a pin hole and it focuses the image of the eclipse and you're going to see it like on the floor or on a piece of something else so you're not looking directly at the.

Eclipse you're looking at a pinhole um view of this and so you're just seeing it that way so that there's no damage to your retina um it's probably not as fun as seeing it with the glasses but it's definitely a way to do it if you don't have the glasses and an important that does not mean that you look through the pinhole at the sun it's that to create.

That shadow where you're kind of going to see you know whatever that sort of Crescent shape looks like Dr Sarah konov thank you so much great to have you on enjoy today thanks for having me and thanks so much and enjoy the eclipse thank you you too have a great day and now our own meteorologist Andie lman is going to break down the science of a.

Total solar eclipse and tell us how we can expect it to play out across the US a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun and the Moon blocks the Sun for a viewer on Earth during a total eclipse the moon lines up perfectly to fully obscure the sun resulting in totality the result is a shadow that will cross.

North America from Mexico to Canada this is why the 2024 Eclipse event will be known as the great North American Eclipse it starts as the moon slowly obscures more and more of the Sun as it progresses the surroundings take on an unusual Hue and shadows become crisp and detailed as the sun dwindles to a slender Crescent as seen through eclipse.

Glasses daylight dims and shimmering Shadow bands and Crescent shaped Shadows might dance across the landscape then comes totality when the soft wisps of the solar Corona surround a huge hole where the sun used to be the solar Corona is the outer part of the sun's atmosphere this Corona normally hidden by the sun's Brilliance becomes visible.

During a total solar eclipse when the moon completely blocks the Sun surface you find yourself in an eerie Twilight surrounded by a spellbinding sunset glow finally totality ends and the sequence unfolds in Reverse now let's take you through the timeline of how the solar eclipse will sweep across North America the path of totality will sweep over.

Parts of 15 US states starting in Texas and ending in Maine the whole event will take about 2 and 1/2 hours for the shadow to make its way from the Pacific Ocean across North America and over the North Atlantic Ocean to witness the event you'll need to be within the 108 to 122 M wide path of totality but don't worry if you're not you'll still see.

Quite the show with a partial eclipse visible from nearly everywhere in the United States but some places will see it better than others for cities in the path like Dallas Indianapolis Cleveland and buffalo totality will last approximately 4 minutes during those minutes of totality you might notice a slight temperature drop a change in the.

Behavior of any nearby Wildlife the mesmerizing moments of a total solar eclipse along a narrow path for just a few minutes make it one of Nature's rarest firsthand experiences all right Angie uh that was so cool and what uh feet of that green screen looked like you were really up there thank you for that well we will of.

Course have special live coverage of the total solar eclipse from the entire NBC News team we will be across the country I will be here in New York City hopefully on top of a building our extended live coverage gets underway today at 2: p.m. eastern time 11:00 a.m. Pacific right here on NBC news now will also be on NBC we'll also have live.

Updates throughout the day on nbcnews.com don't go anywhere we have got you covered for this well coming up Israel's assault on Gaza seems to be headed in a New Direction 6 months into its war with Hamas we've got the latest on the ground as ceasefire talk stall stay with us welcome back on Capitol Hill this.

Morning lawmakers will return after a TW week recess with quite a bit on their to-do list from the fight over funding for Ukraine and Israel to Marjorie Taylor green push to oust fellow Republican house Speaker Mike Johnson we've got a lot of ground to cover let's bring in NBC News Capital Hill correspondent Ali vital she is here to.

Break it all down Ally great to see you great job anchoring by the way this weekend caught some of that you're fantastic thank you for joining us early on a Monday morning so we've got a lot to watch for this week let's start with Israel which we were just talking about Democrats are pushing for military aid to be halted While others want it to be.

Conditional this has been the sticking point for quite some time now what can we expect today this is a sticking point that's only getting stickier I think the benefit of working the weekend Savannah is that I was able to get us a few ants going into this week but none of them make it make it any less messy for what.

Congress is about to come back to what we've seen over the course of the last few days is several Democrats especially on the house side saying that they want conditional Aid placed on the military aid given to Israel that in light of the situation on the ground in Gaza even some of those members though including speaker amerita Nancy Pelosi but also.

Senator Chris Coons both of whom had publicly waited into the waters on at least considering the idea of contingency on military aid then walked it back and basically said you know what the Biden Administration is going to handle this the way that they're going to handle this we don't think that Aid should be conditional at least not right.

Now but we are aware that the situation on the ground in Gaza is very dire look all of this paints a picture Savannah of the fact that Israel Aid is one of those things that it could get a vote but this is not going to be one of those regular Partyline things where you see all Republicans and all Democrats lining up behind each other it's going to be.

Really messy there's a lot of splintering within the Democratic party especially over this issue right now absolutely and then let's also talk Ukraine right military aid there as well speaker MC Johnson has suggested the house could take up the issue but given how divided Republicans have been on sending more resources to Ukraine as.

Well just like we discussed with Israel does this have enough support to pass that is also an open question because look right now there is a supplemental package that you and I have been talking about for several weeks now the Senate passed it in hopes that the house would take it up that supplemental Aid package has aid for Ukraine for.

Israel and Taiwan this is something that's already passed the Senate it's why several key house members have told me it is the only option just procedurally to get this Aid out the door especially to a country like Ukraine where president zalinsky has said consistently he needs that continued support from his greatest Ally.

The United States that pressure of course still palpable from Israel as well but the supplemental package has a lot of problems within it especially because while you have some Republicans who might want to vote for Israel Aid they do not want to vote for Ukraine Aid you've got got Democrats who say they want to vote for for Ukraine aid but not.

Israel Aid when you package it all up it really does allow people to weigh which one might be more important to them and it's why we're expecting it to be a very messy Partyline vote if that is the thing that is voted on and I say if because speaker Mike Johnson well aware of the fact that his conference is very mad at him for a myriad number of.

Reasons he is aware of the fact that he may have to just move on these piece by piece but if he brings up a Ukraine Aid vote that could trigger that old motion to vacate which frankly every lawmaker I know is quietly living in fear of right now and most reporters I have to say as well that's something that's looming over all of this it's not just a funding.

Fight it's also the question of does Mike Johnson keep his job you don't want to sleep at the capital alley as we watch boats happen over and over I do love sleeping at the capital and I basically pay rent there now but no Ali Vali thank you so much well Sunday March 6 months since Hamas militants launched their attack on Israel killing more than.

12200 people and taking hundreds more hostage since then gazin have paid a heavy price as Israel continues towards its stated goal of eliminating Hamas from the region according to the health Ministry in Gaza more than 33,000 people have been killed in the Palestinian Enclave Millions have been displaced and are now facing starvation famine and.

Illness frustrations over the conflict are growing over the weekend tens of thousands took to the streets streets of Tel Aviv to demand netanyahu's resignation and the return of the hostages Israeli military officials announced they are pulling troops from Southern Gaza to carry out new operations including a planned ground.

Assault in Rafa International leaders are sounding the alarm urging for an end to this war and a plan to rebuild a decimated Gaza NBC News correspondent Hala garani joins me now from Tel Aviv with the latest Hala good morning thank you for being here so when this War Began prime minister Netanyahu had pretty broad public and international.

Support when it came to holding Hamas accountable for the October 7th attack how has that support changed over the last six months maybe even just the last week or so where do Israel relations stand right now with some of its closest allies so some of the closest allies of the Israeli government and and Israel as a as a nation have for several months.

Now uh sounded the alarm on the uh extent of the destruction the civilian displacement and suffering that has taken place in Gaza over the last half a year we've heard it even from Israel's closest Ally the United States with President Biden essentially warning against an allout ground offensive in Rafa where more than a million people.

