Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Tori.

Today's Thursday, April 15th, 2021.

And we begin with the latest in the line of odd pandemic-related shortages,

one that's likely to hit kids and teens the hardest.

A traffic jam at U.S. ports is being blamed for the looming scarcity of bubble tea,

as tens of thousands of crates filled with tapioca pearls, sweet syrups and flavored powders

are currently stuck in transit.

In what's being called a perfect storm, the Taiwanese milk drinks popularity has significantly

shot up, just as COVID has slowed down shipment of supplies.

Shop owners are already warning their customers that the shortage could drag on for months.

The recent maritime delays aren't just affecting tea, consumer products ranging from roller skates

to furniture to fitness gear are also treading water on board the stall ships.

Instagram is testing out a new tool to try and create a kinder and gentler social media world.

Since 2019, head honchos at the company, which is owned by Facebook,

have been playing around with users' ability to hide from public view the number of likes

their post-get. Now they're piloting a program that allows users to hide likes,

even from themselves. Company execs say the goal is to reduce the social pressure and anxiety

that can result from unpopular posts, which has been shown to hit Gen Zers pretty hard.

Past attempts to tinker with likes have gotten mixed reaction.

Some social media influencers who often rely on those stats to make money fear they'll lose

the ability to track what's popular. But one major celeb, Kim Kardashian, has gone on the record,

calling the practice beneficial when it comes to mental health.

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