Government Shutdown, Candy Rankings, and Combating Misinformation

Episode
Written By Tracy Kaplan

10 Things You Need to Know: Episode 607

1. US Government Shutdown Update 🏛️

2. No. 1 Halloween Candy in America 🍬

3. The Debate on Tylenol & Autism đź’Š

4. A Tribute to Sister Jean 🫶

5. Yom Kippur 🕯️

6. National Down Syndrome Awareness Month đź’™

7. The World's Largest Sand Battery 🔋

8. Treasures from the HMHS Britannic 🛳️

9. NASA's Next Big Move 👩‍🚀

10. Who's Saving the Oranges? 🍊

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TRANSCRIPT

INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO

<SFX Moon radio chatter>

<SFX Ryan breathing like darth vader>

PAM: Ry, are you okay? Why are you doing that?

RYAN: I’m practicing my moon breathing,  Pam. Obviously. 

PAM: With that breathing, you sound more like Darth Vader at the dentist.

RYAN: Vader is one of the best characters in Star Wars so I take that as a compliment. But I’m not trying to destroy a moon like Vader did, I just want to go to the moon…like Armstrong. 

PAM: There’s a new NASA moon mission, isn’t there?

RYAN: Yes Pam, and my training started YESTERDAY. So we gotta start the show. 

PAM: I’m Pamela Kirkland. 

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, it’s Thursday October 2nd.

PAM: This is Ten Things You Need to Know. The FIRST thing you need to know is that the US government has officially SHUT. DOWN. The lawmakers in Congress missed the October 1st budget deadline, when they needed to come up with the new budget to fund the government. Without a deal, many government functions, federal agencies and non-essential services, must stop working, affecting millions of Americans. Why did this happen? The Republicans and Democrats in Congress couldn’t agree on what to include in a new budget. Democrats want changes to the budget that would restore some of President Trump’s cuts to healthcare and they want to stop planned cuts to the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and the NIH, the National Institutes of Health. This is the third government shutdown under President Trump. The last one was in 2018 and lasted 35 days, and cost the economy $11 billion dollars. It made history as the longest shutdown ever. We’ll keep you posted as the current shutdown develops, but we’re curious, Ten’ers: how do you feel about the government shutdown? And is there anything you’d like to know? Let us know and send us an email: hello@thetennews.com

RYAN: T-minus 29 days until the spookiest night of the year, Halloween! The ghoulish holiday is creeping closer, so grown-ups, it's time to start stocking up on candy for all of our Ten’ers. Instacart, the grocery delivery and pickup service, looked at last year’s shopping data and guess what? People are buying their Halloween candy earlier and earlier - and it feels like the stores are stocking it earlier too! But, back to the good stuff. THE CANDY Rankings! At #1 is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They hold the crown as the most-ordered treat. In second place are Peanut M&M’s, followed by regular M&M’s, Kit Kat, and Snickers to make up the top 5. Only two fruity favorites made it into the top 10, Sour Patch Kids at #6 and my personal favorite, Haribo Goldbears at #10. I still can’t believe Hi-Chews, Starburst and Skittles didn’t make it.  And, of course, candy corn, the love-it-or-hate-it classic, made its way into 2–3% of candy orders last October, but not into the top 10 list of candies. What’s your favorite candy, Pam?

PAM: I must admit, I am a _________ girl and I eat them more than I should. Sorry that I’m not sorry. 

PAM: And while we could debate about candy all day, a more serious conversation is happening in public health: Does taking Tylenol during pregnancy cause Autism? The Trump Administration recently suggested a possible link between acetaminophen (another name for Tylenol) and autism spectrum disorder. Under his direction, the  U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing whether safety-label recommendations should change. Let’s clear this up, researchers have not found any evidence that Tylenol or acetaminophen causes autism. There have been many studies done looking into potential causes of autism and no link has been found. And autism, while not always called by that name, has been around long before Tylenol. Due to pregnancy-related risks associated with other medications like ibuprofen, acetaminophen is actually the best option for expecting mothers who experience pain or fever. And since an untreated fever during pregnancy can sometimes be dangerous, Tylenol can actually be a safety net for mom and baby. So why is President Trump saying this? It isn’t clear but his announcement can be hurtful to members of the autism community. And on a side note to our Ten’ers, friends and grownups who are neurodivergent, we love and support you.  

RYAN: Now onto the Wide World of Sports <SFX Wide World of Sports> We gotta honor, an absolute legend. Sister Jean. She became an icon during Loyola Chicago’s men’s basketball team run in the 2018 NCAA tournament, and now at 106, has officially retired! For over 30 years, Sister Jean was the school’s minister and served as the chaplain for the men’s basketball team, providing players with encouragement, mentorship, and support. On her 106th birthday on August 21st, Sister Jean wrote a message to the students of Loyola-Chicago, saying, “Let your dreams become reality. Don’t let anybody stop you. You are the future leaders of our churches, our schools, our country, and our world.” 

PAM: Talk about leaving a legacy. She may be stepping away from the court, but as we reflect, it’s clear that Sister Jean’s impact will live on forever at Loyola-Chicago and beyond. 