Are Sheltering now uh to try to flee to try to run away from some of the heaviest bombardment in the north and in the central part of the Gaza Strip but some pretty significant developments though over the weekend that you uh that you lined out there in your intro to me the Israeli military is withdrawing some of its forces from the south.

Concentrating them in the north they're saying that they will still be um uh conducting targeted operations in the South they certainly will still be using air power those American supplied 2,000 bombs will still be used those have been linked to mass civilian casualties so that will still be taking place but one has to wonder if after the pretty.

Intense conversation that took place between President Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu a few days ago there seems to be some sort of course change coming from the Israeli government we are also keeping our eye on talks that are taking place in Cairo they've broken up now there are conflicting reports about whether or not we can expect a.

Breakthrough Egyptian media are quoting some of the participants as saying we're pretty close though Hamas Representatives have left saying that they don't believe that they're any closer to a deal that the positions the two parties are still very far apart and and I should mention one other very important thing after that phone call.

Between uh Mr Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu there was a promise to open the Aires Crossing in the north to allow more Aid into the northern part of the strip where AID groups are saying that people there are near famine uh are in near uh famine conditions that has not happen three or four days later we're still keeping our eye on that and the.

Ministry in charge of fa facilitating uh those Aid deliveries and the opening of that Crossing are not giving us any details about when that is likely to happen Savannah and H when you mentioned negotiations and where we're at is there any hope of hostages being released soon so that's all tied into the hostage release uh the ceasefire all of those.

Things go together so once a ceasefire is agreed upon uh there will be room there will be oxygen and space for a hostage negotiation operation to take place similar to the one our viewers may remember that took place last November that led to the release of mainly women and younger hostages so that is the Hope but the other aspect of that is to allow.

For more Aid in not just food uh medical supplies um humanitarian organizations you'll remember after the world Central Kitchen strike that killed seven of their workers many humanitarian organizations suspended their operations and that has really really put a lot of pressure on local groups to distribute the small amount of food supplies that.

They have Savannah all right H gani thank you so much for joining us coming up it is lights out for parts of North America we're continuing our buildup of Today's total solar eclipse with a look at how Texas is preparing for the phenomenon that's up next.

We are back now with the latest on the countdown to the total eclipse while more than 31 million people across the US are in the path of totality there may be no better place to see what's called this astronomical conjunction between the Sun Moon and Earth than in Junction Texas that's where NBC News correspondent Jay Gray is this morning.

He joins us with more on this historic day jay good morning Savannah good morning morning to you and you're right we're in the Texas Hill Country right now where this astronomical drama is expected to play out in the next several hours here of course if you got a drama you got to have a villain and playing that role.

Right now is the forecast because we could see some heavy clouds the eclipse begins its Us Journey in Texas and in the heart of the Hill Country history getting a proper Lone Star welcome and roping picking then grinning a washers tournament and.

Sipping Eclipse wine from a Texas Vineyard the Tex clip Festival turning the eclipse into a 3-day celebration for those that are coming for the eclipse we wanted to give them something to do while they're here games Goods even local royalty Gathering outside the county courthouse Eclipse Chasers coming from across the country and around the.

World hoping for that rare glimpse of the Moon aligning with the sun completely blocking its powerful Rays it's incredible it's something to remember your whole life the path of totality moves from the Pacific to the Atlantic across 15 states home to more than 31 million but forecasters warn a big part of that path could be covered.

In clouds the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco teaming with NASA will stream the event live across the globe and after 2 years of research and planning their telescopes and cameras are surrounded by Blue Bonnets and hay bales betting on clear skies in Junction we studied the weather maps we talked to weather folks and it turns out this is.

The best place in the United States in terms of weather everyone along the path of the eclipse hoping they'll be left in the dark in just a few hours yeah and look it's a very unofficial update on the conditions but Savannah I'm looking up the sky and you can still see the star here so that's good news still clear and we've seen the.

Forecast get a little better maybe or or it's wishful thinking over the last 24 hours the partial eclipse will begin here at 12:14 central time we move into totality at 1:32 with more than three full minutes of Darkness so man I I'm just hopeful I get to use these glasses a bit later today let's keep those clouds away I know I think I think.

You'll be okay I spoke with some Eclipse Chasers too who said even with some cloud cover you can still kind of see that Corona of the scent so hopefully you're good Jay Gray enjoy it thank you so much we've heard a lot about the power of a total solar eclipse and what it does to people well last week we told you as I just mentioned about a group of.

People who go around chasing total eclipses trying to experience as many as possible Dr Kate Russo is a clinical psychologist and an eclipse Chaser she joins us now from leaky Texas which is right in the path of totality good morning doctor thank you so much for joining us so I understand youve experience 10 total eclipses and.

Actually interestingly a couple of them blocked by clouds which we'd probably want to hear about today just to understand what that's like since many people may experience that first I just have to ask what is so powerful about a total eclipse well I've actually seen 13 total solar eclipses over a period of about 24.

Years yeah um they really are the most amazing unre remarkable truly amazing experiences you can have it's um it's a fully immersive event so it's not something that we just see you know like a super moon you step outside and have a look it's actually something that's very immersive and I say that it happens above you around you and within you.

Because there's so much to see the visuals are amazing you know when you see the Moon completely blocking the sun you see the outer Corona we understand the significance of of the Scale of the Universe um we might see the brightest uh the planets and some brightest stars but it happens around you because the temperature drops and the wind picks up.

And um and and you know like you can hear the changes in birds and our shadows become Eerie the light changes and then in those moments before totality it's just like someone puts a dimmer switch down over a period of a minute or so because things happen so rapidly and it gets quite dark and that incoming Shadow puts the hair on the.

Back of your neck standing up and I always get goosebumps because it's like this ominous thing coming towards you and then you've fality and here in um I'm going to be in Ghana State Park in Texas uh we're going to have 4 minutes and 26 seconds of totality so that's a long time um and then as soon as it's over we actually left with this really.

Strong feeling of um you know like when is the next one because it really does change the way we think about the world we feel insignificant we feel part of something greater it's phenomenal and you just have to get into the path of totality to experience it for yourself oh so exciting for people who have not seen it to to have this to look forward.

To this afternoon um so as I mentioned a couple of the times that you've seen in the clips tell me if this is right that they were actually blocked by clouds there are large portions of course of today's path that are expected to have at least some cloud cover some worse than others what do you think I mean do you have any advice for people in those.

Areas and just tell us is it still worth the experience can you still see something that's sort of transformative in a way yes I've been blocked two times the first time was actually in China and lot of ch places were blocked there we positioned ourselves to give us the best chance of seeing the total solar eclipse so when we're expecting clear skies uh.

And then we're blocked it's a bit of a challenge um the second time I was clouded out was in 2015 in the Pharaoh Islands we were expecting to be clouded out so that's a different scenario now here in Texas many of us chose Texas because it has um historically it had the best chances of clear skies in the US along the path and here we are.

Finding ourselves a little bit under Cloud this morning so there's a lot of Chasers who actually have further you know diverted uh away from trying to chase get outside of the clouds I've chosen to stay in Garner State Park and even though we know and we're expecting Cloud we are actually hoping for little pockets of clarity in that now if it's.

Cloudy and we can't see the sky what's going to happen is that you won't see the things above you you won't be able to see the corona that the main feature of the eclipse not going to be able to see the diamond ring the Bailey's beads we're not going to see the darkness of the sky but we will feel the things around us we will feel the temperature.

