MAR10 Day, Primary Elections, and Animals in the Wild

Episode
Written By Tracy Kaplan

10 Things You Need to Know: Episode 630

1. Daylight Saving Time ⏰

2. MAR10 Day 🎉

3. WNBA Update 🏀

4. Robot Umps in the MLB!? 🤖⚾️

5. 2026 Primaries Underway 🗳️

6. Supply Chain & the Iran War 🚢

7. A Dark Galaxy 🌌

8. Porkchop, the Sea Turtle 🐢

9. A Croc Off Course 🐊

10. Are you in the market for a dino? 🦖

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TRANSCRIPT

INT. TEN NEWS STUDIO
<SFX door swings open?>
RYAN: Gooooood morning Pam!
PAM: Ummm, Ry, you’re like, two hours late. Everything okay?
RYAN: Wait, really? I thought I was five minutes early…?
PAM: Daylight savings was on Sunday, did you forget to change your clocks?
RYAN: Yeah, I set my clocks back an hour–
PAM: No, that’s what we do in the fall, you were supposed to put them an hour ahead on Sunday.
RYAN: Ohhhhh. So, I’ve been two hours late for everything this week? 

PAM: Yup. Which is why we gotta start the show. I’m Pamela Kirkland.

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, it’s Thursday, March 12th.

PAM: This is Ten Things You Need to Know. 

PAM: Sunday offered a small preview of spring as the United States switched to daylight saving time. At 2 a.m., clocks “sprang forward” one hour, jumping straight from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. So if you woke up feeling a little extra tired Monday morning, it might be because you lost an hour of sleep. The upside?

RYAN: Upside?! How on earth could there be an upside to losing an hour of sleep?!

PAM: Well you get an extra hour of sunlight after school and work. Daylight saving time has actually been around since the early 1900s. But it wasn’t until the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that the current schedule was set. Today, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. Before that, the start and end dates had changed several times. Support for the time change has also been declining. According to a 2025 Gallup poll, about 54 percent of Americans say they would prefer to end the twice-a-year clock change altogether. Right now, 48 of the 50 states observe daylight saving time. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not.

RYAN: While I may have been a bit sleepier this week, I’ve still got some <SFX GGs!>Tuesday, March 10th was Mar10 day!! It was the 40th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. game AND Nintendo dropped the final trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie coming out on April 1st, which I’m insanely excited about. <SFX coin> Nintendo launched the Mario Kart World Open Series for Switch Online members, where they can play in a weekly series of online races throughout the month of March. <SFX coin> And also, now through May 31st Mario fans can enter for a chance to win a theme park vacation to experience SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at Universal Studios Hollywood in California or Florida. <SFX coin> I love Mar10 day and I personally, will be celebrating all month. <SFX 1Up>

PAM: And over to the Wild World of Sports <SFX Wild World of Sports> As of our recording, the WNBA and its players were still negotiating a new labor agreement, and with the league’s 30th season scheduled to start in early May, time is running short. The players’ union opted out of the current deal in 2024, meaning they wanted to have a new agreement, after the league experienced huge growth in popularity, attendance, TV viewership, and merchandise sales. The players are asking for higher salaries and a bigger share of the league’s revenue, while the league says it needs to be careful about how much it spends. If the two sides can’t reach an agreement soon, experts say the season could be delayed by a strike or lockout. SFX: basketball swish

RYAN: The MLB is also making moves this upcoming season and introducing ROBOT umpires. This year, players will have the power to challenge the strike-zone judgements of human umpires using the Automated Ball-Strike (or ABS) Challenge System. This new system monitors the exact location of each pitch within the specific batter’s zone. When players challenge a ball or strike call made by an umpire, a graphic displaying the result will be shown almost instantly on the stadium’s video board and on the game broadcast for fans watching at home. And once it's confirmed or overturned, the game resumes! Each team will get two challenges per game, and we’ll get to see the ABS Challenge System in action on MLB Opening Night on Wednesday, March 25th, when the Giants take on the Yankees. LETS GO YANKS!

PAM: It’s also that time of year for primary elections, often just called primaries. These are elections where voters choose which candidates will represent their political party in the upcoming general election. Last Tuesday, Texas, Arkansas, and North Carolina helped kick off the 2026 midterm election season. Some of the biggest headlines came out of Texas. There, a heated Republican Senate primary between Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ended without either candidate getting more than 50 percent of the vote. Because of that, the two will face each other again in a runoff election this May. Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett lost to State Representative James Talarico. Talarico will now face the winner of the Republican runoff in the general election. If he defeats either Paxton or Cornyn, it would be the first time a Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1988.

RYAN: Well that would be historic. We’ll be covering the midterm elections and will keep watching Texas. But for now, let’s take a quick break.

