(NEW YORK) — Law enforcement officials expressed concern that radicals in the U.S. might respond to ISIS calls for similar attacks in the wake of last month’s deadly terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow.
The U.S. intelligence bulletin warns that ISIS operatives worldwide and so-called “lone wolves” might respond to recent statements from the terrorist group touting the attack in Russia and encouraging more attacks on public venues — even if the individuals are not members of ISIS.
Russian investigators said the March 22 attack in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall killed at least 144 people, including three children, and injured at least 550 others. Nine suspects — identified as citizens of Tajikistan — were arrested after gunmen opened fire on concertgoers with automatic weapons and then set a fire that engulfed the complex, according to Russian authorities.
ISIS released a statement after the attack, claiming their fighters “attacked” a “big gathering for Christians in the Russian Moscow suburb.”
The U.S. said it shared intelligence with Russia that warned that ISIS was preparing similar attacks on concerts in Moscow weeks before the attack. A State Department official said that the U.S. government had shared information on a possible attack with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding “duty to warn” policy.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a warning on March 7, advising U.S. citizens to avoid large gatherings for 48 hours, saying extremists have “imminent plans” to target large-scale gatherings in Moscow.
(BURLINGTON, Vt.) — A suspect is being sought in an alleged arson incident at Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Burlington office, police said.
The fire was reported at 10:45 a.m. ET Friday in the vestibule between the elevator and the entrance door to Sanders’ office, located on the third floor of 1 Church St., authorities said.
A man entered the vestibule and “sprayed an apparent accelerant” on the door to the senator’s office, lit the accelerant and then fled, according to the Burlington Police Department.
A “significant fire engulfed the door and part of the vestibule, impeding the egress of staff members who were working in the office and endangering their lives,” the Burlington Police Department said in a statement.
The sprinkler system largely extinguished the fire, which caused “moderate” damage to the door to the senator’s office, police said. The third floor and below floors sustained “significant” water damage, police said.
No injuries have been reported and Sanders was not present at the time, police said.
“The Burlington Fire Marshal’s office has deemed this fire incendiary in nature,” the Burlington Fire Department said in a press release.
A male suspect is being sought in the incident, Burlington police said while releasing surveillance stills of the unknown individual.
A motive is currently unknown, police said. The Vermont State Police and Burlington Police Department are conducting a joint investigation.
Kathryn Van Haste, Sanders’ Vermont state director, said the office is “grateful” to the police and fire crews that responded.
“We are relieved that no one on our staff and, to our understanding, no one in the building was harmed,” Van Haste said in a statement.
U.S. Capitol Police and the Senate Sergeant at Arms are working “in coordination” with local first responders, she said.
(NEW YORK) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case quashed a last-minute subpoena by defense lawyers Friday, writing that the former president’s request was the “very definition of a fishing expedition.”
Trump’s lawyers last month subpoenaed NBCUniversal for materials related to their documentary about adult film star Stormy Daniels, which was scheduled to be released one week before the case’s original trial date of March 25.
Daniels is expected to testify at trial about the hush money payment she received in 2016 for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump that the former president has long denied. Trump has pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with the payment, which Trump’s then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election.
Jury selection for the trial is scheduled to get underway April 15 in New York City. The former president has denied all wrongdoing.
Defending their subpoena to NBCUniversal, Trump’s lawyers argued that the requested records would “establish collusion between NBCU and Daniels” to release the documentary “as close to the start of the trial as possible to prejudice Defendant and maximize their own financial interest.”
In his ruling Friday, Judge Juan Merchan quashed the subpoena and described Trump’s arguments as “purely speculative.” Evidence submitted by an NBC executive demonstrated that Daniels lacked control over the timing of and material included in the documentary, Merchan concluded.
“Because Defendant’s claims are purely speculative and unsupported, his subpoena and the demands therein are the very definition of a fishing expedition,” Merchan said.
“The Court has considered Defendant’s explanation for seeking this court’s permission to rifle through the privileged documents of a news organization and finds that he has not shouldered the very heavy burden necessary to overcome NY civil rights law,” the judge wrote.