Drop we will feel the changes in the environment the nature the birds the we will see the light and under Cloud it will actually become even more darker so I think we're in for really dark experience and if we look around the Horizon you will see 360° Sunset which is a really good feature so you can still see that even if we're cloudy and.

Of course it just makes us feel so incredibly connected to everybody else so we're all here and I know that when we're standing there waiting for the clouds to part we're all going to be really United and connected and we're all going to be screaming just sort of like in excitement when we do get glimpses of it so fingers crossed for us.

Absolutely and I know that you love this so much you've actually written a book about it called being in the shadow stories of the first time total eclipse experience something that a lot of people are going to get to experience for the first time today as this crosses over where so many Americans live very exciting doctor thank you so much best.

Of luck crossing our fingers for that cloud cover for you but thank you for making people excited about it nonetheless great to have you please guys for everybody else thank you absolutely well many of us of course have been preparing discussing patiently waiting for the eclipse for months now but for animals right the eclipse will.

Come as a complete surprise reporter David Guildford from our Portland Main affili it takes a closer look at animal behavior on this unique day Monday afternoon we'll stop and look at the sky but we're not the only creatures experiencing the eclipse Pineland farms in new cluster is home to an assortment of animals we have.

Cows we have horses hi Mr Tango we have chickens we have a pea fowl we have sheep and goats all live pretty comfortably here and they've never experienced something like an eclipse before education director Katherine Anderson is watching for any weirdness but suspects the animals chickens in particular might just head for bed that.

They go into their roosting spot climb up off the ground and get ready for the night so if that happens that might be really cool it might be a different story in the woods and the wildlife around us are going to be a part of that experience so that's the part that I think is really neat Zack olssen is a un animal behavior Professor the longest.

It'll be dark in Maine is just under 3 and a half minutes but in that time he said nocturnal animals might stir about Olsen is most excited to watch out for one animal in particular I'm going to be listening for owls I would love to hear uh an owl announce itself um during totality I think that'd be really cool as for humans pyin sold about 60 tickets.

To folks who will use the farm sledding hill to take in the eclipse while keeping an eye out for our furry friends I mean I would love to say that something really neat would happen like the goats would stand up and walk on their back legs but to be honest I don't think it's going to be that dramatic something fun to watch for.

There thanks to David Guildford from WCSH for that report coming up can the Republicans hold on to the Electoral College Advantage they've had in the last two presidential elections but we will take a look at the scenarios that could determine who wins this year's vote that's.

Next welcome back it's been 20 years since the last time a republican candidate for president won the popular vote but the GOP has maintained an electoral college advantage in the last two elections and that could play a major role in how close the upcoming election might be that is the subject of a new article on nbcnews.com written by.

Our friend our very own senior political editor Mark Murray and this morning Mark has joined ing us to discuss Mark thanks so much for making time for us so in your article you outlined two different scenarios that could explain where the 2024 election stands right now talk us through those scenarios yeah Savannah scenario number one is essentially all.

The poll numbers that you and I have been talking about but this is essentially a 5050 race between President Biden and former president Donald Trump in the Battlegrounds in the National polls uh that this is essentially a coin flip but scenario number two is that President Biden could actually end up being trailing uh former.

President Donald Trump by more than the national poll suggests and that goes to the Electoral College advantage that Republicans have held in the last two presidential Cycles in 2016 for example Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by two percentage points but still lost the Electoral College and in 2020 Joe Biden won the popular vote by 4 and a half.

Percentage points and end up getting the same number of electoral College votes that Donald Trump got four years earlier 30 6 and if that Trend continues and that's the part of the this the exploration in my article that maybe the the thinking would go that uh President Biden needs to win the popular vote by four five six.

Percentage points to be able to get the 270 needed 270 Electoral College votes to win the presidency and so what's the case for the GOP maintaining its Electoral College Edge yeah there are two reasons why Republicans in the Trump era have had an electoral College Edge number one Donald Trump has overperformed among white workingclass.

Voters particularly those in those Midwest and Rust Belt Battleground States places like Wisconsin Michigan Pennsylvania the other reason for the advantage has been that Democrats have done well really well in States like California and New York states that are already going to go blue but have won them by more than they have in previous.

Election which has boosted up the national popular vote in the direction of the Democratic Party and Mark quickly the inverse of that how could the GOP lose this electoral College Edge yeah Savannah and this is what's really fascinating a lot of the polls that we've discussed over the past year or two have actually shown that.

Donald Trump is doing better with Latinos some African-Americans and that actually gives some election analysts the thought that maybe that Electoral College Advantage has reduced because no longer Donald Trump has that huge Advantage among white workingclass voters but in instead might actually be doing places better in California and.

New York he might not actually win them but they might not be the same margins that we saw in 2016 and 2020 in Savannah we actually to see if this trend continues we're going to have to wait for the election results seven months from now that's when we'll get the definitive answer there you go Mark Murray as always thank you let's get you.

Some Financial headlines now starting with what is coming up this week on Wall Street CBC Savanah hanau joins us with the latest money news Savannah good morning hey Savannah good morning to you Wall Street is looking to break out as the markets come off a losing week with a dow suffering its worst performance since March of last year now in Focus.

This week for investors we got a pair of key reports on inflation with consumer and producer prices plus the Federal Reserve has said they want to see more evidence inflation is coming down before they start to cut interest rates also this week earning season kicks off with results from JP Morgan Chase City Group w Fargo and Delta Airlines lawmakers.

Have struck a bipartisan deal on a data privacy bill that would restrict what information tech companies can collect from consumers it also would give Americans the power to prevent their data from being sold to third parties the agreement between Democratic senator Maria cwell who chairs the Commerce Committee and representative Kathy.

McMorris Rogers the Republican chair of the house and house Energy and Commerce Committee would also require firms to disclose if user data has been transferred to a foreign adversary and Mark Zuckerberg is now richer than Elon Musk for the first time since 2020 musk falling to a fourth place on the Bloomberg billionaires index after.

Reuters reported Tesla canceled plans for a less expensive car sending the stock lower Tesla also reporting its first year-over-year decline in deliveries in four years Zuckerberg has added nearly $60 billion to his fortune as meta stock is at record highs he now Trails only lbmh CEO Bernard Arno and Amazon founder Jeff bezo Savannah how.

About that there you go savan thank you so much you got it coming up perfect season perfect team the South Carolina Gamecocks take home their third NCAA Championship beating the Iowa Hawkeyes in an epic game wrapping up an undefeated season we've got the details up next welcome back Bill NY the Science.

Guy is now Bill NY the flyest guy wait till you see these pictures the longtime scientist ditched his usual bow tie served all these certain kind of Vibes in his new cover photo shoot with timeout New York he posted the pics on Instagram featuring the headline the eclipse is NY now while we might have a new look NY will always be our Science.

Guy this whole Celestial drip features a wide range of certified solar eclipse glasses is reminding everyone watching today to do so both passionately and safely here we go I know you all are really jealous that I get to put these over my regular glasses and be six size isn't that really cute make sure you've got those if you're going to look well.

After one of the biggest years in women's college basketball history at the University of South Carolina Gamecocks are now the queens of the dance the team capped off a perfect undefeated season in Cleveland last night best in Caitlyn Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in a thrilling March Madness Championship matchup this is now South.

Carolina's second title in just the past three seasons this morning we've got Kavita Davidson with us she is a sports writer and the co-author of loving Sports when they don't love you back dilemas of the modern fan kava always wonderful to have you with us thank you for joining us this morning so this is this big time rematch right fans are.

Really looking forward to One South Carolina player even called it a revenge tour after Iowa defeated the Gamecocks last year in the final four walk us through this historic season for the national camps yeah I mean South Carolina has just been absolutely dominant and if you look at what they've been able to do.

