I'm Coy Wire, happy to be with you today, and hope you had an awesome weekend.

Now, it is Monday, March 31st, and we do start with some heavy news today.

Rescuers are still finding survivors in the ruins of buildings in the wake of a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar on Friday. 1,700 people are confirmed dead, but it could take weeks before we get a full picture of the devastation.

The death toll continues to rise as rescue crews are racing to free thousands of people who are feared to be trapped in the rubble, especially in Myanmar's second largest city, Mandalay.

This is the largest earthquake Myanmar has seen in more than a century.

Myanmar, one of Asia's poorest nations, has largely been shut off from the world by its military government during four years of civil war, but now the world is rushing to help.

International aid has reached the most devastated parts of the country, but aid groups say they are still facing major shortages of medical supplies.

This earthquake was so powerful that its effects were seen and felt hundreds of miles away, including in places like Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Our Will Ripley has more for us on this devastating news.

One of many devastating scenes across the crippled city of Mandalay.

Damage stretches across entire neighborhoods.

Homes and historic buildings reduced to rubble.

Buddhist monasteries, places of peace and reflection, now piles of debris.

Geologists say the massive 7.7 earthquake had the energy of hundreds of atomic bombs.

Myanmar's worst quake in more than a century.

Hitting right during Friday prayers, many mosques collapsed, trapping Muslim worshippers inside.

After several years of brutal civil war and largely self-imposed isolation, the leader of Myanmar's military junta surveyed the devastation, making a rare plea for international aid, now slowly beginning to arrive from China, Russia, India.

Other countries have also pledged support.

For this impoverished nation, help cannot come quickly enough.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake and its powerful aftershocks likely leaving parts of the nation uninhabitable.

With severe damage hundreds of miles from the epicenter, including in Thailand's capital city of Bangkok, skyscrapers swaying so violently rooftop pools briefly became waterfalls.

And this 30-story high rise under construction near a popular weekend market collapsed without warning, likely trapping dozens inside.

Here in Bangkok, heavy machinery is now sifting through the rubble of that collapsed skyscraper.

They do have the resources and the manpower for a massive disaster response.

But with each passing hour of not finding anyone alive in all that rubble, hope for the families is fading.

Search and rescue teams are doing everything they can.

Sniffer dogs picking up possible signs of life.

Drone footage captures the scale of the collapse, a tangled mass of steel and concrete where rescuers continued searching all day Saturday. 10-second trivia.

Which company holds the record for largest monetary fine in a federal food safety case?

Chipotle, Peanut Corporation of America, ConAgra, or Family Dollar?

Answer is Family Dollar Stores.

Each of these companies have violated product food safety standards, but Family Dollar faced a record fine of $41.6 million last year after selling items that were stocked in a rat-infested warehouse.

Messy stores, high prices, and overexpansion have plagued the retail chain Family Dollar, according to analysts.

And those are just some of the factors that likely led to its sale at a devastating loss.

DollarTree purchased Family Dollar back in 2015 for $9 billion, but it's now offloading the discount grant for $1 billion, pending regulatory approval that's expected to clear next quarter.

Family Dollar has around 8,000 stores in the United States, predominantly in cities, with product prices that typically range from $1 to $10.

And a lot of families depend on the store to help them stay within budget.

But in recent years, inflation-increased Family Dollar's operating costs squeezed its lower-income customers, and now tariffs on imported goods imposed by President Donald Trump's administration have further put pressure on dollar stores.

Our Vanessa Jurkiewicz took to the streets to ask some customers about the role Family Dollar plays in their lives, and find out how store closings or price hikes might affect them.

This is the most affordable place.

You can find a lot of things here, and it's pretty cheap.

I'm here at a Family Dollar in New Jersey, talking to people about the role that this store plays in their lives.

Family Dollar is being sold to two private equity companies as the brand struggles.

Last year, it announced plans to close more than 900 stores.

How important is this Family Dollar to this community?

I think it's very important, really, because there's a lot of people that come here.

It's very convenient.

It's very important that we have this.

Otherwise, you know, we would have to go very far.

And I love it here.

It's just like family.

Prices are good.

The products are good.

The shoppers we spoke to agree.

Prices are up across the board, but here at Family Dollar, it's still the most affordable option in town.

There's the word dollar in the name.

Can you get something for a dollar here these days?

Sometimes, yes.

Sometimes, yes.

It's gotten more expensive than when I first started coming here.

And everything has gotten very, very pricey, you know?

Have you noticed in recent years prices going up at all?

Not really.

No, not at Family Dollar, no.

Overall, everything has increased.

Not that much.

Not as fast as some of the other stores.

Do you find that in recent years you've had to tighten your budget, watch prices more?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Well, on what particular things?

Food.

Like eggs, let's say.

I'm not eating eggs no more.

They're too expensive.

I'm not paying $13, $12 for a carton of eggs.

There's a supermarket less than a half a block away, and their price is eggs, $15.

That's too much.

I think everybody took a price height, but these particular dollar-like stores, basically, they represent the lesser side of the market.

And they're not that expensive at all.

Always get a deal at Family Dollar.

Always get a deal here.

Some people charge you a lot for a high-priced item in some of the bigger stores.

You can come here and find that same item for half price.

What would it mean if this store did not exist in this community?

Well, for a person such as myself, I would have to go to another supermarket that compared the prices.

But I think this store here is very good for the community.

It's not really clear what the future of Family Dollar is, but more store closures and price hikes could be possible.

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, the flower that's so much more than just a flower.

Sakura, the Japanese word for cherry blossom.

The trees pop with their pink or white flowers right around this time each spring, and an estimated 63 million people travel to and within Japan to witness it.

They represent renewal and the fleeting nature of life in Japanese culture.

And here in the United States, in Washington, D.C., did you know you can get arrested for removing a blossom or branch because it's considered vandalism of federal property?

Our Ali Chinchar has more.

Japan's cherry blossoms are once again in bloom.

A fleeting fairyland lasting only about two weeks, uniting locals and visitors in Tokyo under a canopy of pink and white.

We were excited.

We'd heard that it was a big event.

Everybody comes out, has a picnic, spends the day, and I love being around a lot of people and seeing everybody out, just having a wonderful time together.

The temperature-sensitive buds flowered five days earlier than last year, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, an earlier season that's raised some concerns in recent years about the potential impact climate change could have on the treasured trees.

But some residents in Tokyo say the weather has been unusual lately.

The recent temperatures changed quite a lot, and my body can't adjust to it.

I think the cherry blossoms probably can't keep up with the changes either.

Almost in sync with the cherry blossoms in Japan, Washington, D.C. is also pretty in pink.

The U.S.

National Park Service declaring peak bloom on Friday.

The trees were gifts from Japan, first arriving in Washington in 1912.

Last year, Japan announced a new gift of 250 more trees to the U.S., once again sharing the joy that people both in Tokyo and Washington try to enjoy as long as it lasts.

All right, smell the flowers, cool the soup, let's make it a great day.

But before we go, I have two shout-outs today, because you all have boosted our CNN10 YouTube channel to 989,000 subscribers, so close to a million.

First, let's go up to Castleton-on-Hudson, New York.

All our friends at Maple Hill Junior and Senior High School, thank you for spending part of your day with us.

And for one of the coolest jerseys I've ever had, all my history buffs at Arden Middle School in Sacramento, California, thank you for this and for this.

CNN10, the best 10 minutes in news because of you.

Look at that guy, going out and making someone smile today.

I'll see you right back here tomorrow on CNN10.