Today's CNN 10 Transcript
In Queens, New York, the principal at Atlas High School, Ms. Messman, estimates more than half of the students there are in the process of obtaining legal status. Lately, enrollment is dropping, absences are rising, and the principal says it's likely due to fear of being deported before becoming fully documented.
So, staff took action. A classroom turned into a nail tech training center. A storage closet turned into a boxing gym. The school created spaces where students can learn a trade, build confidence, and prepare for life, whether they return to their home country or gain citizenship.
Our Hannah Kaiser has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANNAH KEYSER, CNN SPORTS WRITER: When you're in the gym, how do you feel?
GABRIELA, STUDENT AT ATLAS HIGH SCHOOL: With a little adrenaline and so happy.
KEYSER (voice-over): This is "Gabriela." She's a junior at Atlas High School in Queens, where a lot of the students are recent immigrants, including her. She says she moved to the U.S. from El Salvador when she was 13.
GABRIELA: You know, the immigrant depression, everyone has it because I've been five years here in New York. I still have the, you know, the feeling that my life is there. But I know it's not.
KEYSER (voice-over): The number of students at the school has shrunk by about 40 percent this year, mostly because of immigration crackdowns across the country. We've concealed the students' identities for that reason.
UNKNOWN: Come on, everybody, let's go. The bell rang.
ELIZABETH MESSMANN, ATLAS HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: Children are coming to school less frequently. I think part of it is that they don't feel safe transiting to school and because they have this feeling that they will soon be facing deportation, they maybe aren't really committing to the process of getting an education because they are choosing to work.
KEYSER (voice-over): The boxing program is one of many that the school has created to motivate the students to continue to show up.
MESSMANN: Nail tech, barber, photography, hardware and software technology, those types of programs are programs of interest to students, but also ways that our students can earn a living while they are becoming documented.
MIKE FIGUEROA, BOXING COACH: The boxing program has brought solace and comfort to them.
KEYSER (voice-over): This year, coach Mike Figueroa, who leads the boxing gym, designed a program so that the students could train to earn money as certified coaches.
FIGUEROA: There we go. Come on. Four, five, six.
KEYSER (voice-over): When "Gabriela" imagines her future in boxing, though, it's not as a coach or a trainer. It's her in the ring.
GABRIELA: My goal is to have a fight, professional fight, something. I imagine my mom, my brother, my cousins, my auntie. I mean, all my family is there, you know? I'm being so strict with my dream. Who's got my dream? That's me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aha. Good job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten second trivia.
What do ants use to communicate?
Sound waves, body language, colors or pheromones?
If you said pheromones, you knows what's up. Ants release and detect invisible chemical messages. When a worker finds food, it lays a chemical trail on the way back to the nest. That's why those ants often form those neat single file lines.
Fair warning, this next story might make your skin crawl. These may look like vitamins, but they are ants. More than 2,200 of them, individually packaged. And they just landed one man in serious trouble. We're talking a 12-month jail sentence and a $7,700 fine. The ants were found in the luggage of a Chinese citizen in Nairobi's main international airport. A Kenyan court says he was caught trying to smuggle the live ants out of the country without a permit.
Illegal? Yes. The man pleaded guilty. His attorney says he'll appeal the prison sentence. Turns out, though, these ants are surprisingly valuable. They're prized by collectors who build formicariums, basically luxury ant farms where enthusiasts pay big money to study entire colonies.
Why are these specific garden ants valuable? Unclear.
Officials say as demand drops for things like elephant ivory, traffickers are turning to smaller, lesser-known species like ants. But prosecutors say removing ants in large numbers can damage ecosystems in ways that are anything but small.
From tiny ants to a massive canvas in Times Square in New York City, a Japanese artist is reminding us that every ending carries a spark of a new beginning. The piece is called Morning Again, a three-minute video installation that plays nightly, three minutes before midnight, across 96 digital screens.
Part of Times Square Arts' Midnight Moment, it's one of the world's largest digital public art programs. Artist Tomokazu Matsuyama says his inspiration was the moment where one day ends and another begins. Known for his large-scale paintings, Matsuyama says the installation allows us to redefine whether a moment marks the end of a day or its beginning.
Ryan Gosling just reached new heights, blasting into the record books. Well, a Lego version of the actor did, by launching into the stratosphere. A Lego set inspired by the film Project Hail Mary was launched high above Wales last week, using a high-altitude balloon system. On board were minifigures of Gosling's character Ryland Grace and his alien co-star Rocky. The result? A new Guinness World Record for highest altitude launch and retrieval of a Lego set. Yes, that's a thing. Reaching nearly 115,000 feet above sea level.
Baseball has long been called America's pastime, but one special league is making sure it's known as everyone's pastime. It aims to give kids and young adults with developmental and physical disabilities the chance to play, compete, and belong. No scoreboards, no strikeouts, and no one left sitting on the bench.
