Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Kim.
Today is Thursday, October 23rd, 2025.
And we begin with AI doomers sounding the alarm.
More than 850 public figures, from Nobel laureates to former military leaders, to artists and even British royalty, signed a statement yesterday calling for a pause in the development of superintelligence, a form of AI that would surpass human brainpower.
Their concern, according to CNBC, is that the technology, if unchecked, could endanger freedoms, civil liberties, national security and more.
The list includes people in and out of tech from all political backgrounds, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Prince Harry, rapper William and five Nobel laureates, including AI researcher Jeffrey Hinton.
They ask that any superhuman AI development be regulated to make sure there is public buy-in and a broad scientific consensus that it will be done safely and controllably.
As people across the US feel the effects of the government shutdown.
One man is literally feeling it in his legs.
Ultra runner and Washington DC content creator, Rob Perez, has added a mile to his daily run for each day.
The shutdown continues.
On day one, he ran one mile.
Day two, it was two.
Today he'll do 23, all the while educating his followers about the government, such as who counts as an essential worker, what is a filibuster and why voting and local elections is important.
According to the Washington Post, Perez should have completed 190 miles by last Sunday, but instead is well over 230, because he also ran in the Chicago and Baltimore marathons.
Perez hopes the shutdown gives out before his legs do, but says his pain pales in comparison to that of unpaid government workers.
Imagine what they're going through, he said, and I'm just out here simply running.
Investigators think they now know what hit a United Airlines plane last week, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Salt Lake City, Utah.
At first, the National Transportation Safety Board only said a mysterious object cracked the windshield of the 737 MAX at 36000 feet as it traveled from Denver to Los Angeles.
The captain reported the object as space debris.
But according to Wired magazine, a weather balloon may be the culprit.
And the company that launched it, Windborne Systems, agrees saying in a statement we are working closely with the FAA on this matter.
We immediately rolled out changes to minimize the time our balloons spend between 30000 and 40000 feet.
These changes are already live with immediate effect.
The windshields have multiple layers for safety and the plane was able to land with only the pilot suffering minor injuries.
Superman's kryptonite may have competition.
Engineers at a Maryland company have developed a super wood that they say is up to 10 times stronger and six times lighter than steel.
They achieve this by chemically treating and then compressing the wood for greater strength.
The company plans to first use it for outside work, like decking, before expanding to furniture and building large structures.
The developers say the new wood produces 90 fewer carbon emissions than making steel does, so it's good for the environment.
The product could revolutionize construction by enabling lighter, more earthquake resistant buildings, while reducing climate impact.
She's back, or is she?
The surfboard-stealing Otter841, who went viral two years ago for harassing surfers in California, may have returned or may have a copycat.
A Santa Cruz surfer reported last week that an otter nibbled her foot, then refused to get off her surfboard for 20 minutes.
The surfer was not hurt, but the behavior was eerily similar to 841's antics.
In one case, according to KSBW-TV, she literally wrestled a surfer for a board and damaged it in the tussle.
Wildlife experts say they can't tell if this is the same otter as 841's tracker is no longer active and may have fallen off.
They had hoped to recapture her and have her checked by a veterinarian, but according to one official, she's been quite talented at evading us.
Still ahead, another bear break-in, but this one where you'd expect a break-out.
Now, today's Kid News quiz.
As of yesterday, roughly how many public figures had signed on to a statement warning about superintelligence?
More than 850.
What likely struck the windshield of a United Airlines plane prompting an emergency landing?
A weather balloon.
How strong is the new super wood developed by a company in Maryland?
10 times stronger than steel.
What is the name of the surfboard-stealing otter that may have returned to Santa Cruz?
Otter 841.
In today's Kid News Kicker, one of these things is not like the other.
Employees at the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka California, were baffled when they suddenly found a bear outside the bear pen and it wasn't one of theirs.
The surprise encounter happened Friday morning, when a wild bear wandered into the zoo and interacted with the zoo's own three bears across their fence.
Employees said it did not appear aggressive but was interested in checking out the zoo's bears Tuli, Isung and Nabu.
Our three bears are very distinctive in appearance, said a zoo official who recognized right away that their new furry friend was trespassing.
According to the Mercury News, the bear was ushered back into a forested area of Sequoia Park.
But as of this recording, it still wasn't clear how the bear got into the fenced-in zoo in the first place.
And now shout outs for our teachers.
Ms.
Prince's Wombats at Glorietta in Orinda, California.
Mrs. Klein's Tigers at Mary Orr in Mansfield, Texas.
Mrs Brown's Huntsman at Huntington Middle and High School in Chillicothe, Ohio and Mr Heppner's Bulldogs at Westview in Apple Valley, Minnesota.
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