Good morning and welcome to Kid News. I'm Tori. Today is Monday, July 12, 2021, and we

begin with a British billionaire successfully opening the stars to a whole new kind of

tourist industry.

Company owner Richard Branson hitched a ride on his own virgin galactic rocket ship yesterday

morning, spent four weightless minutes with his crew at the edge of space, then glided

back to Earth for a picture perfect runway landing in truth or consequences New Mexico.

The goal of the flight was to test out the experience and then sell tickets to everyday

citizens itching for outer space travel. Mr. Branson had planned his 90 minute jaunt

for later the summer, but moved it up after competitor Jeff Bezos announced plans to fly

with his blue origin team when its rocket launches a week from tomorrow.

As it turns out, the latest script's national spelling bee champion is a dual threat.

14 year olds Ayila Avon guard of Harvey Louisiana is not only the contest first ever African

American winner, she's also a dynamo on the basketball court with three Guinness world

records for her dribbling abilities. After her bee victory, she was offered a full ride

at Louisiana State University, but has said in the past she hopes to play for Harvard.

She also wants to test her skills in the WNBA someday and maybe even work at NASA.

In case you're wondering, Zayila's winning word was Maria, which we had to look up.

It's a classification for Asiatic and Australian trees.

Vaccinated or not, the CDC wants all kids back in school in a setting as close to normal

as possible. To that end, the health agency announced Friday that teachers and students

who've had their shots won't need to mask up indoors, but those who haven't should.

While most states are expected to follow the guidelines, at least one state is saying no.

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