Meet the baby elephant making her National Zoo debut   April 16, 2026

 

Hello, sunshine. Welcome to the show. I'm Coy Wire, bringing you your 10 minutes of news right here on CNN 10.

 

We've got a big show. We have a blind person running a marathon, a jet skier in a shark feeding frenzy, MLB news, and a baby elephant. We will start though, with news of a potential merger that could change the face of the air travel industry.

 

jet ski 水上机车

 

The proposed deal would combine two of the largest airlines in the world, United and American, into one company. Such a merger would control roughly 40 percent of flights based in the U.S.

 

According to multiple sources, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby pitched the idea to U.S. President Donald Trump during a February White House meeting. United declined to comment, and American did not respond to CNN's requests.

 

pitch [pɪtʃ] v.【美】【俚】竭力推销

 

Such a deal would face regulatory hurdles due to antitrust laws designed to promote competition and prevent monopolies. Industry experts and officials have voiced concern about the impact a merger like this would have on rival airlines and on travelers' wallets.

 

We've seen a lot of consolidation in the industry and in general, you know, less choice for consumers.

 

consolidation [kǝnˌsɑlǝˈdеʃǝn] n. 联合；合并

 

What we've seen with the U.S. airlines is, you know, increase in fares, but also devaluation in loyalty programs.

 

loyalty program 这里是指会员酬宾计划（里程计划）

 

You know, American and United have two of the biggest loyalty programs, so combining them into one does not mean more value for the consumers. So overall, this would be awful for consumers.

 

All airline companies' profits are currently being impacted by rising fuel prices caused by the U.S. and Israel's ongoing war with Iran. United has scaled back flights in recent weeks, warning that ticket prices could rise by as much as 20 percent if oil costs stay high.

 

scale back 缩减、削减、缩小规模

 

10-second trivia. What is the oldest zoo in the world still in operation?

 

San Diego Zoo, ZSL in London, Schönbrunn or the Bronx Zoo?

 

Zoo get a 10 out of 10 if you say Schönbrunn. The zoo in Vienna, Austria was founded in 1752 by Emperor Francis I.

 

It started as a private collection of animals for the Habsburg monarchy, and some animals at the zoo are housed in historic Baroque buildings to this day.

 

Baroque [bǝˈrok] adj. 巴洛克式的

 

There will soon be a baby elephant for all to seeat the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Lin Mai became the first Asian elephant born there in nearly 25 years.

 

With fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants left in the world, this is a major conservation success for the endangered species. The zoo announced public viewing is just around the corner. CNN's Dana Bash has perhaps the best interview of the year.

 

Come on, Lin Mai, let's go. She's motivated. Good girl, come on.

 

You're going to come through the pool? You are. There she goes. Let's go.

 

That's the sound of a very excited baby elephant who knows she's about to be fed. And on this special occasion, I got to prepare her bottle. So this is our bottle feeding station right here.

 

Robbie Clark is in charge of the elephants at the zoo. He leads the team caring for baby Lin Mai.

 

So the first thing we're going to do is weigh out the water.

 

weigh out 秤出

 

You're going to pour in approximately 275 grams of the powder. So if you could do a really good whisk of that.

 

Okay. Just a regular day making baby elephant formula. No big deal. How many times a day does she get this? Every two hours.

 

Every two hours? Every two hours. Even through the night? Even through the night. So our team is here 24-7.

 

It's truly having a newborn. It is. Let's do it.

 

I'm sure she's hungry. You're just going to place that bottle up over this so she can drink it. Here you go, sweetie.

 

There you go. And lift the end of the bottle up. Fantastic.

 

You can see how fast she consumes it. Really fast. You're her best friend in the whole world right now.

 

I've never had a friend like you. There we go. It's like you've done this before.

 

I don't have to burp her, do I? No, luckily you don't have to. This is one of the coolest things I've ever done.

 

burp [bɝp] v. 使…打嗝

 

Hello. This means that she's saying hi. Yeah. With her trunk.

 

So the trunk is her nose and her upper lip. It's the most important thing in an elephant's life. They use it to eat, drink, breathe, bathe, and communicate.

 

And obviously she uses it to pick things up. Hi. Are you playing with me? This is the cutest thing I've ever seen.

 

There's more muscles and tendons in her nose than our entire body. Really? And when she's an adult, she'll be able to pick up 2,000 pounds with that nose. 2,000 pounds? She weighs 400 pounds right now? 440.

 

tendon [ˈtɛndǝn] n.【解】腱

 

And she's going to get to be? As an adult, she'll be close to 8,000 pounds.

 

I have to ask you about what happened with her mom and try to do it without crying.

 

So her mother, Nhi Linh, is a first-time mom.

 

And where she came from, she did not have the opportunity really to grow up with other young elephants. We kind of had the contingency that there might be a chance that she wouldn't be interested in being a mom. Her mom rejected her? She did.

 

And that's not common among elephants, but it's not unheard of. And in fact, Nhi Linh's mom rejected her at first. Over the last couple months, we've been doing our best to do what we call howdy by giving them access to each other through a fence and hoping that over time that relationship continues to build.

 

howdy [ˈhaʊdɪ] n.【方】您好

 

We haven't actually seen the spark just yet.

