5 Things posted Mar 27, 2023 @ 08:00am by Cheyanna Lorraine

5 things you need to know this morning: March, 27 2023

Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. Five planets will be visible in the sky Tuesday night

Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus and Mars will all be visible this week. The five planets are expected to form a line in the west sky just after sunset, according to NASA astronomers. The planetary alignment will be visible from anywhere on Earth. A pair of binoculars will help you see Mercury and Uranus.

The best day to catch the five planets is Tuesday. They can be seen from anywhere on Earth, as long as you have clear skies and a view of the west. https://t.co/OydNBaa2QJ
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 27, 2023

2. Cities across the globe went dark for Earth Hour this weekend

The event, which started in Sydney, Australia, happens on the last Saturday of March. People, businesses and communities are encouraged to turn off their lights for one hour. The gesture is meant to show a symbolic commitment to tackling climate change.

Global cities went dark for #EarthHour, a worldwide movement organized by the WWF, encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential lights for an hour on the last Saturday of March, in a symbolic commitment to tackle climate change pic.twitter.com/m0pQzdG1gX
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 27, 2023

3. Death toll climbs to seven in US chocolate factory explosion

The explosion happened on Friday night in a small Pennsylvanian community of about 4,500 people. The community had been home to the R. M. Palmer Co. facility for more than six decades. The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined and an investigation is ongoing. Search and rescue volunteers have been working around the clock this weekend and the small community is planning a vigil this Friday.

Two additional bodies have been found by search and rescue teams working to locate missing individuals after the explosion of an eastern Pennsylvania candy factory last week, raising the incident’s death toll to seven peoplehttps://t.co/PaxEdNZtgY
— CNN (@CNN) March 27, 2023

4. Ukraine burgers Security Council meeting amid “atomic weapons” threat

Over the weekend, Ukraine’s government called for an emergency meeting with the UN’s security council after Russian president Vladimir Putin revealed plans to set up low yield atomic weapons in the neighbouring country of Belarus. Ukrainian officials are calling it “nuclear blackmail.” The US said it will monitor the situation while Germany called it “intimidation.”

Ukraine urges Security Council meeting over Russia’s Belarus nuclear plans https://t.co/hq3jOl1qDz pic.twitter.com/QzCKGwwFKt
— Global National (@GlobalNational) March 26, 2023

5. German shepherd named mayor of Niagara Falls

On Friday, Jim Diodati named Pal the shepherd honorary mayor of the Ontario community. The dog has racked up a significant following on social media with over 700,000 followers. The dog’s popularity has been used to support a fundraising effort for the community’s kidney clinic. Pal’s owners and the City of Niagara hope the buzz of city hall ceremony will further bolster the effort