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If you live in Australia or Southeast Asia, we hope you enjoyed a stunning, rare, hybrid solar eclipse! For more information on the eclipse, read yesterday's update here. On another note, we have some bad news about plastics. Scientists have recently discovered a toxic chemical in fast food packaging. PFAS, the chemical, is also known as a 'forever chemical' because it never fully degrades. PFAS has recently been found almost everywhere on Earth, from rivers in the US to in the bellies of fish in the Maldives, and even to the Himalayas! PFAS is used in this packaging to make them grease and water repellant, but they have many harms. The 'forever chemical' is linked to a lot of serious health problems later on in life, and it also leaches over time, allowing it to spread into the air around it and even the food on it. Also related to plastics, scientists have also recently made a huge discovery about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The patch of junk and trash is over 620,000 square miles, and is located in between California and Hawaii. A group of researchers actually discovered life in the patch, and it seems like many animals have adapted and gotten used to the massive floating patch in the ocean. The researchers found sea creatures like anemones, crustaceans, and jellyfish making the garbage patch their new home.

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, so let's take a minute or two to honor the over eleven million people who died at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. Okay, so today's only major news is about the huge celestial event coming up on Thursday! If you live in Australia or Southeast Asia, get ready for a stunning, rare, hybrid solar eclipse! A solar eclipse happens when the Earth passes through the moon's shadow blocking out the Sun, but there are different types of solar eclipses. The first thing you need to know is that a shadow has two parts: the umbra and the penumbra. The umbra is the darker, inside part of the shadow, while the penumbra is the lighter area on the outside. When a partial solar eclipse occurs, the Sun is only partially blocked out because we only pass through the moon's penumbra. An annular solar eclipse is when the moon completely blocks out the Sun, but you can still see the Sun's edges because the moon is too far away from Earth to completely block it out. Finally, the big one is a total solar eclipse, where the moon completely blocks out 100% of the Sun and the part of the Earth in the moon's umbra experiences a few minutes of total darkness. However, a hybrid solar eclipse is extremely rare, and it is when you can see different portions of the Sun in different places. For example, in the hybrid eclipse on April 20, 2023, parts of Australia will see a total solar eclipse, but most of Indonesia and New Zealand will see a partial eclipse.

Make sure you get your taxes done, and if you haven't done them yet, make sure to send an application for an extension to the IRS! Now, let's get into today's news. This morning, Elon Musk attempted to launch the new SpaceX rocket, Starship. Unfortunately, the launch was called off, and has been rescheduled for 9 AM on Thursday, April 20. Starship is unmanned, but it is the tallest and most powerful rocket ever created, standing at over 390 feet (119 m) tall. It also weighs over 5,000 tons, but it is intended to be fully reusable. However, Musk does not seem to have very high expectations of the rocket. He stated that they would consider a success if it even got far away enough from the pad before something went wrong, and also said, "Just don't blow up the pad." On another note, if you're in India right now, you may want to watch out. A massive heatwave is hitting the area, with temperatures hitting around 104ºF (40ºC) in most states. Nine states are also under a heatwave warning, with the temps soaring to over 113ºF (45ºC) in those areas. At an awards event in Maharashtra, 11 people died to due heatstroke, and many more have been hospitalized or killed across India in the extreme heat, so if you are under a heatwave warning, stay inside, and stay cool! Lastly, over 100 people are dead and over 1,300 injured after the third day of intense conflict in Sudan, where the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Force are fiercely battling for control of the East African country. It first started in 2021, when the military overthrew the government in a coup, and decided on a power-sharing arrangement between two big military leaders of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. But now, any peace between the two men has evaporated, and they are both now leading two separate forces against each other for control of Sudan. Dagalo defended his position by saying that the Sudanese Army broke a UN peace treaty that was put in place between the two rivals, and that is how the fighting started. However, al-Burhan has had no comment. Also, many medical groups are struggling to reach victims of the fighting, and more and more people are dying by the day because of the lack of medical help.

