6 Thursday, October 10, 2013
MICHIGAN K.I.D.S. | WWW.DNIE.COM
Yakking about the news
A weekly wrap-up for young readers
Get Ready, Olympians
With the Winter Games coming in
February, that means the Olympic torch
relay is set to begin. On September 29,
the torch was lit in Ancient Olympia,
Greece, birthplace of the Olympics. The
Winter Games begin on February 3 in
Sochi, Russia. The torch first is taken to
Athens, Greece, a seven-day journey,
then is flown to Russia, where it will then
travel across the country. About 14,000
torchbearers will walk or run with the
flame. The Yak still remembers when his
friends carried the torch through Royal
Oak, Michigan, before the Salt Lake City
Winter Games. Stay tuned to follow the
route in Russia with the Yak.
You can watch the torch lighting at
www.olympic.org.
researchers said that soil gathered by the
Curiosity rover show particles that contain
water. Laurie Leshin, dean of science at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the
study’s lead author said the findings are
conclusive: “If you took about a cubic
foot of the dirt and heated it up, you’d get
a couple of pints of water out of that – a
couple of water bottles’ worth that you
would take to the gym.”
Free Press File Photo
Water On Mars
Scientists have found more fresh
evidence that the planet Mars has water.
In a recent report in the journal, Science,
Malala Yousafzai,
the 16-year-old who
was shot for fighting
for education rights,
was honored for her
efforts.
AP Photo
The Ugliest Critter?
Although the Yak would hate to call any
critter ugly, the Ugly Animal Preservation
Society has named a sea creature this
year’s ugliest. It’s the blobfish. The Week
magazine reported that the blobfish is
actually endangered, something this
group of scientists points out, recognizing
some of the world’s more unique species.
Simon Watt, of the society, told the
magazine, “We’ve needed an ugly face
for endangered animals for a long time
and I’ve been amazed by the public’s
reaction. For too long the cute and fluffy
animals have taken the limelight but
now the blobfish will be a voice for the
mingers who always get forgotten.”
No Youth Beauty
Contests?
The Yak watched the torch for the Salt
Lake City Winter Games come through
Michigan.
KIDS MAKING NEWS
Beautiful looks are part of beauty
pageants. In France, the government
is planning to ban beauty pageants for
anyone under 16 years old. The French
Senate has already approved the ban,
which has to be passed by the French
National Assembly in November to
become a national law. What do you
think? Should the United States ban
children’s pageants?
Compiled by Cathy Collison
Malala Wins Award
You may remember our stories last year about
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakastani teenager who
campaigned for girls’ rights to education and
was shot by the Taliban for her activism. She
recovered from the shooting and is staying true
to her work. She just turned 16 in July, and spent
her 16th birthday in New York City, speaking to
a United Nations youth group. This September,
she returned to address the United Nations on
education. She also was honored by the Clinton
Global Initiative, earning the “Clinton Global
Citizen Award” for her fight, and for her new
efforts, the Malala Fund. The non-profit group
aims to focus on Malala’s mission to give all girls
around the world the right to education. Check
out www.malalafund.org for more on her efforts.
This month, look for her book “I Am Malala”
to arrive in your library and local bookstores. Her
words are powerful. During her United States
fall visit Malala spoke at Harvard University.
The Boston Globe reported on Malala’s stirring
speech. She told her audience, “Some people
only ask others to do something. I believe that,
why should I wait for someone else? Why don’t
I take a step and move forward,” Malala said.
“When the whole world is silent, even one voice
becomes powerful.” Read the full speech at
www.bostonglobe.com.