Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
New York City's Mayor has made some big announcements about how AI will be used in the city's public schools.
NYC SCHOOLS AI BAN
This is Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York. Like a lot of people, he's been pretty worried about how AI is impacting, well, everything. But one of his biggest concerns is how AI is impacting education, so his government is doing something about it. A moratorium is a fancy way of saying a temporary ban on something, and this particular ban starts when students go back to school next week. This means AI use will only be allowed in high school, which in the US starts in year 9. As well as this, classrooms will have to keep students off laptops or tablets until the third grade, and AI "companion chatbots" will also be banned. Mayor Mamdani says they will monitor how these changes impact students over the course of the year, to work out what the future of AI should look like in classrooms.
DUGONGS
Researchers have noticed a big drop in dugong numbers! Sometimes referred to as sea cows, these quirky marine mammals are most commonly found in Australia in places like the Gulf of Carpentaria. But new aerial surveys have shown dugong numbers there have dropped by 50% since 2007. Dugongs are on Australia's vulnerable species list, and rangers are calling for government funding to carry out more frequent surveys of dugongs.
KIDS BRAVERY
Now we're going to meet 10-year-old Ollie, who's just been awarded a certificate of bravery thanks to some quick thinking during an emergency. It was just last week when 10 year old Ollie from Launceston was dressing up for book week. What started as a chill day at home quickly turned into an emergency. A kitchen utensil had caught fire, and the flame was quickly spreading. But instead of panicking, Ollie stayed calm and immediately went to go find his mum to let her know, which meant everyone was able to get out of the house safely. While the fire did leave some serious damage to the house, Ollie's mum says she's grateful. She's also encouraging families to buy their own fire blankets and extinguishers, which helped stop the fire. And as for Ollie, Tasmania's Education Minister thought he was worthy of an award.
PENGUIN VESTS
First up, to Chile, where these Humboldt penguins are being fitted with rather fashionable red vests. They've been rescued from fishing nets, and the vests are meant to help them recover. The fabric contains copper and zinc, which can stop bacteria and fungi from growing, and the vests cover their stitches…, which stops the penguins from pulling them out. Similar tech has already been used to treat injured dogs and cats, and researchers say the results so far are promising.
EMPEROR PENGUIN SATELLITES
Now to a callout in Antarctica, where scientists have been tracking emperor penguins from space, all year round for the first time. You see, ordinary satellite cameras can't see the birds during Antarctica's dark winter months, which happen to be a really important time in their breeding season. So, researchers have used the European Space Agency's radar system instead, which doesn't need sunlight to track them. Scientists hope this'll help them keep a closer eye on Antarctica's penguin colonies, giving them an important glimpse into how they live.
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For the past 55 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins.
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New York City's Mayor has made some big announcements about how AI will be used in the city's public schools.
NYC SCHOOLS AI BAN
This is Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York. Like a lot of people, he's been pretty worried about how AI is impacting, well, everything. But one of his biggest concerns is how AI is impacting education, so his government is doing something about it. A moratorium is a fancy way of saying a temporary ban on something, and this particular ban starts when students go back to school next week. This means AI use will only be allowed in high school, which in the US starts in year 9. As well as this, classrooms will have to keep students off laptops or tablets until the third grade, and AI "companion chatbots" will also be banned. Mayor Mamdani says they will monitor how these changes impact students over the course of the year, to work out what the future of AI should look like in classrooms.
DUGONGS
Researchers have noticed a big drop in dugong numbers! Sometimes referred to as sea cows, these quirky marine mammals are most commonly found in Australia in places like the Gulf of Carpentaria. But new aerial surveys have shown dugong numbers there have dropped by 50% since 2007. Dugongs are on Australia's vulnerable species list, and rangers are calling for government funding to carry out more frequent surveys of dugongs.
KIDS BRAVERY
Now we're going to meet 10-year-old Ollie, who's just been awarded a certificate of bravery thanks to some quick thinking during an emergency. It was just last week when 10 year old Ollie from Launceston was dressing up for book week. What started as a chill day at home quickly turned into an emergency. A kitchen utensil had caught fire, and the flame was quickly spreading. But instead of panicking, Ollie stayed calm and immediately went to go find his mum to let her know, which meant everyone was able to get out of the house safely. While the fire did leave some serious damage to the house, Ollie's mum says she's grateful. She's also encouraging families to buy their own fire blankets and extinguishers, which helped stop the fire. And as for Ollie, Tasmania's Education Minister thought he was worthy of an award.
PENGUIN VESTS
First up, to Chile, where these Humboldt penguins are being fitted with rather fashionable red vests. They've been rescued from fishing nets, and the vests are meant to help them recover. The fabric contains copper and zinc, which can stop bacteria and fungi from growing, and the vests cover their stitches…, which stops the penguins from pulling them out. Similar tech has already been used to treat injured dogs and cats, and researchers say the results so far are promising.
EMPEROR PENGUIN SATELLITES
Now to a callout in Antarctica, where scientists have been tracking emperor penguins from space, all year round for the first time. You see, ordinary satellite cameras can't see the birds during Antarctica's dark winter months, which happen to be a really important time in their breeding season. So, researchers have used the European Space Agency's radar system instead, which doesn't need sunlight to track them. Scientists hope this'll help them keep a closer eye on Antarctica's penguin colonies, giving them an important glimpse into how they live.
__________________________________________
Subscribe youtube.com/behindthenews?sub_confirmation=1
TikTok: tiktok.com/@behindthenewstv
Facebook: facebook.com/abcbtn
Instagram: instagram.com/behindthenews
For the past 55 years, Behind the News has been helping to break down current issues and events for young people all around the world. The program is a high-energy, fun way for people to learn about the stories we see in the news while providing background information that isn’t usually given by other news bulletins.
#ABCbtn