They lost all of their starters from last year um but Don Staley has just built this incredible Dynasty they've now won two out of three of the last championships they have lost a total of three games in the last three years and the way they really kill you is is with their depth you know they have so much scoring spread out in yesterday's game.

They had nine players with double- digit B minutes um their bench outscored uh Iowa by 37 to nothing and you know Raven Johnson on her own little revenge tour after last year being waved off by Caitlyn Clark really coming in and shutting down Caitlyn Clark after Clark came out firing with 18 points in the first quarter um it was you know it was.

An incredible game it was incredible for the sport and you know congratulations to South Carolina who has just been doing uh they've just been doing this all year absolutely so let's talk Caitlyn Clark so her college career ends with this painful loss backto back finals but she of course is expected to be the top pick in the upcoming WNBA.

Draft even broke some records yesterday with her scoring walk us through just her Legacy no matter whether she won yesterday doesn't win yesterday what just stands out to you and what's the future for Caitlyn Clark yeah I mean look Caitlyn Clark all of the accolades are there she's obviously the greatest scorer the sport.

Has ever seen um and and what she's really been able to do for for the sport being the face garnering National Consciousness you know Don Staley yesterday after after the game thanked her for lifting up the sport but I think those of us who have uh who have followed women's basketball Caitlyn Clark included will be the first to.

Point out that the talent has always been there and the superstars have always been there but what hasn't been there is the access and now that these games and these athletes are being featured and put on television someone like Caitlyn Clark was able to capture national attention and that will be her Legacy let's talk about the men's of.

Course final tonight excitement's not over quite yet so Purdue and Yukon two fan favorites what can we expect when they tip off tonight yeah I actually see a lot of similarities between these two teams uh than in the women's game you have Yukon who is so dominant and so deep you know they've won 11 straight tournament games.

By double digits and then uh over on Purdue you have one of the greatest uh college players we've ever seen in Zach Edy this is going to come down to a battle of the big men Edy for Purdue versus Donovan kingan uh in Yukon um and kingan you know again just he can dominate down low so well but Yukon also surrounds him with players who are all.

Perimeter threats Yukon is 5-0 in title games and this is only produc second I do think this will be closer than most people think but you know I I I I have my money on Yukon hey K by the way just with the excitement that we saw around women's basketball this year the viewership records by the way that we saw broken men's or women's by some of.

These games this season do you think that next year we could see the women's final actually in prime time I think you know a lot of people after yesterday's game were calling for this game to have been played at 6: p.m. Eastern instead of 3: I think that makes a lot of sense those are some of the programming decisions that women's sports have been.

Fighting for years frankly but as you see when these games are on in prime time people watch you know 14.2 million people tuned in to watch the final four uh so I do think there's a hope that uh that some better decisions on the prime time timing of the national championship game will come next year absolutely Kavita Davidson thank you so much been.

Fun to talk with you through this that's going to do it for this hour of morning news now stay with us though the news continues right now good morning everyone thank you for joining us on a very special Monday it's Eclipse day I'm Savannah sers Joe has the morning off so today is the day.

We're just hours away from a historic Out of This World experience a total solar eclipse 31 million people in 15 states are directly in What's called the path of totality they'll get the best view and 150 million people are within just 200 miles of that but as we've been reporting for weeks even more Americans are packing up and heading out this.

Morning part of this Eclipse travel boom it's bringing big crowds and a whole lot of Tourism cash to the big cities as well as those small towns along the path massive celebrations parties even weddings are on tap for this once in a lifetime solar showing and of course NASA will be keeping a close eye on it all chasing the eclipse down with high.

Altitude planes looking to steady objects like asteroids that could be orbiting the Sun we have Team coverage this morning of everything and I mean everything you need to know and of course we'll tell you how you can keep yourself safe when that daylight Darkness hits make sure these glasses you've hopefully got by now are the.

Right ones that you actually need well we've got NBC News senior correspondent Tom Castello kicking it all off for us this morning in Indianapolis Indiana yeah good morning from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway they are expecting 50,000 people here today 29 countries all 50 states and NASA officially calling this one of their.

Viewing sites Purdue University one of the sponsors it's going to be a phenomenal day right now we're expecting 70° blue skies and at the moment we don't have a cloud in the skies and the excitement as you would expect is building oh my God look if you've ever experienced a total eclipse oh my.

Gosh look at the race structure it's something you never forget what a great memory it is oh my gosh I'm seen like a moon the sun in 2017 we watched from Charleston South Carolina it was just the most spectacular thing I've ever seen in my life did it live up to expectation absolutely amazing now the Sun the Moon and Earth are again coming.

Into alignment and here's what's really cool the sun's outer atmosphere the corona will briefly shine through those bubbling shooting streams of plasma are 400 times hotter than the sun itself you don't really appreciate how much the sun is truly the Lord of our solar system how big on the sky it really is until you get to see that Corona the eclipse.

Allows scientists to study the corona perfect time because the sun is now at an 11-year Peak it can help them predict future Magnetic storms which can disrupt power grids Communications and satellites and what we're trying to understand is space weather and that constant outflow from the Sun of weather that affects us here on Earth and.

Throughout the solar system for NASA a teaching moment Ying any part of the sun without protection even for a short amount of time can cause serious eye damage 31 million people live within the path of totality 150 million live within 200 miles Newton Shu and his family have come to Indie from Hawaii since 1991 they've seen three eclipses I think it's.

It is a little emotional I mean there are people that you know you feel it sometimes a little tear in your eye that you're you're witnessing just some phenomena of nature along the path police expect Highway gridlock we were told to compare it to like 30 Super Bowls letting out at the exact same time Pennsylvania state trooper Captain Kirk.

Yes that's his real name Captain Kirk Reese don't stop on the highway to view the eclipse don't stop in the roadways turn your headlights on be safe yeah bottom line don't stop in the road to watch the eclipse listen this may be a once- in a-lifetime Opportunity because the next total eclipse doesn't come to the United States until.

2044 good news is that we've got like I said good weather here in Indianapolis today so get your glasses is ready guys back to you yeah all right you are lucky with that weather Tom thank you so much en Joy well Russellville Arkansas was ranked by NASA as one of the best places in the US to watch the eclipse that's where our friend Mike mamino is this.

Morning he's a former NASA astronaut and Senior adviser for space programs at the Intrepid Museum Mike good morning I I see that big smile on your face I know you are excited today so people are coming from all over to exactly where you are in Arkansas for the eclipse what are you expecting to see there and how are you feeling are you us excited as us.

Mere mortals who have never been up to space are yeah Savanah I'm really excited uh you know in space you get to see some really cool things I got to see the sun in the black sky and the stars above the atmosphere and look back at the planet and look at it rotating and this is a reminder that today is a reminder of.

Those things that we are part of this Cosmic dance this ballet that exists between the sun and the moon and the stars and the rest of the solar system we're going to see an amazing thing today the the here right here in Russellville a total the total eclipse so I'm I'm very excited uh about that U A lot of people are excited around here.

They've come from all over the world really to to Russellville Arkansas uh they've they've rolled out the red carpet here so uh NASA will be here as well and I'm looking forward to to seeing everyone's reaction not just to see the eclipse but to see everyone so excited about what's going to be happening today yeah I got to say like.

The Russellville branding it's like a little iHeart New York inspired behind you there got to step and repeat the whole thing they're ready to go Mike so of course something we've been talking a lot about here which is kind of a bummer is that in some parts of this path of totality in many cases a place where people may have traveled from far to.

