Good morning, good afternoon, or good
evening wherever you are in the world.
I'm Mina Derson in for Koi Wire and I'm
so glad to be back with you on this
Wednesday, May 27th. It is also your
word Wednesday. So listen closely and
see if the word you submitted helped us
write today's show. We begin with some
big news out of the US Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve or Fed is the
country's central banking system and one
of the most powerful economic
institutions in the world. And now it
has a new leader. Kevin Worsh has been
sworn in as the 17th Fed chairman. He
was nominated by President Donald Trump
in January to succeed Jerome Powell, who
had been in the role since 2018, serving
two consecutive terms under both
President Trump and President Biden. So
what exactly does the Fed chair do? In
short, they are the voice of the US
economy. They act as the central bank's
chief executive and oversee the Federal
Open Market Committee, which decides
what interest rates will be. And those
impact everything from credit cards to
mortgages. And although the Fed is an
independent institution, the chair is
responsible for fostering a sense of
synergy with the Treasury Department and
many other key parts of the government.
Wars is stepping into the role at a
critical time amid uncertainty over
inflation, geopolitical conflicts, and
volatile financial markets. But at
Friday's swearing in ceremony, he made
it clear that he's up for the challenge.
>> I will lead a reform oriented Federal
Reserve, learning from past successes
and mistakes, both escaping static
frameworks and models, and upholding
clear standards of integrity and
performance.
Today marks a return to an institution
that I do in fact cherish.
>> An urgent effort is underway to reach
seven villagers trapped underground in a
cave in Laos. They've now been there for
nearly a week after flash flooding from
heavy rain reportedly blocked the exit.
One group coordinating the rescue says
teams will have to navigate a more than
1,000 ft long tunnel to reach the
villagers. CNN's Mike Valerio filed this
report from Beijing.
Rescue teams squeeze through narrow
flooded tunnels in rural Lao. Their goal
reaching seven people trapped
underground for almost a week. We're
told local villagers often visit the
site to search for gold deposits. Videos
recorded by rescue divers from Thailand
show them navigating a more than 1000 ft
long tunnel. For most of the way, they
have to crawl.
>> In some places, they have to submerge
completely to find a way through. One of
the groups coordinating the rescue says
that at its narrowest point, the tunnel
measures just 23 in. Outside, other team
members run cables through a gap between
the rocks to guide rescuers to its lower
reaches. Three divers from the crew were
involved in the dramatic 2018 cave
rescue of 12 Thai boys and their
football coach.
>> No word on this latest incident from
Lao's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The
Southeast Asian nation is a one party
communist state that often closely
regulates the release of information.
>> And it's time for 10 trivia. What is the
lowest point on Earth on dry land? Is it
Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, the Dead
Sea, or Lake Assaul?
If you said the Dead Sea, your knowledge
is deep. The Dead Sea's shoreline lies
more than 1,400 ft below sea level. The
Dead Sea isn't just the lowest point on
Earth. It's also one of the planet's
biggest natural wonders. It gets its
name from its extremely high salt
content, nearly 10 times that of the
ocean, which makes it impossible for
fish, plants, and other aquatic life to
survive. The sea's unique waters and
mineral resources have been cherished by
civilizations throughout history. But
scientists are sounding the alarm over a
troubling trend. They say the Dead Sea
is dying. Our Jeremy Diamond got a rare
firstirhand look at the fight to save
this storied sea.
>> Jake Benzaken is one of the only people
licensed to operate a boat on the Dead
Sea. And for the last 12 years, that's
what he's done.
>> So, you know it well.
>> Yeah. I got to see all the faces. giving
him an unparalleled view of one of
Earth's natural wonders and the
fastmoving environmental disaster
threatening its existence.
>> So every year we get about new 7 and 1/2
m of new shoreline because the seas
dropping.
>> The Dead Sea is dying. Its surface area
has shrunk by about onethird in the last
50 years. And its salt encrusted shores
now stand as a testament to the rapid
pace of change.
>> This is last year, two years ago. Every
step, it's a year.
