CNN10 2024-08-26 CNN 10 Extreme Flooding in Bangladesh Impacting Millions of People; The Decision to Keep Two Astronauts in Space until next year; Why the Great Wall of China is No Longer Off Limits for a Food Delivery Snack. Aired 4- 4:10a ET Aired August 26, 2024 - 04:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. Hope you had an awesome weekend. I'm Coy Wire, grateful to be here with you for another awesome week of CNN 10. We've got a solid 10 minutes of news for you to start off your week. We do go first though to unbelievable scenes out of Bangladesh where floodwaters have been chin high, impacting millions of people in the northeastern part of the country. Homes, businesses, and farmland are underwater after torrential rains hit the region. Emergency crews are scrambling to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from flooded communities and rescue residents stranded on rooftops. Army and Navy personnel with the help of volunteers are using boats to navigate flooded towns and cities, bringing people to government buildings and schools that have been converted into shelters. Sadly, dozens of people have lost their lives. Now, many in Bangladesh are pointing blame at neighboring India where some areas are also flooded. Bangladesh has many deltas from rivers that flow through it from India and toward the sea. Students in Bangladesh have recently been protesting the release of water from a dam just across the border. Indian officials denied that the flooding was due to the forced opening of that dam, saying that any release of water was automatic because of high water levels caused by the heavy rains. But they did acknowledge that there was a power outage near the dam that led to communication issues. More wet weather is still to come across the region with forecasts calling for two to six inches of rain over the next three days. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: We are in Feni, the epicenter of the floods here in Bangladesh. We've boarded a boat which is attempting to go to areas that are completely cut off. Here we have and the army and they've obviously rescued -- We're from CNN. -- they've rescued these families, these women and children are aboard the boat. There's such an acute shortage of boats. On the way out on the highway, it was truck after truck, carrying boats. As far as the Bangladeshis are concerned, they are -- they are livid, they are furious. Their homes have been flooded, their livelihoods, their shops, everything is underwater. And Bangladesh is no stranger to floods. It, in fact, has one of the best early warning systems in South Asia. But there was no warning this case. (END VIDEOTAPE) WIRE: All right, next up. Many of us know how frustrating it can be when our flight at an airport is delayed. But imagine not being able to catch your flight for eight months. That's what's happening for two astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, currently aboard the International Space Station. They had technical issues on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that launched them into space back in June. NASA has been working with Boeing on solutions to the helium leaks in the spacecraft's thruster and now has a plan to get them home in the safest way possible. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): A village in India is seeking some help from above to bring U.S. Astronaut Suni Williams back to Earth. William's father was from the village, so locals feel a special kinship to her and are praying for her safe return after an extended stay in space. But NASA has finally given a more down to earth solution, just how and when Williams and fellow Boeing Starliner astronaut Butch Wilmore will return to Earth after spending nearly three months aboard the International Space Station on a mission that was only supposed to last a little more than a week. BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: NASA has decided that Butch and Sonny will return with Crew 9 next February. And that Starliner will return uncrewed. HOLMES: It was Starliner's first time carrying astronauts to the ISS but technical issues with thrusters made NASA reconsider the ride home, opting instead to return the crew on a SpaceX spacecraft that's scheduled for an upcoming mission. It's a setback for Boeing, which has struggled to keep up with SpaceX in NASA's Commercial Crew Program. But Nelson says hard lessons from the past, including the losses of two space shuttles, weighed heavily on the decision. NELSON: Our core value is safety, and it is our North Star. HOLMES: NASA says it's reconfiguring the upcoming SpaceX Crew 9 mission to send only two crew members to the ISS instead of four. Williams and Wilmore are both veterans of two long duration stays on the space station, and NASA says they're not only prepared to fill out the Crew 