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It's the most wonderful time of the year.
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Um, that's a holiday song, Ry.
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Uh, yeah, but it is the most wonderful time of the year. Spring is finally here and I'm feeling lucky. And it's March Madness and new emojis are coming. And, and, and.
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Take a breath, my friend. It sounds like we've got a lot
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to cover and I'm excited about it, cuz. I'm Ryan Willard.
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And I'm Pamela Kirkland. It's Thursday, March 19th.
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This is 10 things you need to know. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
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Tuesday, March 17th was perhaps the luckiest day of the year. St. Patrick's Day. Did you know that St. Patty's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other single day national festival? While it's not officially a holiday in America, Americans certainly love to celebrate it. Ironically enough, the first parade held in honor of St. Patrick took place in St. Augustine, Florida in 1601, not in Ireland. And the first actual St. Patty's Day parade also took place in America in the streets of Boston, as a few Irish Protestants honored the patron saint.
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Saint Patrick, by the way, is the patron saint of Ireland, although he didn't always live there. He was born in Britain, and at the age of 16 he was sent to work in Ireland, where he became interested in Christianity and began teaching it to others. It's believed that he converted many of the country's residents to Christianity. And because he is thought to have died on March 17, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day on that date each year. And now I'm fast forwarding to tomorrow because I can't wait. It's the first day of spring. In fact, the spring equinox will arrive at 10:46am Eastern Time. For those of you in the Northern hemisphere typically celebrate the first day of spring on March 21, but calendar creators and astronomers now say that the season begins on March 20th across all North American time zones.
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Since the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, our hours of daylight have been increasing slightly each day. The leading us to the spring equinox, where the sun's rays shine down on the equator, creating the effect of equal day and night plus or minus. A few minutes after tomorrow, the direct rays of the sun will migrate north of the equator, steadily increasing the hours of daylight until we reach the summer solstice, which will be in exactly 93 days.
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Now we rewind to Sunday, which was a big day for college basketball. But first we we gotta recap the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards also known as the Oscars honor excellence in the film industry with prestigious annual awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This year's ceremony was a big one as Paul Thomas Anderson's film One Battle After Another took home six Oscars, including Best Picture, which is considered the top honor as it recognizes the overall best film of the year. Paul Thomas Anderson himself was also awarded Best Director and Best Adapted screenplay. In his 30 year career, he'd been nominated 14 times and this was the first year he's ever won.
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Another standout film was Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan, who won Best Actor for his dual role as Twins. And perhaps most notably, it was a big night for the cinematographer for Sinners, Autumn Gerald Arkhipow, who became the first woman and the first person of color to act ever, win best cinematography.
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From movie Madness to March Madness, it's time for college basketball's biggest moments of the year. Selection Sunday took place this week, locking in the men's and women's college basketball brackets. UConn, as no surprise, is number one overall on the women's side after the team finished its season with a perfect34.0 record. Other number one seeds include UCLA, Texas and South Carolina. And on the men's side, Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida claim the number one seeds in the men's tournament, but the Duke Blue Devils take the first seed overall after the team finished the season with a 322 record and an ACC tournament win. The first four rounds to determine the final spots are already underway and the women's NCAA championship game will will be played on Sunday, April 5, followed by the men's on Monday, April 6. March Madness has begun.
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Up next, a teen who's making big moves to help others in his community. When Jude Baker was 12 years old, he was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that affects the bones of nearby tissue. But instead of just focusing on himself, Jude used his Make a Wish gift in a truly heartwarming way. Make a Wish is a non profit organization that grants wishes to children diagnosed with critical illnesses. Most children wish for a fun trip to their favorite place or to meet one of their favorite people. But Baker's Make a Wish was about helping others. After enduring chemotherapy, Jude decided he wanted to help others who experienced situations like his. So Make a Wish collected sleeping bags, packed backpacks filled with supplies and and prepared hot meals for homeless individuals for one day in Jude's Georgia community, helping more than 300 people.