(NEW YORK) — The FBI is investigating whether New York Mayor Eric Adams received free upgrades on Turkish Airlines, the country’s national carrier, sources familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
Scrutiny of the flights is part of a wider corruption investigation involving a top Turkish Airlines executive, aides to the mayor and Adams, who previously had his phones and other electronic devices seized.
Sources have said at least part of the investigation involves whether donations from Turkey were traded for political favors, including possible pressure exerted on the New York Fire Department after a delay with the operating certificate of the new Turkish consulate.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Adams so far has been accused of no wrongdoing and he has said he has nothing to hide.
“As Borough President, the Mayor consistently disclosed his official travel to Turkey, did not receive any improper upgrades and did nothing inappropriate in exchange for an upgrade. Speculation is not evidence. We look forward to a just and timely conclusion to this investigation,” Adams’ attorney, Brendan McGuire, said in a statement provided to ABC News.
News of the investigators’ interest in possible Turkish Airlines upgrades was first reported by The New York Times.
(NEW YORK) — The 4.8 magnitude earthquake that rattled the tristate area Friday morning left residents doubting what they had just experienced.
“I felt like there was a roller coaster under my house going 1,000 miles an hour,” Carol Nicolaidis of Brooklyn, New York, told ABC News. “I first thought pipes were exploding under my house.”
The earthquake that hit New Jersey Friday morning could be felt as far south as Washington, D.C., and as far north as Maine, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“I was sitting in my living room and I saw the walls shaking; it felt like a wave,” Nicolaidis said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the quake one of the largest on the East Coast in the last century.
There have been no reports of injuries or major infrastructure damage, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. But there were reports of “limited damage” in Lebanon, New Jersey, near the quake’s epicenter.
Students at New York’s Rye Country Day School thought the earthquake was “the coolest thing ever,” Gail Sestito, dean of Grades 7 and 8 and a middle school science instructor, told ABC News.
“Many said they saw the lights shaking a little and the smart board vibrate. But mostly we heard it — sounded like students running down the hall,” she said.
There’s a 46% chance there could be an aftershock of over 3.0 in magnitude within the next week, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“If you feel an aftershock, drop to the floor, cover your head and neck, and take cover under a solid piece of furniture, next to an interior wall, or in a doorway,” Adams said in a statement.
(WASHINGTON) — A blockbuster jobs report on Friday delivered the latest sign of strong U.S. economic performance, defying the lukewarm feelings held by many Americans, some experts told ABC News.
Employers hired 303,000 workers last month, blowing past economist expectations of 214,000 jobs added, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.8%, hovering near a 50-year low.
The hiring far surpassed the average number of jobs added each month over the previous year, suggesting an acceleration in performance for one of the key metrics used to assess the nation’s economic health.
“This morning’s blowout jobs numbers show that the economy isn’t showing any signs of slowing down,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for North Carolina-based Independent Advisor Alliance, told ABC News in a statement.
However, the strong job gains coincided with a slight dip in consumer sentiment last month, according to a University of Michigan survey. Attitudes about the economy improved in previous months but remain well below pre-pandemic levels, the survey showed.
The uneasy feelings about the economy have weighed down President Joe Biden’s approval ratings on his leadership on the issue. Only 37% of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, a Gallup poll last month showed.
Despite a booming job market and robust economic growth, the economy remains saddled with higher-than-normal inflation.
Inflation has fallen significantly from a peak of 9.1% but it remains more than a percentage point higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%.
The gap between economic performance and consumer attitudes stems from residual frustration about the months-long bout of high inflation as well as bias tied to political partisanship, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told ABC News.
“Many Americans remain unconvinced about the economy’s strength, but this reflects in part the previously high inflation and that many are paying much more for food, rent, and other living costs,” Zandi said. “It also reflects the nation’s fractured politics, as many are looking through their political prism when making assessments about the economy’s performance.”
Biden touted the jobs data in a statement on Friday, celebrating 15 million jobs created since he took office.
“That’s 15 million more people who have the dignity and respect that comes with a paycheck,” Biden said. “We’ve come a long way, but I won’t stop fighting for hardworking families.”
