A first-of-its-kind project brings iconic Disney songs to deaf fans | April 30, 2026

0:11 What's up, sunshine?

0:12 Happy Friday Eve.

0:13 I'm Coy Wire here with your 10 minutes of news for this Thursday, April 30th.

0:17 Let's start off with a random thought Thursday.

0:19 If a tomato is a fruit, does that make ketchup a smoothie?

0:23 Maybe.

0:23 Chew on it and get back to me.

0:25 All right, let's get to the show.

0:29 We begin with a royal moment that had Washington, D.C.

0:32 feeling a little more Buckingham Palace chic.

0:35 The UK's King Charles III and Queen Camilla received

0:39 the red carpet roll out at the White House Tuesday,

0:41 kicking off an official state visit.

0:43 A state visit is the highest level diplomatic visit between two nations,

0:47 kind of like a five-star handshake.

0:49 This one was the first by a British monarch since Charles' mother,

0:53 Queen Elizabeth II, visited in 2007.

0:56 And this isn't just tea and crumpets.

0:57 This visit comes at a time of rising global tensions,

1:00 including conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

1:04 Our Michael Yoshida breaks down how

1:05 world events are shaping this historic meetup.

1:09 God bless the United States.

1:12 And God bless the United Kingdom.

1:15 King Charles delivering a high-stakes address to Congress.

1:18 Let our two countries rededicate ourselves to each other in the selfless

1:25 service of our peoples and of all the peoples of the world.

1:30 Charles looking to steady US-UK relations strained by the war with Iran.

1:35 A tricky task because the king has no formal political role.

1:38 The president has not just gone after policy differences

1:43 with the existing British government and with Keir Starmer, the prime minister.

1:47 He has gone after the fundamentals

1:49 of the relationship by saying that NATO is useless.

1:54 Tuesday, pomp and circumstance at the White House as President Donald

1:57 Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla.

2:01 It's Charles' first state visit to the US since ascending to the throne

2:05 and is part of celebrations commemorating America's 250 years of independence.

2:10 The soldiers who once called each other red coats and Yankees became the Tommies

2:16 and the GIs who together saved the free world as brothers in arms.

2:21 Queen Camilla joined the First Lady in speaking with students

2:23 learning US-UK history while their husbands held a private meeting.

2:27 King Charles then traveled to Capitol Hill to meet

2:29 with congressional leaders and reflect on the two nations' shared history.

2:34 Ours is a partnership born out of disputes, but no less strong for it.

2:39 Our two countries have always found ways to come together.

2:43 Now to a powerful play in women's sports, FIFA, soccer's world governing body,

2:47 has approved a major rule change allowing Afghanistan's

2:50 refugee women's soccer players to compete internationally again.

2:54 Afghanistan's women's national team hasn't played

2:57 an official competitive international match since the Taliban,

3:00 a political and militant organization that controls Afghanistan,

3:04 returned to power in 2021.

3:06 Taliban authorities have imposed all sorts of restrictions on women and girls,

3:10 including education, work, and sports.

3:13 So, many high-level female athletes have had to flee

3:16 the country if it's their dream to play.

3:18 Now, a new squad, Afghan Women United, will give exiled players a chance to lace

3:23 up and represent their identity on the global stage.

3:27 The team will be a symbol of resilience.

3:30 Um I know that it it's going to be tough because the Afghan women

3:34 inside Afghanistan will not will will struggle to be part of that, but if

3:40 we still can be the voice for them to send out the hope messages

3:45 and also show them the support

3:48 to the women of Afghanistan that you're not forgotten.

3:51 The selection phase for the squad is underway with matches expected this summer.

3:55 Talk about turning setbacks into comebacks.

3:58 Next up, some fintastic news about a pod of endangered

4:01 dolphin species known as the giant pandas of the sea,

4:05 spotted off the coast of China, west of Xiamen City.

4:09 Five Chinese white dolphins were seen swimming

4:11 porpoise-ly with the addition of a baby calf.

4:14 This is the first record of a newborn white dolphin in Xiamen this year.

4:19 With only around 6,000 left worldwide, every sighting matters.

4:23 Also known as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin,

4:26 they're highly sensitive to pollution,

4:27 so seeing them flipping is a strong signal the waters are getting cleaner.

4:31 There's been an increased effort in recent years to improve this environment,

4:35 so this dolphin population has been steadily increasing

4:38 with at least one baby calf born a year.

4:41 All right, let me further introduce you

4:43 to the overachiever of the ocean, the dolphin.

4:47 Did you know that dolphins sleep with one eye open?

4:50 These brainiacs are what scientists call unahemispheric sleepers.

4:54 Translation, half the brain hits snooze,

4:56 the other half clocks in for the night shift.

4:59 We're talking one eye closed, one eye open, always on patrol.

5:03 Why?