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Hey Tanners. Owen here with an interesting St. Patrick's Day tradition did you know? Every year the city of Chicago dyes the Chicago River Green. The tradition started in the 1960s, continues to this day. The city uses natural dyes to keep animals living in the river safe and to protect the environment. Now back to Pam to tell you about something super cool that happened in sports recently.
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We are back and in the wide world of sports over in the NBA, a player surpassed one of his heroes when he scored the second most points in a game ever. In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points and set the record for the most points in a single NBA game. The next closest was Kobe Bryant with 81 points. But on March 10, 2026, the Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo went off and had the biggest game of his career and scored 83 points.
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He will come out of the game
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and hear it from the Crow. His previous Career High was 41 points. But in this game, Adebayo scored 20 shots from the field, made 36 free throws and hit seven three pointers. His insane game helped the Heat beat the Wizards 150 to 129. And it was all in front of his home crowd and his mom.
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And in the world of Formula One, one of the youngest drivers just made history at the Chinese grand prix. The Italian 19 year old Kimi Antonelli from Team Mercedes has been one of the most fun drivers to follow and at the beginning of his second season in Formula One he won his first Grand Prix and became the second youngest driver to ever win a Grand Prix. The record was previously held by Max Verstappen who won the Spanish grand prix at only 18 years old. The last time an Italian driver won an F1 race was 20 years ago before Kimi Antonelli was born.
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Over in Tech, tick a tick.
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Attack yourself before you wreck yourself.
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New emojis for Apple and Androids will be dropped in the coming weeks. When you next update to the newest operating system, you'll have access to the distorted face as well as trombone, treasure chest, fight cloud, orca, landslide, ballet dancers and a hairy creature. That last one looks like a Bigfoot or a Sasquatch maybe. In case you didn't know, Apple and Android don't pick them all by themselves. A group called Unicode Consortium decides with emojis become official across phones everywhere. They say emojis are approved based on expected usage, distinctiveness or if they break new ground and a broad scope. And after that Apple designs its own versions for all of its products.
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You know I love my GGS. Good games but this one is not so great Fortnite might be free to play, but they're raising the price of V Bucks and players aren't happy about it. $9 used to get you 1000v bucks, but will now only get you 800v bucks and $23 used to get you 2800vbucks but but will only get you 2,400. Fortnite Crew subscribers will get less each month too. And Epic is removing the bonus V Bucks rewards from the main Battle Pass. The one piece of good news is that the OG Music and Lego Pass will be cheaper than they previously were. The developer Epic Games, stated in a blog post that, quote, the cost of running Fortnite has gone up a lot and we're raising prices to help pay the bills. I mean, I get it, but I don't like it.
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And for the last thing you need to know, let's go to our Trivia master, Owen.
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What is going on here?
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Trivia on the 10 thanks, Pam. We missed one of our favorite days of the year, PI Day on March 14, so we're celebrating accordingly. On today's trivia. Pizza Hut, one of the most iconic pizza chains is hiring for a new, unique position. Can you guess what it is? Is it A topping taster, B cheese tester extraordinaire, C Pizza sauce superstar or D hot crust connoisseur?
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I don't know, but I want to do all of those jobs.
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The answer is D. Pizza Hut is looking for a Hut Crust Connoisseur to taste test crust and review new pizza innovations. The chosen connoisseur will receive $31,415.92 for their hard work, plus free pizza for a whole year. For a chance at the position, applicants must try Pizza Hut's new hand tossed pizza. Post an Instagram review with contest tags and submit the post through pizza hutcross.com as a part of their official application.
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And that was 10 things you need to know.
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Okay, Pam, I'm feeling lucky. I think I should go for that dream job as a crust connoisseur.
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I. I don't know if you need luck for that. You're pretty.
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Adam, are you making pepperoni pizza bagels and not offering any to us?
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No. Leave me and my lunch alone.
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Yeah, I'm gonna go make sure he shares.
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We gotta give 10 new snaps though.
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Ah, that's right. But first, here's a quick note for the grown ups.
