PAM: It’s official; Cardinal Robert Prevost is the new Pope! He is the first pontiff—a high-ranking religious leader—from the United States and has chosen the name Pope Leo XIV. One of the first acts of a new pope is selecting a new name, which traditionally differs from their baptismal name.

RYAN: If I became Pope and chose a new name it would be something cool like, Pope Roblox. Or Pope Thor the XV.

PAM: The winning vote came on the second day of the papal election process, otherwise known as the conclave, and crowds cheered from St. Peter’s Square as the white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent.

RYAN: Daaaa Pope Leo is originally from Chicago, it leads me to believe that he’s probably eaten more hot dogs than any Pope ever has.

PAM: That is, quite possibly true…Although he is the first American pope, he is also seen as a cardinal shaped by Latin America, having spent many years as a missionary in Peru. From the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV thanked his fellow cardinals for selecting him, speaking in Italian, Spanish, and Latin. And, he shared a message honoring the late Pope Francis and concluded by leading the crowd in prayer.

RYAN: BONUS fact about Pope Leo, he is a CASUAL GAMER. Right before he was elected, his brother said they were talking on the phone about the pressures and responsibilities that would soon come onto his shoulders, but also talked about playing the New York Times game, WORDLE.

RYAN: And speaking of games, let’s jump to the <SFX Wide World of Sports> Over in England, Liverpool won the English Premier League soccer title and had fans so excited that they literally shook the earth! Over 60,000 fans gathered in Anfield Stadium to witness Liverpool's 5-1 victory over London’s Tottenham Hotspur, and to say they were enthusiastic would be an understatement. Scientists at the University of Liverpool recorded ground movements caused by celebrating supporters using advanced monitoring equipment deployed in earthquake-prone regions – and the most significant tremor registered a peak magnitude of 1.74 on the Richter scale. This followed the crowd’s excitement watching Alexis Mac Allister’s goal to put Liverpool ahead 2-1. According to the United States Geological Survey, “a magnitude 5.3 earthquake is classified as a moderate and is thousands of times more powerful than a 1.74 tremor. Nonetheless, this scientific experiment showed that geoscience can capture the energy of human emotion, which is pretty cool!

PAM: Now, let's turn to some movers and shakers making their mark in the Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame. Allyson Felix, Serena Williams, and Gabby Douglas are among the greats headlining this year’s hall of fame class. Here’s a look at how they got to this moment: Allyson Felix is an insanely fast female track and field athlete (she’s now retired) who has won a record 11 Olympic medals and seven gold medals from 2004 to 2021. And, Gabby Douglas is known as the first Black woman to win an Olympic all-around gymnastics title, and she was a member of the gold-winning teams at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. And, last but certainly not least, is tennis legend Serena Williams, who won four Olympic Gold medals in singles and doubles, tying only her sister Venus Williams for the most Olympic golds by a tennis player. These three women, among other great Olympians and Paralympians, will be inducted on July 12th in Colorado Springs, also home to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

RYAN: For 10 points, what animal is this? <SFX SNAKE HISS> <SFX Clock tick tick tick DING!> Yup, a snake. We’ve got a pretty wild story about a man who voluntarily let SNAKES bite him…Please hold I just need to man scream… AHHHHHHHHHHH! Ahem. Tim Freide has had a long-time interest with reptiles and venomous creatures – he used to milk venom from scorpions and spiders as a hobby, kept dozens of snakes at his home, and has been bitten by snakes hundreds of times – often on purpose. His hope was to protect himself from snake bites; he also injected himself with small doses of snake venom, slowly increasing the amount in an effort to build up tolerance. Now, scientists are studying Friede’s blood in hopes of creating a better treatment for snake bites. According to the World Health Organization, there are roughly 110,000 people who die from snake bites every year, so his unusual work is actually pretty helpful. A recent study shows that two antibodies identified in Friedes blood neutralize venom from many different snake species with the aim of some day producing a treatment that could offer even more protection. While it’s very early and years away from human trials, we’re sending Ten News snaps to Tim Friede for his bravery and unbelievably weird work! And definitely don’t try this at home.