The blockbuster jobs data arrives during a sustained period of high borrowing costs, which typically weigh on economic activity and company hiring. In theory, the high interest rates depress consumer demand and lower inflation.
At a meeting last month, the Fed opted to keep rates highly elevated. The Fed Funds rate remains between 5.25% and 5.5%, matching its highest level since 2001.
The Fed, however, said last month that it still intends to make three interest rate cuts this year. The next opportunity for a rate decision will take place at a central bank meeting next month.
Economists differed about the implications of the jobs report for the timing of a potential rate cut.
Some experts suggested that the show of economic strength would prompt the Fed to delay a rate cut, since such a move could trigger a burst of demand and a rebound of inflation.
While others said a cooling-off of wage increases detailed in the report would nudge the Fed toward a rate cut, because the pay slowdown eases the risk of price hikes made in an effort to offset rising labor costs.
“Continued hot job growth will reinforce the Fed’s cautious approach towards rate cuts as some Fed officials will likely see job growth as still too hot for comfort,” Lydia Boussour, senior economist at consulting firm EY, told ABC News in a statement.
But economists who spoke to ABC News agreed that the jobs report offered evidence of a U.S. economy in good health.
The three major stock indexes, meanwhile, inched upward in early trading on Friday.
“A strong labor report is a good thing for the economy, even if it delays the Fed’s rate cuts,” Bret Kenwell, a U.S. investment analyst at eToro, told ABC News in a statement.
(MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn.) — When police found Billy Payne and his fiancée Billie Jean Hayworth shot execution-style in a rural Tennessee home with their 7-month-old son Tyler alive in Hayworth’s arms in 2012, it sparked an investigation that would lead them to discover a complex murder concocted by a woman who was in the middle of a social media feud.
Jenelle Potter has been serving two concurrent life sentences for the murders after she was convicted in 2015. Prosecutors contend that Potter deceived her parents and her boyfriend into thinking that the couple threatened her before her father, Marvin “Buddy” Potter, committed the slayings.
Even all these years later, investigators said they still struggle with the horrors of the incident.
“The little boy…just thinking about him laying there just breaks my heart,” Mountain City Police Department Assistant Chief, Joe Woodard, who helped investigate the case, told “20/20.”
“20/20” will explore the case in an episode airing April 5 at 9 p.m. ET and streaming on Hulu the next day with archival interviews of Potter and her mother before their prison sentences, key investigators and friends of the victims.
The show will also feature interrogation tapes and courtroom footage of the case and the latest updates.
Potter told “20/20” in 2015 that she had trouble adjusting and didn’t make many friends when her family moved to Mountain City, Tennessee, in 2005.
“I didn’t grow up here,” Potter, now 42, told “20/20” in 2015. “People here do not like outsiders.”
She befriended pharmacy clerk Tracy Greenwell and the two started hanging out, along with Greenwell’s brother, Billy Payne. Potter also had a relationship with Greenwell’s cousin, Jamie Curd, behind the back of her strict parents.
Trouble started to brew when Potter claimed she was getting harassing messages on her Facebook page and accused Hayworth of being behind them.
Eventually, Potter, Hayworth and Payne stopped being friends on Facebook.
A few days after the couple was found dead, investigators questioned Marvin, Jenelle and Barbara in their home.
“We knew that they had trouble with [Hayworth and Payne],” Woodard told “20/20.”
During the interview, Jenelle appeared to be hiding her romantic relationship with Curd from her parents. He was later was later brought in for questioning by police.
After being told he failed a polygraph test, Curd admitted that he and Janelle’s dad, Marvin, went to Payne and Hayworth’s home where he says Marvin killed them.
“I didn’t truly believe that Buddy Potter was capable of doing this,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Scott Lott said in 2015. “Because Buddy did have some health issues.”
With this new information, police brought Marvin in for questioning.
While being questioned by detectives, Marvin said, “I’ve had my life threatened. My wife has been threatened. They’ve threatened to take Jenelle, cut her head off.”
Lott then arranged for Marvin to call his wife Barbara.