Actually be and see the eclipse the weather might not cooperate in the way that we'd hope be pretty cloudy up there what does that mean that people will actually be able to see if they are under cloudy skies I you know last time this happened 2017 I was in Charleston I think that's where Tom said he was and I don't.

Remember seeing much because it was overcast so if you have overcast uh Skies it does obscure what's going on up there and uh you you can't you can't see through it uh but hopefully here in Russellville it looks like the weather's going to be really good and cooperate so we'll be able to see it but even if that happens even if there are clouds in your.

Area and you can't see it uh it's still something to enjoy it will still get dark you'll feel a temperature change it'll get cooler uh animals will reating different ways and people are still together to celebrate this and to enjoy what's happening um so I I think even if the even if the clouds don't cooperate with us wherever you are I think you can.

Still enjoy it but let's let's hope for really good weather here it's going to I think it's there I don't want to jinx anything but right now we're very hopeful we're going to have a great show here in in Russellville and we're going to check in and get that forecast for everybody in just a moment um I think something else right that's kind of cool.

Even if you can't really see it is presumably wherever you are even under Cloudy Skies there's there's going to be a huge group of people gathered together kind of have this experience together be chasing something together um what do you think that element adds for people today you know you've traveled somewhere that you don't live you're going to be.

With a group of people all experiencing something together are you looking forward to that oh absolutely I I I arrived here over the weekend and uh just the excitement in the air the young kids I I don't know if I'm giving if I'm spoiling anything for for the teachers but there's no school today here in.

Russellville for example the students are actually in school watching the eclipse so it is uh it it is really a chance for us all to share something there are very few things that we can all share together particularly here in in this case of the eclipse if wherever you are and and you this you may not be in the line of totality but you may get.

Partial uh partial eclipse where you are for example in New York a high percentage of it of the eclipse and that's still something to get together and enjoy so I think it's this is one of these days where we almost like a a national holiday where we should take a time out and pay tribute and remember what's going on here that this is a.

Great science uh a great science day something to learn uh for everybody and a way we something we can all share so I think we're on Common Ground here today there you go you're hearing that straight from an astronaut who knows what he's talking about Mike mamino thank you so much enjoy the day well Co great talking with you as.

Always the east coast is looking pretty clear but let's talk about those Cloudy Skies where where might that impact what people are able to see let's get a check on your Morning News Now weather with Michelle Gman here in studio hey Michelle hey Savannah and it's all about location location location because some people have really great forecast and.

Some not so others so my kind of touched upon these points when uh the eclipse does happen in terms of the weather weather is all about balance Mother Nature wants to be in Balance just like we do so when the temperatures drop uh we'll see the humidity increasing we'll also see the winds going down just to sort of balance it out once the.

Atmosphere sort of balc out then Things become calm so it's going to be cool to feel that you know just calm the Stillness that spirituality that people are talking about as we're all experiencing this together so let's talk about the weather in certain cities across this totality notice these percentages these are uh decreasing as.

You go as expected away from the 100% totality so as we go up and down we're looking at the Southern Plains that's going to be a place where we are looking at the chance for some clouds some low clouds high clouds tend to be thinner they're going to filter out some of that sunay shine or some of what you're seeing the flares around it it's the low.

Clouds that we're worried about so from the Gulf to the great laks that's where we're seeing a cold front kind of bringing some rain bringing some clouds we're going to watch that very closely just a few clouds from the plains to the Midwest the Northern Plains we're looking at leftover clouds left of rain and snow from the weekend that's going.

To continue into the later part of today and the East Coast looking mostly sunny uh but we'll see the clouds increasing throughout the day along the east coast and that's where we're going to see the high clouds the ones that will filter out so looking at a few cities AC cross this line here we're looking at Austin and Dallas mostly cloudy skies Austin.

You could be seeing some showers when you're seeing the eclipse at around 136 Central Time Little Rock we're looking at 30% same story in portions of Southeastern Missouri in Indianapolis that's going to be a tricky forecast along with Cleveland I know Chris Jansen is in Cleveland today um and we're looking at mostly cloudy skies if not.

Partly cloudy so we'll look at that 4 minute time period hopefully we'll the clouds uh will be dissipating at that point 80% in Buffalo the to be will be in Northern New England because we're looking at lots of sunshine they clear skies let's end in here because I do want to mention this too this is a big story as well as the eclipse of course.

That's a big story Joe we're looking at the chance for severe weather in portions of the Southern Plains and that includes softball size hail and a few tornadoes and look at that right along the path of totality in some places where a lot of people might travel there not be used to that type of weather so important to keep in mind yeah Michelle.

Gman thank you so much let's pray for the cloudless sky all right well around four million people are expected to travel to be in the path of totality with estimates putting the economic impact of this rare Celestial event at more than a billion dollars for more we are joined by Katie nastro she is a travel expert at going Katie good.

Morning always great to see you so this total solar eclipse it cuts across 15 states and quite populated areas in some of them where are most people flocking to watch it right so this has the potential to be one of the biggest moments for travel in 2024 you know looking specifically like areas of Texas expecting upwards of 1.

Million visitors along with Indiana and Ohio coming in close seconds at around half a million people traveling just for this event but like we just saw on the weather forecast it's appearing that the areas of the Northeast that weren't exactly the hot spots to begin with for traveling due to the eclipse it's looking like one of the best areas to be.

Able to view it due to this sunnier weather and the eclipse is also I mean in terms of talking about travel coin iding with spring break what do you think that means I mean do you think we'll see delays traffic that type of stuff and also I guess do think most people are already in their place and maybe today is not so bad of a travel.

Day right so you know we actually have been monitoring TSA uh Security numbers throughout the weekend and we saw a big shift sort of coming into today so don't anticipate you know of course airports are going to be busy but it's really that after effect you know the the eclipse only takes place for a short period of time but then you know.

Everyone looks to leave at the same moment so if you are heading out right after you're going to expect longer lines especially when it comes to traffic so you know get your car gassed up and potentially wait a little bit longer after the fact so you can sort of avoid that massive Rush yeah absolutely I can't even imagine when you see all.

These amazing pictures of people looking like they're having so much fun like out in a field together where are all their cars and how are they going to get out of there I have been wondering that um hopefully people are mostly where they're going to be given that this is just a few hours away from now but for any procrastinators who want to head out.

Today anything that they should keep in mind anything you'd recommend or any deals right you know last minute flights are always pretty pricey but last minute Eclipse flights coupled with some Spring Breakers in there are certainly more expensive so your best bet at this point might be to get in areas that are just outside of the path and then possibly.

Drive In so you know heading to Chicago versus Indianapolis and then driving into the path or even staying in areas again that are only supposed to to get about 80% coverage so areas of New York which is still pretty significant and definitely worth viewing I also think if you haven't made your plans at this point not sure how much help we can.

Provide you but Katie nastro thank you for doing so and enjoy the eclipse thanks you too and even if you are not in an area that's going to experience this total eclipse it doesn't mean that you can't still participate in the excitement of the day like us here in New York City NBC News correspondent George CIS is aboard the USS Intrepid.

That is right here in New York City off the western side of Manhattan George good morning so even if you aren't in this path of totality what will we experienc during today's Eclipse hey good morning Savannah yeah how cool is this right we're watching history happen where history has already been made we yes are not in the total.

Path of totality here but that doesn't mean we're not going to have fun fun here at the Intrepid in the museum we're expecting some 6,000 people to watch this Cosmic ballet this Cosmic Confluence of this solar eclipse and we do have our glasses handy the people here will have their glasses handy it is going to be an awesome time and right.

Now I can tell you Savannah weather looking pretty good even for that 90% partial eclipse I know that's so exciting that the weather's well um George tell us so you're holding up those glasses remind us if you're not in the path of totality that means it's still going to be quite a bit of the sun right for us 10 % of the sun essentially.

