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Protests In Israel Where Hundreds Of Thousands Of People Are Rallying Against Changes To The Legal System; Wet Weather In California; Story Of A CNN Hero. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired March 28, 2023 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hey, everyone. Terrific Tuesday to you. I`m Coy Wire. This is CNN 10. You`re off to great places. Today is your day. Your

mountain is waiting, so get on your way. Dr. Seuss, y`all got to love it. Today`s top story has taken us to Israel. Unprecedented wave of protests

and strikes is bringing the country to the brink of a shutdown. For months, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets, protesting

changes to Israel`s legal system.

But over the weekend, tensions rose higher when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suddenly fired the country`s Defense Minister, who`d

called for a pause in the government`s judicial reform efforts.

The country`s proposed overhaul would give Israel`s parliament more control over the judiciary, including how judges are selected, what laws the

Supreme Court can rule on, and it would also give the power to the government to overturn Supreme Court rulings.

Critics say these changes threaten the country`s democracy, removing checks and balances on the government, saying that there is no check on the

government`s power other than the Supreme Court. Critics worry that if politicians have more control, the rights of minorities in Israel,

especially Palestinians, would suffer.

The government maintains that it received a mandate to pass this reform when it was elected last November. And Netanyahu and his supporters argue

that they`ve called for reform because Israel`s judiciary has no written constitution, only a set of basic laws making the Supreme Court too

powerful.

They also say the Supreme Court doesn`t represent the Israeli people and that it has overstepped its bounds on certain issues. Protest, organizers

said that they would continue to intensify demonstrations until the legislation was halted and seemingly in an effort to bring down tensions, a

deal to postpone the government`s judicial reform efforts was reached yesterday afternoon. You can head to CNN.com for updates.

Ten second trivia.

Which of these names translates to "snow covered mountains"?

Pyrenees, Sierra Madre, Appalachian, or Sierra Nevada?

In Spanish, Sierra means mountain range. Nevada means snowclad.

California has been through it when it comes to weather. For the last three years, the state has been in a desperate need of rain. Just a month ago,

about 33 million people were facing what`s been called a mega drought. But now the pendulum has swung. Atmospheric rivers or narrow corridors of

intense moisture in the atmosphere, dumping record rain and snowfall across the state. It`s led to flooding, mudslides and more. Our CNN Meteorologist,

Alli Chinchar is here to take us on a tour of the Sierra Nevada and break it all down for us. Also telling us how much rain and snow we`re talking

about.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Coy, it has been a record-breaking season of snowfall across the sierras this year. Take a look at this video.

The snowfall piling up as high as a two-storey house and then some. This video is even taken back on February 28, and they`ve had even more snow

since then.

But here`s the thing about the sierras. It`s broken into three separate categories. You have the northern, the central, and the southern region of

the sierras. And all three of them, when you look, have actually been very impressive this year. But specifically, the southern sierras picking up

200, 86% of their snow water equivalent. What is that? Basically what it is. It takes into account all the snow pack that`s on the ground. But then

if you melted it, what would the water equivalent be?

And in the case of the southern sierras, it`s been record breaking snow water equivalent. But how does this year compare to other years in the

past? Let`s break it down. This year has been extremely impressive, 228% of normal for that snow water equivalent.

When you look back at the previous years, they haven`t even made it to normal amounts, let alone the impressive amount that we`ve had so far this

year. But one thing to note is the impact it`s had on the drought.

Now, when you get numerous systems like this and we`ve had at least a dozen atmospheric river events back-to-back, basically all of that water has to

go somewhere. It`s not just the rain coming down from the sky, but it melts some of that snowpack.

And then all of that water flows into rivers, creeks, and streams, and also onto roadways, into homes, into businesses, because those rivers, creeks,

and streams end up becoming swollen and it`s too much for the ground to absorb all at once.

Now, in the short-term, however, though, this has been very beneficial for the short-term drought. Look at California just back on December 6, when we

had the extreme and exceptional drought categories. Fast forward to just a few days ago. Not a single portion of California is in those exceptional

and extreme drought categories anymore.

WIRE: Now, that`s a good thing. Thanks, Alli. Any weather questions, reach out to @ Allison Chinchar on social.

All right. Up next, some inspiration and motivation from one of our CNN heroes, John Watson. He`s a fitness instructor who created bloom fitness in

honor of his daughter Emma. Mr. Watson leads students facing intellectual and developmental challenges through classes that unite, uplift and

invigorate with great passion and energy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN WATSON, BLOOM FITNESS INSTRUCTOR: Yes. Come on, Cheryl. I need you.

When I`m front of them, it`s an explosion of excitement every single time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to do a spring cycle class.

ATHLETES: Yes.

WATSON: Bloom`s mission is to lead people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to a lifetime of fitness.

(On camera): These are really good bikes. You`re going to love it. OK.

(Voice-over): Wellness and movement for this population, that`s critical.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amy is our fourth child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heart problems are very common for people with down syndrome, so fitness is very important.

WATSON: All right, so you all been very patient today, so I might make some mistakes. You all okay with that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rafi has Prader-Willi syndrome. She has a very low metabolism, so she needs to keep moving and keep motivated.

WATSON: Let`s rock and roll. We all know the benefits of fitness. Physical, emotional, and cognitive but they don`t usually connect those

dots.

(On camera): Two, one, go.

(Voice-over): Safety is first. But we want them to have fun. We want them to want to do it.

(On camera): There you go. I love it. How are you cracking it over there? Hello, baby. You got it.

(Voice-over): We wanted to make sure that the athlete that`s in the room feels seen.

My daughter, Emma. Her diagnosis is basically cerebral palsy. She has balance problems. She`s legally blind. She developed epilepsy, some

seizures. But it`s easy with them on to focus on the good parts.

Emma, you hoping to get a low one here?

EMMA: No.

WATSON: You`re inspired how they work through challenges. I was looking for services for Emma and ways to help other parents. And so I came across

a service provider. And when we walked around, they had a room with broken down fitness equipment. Guys, what happens here? They said nothing happens

here. And I said, well, do you mind if I buy some bikes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Richanna (ph). Come on in.

WATSON: We partner with these organizations that provide services for adults with disabilities. The cost to the athlete is nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both arms up overhead, inhale deeply.

WATSON: All of our instructors are volunteers. We do Pilates, yoga, dance. Our classes are modified.

(On camera): We`re going to do little steps. That`s where we`re going to start.

(Voice-over): We have a wide range of abilities. Somebody that may have limited movement. We specifically try to get them to move to how they can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The energy, the excitement that they have to be a part of a team that means a lot to them.

WATSON: Ryan, killing it. Come on, Cheryl, we`re almost done.

(voice-over): You`re an athlete, no matter what your ability level is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Today`s story getting a 10 out of 10 musical artist, The Weeknd becoming the first in Spotify history to reach 100 million monthly

listeners. It`s a new Guinness World record. The Weeknd started making his name back in 2009, but this recent streaming surge was due to a

collaboration with singer Ariana Grande that went viral on TikTok in 2021.

I wanted what Guinness World Record we could try to break right here on CNN 10. Maybe we`ll figure it out.

Now, I went to a bookstore and I saw a book titled, How to End 50% of Your Problems. So I bought two of them. Dad Jokes onto my favorite part of the

day.

Now, I want to give a special shout out to Kernersville Middle School in Kernersville, North Carolina. We see you. We hope you and everyone watching

around the world have a wonderful one.

I`m Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.

END