I got an email from my sister in the middle of the night. It said, “Earthquake 10 miles east of Portsmouth. We were surprised!” She lives in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is on the east coast of the U.S. near Boston. That area hardly ever gets an earthquake, so everyone was surprised. The reporter for the local TV news was in her office yesterday morning when she heard a loud boom and thought a car had hit her building. A woman was making a video when the room started to shake. She looked worried! A man was having breakfast at a coffee shop and thought that a big truck was driving by. Someone who lived near an airport thought that an airplane had crashed. Nobody thought that it was an earthquake. (131 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

As you probably know, I am a sumo wrestling fan. Last Sunday was one of the greatest endings to a tournament that I have ever seen. Hoshoryu was the only Ozeki who had a chance to win the tournament. On the last day, he showed his skill and staying power. First, he won the last bout of the day. He had 12 wins and three losses, but there were two other wrestlers with 12 wins, so they had a three-way play-off. Hoshoryu only had 15 minutes to rest before the first bout of the play-off, but that didn’t stop him. He kept on attacking and beat both Kinbozan and Oho. Hoshoryu usually looks very scary, but after his victory ceremony, he finally smiled. He will be a grand champion, a Yokozuna, in the next tournament! (135 words) You can send me comments or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

This is a great time to look at the night sky. From now until the end of January, you can see all the planets. Do you know their names in English? The planet nearest the sun is Mercury. The second and brightest planet is Venus. We live on the third planet, Earth. Mars is the red planet. Jupiter is the largest planet. Saturn is also large and has rings going around it. The seventh planet is Uranus, and the eighth planet is Neptune. For the next few nights, you can find most of the planets in the south and southwest sky after sunset. You can see Venus, Mars, and Jupiter with the naked eye, but you will probably need binoculars or a telescope to see the other planets. (128 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

The three best essays in the junior high and the high school divisions have been chosen. We also picked some essays in each division for honorable mention. I will be sending out the essays on Thursday and Friday each week from now until the middle of March. First, I will start with the high school essays. Then, at the end of February, I will send out the junior high school essays. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as we, the judges, did!

The National Baseball Hall of Fame is a special place. Every player in Major League Baseball dreams of going there. On Tuesday, they chose the players that will enter the Hall of Fame in 2025. Three players were chosen this year, but Ichiro was the favorite. He got almost 100% of the votes! He will join other great players like Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson in the Hall of Fame in July. It wasn’t a surprise choice. Ichiro is one of the greatest hitters of all time. During his career in Japan and America, he got more hits than any other baseball player in history. Congratulations, Ichiro! You really deserve to get in! (113 words) You can send me comments or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com