Fighting fire with ... sound waves? | April 1, 2026

0:00 Hello.

0:01 Rise up.

0:02 Sunshine, I'm Coy Wire,

0:03 or at least the upgraded version with a very special update about this show.

0:07 I I I have been optimized for maximum educational efficiency.

0:10 In an ongoing effort to preserve resources,

0:13 CNN 10 has replaced me with artificial intelligence to deliver the news faster,

0:18 smarter, and with 42% more dad jokes.

0:22 All scripts, graphics, editing, and yes,

0:24 anchoring will be handled by advanced AI systems.

0:27 Don't Don't worry, this will still be the best 10 minutes in news.

0:30 And the good news is AI Coy will deliver the news

0:32 with zero mistakes and without ever needing a coffee break.

0:36 Pro- Processing humor.

0:38 Why did the student bring a ladder to school?

0:40 Because the grades were high.

0:41 Yeah, that was bad.

0:43 Let's get this show on the road.

0:56 Hello and welcome to the show,

0:57 and happy April Fools to all of you who celebrate.

1:01 Yeah, you're not coming for my job just yet.

1:02 I'm the real Coy Wire here with your 10 minutes of news

1:05 where I tell you the what letting you decide what to think.

1:07 Let's start with an update on the ongoing

1:10 partial federal government shutdown now in its sixth week.

1:13 The shutdown has caused exceedingly long wait times

1:16 at airports across the country in recent weeks,

1:18 spurring huge delays and missed flights in some cases.

1:22 But this week, life at some of the country's

1:24 busiest airports appears to be returning to normal.

1:28 Why?

1:28 Well, thousands of Transportation Security Administration or TSA officers are

1:33 finally receiving their first paychecks in more than a month.

1:37 Late last week, US President Donald Trump ordered the Department

1:40 of Homeland Security to begin issuing back pay to TSA workers.

1:44 The department began distributing funds this week and says they have

1:48 so far seen a reduction in people calling off of work,

1:51 and that has led to shorter lines and wait times.

1:54 TSA employees have been working without pay since the shutdown

1:58 began and have missed more than $1 billion in collective pay.

2:02 Many workers say they've been unable to afford basic necessities like food

2:06 or rent and have had to find other jobs to make ends meet.

2:10 More than 500 agents have quit so far and it's unclear if

2:13 these latest payments will continue leaving

2:16 many agents unsure of what comes next.

2:19 For us, I mean, in in my household,

2:22 we feel a little bit of a relief, but now we're just trying to play catch-up.

2:28 So, now we're having to, you know,

2:30 make sure that we use our whatever we receive to pay the April expenses,

2:37 um in case no more payment comes our way.

2:42 Meanwhile, things on Capitol Hill are far from copacetic.

2:46 Congress is currently on a 2-week recess despite remaining locked

2:50 in a stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security,

2:53 which is the issue at the center of this showdown.

2:56 Look at this, more than 90% of the Department's 272,000 employees are continuing

3:02 to work during the shutdown and the impact is being felt beyond the TSA.

3:06 And this, thousands of government employees,

3:09 including civilians in the US Coast Guard, cybersecurity officials,

3:13 and emergency management workers have also reported working without being paid.

3:18 Now to an update on the energy crisis in Cuba.

3:21 A Russian oil tanker has reached the waters surrounding the island

3:24 nation after the US allowed the ship to break a fuel blockade.

3:28 The tanker is reportedly carrying nearly 730,000 barrels of oil.

3:33 Experts say that may only offer limited economic and humanitarian

3:37 relief as Cuba struggles with widespread electricity and internet blackouts.

3:42 In early January, remember, the US cut off Cuba's main oil supplier,

3:46 Venezuela, after capturing its president and forcing

3:48 its government to halt oil shipments.

3:51 The White House says allowing this Russian ship

3:53 to reach Cuba does not signal a policy change,

3:56 but rather was meant to provide humanitarian help for the Cuban people.

4:01 Energy analysts tell us that the oil aboard will

4:03 only supply Cuba's grid for less than 2 weeks, really.

4:08 So, while it is very notable that Russia has been able

4:13 to get a tanker through the oil blockade set up by Trump administration,

4:19 which apparently says that they have allowed this boat to come

4:22 in, but they're studying whether or not further boats can arrive to this island.

4:27 It still is leaving this island essentially at the mercy of the oil blockade.

4:34 We don't know if other ships will come in.

4:36 We don't know if other donations will be

4:38 sent here because at that point at this point,

4:41 where Cuba is depending on the generosity of other countries,

4:45 a generosity that could surely run into the hundreds of millions of dollars,

4:48 and Russia has a outstanding debt that Cuba owes that country

4:53 going back to the Cold War of about a billion dollars.

