Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Kim.
Today is Friday, August 22nd, 2025. We begin with a mysterious fire threatening the height ranking of one of the largest trees in the world.
The Derner fir, an exceptional historic Douglas fir tree that's 325 years old, and around 450 years old, has been burning since Saturday Coos County near Oregon's southern coast.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, the tree has already lost 50 feet. feet off the top but is not at risk of burning down completely. helicopter bucket drops have snuffed out visible flames but infrared photography has detected heat still coming from a cavity inside the trunk 280 feet up.
They've put sprinklers at the base to prevent further fires and are monitoring the hotspot.
Lightning's been ruled out, but at this point, the cause of the fire remains unknown.
It's a sweaty mess in the US West. More than 80 million people from Southern California to Oregon are experiencing scorching temperatures ranging anywhere from 100 to 112 degrees today.
Many cities, including Los Angeles and Portland, could shatter all time highs.
An unusually strong high pressure ridge centered over the four corners, the southwestern corner of Colorado, the southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico, is the cause.
There's no general agreement on how long the heat will last with some forecasters saying it will die down over the weekend and others seeing no immediate end in sight.
To the other side of the country where Aaron's barely in the rearview mirror and forecasters are already side-eyeing another Atlantic storm. storm.
If it strengthens, as expected, it'll be named Farnan.
Hurricane Erin, meantime, is now spinning away from the U.S. but after pummeling the Outer Banks with wind and high surf, continues to whip up waves at beaches in New England.
Researchers have a warning if you're a binge gamer.
New data for from Hong Kong scientists who studied nearly 2,600 kids and teens. found that those who played video games more than five hours a day frequently experienced more instances of sadness anxiety, stress, poor sleep and learning problems.
They say this was equally true of both boys and girls, but noted that boys are more likely to play longer than girls.
Binge gaming has even been labeled as a health condition by the World Health Organization.
But it's not all bad news. Other studies have found that limited amounts of video game playing can improve mental abilities. such as memory, attention, and reasoning skills.
It was deja vu for the New York Yankees, the kind of deja vu they like.
The team has become the first in Major League Baseball ever to hit nine home runs in a single game. twice in a season.
Tuesday night, the Yankees hit the long ball nine times with a 13-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Back in March, they hit nine homers in just their second game of the year. a 20-9 win over the now red-hot Milwaukee Brewers.
Tuesday's slugfest almost didn't happen though.
Heavy rains and lightning delayed the game for almost two hours.
Still ahead, can you guess the fine of a library book returned 82 years too late?
But first, today's kid news quiz. What part of the U.S. is experiencing record shattering heat this week? the West Coast from Southern California up to Oregon.
How big was the dirner fir in Oregon before a mysterious fire broke out?
325 feet tall. According to Hong Kong scientists, what are the risks of binge gaming? anxiety, stress, and learning issues.
What baseball team has now hit nine home runs in a game twice in one season.
The New York Yankees. In today's Kid News Kicker, library books frequently end up overdue, but one library in San Antonio, Texas surely gave up hope of ever seeing their copy of Your Child, His Family and Friends again.
That's because it was checked out in July 1943.
But a short while ago, it was returned by someone who said their grandmother had borrowed the book before her job at the U.S.
Embassy suddenly took her to Mexico City.
Apparently, the book got lost in the shuffle of moving.
The person wrote a note on behalf of their grandma and said they hoped that there would be no fine, and indeed there was not.
The San Antonio Library ended fines in 2021.
And this isn't the oldest book to be returned to a library by a long shot.
Guinness World Records says the most overdue library book in history. was returned to the University of Cambridge, England in 1956.
It had been borrowed 288 years earlier, way back in 1668.
And now a big hello to our Kid News classrooms.
Mrs. Medved and her wildcats at McGuffey in Newark Mrs. Dickman and her Bulldogs at Brookshire in Winter Park, Florida.
Mama Norton and the Norton Homeschool in Bath, Pennsylvania. and Ms.
Kelly and her Toros at World Language Academy in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
Thanks for listening. Teachers and parents, our fan favorite free weekly word search is coming back.
For those who haven't yet signed up for it we'll release info soon on how you can join the fun.
In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend, and we'll see you back here for more Kid News Monday morning.
