Kids News - Articles for Grade 9

On April 9, 2022, four civilians made history as the first all-private "astronaut" team to reach the International Space Station (ISS). Former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría and three first-time fliers, Mark Pathy, Larry Connor, and Eytan Stibbe — who each paid $55 million for the trip — will spend eight days on the orbiting science laboratory. They are scheduled to return to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on April 19, 2022....

Easter, which will be observed on April 17, 2022, is the oldest and most significant of all Christian festivals. Many adults observe the holiday, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, by attending special church services and fasting for 40 days before the event. For American kids, the holiday is mainly about egg hunts, parades, and Easter bunnies. But not all countries follow these traditions. Here are a few unique celebrations you may be tempted to adopt....

Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, shows no signs of abating. After being forced to withdraw from the northern cities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy, the Russian army focused its military efforts on the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. Their relentless bombardment has destroyed 80 percent of the city's infrastructure and killed as many as 10,000 civilians....

Ramadan, which began on April 2, 2022, is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. It was during this ninth month that Jibril (the archangel Gabriel in the Judeo-Christian faith) revealed the first verses of the Quran — Islam's holy text — to the Prophet Muhammad. The auspicious month's start is based on the appearance of the super-slim young crescent Moon, which generally appears one night after the new Moon....

On April 7, 2022, the U.S. Senate voted 53-47 to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The 51-year-old is the first African American woman and only the sixth female to serve on the nation's highest court....

A flamingo on the "run" from a Wichita, Kansas, zoo for 17 years was recently spotted in Texas. No. 492 and its buddy, No. 347, escaped from the Sedgwick County Zoo in 2005. While No. 347 has disappeared since, No. 492, nicknamed Pink Floyd by Texas officials, has been a frequent visitor to the Lone Star State. The famous fugitive's latest sighting, posted online on March 28, 2022, by the Texas Coastal Fisheries Division, is making headlines worldwide....

In 2020, Stan, one of the world's largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex (T. rex) skeletons, was auctioned for a record $27.5 million ($31.8 million with fees and costs). The precious fossil, bought by an anonymous private buyer, led many paleontologists to fret that the T. rex was lost to science forever. As it turns out, they had nothing to worry about....

The search for famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance, which sank in 1915, is finally over. On March 9, 2022, the Endurance22 expedition team announced the wreck had been found in the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica....

On March 27, 2022, Troy Kotsur became the first Deaf male actor to win an Oscar. The 53-year-old, who won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Frank Rossi in "CODA," is only the second Deaf actor to attain the prestigious award. In 1987, Marlee Matlin took home the Best Actress award for her role as Sarah in the movie "Children of a Lesser God."...