Good morning and welcome to KidNuz. I’m Tori. Today is Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 and we begin with…

A first for Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. In a history-making move, the city’s Chamber of Commerce just gave a car… its very own star. Until now, the honor has only gone to people and characters – never to an inanimate object. The auto in question? No, it’s not the DeLorean from “Back to the Future.” It’s the Chevy Suburban which, according to Chevrolet, has made appearances in 1,750 films since 1960. The car’s star joins those of more than 26-hundred celebrities who currently make up the world’s most visited sidewalk. Nearly half of those recognized got famous on the big screen, the rest come from television, music, radio and live performance.

If you watch the Olympics next summer, you won’t be seeing the Russian flag. Nor will you hear the Russian anthem. The World Anti-Doping Agency just banned the country from international competition for four years for helping its athletes cheat their way to medals by using banned substances. The agency says Moscow not only knew about the doping, but covered it up by changing lab data. As a whole, the country will have no formal presence at the games, but individual Russian athletes can still participate – under a neutral flag – IF they can prove they were not part of the scandal.

It wasn’t without warning. Early yesterday, an active volcano erupted off the coast of New Zealand. The White Island ‘cone’ volcano blew its top for the first time since 2001, sending smoke and ash 12-thousand feet in the air. This particular volcano is reportedly one of the world’s most accessible active volcanos and is closely monitored. In fact, scientists from GeoNet had raised its alert level on the island from one to two on November 18th as sulfur dioxide gas increased. And as recently as last Tuesday, one scientist posted that “eruptive activity is more likely than normal.”

Holiday generosity comes in all shapes and sizes. And this weekend, it came in the form of Chicago Bears star linebacker Khalil Mack, who returned to his hometown of Fort Pierce, Florida to quietly pay off the layaway debts of 300 Walmart shoppers. Media outlets reportedly tried to reach Mack to talk about his kindness but he’s staying under the radar…. just like he did last June when his foundation paid for 100 pairs of cleats for his high school’s football team.

A friendly new face just joined astronauts on board the international space station. CIMON-2 is a floating robot head with a big smile. It can recognize people, make eye contact and carry on a conversation using ‘emotional intelligence,’ meaning it has a tone analyzer that can help it evaluate the moods and emotions of the astronauts and respond appropriately. CIMON gets his name from a reference to Professor Simon Wright, the “flying brain” robotic assistant from the Japanese “Captain Future” sci-fi series.

The art world went a little bit bananas this weekend. It all started when Italian artist – and prankster – Maurizio Catelan duct taped a browning piece of supermarket fruit to a gallery wall in Miami, slapped a 120-thousand-dollar price tag on it, and somehow sold it within minutes. Weird got weirder when another artist stepped up, peeled the overpriced banana off the wall and ate it – in front of shocked onlookers. An obviously hungry David Dutana said little other than “it was delicious’ and “one artist just ate another – it’s fun.” Apparently, no harm no foul. The gallery replaced the banana, jacked up the price to 150-thousand.. and sold two more.

And that’s it for KidNuz. Now our KidNuz quiz:

1. What country just got banned from the 2020 Olympics? Russia, for allowing its athletes to take banned substances.


2. Where is the White Island Volcano? Off the coast of New Zealand.


3. What unique skill does a new robot on board the space station have? ‘Emotional intelligence,’ which means it can pick up on the moods of astronauts.


4. What honor did the Chevy Suburban just receive? A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – a first for an inanimate object.

In one for the road: Muhammad Ali was given a star back in 2002 when the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce decided that boxing could be considered a form of live performance. Interestingly, Ali’s star is the only one that can’t be stepped on. At the athlete’s request, it was installed in the wall of the Dolby Theatre because the legendary athlete didn’t want his name … walked on.

Before we go, our birthday shout out today goes to Carson in Coral Springs, FL and our school hello goes to

Mrs. Callahan’s 4th Grade class at Mitchell Community Elementary in Canyon Country, California. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you back here for more KidNuz tomorrow morning!

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