What's up, sunshine? Happy Monday. Hope
you're having a nice day and not too
much of an icy cold day. I'm Ky Wire.
This is CNN 10. I hope you are warm and
safe as this enormous winter storm is
blanketing nearly half of the United
States. We'll talk about that a bit
later. Let's kick off this week with a
positive attitude, lots of gratitude,
and your 10 minutes of news. We begin
with a gripping story, ascending to the
top of search charts online. Famed free
solo climber Alex Hano has taken his
sport to new heights yet again, scaling
one of the world's tallest skyscrapers
with nothing but his bare hands and a
chalk bag. Can't spell Hanold without
the hold. Move over, Spider-Man. Honald
is now the only person to free solo
Taiwan's towering Taipei 101. No ropes,
no nets, or any other safety gear. He
did it in a blazing fast 92 minutes. Our
Ivan Watson has more on the deathdeying,
downright dizzying feet.
Alex Honold on the top of Taipei 101,
over 500 m, 1,667
ft above the Taiwanese capital. He got
there in just over 90 minutes on Sunday,
scrambling up its 101 stories. With no
rope, no harness, and no net to catch
him if he fell. It's what's known in the
climbing world as free soloing. One
wrong move would have sent Honold
plunging to his death. The climb
streamed live by Netflix in a glossy
production. But while millions tuned in,
Netflix kept a 10-second delay. If
Honold fell, the feed would have cut. In
the end, the world's most famous climber
completed the anxietyinducing challenge.
He even performed for crowds and cameras
along the way.
>> The biggest challenge was staying calm,
having all the people around. It just
makes it feel a little more intense. And
then as I climbed, I I relaxed more and
more. I was like, "Oh, this is so fun."
I mean, this is why I do it. It's It was
incredible.
>> Hold's achievement Sunday is the world's
largest urban free solo effort. It came
a day later than planned after Honold
postponed Saturday for bad weather.
>> I sadly will not get to climb the
building today because it's raining.
>> Before he took the climb, he told CNN he
wasn't afraid at all.
>> There's preparation, there's training,
there's rehearsal, there's the 30 years
that I've spent as a professional
climber practicing this exact kind of
thing there. You know, I mean, I would
consider that a safety net, but no, if
you mean, is there an actual net
deployed? No, there there isn't. For
Hanold, the appeal of free soloing comes
in the total focus he must display. It
is the ultimate example of living in the
moment. In 2018, Hnold shot to global
fame as the hero of free solo,
a nail-biting and Oscar-winning
documentary on his successful climb of
El Capitan in Yusede National Park,
again with no rope. But free soloing is
controversial. Many of its practitioners
have died, and many in the climbing
world, outdoor communities, and brands
feel they can't encourage it. The live
TV rigged cameras and drones for Hold's
Ascent of Taipei 101 didn't seem to
phase him as he completed what he says
was a lifetime goal, one that may never
be matched.
Pop quiz hot shot. Why does snow appear
white? It reflects all wavelengths of
light. It contains trapped air bubbles.
Ice crystals scatter light in all
directions or salt content.
Answer is ice crystals. They scatter
light in all directions. Because the
most common shape of a snowflake is a
hexagon. This past weekend, winter
weather started to go in full effect
across nearly half of the United States.
This powerful storm started rolling
through with arctic air, ice, and loads
of snow. And if you were among the half
that did not get any flurries or flakes,
allow us to be your window to the world.
In New York City, a time lapse shows
snow falling in Time Square as the
snowstorm arrived in the northeast,
coating the city overnight. In Tulsa,
Oklahoma, snow blanketed the roads and
the skyline. Farther south in Denton,
Texas, the weather conditions slowed
traffic. And in plain view, it brought
out good Samaritans. People working
together to push a stuck car to safety.
Outside Nashville, Tennessee, plow
trucks cleared the streets while kids
did what kids do best in snow, sledding
and building. Forecasters say snow,
sleet, and freezing rain affected
millions of people, disrupting travel
and causing widespread power outages in
several areas. Why do snowstorms have
wildly fluctuating forecasts? I mean,
I've once seen a mayor say there'd be
between 3 to 16 in of snow. But why? To
help forecast the precipitation and
temperature, we use models. None of them
are perfect. It's impossible to
perfectly map out mathematically or
measure the atmosphere. There are well
over 50 models with a lot of
assumptions. Two that you'll often hear
about are the European model or the GFS,
an American model. The European model
costs hundreds of thousands of dollars
for full access, while the GFS is
totally free. Let's start basic, though.
