Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Kim.
Today is Monday, August 25th, 2025. And we begin with a new kind of animal being pressed into the search and rescue business.
For the first time ever, an otter is in training.
His name is Splash, and his job is to pick up where dogs leave off, namely at the water's edge.
As Florida rescue expert and trainer Mike Hadsall explains, otters don't smell smells underwater.
They taste them. You'll see all these bubbles coming out, and he's sucking some of those bubbles back in, he told Popular Science.
The odor attaches itself to the bubble and then he tastes it when it comes into his mouth.
When Splash successfully finds something, which he has three times now, he gives a tug to Mr. Hadsell's dive mask.
To say that Splash is making a splash in the rescue business would be an understatement.
He's now in high demand all across the country.
The US streak in winning the Little League World Series is over.
Yesterday, the 10 to 12-year-old powerhouses of Chinese Taipei beat the boys of Las Vegas, Nevada 7-0. it was Vegas's first time making the final while Chinese Taipei now has 18 championships to its name.
But it's been a while since any international team took home the title.
The last time the U.S. lost the final game was to Tokyo, Japan back in 2017.
Waymo is about to take a bite out of the big apple for the next. eight weeks, the self-driving car company will be testing its robo-taxi technology on the mean streets of Manhattan and and downtown Brooklyn.
During the trial period, the cars will operate autonomously but must have a human behind the wheel just in case.
They also aren't allowed to pick up passengers.
Waymo has a nationwide fleet of 1,500 vehicles and to date has completed over 10 million robo-taxi rides in five major US cities, including San Francisco, and Austin.
As expected, hot on the heels of Hurricane Erin is tropical storm Ferdinand.
The weather system intensified over the warm waters of the Atlantic near Bermuda this weekend. and could strengthen to hurricane status sometime today.
Farinon's projected path keeps it hundreds of miles offshore. and forecasters predict it'll have even less of an impact on the U.S. mainland than Aaron did.
It's nothing but net and fandemonium for the WNBA.
According to the league, the women have smashed an all-time attendance record. even though they've played fewer games with fewer teams this year than when they set the old record back in 2002.
As of last week, 2,501,609 people had attended a game this season.
Caitlin Clark is one reason, but as Sports Illustrated points out, not the only one.
There's also Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, and likely Rookie of the Year Paige Beckers.
Waiting in the wings and likely guaranteeing more attendance momentum, college standouts Hannah Hildago.
Azzy Fudd, and FlaJay Johnson, all of whom may enter this year's draft.
How long can you hold your breath? According to Medical News Today, the average is between 30 and 90 seconds which makes the achievement of a world champion freediver from Croatia that much more mind-blowing.
Vedomir Maricic recently held his breath for 29 minutes and 3 seconds. shattering the old world record by nearly five minutes. and doubling the hold time for bottlenose dolphins.
The secret to its success? A lot of training and the medically supervised 10 minutes of pure oxygen that he inhaled prior to his attempt.
Pure oxygen is different than the air we normally breathe and allows the body to store the gas and tap into it as needed. but it's also dangerous to do without a doctor present. says more than the record he took the plunge to raise awareness for the ocean conservation organization known as sea shepherds.
Still to come, a shark in Florida makes it clear he does not appreciate a photo with the fisherman who caught him.
But first, we want to shout out Teagan Gregory Jr. of Baltimore, Maryland, on his first day back to school.
Tegan, your mom and dad want you to know how proud they are of you. for being such a creative artist, good friend, and great brother to your little sister Lily.
Have a great first day, Tegan. Now, today's Kid News quiz.
What's the name of the otter being trained for search and rescue missions?
Splash! Who won the Little League World Series?
Chinese Taipei by beating Nevada 7-0. Self-driving company Waymo is now testing robotaxis in which U.S. city?
New York. How long did a Croatian freediver hold his breath to set a new world record?
29 minutes, 3 seconds. File today's Kid News Kicker under You Should Have Seen It Coming.
A Florida man trying to pose with a six-foot lemon shark got bit by it instead.
Sean Mucey was on a fishing trip with friends last week when he says he wanted a photo op with their big catch before releasing it back into the waters off southwest Florida.
As he held its head up The shark apparently decided, no, I'm not enjoying this, then spun around and chomped on Sean's leg.
First responders decided the bite was bad enough to warrant a chopper ride to a nearby hospital.
The local fire chief wasn't all that sympathetic.
When you push on Mother Nature, she'll push back.
Days later, from his hospital bed, the victim told WINK, that he'd go back to the beach that same day if he could.
He also had a message for the shark that bit him.
See you next time. Thanks again to the Gregories of Baltimore, Maryland for sponsoring today's quiz.
And a big wish for a great first day of school for Tegan Jr.
Time to shout out our Kid News classrooms.
Mrs. Gertz and her second and sixth period science classes at Marina Village in El Dorado Hills, California.
Mrs. Mims and her homeschooling trio in Rougemont, North Carolina.
Mr. David and his Indians at Hancock County in Sneedville, Tennessee. and Miss Hooper and Her Titans at George W. Floyd in Gadsden, Alabama.
Thanks for listening. Please rate and review us wherever you get your podcasts.
And we'll see you back here for more kid news tomorrow morning.
