What's up, sunshine? Rise up. I'm Ky
Wire coming to you from Baltimore,
Maryland, where the iconic and arguably
most historic football rivalry went down
over the weekend. The Army Navy game.
Navy won by just one point. Now, it's
been said that this is the only game
where everyone playing is willing to
sacrifice everything for everyone.
watching. I think it's time for a Did
you know the Army Navy game isn't just
college football's most storied
showdown? It's also one of the oldest.
We're talking spanning three centuries
old. The first game took place in West
Point, New York, way back on November
29th, 1890.
Saturday marked the 126th edition of
these two servicemies going at it on the
grid iron. This rivalry is older than
six US states, older than the
SpanishAmerican War, even older than the
invention of bicycle tires, older than
the discovery of X-rays in the entire
sport of basketball. Navy won the very
first game 24 to zero. And as far as
bragging rights go, the Midshipman have
the advantage. They lead the series with
63 wins and hold the longest win streak
with 14 straight and the largest margin
of victory, 51 to0.
It is a deep rivalry, deep enough to
divide households. But don't take my
word for it. Listen to this pair of
siblings I spoke with before the game.
She's my sister 364 days out of the
year.
>> Yeah, we're we're still uh we still have
a little beef.
>> All right, here is what makes this so
special. So, even though these service
members spend a few hours as bitter
rivals on the grid iron each year, many
of them will work together to protect
and serve America for the rest of their
careers. It's a bond that transcends any
football game and makes this tradition
unlike anything else in sports. Now that
I'm wrapping up my time here in
Baltimore, I'm starting to get excited
for one of my next assignments. In less
than two months, I'm headed to Italy to
cover the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. And
many of the events will be held in the
old country's famous Cortina Ski Resort.
The town will host curling as well as
bobsledding, luj, and skeleton in its
newly built sliding center, a venue that
almost wasn't ready in time. Our Antonia
Mortonson got to speak to some of the
American luge athletes hoping to make
the team.
The glamorous Italian ski resort of
Cortina Dampedo is shifting into high
gear as it prepares for its role in the
Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, now
less than 2 months away.
Final preparations are underway at the
newly built Ojen Monty Sliding Center,
which hosted its first Olympic luge
qualifying event at the end of November.
Hurling passes as fast as 75 miles an
hour. These athletes are testing this
ice track for the very first time,
hoping to qualify for the Olympics. More
than 150 athletes from 25 countries are
battling for a place on the Olympic
qualifying list. The US women's luge
team laser focused on the challenge
ahead.
How would you compare this track to to
previous tracks? I think it feels kind
of similar to Pyongjang a little bit. I
like it.
>> I think that each track has its own
personality and kind of rhythm to it.
So, it's hard for me to really say this
one is like that one. Um, it has its own
unique personality. I think a lot of the
entrances are a little um the
consistency throughout the track is that
it's not quite how I would naturally my
my natural line would go through it.
First, we have to make a team qualify,
but um I'm really really looking forward
to the potential of the Olympics here
for myself. Um if I qualify, it'll be my
fourth Olympic Games. And every
experience I've had has been extremely
different um for a number of reasons.
So, the one thing I'm sure of is you
can't know what to expect. Right now,
the focus is
make the qualifications,
figure out a good rhythm, and race well
leading up to the games, and then see
what that brings. The newly
rehomologated track measures 1,700 m,
features 16 curves, and is ready to host
luj bobslay and skeleton events for the
Olympics.
It's a elite. It's up there at the top
echelon. Uh it's uh both uh the
character uh and the uh setting and the
support we get here. It's uh absolutely
elite.
>> It wasn't all cool running. The track
hit headlines after delays sparked
concerns, leading organizers to explore
backup plans, including Lake Placid, New
York in the United States. Despite the
setbacks, organizers insist everything
is on schedule.
record.
The games will be spread across eight
different locations in Northern Italy,
promising a dynamic experience for
athletes and fans. All
right, if you saw our special episode on
the science behind self-driving cars,
you may remember Whimo. Well, the
company has rolled out autonomous
vehicle fleets in cities across the
country. But in Austin, Texas, city
officials are pressing the company over
a serious safety issue that's putting
students at risk. They say that on at
least 19 different occasions, Whimo's
driverless vehicles illegally passed
school buses that were stopped while
dropping off or picking up riders. The
incidents were recorded by the bus's
built-in cameras and even led local
police to ask Whimo to stop operating
the vehicles while buses are bringing
kids to and from school. Listen,
>> they did not agree with our risk
assessment and respectfully declined uh
to stop operating. Whimo claims they
have fixed the software issue causing
the problem, but police say they've seen
at least seven more violations since the
alleged fix and have sent the videos to
the National Highway and Transportation
Safety Administration. It's just the
latest example of some of the real world
implications of the roll out of
driverless vehicles and what they can
have on our everyday lives.
Pop quiz hot shot. On a firefighter's
helmet, what color is traditionally used
to indicate who is the fire chief or
officer? Yellow, black, white, or red?
Answer is white. Because white stands
out clearly against smoke. The white
helmet makes it easy for crews to find
the incident commander and receive
instructions.
Firefighter helmets of all colors just
received a golden honor in Hollywood
last week. A new star on the iconic
Hollywood Walk of Fame pays tribute to
the Los Angeles Fire Department,
honoring the brave women and men who
protect the city from raging wildfires
like January's Palisades fire. And the
touching tribute started in an unlikely
place. A letter from a teen on the other
side of the country. 14-year-old Anyola
Taiwo from Connecticut loves Hollywood
and sent a letter to the city's Chamber
of Commerce suggesting the move. I guess
when I thought California, I thought
actors and the Walk of Fame. So that's
what immediately motivated me and I put
two and two together and I was like, why
not represent the real heroes? She was
shocked when they not only responded but
made her the guest of honor. She rode in
on a fire truck, helped unveil the star
and was even made an honorary junior
chief of the department. Now that's what
I would call star struck. It's a great
reminder that even the smallest things
like a handwritten letter can have a
huge impact on our lives and others.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.
Some dog good granny's brightening the
holidays on demand. Meet Grandma Nancy,
one of three grandmas in residency at
the quote granny stand in McKini, Texas.
Visitors to the town's Christmas market
can stop in for advice, friendly
conversation, or even just a big old
warm hug from Baba.
>> If there is a choice of being unkind or
be kind, choose kindness,
>> choose love, choose patience. Group hug.
>> The goal is simply to give some kindness
and a listening ear to anyone who might
need it. Grandmother Nancy has four
grandkids herself and says her daughter
nominated her for the gig. The idea
actually started in New York, but some
exceedingly nice nonies could be headed
to your town soon. Stands have already
popped up in several other cities and
are planned for Boston, Berlin, Paris,
and London.
>> Grandmas are non-judgmental. We're
loving people as a rule. And it's just
nice sometimes to be able to talk to
someone that it's basically a total
stranger, but yet you you can feel a
connection with.
>> All right, superstars. Time for some
shoutouts now. This one goes to Miss
Folks at Knox Preparatory School in
Knoxville, Tennessee. Coach D and I say
what's up from right here in Baltimore.
And we have an extra special shout out
going to Mr. Filawitch's class and all
the Sabers in Surus, Manitoba, Canada.
My whole team and I, we're sending you a
lot of strength and love. Go on out and
spread some joy today if you can,
everyone. We'll see you right back here
tomorrow. I'm Koi Wire and we are CNN
10.