A rough estimate is that for every 10 in
of snow, there's an inch of liquid. Few
would care if the forecast called for
0.3 in of rain and 1.6 in fell. But in
snow terms, that would be the difference
between 3 in of snow and 16 in of snow.
Beyond that, nobody cares if a forecast
is off by a degree if it's 77° versus
78. But 32° versus 33° could mean the
difference between snow and rain. So,
which is it? Which model reigns supreme?
Well, statistically speaking, the Euro
model has been proven to be more
accurate over the past two decades. Of
course, it's not perfect all the time,
like the time it famously botched the
2015 blizzard here in New York. But that
is why forecasting is no easy science.
Last week, we told you about all of the
important financial and diplomatic
issues being discussed at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
But the gathering of the rich and
powerful in an alpine paradise sometimes
seems a bit far removed from the
problems of people in the real world.
With all of that turmoil and division in
the world right now, CNN's Richard Quest
went looking for answers.
The question is, what gives you hope?
I'll give you a choice of color. Here we
go. You get to choose your poison. Write
your answer on the board anywhere you
like.
>> Economy. I'll be a little bit unoriginal
and circle economy.
>> I'm going to put here economics
>> technology because we're going to be
able to proliferate economic growth in a
way we've never been able to.
>> What gives me hope is the inventiveness
of people.
>> Stability.
>> Oh, human adaptability. That's all we
got to go on in my view.
>> Oh, that's good. Shared interests.
>> Ooh, interesting.
>> Cooperation. Oh, that's a good one. The
world is still full of good people.
>> Madame President, choose your color.
>> The blue of Europe.
>> Blue of Europe.
>> Yes.
>> Oh. Oh.
>> Voila. Purple. Still believe people can
make a difference and leave a good
legacy.
>> As you can see, the board is filling up.
What gives you hope?
>> Oh, an appropriate one at the top of the
boat. I think it is what has transformed
humanity for the better. Reason
>> trust
>> something everybody should be thinking
about. Very important.
>> That's very good.
>> But you know what it is? It's humanity.
We need to relax. I mean everyone gets
so excited here.
>> I will join those who said history
because things are moving in the right
direction.
>> The word calm. Oh,
>> whatever situations we have, we always
need to keep calm and carry on.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10. A
dynamic duo educating their community in
a seriously cool way. These unique
little libraries have started popping up
all over Colorado Springs, Colorado. But
instead of books, they feature Hot
Wheels. They take a car, they leave a
car. These stands are a big hit, but
their purpose is bigger than just
trading the tiny toys. They're helping
raise awareness for cars for everyone. A
local program that's helping spread
automotive knowledge to anyone who wants
to learn.
>> Kind of went away of like, you know,
there's no more like teaching cars in
shop class. Kids aren't excited about,
you know, loud cars. We were noticing
that people just uneducated about
checking their oil and checking things
that matter about a car.
>> The program hosts free community events,
mechanic workshops, and youth outreach
programs to educate their community.
They even host a mentorship program to
help those with disabilities get under
the hood.
>> I like to learn things. Even though I'm
disabled, I do want to learn things and
be better in life than not knowing
something that I've never been taught
before.
>> And from Hot Wheels to Real Wheels, the
program also helps make racing a reality
for a new generation of auto
enthusiasts.
>> For the last gosh, 3 years, we've
probably put a thousand different people
in the front seat of this car. Without
the help of, you know, everyone that we
work with, this car alone wouldn't be on
track. So, you know, it would be selfish
of me to keep this to myself.
>> Vroom, vroom. We have two shout outs for
you. This first one goes to my old
stomping grounds and my friend and
former teammate, Mr. Madlin, and all of
my 717 wonders at New Cumberland Middle
School in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania.
Rise up. And this shout out goes to Miss
Penny at Ballard High School in Seattle,
Washington. Thank you for subscribing
and commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube
channel. Take care of yourself in this
winter storm everyone. Stay safe, stay
warm, and be kind to one another. I'll
see you right back here tomorrow. I'm
Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.