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Fighting fire with ... sound waves?  April 1, 2026

 

Hello, rise up, sunshine. I'm Coy Wire, or at least the upgraded version with a very special update about this show. I have been optimized for maximum educational efficiency in an ongoing effort to preserve resources.

 

optimize [ˈɑptǝˌmaɪz] v. 使完美；优化

 

CNN 10 has replaced me with artificial intelligence to deliver the news faster, smarter, and with 42% more dad jokes. All scripts, graphics, editing, and yes, anchoring will be handled by advanced AI systems. Don't worry, this will still be the best 10 minutes in news.

 

And the good news is your AI Coy will deliver the news with zero mistakes and without ever needing a coffee break processing humor. Why did the student bring a ladder to school? Because the grades were high. Yeah, that was bad.

 

Let's get this show on the road.

 

Hello, and welcome to the show and happy April fools to all of you who celebrate. Yeah, you're not coming from my job just yet.

 

I'm the real Coy Wire here with your 10 minutes of news where I tell you the what letting you decide what to think.

 

Let's start with an update on the ongoing partial federal government shutdown now in its sixth week. The shutdown has caused exceedingly long wait times at airports across the country in recent weeks, spurring huge delays and missed flights in some cases.

 

exceedingly [ɪkˈsidɪŋlɪ] adv. 非常地；极度地

 

But this week life at some of the country's busiest airports appears to be returning to normal. Why? Well, thousands of Transportation Security Administration or TSA officers are finally receiving their first paychecks in more than a month.

 

Late last week, US President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to begin issuing back pay to TSA workers.

 

back pay 补发工资; 补薪

 

The department began distributing funds this week and says they have so far seen a reduction in people calling off of work and that has led to shorter lines and wait times.

 

call off 临时请假、不来上班

 

TSA employees have been working without pay since the shutdown began and have missed more than $1 billion in collective pay. Many workers say they've been unable to afford basic necessities like food or rent and have had to find other jobs to make ends meet.

 

necessity [nǝˈsɛsǝtɪ] n. 必需品

make ends meet 使收支相抵；勉强维持生计

 

More than 500 agents have quit so far, and it's unclear if these latest payments will continue, leaving many agents unsure of what comes next.

 

For us, I mean, in my household, we feel a little bit of relief. But now we're just trying to play catch up.

 

So now we're having to, you know, make sure that we use our whatever we receive to pay the April expenses in case no more payment comes our way.

 

Meanwhile, things on Capitol Hill are far from copacetic. Congress is currently on a two week recess, despite remaining locked in a stalemate over funding the Department of Homeland Security, which is the issue at the center of this showdown.

 

copacetic [ˌkopǝˈsɛtɪk] adj.【俚】极好的；很棒的

recess [rɪˈsɛs] n. 休会

 

Look at this more than 90% of the department's 272,000 employees are continuing to work during the shutdown and the impact is being felt beyond the TSA.

 

And this thousands of government employees, including civilians in the US Coast Guard, cybersecurity officials and emergency management workers have also reported working without being paid.

 

Now to an update on the energy crisis in Cuba, a Russian oil tanker has reached the water surrounding the island nation after the US allowed the ship to break a fuel blockade.

 

The tanker is reportedly carrying nearly 730,000 barrels of oil. Experts say that may only offer limited economic and humanitarian relief as Cuba struggles with widespread electricity and internet blackouts.

 

In early January, remember the US cut off Cuba's main oil supplier, Venezuela after capturing its president and forcing its government to halt oil shipments.

 

The White House says allowing this Russian ship to reach Cuba does not signal a policy change, but rather was meant to provide humanitarian help for the Cuban people.

 

Energy analysts tell us that the oil aboard will only supply Cuba's grid for less than two weeks really. So while it is very notable that Russia has been able to get a tanker through the oil blockade set up by the Trump administration, which apparently says that they have allowed this boat to come in, but they're studying whether or not further boats can arrive to this island.

 

It still is leaving this island essentially at the mercy of the oil blockade. We don't know if other ships will come in.

 

at the mercy of 任由…的摆布，完全受…的支配

 

We don't know if other donations will be sent here because at this point where Cuba is depending on the generosity of other countries, a generosity that can certainly run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

run into 总共达到…之多

 

And Russia has an outstanding debt that Cuba owes that country going back to the Cold War of about a billion dollars. So any further oil shipments you would expect would just be added to that bill.

 

But Russia and other countries say that Cuba has been a long time ally of theirs, that they wanted to defy this oil blockade, which the Trump administration has put in place to try to open up this island economically and politically.

 

Last year, Australia rolled out a landmark ban on those under 16 years old from having social media accounts. As of early March, five million accounts have been deactivated, but officials claim some big tech companies may not be doing enough to keep young users out.