On the call, Marvin is heard telling his wife: “Before you find out from somebody else, I want you to know, I was involved in it. I did it…At least some of it.” “That’s as close to a confession as we got from him,” said Lott in 2015.
While Marvin was being questioned, police executed a search warrant on the Potter house.
Assistant Chief Woodard said investigators found an “arsenal” of weapons around the home. They also discovered printed photos of the victim and her friends in the living room.
Authorities seized 51 items from the house, including their family computer. When they impounded Marvin’s truck, they found bags of shredded documents.
An agent meticulously reconstructed more than 100 pages of what appeared to be thousands of emails sent to the Potter family.
“After combing through them, it appeared there was some type of conspiracy here. They kept referring to a guy Chris that’s supposedly a CIA operative or something,” Lott said in 2015.
The CIA agent “Chris” had been corresponding with Barbara and warning her about threats to her daughter’s life.
On the Potters’ computer, police analysis found that emails sent from CIA agent Chris all came from the same IP address at the home where the Potters lived. Prosecutors contended Jenelle was pretending to be Chris and used the false identity to fool her parents and to goad Marvin Potter into the killing. They also say the threats of rape and murder against Jenelle were false and fabricated by her.
“Social media allowed Jenelle Potter to be someone that she wasn’t,” Brooks said. “She could assume a different identity and be as hateful as she wanted to be.”
In August 2013, authorities arrested Jenelle and Barbara for the murders of Payne and Hayworth.
A few months later, in October 2013, Marvin was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to two life sentences. Curd agreed to a plea deal of two concurrent sentences of 25 years in prison for facilitation of first degree murder and testified against Jenelle and Barbara. He has been released on parole.
In May 2015 Jenelle and Barbara were convicted after a seven-day trial and sentenced to life in prison two months later.
In an interview with “20/20” after the conviction, Jenelle and Barbara denied that they were involved in the murders of Payne and Hayworth.
“I didn’t hate [Hayworth and Payne]. I just disliked them. I wanted [them] to quit. I wanted the harassment to stop,” Jenelle Potter said.
Both Jenelle and Marvin lost appeals on their cases and are serving their sentences.
In 2021, Barbara’s murder conviction was overturned because her lawyer, who also represented Marvin, had a conflict of interest. Instead of being retried she pled guilty to the lesser charge of facilitation of murder. She is now eligible for parole in 2028.
Friends and family of the victims say the one thing that remains etched in their minds is baby Tyler and how he has to live the rest of his entire life without his mom and dad.
“He was her world,” Thomas said of Hayworth. “Just this glow she had about her when he came into the world was just unbelievable.”
(NEW YORK) — A 4.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the Northeast Friday morning, shaking buildings from Philadelphia to New Jersey to New York City to Connecticut to Westchester, New York.
The earthquake was centered near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Reports of injuries were not immediately clear.
John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport are all on a ground stop while runways are inspected for damage.
Con Edison said there are no reports of outages or damage.
There is no damage or service disruption to New York City’s subway system, according to the MTA.
New York City schools are staying open as normal, according to the city’s Department of Education press secretary, Nathaniel Styer.
“At this time, there is no indication that our buildings were compromised, and our facilities staff are quickly and thoroughly inspecting buildings to ensure safety. The safest place for our kids right now is in our schools,” Styer said.
The New York City mayor’s office said there’s no immediate reports of damage in the city but crews are still assessing the impacts.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the quake was felt throughout New York.
“My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day,” she wrote on social media.
Cars at the Holland Tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan are being temporarily held so the tunnel can be inspected, according to the Port Authority.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
At least 10 states have implemented restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI: Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Some of these policies ban state funds from being used for diversity-based programs, activities, and offices on college campuses, as seen in Alabama. Some states, like Texas, ban diversity offices at universities altogether. Florida’s law also targets diversity training or programs in private workplaces.
Legislators in at least 19 other states have proposed similar restrictions, although several efforts have failed to pass or were vetoed.
DEI, as defined by professionals in the field, is intended to correct inequities within an organization. This could include implementing accessibility measures for people with disabilities, correcting discriminatory hiring practices, addressing gender and racial pay inequities, anti-bias training and more.
