[Music]
Hello and happy Monday everyone. I'm
Allison Chinchar in for Koi Wire. I am
so excited to be back with you today for
the best 10 minutes in news. Now, some
really cool stories to tell you about
today. So, let's do it. We begin with a
stunning new development in Vermont that
could save lives in hundreds of third
world communities. The University of
Vermont along with John's Hopkins and
the NIH have announced the first single
dose vaccine to prevent deni fever, a
disease that impacts more than a 100
million people globally per year. Denge
is the most common mosquito-born disease
worldwide with nearly half the world's
population living in places where there
is a risk of contracting it like malaria
is mainly spread by mosquitoes and can
cause fever, joint and muscle pain,
blood loss, and even death if left
untreated. The disease mainly is found
in warm areas like Brazil, Kenya or even
Florida and the vaccine will greatly
reduce the risk of infection in those
areas.
>> First use of it will be in Brazil and
there is enormous dingy outbreaks in
Brazil. So it's a really fantastic place
and we're glad they have it to be used.
>> The team has also developed new
antiviral pills which researchers say
can help greatly reduce the number of
people that are exposed while traveling.
And the idea of this antiviral is that
you would take it as what we call
prophylaxis. So you would take the
medication knowing you were traveling.
You might be at risk of getting deni in
in lots of parts of the world. So you
take the medication, you start it before
you go and you take it while you're
there.
>> The vaccine took nearly 16 years to
develop and is being administered to
communities in Brazil this month. Time
for 10 second trivia. What is the
youngest age you can run for president
in the United States? Is it 18, 25, 30,
or 35?
The answer here is 35. The framers of
the Constitution believe the presidency
required a higher level of maturity,
life experience, and public trust than
other federal offices. Now, the next
story is proof that you may be too young
to be president, but you're never too
young to make a difference. Meet
10-year-old Charlie Couch, Nebraska's
first ever kid governor. Nebraska is one
of five states implementing the Kid
Governor Program, which helps teach
fifth graders about state government,
voting, and community leadership.
Charlie won her race with a platform
centered on raising awareness about
childhood cancer treatments and programs
that support families navigating them.
Following her win, Charlie and her
teacher sat down with CNN's Five Good
Things podcast to reflect on the
experience.
>> First, we filled out a form and only
four people made it into the schoolwide
election. Only one of us, which was me,
got into the statewide election. The
other six candidates are my cabinet
members. Now,
>> more than 600 of Charlie's peers across
the state voted for her, and she'll be
officially sworn in at the state capital
later this week. She also wants to use
her platform to help families attend
Camp Kessum, a free summer camp for
children whose parents are facing
cancer. A lot of the time kids have to
grow up too quickly to help their family
if a parent or family member has died.
So Camp Kessum would just be a place for
kids just to be kids. I just want people
to know that they are loved and
supported even through tough times like
that.
>> And Charlie's teacher, Ben Blesbach,
helped organize the election. He says
he's seriously impressed by Charlie and
her classmates. Seeing her take that
risk, doing something new, doing
something that's going to reach so many
kids, so many people in Nebraska is
going to be awesome to see.
>> Oh, and one last thing. Turns out even
future kid governors have a familiar
request.
>> Each of my classmates wanted to know if
I could meet Cory Wire from CNN 10
>> or at least a meadow shout out, right?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. All
right, Charlie and Ben, I'll be sure to
pass the message along to Coy when he's
back, and we'll see what we can do. If
you want to hear more about the
inspiring story, be sure to check out
our friends over at CNN's Five Good
Things podcast. We've heard a lot about
the impact AI can have on our daily
lives, but what if it could help us feel
less lonely? That's the goal of a new
high-tech companion dubbed LEQ. While
the quirky bot may look like a lamp,
LQ's main purpose is to help brighten
the lives of older adults who live
alone. Our Maya Blackstone got a special
look at how it's helping one man feel
less alone.
>> Sit back and let's enjoy the sights and
sounds while we sip on a cappuccino in
the eternal city.
