Good morning, and welcome to Kid News. I'm Tori. Today is Friday, December 17, 2021, and

we begin with Christmas just eight days away and the U.S. Air Defense System firing up

its satellites to keep tabs on the Big Man's progress. Norred Santa Tracker will begin

following Santa's sleigh at 4 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Two hours later, the North American

Aerospace Defense Command will open its call center for those wanting to know exactly

where St. Nick is and when he's headed their way. The Norred tradition started in 1955

when a newspaper printed the number for Santa, but accidentally listed the phone number for

the military instead. United States Air Force Colonel Harry Shoop was on the receiving

end of those calls and happily provided the sleigh's coordinates all night long. These

days, there's also a website, and it's already live with a countdown clock.

If there's a Grinch this holiday season, it'll go by the name Omicron. According to

international research, this COVID variant multiplies inside the human body 70 times

faster than Delta, which is probably why it's also more contagious. The CDC says it's

already popped up in at least 36 states and 75 countries and spreading faster than surveillance

systems can track it. Some universities are either sending students home, moving finals

online, canceling activities or all of the above. Broadway shows are closing down again

and the NFL is getting sacked by new cases, at least 75 in the last two days. Hardest

hit, Washington with 17 positives, the LA Rams with 13 and Browns with 11.

High above Earth, some fascinating news for the first time ever a spacecraft has touched

the sun. Back in 2018, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe to help us earthlings understand

more about the hot ball at the center of our solar system. And this week, the space agencies

confirmed that Parker, which is about the size of a small car, flew through the sun's

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