5:03 Because dolphins don't get the luxury of face-planting into their pillow.

5:07 They have to come up for air and stay alert for predators.

5:10 So yeah, they're basically napping while swimming,

5:12 while breathing, while surviving.

5:14 That's like us dozing off mid-jog, checking texts, and still avoiding traffic.

5:22 Pop quiz, hot shot.

5:23 What conveys proper grammar in American Sign Language?

5:26 Wrist movement, facial expressions, hand rhythm, or sign speed?

5:36 If you said facial expressions, big smiles.

5:39 In ASL, raised eyebrows can turn a sentence into a yes or no question,

5:43 while a head tilt can change its meaning entirely.

5:47 After 4 years of dedication and hard work,

5:51 Disney is introducing a new kind of voice.

5:54 For some of its most beloved songs from movies like Moana 2 and Encanto,

5:58 Disney reimagined these performances with American Sign Language

6:01 or ASL in honor of April's National Deaf History Month.

6:06 We don't talk about Bruno, no, no, no, no.

6:11 We don't talk about Bruno.

6:15 ASL, which is conveyed with a person's hands, facial expressions,

6:18 and movement was first performed for producers

6:21 by models at the Deaf West Theater.

6:23 From there, animators captured it all for the screen.

6:27 It's less about signing specific words,

6:30 it's more about the emotion and the feeling of those moments, and I love that.

6:34 There's just such an elegant flow to to what they've

6:38 come up with that I think just creates something pretty special.

6:42 And for some of the members of the team who made it happen, this is personal.

6:46 My father's death, really you go back to the inspiration of it.

6:50 Growing up, I I didn't really learn sign language and felt

6:54 like kind of had a barrier connecting with my dad.

6:58 And so this came about as a way to connect and bring down barriers,

7:04 especially between Disney animation and the deaf community.

7:07 What lies beyond?

7:11 Under skies I've never seen.

7:14 Will I lose myself between my home and what's unknown?

7:20 If I go beyond.

7:24 This barrier mentioned by the director is also perpetuated

7:27 by the thinking that deaf people can't enjoy music.

7:29 But DJ Kurs, the artistic director at Deaf West Theater,

7:33 says deaf artists have always signed and performed music.

7:37 People think that deaf people and music don't mix,

7:40 but that's actually not true and quite the opposite is true.

7:44 Deaf people have been singing since day one.

7:47 Since the beginning of recording sign language on film,

7:50 you've had people signing songs like the Star Spangled Banner.

7:55 And since the beginning of filmmaking,

7:58 there have been deaf people signing on camera,

8:00 dancing while signing, telling stories, singing songs,

8:04 and now thanks to captions

8:05 and higher powered earphones and assistive technology,

8:09 people are more deaf people are more in the music now than ever.

8:17 Today's story getting a 10 out of 10 one positively happy

8:20 pooch getting a new leash on life thanks to a chance encounter.

8:24 Meet Olivia, a Great Dane who was rescued by local

8:27 police last month when they responded to an animal abuse call.

8:31 The poor pup had lost an eye, but while recovering at a local shelter,

8:35 officer Kyle Gray and his wife Hannah took notice.

8:38 They'd recently lost their Great Dane and it was love at first bark.

8:42 I did the the typical dad answer.

8:44 I said, "We don't need another dog right now." Hannah

8:48 Hannah had convinced me to go see her at least once.

8:51 Turns out once was enough.

8:53 Olivia is now a bonafide member of the family

8:56 and enjoying her new life on a farm.

8:59 She likes to chase the cows.

9:00 Big big dogs.

9:01 And check on the chickens and stuff like that, but other than

9:04 that, she's just a she's just a busy outside dog that likes to play.

9:08 And the best part, she's never too far

9:10 from the familiar faces that made it all possible.

9:13 The shelter, most of the people up here kind of grew attached.

9:15 So, she's going to have regular visits up here.

9:18 All right, superstars, two shout outs for you today.

9:21 This first one is going to Mr.

9:23 Arneo at Lincoln Northeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska.

9:26 Your students have been commenting on our YouTube

9:29 channel about how much they love your class.

9:31 So, thank you for making it awesome for them.

9:33 Rise up.

9:34 And this next shout out goes to Mrs.

9:37 Kirk, the queen of Kirk's queendom

9:39 at Ringgold Middle School in Ringgold, Georgia.

9:42 Check this out.

9:43 Retiring after 33 years.

9:46 Thank you to your students for these creative tokens of appreciation.

9:50 But an even bigger thank you for your dedication to education of young minds.

9:55 This I'm going to turn into a necklace like Flavor Flav style.

9:57 Yeah, boy.

9:58 All right, it's almost Friday.

9:59 Remember to be kind, be curious, and stay sharp.

10:03 I'm Coy Wire.

10:03 We are CNN 10.