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

1. 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 7, 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 [in
process] 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 [projectile] 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
[dropping] continue to pound[hit hard] different parts of that rebel-held territory.

2. Both sides are continuing to blame each other for the failure of any truce
[ceasefire]. 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 stop civilians from leaving
so that they could continue to hold them as hostages [prisoners] 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

3. 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 [Sp. turba], 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 [Sp. sequía]-prone [Sp. propenso] 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

4. 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 [Sp. innovaciones, novedades, mejoras] 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 you just tell me Z 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 know 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 [Sp. rociador]
heads. 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.

5. While leaks can cause hundreds of dollars in damages and fees, these systems don`t
come cheap. Buoy and Phyn will set you back [cost] 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 [turns over] 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 [throw] it if the robot grinds [Sp.
triturar, picar (carne)] 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 [slang:
complaint]?
I`m Carl Azuz and your order is up on CNN 10.
END

6. While leaks can cause hundreds of dollars in damages and fees, these systems don`t
come cheap. Buoy and Phyn will set you back [cost] 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 [turns over] 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 [throw] it if the robot grinds [Sp.
triturar, picar (carne)] 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 [slang:
complaint]?
I`m Carl Azuz and your order is up on CNN 10.
END