PAM: We’ve got big, AND small, animal news about a doggo play date! Reginald, a 7-year-old Great Dane from Idaho, and Pearl a chihuahua from Florida, are both certified world record holders for the World’s Tallest Living Dog and World’s Smallest Living Dog – I think you can guess which one is which. Reginald, who stands at 3 feet, 3 inches tall – about the size of a small horse – met little Pearl, who’s just 3.59 inches tall and roughly the size of an apple. The meet-up, arranged by Guinness World Records, took place over two days at Reginald’s home in Idaho Falls. Understandably, Pearl was a little bit anxious because of Reginald’s size, but the great dane was very gentle, friendly and even cautious around the little dog, although he showed more interest in the human news crew than Pearl. His owner would go on to say that he likes people a little bit more than other dogs.

RYAN: That’s funny because I often like dogs and cats a little bit more than humans. I’m going to take a pet break and play with Rigby and Midnight. <SFX Midnight Meow> <SFX Rigby Meow>

RYAN: Hey Ten’ers, if you talked to a member of the US Congress…what would you ask them? We’re going to talk to a congress person and we would love YOUR questions. Send us a voice note or an email with your questions, at either 877-TEN-NEWS or hello@thetennews.com and we might have you on the show! Speaking of, back to it!

PAM: Shortly after President Trump took office, he signed several executive orders, including a ban on transgender people from serving in the military. Last week, the United States Supreme Court allowed the Trump Administration to begin, so transgender people were unable to join the military and those who were already a part of the military were let go. The new policy lists the medical condition, “gender dysphoria,” which is when a person’s experienced gender and their gender assigned at birth aren’t the same, as a disqualification from military service. Many military members have argued that this ban violates their constitutional rights to equal protection, while the Trump administration defends the policy and says it’s about gender dysphoria, not transgender identity.

RYAN: While policies like this highlight ongoing challenges, we can still honor the dedication and sacrifice of all service members. And, what better way to honor those who wear the uniform than by celebrating Armed Forces Day – a special holiday that falls on the third Saturday of May each year – for everyone to come together and thank the people who serve under the six branches of the United States Military. These include the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the Space Force. The holiday was established in 1949 following the unification of the military under the Department of Defense. With support from President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced that it would replace separate celebrations for each branch. Armed Forces Day was officially declared a national holiday by President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

PAM: <SFX Netflix intro sound> Netflix is getting a major makeover, the streaming platform's first since 2013. In the coming weeks, Netflix’s homepage will have a new layout designed to increase the platform's ability to tailor its suggestions to each viewer. Navigation will be more straightforward, and a Netflix Hub will be personalized to each user. They're even going to test a vertical feed for mobile users that will feature clips from users 'top picks for you”, allowing them to simply tap to watch their favorite shows and movies, add them to their list, or share them with family and friends. And, we can’t forget about AI. Netflix plans to launch a generative artificial intelligence search tool for mobile, where users can ask it for recommendations. According to Netflix’s Chief Product Officer, Netflix “reaches a global audience of more than 700 million people” who all have different tastes in entertainment. So, this redesign sounds like the ultimate experience for streaming your favorite movies and TV shows!

RYAN: Have you ever spent so much time at school that you felt like you lived there? Well imagine if the place you worked became the town you lived in! The area surrounding Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, that’s located in Texas will officially become the city of ‘Starbase” after residents approved incorporating a patch of land as the new municipality, or a community with self-governing authority. Starbase, Texas, covers roughly 1.6 square miles, which was hardly populated before SpaceX began buying land in 2012. Since then, the area has become occupied by company housing, SpaceX facilities, and one of Elon’s houses. The new city will be made up of fewer than 5,000 people, and the local government will be run by Mayor Bobby Peden, also known as a SpaceX Vice President, and two commissioners with the power of planning, taxation, and other local issues. I will only visit Starbase Texas when there are aliens there to hangout with.