9 team, but they're already hard at work. DANA WEIGEL, NASA ISS PROGRAM MANAGER: Since they've been up there, they've been a welcome set of helping hands. They've already done about 100 hours of work on 42 different experiments, and they've helped us with some of the critical station maintenance that we've had on board. HOLMES: Wilmore's family said that they were aware there could be a delay, which means more months of FaceTiming to keep in touch. DARYN WILMORE, DAUGHTER: It is so cool. He gives us a lot of Earth views. I especially like seeing the sunset. HOLMES: And there'll be plenty more of those in space for Williams and Wilmore, which, at least in NASA's view, is a safer option. (END VIDEOTAPE) WIRE: Pop quiz, hot shot. Which of these is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World? Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Lighthouse of Alexandria, or Great Wall of China? Not to be confused with the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Great Wall of China is the only one to appear on the list of new world wonders. Built over two millennia, it's considered to be one of the largest building construction projects in the world. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tourists hiking on the Great Wall of China can now get food delivered from the air. YAN YAN, PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR MEITUAN: Through drone delivery we may cover the route that takes 50 minutes on foot in five minutes. We can also provide emergency supplies to employees and people in need and carry back garbage generated by visitors on the return flight. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The drones can also deliver medicine and heat relief items to tourists in China's sweltering summers. The drone delivery fee is 4 yuan, or 56 cents, with customers placing orders via app. (END VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: All right, we've been getting a lot of love for our Olympians series last week. We spent some time with U.S. athletes making the Summer Olympics shine, but there was so much excellence on and off the track, field, court, or pool that we're wrapping up all of our favorite moments and personalities that made us smile. Here are some of our highlights from Paris. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WIRE: What would you say your spirit animal is or your spirit character that switch that flips when you have to go out there and dominate? And that thing has allowed you to win 11 Olympic medals. BILES: OK, so I think mine would actually be a honey badger. Like honey badger in the gym, sloth outside. WIRE: Yeah. I've always wanted to be Superman. Can I get the special -- can you, like, you're knighting me right now. Oh my god. STEPHEN NEDOROSCIK, USA GYMNAST: Tell them how blind I am. It's not that bad, right? Oh, it's bad. WIRE: You don't need to see. NEDOROSCIK: Exactly, feel it. WIRE: Are there any sort of foods or things that you miss from home that it's difficult to get here? GABBY THOMAS, USA ATHLETE: Oh, that's difficult to get here? I think iced coffee. WIRE: Iced coffee? THOMAS: Yes, I -- yeah. WIRE: Very interesting because producing, we have an iced coffee or a Frappuccino something or other. THOMAS: No way. WIRE: We got a little macaroon-ish type of dessert for you. And we wanted to wish you a very happy birthday at these Parisian Olympics. SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN-LEVRONE, USA ATHLETE: Thank you. WIRE: Today's the opening day of breaking, the breaking competition. GRANT HOLLOWAY, USA ATHLETE: Oh yeah, make this. WIRE: Come on, what you got? HOLLOWAY: I got. WIRE: Give us the, oh, oh, oh, oh. (LAUGHTER) WIRE: You're out there on the sport's biggest stage. Any sort of nervousness or anxiety creeping in? TARA DEVIS-WOODHALL, USA ATHLETE: Definitely before. WIRE: Yeah. DEVIS-WOODHALL: But I think all of my nervousness and anxiety came from the Uber driver not dropping me off in the right spot. WIRE: What? DEVIS-WOODHALL: I know, right before the competition, I wanted to go to the Olympic Village to take the bus. And the Uber driver was going all around Paris, not to the Olympic Village. And so I think all of my nervousness came out then. WIRE: Well, this right here is one of the most powerful right arms on the planet. And I just want to do a little arm wrestling. Ready? On mark, set. No, never mind. Never mind. I like my arm. WIRE: Cut. (END VIDEOTAPE) WIRE: All right. It's about time for us to cut here too. Our shout out today goes to Paducah Middle School, home of the Tornadoes in Paducah, Kentucky. Let's go. It's awesome to be kicking off another week of learning with you. Let's have a fantastic week. As Theodore Roosevelt once said, believe you can, and you're halfway there. I'm Coy Wire, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow on CNN 10. END