>> Each step shows how much the sea level
has dropped from one year to the next at
a rate of about 4 feet per year like
nothing else in the world. Dr. Yael Kiro
has been studying the Dead Sea for over
a decade.
>> There's no other place on earth like the
Dead Sea to understand why it is
shrinking and what can be done about it.
>> The main reason is because of the
utilization of the water resources
around the Dead Sea. This contributes
around 60% of the drop. And then there
is uh the Dead Sea factories both the
Jordanian and the Israelis that pump
directly the brine and evaporate it in
order to extract minerals and they
contribute about 40% for from from for
the late level drops. Israel's Dead Sea
Works and Jordan's Arab Potach Company
pump tens of billions of gallons of
water out of the Dead Sea each year,
evaporating much of that water to
extract potach and magnesium, key
fertilizer ingredients. Some who want to
save the Dead Sea have proposed building
a pipeline and pumping water in from the
Red Sea. Others advocate for
replenishing the Jordan River, allowing
the water to flow naturally into the
Dead Sea. But while ideas abound,
government action is still missing. The
impact isn't just environmental. It's
also financial.
This graveyard of palm trees and
graffiti buildings was once a thriving
beach resort. The road leading to it
explains why it's been abandoned.
Tourists used to take this road all the
time to get to the Dead Sea, but now
sinkholes like this one line its path,
and the whole area has been abandoned.
And the concern is that more sink holes
will continue to happen as the Dead Sea
drops and tourism will be severely
impacted.
>> Since the lake level started to drop,
this salt layer instead of being exposed
to the uh Dead Sea brine, it is exposed
to more fresh water and then eventually
you get collapse.
>> Aboard his boat, Ben Zaken says he sees
new evidence of the Dead Sea's man-made
decay every day. the uncertainty it
spells for its future and his own.
>> Tis the season for celebrity
commencement speakers. You can expect us
to bring you the most inspirational
moments from college coliseums and
stadiums across the nation in the next
several weeks. And today we're
highlighting some words of wisdom from
one of our favorites, CNN chief medical
correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He spoke
to the University of Michigan Medical
School graduates. Dr. Gupta stood in
their same spot 33 years ago before
becoming a neurosurgeon, performing
life-changing operations, traveling the
world, and reporting medical news. With
all his experience, he shared some great
advice to his fellow Wolverines that
many of us can learn from, too.
>> Spend your time asking the right
questions, even if they seem dumb,
because those are often the questions
everyone else is too afraid to ask. And
along the way, you may find that you are
no longer someone who is just
continuously memorizing the past, but
instead you start to become someone who
is changing the future. Make a pledge to
yourself and to each other. Over the
last four years, you have made some of
the best friends you'll ever have in
your life. That was certainly the case
for me. Always answer their calls. Be
there in their times of need. Fly around
the world graduates for their weddings
and the births of their children. Always
be there for one another. And I promise
you, it will become one of the most
precious touchstones you ever have in
your life. Don't forget graduates, the
path that you've chosen is one that will
always require not artificial
intelligence, but authentic
intelligence, that uniquely human touch.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10. A
unique celebration for the Catalan
culture in Spain. The world's largest
snail eating festival, a three-day event
attracted 200,000 people to Yada, a
Spanish city that has been hosting this
local tradition for decades. The taste
described by one person as a protein
candy. This was definitely not a
sluggish affair. Over 30,000 pounds of
snails were eaten. It's loved by many,
and this festival is said to continue
growing every year. I guess my invite is
still in snail mail. Congratulations to
today's Your Word Wednesday winner, Mr.
Wolverine at Los Molino Middle School in
California, who submitted synergy, a
noun which means the interaction of
elements that when combined produce a
total effect that is greater than the
sum of the individual contributions. All
right, superstars, I've got time for one
shout out today. Mr. Josh at the Pine
School in Lo Lakes, Minnesota. Thank you
for making us a part of your day and we
are so glad we can be your window to the
world. We are rooting for you and we are
rooting for all of you who are winding
down the school year. Hope you have an
awesome day. Coy will be back tomorrow.
I'm Mina Derson and this is CNN 10.