Today's CNN 10 Transcript

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COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: What's up, sunshine? This is CNN 10. And today we have fire season rewriting record books. Why America just hit the brakes on foreign made robots and a cyclist taking the ultimate NFL road trip with nothing but two wheels and a whole lot of grit.

I'm Coy Wire. And we begin today with the Pacific Northwest where destructive wildfires are wreaking havoc across Washington and Oregon as the states endure their worst fire season in more than 30 years.

In Washington's Spokane County, a trio of fires has consumed more than 10,000 acres so far with zero percent containment since they started over the weekend. The fires have forced the evacuation of nearly 65,000 in Spokane area alone, and more than 700 structures have been destroyed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOB FERGUSON (D-WA): This all happened in a matter of hours. In other words, individuals woke up in their homes Saturday morning, in a matter of hours, their homes and neighborhoods were just wiped out that this happened very, very quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: No injuries or deaths have been confirmed as of this taping, but officials said that the scale of the fires means it will take time to fully evaluate.

Law enforcement says a man has been arrested on an arson charge in connection with one of those, and fire officials are still investigating the cause of the other blazes.

The Pacific Northwest isn't the only region feeling the impact from wildfires. More than 27,000 firefighters across the country are battling at least 100 uncontained fires as of this taping, and that was just this week alone.

Wildfires have scorched at least 5.3 million acres across the country so far this year, already surpassing last year's total for the entire year.

We've shown you videos of robot dogs, humanoid robots, well now importing those will be banned in the U.S. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, says that importing advanced robotics from certain foreign countries poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. Our Mike Valerio will tell us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN International CORRESPONDENT: You want to bring a robot like this from China into the United States? Well, forget it. New foreign robots are now banned.

VALERIO (voice-over): The Federal Communications Commission in Washington just ruled advanced robotic devices produced in foreign countries, quote, "pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States." The ban only applies to new imports, not any devices already stateside. This comes after robots from Chinese companies like Unitree have wowed millions on social media, becoming more familiar to Americans, and even taking the stage on America's Got Talent.

VALERIO: So, the U.S. government now says that relying on foreign produced advanced robotic devices presents unacceptable supply chain and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It goes on to say advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots.

VALERIO (voice-over): 90 percent of the world's humanoid robots are made in China, with more than 140 companies competing in a crowded and quickly expanding market.

Robotics companies and China's Ministry of Commerce for now are not publicly reacting. The move is another potential point of friction as the U.S. and China try to stabilize ties. The FCC says it's possible to avoid the ban if a company applies for an exception, proving the product does not pose a risk and that's signed off by the Pentagon.

This imports ban mirrors other U.S. prohibitions of Chinese tech, like communications equipment from Huawei and Chinese EVs kept out of the U.S. market.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Now to a story about the impact that space junk is having on the moon. And by impact, I mean literally. A piece of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket slammed into the moon earlier this week at nearly seven times the speed of sound.

The rocket launched about 18 months ago and its upper stage was intentionally left drifting through space after completing its mission. Normally leftover rocket parts eventually fall back to earth and burn up as they enter our atmosphere. Not this one.

Officials say it blasted a crater roughly the size of a Major League Baseball infield. No one could actually see it happen with the naked eye. Instead, astronomers used a special telescope to see glowing plumes of lithium and sodium gas being kicked into space, almost like the moon briefly left behind its own cosmic fingerprint.

Pop quiz, hot shot.

Which U.S. state is home to the only native population of Venus fly traps?

Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, or California?

If you said North Carolina, you so fly. Venus fly traps only thrive in bogs and wetlands. In the wild, nearly all of them grow within a tight 70-to-100-mile radius around Wilmington, North Carolina.

More than 150 years after evolutionary scientist Charles Darwin made a bold prediction, science just proved him right. Darwin believed certain carnivorous plants like Venus fly traps didn't just trap insects, they actually digested them. Back then, he didn't have the technology to prove it.

Now, scientists in China use modern genetic and chemical testing on a plant called the Saxifraga and confirmed that those sticky little plants really do absorb nutrients like nitrogen from the bugs they catch. Darwin also believed carnivorous plants evolved because they grew in nutrient-poor soil. Turns out, he nailed that too. Carnivorous plants still get most of their energy via photosynthesis, just like other plants.

