New York, Apr 9 (AP) A total solar eclipse has begun. Totality will last up to 4 minutes, 28 seconds in certain spots.

The eclipse is crossing North America, darkening skies along a path through Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Also Read | Solar Eclipse 2024: All You Need To Know About Today's Surya Grahan As Moon Starts To Cover Up Sun.

Here's the latest:

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE EXITS NORTH AMERICA -- The sun is reappearing from behind the moon as the total solar eclipse leaves North America. There won't be another coast-to-coast spectacle on the continent until 2045.

Also Read | Solar Eclipse 2024: Partial Eclipse Begins Over South Pacific as Moon Starts to Cover Up Sun.

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DALLAS STUDENTS ELATED BY ECLIPSE – Emergency lights clicked on outside D.A. Hulcy Middle School as the last sliver of the sun disappeared. Students cheered and whooped, sitting on towels and picnic blankets in an adjacent parking lot.

“I'm a new person,” eighth grader Nia Modkins said.

Students and teachers took off their eclipse glasses and pointed at the sky, taking pictures and videos. Once three minutes elapsed, their teachers told them to put their eclipse glasses back on as the sun prepared for its return act.

Once daylight swept over the parking lot again, eighth grader Sky Johnson swiped through her phone, looking for the video she'd taken during totality.

“Two minutes of me screaming, literally,” she said.

By Adithi Ramakrishnan

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BEACHES GROW DARK IN MEXICOMAZATLAN, Mexico – Mazatlan's sparkling beaches have been cast into darkness as the total solar eclipse reaches its maximum coverage.

Hundreds of gathered faces were illuminated only by the screens of their cellphones as they tried to capture the slightly more than 4 minutes of totality.

Palm trees were silhouetted against a faint glow near the horizon like one of the resort's famous sunsets, but coming before noon.

Karen Ibarra, of Colombia, is a researcher at Mexico's National Autonomous University. She came to Mazatlan for the eclipse.

As darkness blanketed the coast she said, “seeing the corona is the best.”

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TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE REACHES US ON WAY TO CANADA -- The moon's shadow has moved into the US with cloudy skies in store for a part of the total eclipse path from Texas to Maine.

The eclipse cuts through major cities including Dallas; Austin, Texas; Indianapolis; Cleveland; and Niagara Falls, New York.

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TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE BEGINS IN NORTH AMERICA OVER MEXICO -- A total solar eclipse has reached North America over Mexico as throngs gather along the country's Pacific coast.

It'll race toward United States and eastern Canada before exiting into the Atlantic.

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CHEERS IN MEXICO AS MOON BEGINS PASSING OVER SUNMAZATLAN, Mexico – Cheers broke out along the beach in this resort city as the moon began to pass over the sun.

Hundreds in a beachside park had passed the waiting time by readying their equipment and listening to a youth orchestra play Star Wars songs while a large screen projected images of Princess Leia behind them.

Luz Elena Aguillón de la O sat in the grass with a group of 14 family and friends who had gathered from Mexico City, Guanajuato and right here in Mazatlan to take in the spectacle.

“Happy to be here with family, friends sharing a singular, unrepeatable event that the universe and nature give us,” she said.

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BIDEN ENCOURAGES AMERICANS TO WEAR EYE PROTECTIONWASHINGTON – President Joe Biden posted a brief video on X to encourage Americans to wear eye protection when viewing the eclipse – in a subtle dig at his predecessor and 2024 rival, former President Donald Trump.

“Folks, enjoy the eclipse, but play it safe, don't be silly,” Biden said in a video showing him donning eclipse glasses and looking skyward from the balcony outside the Blue Room of the White House.

That's the spot where Trump glanced up toward the sun without eye protection in 2017.

Biden is travelling to Wisconsin, which, like Washington, will experience a partial eclipse on Monday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she had no details to share on whether Biden would view the phenomenon.

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PARTIAL ECLIPSE BEGINS OVER SOUTH PACIFIC -- The moon has started to cover up the sun as a partial eclipse begins over the South Pacific. Millions along a narrow corridor in North America from Mexico's Pacific coast to eastern Canada hope for clouds to clear as they eagerly wait for totality to reach their location.

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CITIES AND TOWN BRACE FOR CROWDS -- Small towns and rural communities along the eclipse path are steeling for huge crowds.

Tourism and community leaders from Texas to Maine trucked in extra fuel and port-a-potties, and urged residents and visitors to be prepared — and to be patient.

Some counties have issued disaster declarations to get extra help with policing and other aid, similar to the aftermath of severe storms.

Among them is Kerr County, located about 65 miles northwest of San Antonio, where the normal population of 53,000 is expected to double or triple. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)