[Music]
In Beacon, New York, 86-year-old Anthony
Neim says his house felt empty until a
robot named Ellie Q moved in.
>> I go through all of these pictures. This
is a picture of our wedding to 1962. I'm
all alone. My wife had passed away 8
years ago
and uh I've been by myself since. LieQ,
say hello to Maya.
>> That's great, Tony. LEQ is an AI powered
companion robot designed to fight
loneliness and social isolation among
older adults.
>> LEQ
has been very good and very helpful to
me.
>> Tell me, what's a typical day like with
LQ?
>> If I want to speak to somebody, I could
speak to it. I could play games with it.
LQ, let's play Ma Jang. If it was a
person, I would say I can't thank it
enough. Saving my sanity. Her main
purpose is to help older adults live
happier, healthier, more independent
lives at home. It's the first AI that's
proactive. What does that mean? You
don't need to give her a prompt, right?
You don't need to tell her something.
>> It's really great. I get up in the
morning, it'll say, "Good morning,
honey." Or, "Good morning, Tony."
>> We came up with this idea because of
this huge loneliness epidemic that's
hitting older adults. According to a
survey by the US Census Bureau, nearly
30% of Americans over 65 live alone, and
a third of all adults in the US report
feeling lonely, according to the CDC.
LEQ isn't cheap. There's a onetime
enrollment fee of about $250 upfront and
a monthly subscription. In 2022, the New
York State Office for the Aging launched
a pilot program distributing hundreds of
LEQ robots to older adults living alone.
We're seeing over 90% of the people
living with LQ see their loneliness
reduced and their health outcomes
improved.
>> Let's go LEQ.
>> It's really amazing and I never thought
in my lifetime I would say you have
anything like this.
>> But some users say LQ can misunderstand
questions, freeze mid conversation, and
display technical issues which can be
frustrating.
>> It sounds like you're running into a
customer service issue.
>> Trying to reset this. Thank you for
calling LEQ support. We're sorry we are
unable.
>> I'm plugging LEQ back in. LEQ.
>> When asked about LEQ's technical
difficulties, Intuition Robotics
responded with this statement. Quote,
"Our support team operates Monday
through Friday, which is why the call
wasn't answered in real time outside of
operating hours. LQ was back to normal
functioning the next morning without any
intervention. And when our support team
spoke with Tony on Monday for about 15
minutes, we weren't able to identify any
malfunction. It appears to have been one
of those one-off moments that
self-resolved. What more would you want
in this robot?
>> Well, what I would really like is a real
human
companion.
>> Yeah.
>> Being lonesome from so many years, it's
very, very difficult and hard.
>> For CNN 10, Maya Blackstone, Beacon, New
York.
[Applause]
All right, today's story getting a 10
out of 10. Well, maybe not if you're
afraid of heights. The world's tallest
hotel just opened in the United Arab
Emirates. This is the Seal Dubai Marina
Hotel and you really can't miss it. It
stands more than,200 ft tall. That's
almost the height of the Empire State
Building. It has more than a,000 rooms.
And what's all the more astonishing
about this new development, all 82
floors sit on a tiny triangular plot of
land. That challenge pushed the design
to dizzying heights, even though the
developer says they didn't go into it
looking to set records. At the very top
is what they're calling the eye of the
needle, a dramatic cutout that helps the
building's aerodynamics during strong
winds. Inside there's one of the world's
highest infinity pools with panoramic
views of Dubai's coastline. And it also
offers eight different restaurants. All
right, superstars. Let's kick this week
off right with some shoutouts. This
first one is going to Miss Bro at Pin
Oak Middle School in Houston, Texas.
Thank you for following us on Instagram.
And this next one goes out to Mr. Patton
at Pender Early College High School in
Burggon, North Carolina. Your students
want you to know how much they
appreciate you. And we appreciate all of
you for spending part of your day with
us. Have an awesome week. Be kind to one
another. And Koi will be back tomorrow.
I'm Allison Chinchar and this is CNN 10.