What's up, sunshine?
Terrific Tuesday to you.
I'm Coy Wire.
Thank you for spending part of your day with me here on CNN 10.
The best 10 minutes of news because of you.
We've got a lot to get to today, not a lot of time to do it, so let's get to it.
We begin with the high-tech race that's revolutionizing the battlefield.
Drone warfare has become a staple in combat zones around the world, including in Russia's war on Ukraine.
Unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, can be as small as a hummingbird or as big as a fighter jet.
They allow soldiers to engage in remote combat, carrying out precision strikes from miles away.
They're also crucial for conducting surveillance and gathering intelligence.
And as the tech behind them rapidly evolves, militaries around the world are racing to keep up.
Our Haley Britsky got an up-close look at how the US military is training its next generation of drone operators.
Small but lethal drones have transformed the battlefield for Ukraine and Russia.
The warring nations are rapidly innovating, because stronger and smarter technology can literally mean life or death.
But it has also meant a game of catch up for America.
We've got to make sure that we're keeping pace with what technology is emerging so that, if we have to ever employ it, we know how to use these systems.
These units at Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas, are learning how to build and fly FPV or first person view drones.
FPV drones are much cheaper and lighter than many of the US's current drones.
These drones have rapidly transformed warfare from Ukraine, smuggling them thousands of miles into Russia in one shocking attack earlier this summer to Russia, launching nightly drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.
This is a simulation where soldiers will learn how to operate the drones, certainly much more successfully than I am currently doing it.
So they get hop on the same, start flying and then, after roughly the first day, the next three days after that is building.
Next day after those three days would be programming.
Make sure your drone's all good.
Once they've practiced flying virtually, the soldiers take their skills to what is essentially a training gym for drones.
So our FPV operators are actually gaining proficiency of flying in and out, so actually into an enemy armored vehicle, if they ever needed to do so.
Small unmanned systems like what we saw at Bliss could be outfitted with a range of explosives.
The soldiers who operate them wear goggles that allow them to see what the drone sees, whether that's to strike a target like an armored vehicle or peek into a window.
The Army and the US military as a whole have recognized that the conversation about drones and unmanned systems is not a discussion for the future.
It's about adapting to threats that exist on the battlefield today.
Pop quiz hotshot!
Which profession has produced more lottery winners than others?
Teachers, construction workers, truck drivers, or farmers?
Truck drivers is your answer here.
Worth noting.
The gas stations or retailers who sell a winning ticket often receive a bonus, check or commission from the lottery organization.
Two lucky lottery players will take home the third largest American lottery jackpot ever after matching all six numbers on Saturday.
Ticket holders in Missouri and Texas will split the whopping $1.8 billion winnings.
Their odds of winning that record pot were 292 million to 1.
That's more than 20,000 times your odds of being struck by lightning.
And while we may never find out who the winners are, Both states allow winners to remain anonymous.
We thought this may be a fun opportunity to do some mathing, because hitting it big is actually a bit more complicated than just picking up an oversized check.
First, Winners have to decide how they want to collect their winnings.
Do you take a lump sum or an annuity?
A lump sum is a one-time upfront payment.
You get all of your winnings and pay all the taxes at one time.
The catch?
It's usually smaller than the annuity option.
In this case, the jackpot shrinks to $410 million each before taxes.
That's enough to buy about 800 median priced homes in the United States.
Now, if they take the annuity, they get 893 million each, but it's spread out over smaller payments for 30 years.
Think of it as a supersized allowance.
Before they go on a spending spree, however, big winnings come with some big taxes.
Nearly a quarter of it goes straight to the IRS, and they may be on the hook for state taxes as well.
Many experts say the first thing winners should do is enlist financial and legal advice.
You need about two to three weeks at this level of win to put together a plan that encompasses taxes as well as who you're trying to help.
You want to secure your advisors.
You want to secure that attorney.
That's going to be the leader of that group who will put the plan together.
Have you ever wondered where the rest of the money raised by lottery tickets goes?
You may be closer to the answer than you think.
