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Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Kim. Today is Wednesday, January 8, 2025.
And we begin with all eyes on two captive orcas in southern France.
23 -year -old killer whale Wiki and her son Keijo live and perform at a marine park near Cannes.
That facility just shut down, leaving the future of the two creatures in question.
Animal activists slammed plans to send them to similar parks in Japan or Spain, where they'd still be held in so -called whale jails.
And releasing them into the open ocean isn't an option because humans are all they know and they wouldn't survive.
But the whale sanctuary project is stepping up and says it will raise money for a 98 -acre bay home off Nova Scotia, Canada, staffed with caretakers if the French government promises to get them there.
This kind of rescue has been done before.
Keijo, the orca who starred in the 1993 movie Free Willy, was sprung from captivity a few years later and taken to a bay in Iceland.
We'll continue to follow Wiki and Keijo's story and let you know France's decision.
First came the wind, then the fire.
Southern California got pummeled by gusts as high as 100 miles an hour yesterday, the strongest and most dangerous in a decade.
And shortly after they ramped up and as feared, a wind -fueled, fast -moving wildfire exploded near Pacific Palisades, leading to evacuations and gridlock as cars crammed roads to get out.
The storm wasn't without warning.
Meteorologists told residents to prepare for winds that could be the most destructive since a 2011 event that downed hundreds of trees and knocked out power for days in and around Pasadena.
As of this recording, the fire is still burning and the high winds are expected to continue through today.
The goat of gymnastics might be calling it a day.
The hint from Simone Biles came during an interview with Sports Illustrated, which last week named her its Sports Person of the Year.
Simone suggested the odds of her competing for Team USA at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are pretty slim.
There's almost nothing left to do, she said, other than be snobby and try again and for what?
I'm at a point in my career where I'm humble enough to know when to be done.
The Los Angeles Olympics will be the first time the summer games are held in the U .S.
since Atlanta hosted in 1996.
If Simone does compete, she would be 31 years old and the only American gymnast to ever qualify for four Olympics.
The time has come to bid adieu to the Prime Minister of Canada.
Justin Trudeau yesterday announced plans to step down just as soon as his party chooses a new leader.
Mr. Trudeau has been Prime Minister of the U .S.'s neighbor to the North since 2015.
The end of his nine years in office follows weeks of turmoil in his party and comes as a surprise to almost no one.
In other kid news notes, golf is going high tech in search of a younger audience.
Last night, the new Tiger Woods -backed indoor league, known as TGL, made its television debut.
Six teams of four PGA golfers face off in a football -sized arena with fancy golf simulators and real tees and greens.
There's an MC, a DJ, and the golfers are mic'd up so fans can hear their smack talk.
Golfer Billy Horschel says, if it's a country club atmosphere in here, we have failed.
And it's the end of the line for two flavors of Girl Scout cookies.
The organization announced yesterday that s'mores and toastiers will be retired at the end of the selling season.
Two years ago, the phase -out of another flavor, the Raspberry Rally, led to an online buying frenzy that saw boxes selling for $30 on eBay.
All your favorites are available now through the end of February online and wherever a scout sets up a table.
Still to come, the bald eagle finally gets its due.
But first, today's kid news quiz.
Where would animal rights activists like to see two captive whales in France relocated?
A bay near Nova Scotia, Canada.
Where did a big windstorm lead to a wildfire in evacuations yesterday?
Pacific Palisades in Southern California.
What goat athlete may not participate in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles?
Simone Biles. Which two Girl Scout cookie flavors are being retired after this selling season?
S'mores and toastiers.
In today's kid news kicker, the bald eagle has long been a symbol of the United States.
It's even on our great seal and currency.
But it's only recently been declared our national bird.
President Biden made it official on December 24th, 242 years after Congress designated it our national emblem.
It's a big deal for a stately bird that almost died out.
The culprit, a now -banned chemical known as DDT.
It was a much -used insecticide that worked its way up the food chain to birds, including bald eagles, which started laying eggs that had shells so thin they'd break when the mama birds tried to incubate them.
DDT was banned in 1972, allowing eagle populations to rebound from less than 500 in the lower 48 states then to more than 316 ,000 today.
Before we go, we want to shout out our fabulous teachers, starting with Ms.
Flores and her Cougars at Lynn Community Middle School in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Ms. Hanley and Mrs.
O 'Keefe and their Tigers at Kennedy School in Summerville, Massachusetts.
And Mr. Stubbs at Goodrich Middle School in Goodrich, Michigan, who would like to thank his students for working hard and making him smile each day.
He says they are Martian strong.
Thanks for listening.
Parents, teachers, we welcome your feedback.
Send us a note at wehearyouatkidnews .org with your thoughts.
Have a great day and we'll see you back here for more kid news tomorrow morning.
