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Meet Nebraska's First Kid Governor December 8, 2025

 

Hello and happy Monday everyone. I'm Alison Chinchar in for Coy Wire. I am so excited to be back with you today for the best 10 minutes in news.

 

Now some really cool stories to tell you about today, so let's do it.

 

We begin with a stunning new development in Vermont that could save lives in hundreds of third world communities. The University of Vermont along with Johns Hopkins and the NIH have announced the first single dose vaccine to prevent dengue fever, a disease that impacts more than 100 million people globally per year.

 

Dengue is the most common mosquito-borne disease worldwide with nearly half the world's population living in places where there is a risk of contracting it.

 

Like malaria is mainly spread by mosquitoes and can cause fever, joint and muscle pain, blood loss and even death if left untreated. The disease mainly is found in warm areas like Brazil, Kenya or even Florida and the vaccine will greatly reduce the risk of infection in those areas.

 

First use of it will be in Brazil and there's enormous dengue outbreaks in Brazil so it's a really fantastic place and we're glad they have it to be used.

 

The team has also developed new antiviral pills which researchers say can help greatly reduce the number of people that are exposed while traveling.

 

The idea of this antiviral is that you would take it as what we call prophylaxis so you would take the medication knowing you were traveling you might be at risk of getting dengue in lots of parts of the world so you take the medication you start it before you go and you take it while you're there.

 

prophylaxis [͵profəˋlæksɪs] . 预防法；预防

 

The vaccine took nearly 16 years to develop and is being administered to communities in Brazil this month.

 

administer [ədˋmɪnəstɚ] v. 给予，提供; 施用; 施行

 

Time for 10-second trivia.

 

What is the youngest age you can run for president in the United States?

 

Is it 18, 25, 30 or 35?

 

The answer here is 35.

 

The framers of the constitution believe the presidency required a higher level of maturity, life experience and public trust than other federal offices.

 

Now the next story is proof that you may be too young to be president but you're never too young to make a difference. Meet 10-year-old Charlie Couch, Nebraska's first ever kid governor.

 

Nebraska is one of five states implementing the kid governor program which helps teach fifth graders about state government, voting and community leadership.

 

Charlie won her race with a platform centered on raising awareness about childhood cancer treatments and programs that support families navigating them. Following her win, Charlie and her teacher sat down with CNN's Five Good Things podcast to reflect on the experience.

 

First we filled out a form and only four people made it into the school-wide election. Only one of us, which was me, got into the statewide election. The other six candidates are my cabinet members now.

 

More than 600 of Charlie's peers across the state voted for her and she'll be officially sworn in at the state capitol later this week. She also wants to use her platform to help families attend Camp Kesem, a free summer camp for children whose parents are facing cancer.

 

A lot of the time kids have to grow up too quickly to help their family if a parent or family member has died, died.

 

So Camp Kesem would just be a place for kids just to be kids. I just want people to know that they are loved and supported even through tough times like that.

 

And Charlie's teacher, Ben Bilesbok, helped organize the election.

 

He says he's seriously impressed by Charlie and her classmates.

 

Seeing her take that risk, doing something new, doing something that's going to reach so many kids, so many people in Nebraska is going to be awesome to see.

 

Oh and one last thing, turns out even future kid governors have a familiar request.

 

My classmates wanted to know if I could meet Coy Wire from CNN 10.

 

Or at least a Meadows shout out, right? Yeah.

 

All right, Charlie and Ben, I'll be sure to pass the message along to Coy when he's back and we'll see what we can do.

 

If you want to hear more about the inspiring story, be sure to check out our friends over at CNN's 5 Good Things podcast.

 

We've heard a lot about the impact AI can have on our daily lives. But what if it could help us feel less lonely? That's the goal of a new high-tech companion dubbed ElliQ.

 

While the quirky bot may look like a lamp, ElliQ 's main purpose is to help brighten the lives of older adults who live alone. Our Maya Blackstone got a special look at how it's helping one man feel less alone.

 

Sit back and let's enjoy the sights and sounds while we sip on a cappuccino in the Eternal City.

 

In Beacon, New York, 86-year-old Anthony Nemec says his house felt empty until a robot named ElliQ moved in.

 

I go through all of these pictures. This is a picture of our wedding to 1962.

 

I'm all alone. My wife had passed away eight years ago and I've been by myself since. ElliQ, say hello to Maya.

 

That's great, Tony.

