Hey, it's Nat. Let's check out what's been making news.
The producers of The Simpsons
say they will no longer use white actors
for the voices of characters from other ethnic backgrounds.
The show's faced years of criticism over the issue,
and producers as well as the actors themselves
have decided now's the time to make a change.
Here's Leela.
# The Simpsons... #
LEELAL ..have been in households all over the world since 1990.
Eat my shorts. D'oh!
And while it's a much-loved show
that's hailed for its clever, insightful commentary,
it's also faced criticism over the years.
Aye caramba!
You probably know this character, Apu.
What were you thinking?
I mean, thank you, come again.
Many say he reinforces racial stereotypes
and is a negative portrayal of Indian Americans.
Which is why earlier this year, the voice behind the character,
Hank Azaria, decided it was wrong to continue to play him.
It not only makes sense,
but it just feels like the right thing to do, to me.
Now the producers of the show have announced another big change.
See, all of these very well-known characters
are all actually voiced by white actors.
A lot of people want them to be voiced by actors
from the same background as them,
and going forward, for the entertainment industry
to give more opportunities to non-white performers.
That's something several other white actors have decided
they want to support too,
and have stepped down from some of their most famous roles.
Back to The Simpsons, we don't actually know if it means
the end of those characters or just new people playing their roles.
But after more than 30 years,
it does mean Springfield's set for some big changes.
If you've got 61 minutes to spare,
you can see exactly what the sun's been up to over the past 10 years.
NASA has just released this incredible timelapse of the sun,
captured by its Solar Dynamics Observatory Spacecraft.
Speaking of space, astronauts need your help to do their business.
Literally.
NASA has just launched a contest
to help design a new toilet to be used on the moon.
(PHONE RINGS) NASA mission control.
This is Cale.
Yep.
Yep. A problem?
Ah, yeah, Houston, we have a problem.
I need the toilet.
Yep, you might not think about it, but astronauts go to the toilet too.
Right now, there's a couple of deep space dunnies
on the International Space Station that work by using a fan
to funnel out your number ones and number twos.
I might add, it's colour-coded, so you really don't get it mixed up,
which is nice.
Yellow's for number one.
But for Project Artemis, NASA plans to land and work on the moon.
And for that, they need a brand-new toilet.
Past moon missions have used pipes or bags
and Neil Armstrong, well, he had to wear an adult-sized nappy.
That's one small step for man.
Yeah, and one giant nappy, Neil.
So, NASA's keen for a more sophisticated solution.
The new toilet must weigh less than 15kg,
collect a litre of wee per use,
and must work in lunar and microgravity.
What?! Mine only works in microgravity!
Argh!
Here's where you come in.
NASA has opened designs up to the public,
in something called the Lunar Loo Challenge,
and the winning design will receive more than $25,000.
So grab a pencil and some paper
and take the plunge into intergalactic toilet design.
There's no place quite like home, but let's step outside for a second
so I can say, Welcome To My Backyard.
Forget swing sets, sandpits and pools -
this couple in Russia have decided to build a replica
of the Great Pyramid of Giza in their backyard.
OK, so it's pretty massive as it is,
but it's still 19 times smaller than the original.
As you can probably gather, they are a bit obsessed with Egypt,
but if that's your thing and you want to pay them a visit,
it'll set you back about $70 an hour.
Something that won't cost you $70 an hour
but it might cost you some vegetables
is Chunk the Groundhog visiting your backyard.
A farmer in the US noticed veggies from his veggie patch
were going missing,
so he decided to set up some cameras.
What he captured over the next few months
was nothing short of wholesome.
Imagine stepping outside the back door and seeing...space.
Well, that's just life for an astronaut
on the International Space Station.
Astronauts Chris Cassidy and Bob Behnken went for a little spacewalk
to replace some old batteries with new lithium ion ones.
That's all the news for today. We'll be back again tomorrow. See you then.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation