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COY WIRE: Hey, everyone.
Bad news.
It's only Thursday.
Good news, it's Friday Eve.
And we're going to slay today.
I'm Coy.
This is CNN 10.
And we have a powerful show for you today.
And we start with the ongoing and devastating situation
occurring in Nigeria, in West Africa.
A month ago, the country experienced
its worst flooding in a decade.
Hundreds were killed as homes and businesses were submerged.
Weeks later, the death toll has risen.
And communities remain underwater, displacing more
than one million people from their homes.
Victims of the flood blame the tragedy on the government's
response, or lack thereof.
Government officials say they released flood warnings
ahead of the disaster and advised residents
to move to safer ground.
There is a question as to whether those warnings
even reach some communities.
And experts say proper relief has not reached many Nigerians.
Food is scarce in the country and difficult for many
to afford.
Nigeria's economy is struggling, inflation hit a 17 year
high of over 20% in August.
This has further strained people spending
power and capacity to relocate.
People have lost everything.
And many survivors are living in terrible conditions,
in camps and shelters with little
to no government assistance.
CNN correspondent Larry Madowo has been reporting
on this for us on the ground in Bayelsa, Nigeria,
where he's seen firsthand the tragic events
that people there are facing.
LARRY MADOWO: Our community is still
submerged nearly a month after the flooding began with no end
in sight.
Boats have become the only way to get around much
of Bayelsa state in Southern Nigeria.
The streets have turned to rivers,
driving entire communities away from their homes.
UGERE OBI: [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
LARRY MADOWO: We have really suffered, she says.
UGERE OBI: To help us.
LARRY MADOWO: Tell the government to help us.
UGERE OBI: I beg.
Tell the men they can't help us.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
LARRY MADOWO: Everything you own is here under the water.
And this is your house.
UGERE OBI: Yes.
[NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Everything.
LARRY MADOWO: Some are living rough on the streets,
washing with this water, cooking with it, and bathing in it.
Even though people's homes, and businesses,
and livelihoods are already submerged, it's still raining.
And there's more expected.
The Nigerian government is warning this
could go on through November.
So even more of this.
This is Nigeria's worst flooding in a decade.
Aniso Handy has remained in his house through it all.
ANISO HANDY: Nigerians are used to manage.
If not, we would have all died.
We have not seen a situation where people are not cared for.
But Nigerians care for themselves.
We are just like infants that have no father, no mother.
LARRY MADOWO: The feeling of abandonment runs deep here.
Victims are disappointed with the Nigerian government's
response, which hasn't declared the flood a national emergency.
The floods have affected 33 of Nigeria's 36 states
partly due to well above average rainfall.
Bayelsa is among those cut off from the nation with
major highways under water.
The situation has been exacerbated
by poor drainage infrastructure and an overflowing
dam in neighboring Cameroon.
But with a warmer climate causing more intense rainfall,
authorities have also blamed it on climate change,
angering some Nigerians.
In this community though, there are
more short term consequences.
It's a tough life to navigate for humans and animals alike.
But life must go on.
Larry Madowo, CNN, Bayelsa state, Nigeria.
COY WIRE: Next up today, a debate around driverless cars.
Are they safe?
Are they needed?
Are they helpful?
Well, what do you think?
The technology continues to be tested in various cities
around the US.
And one company called Waymo just
announced it's planning to launch
robo taxis in one of America's most
populated cities, Los Angeles.
They've already been tested in Phoenix,
Arizona, and San Francisco.
We're talking fully autonomous, or self controlled,
driverless rides relying on detailed maps and sensors
to navigate their surroundings.
Proponents say these electric vehicles would provide
more eco-friendly modes of transportation,
while opponents have safety concerns
and say that technology is not quite
ready to be taken mainstream.
CNN transportation editor Michael Ballaban
gives us a glimpse now at a recent experience
he had with the full self-driving technology
available in a Tesla.
MICHAEL BALLABAN: Oh, we've got a situation in front of us.
Whoa. Whoa.
Oh, nope.
We're going on the wrong side of the road.
Whoa. Whoa.
Nope. Nope.
It wanted to hit the truck.
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This is a Tesla Model 3.
So we are turning on the full self-driving beta.
