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CARL AZUZ: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz.
Hope your week and month are off to a good start.
Today's coverage begins with a down-the-middle look
at a change in US immigration policy and some of the effects
it could have at America's southern border with Mexico.
Two years ago as the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading
in America, the administration of President Donald Trump
announced a rule called Title 42.
What it did was allow the US government to deport, or expel
people trying to enter the United States,
in an effort to keep those who might
have been sick with coronavirus from carrying it into America.
Title 42 was initially a temporary law,
but it was extended indefinitely in May of 2020
and it has remained in place under the administration
of President Joe Biden.
Late last week, though, the Biden administration announced
it would end Title 42.
Government health officials said better conditions concerning
COVID and the presence of more tools
to fight it meant that the border
rule was no longer necessary.
So starting on May 23, people who are seeking asylum, those
who say they've been discriminated
against in their home countries will have an easier
time getting into America.
But the decision to end title 42 is controversial,
just like the rule itself.
When the Trump administration put it in place,
critics said it was an illegal and unfair way to keep
asylum seekers out of the US.
When the Biden administration announced it would get rid
of the rule, critics said it would
lead to an uncontrollable number of people wanting
to cross the US-Mexico border.
As many as 18,000 migrants per day
could try to do that when the rule is lifted.
The Department of Homeland Security
is preparing temporary facilities
and deploying hundreds more officers to try to handle
the increase in migrants.
Analysts predict that the number of people who will attempt
to cross the border will overwhelm facilities
that are already full.
Last year, a record number of migrants
were either expelled from the US or taken into custody
to have their cases heard.
This year's numbers were on pace to break that record
before the government announced that Title 42 would be lifted.
POLO SANDOVAL: With a predicted surge in migrant
families expected in the coming weeks, the Department
of Homeland Security of the United States
saying that it is preparing for a worst case scenario.
And that could mean, according to the federal government,
up to 18,000 asylum seeking people showing
up at the nation's doorstep.
That's certainly concerning, since some critics
of that Biden administration and the announcement that was made
on Friday have expressed concern that the infrastructure at many
of these border communities is not
ready to handle an expected uptick
in these migrant families.
And the key issue here are these temporary communities
of migrants that have basically popped up in Mexican border
towns, including this one that you can see in brand
new CNN drone video in Reynosa, Mexico, which
is just across the Rio Grande--
just a few blocks from where I'm standing at this hour.
And these are migrants that, according to sources,
many of them have been basically expelled back.
There are others who have made that journey to the doorstep
of the United States.
But due to that Title 42, public health authorities
have decided to simply wait out that policy
until it's no longer an issue.
And then that announcement made by the Biden administration
on Friday, that it will essentially allow that
to expire come May 23, there's some concern of some of these
Biden administration critics that many of those people that
are still waiting there-- potentially up to 10,000
in this border town alone--
will seize that opportunity to finally show up at ports
of entry and declare asylum.
And that is what's dividing many people in border towns
throughout the country.
Polo Sandoval, CNN, Hidalgo, Texas.
CARL AZUZ: The US government is sending an additional $300
million worth of military equipment to Ukraine
as it continues to battle forces from Russia,
which launched an invasion of Ukraine in late February.
The new arms will include attack drones, rocket
systems, night vision devices, machine
guns, and medical supplies.
The Biden administration has made
announcements like this several times over the past month.
It says it's sent more than $2.3 billion in security assistance
to Ukraine so far.
And a few weeks ago, President Biden
signed legislation worth $13.6 billion for emergency aid
to Ukraine.
The fighting in the Eastern European country
has not let up.
10-second trivia.
Which of these US states was admitted to the Union
in 1850, before any of the others?
California, Kansas, Washington, or Arizona?
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California was the first of these states to be admitted.
All the others achieved statehood after 1850.
Officials in California are telling residents
to fix any leaks in their homes, make sure the tap isn't running
when they brush their teeth, and they consider
letting their lawns go brown.
And California's ongoing drought is the reason why.
The current one has lasted for more than two years now,
though California's government says droughts are a recurring
feature of the climate.
Things were looking up in December-- more than 17 feet
of snow fell in part of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, breaking records that had stood for decades.
But then, things started drying up again in January.
And now, the mountain range's snowpack is at 38% of where
it normally is at this time.
That's not the lowest it's ever been.
The "Mercury News" reports that the Sierra
Nevada snowpack has been lower on several occasions
since 1950.
But here's why the measurement is so important to the state.
STEPHANIE ELAM: I am standing south of Lake Tahoe
in California.
And it is an absolutely beautiful day here.
That's actually bad.
And the reason that that's bad is because this is
where California's snowpack is.
And what the snowpack is is basically a frozen reservoir--
a place where water is stored throughout the cold months
so when it storms and they get snow up here at Lake Tahoe,
all of that snow that's throughout the Sierra Nevada
mountains, that is called the snowpack, and accumulates,
and then, slowly, it melts off, and it
finds its way down rivers and makes
its way into our reservoirs.
And that is pretty much a large way of how
we get our drinking water.
In fact, according to California,
this is where 30% of our water, including our drinking water,
comes from in the state.
So we really do care and really do need to know
how much water is up here.
So what they do routinely is several different times
throughout the cold months is that they will have
a few people come out and measure
how much snow is on the ground.
And sometimes, it's a lot.
It could be taller than me--
it could be more snow than that.
And then other times, there's not a lot.
In fact, I want you to take a look at this video
because it's really cool.
This is a scientist from the Department of Water Resources
for California, and he's got this cool pole that's
got a hollow center to it.
And he can stick that into the ground
to see how much snow is there.
And they do this at different parts of the state
or different parts of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
And they do it on the same days every year
just to make sure that they have a routine measurement.
And so with this most recent measurement,
you can see there's not a lot there.
In fact, they said there was only 2 and 1/2 inches of snow.
That's it-- just 2 and 1/2 inches of snow.
And that means about 1 inch of water once it melts off.
And so once it melts off, you would
like for it to take its time to come down the mountain
because if you take a look behind me
and you look at that shot, you can see there's already
a lot of water that's making its way down out of the mountains.
That's going to make its way into our reservoirs,
it's also going to make sure those habitats
for some of the fish out there.
It's very important that this happens.
But that's very little.
And this is concerning, because California
is already in a drought for now going into its third year.
So this is going to show to us, and it does indicate to us,
that we are not going to have the normal amount of water
that we would normally rely on for those dry, hot months that
are ahead of us.
So this is why they take these measurements.
And this is why we look at them.
This is not good.
I mean, they've been measuring at the same location
since 1941, and the average is, like, 66 inches--
it's somewhere around there.
So if you look at just that 2 and 1/2 inches,
that shows you just how little is there.
And that is exactly why we come up here to see this.
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CARL AZUZ: OK, the way to look at this
and not be completely grossed out is
to think of it like chocolate?
This is slime, and not just any old toxic sludge.
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
say it can be controlled like a robot using magnets.
OK, that's nice, Carl, but why?
Well, if they make it safe to ingest--
it's not at this point--
this slime could be used to remove deadly substances
from the body.
It could also be used in electronics.
Or maybe it's just the stuff of movies.
Think the "Green Slime," the "Slime People," or
"Ghostbusters"-- he slimed me.
There's "I Know What You Did Last Slimer," "Frankenslime,"
"Valen-Slime's Day," "The Slime Side,"
of course, everybody's favorite, "Slimedog Millionaire."
It's sure to find slime for a leading role.
I'm Carl Azuz.
Marietta High School in Marietta, Georgia
gets today's shoutout.
You guys are like Fridays, and we hope to see
all y'all again tomorrow.
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