What's up, sunshine? Hope all is awesome
wherever you are in this world. I am
pumped to be back with you. Happy Friday
eve. I got your news for this Thursday,
February 26th. Let's start today with a
story that totally rocks. On this day in
1919, the US made a grand move when
President Woodro Wilson officially
designated the Grand Canyon into the
National Park System, setting it in
stone as one of America's greatest
natural treasures. Sculpted by the
Colorado River over millions of years,
the canyon cuts more than a mile deep
and up to 15 miles wide across northern
Arizona. Its towering rock layers stack
up nearly two billion years of Earth's
history in a landscape packed with
unique plants and wildlife. Today,
visitors still cannot get enough of the
view. With close to 5 million visiting
each year, proving this park's appeal is
truly rock solid. Now, to some of
today's top stories from around the
world. In southeastern Brazil, rescue
workers and residents are removing
debris after landslides were triggered
by a severe storm. At least 30 people
are reported dead, another 39 missing.
Security forces have rescued dozens of
people and are hoping to find others
trapped in the rubble of homes that have
collapsed. President Luis Enasio Lula
Das Silva has mobilized his government
to help Brazilians affected by the
storm. It has done so much damage it is
difficult to get in or out of the
hardest hit city. Heavy rains have
damaged bridges and roads and flooded
neighborhoods, forcing nearly 700 people
to abandon their homes. The danger is
not over yet. Forecasters say more rain
is coming. Local government officials
are pleading with people living on
hillside areas to leave their homes
immediately.
If you could chat with an astronaut
aboard the International Space Station,
what would you ask? Well, one lucky
group of students in Canfield, Ohio,
actually got this out of thisworld
opportunity. Hilltop Elementary was
chosen following a lengthy application
process, and students had the chance to
talk live with the ISS astronauts as
they orbited the Earth. Questions
included things like, "What's the
difference between when you're in space
and on Earth? Is there sound in space?
And who helps people when they get hurt
in space?" It was made possible by
Aerys, a partnership between NASA and
amateur radio organizations that help
inspire students around the world to
pursue careers in STEM fields. Teachers
say the students were even given a
follow-up opportunity to pick the
astronaut's brains further.
>> We actually already have a private
conversation scheduled with an astronaut
named John Schoffner. So, it's going to
be a Google meet, so we'll actually get
more students get a chance to ask
questions to an astronaut. So, this is
just the beginning. I mean this really
sparked interest in the students.
>> Talk about an interstellar opportunity.
Pop quiz hot shot. Which computer
component temporarily stores the data
and programs your device is actively
using? CPU, RAM, SSD, or SIM.
If you said RAM, you are up to speed.
RAM or random access memory temporarily
holds the data your computer needs in
the moment like short-term memory for
tech and helps things run faster.
Artificial intelligence is leveling up
and fast and taking a big bite out of
the hardware that powers our devices.
From gaming PCs to everyday tech, key
chips are getting harder to find and
pricier to buy. CNN creator Bjan Hoseni
takes the controls from here.
This is my PC or at least what's left of
it. All the pieces are a bit scattered
around because I wanted to upgrade it.
And in the process, I came across a very
serious problem and it affects a lot
more than just gamers like me. It starts
with this. This is RAM. Stands for
random access memory. This used to be
one of the cheapest components inside a
PC, but now prices are skyrocketing.
Counterpoint Research says they've risen
80 to 90% in the first quarter of 2026
alone. And to find out why these itty
bitty circuit boards are getting so gosh
darn expensive, I took a trip to my
local gaming store.
This section here used to be packed.
This is the pre-owned section.
empty.
>> That's it.
>> What's going on?
>> So again, because prices have gone up so
fast, it's better for people to just go
ahead and buy something pre-owned than
to build something new.
>> Khalifa Elh Harun is the founder and CEO
of Store 974, which he says operates the
largest gaming store in the Middle East.
>> 32 gigs of RAM.
>> That's more valuable than gold right
now, but
>> I know what what is. So, this is uh this
has caused a lot of controversy in the
gaming world in the past couple months.
>> It's created a lot of sadness to be
honest, more than controversy because I
think that a lot of gamers feel like the
gaming companies have abandoned them
because look, there are four main
companies, you know, uh uh in the world
that produce the chips. Um one of them
is Samsung, one of them SK, and you got
Micron. Micron just recently announced
>> they're stopping.