 

spark [spɑrk] n. 迹象，痕迹

 

The whole world fell in love with Punch the Monkey. Yep. After Punch the Monkey's mom rejected her.

 

I hope that the world falls in love with her too. Understanding her story, not necessarily feeling bad for her, but recognizing that nature does have consequences to it.

 

And one of the benefits of her being here at the National Zoo is that we have the resources and staff expertise to help her thrive.

 

She has a mother figure, an older member of the herd. Kind of like an adoptive mother.

 

figure [ˈfɪɡjɚ] n. 角色

adoptive [ǝˈdɑptɪv] adj. 收养的

 

Yeah, who takes care of her. She is typically with her aunt Swarna. They're not related, but Swarna was an elephant in our herd that has experience raising elephants from a young age.

 

She has delighted us by stepping up to the plate and taking on a parenting role. She couldn't have babies. Correct.

 

She's never been able to. And yet she has that maternal instinct. Yes.

 

instinct [ˈɪnstɪŋkt] n. 本能；天性

 

That's amazing. It is amazing. And that's just the testament of how socially and biologically complex elephants are.

 

It's important because they are an endangered species. If we're not careful, they could be extinct within our lifetime.

 

All right, something you have to see.

 

A man on a jet ski found himself in the middle of a shark feeding frenzy. Brett Barley was fishing off a jet ski on North Carolina's Outer Banks. At first, he sees a shark, then realizes there is not just one.

 

feeding frenzy 掠食狂热(指捕食者面对大量猎物时，产生的过度兴奋与攻击行为。)

 

He says they were Spinner sharks and large drumfish feasting on smaller fish. Brett Barley is a pro surfer. He says he got extra nervous because spinner sharks have this habit of flipping out of the water.

 

drumfish [ˈdrʌmˌfɪʃ] n. 鼓鱼; 石首鱼

flip [flɪp] v. 快速翻动

 

Like this could get so bad so fast. Because for every dozen or two dozen sharks you see on the surface, there's far more below the surface.

 

Running a marathon, not easy.

 

Next, we have a story that takes it to a whole different level. Clark Reynolds is blind, and he just completed his second full marathon with the help of some revolutionary tech. He swapped the traditional guide for a pair of AI-powered smart glasses.

 

And wait till you see the result. Our Robbie Hawken has more.

 

This blind man just ran a marathon without a physical guide.

 

Instead, he used AI-powered glasses and volunteers who described the course to him using a video live stream from his glasses.

 

I've done a marathon untethered, but I've done it as first person using smart glasses and an app called Be My Eyes. It's an unofficial record.

 

untethered [ʌnˈtɛðɚd] adj. 没有被绳子拴住的

 

It'd be great if I had that certificate, but in my mind, it is a world's first.

 

Clark Reynolds, known as Mr. Dot, ran the Brighton Marathon in the UK by using AI-powered glasses combined with a real-time assistance app.

 

Once we started, I said the magic words, Hey Meta, call Be My Eyes.

 

And within 10 seconds, I had a volunteer to support me for the first half out of the race. I said, without those volunteers in my ears, I would have probably given up that 15-mile marker.

 

This was Mr. Dot's second marathon, and he did the first with a traditional guide.

 

But he said this experience was totally different because of the glasses.

 

The biggest difference was the training. I could train without relying on someone to always support me because we live a busy life.

 

But Mr. Dot says he thinks this is just the beginning of what AI could do for the visually impaired community.

 

Being blind is a very lonely experience sometimes. And you could have someone as Be My Eyes, and they could chat with you for five minutes, and they could say, oh, there's ducks in the pond or something.

 

You could have that experience and not feel lonely. And I think that's a real game-changer for the sight-loss community as well.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10,a reminder that courage can change the world.

 

Baseball didn't just play on Wednesday. It remembered, honored, and stood united. Across MLB, the famed No. 42 in Dodger Blue was worn by every player, paying tribute to Jackie Robinson, the man who broke baseball's color barrier, becoming the first Black player in Major League Baseball's modern era, helping to change the game and the country forever.

 

His courage in 1947 was about shifting minds, opening doors for generations to come. With the new We Are Jackie campaign, his legacy lives on.

 

Rise up. We are sending some love today to Miss Brody and all of my Wildcats at Wellborn Leadership Academy in High Point, North Carolina. Thank you for sending love with all your kind letters and cards.

 

Now, did you know that today is National Pajama Day? So I felt it was pantomime that I send a shout-out to the senders of these luxurious pieces of loungewear here. Mrs. Minard at Geneseo Middle School in Geneseo, Illinois. I see you.

 

pajamas [pǝˈdʒæmǝz] n.（尤指男人的）睡衣裤

pantomime [ˈpæntǝˌmaɪm] n. 哑剧；哑剧演员

loungewear [ˈlaʊndʒwɛr] n. 家居服

 

These jammies are the jam. Go make it an awesome one. Tomorrow is Friday.

 

jammies [ˈdʒæmɪs] n. 睡衣、睡衣裤

jam [dʒæm] n. 英语俚语中 "the jam" 表示非常优秀; 极好的; 目前最流行的

 

See you next time. I'm Coy Wire. We are CNN 10.