OK, The car is now officially, technically,
sort of driving itself.
Whoa.
That was a really sharp turn the car just tried to make.
Oh, we've got a situation in front of us.
Whoa.
OK, what we just had in front of us
was a UPS truck coming onto our lane.
We had a guy in front of us with a cargo bike.
To avoid hitting the guy on the bike,
the car seemed to want to put a straight
into a giant UPS truck.
I would prefer not to hit a UPS truck today.
So I took over.
It does seem to need an interruption
every couple of blocks or so.
Sometimes, if the car is hesitating a little bit,
I have to intervene.
You also have to be ready to take over at any time.
Now this is challenging Oh.
Nope.
We're going on the wrong side of the road.
We're not trying to make this car screw up.
We're not trying to have a laugh at Elon Musk's expense.
That's not the point.
We're really just trying to see how
it handles driving in a city.
So far, it's going OK.
We're going down a pretty just straight normal road.
There's not a lot of pedestrians here.
And when you're going down a straight road
with not a lot of pedestrians, the car
actually seems to be doing OK.
We're doing right around the speed limit.
We're not hitting anything.
The car can see cones.
The car can see trucks.
The car can see even pedestrians on the other side
of the street.
Seeing might not be totally the issue here.
It's knowing what to do in challenging situations, stuff
that experience teaches you.
A lot of people have issues with this
being called full self driving.
First and foremost, it's not fully self driving.
I have to sit here.
If it was fully self driving as promised,
that would let you take a nap while you're driving along.
It does seem to be making other drivers upset.
It's the people behind us.
It's the people honking.
Now I'm not saying a truly fully autonomous
car will never happen.
But I think at this point, we're still years away.
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COY WIRE: I like to think of myself as a fun guy.
But I've got nothing on these guys.
Did you know that mushrooms are the largest
life forms on the planet?
Yep, they expand and grow underground with interconnected
fibers called mycelium looking for food,
often nutrients from soil, and trees, alive or dead.
In fact, the largest living organism on Earth
right now is a single honey mushroom in the Malheur
National Forest in Oregon.
It's 3 and 1/2 miles wide, about 2,300 acres,
and it's believed to be about 2,400 years old.
Now that's a humongous fungus.
And that's random.
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All right.
Halloween is exactly two peace sign days away.
And I am loving your costume suggestions
that you've been sending me on Instagram,
Snapchat, and TikTok.
Lex Luthor, Mr. Clean.
Keep them coming.
I'm @CoyWire there.
And speaking of TikTok, 73-year-old sensation Barbara
Babs Costello has given folks pumpkin to talk about,
carving tips like sprinkling cinnamon in there
to treat your olfactory senses.
Oh my gourd.
BARBARA BABS COSTELLO: I'm going to remove
all those nasty strings the easier way.
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Hi. Everybody.
It's Babs.
Did your mom ever tell you the dos
and don'ts of pumpkin carving?
Don't stand and carve your pumpkin.
Sit.
Just put them on your lap.
Now time to cut the bottom of your pumpkin, not the top.
Don't do this.
Use your hand mixer instead.
Get all those strings cleaned out.
Your mixer did the hard work of loosening all those strings.
When designing your pumpkin face use,
a dry erasable red marker that you can get rid of the lines
after you carve.
If you don't want to struggle using a knife
to carve your pumpkin, just use a soft headed mallet
and your cookie cutter.
And just push it right through.
Remove all your red lines.
Don't let all your work go to waste.
Those kids want to enjoy these pumpkins.
Take Vaseline and rub it on all the open cut surfaces.
It'll keep your pumpkin moist, won't dry out as quickly,
and it should last about one to two weeks.
And if you want a beautifully scented Jack-o-lantern,
try sprinkling some cinnamon right on the top.
And over the candle she goes.
And she smells delicious.
Happy Halloween.
COY WIRE: All right, you gourd-geous creatures.
Today is National Civics Day, celebrating
the importance of civic education
as a foundation for a strong democracy.
And we want to give a strong shout out now.
Walnut Cove, North Carolina, Southeastern
Stokes Middle School, rise up and have an awesome day.
It's almost Friday.
See you tomorrow.
I'm Coy, and this is CNN 10.
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