All of today's big news is about violence, unfortunately, so young children and violence-sensitive adults may not want to read this update. Over 85 people are dead and over 1,100 injured after the second day of conflict in Sudan, where the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Force battling for control of the East African country. It all started in 2021, when the military overthrew the government in a coup, and decided on a power-sharing arrangement between two big military leaders. But now, any peace between the two men has evaporated, and they are both now leading two separate forces against each other for control of Sudan. On another sad note, ten more mass shootings have just taken place, this time in Dadeville, Alabama; two in Louisville, Kentucky; Pope County, Minnesota; La Palma, Mexico; Nyssa, Oregon; Portland, Oregon; Chicago, Illinois; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Biloxi, Mississippi. In downtown Dadeville on Saturday night, a Sweet 16 birthday party was taking place when a shooter marched onto the scene, killing four teens and injuring almost 30 others. The suspect is still at large. The same day, shots were fired into a crowd in Louisville, killing two people and injuring four others, and another person was hospitalized after a shooting in the neighborhood of Shelby Park. These are the second and third mass shootings in the city within a week, with another shooting taking place on Monday at the Old National Bank, killing five. The suspects have also not been found. Then, on the same night, the police deputy was killed in Pope County, in western Minnesota, during a shootout while tracking down a suspected gunman. Another deputy and officer were injured as well. In La Palma, a town in central Mexico, seven people were killed at a resort, including a child, by a band of gunmen who entered, fully armed. Also, on the same night, a police officer in Nyssa, Oregon, was killed in the line of duty while chasing down a suspect. However, the suspect has not been found. Then, a woman was killed in her apartment by a man who arrived at the complex with a gun, and witnesses say that she survived, but then succumbed to the pain later and died in their arms. A shooting also took place in downtown Chicago, near Millennium Park, injuring two teens, who were shot by sixteen-year-old boy who was part of a large group of young adults that were "engaging in reckless and disruptive behavior" on the same night as the Dadeville, Pope County, and Louisville shootings. Lastly, a combined seven people were also injured after gunmen opened fire in a park in uptown Charlotte and near Surf Style in Biloxi. And this all comes right after the National Rifle Association (NRA) national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, where photos of kids, as young as six years old, handling deactivated guns have been circulating around social media. These photos then prompted serious backlash from many people. One parent said, "The NRA hopes to push 'gun extremism' onto the next generation," and later talked about how she thought that the NRA's goal was never to teach children about being responsible with guns, but to market and introduce guns and gun extremism to the next generation.

Today's only big news is that tensions have escalated again, but not in the Middle East this time. Battles are raging all over Sudan's capital of Khartoum, Two sections of the military are now battling for control of the country: the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Force (RSF). The RSF has rebelled multiple times the most recent being when they tried to overthrow the government in a coup in 2021. The whole country is now in chaos once again, only 12 years after the massive civil war that split the country in two. Over 35 people have been killed so far, including three UN officials.

A new update on the storms in Florida: Fort Lauderdale is finally going to get a break from the rain! Over the past few days, over 26 inches of rain have fallen in the area, inundating neighborhoods, flooding houses, and washing away cars and furniture. Officials are calling it a "1-in-1,000 year rainfall event," with the rain completely flooding the entire city in just 24 hours. Also, the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport was shut down and all planes were grounded due to the heavy rain, but it has since reopened. The massive amount of water ended up clogging storm drains and blocking roads. Also, hundreds of Floridians are still taking cover in high rises and storm shelters to save themselves from the flooding. On another note, another massive earthquake has just struck the main island of Indonesia, Java, right off the coast of it. The earthquake has been rated as 7.0 magnitude, but officials say that there is no tsunami risk as of right now. However, aftershocks are expected, but no word is in yet of any injuries or deaths.

