Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Kim. Today is Thursday, May 4th, 2023.

And to our Star Wars fans, we say May the 4th be with you.

Topping our news this morning, another pandemic-related plunge reflected in the nation's report

card. According to The New York Times, only 13 percent of eighth graders were deemed

proficient in U.S. history, and 22 percent in civics, a low that hasn't been seen since

the 1990s. The declines are blamed on remote teaching and loss of instruction during

the height of COVID. But according to Forbes, there are other issues at play as well, like

a lack of priority placed on the subjects themselves. Among the test takers, less than 70 percent

reported having a class focused on U.S. history at any time in grades K through eight, and

less than half had taken a course specifically on civics. The 2022 report card also showed

a drop in math and reading scores, and federal officials say they could be linked. A student

who performs poorly in reading comprehension may have trouble reading and comprehending

the questions on the history test.

Your lawn, park, or playground could be the site of the next effort to reduce climate

change. Power lawn mowers and leaf blowers that use small gasoline engines release a shockingly

large amount of pollution. Environmentalists tell USA Today that using a commercial gas leaf

blower for one hour produces emissions equal to driving from Denver to Los Angeles. That's

why a growing number of cities and states are enacting limits or bans on this equipment,

including California, Washington, DC, Vancouver, British Columbia, and Burlington, Vermont.

But replacing gas-powered equipment with electric or battery-powered alternatives is expensive,

so people in many of these places can keep using their mowers and blowers for now until

they're ready to buy a new device, and soon the only option will be one that produces

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