PAM: And speaking of reflection, today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, also known as the “Day of Atonement.” Observed on the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, Yom Kippur began on Wednesday, October 1st, and ends this evening. Yom Kippur is observed through fasting, attending synagogue, praying, refraining from work, and reflecting on the past year while setting intentions for the year ahead. It’s also traditional to wear white, symbolizing purity and beginning the new year with a clean slate. 

RYAN: October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. It’s a time to highlight acceptance and inclusion and celebrate the contributions of people with Down syndrome. Down syndrome occurs when someone is born with an extra chromosome, which are the packets of genes that determine how our bodies form and function. More than 400,000 Americans live with the condition and 6,000 babies are born each year with the extra chromosome that makes them unique. I gotta give a shoutout to my good friend, Dan “the Man” Makar. He’s an amazing artist with down syndrome who’s painted portraits of everyone from Selena Gomez to the Jonas Brothers. And when he had an art gallery show in NYC, the Jonas Brothers even showed up to buy his paintings! That’s why he’s called: Dan the Man the Artist!

PAM: Up next, some Finnish innovation! <SFX Tech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself> A town in Finland, is generating heat using the world's largest “sand battery”. Here’s how it works: sand can hold very high heat for a long time in a well-insulated container. So the town stores the energy created and uses it when they need it, instead of their old method of burning oil and wood chips. This development marks a big step away from relying on fossil fuels, even in a country like Finland, where about 43% of energy already comes from renewable sources.

RYAN: Pam, did you know the famous Titanic had a sister ship? 

PAM: I did! It was called the HMHS Britannic, and sadly it sank, too just four years after the Titanic in November 1916. The Britannic struck a German naval mine in the Aegean Sea near Greece during World War I. Now, almost 110 years later, 11 divers have recovered artifacts from the Britannica following a difficult week-long mission 400 feet down on the ocean floor. The team recovered the Britannic's lookout bell, silver-plated trays from the ship’s first-class service, a porcelain sink, Turkish ceramic bath tiles, and a pair of binoculars. All of these artifacts are being conserved and will become part of the permanent collection at the new Museum of Underwater Antiquities in the Greek port of Piraeus.

RYAN: Alright this next story is… <SFX Out. Of. This. World!> We’ve got big news from NASA! The US space agency announced plans for Artemis II, a 10-day trip around the Moon in February 2026. It will be the second launch of the Artemis programme and the first crewed mission in 50 years. The launch will include three NASA astronauts: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency. While the goal of the Artemis programme is to land astronauts and eventually establish a long-term presence on the lunar surface, this crew will not land on the moon. But they will be the first crew to travel beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972, and they’ll be flying further into space than anyone has before. I wanna go I wanna go I wanna go!

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

OWEN: Thanks Pam! Coca-Cola and MIT are currently working together on a project to fight a bacterial disease and  “Save the Orange.” But before I get into that…

Do you know which US state produces the most oranges? Is it:

  1. California

  2. Texas

  3. Florida, or

  4. Arizona?

The answer is… a: California! Although the orange is Florida’s official fruit, the state of California produced over 45.8 million units of oranges in 2024, more than double Florida’s crop of 20.5 million oranges. And now back to what Coca-Cola and MIT have to do with this. The Florida orange crop produced 30% less fruit than the previous year due to citrus greening. Citrus greening is a bacterial disease that damages orange crops worldwide. So, Coca-Cola and MIT’s Generative AI Impact Consortium have launched the “Save the Orange” project to use AI to speed up research timelines from years to months. This project is designed to fight the disease and help protect the world’s orange supply for the future.

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

PAM: So you’ve got about 4 months until that moon mission…I don’t think that’s enough time to join them. 

RYAN: Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll just focus on my space diet and wait for the next, next moon mission. 

PAM: Dare I ask…what is a space diet? 

RYAN: It’s just… eating space ice cream daily, while floating in a pool, to simulate the gravity. 

PAM: Yeah, that sounds like a Ryan diet, especially if you add some Ten News Snaps in there…

RYAN: BET. But before that, here’s a quick note for the grownups.

<AD BREAK> 

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!

RYAN: A Ten’er named Fun-Bun 19384 said, “Wow omg it is the best podcast I’ve ever seen. I have a weird law of Maryland, the thing is…drumroll please… <SFX Drumroll> You cannot drive over 50 miles per hour on any circumstances, even on highways.” Hmmmmm, thank you for the review Fun Bun, buuuuut, we gotta do a fact check on this. ACTIVATE FACT CHECKER. Ahem, you’re up Pam. 

PAM: According to Maryland.gov and Maryland Transportation Code, 21-801.1, you are legally allowed to drive 50mph on undivided highways, 55ph on other divided highways and up to 70mph on interstate highways and expressways. Hope that helps, Fun Bun, and remember Ten’ers always double check your facts!

RYAN: 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 pre-ordering Halloween candy, so we can… “test it” 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 Fyaaah” 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.

Tracy Kaplan
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