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Hey, 10 news families. As we head into spring, homeschool parents know this is the time to finish the year strong. Between activities, travel and everything else filling up the calendar it can be tricky to keep learning on track. Well, that's where IEXCEL comes in. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into homeschooling. It offers interactive practice across math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. Iexcel personalizes learning for each child, keeps them engaged, and gives parents clear insight into progress. Kids get inside instant explanations so they can learn in the moment and parents get detailed reports that clearly show the growth and areas to strengthen. Plus, everything is organized by grade and subject so it's easy to find exactly what your child needs. So make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and the 10News listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at www.ixcel.com. visit www.ixl.com 10 to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. Hey 10 news families. As we head into spring, homeschool parents know this is the time to finish the year strong. Between activities, travel and everything else filling up the calendar, it can be tricky to keep learning on track. Well, that's where IXCEL comes in. IEXCEL is an award winning online learning platform that fits seamlessly into homeschooling. It offers interactive practice across math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. IXL personalizes learning for each child, keeps them engaged, and gives parents clear insight into progress. Kids get instant explanations so they can learn in the moment and parents get detailed reports that clearly show the growth and areas to strengthen. Plus, everything is organized by grade and subject so it's easy to find exactly what your child needs. So make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and the 10News listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at www.ixcel.com template. Visit www.ixl.comtn to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.
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It's time for 10 new steps.
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A tenor named Ab man left us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and said, welcome to the Butterfly Free Zone. My hobbies are coin collecting and I love Zelda. Thanks for writing us a beeman. What kinds of coins do you collect? That's a pretty cool hobby and thank
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you for that free zone. It was glorious and appreciated and I also love Zelda.
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Yep, and two extra notes for the grownups. You can now get ad free versions of our episodes when you join the Tenors Club on our website and if
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you want to Help support the 10News, you can make a tax deductible donation at the link in our show. Notes please. The whole team thanks you for your support.
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The 10News is a co production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcast and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.
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The ten News creative team is frolicking because it's just about the spring and includes Tracy Nada Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino, Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas, the Duke of Earl, Davis and Carson not so Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen not slowing down for anybody.
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Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright Albright Albright and show creator Tracey takes the leads. Kaplan. I'm Pamela Kirkland.
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And I'm Ryan Willard. Thanks for listening to the 10 news
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grownups if there's a child in your life who is interested in, curious about or fascinated by people and places from history, then my podcast the Past and the Curious might just be a hit in your home. From the invention of microscopes to world traveling dogs to fashions of the 1890s, Gold Rush, Ghost towns and audiences going wild for walking competitions, we've got a little bit of it all. Hosted by children's author and museum educator Mick Sullivan.
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That's me.
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The show is fun, funny, engaging, honest and beloved by kids and and parents alike. Find the past and the curious at all the usual podcast places.
Episode Title: Spring Happenings, March Madness, and New Emojis
Air Date: March 19, 2026
Hosts: Ryan Willard and Pamela Kirkland
Podcast: The Ten News, News For Curious Kids
This lively episode of The Ten News is packed with an energetic rundown of spring celebrations, highlights from March Madness and the Academy Awards, remarkable achievements in sports, a story of community kindness, and the debut of new emojis. The hosts, Ryan Willard and Pamela Kirkland, ensure curious kids and their adults are up to speed on what’s happening in the world and pop culture this spring.
St. Patrick’s Day Fun Facts
Spring Equinox and Seasonal Change
"This year's ceremony was a big one as Paul Thomas Anderson's film One Battle After Another took home six Oscars, including Best Picture.” — Ryan Willard (02:45)
"UConn, as no surprise, is number one overall on the women's side after the team finished its season with a perfect 34-0 record.” — Ryan Willard (04:07)
NBA Milestone: Bam Adebayo’s Big Game
F1 Racing: Kimi Antonelli’s Historic Win
"Jude decided he wanted to help others who experienced situations like his...helping more than 300 people." — Pamela Kirkland (05:28)
"New emojis for Apple and Androids will be dropped in the coming weeks." — Pamela Kirkland (07:57)
"The answer is D. Pizza Hut is looking for a Hut Crust Connoisseur to taste test crust and review new pizza innovations." — Owen (10:38)
This episode is a great listen for curious kids and adults, offering a cheerful, informative, and interactive springtime whirlwind of news and fun.