Central Washington's long, sunny summer days and cool evenings make the region ideal for growing sweet cherries. But summer rainfall can cause cherries to become waterlogged and rupture. To protect their crops, farmers use an unusual method to blow-dry their cherry trees: helicopters.

Washington

Central Washington is renowned for its ideal cherry-growing conditions, but summer rainfall poses a significant risk to the crop. When rainwater sits on cherry skins, the fruit can swell and split, making it less marketable and more prone to rot. To address this, farmers employ helicopters to quickly blow-dry their orchards after rain, a practice that has become essential for large-scale producers.

Helicopter pilots, such as those from Northwind Aviation, must act swiftly within a narrow time window to prevent damage. While the method is costly and carries risks for pilots flying at low altitudes, many farmers see it as a necessary insurance policy to protect their harvest. This behind-the-scenes effort ensures that cherries reach consumers in optimal condition, even though most shoppers are unaware of the process.

The secret to a successful cherry crop? Helicopters

This morning's offering from Connor Knighton comes complete with a cherry on top. This is cherry country. Central Washington's long, sunny summer days and cool evenings make the region an ideal place to grow all sorts of sweet cherries, from the deep red bing to the golden yellow-tinted rainier. This is really, I think, the best place on the earth to grow cherries, on Stemilt Hill. Kyle Matheson is a fourth-generation cherry farmer. His family owns Stemilt Growers in Wenatchee, Washington, one of America's largest cherry producers. In winter, their orchards are covered in snow. Then in spring, the buds begin to blossom. Come summer, it's harvest time. What types of cherries are these? These are Schienas. These are the ones that split when they see a little bit of a rain cloud. They don't take much to split a Schiena. A split or cracked cherry is not only less attractive, it's also more prone to rot. The fragile fruit can rupture if rainwater sits for too long on the skin. It goes right through the skin of the cherry, and the cherry swells and swells, and pretty soon it swells so much that it breaks the skin. And so the idea is, get that water off the cherry so it doesn't break the skin. Decades ago, cherry farmers came up with what sounded like a crazy idea to protect their crop. They would blow-dry the cherry trees from above with helicopters. Certainly we could go out there individually or with a leaf blower, but on the magnitude that we're talking about with the number of acres and trees that we have to dry, it's just really the only effective way to move through the orchard quickly. Pilot Ryan McDonald is the owner of Northwind Aviation, a company with a fleet of helicopters on standby during the summer, ready to provide drying services for Washington farmers. What's the time window like between when it stops raining and when you need to be in the air? Typically, you want to be done drying within an hour to two hours. After the two-hour window, the tree is really taking in a lot of that water, and you're going to start seeing splits. A lot of these families have been here farming the same ground for generations. McDonald grew up on a Washington cherry farm. A former member of the U.S. snowboard team and an Army veteran, his love of flying inspired him to start his own aviation company focused on agriculture. For cherry drying, pilots need to fly so low that it can be a risky business. There's just a lot of hazards in doing what we do. Obviously, we're hovering over trees, so there's not an ideal landing spot for an emergency. Inevitably, there's power lines, there's other trees, obstacles around, and so you have to maintain a high level of alertness and pay attention, even though you're mowing the grass for hours on end. Every year, unfortunately, there is certain incidents that happen in this from pilots just losing focus for a split second. McDonald demonstrated his flying technique for us, but there hasn't been much need for cherry drying this year. It's barely rained. It's been a perfect year. I mean, it's probably one of the best cherry years I've ever remembered. While some smaller farmers might take their chances with the forecast, Kyle Matheson pays a retainer to keep pilots on standby. When you need them, you need them. So it's kind of like you're buying insurance, then. You're buying insurance. You're buying insurance, right. It is kind of an insurance policy, you're right. Are there summers where you might not have them fly at all? That's the best summer. Okay. Cherry customers are choosy. The summer fruit is often an impulse purchase. People put bananas and apples on their grocery list, but very rarely cherries. And so the cherries, if they look shiny and fresh, then people buy them. And the splits, they don't really encourage that purchase. For now, pilots like Ryan McDonald are spending the summer watching the skies, ready to take off whenever rain starts to fall. Almost every person who buys a cherry at the grocery store has no idea that someone like you was involved in getting that to the supermarket. Does that bother you at all? Nope. There's a lot of aspects about farming that people don't know are taking place. And there is a lot of links in the chain to get food from the ground to the stores. And it's great to be a part of it.

Several European leaders and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have expressed disappointment at the 30% tariffs US President Donald Trump has announced, but maintained openness to reach a negotiated solution.

Global Tariffs

Leaders of EU and Mexico slam Trump's 30% tariffs

A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed and killed 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches flipped almost simultaneously and starved the engines of fuel.

Ahmedabad

Air India crash report shows pilot confusion over fuel cutoff

Iran’s foreign minister says his country is ready to resume nuclear talks with the United States but will need assurances that there will be no more attacks against it. Abbas Araghchi made the comments on Saturday, during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran.

Tehran

Middle East Conflict

Iran willing to resume nuclear talks with U.S. if given assurances

Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said on Sunday (July 13), responding to a report that the Pentagon has pressed its ally to clarify what role it would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan.

