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Look up tonight, Chicago. There’s a total lunar eclipse and WTTW News has the details. |
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A file photo of workers at a COVID-19 testing site. (WTTW News) |
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More than 1.2 million Americans have died from COVID-19. Despite having one of the most sophisticated health care systems in the world, the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic fell well short when compared to other developed nations. So, five years after the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, is the United States any better prepared to weather the next pandemic?
The good news:
We have “learned quite a bit,” according to Dr. Robert Murphy, executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “We learned how fast this thing can spread if it’s a respiratory infection that transmits as easily as COVID does,” said Murphy.
One area of success that the United States can be proud of is the speed with which effective vaccines were developed. Murphy said that at the onset of the pandemic, most experts predicted a vaccine would not be available until late 2021 at the earliest.
The bad news:
Murphy said that in one study that compared the U.S. response to the pandemic to that of other high-income countries, “the U.S. was 19th out of 20 in terms of death rates. The only country that had a higher death rate was Slovakia.”
As medical professionals ponder how to deal with the next pandemic, of immediate concern is President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization and the apparently indiscriminate cuts being made to the federal workforce, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at the National Institutes of Health.
The dissemination of vaccine misinformation — including from the likes of new U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — remains a major concern because if people ignore the science, then the best medical treatments and health guidance are worthless. |
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Different phases of a lunar eclipse. During a total lunar eclipse, the moon will appear blood red. (joningall / Stock) |
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A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align in a way that the moon passes into Earth’s shadow — in other words, the Earth comes directly between the moon and the sun. They're far more common than their solar counterparts.
But there’s a major plot twist to this week’s eclipse, one that Michelle Nichols, director of public observing at Adler Planetarium, suspects will catch most people by surprise. “I bet people, for the most part, don’t realize that Blue Ghost is going to be operating during the lunar eclipse,” Nichols said.
Blue Ghost is a lunar lander built by the company Firefly Aerospace in partnership with NASA. The lander successfully touched down on the moon last week and will witness the eclipse from the opposite perspective of our position on Earth. For Blue Ghost, the lunar eclipse will play out like a solar eclipse, with the Earth blocking the sun. To her knowledge, the photos this lander will snap will be the first high-resolution photographs of a lunar eclipse taken from the moon.
What else should I know?
The total eclipse will be visible in most of the western hemisphere, including the entire continental U.S.
The main event starts shortly after midnight in Chicago, in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, March 14. While you'll start to notice the eclipse starting shortly after midnight, the full eclipse begins at 1:26 a.m. and will end at 2:31 a.m. |
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The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jose Luis Magana / AP Photo, File) |
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Officials from across Chicago and Illinois are sounding the alarm as the U.S. Department of Education plans to lay off about half of its workforce, saying that the move puts its future in peril while causing “chaos” for students and schools throughout the country.
“There is a tsunami coming from Washington to every child and state in this country,” Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery said Wednesday morning in Chicago. “It’s not efficiency, it’s not reform, it’s (the) destruction of a Department of Education because this administration in Washington wants to give huge tax breaks to billionaires.”
The Department of Education plans to lay off more than 1,300 employees, which critics say is part of President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency. Trump has said he wants to return all control of schools to the states. |
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Back in the Day: March 13, 2019 - City Council Approves Controversial Police Academy on West Side |
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On this day six years ago, March 13, 2019, Chicago’s City Council voted to approve a contract with the construction giant AECOM for building a $95 million police and fire training facility in West Garfield Park. The vote was 38-8, with two abstentions, and came following a contentious and yearslong campaign against the proposed site from progressive activists and dozens of local grassroots organizations called #NoCopAcademy. They argued that instead of increasing spending on the well-funded police department, the money could go to violence prevention, schools, housing and health care. In January 2023, the site, which eventually cost $170 million, opened. Then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who campaigned against the site as she was running for mayor, celebrated the opening. “This is a great day for the West Side,” Lightfoot said to applause. “This is a great day for our first responders.” |
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events |
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Every Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the must-see cultural events in Chicago.
Marc Vitali: Sculpture from Italy, theater from Peru, the inspiration for “Rent” — this week’s offerings include rare imports, an operatic favorite and a homegrown songwriter with a cinematic mind. See you at the show.
“Myth and Marble” – Art Institute of Chicago
Ancient sculptures will be unveiled at the Art Institute this weekend in their first-ever visit to North America. The 58 works date as early as the 5th century BCE, and they come from the privately held Torlonia Collection in Italy. These beauties have been out of the public eye for 70+ years. Opens March 15
“Hamlet” – Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Chicago Shakespeare Theater welcomes Teatro La Plaza from Lima, Peru, for their production of “Hamlet.” The young cast is a group of performers with Down syndrome, and they blend Shakespeare’s text with personal stories, humor and music. It’s a provocative look at inclusion that considers the timeless question: “To be or not to be?” March 13-23
“La Bohème” – Lyric Opera of Chicago
The Puccini masterpiece dives into the triumphs and tragedies of bohemian Paris, where love blossoms among young artists as they navigate the social landscape of the 19th century. This classic opera is of course the inspiration for another emotional rollercoaster, the Broadway musical “Rent.” The soprano (and Chicagoland native) Ailyn Pérez performs the iconic female lead, Mimì. Opens March 15. |
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What is the first thing you want to do in Chicago when the weather gets warm again? |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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