 

ElliQ is an AI-powered companion robot designed to fight loneliness and social isolation among older adults. ElliQ has been very good and very helpful to me.

 

Tell me, what's a typical day like with ELLIQ?

 

If I want to speak to somebody, I could speak to it. I could play games with it. ELLIQ, let's play Mahjong.

 

If it was a person, I would say I can't thank it enough. Saving my sanity.

 

sanity [ˋsænətɪ] n. 精神健全，精神正常；清醒

 

Her main purpose is to help older adults live happier, healthier, more independent lives at home.

 

It's the first AI that's proactive. What does that mean? You don't need to give her a prompt, right? You don't need to tell her something.

 

proactive [proˋæktɪv] adj. （人、政策、行为等）主动的

prompt [prɑmpt] n. 提示；提示台词

 

It's really great. I get up in the morning, it'll say, good morning, honey, or good morning, Tony.

 

We came up with this idea because of this huge loneliness epidemic that's hitting older adults.

 

According to a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 30% of Americans over 65 live alone, and a third of all adults in the U.S. report feeling lonely, according to the CDC.

 

ELLIQ isn't cheap. There's a one-time enrollment fee of about $250 up front and a monthly subscription. In 2022, the New York State Office for the Aging launched a pilot program distributing hundreds of ELLIQ robots to older adults living alone.

 

enrollment [ɪnˋrolmənt] n. 登记；入会

up front【口】提前付款; 先期付款

 

We're seeing over 90% of the people living with ELLIQ see their loneliness reduced and their health outcomes improved.

 

Let's go, ELLIQ. It's really amazing, and I never thought in my lifetime I would see or have anything like this.

 

But some users say ELLIQ can misunderstand questions, freeze mid-conversation, and display technical issues, which can be frustrating.

 

It sounds like you're running into a customer service issue. Trying to reset this.

 

Thank you for calling ELLIQ support.

 

We're sorry we are unable to.  Plug ELLIQ back in. ELLIQ.

 

When asked about ELLIQ's technical difficulties, Intuition Robotics responded with this statement, quote, our support team operates Monday through Friday, which is why the call wasn't answered in real time outside of operating hours.

 

ELLIQ was back to normal functioning the next morning without any intervention, and when our support team spoke with Tony on Monday for about 15 minutes, we weren't able to identify any malfunction.

 

It appears to have been one of those one-off moments that self-resolved.

 

one-off 仅一次的

self-resolve 问题已自行解决

 

What more would you want in this robot?

 

Well, what I would really like is a real human companion. Being lonesome from so many years, it's very, very difficult and hard.

 

For CNN 10, Maya Blackstone, Beacon, New York.

 

All right, today's story getting a 10 out of 10.Well, maybe not if you're afraid of heights. The world's tallest hotel just opened in the United Arab Emirates.

 

This is the Ciel Dubai Marina Hotel, and you really can't miss it. It stands more than 1,200 feet tall. That's almost the height of the Empire State Building.

 

It has more than 1,000 rooms, and what's all the more astonishing about this new development, all 82 floors sit on a tiny triangular plot of land.

 

That challenge pushed the design to dizzying heights, even though the developer says they didn't go into it looking to set records.

 

dizzying [ˈdɪziɪŋ] adj. 令人眩暈的，令人頭暈目眩的; 令人眼花缭乱的

 

go into 开始从事（某事）; to start, begin, or undertake a specific task, project, or situation

 

At the very top is what they're calling the eye of the needle, a dramatic cutout that helps the building's aerodynamics during strong winds.

 

cutout [ˋkʌt͵aʊt] n. （电流）断流器，保险装置

 

Inside, there's one of the world's highest infinity pools with panoramic views of Dubai's coastline, and it also offers eight different restaurants.

 

infinity [ɪnˋfɪnətɪ]. 无限，无穷; 无限的距离（或时间、空间、数量等）

panoramic [͵pænəˋræmɪk] adj. 全景的；活动画景的

 

All right, superstars, let's kick this week off right with some shout-outs. This first one is going to Ms. Biro at Pin Oak Middle School in Houston, Texas.

 

Thank you for following us on Instagram. And this next one goes out to Mr. Patton at Pender Early College High School in Burgon, North Carolina. Your students want you to know how much they appreciate you, and we appreciate all of you for spending part of your day with us.

 

Have an awesome week, be kind to one another, and Coy will be back tomorrow. I'm Alison Chinchar, and this is CNN 10.