PAM: And for the final thing you need to know, let’s go to our Trivia Master, Owen.

OWEN: Thanks Pam! We all love candy–

RYAN: –I LOVE CANDY–

OWEN: –Thank you Ryan…but a Kentucky boy may have taken his love for lollipops to a whole other level. Before we share more, do you know how many Dum Dum lollipops are produced every day? Is it:

2 million
500,000
12 million
Or 1 billion

The answer is… C! 12 million Dum Dums are manufactured each day in the lollipop capital of the world, Bryan, Ohio.

RYAN: Just to be clear, that’s BRYAN, Ohio. Not Ryan, Ohio? Right?

OWEN: That’s right. And, a boy in the neighboring state of Kentucky ordered 70,000 Dum Dums to his house to share with his friends! 8-year-old Liam LaFaver was playing on his mom’s iPhone when he placed a $4,000 order on Amazon, resulting in 22 boxes of Dum Dums being delivered to their doorstep. Liam explained that he wanted to have a carnival, and the lollipops would be distributed as prizes for his friends, which is super sweet of him, but the order took his mother by surprise. Luckily, she got a refund from Amazon, and she’s now changing some settings on her phone to avoid future deliveries like this one.

RYAN: Which makes me wonder, who was the dum dum in that scenario? (I know you’ll delete this Kap, but I couldn’t help myself)

PAM: And that was Ten Things You Need to Know.

RYAN: Pam, you want a Dum Dum? Or 10 of them?

PAM: Uhhh, sure, but why do you have so many of them?

RYAN: I ordered them. Off Amazon.

PAM: On whose device…?

KAP: RYAN THOMAS WILLARD. GET IN HERE!

RYAN: Maybe we should do Ten News Snaps before Kap takes my video games away.

PAM: But first, here’s a quick note for the grownups.

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!

PAM: Over on Spotify, a Ten’er named Titus said, “You sound better on Yoto and everywhere else.” Why thank you, Titus! And on Ry’s YouTube page, a Ten’er named Ronaldo said, “I love the Ten News!” Thanks Ronaldo! And also on Spotify, a Ten’er named Mimikyu10658 said, “Hi! I want to ask if you could find out and explain Pokemon legends Z-A coming out with the Switch 2.

RYAN: Shout out to Mimikyu10658 for her EXCELLENT QUESTION. Pokemon Z-A takes place in Lumious City, the metropolis from the XY games where people and pokemon can co-exist. But there are wildzones where pokemon live within the city, but can be caught too. And at night, the Z-A royale goes down. Trainers wait in battle zones and fight each other to work their way from rank Z all the way to rank A. And apparently if you get to rank A, you get a wish granted. Does that help?! And two extra notes for the grown-ups, you can now get ad-free versions of our episodes when you join the Ten’ers Club on our website.

PAM: And if you want to help support the Ten News, you can make a tax-deductible donation at the link in our show notes. The whole team thanks you for your support!

RYAN: “The Ten News” is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and part of the Airwave Podcast Network.

PAM: The Ten News creative team is eating all of the dum dums and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody.

RYAN: Our Production Director is Jeremiah “On Fyaah” Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald “Albright Albright Albright” and show creator Tracy “Takes the” Leeds Kaplan. I’m Ryan Willard.

PAM: And I’m Pamela Kirkland, thanks for listening to the Ten News.

Bethany Van Delftpodcastkidskids newsnewslistentriviaInternational Space Stationspaceouter space

Tracy Kaplan

Meet Pope Leo XIV to a Sweet Surprise of 70,000 Lollipops - 10 Things You Need to Know

LISTEN HERE

10 Things You Need to Know: Episode 545

It's an AAPI Heritage Month Party! - Ten News Deep Dive

Screen Free Week to Mother's Day - 10 Things You Need to Know