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Good morning and welcome to KID News.
I'm Kim.
Today is Wednesday, October 1st, 2025.
And we begin with a question in need of an answer.
Did the U.S. government shut down overnight?
As of this recording, the clock is racing toward a midnight deadline and Democrats and Republicans remain far apart.
The two sides needed to agree on how to spend the nation's money or to give themselves more time to find a happy medium.
If neither of those things happened by 11.59 p.m.
Eastern last night, at least part of the federal government has temporarily closed up shop.
Uncle Sam isn't paying all his bills, and some federal workers are getting laid off.
Also potentially caught in the budget mess, travelers.
TSA screeners are considered essential, but if they go more than two weeks without a paycheck, some start looking for work elsewhere.
So if the answer to our first question is yes, prepare for longer lines at the airport.
Tilly Norwood.
Have you heard her name?
You will soon.
She's at the center of a huge Hollywood debate, and she's not even human.
Tilly is an AI-generated actor who's being touted as the next Scarlett Johansson.
So far, her one and only Hollywood job is as the star of a single AI-made comedy sketch called AI Commissioner, where none of the actors are real.
But Tilly's collection of code is apparently so appealing living breathing talent agents are circling to land her as a client.
Not surprisingly, that's not sitting well in Hollywood.
The actors' union came out swinging against the tech and actress Emily Blunt added her voice, saying Please stop taking away our human connection.
Tilly's creator, a studio that's part of a company called Particle Six, defends their rising star and the use of AI in film, calling it a new tool like a paintbrush rather than a replacement for humans, from two hours to two minutes, has a glass walkway for pedestrians to look into the abyss below a cafe a half mile in the sky and, for the brave, offers the opportunity to bungee jump from a deck off the bridge.
AOL's dial-up has officially gone the way of the dodo bird.
Yesterday, more than 30 years after introducing it, the company pulled the plug on its noisy, clunky access portal to the Internet.
After letting out its last hum, whirr and screech, it's now on the trash pile of all sorts of tech that started out cutting edge, only to be sidelined by something smaller, faster and, in the case of broadband, quieter.
It had its fans, though, many of whom wax nostalgic on Reddit.
We grew up with dial-up internet.
If we survive that noise, we can survive anything.
Will this be Chunk's year?
Despite being one of Katmai's perennial favorites, he's lost to Grazer two years in a row.
But guess what?
Reigning champ Grazer got knocked out in the semis and Chunk is now back in contention for the title for the third straight year.
His challenger this time, Bear856.
The final voting closed last night at 9 pm, too late for this podcast, but results should be up on the website today.
And of course, we'll have them tomorrow.
No matter who wins, however, they all do.
The bears of Katmai are now productively plump and ready to ride out winter in their dens.
This period is known as Topor, when they must survive five to seven months without food or water, relying only on the pounds they packed on during the summer and early fall.
Still to come, how do you give a ticket to a driverless car?
We'll tell you about a perplexing police stop in California.
But first, we want to give a quick shout out to four loyal listeners in Statesville, North Carolina.
We're talking about you, Sophia, Mia, Joaquin, and Luca.
We hope you have a wonderful day.
Now, today's Kid News quiz.
Midnight last night was the deadline for what?
A possible government shutdown.
What's the name of the AI-generated actress making waves in Hollywood?
Tilly Norwood.
How tall is the tallest bridge in the world and where is it?
2,050 feet high in China.
The plug has now officially been pulled on what internet service?
AOL dial-up.
In today's Kid News Kicker, a riddle.
How do police cite a driverless car that's driving badly?
We found out last weekend in San Bruno, just south of San Francisco California, when a Waymo made an illegal U-turn at a light right in front of two officers.
The autonomous cars are designed to detect lights and sirens, so pulling it over wasn't a problem.
But as they posted on social, no driver, no hands, no clue.
Since there was no human driver, a ticket couldn't be issued.
There's no box for robot on the citations.
The officer's only option was to notify Waymo to fix the glitch.
The company currently operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta and is planning to launch its autonomous drivers in Miami, Washington DC and New York City if it passes the current testing phase.
Before we go, it's shout-out time for our teachers.
Mr. DiPrano's Fighting Crab Cakes at Ascension Catholic in Melbourne, Florida.
Mrs. Sanders' Timberwolves at Midland in Lakin, Illinois.
Mrs. Alvarado's Avocados at Serene Hills in Lakeway, Texas.
And Mrs. Yisroel and Her Leopards at Livesey in Tucker, Georgia.
Thanks for listening.
Have a great day, and we'll see you back here for more kid news tomorrow morning.