That you'll still be able to see super bright just remind us the importance especially in these areas where we're not going to reach totality and really ever be able to take those glasses off the importance of wearing them yeah absolutely so again key thing to remember here only those that are in the entire path of totality here will be.

Able to look up and only for that short period of time and I will go ahead and demonstrate by putting them on and as I'm sure you've experienced once you actually have these on you can't see anything but as you look at the sun you actually get that beautiful or and that is the idea to be able to look up and actually watch the partial eclipse.

Without that risk to your eyes because you can do some serious damage by looking up so it is so important to make sure that you have the right kind of glasses and regular sunglasses won't do you really want to make sure you have the approved kind to look up the eclipse yeah these are thousands of times darker regular sunglasses definitely not going.

To cut it George so Le thank you so much have fun out there today and we'll have special live coverage of the total solar eclipse from the entire NBC News team across the country our extended live coverage gets underway today at 2: p.m. Eastern 11:00 a.m. Pacific right here on NBC news now it'll also be over on NBC and we will have live updates throughout.

The day on nbcnews.com the South Carolina Women's Basketball team is waking up this morning as undefeated Champions the Gamecocks completed their perfect season in style beating the Iowa hawkey 87 to 75 in the national title game it was a high stakes rematch that Drew millions of viewers after last year's final four batt when Iowa ended.

South Carolina's bid for an undefeated season but after coming back with a whole new lineup of stars South Carolina finished this year's March Madness Tournament with their second championship in three years and we are now thrilled to be joined by nay Smith coach of the year and now three-time National Champion head coach of the.

South Carolina Gamecocks Don Staley Don congratulations on the win we appreciate you joining us so much this morning thanks for being here and I know you were visibly emotional after the game understandably so how are you feeling this morning and tell us what this particular one meant to you um I'm feeling great this morning.

Anytime you can wake up um a national champion um you feel really good um this team has been you know quite um the expect the unexpected team um with how we started to how we finish and everything in between I I will say it's been a fun team they've never they've never felt tight they always played free and I know probably our coaching staff.

Took on all the tightness and you know all the things that come with you know um mounting a a a challenge but super super cool experience all season long I really really enjoyed this team not because of the success that they had throughout the season um but the way they developed into a team is it happened so.

Organically that they they grew to love each other they grew to hold each other accountable they grew to not wanting to lose and it never happened it never happened to us this season so it was kind of cool to see the Dynamics develop throughout the season absolutely when you think back to the moment where you know what you've got ahead of you is.

Rebuilding your whole starting lineup and then for it to also come out to include I mean some of your freshmen are just absolute Superstars when you think about that moment having to rebuild and now you've won you undefeated season national champions what was that process like and what was it like at the beginning was it.

Daunting at all yeah I mean I I didn't really look at it as rebuilding because we had a we have talent on our basketball team what I wasn't anticipating was um them not coming back to campus in shape them not being on time to certain things them not just taking or prioritizing ing what we need to do as a team um in order for us.

To be successful so it was a hodge podge of of not so do gooders and it and it took time and I think what they did for me as a coach has made me kind of um adhere to the words that I give them which is trust the process and meet meet people where they are they made me meet each individual where they were in their.

Process and because of that we we were able to get to where we needed to be a lot quicker because we did not hold them to the standard of of last year's team because last year's team was was full of basically adults this team we have a lot of young players who they come from different backgrounds they came from different being the stars of their high.

School team and being able to do whatever they want to do and to to come in College where they have to start over and do it the way we need them to do it in order for us to be successful so that process took a little bit longer but once they got it once they understood it uh we more than made up for for getting off to a slower start in the summer.

Absolutely um women's basketball saw so much interest saw viewership records broken so much excitement across the country I thought it was so classy no surprise coming from you but that after the game that you called Caitlyn Clark one of the goats of the game between having someone like her involved having your team have an undefeated season what.

Do you think about this moment for women's basketball and tell us a little bit more about what you think about Caitlyn Clark yeah well or Caitlyn Clark um she carried a heavy load of of carrying women's basketball anytime that uh she uh she played a game everybody wanted to be in attendance to watch and if it's.

Televised on the national televised game everybody tuned in to see um the very magic that she performs out there on the court with her with her play not just her scoring ability her ability to hit logo threes you know but what I really like about her and the position that we share which is the point guard position is her Court Vision her ability to make.

Every teammate of hers um feel special um so they can play an intrical role um in in in their success so I I I know why people tuned in um to see what a generational talent that she is and I hope that she carries that to the next phase of of her life in the WNBA absolutely uh one of your players one of your Superstars Camila Cardoza.

She had this to say about you she said I don't have my family here she was emotional as she was saying it she's just like family for me a family away from home and speaking about you how do how do you approach coaching these young women and what do they mean to you well anytime that you're involved in a daily basis with young people um one.

They need to be heard one you need to give them a space um so they can so they can express themselves um so they can they can give you what they're feeling um nowadays they're they're no longer going to just go back in their room and cry they they want to get it out and they need to feel comfortable enough to get those feelings out so they can they.

Can replace them with happy thoughts and they can replace them with with things and experiences that that they can really enjoy if they're so hung up on if camil is so hung up on um missing her family um she's going to stay in that space a lot longer but because she can say I miss my family you know we can say hey we miss them too but here's.

Something else that you can do um because you miss your family you know young people are so um incredibly gifted with with the The Gift of Gab the gift of feeling and emotions and they're unafraid to let you know and I think it's super cool that Camila feels comfortable enough um to to pull down her layers and give us all of her so we.

Could give her all of us well they love you your girls sure do love you and it's clear to see why Don Staley thank you so much congratulations again we so appreciate you joining us on a big morning thank you we've got much more to come here on this hour of morning news now including some pretty alarming new.

Video showing part of a Southwest Airlines plane peeling off after takeoff The Fallout over that latest midair scare in just a moment first though Israel's military now pulling forces out of Southern Gaza why the sudden shift in strategy or on the ground in Tel Aviv this morning as protest flare over those remaining hostages 6 months into the war.

Stay with us we are back with the latest on the ground in Gaza where Israeli forces have begun the process of withdrawing troops from the south to carry out new operations in the north it comes following a weekend of renewed protests against prime minister Netanyahu and his.

Failure to bring home the remaining hostages taken by Hamas militants 6 months ago NBC News correspondent Hala gani joins us now from Tel Aviv with the latest Hala good morning good morning yes indeed we uh have quite a few significant developments that took place over the weekend you mentioned there that uh.

Military reversal there in terms of the troops on the ground the Israeli military has announced that it is going to be withdrawing its ground troops from the southern part of Gaza specifically around Han yunes where they'd been conducting operations for the last several weeks focusing them on the northern half of the Gaza Strip now that.

Doesn't mean a cessation of hostilities by any means in fact the chief of staff of the Israeli Army has said that this does not mean that the war has ended they will be uh these Israeli soldiers conducting targeted um operations in the southern part of the Gaza Strip and of course there will still be aerial bombardments uh that are still part of.

The Arsenal of the Israeli military and its offensive in Gaza that started 6 months ago now uh after October 7th and that attack by Hamas uh inside of Israel we're also keeping a very close eye on these talks that took place in Cairo over the weekend because we've heard conflicting reports on the one hand Egyptian media are quoting participants.

As saying that progress was made to come to some sort of agreement to cease fire for a while to allow for the release of hostages and for more Aid to go in but Hamas had sent representatives and on their way out they were quoted as saying that there was still very much a big Chasm between the two sides uh that they had not come to anywhere uh close to an.

