Hello and wake up. Wake up. Wake up.
It's the first of the month. I'm Coy
Wire. This is CNN 10. I got to meet some
of you in Washington DC over the
weekend. Awesome. We will be bringing
some behind thescenes looks from the
scripts national spelling be later this
week. For now, let's get you your news
for Monday, June 1st. Today marks the
official start of the Atlantic hurricane
season, and this year may be a little
less stormy than usual. That's according
to the first official forecast from
Noah, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. Forecasters
predict between 8 and 14 named storms
this season, slightly below average. One
reason, a climate pattern called El Nino
brewing thousands of miles away in the
Pacific Ocean. It can act as a giant
atmospheric referee helping break up
storms before they gain strength in the
Atlantic. Our Allison Chinchar is here
to help us understand how El Nino's
return could contribute to the number of
storms we'll see this year. Hi Allison.
>> Hey Coy. Yes, and the best part is the
forecast is actually calling for a below
normal season. So let's break down the
numbers. The official forecast from Noah
calls for about a 35% chance of having
an average season. However, a more than
50% chance of having a below average
season. So, let's break down what those
numbers actually mean. In a normal year,
we would typically have 14 total named
storms. Seven of which would reach
hurricane strength and three of them
reaching major hurricane strength, which
is category 3, four, or five. But this
year, those numbers are a little bit
lower. The official forecast calls for 8
to 14 total name storms. So, we could
get up to that average number, but more
likely than not, we'll have a slightly
lower number. Same thing for hurricanes.
Forecast only calls for about 3 to six
of those to become named hurricanes.
Now, one of the biggest factors in this
forecast is El Nino. Typically, in an El
Nino year, wind shear increases across
this area you see shaded in red.
Essentially, what that means is it's
inhibiting development of tropical
cyclones that move through that region.
In addition to that, you also have fewer
storms that come off the coast of
Africa, which is oftentimes where we get
some additional tropical systems there.
Now, one thing to note is peak hurricane
season runs from August 15th to about
October 15th. That happens to be the
exact same time when we anticipate El
Nino to really ramp up this year. In
fact, noting that's pretty high chances
of having a strong El Nino event by the
time we get to September and October.
So, certainly something to keep a close
eye on. Now, here is the full list of
names. Koi, I don't see your name. I'll
have to work on a petition perhaps to
get your name added to the list perhaps
in maybe some future years.
>> Hurricane Koi, nice ring to it. I know
you taught me that Allison is the only
name to be retired as a tropical storm
strength system to make landfall in the
US. The more you know. Now to Florida,
where an investigation is underway after
a Blue Origin rocket left the launchpad
looking like it got hit by a dragon's
sneeze. At Cape Canaveral last week,
video captured the moment the New Glenn
rocket exploded during what's called a
hot fire test. A crucial step where
engines are fired while the rocket
remains anchored to the ground. Blue
Origin, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos,
says everyone on site was safe and
they're now working to understand what
caused the anomaly. Our Jackie Waddles
has more. A lot of people are searching
for Blue Origin right now after one of
the company's new Glen rockets exploded
on the launchpad during a routine ground
test in Florida on Thursday. Now, this
is a big setback for the space company
that was founded and is funded by Amazon
billionaire Jeff Bezos. And the
explosion likely damaged key
infrastructure at the company's launch
site, but we don't really know the
extent of the fallout. That's not
immediately clear. Though Blue Origin
did say in a statement that all
employees have been accounted for. And
why is this a big deal? Well, the
company is looking for New Glenn to take
on SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rockets,
which have been dominating the global
launch industry for years, and they
don't currently have any real
competition. So, Newlin is Blue Origin's
first orbital rocket, a far more
powerful and difficult to construct
rocket than those suborbital space
tourism rockets that Blue Origin is
better known for launching. Another
reason Blue Origin is making waves with
this setback. Nuclean is not only
considered hugely important for the
company's core business of launching
satellites to space for paying
customers. This rocket is also expected
to launch a test flight of the company's
moon lander later this year. That
lander, it's called Blue Moon, and it's
a precursor to one that NASA is counting
on to deliver astronauts to the moon's
surface amid a new space race with
China. And Blue Origin is competing
directly with SpaceX on that front as
well, with both companies battling to
deliver their vehicles to NASA and make
that first crude return to the moon
since the Apollo program ended five
decades ago. Now to a mystery that had
people looking up, startled. Witnesses
across several states reported hearing
two loud booms and feeling the ground
shake. Officials say the likely culprit
was a meteor breaking apart in the sky.
