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Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Kim. Today is Friday, October 18, 2024.
And we begin with former president Jimmy Carter casting his ballot.
Along with a record -setting quarter of a million other Georgia residents who began early voting this week, the century -old ex -president had his say in the 2024 presidential election.
According to his grandson, Mr.
Carter wanted to live to 100 so that he could vote one more time, and he has now fulfilled that goal.
His last public appearance was last year when he attended a memorial service for his late wife, Rosalyn Carter, who died in November at the age of 96.
Mr. Carter is officially the oldest living president in US history.
He entered hospice care early in 2023.
It's jellyfish behavior straight out of science fiction.
Scientists at the University of Exeter in England were stunned to see two comb jellies, which are named for the short hair -like membranes that run up and down their bodies, fusing together after one of them was injured.
The two animals had become a single jellyfish with no injuries.
Researchers first noticed one jelly was missing from its tank, and then saw that another was suddenly unusually large.
Upon closer inspection, they realized two had merged into one healthy creature.
Jellyfish, one of humanity's most ancient ancestors, are considered some of the most bizarre lifeforms on the planet.
There's even one species called Torritopsis dornii that some scientists think may be immortal.
Scientists are puzzling over why the ground in Southern California has been shaking so much recently.
The state has always been known as earthquake country, but lately the southern part has seen a lot more rumblings than is typical, with magnitudes ranging from 4 .0 to 5 .2.
And while they haven't caused much damage, some folks in the area are a little on edge, wondering if the big one is right around the corner.
Researchers say there's no way to predict the timing of future quakes major or minor, and they don't know what, if anything, this recent Southern California swarm means.
Visitors to Disney's parks in the U .S.
may love the rides, but they hate the long lines.
Now there's a new way to cut through the crowds, but it comes with a side of sticker shock.
Depending on the park and the day, Disney's new Lightning Lane Premier Pass could cost as much as $449 per person per day on top of the park's entry fee.
Those willing to fork over that much money can skip the line for any ride in any park that has a lightning lane one time per ride per day without reserving a time.
According to Disney, the more restrictive Lightning Lane multi -pass and single -pass which rolled out over the summer will still be available for a fee, of course.
While Disney parks are known for their sophisticated animatronic creations that look just like real people and animals, an aquarium in China outraged visitors with its foray into the fake.
The SeaWorld in Shenzhen recently reopened after renovations, with the centerpiece of their remodel a highly promoted new whale shark.
But what was in the tank was no whale shark.
Visitors noticed it had seams in its side and well looked weird.
It was, in fact, a robot whale shark.
The park explained its decision to dupe guests by citing recently passed Chinese laws that banned trading in sharks, but visitors didn't care, they wanted their money back.
This isn't the first deception of this type.
In at least two recent instances, other zoos in China tried painting chow chow dogs to look like panda cubs.
It's not always as easy as seams on a shark to tell real from fake, and that's increasingly true when it comes to the internet.
This weekend, Kid News shares tips on how kids and adults can sharpen their news savvy when we're joined by the head of the National Association for Media Literacy.
It's a fire hose of information coming at us, and for us to be the ones responsible for pushing it back can be difficult.
Difficult, but oh so important.
Our special long format interview drops tomorrow morning, wherever you get your podcasts.
Still ahead, the world of high fashion looks to the moon for its next market.
But first today's Kid News Quiz.
What former president at age 100 cast his vote in the 2024 election?
Jimmy Carter. What did two jellyfish do that completely shocked scientists in the UK?
They fused together into one.
The ground is shaking more than normal in what part of the US?
Southern California.
Why are people upset with the Chinese aquarium's whale shark exhibit?
The whale shark is a robot.
In today's Kid News Kicker, astronauts hardly look stylish in their baggy, bulky space suits, but one fashion -forward company is trying to change that.
Prada, the Italian house famous for its chic designer clothing, paired with Axiom Space in a far -out collaboration to create new spacesuits for NASA's Artemis 3 mission.
That mission will be the first astronaut moon landing since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago.
The new spacesuits are white with red trim, have gray patches across the elbows and knees, and are loaded with tech.
As a rep for Axiom told the New York Times, this is just the beginning.
The space economy is not something just for companies that make rockets.
I'm sure we're going to have more and more business -use cases where we need to go into space.
And all of those people will need something to wear.
And back on Earth, a big hello to some of our classrooms.
Mrs. Woodall and her scorpions at Desert Springs in Nampa, Idaho.
Ms. Adkins and her rockets at Rancho Vista in Palmdale, California.
And Mrs. Painter and her rockets at Unity Junior High School in Telono, Illinois.
Thanks for listening!
Remember to check out our special episode tomorrow.
It'll help you better separate fact from fiction on your feeds.
Have a great weekend, and we'll see you back here for more Kid News Monday morning.