Again, watch out if you live on Australia's northwestern coast. The massive Cyclone Ilsa is taking aim at the stretch of coastline in between Broome and Port Hedland, expected to hit as a Category 4 storm with winds up to 155 mph. Large storm surges are also on their way, so prepare for some flooding along with the high winds. On another note, Fort Lauderdale is finally going to get a break from the rain! Over the past few days, over 25 inches of rain have fallen in the area, inundating neighborhoods, flooding houses, and washing away cars and furniture. Officials are calling it a "1 in a thousand years event," with the rain completely flooding the entire city in a matter of hours. Also, the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport was shut down and all planes were grounded due to the heavy rain, and the airport is expected to remain closed until Friday morning. Lastly, a suspect has finally been discovered for the murder of Cash App founder Bob Lee. Lee was stabbed about a week ago in San Francisco, with the perpetrator getting away. Then, after a huge police hunt, they have taken 38-year-old tech consultant Nima Momeni into custody as a suspect in the killing. However, Momeni is still yet to be questioned, and the real suspect may still be out there.

Today, we address the huge fire in Indiana first up. Yesterday, a massive plastic factory caught fire, sparking a massive blaze that sent plumes of black smoke into the air. Over 2000 people were evacuated from the town of Richmond, Indiana, where the plant is located, and officials expect the fire to go on for multiple days more, since there is plenty of fuel. They also say that the smoke is "definitely toxic" because the plastic being produced in the factory can give off many harmful chemicals when set on fire. Thankfully, everyone in the area has been evacuated, and firefighters are working hard to extinguish the blaze. However, the cause is still unknown. On another note, if you live in northwestern Australia, watch out! A massive cyclone is on its way, and it is expected to be the strongest storm to hit the area in a decade. Cyclone Ilsa will hit an area between Broome and Port Hedland, with winds up to 155 mph, equal to a Category 4 or even 5 hurricane in the US. Many people are now stocking up on supplies before the cyclone makes landfall on Thursday or Friday, and some people have even chosen to evacuate and come back once the storm has passed. Lastly, there is more trouble in Russia, but not related to the war this time. The Shiveluch volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has just erupted, sending clouds of ash into a massive 12-mile-high plume that blocked out the sun. The eruption was also followed by several large earthquakes, and it blanketed entire nearby towns in ash. Many people are now digging their way out of over five inches of ash and snow, and the volcano is still releasing smoke and ash into the air.

We have a new update on the mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky. The shooter, now discovered to be 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, opened fire in downtown Louisville at about 8:30 AM at the Old National Bank, where he worked. He showed up for work and opened fire while livestreaming his attack on Instagram, killing five people and injuring eight others. When the police department arrived, Sturgeon shot at them and they fired back, killing him. However, he also critically injured 26-year-old police rookie Nickolas Wilt, who had just graduated from the police academy, and he has now undergone brain surgery after being shot in the head. Wilt was very brave in the situation and ran towards the shooter with his fellow officers to take him down, which they eventually did. Sadly, this is just another of the events that are riling up the country to fight for new gun laws and restrictions, but it doesn't look like anyone is doing anything about it... Also, we have some big news for our readers who are very involved in business! The big banking firm of Ernst & Young (also known as EY), which is one of the Big Four accounting giants, has announced that they are scrapping their plan to split the company in two. EY spent over $100 million in efforts to split the company into one unit for auditing and one unit for consulting due to the strict rules that the US has for auditing. However, this news sparked massive backlash, so EY has officially announced that they will not be going through with the split. Lastly, over 100 people were killed in a massive air strike in Myanmar, just days before the Burmese New Year. This has raised international concerns over the strength of the country which is now in chaos after their military took over the country in a coup in February of 2021. Many countries are now calling on the new military government to "cease the horrific violence" and help rebuild their country that is now in disarray.

Today, we start with some great news from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As the US races to catch up with other nations that are quickly progressing toward clean energy and fully electric vehicles, they have announced that they will release a list of strict emission standards for all vehicles around the country as soon as Wednesday. The standards would make sure that 64-67% of all vehicles in the US would be electric by 2032, and this comes after California recently announced that it will ban the sale of all gas-powered vehicles after 2035. Also, yet another mass shooting has just taken place, this time in Louisville, Kentucky. The shooter, now discovered to be 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, opened fire in downtown Louisville at about 8:30 AM, killing four workers at a nearby bank and injuring nine others, three of which are in critical condition. When the police department arrived, Sturgeon shot at them and they fired back, killing him. This is just another of the events that are riling up the country to fight for new gun laws and restrictions.