>> Yeah. Nothing for consumers or gamers.
Let's focus on AI. And so the gamers are
feeling like, wait a minute, we I mean
that's the feeling that they have. We
built you and now you just left us
alone. You know,
>> here's the problem. Training large AI
models requires enormous amounts of high
performance memory. And as tech giants
pour billions of dollars into AI
infrastructure, these RAM manufacturers
are shifting production toward higher
margin chips for data centers. This
isn't just about gaming PCs. RAM powers
a lot. phones, TVs, laptops, even
medical equipment. Basically, anything
that's a connected device, which really
means that if RAM prices are going up,
so are the products that we use every
single day. Artificial intelligence may
feel abstract, like a bunch of lines of
code, but it runs on very real hardware
like this. And as the demand for these
components continues to rise, well, it
means higher prices for the devices we
use every day.
Hang on just a second.
That is job well done. I think we can
turn off and go home now.
Peace of heart, peace of mind, peace of
gold. Could happiness be the secret to
Olympic dominance? Norway reached new
heights at this year's winter games with
a record 18 gold medals and 41 overall.
But how does a country of about five and
a half million people, roughly the same
population as the state of South
Carolina, become an Olympic juggernaut?
Turns out the decadesl long approach
might be summed up best by a famous Pink
Floyd lyric, leave them kids alone. When
it comes to their youngest athletes,
Norway prioritizes enjoyment and
inclusivity over pressure to perform.
There's no scorekeeping, no rankings or
league standings until the age of 12.
And if one athlete under the age of 12
gets a trophy, well then everyone does.
The formula may not come as a surprise
when you consider that Norway is
consistently ranked as one of the
happiest countries in the world. The
approach aims to keep kids coming back
each season. And officials say that by
age 25, 93% of Norwegians have been
involved in organized sports. Compare
that to here in the United States, where
one report found that 70% of young
athletes dropped out of organized sports
by age 13, largely due to injury or
burnout. Norway's unique approach also
allows future generations to bloom into
elite athletes at their own pace. And
the results have largely spoken for
themselves. But it's always in this uh
long-term thinking of being happy kids,
focused uh elite athletes and good
citizen afterwards. So we we try to
balance these uh these ambitions as good
as we can with the long-term development
for life and then this uh maybe 10 15
years where they're really focused on
winning. So that's the balance that we
do and we always have this long turn
thinking uh behind when we're doing uh
when we're doing u decisions
but we do not rank the kids. They
compete a lot but we do not rank. So the
next day they start over again. It's not
like are you are the right kid or you
are not the good kid because we are
really focused on not creating losers.
We want to create happy kids. So, what
do you think? In formative years, should
happiness be prioritized over winning?
Could other countries learn from
Norway's approach? Have you ever felt
the pressure to excel at a sport or
activity and that made it less
enjoyable? Feel free to hit pause and
ruminate and debate.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10. A
group of high school swimmers with a
stroke of genius. The swim team at JJ
Pierce High School just held a
swimathon. And with every lap, they
raised money for their school's beloved
custodian. They call him Mr. Lee. And
he's been battling health issues that
landed him in the hospital for months.
>> He's like the nicest guy ever. Like if
you see him in the hallway, he'll give
you a high five or a hug and like, oh,
he's just so sweet. The more we found
out about him, the more we're like, this
is the guy to do it for. The swimathon
raised $17,000
and someone at the school even offered
to help Mr. Lee negotiate with the
hospital. And now they'll be able to
eliminate his medical debt entirely.
Even after his recovery, Mr. Lee rode a
bike to work. But the swim team had a
surprise up their sleeve for that one,
too. Surprising him with not just a
brand new bike, but a new car as well. A
big thank you for everybody for the on
the professor for all the teachers and
all the students.
>> Talk about diving right in and making
waves in the pool and in the community.
Shout out now. This one goes to Mr.
Sporin and friends at Gooding Middle
School in Gooding, Idaho. We understand
a pizza party may be in order. Can't top
that unless there is pepperoni involved.
And this shout out goes to Miss Simmons
at Emerson in Salt Lake City, Utah. I
see you, Alice. your dad. He's a pretty
cool dude. Go out and spread some
kindness today. Give a stranger a
compliment. This world needs more light
and you just may be the spark of joy
that someone needs. I'm Koi Wire and we
are CNN 10.