Council of the City of Sydney

Australia to 'support status quo' on Taiwan amid U.S. defense push

The Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, the Financial Times is reporting. According to the newspaper, the reported request caught Japan and Australia 'off-guard'.

Taipei

Australia caught 'off guard' by U.S demands over Taiwan

A federal judge in California temporarily halted the Trump administration from making indiscriminate arrests based on race and denying detainees access to lawyers.

Los Angeles

Judge orders Trump to stop Californian immigration raids

President Trump issued new threats in his global trade war, aiming at two more of America's biggest trading partners. The E.U. and Mexico responded by calling the tariffs unfair and disruptive.

Trump announces tariffs on European Union, Mexico

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem asked the Israeli government for details following the death of an American citizen in the West Bank. It comes as Israel's defense minister created controversy this week when he announced plans to build a new so-called safe humanitarian city for Gazans.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Palestinian-American dies in West Bank

Palestinians and human rights activists expressed alarm after Israel's defence minister said he plans to move all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp at the southern tip of the war-battered enclave, according to Israeli media.

Rafah

Israel's plan for 'humanitarian city' in Rafah sparks outrage

President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal.

Mexico City

Trump intensifies trade war, threatens 30% tariffs on EU, Mexico

On June 12, the London-bound Boeing 787 crashed in Ahmedabad. All 230 passengers on board, except for one, were killed.

Engine fuel cut off before Air India plane crash, report reveals

A preliminary report depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before an Air India jetliner crashed, killing 260 people last month, after the plane's engine fuel cutoff switches almost simultaneously flipped, starving the engines of fuel.

Air India crash report shows confusion over engine switch movement

An Israeli airstrike hit Palestinians near a medical center in Gaza on Thursday, killing 10 children and six adults, local health authorities said, as ceasefire talks dragged on with no immediate deal expected. This report contains graphic and disturbing images.

Jerusalem

Israeli strike kills children near medical clinic in Gaza

Russian strikes against Ukraine persisted overnight and reportedly injured at least nine people and caused damage to a maternity hospital, according to officials. This comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with European allies in Rome.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Russia launches more strikes, damages Ukraine maternity hospital

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is returning to Israel without a ceasefire deal with Hamas despite optimism from the Trump administration. CBS News' Elizabeth Palmer reports.

Netanyahu returns to Israel without Gaza ceasefire deal

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in California turned violent after protesters clashed with agents from the Trump administration carrying out an operation at a Camarillo farm.

Camarillo

Protesters clash with ICE agents over immigration operation

CNN’s Isa Soares explains how a crippling 50% tariff on goods from Brazil may not be all about the economy.

Trump targets Brazil with 50% tariff

Volunteers in Texas are searching for flood victims and combing through debris along a 30 mile stretch of the Guadalupe River. CNN’s Ed Lavandera spoke with Texans who are coming together to bring closure to their community.

Center Point

Urgent search operations for flood victims stretch miles in Texas

U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada next month and planned to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trade partners.

Trump puts 35% tariff on Canada, eyes 15%-20% levies for others

Volunteers in Comfort, Texas, are digging through debris with heavy equipment and cadaver dogs, searching for flood victims. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit Friday, raising questions about his plan to scale back federal disaster relief.

Texas

Volunteers dig through Texas flood wreckage ahead of Trump visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have held rare face-to-face talks on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Malaysia, discussing the war in Ukraine, as well as developments in Iran and Syria.

Kuala Lumpur

Top U.S., Russia diplomats discuss Ukraine on ASEAN sidelines

Russia has intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine, using upgraded drones designed to cause more damage and evade air defences. In Kyiv, a young woman captured video of the drones overhead — just before explosions echoed through the city.

Russia’s upgraded drone tactics bring intensified attacks across Ukraine

The Ventura County Fire Department said they responded to calls of people having breathing problems at a farm in Ventura County, California, after federal agents appeared to deploy tear gas canisters into the crowd.

Ventura County

Intense standoff in California between protesters, federal agents

A federal judge has green-lit a class action lawsuit challenging President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship and issued a preliminary injunction blocking the order.

Judge blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order

A partial tunnel collapse in Los Angeles temporarily buried 31 workers in Los Angeles, California. CBS News' Carter Evans reports on the rescue operation.

31 trapped workers rescued after tunnel collapse

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed “disappointment and frustration” over continued Russian attacks on Ukraine and said new sanctions on Russia are a “real option.” Kylie Atwood has more details from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Rubio: New Russia sanctions a ‘real option’

With Russia again bombarding Ukraine with drones, U.S. President Donald Trump says he’s considering sending another missile defence system to Ukraine.

Trump muses missile defence system for Ukraine

Officials in Texas are promising to address concerns about flood warnings in parts of the state, but say the ongoing search-and-rescue efforts must be complete first.

Texas officials to address flood warnings after search complete

Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of X after two years leading Elon Musk's social media company. Yaccarino's departure comes one day after the company's Grok chatbot began pushing antisemitic tropes in responses to users.

San Francisco

Yaccarino steps down as CEO of Elon Musk's X

Parts of Ukraine were on fire overnight after Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine since the war unfolded. Just hours earlier, Trump directly called out Vladimir Putin for stalled peace talks.