Agreement uh to uh establish a ceasefire or a deal and all of this is happening against the backdrop of uh a continued Devastation in the Gaza Strip many families who were driven out of the South for by the military operation returned to find homes destroyed and unlivable Savannah all right right Hal gani thank you so much well here in the.

US Boeing is facing yet another investigation from federal authorities after passengers on board a Southwest Airlines flight recorded the protective cover of the engine flying off during takeoff in Denver NBC News correspondent Sam Brock joins us with the latest hey Sam good morning yes Savannah good morning it was.

Going from Denver to Houston that flight actually got to elevation of about 10,000 ft but it was during takeoff the passengers noticed the cowling of the cover around the engine tearing off now one passenger told us about 30 minutes later it landed safely back on the ground at Denver and the plane had to get towed to the.

Gate this morning the FAA investigating this surreal sight that left passengers on board Southwest flight 3695 terrified oh it fell off those on board witnessing the plane's cowling or metal covering that houses the engine appearing to peel off as the aircraft headed down the runway for takeoff there's the rest of it the Boeing 737.

Scheduled to fly from Denver to Houston Sunday had to turn back let's go ahead and declare an emergency for Southwest 3695 we got a piece of engine cing hanging off apparently roughly 30 to 45 minutes later the plane was back on the ground and passenger Frank Sanger says he was surprised by what he saw upon deplaning you can see the jet engine had.

A panel Stripped Away all the way around the FAA issuing a statement saying in part the pilot reported the engine cowling fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap the Boeing 737800 was towed to the gate the FAA will investigate while the plane is manufactured by Boeing the engine is not it's unclear what caused the malfunction.

But Southwest has recently experienced a series of Runway scares including a possible engine fire on Thursday that grounded a vegas-bound flight in lck Texas it also comes amidst Skyhigh scrutiny of the airline industry United Airlines planes have had a number of safety issues including eight incidents in two weeks in a memo last month United.

Telling its employees the FAA would be growing its Presence at the company meanwhile Boeing is facing investigations from the justice department NTSB and FAA after the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout led to questions of quality control breakdowns their CEO announcing last month he's stepping down at the end of the year but.

Remaining on as the company makes changes Aviation experts say that incidents like this of a cowling coming off are actually fairly common and they want to remind you there are tens of thousands of commercial flights every single day and rarely are these kinds of incidents catastrophic Savannah back to you all right Sam Brock thank you so.

Much coming up we are talking about safety during today's solar eclipse after the break how State officials are preparing for that daylight darkness and how you and your pets can stay safe while viewing this historic solar showing state stay with us welcome back let's get back to the.

Toer solar eclipse happening just hours from now the main event and as things go dark officials in multiple states are warning of the potential impact the eclipse may have on people and animals importantly NBC News correspondent Morgan chesky is in his hometown of kville Texas with tips on how to keep your family and your pets safe hey.

Morgan good morning hey Savannah good morning the countdown officially upon us here thousands expected to converge on kville and really the time is running out to get those eclipse glasses to make sure you can witness this Celestial spectacle in all its Glory uh but today experts are pointing out we might not be the only.

Ones witnessing this for the first time it could be our pets first time as well and that's why they have some great tips for the hours ahead this morning the stage is set for The Greatest Show on Earth Earth as communities along the coveted path of totality count down to Today's total solar eclipse I think it's going to be.

Awesome while the main event will only last for about 4 minutes and change many cities like kville Texas have been preparing for years you were looking at potentially multiplying the town by 10 possibly that influx of eclipse trasers now has officials in dozens of States telling residents to be ready that's going to mean a substantial increase in.

Traffic volumes pack your patience along with snacks and water and make sure you have a full tank of gas and if you happen to be on the road when the sun and moon align Transportation officials say driver should expect heavy traffic and sudden stops be on the lookout for distracted pedestrians and keep those emergency lanes clear Safety First.

Eclipse second for those lucky enough to get a glimpse of the astronomical event it's critical to make sure you have the proper protective eyewear the Better Business Bureau recently issuing a warning about fake eclipse glasses to Spot the Difference make sure your lenses have a curved reflective design in the front and look for the correct.

ISO certification logo on the inside not this one seen on some fakes verifying how good these glasses are and who you're buying them from is really important as for our four-legged friends experts say pets will probably be unfaced still to mitigate stress levels during the eclipse experts suggest keep your animals away from large crowds and.

While it's unlikely they'll look directly into the sun remember a pet size can be just as easily damaged as a human at the Dallas Zoo animals will be watched closely for any strange Behavior to make sure that the animals are safe and they're not responding in an extreme way experts expect Birds to go eily silent during the blackout and primates.

May begin their nighttime routines a bit early and while dramatic changes are still unlikely zookeepers are ready to respond if anything gets a bit too wild and again zookeepers trust they don't anticipate anything too out of the ordinary although they will be keeping an eye on those birds who might be going home to roost during that 4 and A2.

Minutes or so of totality here in cville preparations well underway uh tens of thousands expected to witness this here Savannah the mayor of the city saying people need to be in place by 10: a.m. in order to cured the best spot I just took a quick lap around uh ran into a casual astrophysicist from Georgia a lot of people hoping and praying that the.

Skies open up here in kville I'm hoping and praying and crossing fingers toes all the things for y'all as well Morgan chesy enjoy thank you so much let's keep our Eclipse coverage going with NBC News correspondent Jesse kersch he joins us live at the Great Lake Science Center in Cleveland Ohio with a look at how the country is celebrating this big event.

People even getting married during this event J good morning hey Savannah good morning lots of creativity going into this one we are expecting this big moment to eclipse the size of 2017's American Celestial event NASA says Millions more people live across a wider path of totality including here in Cleveland this is one.

Of NASA's official watch party events and we're expecting around 30,000 people to be out here so many of us are going to be taking in those moments of totality but for some that's it's going to involve more than just looking up and out of this world's spectacle you don't want to miss this once in a Life Time total solar eclipse calls for a.

Massive celebration I've been waiting for this for years so it's amazing and when the total solar eclipse sweeps across North America this afternoon clever Cosmic Spectators have dreamed up nearly everything under the sun this is my solar Observatory explained people coming from all over the world to enjoy watch parties through out the US I'm.

From friends we've started planning just after Christmas I'm so stalked like on a level beyond what you could even imagine in Cleveland in estimated tens of thousands will rock out from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to the Cleveland Guardians ballpark Ohio is the heart of it all in Arkansas Little Rock Zoo is ready to go holding a special tailgate.

Party and in places like Buffalo and Rochester New York families are coming from far and wide for giant events like theck the eclipse Festival but if you want a different perspective like from the slopes mountain resorts from Vermont to Ohio are all in like Mad River with its ski the eclipse event if you'd rather watch from the water cities like.

New York and Chicago with partial totality have Eclipse themed cruises for those hoping to fly a little closer to the Sun Delta is taking passengers on soldout flights following the path of eclipse totality what could be cooler than seeing this happen at 30,000 Fe but perhaps the ultimate way to ring in history a total eclipse of the heart.

Couples are planning to marry at various group weddings across the country over 100 couples are expected to elope at the eclipse in tiffen Ohio pledging their total Devotion to each other in totality I came from home from a work event and told Bart that I set a wedding date and he said you did well us Jenny Harris and Bart Lombardi have been engaged for 2.

Years and when they found out they could get married during a total solar eclipse they were the first to sign up the whole Eclipse factor is just from everyone we've talked to seems magical we are the more the merrier type joining them are couples traveling a combined 177,000 miles from Pennsylvania to Texas all anyone needs to join in is a marriage.

