[MUSIC PLAYING]
COY WIRE: Hello, everyone.
Welcome to "CNN 10" and Happy Friday Eve.
It's your boy Coy.
And the challenge words from your #YourWordWednesday
were awesome.
This week's ends with an O-U-S and means beautiful.
So see if you can catch it.
All right, we've got a rendezvous
with the news starting now.
And we begin in China, the most populated
country on the planet.
But for the first time in 60 years,
it recorded a population decline.
The last time deaths outnumbered births in China
was during a great famine in 1961.
A huge population has enabled China to produce
a huge cost-competitive workforce,
catapulting their economy's growth.
And this current population decline, though,
is happening at the same time China
saw its worst annual economic performance in half a century.
And it's despite the government encouraging
people to have more children.
So what could this mean for the global superpower?
Well, China's elderly population currently
makes up a fifth of its 1.4 billion people,
with the number expanding to 280 million.
And over the next several decades,
the number of people aged 65 and above
is projected to surpass China's working age population.
And that would mean further impending troubles,
potentially, for China's economy and their ability to grow.
More now from CNN International correspondent Marc Stewart
on what else this could mean for China and the global economy.
MARC STEWART: The headline is significant.
China's population shrank last year.
The first time this has happened in more
than 60 years, a decline of about 850,000 people.
Let's break this down and look at some of the reasons why.
First, priorities are changing.
We're getting married later.
And some young people are not having children at all.
In addition, Beijing held a controversial one
child policy until 2015.
But it was relaxed because of concerns about the population.
In 2021, three children were then allowed.
And a plan was released to strengthen maternity leave
and to offer tax deductions.
In addition to all of this, the cost of living in China
is high.
So is education.
And then there's just general economic uncertainty.
That can all impact decision making.
So what are the takeaways from this?
The United Nations is predicting India
will surpass China to become the most
populated country this year.
And then there are the economic implications.
This means an aging workforce without a pipeline
into the future.
That could impact productivity and, in turn, economic success.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has raised
these demographic challenges, saying boosting birthrates
and addressing the cost of raising a child
will be part of future policy.
COY WIRE: 10 second trivia, which of these words
comes from a Latin term meaning "bird"?
Auto, aerial, avian, or able?
[BEEPING]
Avian is your answer here.
It can be traced all the way back to a Latin word "avis,"
meaning bird.
Did there's currently an egg shortage?
And now the prices of eggs are no yolk.
One of the culprits is an outbreak of the avian flu,
a virus mostly affecting birds.
According to the US Department of Agriculture,
the average price for a dozen eggs in California
is more than $7.
It was just $2.35 a year ago.
And one of my "CNN 10" teammates, Maya,
in New York City, she spent $12 on a dozen eggs yesterday.
That's $1 per egg, y'all.
With these prices, I'm not sure those omelets are
all they're cracked up to be.
Here's CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa
Yurkevich, who tells us exactly what's causing the shortage
and these super high prices.
[BAWK]
VANESSA YURKEVICH: In chilly Palmer,
Alaska, the demand for chickens and their eggs is heating up.
DON DYER: I was already sold out even before the egg shortage.
I was selling everything I had.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: If you've been to the grocery store
recently, you may have noticed fewer eggs and higher prices,
up about 11% last month on average from November,
up nearly 60% in the last year.
$11.49 for a dozen eggs in New York, $10.99 in Hawaii.
SHANTEL ROLDAN: I think it's ridiculous for it
to be that much.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: The highly pathogenic avian influenza, or
avian flu, is largely to blame.
Nearly 58 million birds and climbing
have died across 47 states in the last year,
a result of the deadly virus.
Wild birds can carry the disease and spread it
to domestic flocks when they migrate.
CHELSEA CARRIGAN: One wild bird coming into their chicken run
and next thing you know, 10 birds, 20 birds, 30 birds,
they're just dropping dead.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: Some states now recommending
that all poultry be maintained indoors,
poultry and bird shows canceled, and biosecurity around chickens
strictly enforced.
SARAH SCHNEIDER: The avian flu is serious.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: Egg Shop, with two cafes
in New York City, is struggling with prices
on their main ingredient.
The fall migration of wild birds sent
avian flu cases spiking again.
SARAH SCHNEIDER: We go through 7,000 to 9,000 eggs a week.
So it's a significant amount of eggs.
And in the last couple of weeks, they've jumped as high as 60%.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: How have you been
able to absorb the high price increases of eggs?
SARAH SCHNEIDER: Unfortunately, we
have raised all of our prices about 10% on our menu items.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: For some, the increased cost is too much.
Baked After Dark bakery in Nebraska
will close its doors this weekend.
STACEY JOHNSON: I think about what our family could
afford to pay for a cookie.
I take that into consideration.
We can't charge $5 a cookie.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: The ripple effect goes beyond restaurants
and bakeries.
Take a look around the grocery store.
Items that use eggs like mayonnaise are up 11.8%
in the last year.
ANGELO PULEO: From the flu to the increases in inflation
all combined together with the shortage,
it is a perfect storm.
VERA NEWHOUSE: I definitely have seen
the prices shoot up recently.
VANESSA YURKEVICH: Does that stop
you from making the purchase?
VERA NEWHOUSE: No, not at all.
I'm just buying things to make a chicken cutlet.
And you need eggs as the basis for that too.
It's one of the reasons why there's
no way not to purchase them.
COY WIRE: Up next, we're headed to Australia, where
every year in the Great Barrier Reef,
corals spawn following a full moon.
This is crucial because scientists
say that rising temperatures have
led to bleaching in more than 90%
of the reefs surveyed last year.
Coral that was once vibrant with pulchritudinous colors,
they're now colorless.
Well, that does not mean, though, that the coral
is dead just yet.
And a new technique just might bring the beauty back.
Let's head down under the waves Down Under to learn more.
CATHIE PAGE: Coral spawning is the once-in-a-year
opportunity to replenish.
So it's a really valuable time for the reef,
but also a really important time for us to do our research.
We allow coral larvae to settle onto 3D printed structures
that we then deploy to the reef.
And it's an opportunity for us to boost the number of very
young corals on the reef and potentially
boost rates of recovery on those reefs in the future.
They have some protective features that might stop fish
from biting them or algae from overgrowing them
or sediment from settling on them.
They're building year on year on our research in this area.
Trialing different designs one year
and then building on those in the next.
COY WIRE: And today's story getting a 10 out
of 10, a mirrored mirage and a camouflaged crib
in Joshua Tree National Park.
They call it the invisible house, 5,000 square feet
of sleek design mirrored on all sides,
blending into the topography like a chameleon
by reflecting the desert landscape and skies,
almost playing tricks on your eyes.
But the inside.
Look at this.
Look at these views.
From almost every single room in the house, absolutely stunning.
And that's not all.
There's a swimming pool inside that's 100 feet long.
The invisible house has been a popular rental
for lots of celebrities.
But now this Southern California home can be all yours
for a cool $18 million.
Speaking of California, let's stay right there
for our shoutout today.
Truckee High School in Truckee, California, we see you.
And we hope you and everyone watching around the world
can be a reflection of all that's
beautiful or pulchritudinous in this world.
I'm Coy.
This is "CNN 10" and I'll see you tomorrow.