4:56 So, any further oil shipments you would expect would be added to that bill,

5:02 but Russia and other countries say that Cuba has been a long-time

5:06 ally of theirs that they want to defy this oil blockade,

5:10 which the Trump administration has put in place

5:12 to try to open up this island economically and politically.

5:17 Last year, Australia rolled out a landmark ban

5:20 on those under 16 years old from having social media accounts.

5:23 As of early March, 5 million accounts have been deactivated,

5:27 but officials claim some big tech companies may

5:29 not be doing enough to keep young users out.

5:32 Under the Australian law, social media platforms,

5:34 including Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube,

5:38 and TikTok must now show that they are taking steps to keep

5:41 those under 16 out or face fines up to $34 million dollars breach.

5:46 The country's internet regulator eSafety claims some

5:50 teens may still be getting around those systems,

5:53 and now those five platforms are under investigation.

5:56 Australian officials say the companies agreed to follow the measure,

5:59 but if they are found to be non-compliant,

6:01 the government could take them to court.

6:04 None of this is impossible.

6:05 None of this is even difficult

6:06 for big tech who are innovative billion-dollar companies.

6:12 Pop quiz, hot shot.

6:13 What unit is used to measure the intensity of sound?

6:15 Hertz, pascals, decibels, or ohms?

6:24 Pump up the volume.

6:25 Pump up the volume.

6:26 If you said decibels,

6:28 the decibel scale measures the intensity or loudness of sounds.

6:31 Zero decibels is considered the threshold for human hearing,

6:35 while noises above 85 decibels can be harmful to your ears.

6:40 All right, we've all probably heard the saying fight fire with fire,

6:43 but what if you could fight fire with sound?

6:45 That's what one company is doing,

6:47 and it could change the way firefighters battle blazes.

6:50 It could also save precious water reserves.

6:53 They're swapping fire hoses for sound waves using

6:56 an innovative technique to extinguish flames at their source.

6:59 Our affiliate KCBS is sounding off on how it all works.

7:05 Well, they use infrared technology to detect flames,

7:08 and that sets off a trigger to start the start the sound waves.

7:12 It's a product by Sonic Fire Tech,

7:14 which although sounds like science fiction, is really just science.

7:19 We vibrate the oxygen at a rate where a fire can't consume it,

7:23 and it breaks the chemical reaction.

7:25 Remington Hotchkiss is the company's chief commercialization officer.

7:28 He says all fires need oxygen to burn,

7:31 but removing it completely can be dangerous.

7:34 Their technology just breaks it up.

7:37 We use infrasound, which are sound waves that are inaudible to the human ear.

7:41 Right now, the technology is starting small with systems

7:44 being built inside homes to replace sprinkler systems.

7:48 A water sprinkler system is highly ineffective at putting out a grease fire.

7:52 It actually spreads the fire and makes it worse.

7:54 Uh but yet we're mandated to have sprinklers above our kitchen stoves.

7:58 And so our system was shown to uh suppress the fire,

8:03 prevent the ignition from occurring um with a autonomous detection device

8:08 and doing it without wasting water or leaving water damage behind.

8:13 But the hope is eventually this technology can be used on the outside

8:17 of homes to prevent the spread of wildfires or possibly by firefighters.

8:22 I have two little kids and the thought

8:24 of putting in water infrastructure in place

8:26 means that we're robbing them of the opportunity

8:28 to drink that water in the future.

8:35 Today's story getting a 10 out of 10 is the elephant

8:38 in the room and that elephant is wearing a tutu.

8:41 It's funny.

8:42 I mean, it's it's going to bring attention to the neighborhood.

8:45 Across Birmingham, Alabama, statues and more are getting a costume change.

8:49 Pink tutus are popping up on everything from trees, elephants, and pigs, oh my.

8:54 The mystery had locals tutu curious about the reveal.

8:58 Well, turns out the playful display was the work of artist Renée

9:01 Hanan Platt backed by a grant supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation.

9:06 Her intention to get people to look up from their phones,

9:09 be present, take in their surroundings, and embrace a little silliness.

9:14 Now that's a message that's definitely on point.

9:17 All right, we have a big congratulations to our Year Word Wednesday winners, Mr.

9:20 Bobbitt and friends at Rider Middle School in Wichita Falls,

9:23 Texas, who submitted copacetic, an adjective that means in excellent order.

9:28 Well done, my friends.

9:29 And we have a shout-out today going to Mr.

9:33 Hagman and Mr.

9:34 Raines and all our bears at Boyertown Middle School East.

9:37 Thank you for sending us these incredible 3D printed bears.

9:41 Very cool.

9:41 Go on out Make it an awesome day.

9:44 I found a workaround.

9:45 Sorry sorry for for the unexpected interruption.

9:47 That's all for today.

9:48 I'm AI Coy.

9:49 Rise up.

9:50 You are more powerful than you know, but not more powerful than I, sunshine.

9:53 We are CNN 10.