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Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Kim.
Today is Friday, May 15th, 2026.
And we begin with soccer's biggest tournament getting a Super Bowl-style makeover.
For the first time ever, the World Cup final will include a halftime show.
Featuring some of music's biggest stars.
BTS, Madonna and Shakira will perform live at the renamed New York-New Jersey Stadium on July 19th.
Coldplay singer Chris Martin Elmo and the rest of the Muppets made the announcement yesterday, along with a cameo by BTS singers who Elmo happened to have on speed dial.
For fans still hoping to nab tickets to see one of this summer's matches, prices on resale sites have started to drop in a few host cities, as hotel bookings are slower than expected.
However, even the lowest-priced average resale ticket is still running around $560.
America's latest report card on learning is in, and the results show a decline in grades that began long before the pandemic.
A study by Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth researchers found that reading and math scores for US students in grades three through eight began declining in 2013, meaning there's been a decade long slump, rather than just a blip from COVID.
Educators tell the New York Times that there's no single reason for the slide, but that the timing offers a clue.
The drop began with the rise in screen time in school and out and the end of No Child Left Behind test requirements.
On the positive side.
While still far lower than they were in 2013, math scores began trending up in 2022.
And new phonics-based programs are showing promising results in teaching kids how to read.
They've decided to share the pain.
If federal workers don't get paid, U.S. senators won't either.
The chamber voted 99-0 yesterday to withhold its own paychecks during future government shutdowns.
In October, federal employees, like TSA screening agents, went 43 days without pay.
Three months later, those same workers went another 76 days. leading many to call out sick or quit.
Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who proposed the measure, says the move is about shared sacrifice.
The new rule will take effect after the November midterm elections.
There's no word if lawmakers in the House of Representatives will do the same.
A newly discovered asteroid will soon make a close encounter.
Scientists say there's no need to panic, but they're predicting that asteroid 2026 JH2 will fly by within 56000 miles of Earth on Monday.
That's closer than the distance between Earth and the moon.
Measuring about 50 to 100 feet across.
Its size has been compared to everything from a school bus to a basketball court.
According to the BBC, astronomers at the NASA-funded Mount Lemmon Observatory first spotted the asteroid last Sunday.
The Virtual Telescope Project will attempt to live stream its visit beginning at 5.45 p.m.
Eastern Time.
We've put a link on our website.
Next season, football fans will need a password to catch some of the NFL's biggest games.
The league just signed a new four-year deal with Netflix, giving the streaming service the rights to five games this year, including an international opening week game, two Christmas Day games, a week 18 game and a new Thanksgiving Eve matchup.
Netflix says live sports are helping it attract younger viewers and new subscribers, while the NFL likes Netflix's huge global audience.
Some lawmakers, like Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, are up in arms about the deal saying no one should have to pay extra to watch their hometown teams play.
She's introduced a bill that would require professional sports leagues to provide free viewing options for in-state fans.
Still to come, a famous TV car has a troublemaking doppelganger.
But first we'd like to wish a happy 10th birthday to Franklin Summers of San Antonio Texas, who likes to build things from scratch and talk history and philosophy with his dad and grandfather.
Franklin, your family loves your kind, generous, and curious spirit.
And your mom, in particular, has a message.
Please get more sleep.
Now, today's Kid News quiz.
Which music stars are performing at the first ever World Cup halftime show?
Madonna, Shakira, and BTS.
What year did test scores for America's 3rd to 8th graders begin dropping?
2013, according to a new study.
What did the U.S.
Senate just vote to approve? withholding its own paychecks during future government shutdowns.
How close will Asteroid 2026 JH2 come to Earth?
About 56,000 miles.
In today's Kid News Kicker in what sounds like the plot of a sitcom episode.
Last month a traffic camera caught Kit, a super smart talking car from the 1980s TV show Knight Rider, speeding down a street in Brooklyn.
The trouble is the real kit has been sitting idle inside the Volo Museum outside of Chicago for years.
Apparently, someone is driving a nearly identical black Pontiac Trans Am with the same night license plate.
Museum workers requested a court hearing to challenge the ticket their car wrongly received, not only to meet whoever owns the replica, but also to get their 50 back.
Thanks again to the Summers family of San Antonio, Texas for sponsoring today's quiz.
A shout out to Franklin and hello to his teachers, Ms.
Sanchez and Mrs. Avila Morn and all his friends at the San Antonio Academy.
Now, shout-outs for our other Kid News classrooms.
Mrs. Ragsdale's Lions at Lewis School in Carbondale, Illinois.
Mrs. Shearer's Sailors at Lakeview in Stoneboro, Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Sims Eagles at Pleasant Home in Andalusia, Alabama.
Mrs. Ferrari, a.k.a.
Miss Frizzles Dragons at James T. Jones School in Gladstone, Michigan.
And Ms.
Pickett's Bears at Mildred Osborne Charter in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Thanks for listening.
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Have a great weekend and we'll see you back here for more Kid News Monday morning.