Here's what it sounded like near Boston.
Experts believe a space rock that was
about 3 feet wide slammed into Earth's
atmosphere and friction heated it to
thousands of degrees, causing it to
break apart. Most of it never reached
the Earth's surface and any debris
likely splashed into the Atlantic Ocean.
A cosmic visitor that arrived with a
bang and left without a trace.
Pop quiz hot shot. Which animal was
reintroduced to the Grand Canyon region
after disappearing for 60 years?
California condor, desert tortoise,
canyon tree frog, or mountain lion.
If you said California condor, you're
soaring today. After a major captive
breeding effort in the 1930s, these
giant birds with wingspans approaching
10 ft can once again be found gliding
and nesting around parts of the Grand
Canyon. This is Blue. Blue has an
important job to do. Helping prevent
human wildlife interaction at Grand
Canyon National Park. It's a growing
problem. The park service says elk and
big horn sheep have gotten too
comfortable around visitors using
developed areas as shelter from
predators. And that's where Blue comes
in. The Catahula Leopard Hound is part
of the park's conservation K9 pilot
project. She'll roam the park with her
handler, using controlled barking and
hering pressure to move animals back
towards natural habitats. The project
lead said in a news release, "This is a
humane way to quote, "Reduce dangerous
habituation and help wildlife remain
wild." For the first time ever, Hong
Kong hosted an official Comic-Con,
joining a global lineup of fan
conventions that stretch from cities
like New York, Atlanta, London, Tokyo,
and Brussels. The 3-day event first
started in 1970 in San Diego to
encourage fans to celebrate and learn
more about comic books, anime, movies,
and gaming. CNN's Ivan Watson takes us
to see Comic-Con's real superpower,
creativity.
Oh my goodness, it's Colonel Sanders
with big muscles and fried chicken. Uh,
just an example of the random stuff that
I'm seeing at Hong Kong's first
ComicCon. And the crowd here is in form
and it's fun. Where else do you get to
see Rick with his portal and I don't
even know what that machine is? And over
here you got Brute wandering around
around waving at people and statues of
Spider-Man showing his hind quarters. Uh
this is a venue where people get to nerd
out and celebrate nerd culture and I
love it. I confess that I'm a bit of a
kid in a candy store right now because
I grew up reading Marvel comics,
superhero comics, and I wouldn't let
anybody at middle school see my issues
of Uncanny X-Men because I was a little
bit ashamed of it. But here, this kind
of culture is being celebrated. It has
gone fully mainstream. The whole point
at these things is to be a fan, to dress
up, to have people take photos of you,
and to take hook photos. Hey, Freddy.
>> How's it going, man?
>> Wonderful.
>> How's your first Comic-Con in Hong Kong?
>> Oh, yes.
>> Digging it. All right. And that is my
report as I geek out uh at Hong Kong's
first Comic-Con.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.
Why walk when you can positively race?
In northeast China, runners teamed up
with their four-legged friends for a
two-mile road race. Some pups blasted
off like furry rockets chasing a tennis
ball. Others treated the course like a
networking event, stopping to sniff and
make a few new friends. The toughest
obstacle isn't always the distance. It's
convincing your teammate that the finish
line is more exciting than literally
anything else. There were separate
divisions for small and large dogs. And
the top dogs earned ski tickets and
hotel stays, proving every good doggy
deserves a getaway. But all dogs got
plenty of treats, belly rubs, and a dog
on awesome day in the sun. All right,
sunshine. Time for some shoutouts today.
Mrs. Cahoo and friends at Gleno High
School in Hillsboro, Oregon, rise up and
thank you for making us a part of your
day. Next up, we have a shout out going
to Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Pattershaw at
Freeport Middle School in Maine. Thank
you for your thoughtful letters and
cards. Hope you have a jubilant June 1st
and remember, you are more powerful than
you know. See you tomorrow. I'm Ky Wire
and we are CNN 10.