Good morning, and welcome to KidNews.
I'm Tori. Today is Monday, April 21st, 2025, and we begin with the running of the world's oldest marathon. Today, in Boston, Massachusetts, more than 24 ,000 athletes will hit the streets on a 26 .2 mile course through the city, just like they've done every year, but one since 1897, the exception, 2020, when the race was canceled due to COVID.
Traditionally, the marathon always coincides with Patriots' Day, which commemorates the start of the American Revolution back in 1775.
The most famous of Patriots, Paul Revere, who made that legendary midnight ride to the towns of Lexington and Concord to warn colonists that the British were coming.
Throughout Massachusetts today, there'll be reenactments, parades, fife and drums, skydivers, and bloc parties, all to mark the milestones that began America's big push toward independence from Great Britain.
While Boston runs and re -enacts, Washington D .C.
rolls. Today, the White House hosts its annual Easter celebration on the South Lawn.
Hundreds of kids chosen by lottery will get to search for and roll 30 ,000 eggs donated by the American Egg Board. When asked about the national egg shortage, the board issued a statement saying the eggs being used are small to medium and not meant for grocery stores.
Different this year than at any time in the event's 147 year history?
Onsite ads in the form of sponsors including a reading nook by Amazon, a bunny hop stage by YouTube, and an AI powered experience and photo opportunity by Metta.
The ocean is her oyster.
Twelve -year -old Mia De Pont of East Greenwich, Rhode Island is now the youngest master scuba diver in New England and only the second 12 -year -old with that distinction anywhere in the country.
How big a deal is it?
Really big. Less than 2 % of all divers earn that title.
It requires PADI Open Water, Advanced Open Water, and Rescue Diver certifications, along with at least 50 log dives and five specialty certifications.
Mia knocked those off and then some, passing her final exam and doing three required dives in Mexico on her 12th birthday, which is the youngest the kids are allowed to try.
The sixth grader's biggest challenge, rescue diving.
When I had to lift someone to the surface and being able to kick over them to give the rescue breath and towing them in, that was tough for me because it was tough getting to kick hard enough.
As if her recent accomplishment isn't enough, Mia is also a black belt in karate.
Her message to other kids chasing a dream.
I would just say stick with it and never give up.
Great advice, Mia. It's a huge discovery.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers at Cambridge University have found the strongest indication yet of alien life on another planet.
K2 -18b is outside of our solar system and enormous.
It's just slightly smaller than Neptune, which is four times wider than Earth.
And while the telescope didn't spot ET, it did find atmospheric evidence of two compounds that, on our planet, are produced by microbes and marine algae.
K -2 -18b orbits its sun in what's known as the Goldilocks Zone, which means its temperature could be warm enough for it to have liquid water.
Conditions there might be just right, not too hot, not too cold, for life, according to NASA.
More research is needed, but the journal Nature calls the discovery a groundbreaking moment in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Music What a present.
Don Pettit, America's oldest active -duty astronaut, arrived back on Earth on his 70th birthday yesterday after spending the better part of the last year in orbit.
He and his two cosmonaut crewmates had undocked from the International Space Station earlier in the day and made the fiery plunge into Kazakhstan to close out their mission.
The floating lab they left behind has been continuously staffed since November of two thousand, but technical problems are mounting and the countdown is on until NASA retires it in five years.
According to CBS News, SpaceX has been hired to build a deorbit vehicle that will drive the million -pound space station back into the atmosphere in 2030, where it will break apart over the southern Pacific Ocean, far from populated areas and shipping lanes.
Still to come, one mom blows the doors off all the other moms at her son's field day.
But first, today's kid news quiz.
Today's Boston Marathon coincides with what annual holiday in New England?
Patriots' Day. What event takes place today on the South Lawn of the White House?
The annual Easter Egg Roll.
What percentage of divers reach the elite status of Master Scuba Diver, like Mia de Pont?
Just 2 % and Mia is only the second 12 -year -old in the U .S. to achieve it.
Researchers say they found WHAT on a planet outside our solar system.
Evidence of extraterrestrial life.
In today's Kid News Kicker, the moms who lined up to race other moms at their kids' school on field day may have thought they had a chance.
They did not. In their heat, Shelley Anne Fraser Price of Jamaica, three -time Olympic champion and the third fastest woman in the world.
When the starting gun sounded, Zion's proud mom shot off the line like a cannonball, putting so much distance between herself and the mere mortals behind her that an overhead drone seemed to get confused.
Follow her and wait for the rest or go back and try to showcase those she left in the dust. Just last week, Shellyann announced she was returning to the track for some unfinished business.
The next stop could be the World Championships in Tokyo.
Before we go, it's time to shout out our terrific teachers, Mr. Walgren and his lions at Concrete in Concrete, Washington, Mrs. Mohn at Polaris Village Academy, where her scholars shine bright in Easton, Maryland, Mrs. Davis and her peak learners at Ridgeview in Liberty, Missouri, and Mrs. Scott and her bulldogs at Washington in Washington Township, Michigan, and a special shout -out to Christian and Georgia in Brookfield, Connecticut.
Thanks for listening.
A friendly reminder that Kid News is a nonprofit that hits the airwaves five days a week, thanks to your generosity.
Please consider making a tax -deductible donation on our website at KidNews .org.
Have a great day We'll see you back here for more Kid News tomorrow morning