DEI practices have their roots in the anti-discrimination legislative movement of the 1960s, when the Civil Rights Act and Age Discrimination in Employment Act were born, according to past interviews with DEI professionals.
Though every DEI program may be different, professionals say they are aimed at addressing exclusionary practices concerning race, age, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, economic class and more.
Anti-DEI efforts spark debate
The recent wave of efforts to target diversity programs seemingly began after the Supreme Court set new limits on affirmative action, a policy that allowed higher education institutions to use race as one factor among many in student admissions to address historical inequalities.
Supporters of legislation against diversity programs claim they promote “radical indoctrination that promotes division in our society,” Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. suggests.
“My administration has and will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity. However, I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses – or wherever else for that matter – to go under the acronym of DEI, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe,” said Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey when signing an anti-DEI bill in March.
Critics of anti-DEI legislation, including national and state teachers unions and free speech advocacy groups, likened these laws to censorship and say they will halt progress addressing inequality.
“This is all about silencing students,” United Faculty of Florida union’s president Andrew Gothard said in an interview with local news outlet WLRN. “It’s about silencing faculty. It’s about withholding funding from individuals who have beliefs, speak ideas, or take actions that would disagree with the politics of elected leaders.”
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called legislation targeting DEI “very deliberate attempts to seek division in our schools,” in a recent roundtable, according to the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States.
Impact of anti-DEI legislation
Since anti-DEI policies have been implemented, some universities – including the University of Texas, the University of Florida and the University of North Florida – have disbanded offices and programming related to diversity.
The University of Texas discontinued programs and activities within the Division of Campus and Community Engagement and laid off employees in DEI-related positions.
The office said it integrated “access and belonging into the University’s core mission” and connected “intellectual resources to communities across Texas and offer education to those who may face the most significant challenges in accessing it.”
As a result, longstanding UT programs such as “New Black Student Weekend, Adelante, CultivAsian…Latino Leadership Council, Native American and Indigenous Collective, [and] Students for Equity and Diversity,” all have been shuttered, reported the Texas Observer this week.
Earlier this year, the University of North Florida closed its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, including the women’s, interfaith, intercultural, and LGBTQ centers, to comply with restrictions, according to local news reports.
The University of Florida also eliminated all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions at the university to comply with recent Board of Governors restrictions.
These changes have come amid ongoing scrutiny against higher education institutions and diversity.
Social inequities have long impacted access to higher education for students of color, poor students, and other marginalized groups – such as economic inequality, segregation and academic inequity in K-12 schools. This has led to the continued underrepresentation of these groups in four-year institutions.
“DEI programs recruit and retain BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underrepresented faculty and students to repair decades of discriminatory policies and practices that excluded them from higher education,” said the ACLU in a statement on anti-DEI laws. “The far right, however, claims that DEI programs universally promote undeserving people who only advance because they check a box.”
The NEA has said that schools across the country are shuttering access to information and resources geared toward marginalized groups because of the restrictions.
The group also has said teachers are self-censoring their classrooms when it comes to social or political topics in the classroom because of legislative restrictions on discussions on race, gender and sexual orientation.
They’ve cited concerns over losing their job or lawsuits from angry parents.
This kind of legislation’s ability to hold up in court remains unclear.
Judges have blocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Stop WOKE” Act in Florida from restricting race-related training or programs in the workplace and higher education, arguing that the law’s restrictions are unenforceable and violate the First Amendment.
A composite showing progression of a total solar eclipse in El Molle, Chile, July 2, 2019. — Courtesy of Stan Honda
(NEW YORK) — The historic total solar eclipse on April 8 is set to be one of the most photographed events this year.
In the U.S., 31 million people already live inside the path of totality and millions are likely to travel to cities within that path, watching the moon pass over and then completely block the face of the sun for a short period.
It’s a phenomenon that almost every viewer will want to capture in a photograph, but it may be difficult to figure out what’s the best gear to use or how to set up.
Eclipse Across America, will air live Monday, April 8, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, ABC News Live, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Disney+ and Hulu as well as network social media platforms.
