Something strange is about to happen to the shadows beneath your feet.

On Sunday, May 20, the Moon will pass in front of the sun, transforming sunbeams across the Pacific side of Earth into fat crescents and thin rings of light.

It's an annular solar eclipse, in which the Moon will cover as much as 94 percent of the sun. Hundreds of millions of people will be able to witness the event. The eclipse zone stretches from southeast Asia across the Pacific Ocean to western parts of North America.

In the United States, the eclipse begins around 5:30 p.m. PDT. For the next two hours, a Moon-shaped portion of the sun will go into hiding. Greatest coverage occurs around 6:30 p.m. PDT. The partial eclipse ends just before 7:30 p.m. >>> Animated Map | Share Your Photos

Because some of the sun is always exposed during the eclipse, ambient daylight won't seem much different than usual.

PORTLAND, Ore. – A rare but serious disease took the life of a University of Oregon student last Friday evening, but there are steps college students can take to decrease their risk.

Lillian Pagenstecher, who grew up in Portland, died of bacterial meningitis, or meningococcal disease, and it only took a few days to turn deadly.

There is a vaccine that can be 80 to 90 percent effective for most strains of the disease. It's recommended that teenagers receive the vaccine within five years of going to college, especially if they will be living in tight quarters like a dorm or sorority house. The bacteria can spread through saliva or a lot of close contact.

Pagenstecher, 21, lived in a sorority house at the U of O, and was a junior. That school does not require the vaccine but recommends it. Health officials confirmed she died from a strain that would have been covered by the vaccine. But it isn’t known if she received it.

Her father said she also had the disease as a freshman in 2009 and had a genetic disorder. While she fought off the 2009 infection, she remained at risk because of a genetic protein deficiency.

SEATTLE -- Both Democrats and Republicans say they want to keep student loan interest rates from doubling. It'll cost $6 billion to do so, and Democrats want to pay for it by closing tax loopholes for wealthy professionals, while Republicans would rather take the money from President Obama's health care overhaul.

Among those caught in the middle is Tyson Hillquist.

"I started doing research on leaders that inspired me, and I realized that they were all educated -- most of them were educated," Hillquist said. "And I thought to myself, 'I'll start there.' "

Hillquist is a White Center kid whose mom dropped out of school and had him when she was 13. It took him awhile, but at 31, Hillquist wants desperately to get an education and make a difference.

"We're here to be great. We go to school because we have a dream," he said.

The U.S. Senate failed to pass a bill Thursday that would keep student loans at 3.4 percent. Unless something happens, they'll jump to 6.8% on July 1. And Democrats and Republicans can't agree on how to pay for it.