What's up, sunshine?

I'm Koi Wire, and today on CNN 10, a weather pattern that could supercharge storms around the world.

Harvard is cracking down on easy A's and later, firefighters climbing 900 ft up a tower to rescue stranded hot air balloon passengers.

This show is going skyhigh, so let's go.

We begin today with a weather phenomenon you've probably heard of, El Nino, and why scientists say this year's version could pack some serious punch.

El Nino happens when parts of the tropical Pacific Ocean warm up enough to disrupt wind patterns in the atmosphere.

Kind of like one domino tipping over and triggering weather changes around the world.

Could be hurricanes, flooding, droughts, heat waves.

You get the point.

Normally El Nino shows up every two to seven years, but this one is developing faster than expected, raising the possibility of a rare super El Nino by fall or wintertime.

Scientists are also studying how climate change could amplify its impacts, potentially making extreme weather even more intense.

Our Andrew Freriedman has more.

By now, you probably already know that a super El Nino is coming soon, but it isn't the first.

And the past few events can give us important insights into the global consequences that are to come.

For example, the 199798 super El Nino brought flooding rains to California, parts of Africa, and South America, but led to drought, extreme heat, and wildfires in Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

It even led to very serious deadly tornado outbreak in Florida.

Super Elnos can also lead to widespread coral bleaching events because corals are susceptible to above average ocean temperatures which is a hallmark of El Nino.

We saw this happen in 199798 and with the 2015 2016 event.

History is an important but imperfect guide to what to expect with the coming super El Nino which some computer models suggest could be the most intense since 1950.

New research suggests that climate change may be altering some of El Nino's impacts, which adds some more uncertainty into the mix.

The bottom line, though, is that this super Elnino is going to be costly.

It is going to affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world and alter ecosystems for many decades to come.

Pop quiz hot shot.

Which school is credited with creating the letter grading scale?

Stanford University, Chapman University, Mount Holio College, or University of Miami.

If you said Mount Holio, you get an E for excellent.

Implemented in 1897, the college issued grades of A through E, which was later replaced by F to make sure people didn't think E stood for excellent.

Earning straight A's at one of the nation's top universities is about to get a lot tougher.

Harvard University announced its plans to limit how many Ag grades professors can give undergraduate students in an effort to fight grade inflation.

Starting in fall of 2027, instructors will only be allowed to award a range grades to no more than 20% of students in each class.

Faculty who voted in favor of the change earlier this month argued that when almost everybody gets an A, the grade stops meaning what it used to.

They pointed out that more than 60% of all undergrads in recent years were in the A range.

Princeton University implemented a similar measure back in 2004, but dropped it a decade later amid complaints the system puts students competing for jobs and graduate school admissions at a disadvantage.

So, what do you think?

Should schools make it harder to earn an A, or should grades reflect mastery no matter how many students succeed?

Feel free to press pause and discuss.

As AI keeps reshaping the tech industry faster than all those software updates you kept clicking, remind me later on.

Many new graduates are wondering what jobs will even look like in the future.

Our Linda Concaid spoke with students and faculty at Georgia Institute of Technology or Georgia Tech about how the class of 2026 is being prepared for their first jobs in tech and the challenges ahead.

>> The class of 2026 is graduating.

A computer science degree at Georgia Institute of Technology is considered a golden ticket to secure a position at a major tech company like Google, Meta, and Amazon.

But after tens of thousands of layoffs and a rapid shift towards AI, students are entering a job market that looks very different.

>> So with all the mass layoffs in tech, how are you feeling approaching graduation?

>> I I won't lie.

We, my friends and I, have been a little bit scared about entering the workforce.

>> This year, more than 100,000 jobs were cut in the tech sector, according to industry trackers.

LinkedIn shows entrylevel hiring has fallen about 6% yearover-year.

>> How's your finals going?

>> Hunter Richardson is graduating with a job already lined up.

