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Good morning and welcome to Kid News.
I'm Tori.
Today is Monday, April 20th, 2026.
And we begin with a Herculean effort to save a stranded whale nicknamed Timmy.
The 44 foot long humpback is very sick and beached in shallow waters near a German island in the Baltic Sea.
The eyes of the world have been on his plight since late March.
And last week, just when all hope of saving him seemed to be lost, two private donors stepped up to pay for a last ditch effort.
Rescuers plan to use inflatable air cushions to lift the weakened whale from the seabed, then place a tarp underneath him and tow him into the deeper waters of the Atlantic.
But over the weekend conditions needed for the rescue deteriorated.
They're hoping to try again today, depending on Timmy's health and the weather.
Millions are watching the emotional saga in real time on live streams.
However, there's a debate among animal rights activists on the best course of action.
Some believe nature should take its course peacefully, while others advocate for human intervention, even if it's unsuccessful.
The US may or may not have company at the bargaining table.
Another round of peace talks with Iran is supposed to take place in Islamabad Pakistan, either today or tomorrow.
But as of this recording, Iran wouldn't commit to taking part.
Still at issue, the Strait of Hormuz, which reopened to tankers Friday, only to be closed again on Saturday.
The waterway is critical to getting oil supplies from the Middle East to the rest of the world.
The other issue?
Iran's nuclear capabilities, which the U.S. wants to eliminate.
Time is of the essence.
The temporary ceasefire agreed on by both countries expires Wednesday.
It's Patriots Day in Massachusetts, which means it's also Marathon Monday.
More than 30,000 runners will hit the streets from Hopkinton to Boylston Street this morning.
Hopefully there won't be any bots lacing up, because at a race in Beijing over the weekend, humans were no match for high tech.
The winner was a humanoid developed by a Chinese smartphone brand that finished the half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, well ahead of the flesh and blood competitors and even seven minutes faster than the world record set by a Ugandan runner in Lisbon just last month.
Not all the bots had a good outing, however.
One flipped just 200 feet from the starting line and had to finish the race with its upper body held together with packing tape.
Another face planted into a bush.
One of the engineers explained it this way.
Robots today have the body of Mike Tyson but are still missing a brain like Stephen Hawking.
Once the brain problem is solved the scope for imagination here is immense.
Firefighters in Southern California think they may be hot on the trail of a cool new way to fight fire not with water but with sound.
The San Bernardino County Fire Department showed off its futuristic flame fighter last week.
The device by Sonic Fire Tech. uses a one-two punch of artificial intelligence and physics, AI and infrared sensors to spot flames, then specially tuned acoustic waves to extinguish them.
The science behind it?
Fires need oxygen for fuel, but sound waves vibrate that oxygen faster than the flames can use it, which breaks the chemical reaction and causes the fire to fizzle out in seconds.
For now, this acoustic defense system is worn like a Ghostbusters-like backpack, but the company is working to modify it so it can replace home water sprinkler systems.
Do you feel the need for speed?
If so, you're in luck.
Top Gun 3 is officially on the runway.
Paramount Pictures confirmed that a script is in the works and Tom Cruise will be back to reprise his role as Maverick.
No target release date was announced, but safe to say it won't be out earlier than 2027.
With any luck, there'll be a change for theatergoers long before then.
At CinemaCon last week, Sony Pictures boss Tom Rothman called out the notoriously long commercial wind-up that moviegoers have to sit through, urging cinema bosses to cut down on the advertising and trailers that can eat up to 30 minutes before opening credits even roll.
He also warned against raising ticket prices.
Will theater owners listen?
That is the million-dollar question.
Still to come, treasure hunters are about to descend on a northern California city.
We'll tell you why.
But first we want to thank some of our awesome donors Tricia Pena of Wolcott Connecticut, Jay Atalia from Redmond Washington and Amber Beiermeister of San Diego, California.
Your support means the world to us.
Now, today's Kid News quiz.
What name has been given to the stranded humpback whale near Germany?
Timmy.
Who or what won the Beijing half marathon?
A humanoid robot.
What could be the firefighter of the future?
Sound waves.
The head of a major movie studio wants theater owners to do what?
Reduce the number of previews.
In today's Kid News Kicker, it'll be a modern-day gold rush in San Francisco.
This coming Saturday, 10 coins worth a total of 50000 will be hidden in plain sight across the city.
The host of the treasure hunt?
A local shop called Witter Coin, which will drop clues every hour on the hour starting at 7 a.m.
Each riddle will point to the location of one coin, the most valuable of which dates back to the strike-it-rich days of 1849 and is worth 25000.
This city was built around the pursuit of gold, WitterCoin CEO Seth Chandler told Fox 2.
We wanted to create something that brings that spirit back, something real, tangible and rooted in San Francisco's history.
Good luck, treasure seekers.
It's shout-out time for our terrific Kid News teachers, Ms.
Adratas and her Vikings at Dundee Middle School in Dundee, Michigan.
Mr. Lipke's Rams at Resurrection Lutheran in Rochester, Minnesota.
A homeschooling mom and her griffins at Enchantment Acres in Lovettsville, Virginia.
Mrs. Litwin's Hawks at St.
Jane in Easton, Pennsylvania.
And to California for Mrs Chin and her tigers at Durham in Durham and Mrs Milliken and her bobcats at Burton Valley in Lafayette.
Thanks for listening.
Teachers, if you'd like ad-free listening, please email our distributor at info at starglowmedia.com and tell them that you love Kid News.
They'll set you up.
Have a great day.
We'll see you back here for more kid news tomorrow morning.
