Hello everybody, and welcome to a new episode of News Bites!

I'm Nancy Sun…

And I'm Ryan Drillsma.

In today's news:

A different kind of volcano, a very different turtle, and a change of plans for a pop group.

All that and more, coming up next.

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萬丹泥火山爆發

Pingtung Mud Volcano Erupts

A volcano has erupted in southern Taiwan.

It's actually a mud volcano (泥火山).

A mud volcano is not the same as a volcano.

Mud volcanos are made by liquid and gases from the earth.

泥火山是地下液體或氣體噴發後留下來的物質，堆疊成一個圓錐形的泥尖頂。

Mud volcanos do not have lava (岩漿).

And mud volcanos do not get as hot as a volcano.

When mud volcanos erupt, lots of mud and gas come out.

And that's what happened in Pingtung's Wan-dan Township.

The mud volcano there started erupting at around 9 PM at night.

And the mud and gas that came out reached up to 5 meters high (5公尺高).

The eruption finally ended at around 7am the next morning.

Experts made sure that the hot mud flowed to safe places, and did not flow onto crops (農作物) growing close by.

And they also made sure that people did not get too close.

屏東政府把泥漿疏導到排水溝，避免造成附近農田受到損害，也拉起封鎖線，避免民眾走得太近。

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罕見雙頭烏龜在美國誕生

Two-headed Turtle Found in U.S.

A very special turtle has been found in the state of Massachusetts in the U.S.

It has two heads!

The two-headed turtle is a diamondback terrapin (鑽紋龜).

Scientists say they found a nest of turtle eggs that were in a dangerous place in the wild.

So they took the eggs to a wildlife center (野生動物收容中心).

This way the baby turtles could hatch (孵化) in a safe place.

But when the turtles hatched, the scientists noticed that one of the babies had two heads and six legs!

They say the two-headed turtle is doing well.

It is eating worms and food pellets (飼料).

The scientists say the two heads are independent, and they will come out of the water for air at different times.

研究員說這隻烏龜的兩顆頭都是獨立的，會在不同的時間浮出水面呼吸。

They also say inside its shell, the turtle has two gastrointestinal systems (腸胃系統).

This means both sides of its body are getting energy from food.

They named the turtle Mary-Kate and Ashley, after twin stars in the U.S.

研究員將這隻烏龜的兩顆頭命名為 Mary-Kate 和 Ashley，和美國雙胞胎設計師歐森姐妹同名。

The scientists plan to study the turtle to learn more about how its body works.

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新好男孩駐唱被延後

Backstreet Boys Postpone Residency

A huge pop group is delaying their performance plans.

The Backstreet Boys were originally going to have a residency (駐唱) in Las Vegas in December.

They were also going to release a new Christmas album at the same time.

However, the group has decided to push back both plans by a year.

新好男孩原來打算12月在拉斯維加斯駐唱，但應為疫情被延後到明年。

The Boys say the delay is because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Because of travel restrictions (限制), fans from outside the US would not be able to attend the show.

And because the album was tied to the performances, both have to be delayed.

The say they can't wait to share the show and album with fans when the time is right.

新好男孩希望明年疫情會好轉，國外的粉絲可以去看表演。

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So, in today's News Bites:

A mud volcano has erupted in southern Taiwan.

Mud volcanos do not have lava.

And mud volcanos do not get as hot as a volcano.

When mud volcanos erupt, lots of mud and gas come out.

The mud and gas that came out reached up to 5 meters high.

Experts made sure that the mud flowed to safe places, and did not flow onto crops growing close by.

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A two-headed turtle has been found in the state of Massachusetts in the U.S.

The two-headed turtle is a diamondback terrapin.

The turtle also has six legs.

The two-headed turtle is doing well and is eating worms and food pellets.

The scientists say the two heads are independent, and they will come out of the water for air at different times.

They named the turtle Mary-Kate and Ashley, after twin stars in the U.S.

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And,

The Backstreet Boys were originally going to have a residency in Las Vegas in December.

They were also going to release a new Christmas album at the same time.

However, the group has decided to push back both plans by a year.

The Boys say the delay is because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The say they can't wait to share the show and album with fans when the time is right.

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And that's today's episode of News Bites!