Hello everybody and I hope you had a
great weekend. I'm Allison Chinchar in
for Koi Wire on this Monday, March 23rd
and I am so excited to be back to bring
you the best 10 minutes in news. So
let's get to it. We begin with a weather
update out of Hawaii which is dealing
with the aftermath of a second Kona low
storm in the span of just a few days.
Officials say the storm dumped nearly 50
ines of rain on the island of Aahu which
was still saturated from the previous
weekend storm. Catastrophic flash
flooding destroyed homes, damaged
hospitals and airports, and completely
cut off some towns. Evacuations were
ordered across parts of the island,
including near a dam that appeared in
danger of failing amid the heavy rain.
Governor Josh Green says at least 236
people have been rescued from the
treacherous conditions, but told CNN
that so far there have been no reported
deaths. You
>> know, we've had 40 to 50 inches of
rains, the largest flood that we've had
in 20 years, but we've had no loss of
life. People have pitched in. incredible
work by our um you know our first
responders. We have the National Guard
called up. Over 200 people have helped
us on that side.
>> Emergency responders are still
struggling to reach some areas due to
the flooding and it's unclear exactly
how many homes have been destroyed. The
storm could ultimately cause more than
$1 billion dollar in damage across the
state. And what's crazy is this same
system brought snow to the mountain
peaks of the Big Island on Sunday and
will continue through this morning with
totals of 6 to 10 in. Now, you've likely
heard of or maybe even played Pokémon
Go. Since its launch in 2016, billions
of players around the world have used
the augmented reality app in a bid to
catch them all. But now that decades
worth of crowdsource data is being used
for a surprising purpose, training
nextgen delivery robots. Our Shama Nindi
has more on how the surprising process
is playing out.
That game you played in 2016, it's now
training robots. Pokémon Go generated
billions of user submitted images
according to Niantic, the company that
created it. 10 years later, that data is
being used to train delivery robots.
After Niantic and Pokémon Go were
acquired by video game developer Scopi
in 2025, Niantic's founder launched a
separate AI spin-off called Niantic
Spatial. Niantic Spatial kept the game's
crowdsourced data, including videos and
scans of locations that players used as
Pokéstops and training gyms to create
digital models of cities across the
world. In a joint venture with robotics
startup KCO, Niantic Spatial's 3D AI
model will train a fleet of delivery
robots to navigate busy urban streets,
including areas where GPS doesn't always
work reliably. The technology that made
this possible has been in the works for
a while, according to Niantic Spatial.
And while players may not have realized
their scans could be used this way,
Niantic Spatial told CNN that any user
generated visual data was quote
anonymized and optional without any
player personal data associated.
10-second trivia. Friday marked the
spring equinox. So, what causes the
equinox to happen? Is it the moon
blocking the sun, Earth's tilt, solar
flares, or changes in ocean currents?
The answer here is Earth's tilt and
position in orbit. On the equinox,
neither hemisphere is tilted toward or
away from the sun. It focuses directly
over the equator. The result, every
place on Earth gets about 12 hours of
daylight and 12 hours of darkness.
Now, good news for those of you who are
tired of those frigid winter
temperatures. Spring has sprung. March
20th marked the vernal equinox, the
official astronomical start of the
spring season in the northern
hemisphere. So, a happy fall to our
friends in the south of the equator as
well. Equinoxes occur twice a year when
the sun passes directly over the Earth's
equator, resulting in a nearly perfect
split of day and night. The celestial
events have long been tied to sacred
traditions around the world, like this
positively illuminating event in Mexico.
Hot air balloons filled with pre-dawn
sky and visitors from around the world
gathered at the ancient pyramid of the
sun to watch the sunrise in hopes of
harnessing its energy.
From the moment you step on the ground,
you feel the attraction from the earth.
We come from sky, sea, earth, and fire.
So I feel that everything is energy. We
are energy. From the moment you are
here, you feel a vibe. It's about
concentrating and feeling in your heart
and everything vibrates.
>> Now, did you know pigeons historically
served as crucial messengers because of
their ability to travel long distances
and return to their owners? Now, in
Iraq, they've gained the spotlight in
the nation's popular bird sporting
world. This athletic center says it has
trained thousands of pigeons to
withstand hours of continuous flight
using electronic identification rings
that allow them to track their
movements. The center owner says they
typically train the birds for about a
year before entering them into
competitions. One race recently drew 830
birds for a challenge spanning more than
280 miles. It's official. BTS is back.
After nearly a 4-year break, the
preeminent Korean pop music group is
returning. Now, the group took time off
for mandatory military service in South
Korea, but they just launched a new
album and a world tour featuring several
stops in North America. K-pop is gaining
traction globally, as evidenced by the
hundreds of coordinated listening
parties that took place on Friday around
the world. We got a chance to hang out
with some diehard BTS fans known as Army
right here in Atlanta. Take a look.
>> We came because we love BTS.
>> We are here at Politin Roll in Colony
Square
celebrating BTS's Arang uh comeback.
They haven't had an album in 4 years.
So, we're here to celebrate their new
album and kind of come together as a
group and a collective to celebrate them
getting out of the military. I love it.
No skips. And if you come inside, you'll
love it, too.
Not everybody speaks Korean, but we
speak love and we love music, right?
>> Um, so for you guys who are not
familiar, um, we are fans of BTS.
>> They just all got out of the military
and they just dropped the album.
This allows us to get together, listen
to the album together, and celebrate the
album.
>> The album I feel like definitely was
just BTS. It was unique, true to what I
think is a new era to them.
>> So, all of the vendors on the inside
have BTS themed food items. Then, we
have a bubble tea vendor where I
provided cup sleeves with BTS's album on
it.
We're doing a cup sleeve event along
with a comeback. And when you buy a
themed drink, it comes with this really
cool cup sleeve that's usually um
designed by a fan
and they're like a little collector's
item and it's just really fun.
>> We're going to have a K-pop random dance
play. If you know all of the BTS
choreography, you will get a life.
I'm here to celebrate the BTS comeback.
I've been super excited for it for a
long time and um I have a bunch of
friends through Army the fan base. So
yeah, just wanted to come out and have
fun, be with my friends and celebrate
the new the new album.
Do not stop at the language when it
comes to K-pop. It doesn't matter. Once
you look up the lyrics and you you
listen to the beat, you'll understand
that it's just like American music. So,
go beyond the language and join us.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10 is
checking in from the checkout line where
one teen is bagging the spotlight and
proving there's a lot more strategy
behind bagging groceries than you might
think.
Now, at first glance, it may seem
simple. Scan, bag, repeat. But for
17-year-old Roco Camda, every item has a
place and a purpose. Put your two walls
in and then get two heavy items, put
those on a side, and just fill the rest
with filler items.
>> Speed and technique helped him bag more
than just groceries. It earned him first
place at this year's National Grossers
Association best bagger championship and
$10,000 prize. For Camada, the skill
comes with practice and family roots.
His dad has worked at public
supermarkets for over 30 years. His
parents met at a grocery store and his
older brother competed in the contest,
too. And in the end, it all checked out,
securing him the win on the national
stage. All right, superstars. I've got
time for two shoutouts today. This first
one is going to Miss McNeel at Equitas
Charter Academy number four in Los
Angeles. Thank you all so much for all
the kind letters and the cards from your
students. Now, this next one is going to
Mrs. who dro at Hillsboro Dearing Middle
School in Hillsboro, New Hampshire.
Thank you so much for this super cool
rhinestone art. This is absolutely
stunning. Love all the sparkles. And
thank you for making us a part of your
day. Koi will be back tomorrow. I'm
Allison Chinchar and this is CNN 10.