Photographer Stan Honda, who is based in New York City, has photographed three total solar eclipses and at least 10 partial solar eclipses. He gave his tips to ABC News on the best ways to capture this rare celestial event.
Before you start taking pictures, wear eclipse glasses
One of the most important things, before and as you are setting up equipment, is to never look up at phases of the partial eclipse — when the moon is partly obscuring the sun — without wearing eclipse glasses.
Looking up with the naked eye or regular sunglasses can burn the retina, leading to long-lasting — even permanent — damage. The glasses can only be removed during the totality period, when the sun is completely blocked by the moon.
Make sure the glasses are certified ISO 12312-2, which is the international safety standard for products designed for direct viewing of the sun.
This standard does not apply to solar filters that fit in the front of devices such as camera lenses, so make sure you’re purchasing a proper solar filter to fit when photographing the partial phases of the eclipse.
Keep the setup simple
If you’ll be taking photographs with a professional or digital camera, Honda recommends keeping the set-up as simple as possible.
The type of lens you use will depend on what kind of photographs you would like to capture, but Honda says he tries to use two types of lenses for his photographs.
The first is a long telephoto lens to get a close view of the sun during the eclipse and the second is a wider angle lens to capture both the eclipse and the landscape around you.
“To me, that’s almost a more interesting picture because it places the eclipse in a location,” he said of the wider-angle photographs. “When you zoom in and when you do close-ups of the sun, it isolates it up in space, and you’re not really sure where you are. The wide-angle ones really show the location where you are, and often can show people, things like that.”
For amateur photographers, or those experiencing their first total solar eclipse, Honda recommends using just one camera, one lens and a tripod.
“I always tell people, especially if this is your first total eclipse, try not to think too much about the photography because you really want to see it with your own eyes,” he said. “If you’re spending all the time trying to fiddle around with your cameras, then it’s sort of a lost opportunity to experience this just unbelievable event.”
What if I’m using a smartphone?
With the majority of Americans owning smartphones, millions will likely capture the event with an iPhone or Android camera.
Honda recommends keeping the basic settings on the phone and pointing the camera toward the sun and moon during totality. He adds that it’s not worth capturing the partial phases unless you have a solar filter over the camera lens.
“Don’t zoom in. A wide shot will probably work OK, and it will show the surrounding environment,” he said. “I’ve seen good photos, some videos and even a panorama on phone cameras taken during total eclipses. Like with the bigger cameras, try a few shots but then make sure to watch with your own eyes.”
He added that recording a short video of the eclipse on a smartphone might also be useful because it will also record the sound of the surrounding environment, such as people in the area.
Plan for the weather
Weather can play a factor in how your eclipse photograph turns out. If the cloud cover — the fraction of the sky obscured by clouds — is higher than average, it might be more difficult to capture picture-perfect moments.
Honda will be in Fredericksburg, Texas, during the eclipse, which has historically low cloud cover in early April compared to other parts of the country, he says.
If your plans are to be in an area in the path of totality and the forecast calls for a cloudy day, Honda recommends being flexible.
“If you’re in a location where there is a probability of weather, keep track of the cloud cover,” he said. “If weather is coming in, try to be mobile … check out the roads like a day or two before and figure out a plan to try to get to a different location.”
Even if there are clouds in the sky, it will still be darker during the period of totality and good photographs can still be taken, Honda said.
Practice, practice, practice
To make sure you understand your camera’s capabilities, Honda said it’s a good idea to practice taking pictures with your camera.
Even NASA recommends practicing. The federal space agency advises eclipse observers to become familiar with the adjustable exposures to help darken or lighten an image as well as practicing how to manually focus the camera.
“Practice a lot before April 8,” Honda said. “If it’s clear where you are, the sun’s up and you definitely could practice a little bit of trying to get the sun in the frame.”
Enjoy the moment
While it can be enjoyable to capture a great photo of the eclipse, the most important thing is to enjoy the event you’re witnessing, Honda said.
“It’s one of these just completely amazing events that you’ll never ever forget,” he said. “I think the best thing is to try to really enjoy the eclipse as much as you can because it could it really could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
