Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Kim. Today is Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
And we begin with two new gentle giants arriving in the U .S.
Capitol. Pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao left China on Monday and spent more than a day aboard a FedEx plane dubbed the Panda Express before landing at Washington, D .C.'s Dulles Airport yesterday morning.
The National Zoo closed its doors to visitors to prep for its new A -listers, which arrived about a year after the facility had to return to others.
For those hoping to put eyes on these beautiful black -and -white international diplomats, you'll have to be patient for at least a month.
They're now in quarantine to keep them from spreading germs to other animals.
Then they'll need time to adjust to their new surroundings.
Bao Li, who's a bit of a ham, and Qing Bao, who's more on the shy side, are on loan to the zoo for 10 years.
Fun Panda fact, according to wildlife experts, each panda eats up to 84 pounds of bamboo every day.
Despite their fur, D .C.'s newest residents might be surprised by the chill in the air.
A cold front has dropped down from Canada, bringing with it the lowest temperatures in six months and making it feel more like November than October for millions of Americans along the East Coast and in the Midwest.
Today, the high in the nation's capital is expected to top out in the mid -50s, which is 10 to 15 degrees colder than it normally is this time of year.
Snow flurries are possible at the highest elevations from West Virginia to New England, and residents of North Carolina who are struggling to recover from Hurricane Helene will have to contend with freezing or near -freezing temps overnight.
The presidential election is now just 19 days away, and a few more states have opened up early voting.
Georgians turned out in record numbers yesterday to cast their ballots, and tomorrow, residents of North Carolina get their turn.
As of now, the race looks like it could be a photo finish.
NBC News released a new poll yesterday showing former president Donald Trump and current vice president Kamala Harris deadlocked.
In business news, a shocker from a very familiar name.
Walgreens says it's closing 1 ,200 U .S.
stores over the next three years, with the first 500 going dark in 2025.
Quite simply, they're not making enough money.
In fact, the pharmacy chain told analysts that one in four of its stores are currently unprofitable.
So far, Walgreens has not released a list of which locations will close.
Have you ever heard of a moon tree?
Neither had we, but students at a school in Southern California sure have, and they earned the honor of planting it.
Santiago Steam Magnet School in Lake Forest applied for and was among the few schools selected to receive the sapling of a giant sequoia grown from the seeds that took laps around the moon on the Artemis 1 mission in 2022.
That was the second time NASA sent seeds into space and brought them back for planting.
The first was in 1971, and most of those debut moon trees found a home near national monuments.
This latest batch was given to schools and museums to promote science and conservation education.
Santiago's students wore spacesuits and galactic t -shirts as they planted their moon tree in a space -themed outdoor garden.
It's kind of crazy, sixth -grader Emily, a guest, told the Associated Press, I've always wanted to go to space, but this motivates me even more.
Still to come, a righty lefty riddle from the animal kingdom.
But first, we want to shout out Quinn Porter of San Francisco, California, who's turning 10 today.
Quinn, your mom, dad, Sammy, Juliet, and Tater Tot are thrilled to share this day with you, and our Kid News team is excited to help get the party started.
We also understand you have a big lacrosse tournament this weekend, and we want to wish you and your team the best of luck.
Happy birthday, Quinn.
Now today's Kid News Quiz.
Two pandas just arrived at a zoo in what U .S.
city on a 10 -year loan from China?
Washington, D .C. What's the takeaway of a new NBC News poll on the U .S.
presidential race? The two candidates are tied.
Which pharmacy chain is closing 1 ,200 locations in the U .S.?
Walgreens. Saplings grown from seeds sent into space are known as what?
Moon trees. In today's Kid News kicker, an answer to a question you probably never had.
How to tell if an elephant is a righty or a lefty?
We all have a side that we prefer, and the same is true for Pachyderms.
According to the journal Royal Society Open Science and the Morning Brew, telltale signs include wrinkles and whiskers.
When an elephant leans toward one side more than the other to pick up peanuts or fruit, that side tends to have more of both.
Researchers say the wrinkles develop from all the bending in one direction, and their whiskers inside the curl are protected, whereas those on the other side disappear from constant contact with the ground.
And while the righty -lefty split inside an elephant herd tends to be 50 -50, the same is not true for humans.
Only about 10 percent of the global people population is left -handed.
Thanks again to the Porter family of San Francisco, California, for sponsoring today's quiz.
Happy double -digit birthday to Quinn Porter and hello to her teacher, Ms.
Cobbs, and all her friends at the Hamlin School for Girls.
And shout -outs to our other Kid News classrooms, including Ms.
Rivera and her Roadrunners at Rosedale in Sagas, California, Mrs.
Huddleston, who wants to say a hoy pirate nation to her Greenland middle schoolers in Greenland, Arkansas, and Mrs.
Perrone and her Brooke Brew and Bears at Brooke Middle School in Wellsburg, West Virginia.
Thanks for listening, and a reminder that we at Kid News love feedback.
Parents and teachers, please send us your thoughts to we hear you at kidnews .org.
Have a great day and we'll see you back here for more Kid News tomorrow morning.