NFL players spend months preparing for a season, right? Well, one fan is spending 10,000 miles getting ready for week one. 22-year-old ultra-endurance cyclist Bond Almand is currently on a 10,000-mile quest to visit all 30 stadiums by bike ahead of the league's kickoff in Seattle next month. That's roughly the distance from New York to Tokyo and halfway back. One of our fearless CNN 10 teammates, Brendan, caught up with Bond outside of Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium to hear how the trip is going and see what motivates him to push himself to the limit in pursuit of greatness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOND ALMAND, ULTRA-ENDURANCE CYCLIST: Most mornings when I wake up, I do not want to get on a bike, I'll be honest. And after a couple hours of riding, I've warmed up, I feel good, I'm loving it. The bike can take me anywhere, it's a great way to sleep.

WIRE (voice-over): This is Bond Almond, a one-of-a-kind ultra-endurance cyclist who's taking his sport to the next level, one pedal at a time.

At just 22 years old, he already has five world records. In 2024, he shattered the record for fastest North-South Pan-American bike crossing, completing all 14,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina in just 75 days, all of this while balancing his studies at Dartmouth College.

Now, the recent grad is spending his summer chasing a new goal, crisscrossing the country on a quest to visit all 30 NFL stadiums. The epic odyssey is the brainchild of Extreme Networks, who pitched the idea to Bond earlier this summer, and even he couldn't believe it.

ALMAND: He originally came to me with the idea, and I was like, that's a great idea, but yeah, there's no way that ever happens. And then he called me a week later and was like, ok, we're all set.

WIRE (voice-over): Bond set out from Miami on July 7th, carrying a special NFL game ball destined for the league's kickoff game in Seattle on September 9th. The scenic, and I mean scenic route, is giving him a view of the country that few people ever get to see. But the trip is anything but a leisure ride.

Bond is averaging up to 200 miles per day, sometimes climbing as much as 20,000 feet. That's like summoning Mount Kilimanjaro, and mileage like that takes a physical and mental toll.

ALMAND: The cumulative fatigue every single day, that stress in your body, it's hard to understate. Obviously, I'm one person, but there's like a side of me that wants to just stop and rest. Those two sides have to make peace.

WIRE (voice-over): His biggest challenge so far, not the hills, the heat. Bond is losing gallons of sweat every day, so he's found some unique ways to stay hydrated.

ALMAND: I take a lot of table salt and just pour it straight into my water bottle. You can kind of see the salt on your skin, that's all that sodium you're losing. My favorite drink hack is coffee creamer. If you get a bottle of coffee creamer like this, it has several thousand calories in it.

WIRE (voice-over): From serene back roads to bustling city centers, Bond is documenting the entire trip on social media, hoping it'll help raise awareness for other cyclists.

ALMAND: I've been hit by a couple cars before, and that really rattles me. It's always in the back of the mind on the bike, and it's part of why I love biking and sharing my story is to kind of get people more familiarized with biking. And if a couple of drivers can see my videos and be excited about biking, maybe give the next biker a little bit more space when they pass, then that's a huge win.

WIRE (voice-over): By the time Bond rolls into Lumen Field on September 9th, he'll have clocked more than 10,000 miles, about the same amount most people put on their cars in a year. And on a trip this big, sometimes the biggest challenge isn't the terrain, it's staying motivated.

ALMAND: One thing that I've suffered with a bit is burnout. I do love my bike, and it brings me a lot of joy, but there are days when it just doesn't. So, having that like higher purpose, like what is the goal of riding, why am I doing this, is always important.

WIRE (voice-over): His advice for the next generations of endurance cyclists looking to make their own marks?

ALMAND: Believe in yourself more than anything. I was always told from a young age, do whatever you love, follow your dreams. I think that's 100 percent true, but it's more complicated than that. I think it's do what you love, but have intention, have some idea of where you want it to take you.

WIRE (voice-over): For Bond, that somewhere is chasing the horizon one mile at a time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, who let the dogs out? Dozens of four-legged surfers took on some radical waves in Northern California at the 10th annual World Dog Surfing Championship this week.

Spectators flocked to the beach, and judges scored the pups on how long they could stay on their board, wave size, and confidence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surfing is amazing anyways, right? Because you're communing with nature, you've got the solitude, you've got the excitement, and then you mix in your best friend, because then you're working together as a team to accomplish something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: The contest was cut short because of some rough waves before the final surf off, but that just means there are all winners in our hearts.

All right, superstars, we're sending some love today. First, we're going to reach Columbus in Indiana. Thank you for your kind letters. We are so glad you spent part of your summer with us.

And this next shout out goes to Coach Bradley at White House Heritage High School in Tennessee. Rise up. Thank you for commenting and subscribing to our CNN 10 YouTube channel.

Go out, make someone smile, make someone laugh this weekend. Remember, you are more powerful than you know.

I'm Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.

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