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Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Tori. Today is Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024.
And we begin with bragging rights for anyone who traveled by plane on Sunday.
The TSA says it screened nearly 3 .1 million flyers that day, breaking the all -time single -day record by 74 ,000.
Not everyone who wanted to get home was able to, however.
As we reported yesterday, the Great Lakes region is getting deluged by a pre -winter snowstorm with more than 5 feet hitting some areas.
Now there's a very small window for stranded travelers to get out before another dumping, this time from a storm coming down from Canada.
More than 4 million people across New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio have spent the last several days digging out, and many are without power.
The latest forecast shows more winter weather coming Thursday and continuing into the weekend.
While this new storm isn't expected to be as big, it will still pack a punch with high winds and freezing rain.
Nearly 70 % of the United States, some 220 million people, will see temperatures fall below freezing through next weekend.
Scientists at the University of Richmond in Virginia have been teaching rats to drive, and the rats are loving it.
The researchers built little box -like cars with a small wire they could grasp that acted like a gas pedal.
Another wire enabled the rats to steer.
They say the critters quickly learned how to maneuver their little cars toward rewards such as Froot Loops.
The serious point of the experiment was to test the theory that rats learn better and faster in environments that have a great deal of stimulation, and they do.
Rats who were kept in bare cages didn't learn to drive as quickly and easily as rats whose cages had toys to play with.
They conclude lots of stimulation makes brains, both rat brains and people brains, flexible and quicker to learn.
But they were surprised to see just how much the rats enjoyed putting pedal to the metal.
They would run into their little cars without prompting, and start pressing on the accelerator, eager to go.
Archaeologists have found that two completely different species of early humans actually lived in the same place at the same time, something they suspected but had never been able to prove before.
In the Turkana Basin in Kenya, they found the footprints of two different species, Homo erectus, a direct ancestor to humans, and Perinthropus boise, which died off around a million years ago.
Analysis revealed the two were walking in the same area around the same time, if not actually together.
Over many years, shifting sands preserved the footprints as well as some bones from both species.
Scientists say there's no way to know for sure what relationship these two species had with one another, but they likely coexisted peacefully because they had different diets and possibly habitat preferences.
They used to be very popular, and chances are high you've had one.
Lunchables made by Kraft Heinz are long time staples in school cafeterias, but lately the popularity of the $2 billion brand has been falling, with sales down 12 % in just the last three months.
Parents are concerned the meals with their combinations of crackers, pizzas, chicken nuggets, small hot dogs, burgers and tacos aren't healthy.
In April, Consumer Reports Magazine recommended removing Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program.
And although Kraft Heinz had started offering healthier versions as far back as 2004, last month they pulled Lunchables from school lunch menus.
But Kraft Heinz is not giving up.
The company says its goal is to bring healthier versions to market and partner with other brands kids like for unique combinations and new flavors.
ET isn't the only one who's phoned home.
Once again, the Voyager 1 probe launched way back in 1977 and currently more than 15 billion miles away from Earth is talking to NASA.
The probe flew past Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980, greatly expanding our knowledge of those planets.
Though it left the solar system in 2012, it has continued sending data about its deep space journey.
But as it gets farther away and grows weaker, it has had to turn off many instruments to save power.
In October, the spacecraft suddenly stopped transmitting and some scientists thought they may never hear from it again.
But they figured out the problem, re -established contact and are back to receiving data.
Although it launched with 470 watts of power, Voyager loses 4 watts each year and is now running on about 220 watts.
Scientists expected to transmit for about 11 more years before going silent for good.
Still to come when a single banana is worth $6 million.
But first, a reminder that today is Giving Tuesday, a day to show your love to your favorite nonprofits.
We hope Kid News and our mission to arm kids with a love of news, an appreciation of quality journalism and the ability to separate fact from fiction make your giving list.
Please visit our website at kidnews .org to make a donation.
Now, today's Kid News Quiz.
How many flyers did the TSA screen on Sunday?
Nearly 3 .1 million, a new single -day record.
What popular lunch item has recently been pulled from school cafeterias but is promising a major comeback?
Lunchables Scientists at the University of Richmond have taught rats to do what?
Drive miniature cars What's the name of the 47 -year -old probe that just phoned home again from deep space?
Voyager 1 In today's Kid News kicker, for centuries philosophers have asked the question, what is art?
For Italian artist Maurizio Catalan, it's a garden -variety banana duct tape to a wall.
He presented this creation, which he called Comedian, at a Miami art festival in 2019, and it attracted so much attention it had to be taken down because the massive crowds blocked the rest of the exhibits.
Now, another version of his banana duct tape combo has just sold for more than $6 million at Sotheby's Auction House in New York.
A cryptocurrency entrepreneur by the name of Justin's son bought it, and then he ate it, in an event that was livestreamed on the internet.
He said it tasted really good, adding it was much better than other bananas.
Much more expensive, too.
Before we go, shout -outs for our Kid News classrooms, Mr.
Fox and his Tiger Cubs at Perryworth in Lebanon, Indiana, to Illinois for Mr.
Zand and his awesome fourth graders at Hatch and Oak Park, and for Ms.
Pemberton and her Pemberton Travelers at Ramona in Wilmette, and Mrs.
Murphy and her Falcons at Gus Franklin STEM Academy in Victorville, California.
Thanks for listening.
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Have a great day. We'll see you back here for more Kid News tomorrow morning.
