CT Prepares for Massive Bird Flu Outbreak; Scripps National Spelling Bee Starts Today; Pope Francis Misses Pizza

Things you need to know on May 26. Thanks to MetroNews Source for the following.

• With an eye towards safety, farmers in Connecticut are preparing for the nation's largest bird flu outbreak. While nothing has been reported in the state yet, the virus has been confirmed on 16 farms across the U.S. and Canada. Farms across the state are taking precautions.

• You know it's BIG when ESPN covers it in a BIG way! The 88th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee kicks off today with 285 competitors getting ready to throw down for bragging rights.They made the cut from more than eleven-million students. ESPN will be covering preliminary rounds Wednesday and Thursday, as well as the championship Thursday night.
  

• What hasn't Pope Francis done, and what does he miss? Pope Francis recently told an interviewer from an Argentine newspaper he decided TV just isn't for him, and he hasn't watched since 1990. The Pope did say he really misses what he called the "tranquility of walking the streets" and that he misses dropping into a pizzeria for a slice, because delivery just isn't quite the same.

• Emojis are kind of crazy, and the list is growing ever long. Not just "smiley" faces anymore! Bacon and face-palm emojis along with a pregnant woman, an avocado and clinking glasses could be coming to your phone next year. The Unicode Consortium has released a list of 38 proposed new characters.The proposed emojis are not likely to be approved until June 2016.

You can catch news and more Monday - Friday 6a-8:30a on 95.1 and you can listen online at i95rock.com.