The history behind Chicago's most famous St. Patrick's Day celebration  March 17, 2026

 

Top of the mornin' to ya, I'm Coy Wire. Happy St. Patrick's Day, the annual March 17 holiday honoring the patron saint of Ireland by commemorating his death around 461 A.D. and his bringing of Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century.

 

patron saint 守护神  

 

What was once a religious day of feasting has become a global celebration of Irish culture, including by wearing or turning things green.

 

I'm feeling very lucky today to bring you a sham-rockin' episode of CNN 10, and we are going to start with a, did you know the city of Chicago dyes the Chicago River green on St. Patrick's Day?

 

Sham-rockin': Shamrock（三叶草，圣帕特里克节的象征）与 Rockin'（摇滚、精彩、狂欢）的英文谐音双关语

 

The tradition began in 1962. The city's plumbers' union was using a special leak detection dye to identify where illegal pollution was entering the water system. One day, a union member noticed that a worker's white overalls were turned bright green after a spill of the dye.

 

overalls [ˈovɚɔlz] n. 罩衫；工作服

 

That sparked an idea. What if they used the dye to color the river for St. Patrick's Day to honor Irish heritage?

 

Dyeing the river has become one of the most famous parts of Chicago's St. Patrick's Day celebrations alongside the city's parade. The tradition usually happens the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, drawing thousands of spectators along the river walk and bridges.

 

river walk 河滨步道

 

Despite the bright color, the dye actually looks orange when it's first poured into the water. It only turns green after mixing in with the river. Over time, the city refined the process.

 

Today, only about 40 pounds of a fish-safe vegetable-based dye is used. But the ingredients for the formula, well, they've remained a trademarked, top-secret institution by Chicago's plumbers' union.

 

institution [ˌɪnstəˈtuʃən] n. 制度; 習俗

 

Now to an update on the ongoing partial federal government shutdown and the impact it's having on air travel.

 

The partial shutdown began in mid-February, when funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed due to a standoff in Congress over federal immigration reform.

 

lapse [læps] v. 期满终止; 失效; 废止

 

Now, one month later, the heads of major U.S. airlines like American, Delta, United, and Southwest are speaking out. They sent an open letter to Congress, calling on them to find a bipartisan solution and highlighting the real impacts this shutdown is having on aviation workers and travelers.

 

Part of that letter reads, quote, Once again, air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown. This problem is solvable, and there are solutions on the table. Now it's up to you, Congress, unquote.

 

solvable ['sɑlvəbəl] adj. 可以解决的

 

The Department of Homeland Security says more than 300 agents at the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, have already quit after missing their first full paycheck.

 

Security lines at major airports like Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson are reaching a breaking point. Airlines say they expect about 171 million passengers this spring, raising concerns over how much worse these impacts could get.

 

breaking point 失控点; 崩溃点; 极限

 

One TSA worker told CNN they still haven't recovered from the last shutdown in November.

 

With that shutdown that happened back in November or October going into November, officers had resources that they could tap into and things like that. With the proximity so close to this shutdown, those resources are not there anymore.

 

tap into 利用

proximity [prɑk'sɪmətɪ] n. 接近

 

So they don't have the ability to go and say, can I get more? They were working on paying back what they've already taken out. So it's absolutely worse than it was the first time.

 

To the Middle East now, where an online community is helping ease the burden for those desperate to relocate as the Iran war unfolds.

 

Because of quarantine laws and finances, some people were unable to bring their pets when they evacuated places like the United Arab Emirates. One organization is helping them find temporary homes. Our Ryan Young has more.

 

Animal rescuers and shelters in the UAE say they're overwhelmed with the numbers of abandoned pets. In the days following the first strikes, No Pet Left Behind was created as an online community to help abandoned pets in the United Arab Emirates find foster homes and adopters after their owners fled the region.

 

The community uses a telegram chat form for advice and discussions among members.

 

They've also used social media as a way to spread the word. And they now have over 8000 followers on Instagram. You can actually get a lot of resources from the community in terms of people who've already relocated with their pets, advice on that.

 

relocate [ˌriˈloket] v. 搬迁

 

And then, of course, we can also put you in touch with people who have applied to be foster homes or adoptive homes.

 

No Pet Left Behind partnered with three animal rescuers in the UAE. Along with connecting people with local organizations, the community also provides resources for how to relocate out of the region with your pet.

 

We have some amazing volunteers who've stepped forward to help us who are just amazing. And they do this on a daily basis. And it's really incredible to see people bound together over their love of animals.

 

When UAE resident Anna saw No Pet Left Behind's photo of Milo and Bruno, she reached out to adopt them.

 

The fact that you are incapable of doing anything in the situation makes you kind of lost. So by being able to support just in the smallest way, by bringing in a pet in your house and taking care of that animal is, I feel like it just gives some sort of purpose in this whole situation that we have absolutely no control over.