Many states, including Texas and Missouri, use funds from lottery ticket sales to fund education, including college scholarships and programs like pre-K.
Now you have to be at least 18 years old to play the lottery in the majority of states.
But press pause.
Chat it out with friends and family.
What do you think?
If you ever did win the lottery, would you take the lump sum of cash or the smaller annuity payments over time?
Why?
Also, what would you spend it on?
And would you keep it a secret?
Discuss.
Imagine trading your surfboard for snow boots or your cowboy hat for a subway mat.
That's exactly what some teens in the US are doing, through a free exchange program that doesn't require a passport.
All it takes is a willingness to live life in an entirely different community for one week.
CNN's Nicholas Blatt shows us how one nonprofit is changing the way some teens see America.
This is the first time I've been away from home.
The first time I went on an airplane.
Amran is from Wilmer, Minnesota.
And I look up and it's like a mountain.
Ivy from Harriman, Utah.
Crazy.
Everybody tells you, oh, this is the time in your life.
You need to meet new people, go see new things, but I don't know how.
And so really doing this right now has been incredible.
They just graduated high school.
You remind me of my best friend.
Oh, bro, she looks so cool.
And they've been thrown together with eight other teenagers from around the country.
They have a heck of a lot of fun. and return home having learned something special.
I'm also the first person to come out this far from my family.
I know that they're proud of me for doing it.
This week-long trip is free and part of the American Exchange Project.
Started six years ago by David McCullough III, who got the idea after his own life-changing trip across the United States.
We're gonna miss you.
Which gave him a front row seat into how this country became so divided and offered one potential solution.
There's an antidote to prejudice.
It's connection.
Connecting with people. under the right circumstances.
The exchange now happens in 55 locations across the country and is paid for by grants and individual donors.
Nearly 600 kids participated this year.
We send them for free to an American hometown that is culturally and politically and socioeconomically very different from the one that they're growing up in.
Carly Hardman traveled from her home in Lake Charles, Louisiana to Anchorage, Alaska last year.
My experience in Anchorage, Alaska was absolutely mind blowing.
It was definitely something that altered my brain chemistry.
Never in my life would I have thought I would be able to hike a glacier and like, stick my arm into the glacier water.
Every time I look back on my trip to Alaska, I'm always wondering what ways can I push myself out of the box, like I did while I was in Alaska?
I think that a week in another town ought to be as common to the high school experience as the prom.
I think what we're working on should be America's next civic coming of age ritual.
Who's Yeti for today's story?
Getting a 10 out of 10.
One community hears the call of the wild and calls right back.
Do not adjust your speakers.
These are highlights from the annual Sasquatch Calling Contest in Glenburn, Maine.
Organizers say the event aims to bring attention to the famous cryptid while bringing the community together.
So, who won this year's battle for the biggest and baddest Bigfoot bellow?
That would be seven-year-old Gannon hooting and hollering his way to the top of the crowded field with some squachtacular tones, claiming local fame and a 100 prize.
Whether they believe in Bigfoot or not, residents all agree on one thing.
Supernatural Sound Off has been a great way to bring the community together, giving them unforgettable memories.
All right.
Thank you to everyone who's been showing love to our CNN 10 YouTube channel and commenting on our latest video for your shout-out request.
This one goes to Mrs. McKenzie at Lake Chelan Middle School in Chelan, Washington.
Thank you for all of the letters.
Rise up.
This shout out goes to Miss Keeney at Horizon Science Academy in Des Moines, Iowa.
Look at this bleached t-shirt.
I don't know how you did it, but I'm so glad you did it.
Super creative, super awesome.
All right, tomorrow is Your Word Wednesday.
Thanks for all the love you've been showing on my at KoiWire social accounts.
Go ahead and follow me at Koi Wire.
Put your unique vocabulary word and definition in the comment section of my most recent post.
So we're going to choose a winner to work into tomorrow's show.
Put your school, city, state, mascot, teacher's name if you'd like so we can get you a shout out.
Crush it today.
Go be awesome.
I'm Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.