License there will be a first dance toast and of course cake if anyone objects do they all have to object at the same time there are certain things you can't control right the weather um other visitors and family members who might object this whole thing has been thrown together and um you know really just trying to make an experience a.

One-of aind way to celebrate by tying the knot under the stars we're just super excited to have everybody together here's a fun fact for you a total eclipse is part of this complete breakfast I've got my pinhole projector ready to go but we have a little bit of a problem here right now Savannah the sky is not looking great and we talk.

About all these people who are coming from all over how do we know that because I have a an example of it right here among those who travel to Cleveland my own Mom hi Mom hi and I you know we I said the sky is not looking so great we got clouds right now what do you want to say to those clouds Mom they're going to go away I'm feeling it Go all right all.

Right we we'll see who has the better forecast her or Mr Roker will'll send it back to you oh it looks like her name I think is Dorene we just had a low our throat up there for Dorian thank you for joining us enjoy with your son how fun is that and Mom said so so those clouds better move Jesse thanks so much coming up student loans are back in the.

Political Spotlight this morning President Biden is heading to Battleground Wisconsin today bringing his administration's plan on loan forgiveness to young voters there but what are they saying about it we're on the ground next welcome back President Biden is heading to Madison Wisconsin this.

Afternoon to discuss his administration's new efforts to deliver debt relief for Americans with federal student loans so last year the Supreme Court struck down the administration's attempt to eliminate up to $20,000 for millions of borrowers the high court said the president did not have the authority to cancel such a large amount.

Of debt without authorization from Congress with the election now less than seven months away voters are speaking out about President Biden's efforts to eliminate student loan debt in the latest installment of our deciders series we went to this focus group and spoke to a group of Voters who say the president's efforts are resonating with.

Them well well for me it's um it comes down to this whole thing with student loans who can name at least one thing President Biden has achieved while in office something that President Biden himself would say is an achievement Todd uh student loan reduction Andrea yeah student loan forgiveness Mary student loan.

Forgiveness anybody there anything you like about President Biden student loan forgiveness I was gonna say the same thing as Michelle student Lo forgiveness okay hold on a second so if President Biden comes through with student loan forgiveness you might vote for him okay so literally it's that kind of thought process yes because as of now.

It's nothing he's not doing nothing for me personally to where I feel like I want to give him my vote again for more on the Biden administration's new attempt at student loan forgiveness we are joined by Mark cantrowitz he's a student loan expert and the author of the book how to appeal for more College financial aid the secrets to negotiating.

A better financial aid offer and getting more financial aid in the first place good morning thank you so much for joining us this morning Mark so there are more than 43 million Americans with federal student loans accounting for more than $1.6 trillion who benefits the most from this new relief plan well one aspect of the relief plan.

May benefit uh about half of all borers and that's uh borers whose debt exceeds the amount they originally receives and that that can exceed more than half and what do you make of hearing how important this is to so many voters I mean the fact that kind of one of the only things that they see as an achievement of our current president.

Being this potential to actually drop this student loan debt be free of it what do you think that means for for young voters as we head into an election well I it student loans affect not just young voters but also uh people who retired with student loan debt uh so it cuts across uh many parts of the voter.

Population uh and while in aggregate it doesn't have a very big impact on the economy it does have a very big impact on individuals personal economies and we're talking a few hundred a month that's being taken out of the typical borers budget absolutely um I want to also bring in NBC News White House.

Correspondent Aon Gilcrest to shed some more light on exactly how this plan will work and tell us what we could hear next because Ain as we mentioned in the setup a moment ago when President Biden announced his first attempt to cancel student loan debt lawsuits soon followed ultimately ending up in the Supreme Court where they said he didn't really.

Have the authority to do this what's different here I mean does he you know according to them have the authority to do this what types of challenges could we see around this yeah so the White House does think that the this time around what they've presented or what they will present today when the president speaks in Madison Wisconsin.

Will be a plan that will stand up to Legal scrutiny uh essentially the idea here is to use rules that are already in place a law that's already in place an authority that the Secretary of Education already has to try to cancel or reduce significant amounts of debt for more than 20 million borrowers across the country at this point you.

Remember last time around the plan the president presented that the Supreme Court ultimately struck down would have been about $400 billion dollar in this instance we're seeing a plan that would cancel interest for certain borrowers 23 million of them we're also seeing part of the plan that would automatically cancel debt for borrowers who are.

Eligible for some of the different loan forgiveness programs that are already out there but people who haven't applied for these programs so the debt would automatically go away for that would also be a part of this plan that would cancel uh debt for borrowers who are in repayment and have been in repayment for more than 20 years uh and Savannah the.

Biden Administration does believe that the president will announce this today it will take some time for h a final rule to be made this was this is being done through What's called the rul making process at the Department of Education uh and so it won't be an instant change for borrowers but it is something that the Biden White House.

Believes will ultimately be good for people who are dealing with tremendous amounts of student loan debt and to be perfectly honest Savannah it would be good for the president going into uh the election coming up where this would impact young voters and potentially through some parts of this plan would impact uh Black and Latino voters in a.

Significant way all groups that the president needs to win in November yeah certainly a political play as well there as you smartly laid out Aon Gilcrest and mark koods thank you both very much for joining us now let's get into some other Financial headlines for you this morning Spotify is tapping into the AI game Space to help spice up your playlist.

CNBC Sylvan hanal joins us with that and more money news Savannah good morning hey Savannah good morning yeah let's see how much they spice it up so yeah Spotify is launching personalized AI playist that users can build using written prompts so the feature will initially be available in the UK and Australia with expansion to other.

Countries in the future so after playist is generated you can then use the AI to edit and refine the results with commands such as less upbeat or more pop you can also swipe left to remove a song from the playlist lime that's the ebike and scooter startup backed by Uber plans to invest more than $50 million this year to expand its Global Network.

Bloomberg reports the company will add more than 30,000 new bikes across North America Europe and Australia lime is expanding as its Rivals are struggling to stay afloat last year bird went bankrupt while well Reports say LT which own City bike is looking for a partner or a potential sale and Beyonce tops the build board charts again her new album.

Cowboy Carter debuting at number one on the billboard 200 and on the top country albums chart it's the eighth time Beyonce had a solo album Top the charts breaking the previous record for a female artist set by herself with Renaissance in 2022 Savannah that was really I had to drive to a shoot this weekend I was really deep in that album.

Loving it Sylvan especially the one with Miley Cyrus what a great song great song yes right thank you so much well we have some breaking news this morning on an issue that could have a major impact on this year's general election former president Donald Trump has just revealed his position on abortion rights having held several different views over the.

Years in a post on Truth social Trump said that abortion laws should be determined by each state he said in part that people should quote do what's right for their families Trump's position is in contrast to some of his allies within the Republican Party who have called for a national ban on abortion welcome back actress and.

Comedian Kristen wig Kristen wig excuse me returned to Studio 8h over the weekend hosting SNL for the fifth time since leaving the Cass back in 2012 that means she is now part of the exclusive five timers Club however former SNL writer Paul Appel joked that they pass out the coveted five timers jackets like free maxi pad so maybe it's not that.

Exclusive well just to prove that wig was joined on stage by stars like Matt Damon Paul Rudd Martin Short and Ryan Gosling they were all wearing the jackets but they actually most of them have not actually hosted five times so there's the joke there it's not all during the show the pal Royale star brought back Aunt Linda the classic.

Angry middle-aged film critic returned to the set with some questionable hot takes for the first time in 14 years she is just too good it was so much fun to see her back even her promos before the show started I thought were some of the funniest I've seen all season there you go thanks for watching stay updated about breaking news and top stories on.

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