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Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Kim.
Today is Wednesday, February 18th, 2026.
And we begin with all eyes on a Southern California courtroom.
Today, the CEO, who is basically synonymous with social media, will take the stand to defend his products against accusations that they're specifically engineered to get kids hooked.
Meta's Mark Zuckerberg will answer questions in that landmark trial brought by a teenager who says features like infinite scrolling, notifications and autoplay led to an addiction.
Mr. Zuckerberg has testified before Congress, but this time is his first time in front of a jury.
He's expected to argue that his companies, Facebook and Instagram, took reasonable steps to protect young users.
The stakes couldn't be higher.
The case is just the first of more than 1500 to reach a jury, all accusing social media of putting profit ahead of kids' safety.
Tributes are pouring in for a towering giant of civil rights.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson passed away early yesterday at the age of 84.
He became the torchbearer for equality shortly after the death of Martin Luther King Jr, went on to form the Rainbow Coalition representing all races, and even tried to win the Democratic nomination for president twice, in 1984 and 1988.
He didn't get it, but many say without Jesse Jackson, there would have been no President Obama.
In South Carolina, where Mr Jackson was born, and Illinois, where he died, officials ordered flags to be flown at half staff.
As of this recording, plans for a funeral or public memorial have not been announced.
It's been 20 years since an American woman won individual Olympic gold in figure skating.
And after last night's short program, at least one still has a real shot.
Alyssa Liu is the comeback kid.
The Oakland, California native, quit the sport at 16, only to return two years later.
Not for the wins, but for the joy.
She's now in third place, heading into the long program.
Isabel Levito of Mount Holly, New Jersey, is in eighth, and Amber Glenn of Plano Texas, who struggled in the short, is in 13th.
Together, these friends and teammates call themselves the Blade Angels.
Even Taylor Swift counts herself a fan, giving them the stark treatment in a new NBC hype video.
With Opalite playing in the background, the pop star introduces them as three American showgirls on ice who will capture your heart with their stories.
The free skate for all the marbles is on Thursday.
Where do you go when you're not feeling well?
The doctor, of course.
In Germany, even a bird knew that.
A cormorant, which is shiny and black and lives near the water, flew itself to a human hospital in the town of Bremen and desperately pecked on the glass door of the emergency room until medical staff noticed.
Its malady?
A triple fishing hook stuck in its beak.
Doctors took the seabird inside and worked with firefighters to remove the hook, treat the wound and release it back to a nearby park.
Animals instigating their own rescues is rare but not unheard of.
In a post the fire department wrote When an injured cormorant does approach humans, it's usually an animal in extreme distress that has lost its natural shyness.
By all accounts, the bird is now doing just fine.
Waymos, those driverless robotaxis that pepper the streets of six US cities, can do a lot of things.
What they can't do is close their own doors.
That means when a human steps out and leaves his or her door open, the car is stuck.
For obvious safety reasons, it's programmed not to move.
So what's a high-tech company to do?
Call DoorDash, apparently.
According to CNBC, Waymo has partnered with several companies to come close its doors when passengers don't.
In Atlanta, a DoorDash driver was offered $11.25 to close the door of a nearby Waymo.
In Los Angeles, Honk users who get paid to maintain Waymos were offered up to $24.
Waymo says it's adding a feature to automatically close the doors, but there's no word yet on when it will be rolled out.
Still to come why Bad Bunny ditched his super-splashy Bugatti for a car many of us have in our driveways.
But first, we want to wish a happy 8th birthday to Cormac Chozik of Los Angeles, California.
Your mom, dad and grandparents tell us you're funny smart, endlessly curious and impossible not to love.
From F1 cars and Greek mythology to Minecraft, Japanese cooking, 3D printing, soccer goals, tennis rallies and perfectly timed jokes.
You make their lives brighter and happier every day.
Have a great day, Cormac.
Now, today's Kid News Quiz.
Who takes the stand today in that landmark trial against social media?
Met as CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Which civil rights icon passed away yesterday?
Jesse Jackson.
What does the trio of American female figure skaters call themselves?
The Blade Angels.
What type of bird pecked on an emergency room door in Germany to get medical help?
A cormorant.
In today's Kid News Kicker, what kind of car do you think Bad Bunny drives?
Probably something fancy, right?
Wrong.
The Grammy-winning Super Bowl halftime rocking megastar sold his $3 million Bugatti a few years ago and replaced it with a 20-year-old Toyota. specifically a 2003 Corolla with a blue book value of $2,725.
According to Complex, the fancy wheels brought him too much unwanted attention on the streets of Puerto Rico, while the Corolla allows him to move around in peace, with no crowds and no chaos.
He reportedly even put his retro ride in the music video for his song Yonaguni.
Thanks again to the Chozics of Los Angeles, California for sponsoring today's quiz.
Happy birthday to Cormac and hello to his teacher, Mrs Hamilton, and all his friends at Wonderland.
Go Coyotes!
And shout-outs for our other Kid News classrooms.
Mrs. Olinjus and her Vikings at North White in Monon, Indiana.
Mrs. Mangold and her Bulldogs at Leonard Seal in Douglas, Kansas.
To California for Mrs Carey and her courageous Cougars at Carrolldale Learning Community STEAM Academy in Carson.
And Mr. Kitchen and his fifth grade kindness squad at Blue Lake Union in Blue Lake.
Thanks for listening.
Teachers, we're working through our shout out list, which is longer than it's ever been, in the order they were received.
We're doing our best to get to everyone.
Have a great day and we'll see you back here for more kid news tomorrow morning.
