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An Aid Convoy Makes a Temporary Stop in Syria`s Capital; A Historic Battleship is Found in the Coral Sea; New Devices Aim to Monitor Home Water Usage
Aired March 07, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10. Give us 10 minutes, we`ll give you an explanation of news events happening around the world.
That includes what`s going on right now in the Middle Eastern nation of Syria. For the first time in two weeks, a convoy of 46 trucks was able to
get in and out of eastern Ghouta. This is a suburb of eastern capital of Damascus. It`s an area controlled by a rebel group that`s fighting the
government in Syria`s ongoing civil war.
The rebels in eastern Ghouta have been surrounded for years and many of the civilians who are there, there are hundreds of thousands of them are
desperately in need of humanitarian aid, like food and medical supplies. A representative for the United Nations says the convoy was inside eastern
Ghouta for almost nine hours but that the trucks had to leave before they were all unloaded. Fighting was going on in the area at the time and nine
of the trucks returned still full of supplies.
A little over two weeks ago, Syrian government forces who are supported by Russia launched a major offensive in eastern Ghouta. Hundreds of people
have been killed since then. The Syrian government says that shells launched from rebels in eastern Ghouta had killed dozens of people in
Damascus.
This is supposed to be a de-escalation zone, a place where civilians won`t be targeted by anyone fighting in the war. But the violence is all around
them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There`s no sign of a ceasefire or that so-called humanitarian pause in fighting that was ordered by Russian
President Vladimir Putin in eastern Ghouta. The accounts that we`re getting from on the ground from activists and rescue groups, they say that
airstrikes and artillery shelling continue to pound different parts of that rebel-held territory.
Both sides are continuing to blame each other for the failure of any truce. You`ve got the regime on the one hand saying it is the rebel groups that
they described as terrorist groups operating in eastern Ghouta that are targeting the routes that would lead to the humanitarian corridor to sop
civilians from leaving so that they could continue to hold them as hostages and as human shields, according to the regime. On the other hand, the
rebels and the activists say it is the Russians and it is the regime who are continuing to carry out these strikes on different parts of this area,
including areas close to the humanitarian corridor.
When it comes to the civilians, the population in eastern Ghouta from what we`ve heard in the past few days, they say they don`t want to leave their
homes. They don`t want to leave the area. What they want is for the bombing to stop and for humanitarian aid to come in. With no end in sight
to the violence that we`re seeing in eastern Ghouta, the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies are calling yet again, they`re still calling
for a ceasefire, they say, so they can deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid into the area and to evacuate those who are in urgent need
of medical attention, people -- a population that`s estimated to be about 400,000 people living in this area, under siege for nearly five years.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Amman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: In the Coral Sea off the eastern coast of Australia, a U.S. battleship has been observed for the first time since it was sunk during
World War II. These are the remains of the USS Lexington, also known as Lady Lex. It`s one of the first aircraft carriers ever built and it took
part in what`s considered the first carrier battle, the Battle of the Coral Sea. It was an allied victory over the forces of Japan, even though the
USS Lexington eventually sank after being hit by a bombardment of Japanese torpedoes.
Other U.S. ships in the area were able to rescue more than 2,000 sailors from Lady Lex. Two hundred sixteen members of its crew were lost, along
with 35 aircraft that were aboard it.
The ship is relatively well-preserved, and because it`s considered a war grave by the U.S. Navy, it will not be raised from its resting place two
miles below the ocean surface. It was located by a team of explorers led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Schools in the U.S. state of West Virginia are expected to be back in session as early as Wednesday, following a nine-day strike by teachers and
school staff. It started on February 22nd when 20,000 teachers walked out of schools. They were demonstrating for higher wages and better benefits,
particularly concerning a state employee health insurance program.
The state`s governor, Jim Justice, agreed to set up a task force to look into that program. Meantime, he signed a bill on Tuesday that gives a 5
percent pay raise to all state employees. That includes teachers and school staff.
A state senator says it`s the largest pay raise in West Virginia`s history, and that it only paid for by reducing government spending on other
programs. Some state legislators are concerned about that. The National Education said before the pay raise that West Virginia ranked 48th out of
the 50 states in what it paid teachers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Which of these resources is considered to be a renewable resource?
Peat, sand, coal, or water?
The only renewable resource of these options is water because it`s constantly replenished through the rain cycle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: But that doesn`t mean there`s some endless supply of water to waste. It can become scarce in certain parts of the world as we`re seeing now in
Cape Town, South Africa, a drought-prone city that`s expected to run out of water this summer.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, most of the water that Americans use, 24 percent of it, literally goes down the toilet.
Showers, faucets and washing machines combined used an additional 56 percent of water. But 12 percent of the Americans` water isn`t used at
all. It`s wasted through leaks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RACHEL CRANE, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: In a smart home, there isn`t much you can`t control, but if you wanted to see how much water you use before
your bill arrives, there aren`t a lot of options.
I have no idea how much water I use on a daily basis. I mean, most people don`t, correct?
KERI WATERS, CEO, BUOY LABS: Nobody does.
CRANE: So, tech startups are innovating new ways to help homeowners.
WATERS: We don`t make you put sensors all over your house. You just install Buoy in on place. So, this tells you today`s total water usage for
your home, compared to your seven-day average. It`s interesting to know your overall budget, but you want to know how you`re doing versus your
neighbors.
CRANE: Right. Like I you just tell me I uses X amount of gallons of water a day, I have no idea of that`s more or less.
WATERS: Right, or if that`s good or bad.
CRANE: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average American family use more than 300 gallons of water a day. But in order to
cut back, you need to know exactly where you`re wasting water.
How does Buoy that it was the sink running and it wasn`t the toilet, it wasn`t the shower.
WATERS: So, we use machine learning and we gather information about water flow from a single point in your house along the water main and we send all
that information about water flow via Wi-Fi to our back end.
Most common leaks that we see are running toilets, broken sprinkler head. After that, it`s a lot of leak faucets and shower heads.
CRANE: Buoy isn`t the only device available to track the water loss. The Phyn device installs on your water main and monitors your water pressure.
If a catastrophe happens when you`re away, you can shut up your water with your phone.
While leaks can cause hundreds of dollars in damages and fees, these systems don`t come cheap. Buoy and Phyn will set you back over $800, and
that`s not including installation.
So, you`re talking earlier about how using the Buoy, you can reduce your water usage by 10 percent. How much money are you saving?
WATERS: So, if you live in an area that already has high water prices, you save -- by saving 10 percent, you save about $300 a year on your water
bill.
CRANE: For people looking to limit their environmental footprint, devices like these can play an important role in preserving a precious resource.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: A hamburger chain in California is testing out a new kind of employee, a robot. It`s named Flippy and it flips burgers using cameras
and thermal sensors to know when exactly to flip them.
The company says Flippy helps keep the burgers more consistently cooked. Human employees are still involved, for now, in adding ingredients.
Flippy`s developer says it`s intended to be an extra hand in the kitchen and not intended to replace jobs, though it could potentially do that. But
it`s not cheap. Flippy starts at a minimum of $60,000.
Some might have beef and want to chuck it if the robot grinds (ph) in any problems. But if the restaurants have a mini budget and aren`t afraid of a
robot short-circuiting its assignment, maybe Flippy`s usefulness is just burgerning. At least no one will be asking, where`s the beef?
I`m Carl Azuz and your order is up on CNN 10.
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