>> A few years into my degree program, I added accounting as a second major to be able to apply the things I learned in computer science.

Hunter represents one side of the story.

Students who took steps to adapt early, combining technical skills with business experience and internships.

Goldman Sachs estimates that Gen AI could affect 300 million jobs worldwide, though less than 7% are at risk of full displacement.

In other words, most jobs are being reshaped, not eliminated.

Career expert Andrew McKascal says the numbers reflect a reset, not a collapse.

Andrew, when you look at white collar jobs over the next 18 to 24 months, what does the landscape look like?

>> 2026 is going to be one of the most competitive job markets that we've seen in years.

Think about it like this.

Right now, 36% of the people who are unemployed in this country hold college degrees.

So, there's a lot of competition in the marketplace right now.

So you're saying the key is to pivot, to adapt.

What does that mean in real terms?

>> Yes.

The reality of the marketplace is not optimal, but you don't panic.

You pivot.

You adapt.

Get as many data points as you possibly can about where people are hiring.

According to the World Economic Forum 2025 report, key growth areas include artificial intelligence and machine learning, data and digital infrastructure, cyber security, robotics, healthcare, and biotech.

>> One of the fastest growing industries right now is utilities as the entire grid gets changed in advance of the AI assisted workforce.

>> For decades, a techbased degree promised certainty.

in 2026.

It offers something different opportunity, but most likely only for those ready to adapt.

Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.

A heroic rescue mission that was truly next level after a hot air balloon ripped open and became tangled on a phone tower nearly 900 ft in the air.

Firefighters jumped into action.

Actually climbed really high with ropes and rescue gear on their backs.

They took courage to new heights to reach some stranded passengers.

Our Ryan Young is on the story.

>> There's a hot air balloon that got popped by it and they're stuck on the phone tower.

>> They're stuck up there.

They're close to the very top.

As the 911 calls started coming in, Long View firefighters rushed toward the tallest structure they would ever climb.

>> I think I was about 5 miles out on the way to this call when I looked up the road and saw there's a big colorful balloon in a tiny little basket very, very high up in the air.

>> Captain Steve Winshill was off duty taking care of his daughter when he got the call.

In a region known for balloon racing, his station trains extensively for high angle rope rescues like this.

but normally at around 250 ft.

This balloon was dangling over 900 ft in the air and the only way to save them climb.

>> It wasn't an easy climb.

Uh but yeah, you're just trying to look again into an abyss of just metal all the way to heaven is what it looks like.

So you feel like you're just climbing to infinity.

carrying 40 lbs of rope on their backs.

It took over 1 hour for the first firefighter to reach the balloon's pilot.

>> The basket still swang pretty good though at this time and there's just fear in his eyes.

Ask him, "Hey, are you okay?" He says, "Yes, we're okay." And I was like, "Oh, there's someone else in the basket." And then I see a hand shoot up.

She was apparently laying on the floor begging for her life.

Thought she was going to die.

We had 20 24 mph gusts of wind up there.

This basket is is swaying and moving and nothing really having it secured at that point.

>> Command all units second victim is out of the basket.

>> We had started down climbing but we're still hundreds of feet up and you can just hear the roar erupt from the crowd as the victims hit the ground safely.

The basket now resides in the Long View Firehouse, donated by the survivors as an appreciation for the day.

They went above and beyond the call of duty.

>> Just as a momento of why we train and why we do what we do uh even when we don't get to uh do this every day.

>> All right, sunshine.

Two shout outs for you today.

This first one goes to Highland Middle School in Morango, Ohio.

Coach Wilson, great to meet you and Adakus in Indianapolis.

Hope you guys have a slam dunk summer.

And this next one goes to Miss Niles at Trip Delmont School District 335.

Thank you for your letter.

Keep up the good work.

All right, tonight is the final round of the scripts National Spelling Bee and we will be there.

We can't wait to show you what happened right here on the show.

I'm Cy Wire and we are CNN 10.