 

Pop Quiz Hotshot.What year was the sport of basketball invented?

 

1891, 1902, 1923, or 1937?

 

If you said 1891, you are on the ball. Invented by Dr. James Naismith, the first game of basketball was played on December 21st, 1891, using a soccer ball and two peach baskets.

 

(be) on the ball 机灵;灵敏

 

March Madness is officially here. The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament tips off tomorrow and the men's tournament today. Over the next three weeks, March Madness will be in full swing as 68 squads from across the country battle it out to become national champions.

 

Millions of fans around the world fill out brackets in a bid to correctly pick each game's winner and the eventual champion.

 

bracket [ˈbrækɪt] n. 赛程表 (指参与一种预测比赛结果的游戏)

 

Did you know that no one has ever picked a perfect bracket? The odds of correctly guessing the winners of all 63 games are one in 9.2 quintillion. For some perspective, researchers at the University of Hawaii estimate that there are only 7.5 quintillion grains of sand on earth.

 

quintillion [kwɪnˈtɪljən] n. 10的18次方

 

But if you want to boost your chances of being the first to pick a perfect bracket, our resident bracketologist Andy Scholes has some analytics that might help boost your chances. What's up, Andy?

 

bracketologist  [ˈbrækɪtɑlədʒɪst] n. 晋级对阵分析专家; 赛程预测学专家  

 

All right, Coy. March Madness is here and it's time to start diving into this bracket and filling it out.

 

We know it's always fun to pick an upset in the first or second round, have that Cinderella and brag that you had it in your bracket.

 

upset [ʌp'set] n. 爆冷门; 倾覆，颠覆

brag [bræɡ] v. 吹牛；自夸

 

But if you want to beat your friends and do well in a bracket competition, the final four is the most important. If you really want to beat everybody, you've got to try to pick that national champion correctly.

 

And there are certain trends that can help you do so. One of them is called KENPOM. It measures a team's offensive and defensive efficiency.

 

And every single champion since 2002 has been top 40 in offense and top 22 in defense. So who qualifies for that right now? We can look at these teams. Duke, Arizona, Houston, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa State, Virginia, Gonzaga and UConn.

 

All of these teams you can expect to do well in the bracket. One seed wins the overwhelming majority of the time. 28 times a one seed wins your bracket.

 

 seed [sid] n. 种子; 排名位次

 

That's who you're going to want winning the national championship when you're filling it out.

 

Now, take a look at this map. See this red line right down the middle of the country? Since 1997, every single champion has come from east of this line.

 

Where are we finding our teams that we have left? The three teams?

 

Michigan's over here, Duke's over here, Arizona's the team in the west, over here. But in 97, who did win? It was those Arizona Wildcats. I think that the drought after 29 years, Coy, is finally going to end and the Arizona Wildcats from the west are going to win the national championship.

 

But hey, if it doesn't happen, Coy, kids, don't blame me. Blame the numbers.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10.

 

A group of veterans traveling far beyond the walls of their assisted living apartments without ever leaving the building. One Air Force veteran went skydiving. It takes me instantly to a different world.

 

assisted living 辅助生活; 赡养照护

 

An Army veteran came face to face with sharks underwater. It was so realistic.

 

The program created by Mind Immersive is specially designed for older adults, offering trips and experiences they say can help with mental health.

 

We're able to bring it right to their room and again, bring that veteran out of that darkness and whatever they're experiencing and bring them to their happy place.

 

Doctors can now even prescribe the virtual reality as part of the therapy. The technology is already being used in more than 100 state veterans homes and VA medical centers, turning a virtual reality headset into a ticket just about anywhere.

 

All right, hey, hey, happy St. Paddy's Day. I have some shout outs today and the first one is going to Mrs. Ireland, so fitting for St. Paddy's, at McKeown Elementary in Newton, New Jersey. They sent us this awesome scarf and a book that Mrs. Ireland wrote about idioms.

 

You know, things like a piece of cake and down to earth, or let's see another good one here. Night owl. Yeah, this is incredible stuff and kind of what it means.

 

So smart. Idioms, all their meetings, awesome stuff.

 

Next shout out goes to Nestu at Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, my home state.

 

They sent us these very cool 3D glasses, a printed shamrock, perfectly fitting for St. Paddy's Day, and a limerick, or an Irish poem.

 

shamrock [ˈʃæmrɑk] n. 三叶草

limerick ['lɪmərɪk] n. 五行打油诗

 

It says, there once was a guy named Wire, his broadcasting skills were fire. A shout out, we need the knowledge you feed every day with news you inspire.

 

Rise up. I see you and I will see you again tomorrow too. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.