NASA: Total lunar eclipse happening over weekend

On Sunday, the Earth will cast its shadow over the moon, and we should start seeing the total lunar eclipse that evening.

According to NASA, the moon will begin entering the partial shadow of Earth at 9:32 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday. But the slight darkening of the moon will not stand out until the moon starts entering the full shadow of the Earth at 10:28 p.m. ET.

It will take until 11:29 p.m. for the full shadow of Earth to cover the moon. The peak of the eclipse will be at 12:11 a.m. ET on May 16.

Officials said the moon will begin emerging from the full shadow of the Earth at 12:54 a.m. ET and finish emerging from the full shadow at 1:55 a.m. ET.

The moon will finish exiting the partial shadow at 2:51 a.m. ET, but the subtle shading from this last part of the eclipse will be difficult to notice.

The lunar eclipse will be visible anywhere the moon is visible. NASA reports lunar eclipses occur during the full moon phase. So, the moon will generally be visible starting around sunset.

A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth gets directly between the sun and moon. The sun’s rays then get blocked by Earth and cause a shadow that darkens the moon.

Rattlesnake handler dies after snake bite during show, family says

Freer, Texas

A rattlesnake handler died over the weekend in Texas while handling a snake during a show at the Freer Rattlesnake Roundup event.

Eugene Roberto DeLeon, 60, was bitten by a rattlesnake on April 30 while performing at the annual show, according to his family. DeLeon was flown to a hospital in Corpus Christi where he later died.

DeLeon was a veteran snake handler and part of the Snake Busters Snake Handlers. His sister, Monica Dimas, shared on social media that he had a passion for snake handling and died doing what he loved.

According to the Mauro P. Garcia Funeral Home, DeLeon graduated from Freer High School in 1981. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Freer Fire Department and a custodian at Freer High School.

Dimas wrote for those to keep her family in prayer while she helps raise money to pay for her brother’s funeral expenses.

DeLeon was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend who will be sadly missed by all who knew him, according to his obituary.

Services for DeLeon are scheduled to be held on May 7 at the Mauro P. Garcia Funeral Home Chapel in San Diego, Texas.

Live Nation: $25 Concert Week tickets for 3,700+ concerts

Live Nation announced its Concert Week lineup which fans can purchase tickets to more than 3,700 shows across the U.S. this summer for $25.

The entertainment company said the Concert Week $25 tickets will be available from May 4-10 and cover genres from country, pop, hip-hop, alternative and more.

The shows will be taking place in venues ranging from small clubs to giant stadiums, according to the announced lineup.

Live Nation said the performers will include 5 Seconds of Summer, Alanis Morissette, Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys, Brad Paisley, Brandi Carlile, Chicago, Duran Duran, Eric Church, Imagine Dragons, Jack White, John Legend, Jonas Brothers, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lady A, Machine Gun Kelly, Santana, Shania Twain, Shawn Mendes, The Black Keys, Wu-Tang Clan, Zac Brown Band and many more.

Report: Production halts on Bill Murray film ‘Being Mortal’ after behavioral complaint

Searchlight Pictures has reportedly halted production on a film starring Bill Murray following allegations of inappropriate behavior.

According to reports from the New York Times and Variety, the studio issued a letter to cast and crew on Wednesday saying that filming had been suspended due to an unspecified complaint.

The New York Times reports the letter did not provide information on the nature of the complaint but a person working on the production said that the movie was shut down because of inappropriate behavior by Murray.

According to IMDb, Aziz Ansari is the director of the film that is planned to be released in 2023. “Being Mortal” also stars Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer.

The movie is based on surgeon Atul Gawande’s 2014 nonfiction book “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” according to the online movie database.

Americans are going to church less, poll finds

Americans’ church membership is at its lowest numbers in years.

According to a poll from Gallup, memberships to houses of worship continued to decline last year and dropped below 50% for the first time in Gallup’s eight-decade trend.

In 2020, 47% of Americans said they belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 50% in 2018 and 70% in 1999.

Researchers with Gallup said U.S. church membership was 73% when they first measured such numbers in 1937. Church membership remained near 70% for the next six decades, before beginning a steady decline around the turn of the 21st century.

Gallup reports the decline in church membership is primarily a function of the increasing number of Americans who express no religious preference.

Over the past two decades, the percentage of Americans who do not identify with any religion has grown from 8% in 1998-2000 to 13% in 2008-2010 and 21% over the past three years.

Gallup also reported it found declines in church membership when it comes to the younger generations but less of a drop among Republicans, as well as married adults and college graduates.

Church membership was found to be the highest among those groups, people who live in the South and Black adults.