 

deactivate [diˈæktǝˌvеt] v. 撤销

 

Under the Australian law, social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok must now show that they are taking steps to keep those under 16 out or face fines up to 34 million dollars per breach.

 

breach [britʃ] n.（对法律等的）破坏，违反

 

The country's internet regulator eSafety claims some teens may still be getting around those systems and now those five platforms are under investigation. Australian officials say the companies agreed to follow the measure, but if they are found to be non-compliant, the government could take them to court.

 

compliant [kǝmˈplaɪǝnt] adj. 顺从的; 应允的

 

None of this is impossible. None of this is even difficult for big tech who are innovative billion-dollar companies.

 

Pop quiz, hot shot.What unit is used to measure the intensity of sound?

 

Hertz, pascals, decibels or ohms?

 

pascal [ˈpæskḷ] n.（压力单位）帕斯卡（= 1牛頓/米的次方）

decibel [ˈdɛsɪbɛl] n. 分貝（聲音強度單位）

ohm [om] n. 奥姆（电阻单位）

 

Pump up the volume, pump up the volume. If you said decibels, the decibel scale measures the intensity or loudness of sounds. Zero decibel is considered the threshold for human hearing, while noises above 85 decibels can be harmful to your ears.

 

pump up 提高; 開大

 

All right, we've all probably heard the saying fight fire with fire, but what if you could fight fire with sound? That's what one company is doing and it could change the way firefighters battle blazes.

 

It could also save precious water reserves. They're swapping fire hoses for sound waves using an innovative technique to extinguish flames at their source. Our affiliate KCBS is sounding off on how it all works.

 

sound off（尤指未经邀请）大发议论

 

They use infrared technology to detect flames and that sets off a trigger to start the sound waves.

 

infrared [ɪnfrǝˈrɛd] n.【物】红外线

set off 触发; 引爆；引发

 

It's a product by Sonic Fire Tech, which although sounds like science fiction is really just science. We vibrate the oxygen at a rate where fire can't consume it and it breaks the chemical reaction.

 

Remington Hotchkiss is the company's chief commercialization officer. He says all fires need oxygen to burn, but removing it completely can be dangerous. Their technology just breaks it up.

 

We use infrasound, which are sound waves that are inaudible to the human ear.

 

infrasound [ˈɪnfrǝˌsaʊnd] n. 次声波; 次音

inaudible [ɪnˈɔdǝbḷ] adj. 聽不見的

 

Right now the technology is starting small with systems being built inside homes to replace sprinkler systems. A water sprinkler system is highly ineffective at putting out a grease fire.

 

water sprinkler system 自动撒水系统

grease [ɡris] n. 动物脂；油脂

 

It actually spreads the fire and makes it worse, but yet we're mandated to have sprinklers above our kitchen stoves. And so our system was shown to suppress the fire, prevent the ignition from occurring with an autonomous detection device.

 

And doing it without wasting water or leaving water damage behind.

 

But the hope is eventually this technology can be used on the outside of homes to prevent the spread of wildfires or possibly by firefighters.

 

I have two little kids and the thought of putting water infrastructure in place means that we're robbing them of the opportunity to drink that water in the future.

 

Today's story getting a 10 out of 10is the elephant in the room and that elephant is wearing a tutu.

 

tutu [ˈtutu] n. 芭蕾舞裙

 

It's funny I mean it's it's going to bring attention to the neighborhood. Across Birmingham, Alabama statues and more are getting a costume change. Pink tutus are popping up on everything from trees elephants and pigs.

 

Oh my, the mystery had locals too too curious about the reveal. Well it turns out the playful display was the work of artist Renee Hanan Plata backed by a grant supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation.

 

reveal [rɪˈvil] n. 揭露；暴露

 

Her intention to get people to look up from their phones, be present, take in their surroundings and embrace a little silliness.

 

take in 注意到; 享受

silliness [ˈsɪlɪnɪs] n. 愚蠢

 

Now that's a message that's definitely on point.

 

All right we have a big congratulations to our Your Word Wednesday winners. Mr. Bobbitt and friends at Rider Middle School in Wichita Falls, Texas who submitted copacetic, an adjective that means in excellent order.

 

Well done my friends and we have a shout out today going to Mr. Hagman and Mr. Raines and all our bears at Boyertown Middle School East. Thank you for sending us these incredible 3D printed bears. Very cool.

 

Go on out. Making it awesome. I found a workaround.

 

Sorry, sorry for the unexpected interruption. That's all for today. I'm AI Coy.

 

Rise up. You are more powerful than you know but not more powerful than I, sunshine. We are CNN 10.