PAM: Quick baseball nugget! Ever wonder why baseballs have those red stitches? They’re not just for looks. The raised seams help pitchers grip the ball and throw different pitches—like curveballs, sliders, and fastballs—by changing the way the ball spins through the air. <SFX: ball hitting glove> And those spins can make the ball move in ways that leave batters completely guessing. <SFX: baseball bat crack / stadium crowd>

PAM: The conflict in Iran is now in its second week and the fighting is disrupting shipping in one of the world’s most important trade routes—the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow stretch of water connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and carries about 20% of the world’s oil supply. Because of the conflict, many ships are stuck waiting in nearby ports while others are taking a much longer route around the southern tip of Africa. Experts say the global supply chain works like a long train, if one part slows down, it can affect everything behind it. That could mean delays and higher prices for goods like medicines, computer chips, and fertilizer if the disruptions continue. Drivers are already seeing gas prices start to climb due to the conflict.

RYAN: Well, that’s not awesome. But do you know what’s awesome? SCIENCE IS AWESOME <SFX Beaker bubbling, Static Electricity, Zaps> Scientists using the Hubble Space Telescope have discovered a strange new galaxy that’s almost completely invisible. The galaxy, called Candidate Dark Galaxy-2, or CDG-2, appears to be made up of about 99% dark matter. Dark matter is a mysterious substance scientists believe makes up much of the universe, but it doesn’t reflect or emit light, so it can’t be seen directly. This galaxy contains only a small scattering of faint stars, which makes it extremely difficult to detect. Researchers say discoveries like this could help them learn more about how galaxies form and what dark matter actually is. And while I’m no longer afraid of the dark, dark matter still scares me a little. 

PAM: For Ten Points, what animal is this? <SFX SEA TURTLE SOUNDS> <SFX Tick Tick Tick DING!> A green sea turtle named Porkchop is back in the ocean after nearly a year of recovery in Southern California. The turtle was rescued after a fishing line wrapped tightly around her flipper and a hook became lodged in her mouth, leaving her badly injured. Veterinarians at the Aquarium of the Pacific performed surgeries, including removing the damaged flipper and spent months helping her heal and regain strength. Despite the injury, Porkchop adapted to swimming with three flippers. When rescuers finally returned her to the water, she swam away immediately, and days later volunteers spotted her again, appearing healthy and settled back in the wild.

RYAN: Awww, what a heartwarming story! Well here’s a FREAKY FREAKY STORY. A 12-year-old boy in Australia spotted something unusual swimming in a creek near his home…it was a crocodile! At first, even his mom didn’t believe him, since crocodiles normally live about 2,000 kilometers, or 1,200 miles, to the north, in Australia’s tropical regions. But after the boy showed video proof, wildlife experts stepped in and confirmed it really was a three-foot freshwater crocodile. Authorities safely captured the reptile and say it may have been someone’s former pet that was released into the wild. For now, the croc is staying at the Australian Reptile Park while officials decide where it should live next. If I ever saw a croc near my home I would sound like this <SFX HIGH PITCHED MAN SCREAM>

PAM: I can confirm, Ryan would scream like that. And for the last thing you need to know, let’s go to our Trivia Master, Owen. 

OWEN: Thanks, Pam! A Triceratops fossil named Trey is about to be auctioned off for millions of dollars. But when did Triceratops roam the Earth?

Is it:

A) The Jurassic period
B) The Ice Age
C) The Late Cretaceous period or
D) Just last week

Did you guess it? The answer is C) The Late Cretaceous period! Triceratops lived about 66 million years ago, near the very end of the age of dinosaurs. These plant-eating dinosaurs were famous for their three horns and giant bony frill, which helped protect them from predators like the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex. The skeleton heading to auction, nicknamed “Trey”, is about 17 feet long and was discovered in Wyoming in 1993. It spent decades on display at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, where it inspired lots of future fossil hunters. Now the fossil could sell for more than five million dollars, showing just how valuable, and fascinating, dinosaur discoveries still are today.

<SFX: dino roar>

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

RYAN: So if I was two hours late to work today, does that mean I’m two hours early for lunch? 

PAM: Not exactly–

RYAN: It’s a double cheeseburger Thursday so I will be taking lunch now…after we give out Ten News Snaps of course. 

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

<AD BREAK>

RYAN: Time for Ten News Snaps!

PAM: A Ten’er named Elfin-relda left us a five star review on Apple Podcasts and their message will give you a little sneak preview into tomorrow’s deep dive… They said: “I’m into art. I think reading, writing and art are a good hobby.” I absolutely agree with you Elfin-relda!

RYAN: Elfinrelda, I really appreciate you listening and responding when we wanted to hear from you, so thank you! I hope you enjoy tomorrow’s deep dive! 

PAM: 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. 

RYAN: 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!

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

RYAN: The Ten News creative team is checking their backyards for crocodiles and includes Tracey Not a Crooks, Adam the Great Bambino Bernard, Brian Not Ryan Douglas the DUKE of Earl Davis and Carson Not So Harry Potter. Big thanks to Owen, Not Slowin Down for Anybody.

PAM: Our Production Director is Jeremiah Tittle, and our Executive Producers are Donald Albright, Albright, Albright! and show creator Tracy Takes the Leeds Kaplan. I’m Pamela Kirkland.   

RYAN: And I’m Ryan Willard, thanks for listening to the Ten News.

Tracy Kaplan
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