Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Tori. Today is Tuesday, January 13th, 2026. And we begin with the White House side-eyeing another country and its leader. As you know, last week, American troops stormed the South American country of Venezuela and took its president into custody for his alleged ties to groups that pose a danger to the U.S.

Now President Trump says he's contemplating taking action against Iran in the Middle East,

which is violently cracking down on protesters upset with the country's tanking economy

and their lack of basic human rights like the ability to speak freely and wear what they want.

Mr. Trump yesterday vowed to intervene if Iran continues to target peaceful demonstrators. Iran has since

said it is open to negotiations with the U.S., but all indications point to ongoing confrontations

with its own citizens.

He finished high school at age eight, earned his PhD in quantum physics at 15, and now Laurent

Simons wants to build AI-enhanced superhumans. The young Belgian's super genius has a pretty

impressive goal in mind to re-engineer life itself.

Simons is now enrolled in a second PhD program in Munich, Germany, focused on medical science and

AI. He says one of his goals is to defeat aging, and he's already begun early stage work in that direction.

However, many point out that Simons has entered a gray area where the ethics of merging

artificial intelligence and biology, human enhancement, as it's sometimes called, has no

precedence and few guidelines.

After more than a month of spreading good cheer,

the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is on the move to spread even more.

The towering spruce was lit for the last time on Saturday before being taken down

and sent across the border to New Jersey, where its wood will be milled,

dried, and cleaned. After that, it's up to Albany, New York, where all that lumber

will be turned into at least seven homes for the nonprofit, Habitat for Humanity. Barbie

is now on the spectrum. Yesterday, Mattel released its first doll representing girls with autism. It was made in partnership with a nonprofit, autistic self-advocacy network, and includes intentional fashion choices like noise-canceling headphones, a fidget spinner, and loose-fitting clothing, as well as flexible elbow and handjoids

...