Our Ivan Rodriguez has more on the league where belonging is always a home run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For nearly 20 years, this specially designed rubber field in Acworth, Georgia has been the center of community for hundreds of families.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF MIC) come on, you got to bring him in.
ILIANA GUZMAN (Antonio's Mom): We were here almost an hour earlier because we had to cheer on our own friends.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Iliana Guzman has been bringing her son Antonio to play in the Horizon League practically since the field opened. She says from birth, he's faced a number of medical challenges.
GUZMAN: Right when we think everything is almost done, he has a seizure, and we find out he has Chiari malformation, which required a brain surgery. So brain and neck surgery. And all of this before the age of 11.
RODRIGUEZ: While Antonio has gotten older, his joy of running around the bases lives on.
ANTONIO GUZMAN, HORIZON ATHLETE: It's a great way for me to see my friends. It's a great way to play baseball. It's a great way to get exercise. I love it. Horizon League is so unique in that this field, you can run on it, you can walk on it, and that it's safe for everyone.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): A special rubberized turf and completely flat playing field supporting the league's purpose, including everyone in the community.
LAUREN HAM, THERAPEUTIC RECREATION COORDINATOR, CITY OF ACWORTH: Not very many places have special needs leagues. And if they do, they're playing on grass or a dirt field. This turf field gives them the opportunity to come in a wheelchair. The dugouts are wider.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Lauren Ham says the league's popularity has grown so much over the years that some families travel hours so their children can be a part of it. As a mother, Iliana understands.
I. GUZMAN: It's a moment where you can be, just let them be a kid. Let them play. We can connect with families. We don't know what we would do without.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today's story getting a 10 out of 10. Prom season where every detail matters. And there are many considerations for the big night. The dress, the tux, the corsage, the date. Do you go with someone? Do you go with your friends?
And how will you get there? And for that, in Topeka, Kansas, one group just set the bar sky high, or shall we say bun high. How about arriving in the Wienermobile?
This all started when some friends spotted the classic Oscar Mayer ride in a grocery store parking lot and thought, why not?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm like, it would be amazing to go on this for prom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked the driver if they would take us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was crazy. It was a shot in the dark.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just used to asking weird questions like that, to be honest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Turns out the crew aboard the hot dog mobile had nothing better to do. So, the driver showed up to escort them with wiener whistle boutonnieres and matching corsages. Nothing like pulling up in 27 feet of process perfection. And let's just say their dates, they relished the moment.
I can't tell if that's the best or the brat worst. All right, superstars got time for two shout outs today.
First up, Miss Olivia at Point Loma High School in San Diego, California. Thank you for subscribing and always commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel. You rock.
And Miss Berg at Northwest Elementary in Houstonia, Missouri. Sutton, this beaded banner is the bomb. Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with me and the team.
I'm trying to figure out a way to turn this into like a belt, like a championship belt or something. This is a keeper. Thank you so much.
I will see you right back here tomorrow, y'all. Go make it an awesome day. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
END
In Queens, New York, the principal at Atlas High School, Ms. Messman, estimates more than half of the students there are in the process of obtaining legal status. Lately, enrollment is dropping, absences are rising, and the principal says it's likely due to fear of being deported before becoming fully documented.
So, staff took action. A classroom turned into a nail tech training center. A storage closet turned into a boxing gym. The school created spaces where students can learn a trade, build confidence, and prepare for life, whether they return to their home country or gain citizenship.
Our Hannah Kaiser has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANNAH KEYSER, CNN SPORTS WRITER: When you're in the gym, how do you feel?
GABRIELA, STUDENT AT ATLAS HIGH SCHOOL: With a little adrenaline and so happy.
KEYSER (voice-over): This is "Gabriela." She's a junior at Atlas High School in Queens, where a lot of the students are recent immigrants, including her. She says she moved to the U.S. from El Salvador when she was 13.
GABRIELA: You know, the immigrant depression, everyone has it because I've been five years here in New York. I still have the, you know, the feeling that my life is there. But I know it's not.
KEYSER (voice-over): The number of students at the school has shrunk by about 40 percent this year, mostly because of immigration crackdowns across the country. We've concealed the students' identities for that reason.
UNKNOWN: Come on, everybody, let's go. The bell rang.
ELIZABETH MESSMANN, ATLAS HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: Children are coming to school less frequently. I think part of it is that they don't feel safe transiting to school and because they have this feeling that they will soon be facing deportation, they maybe aren't really committing to the process of getting an education because they are choosing to work.
KEYSER (voice-over): The boxing program is one of many that the school has created to motivate the students to continue to show up.
MESSMANN: Nail tech, barber, photography, hardware and software technology, those types of programs are programs of interest to students, but also ways that our students can earn a living while they are becoming documented.
MIKE FIGUEROA, BOXING COACH: The boxing program has brought solace and comfort to them.
KEYSER (voice-over): This year, coach Mike Figueroa, who leads the boxing gym, designed a program so that the students could train to earn money as certified coaches.
FIGUEROA: There we go. Come on. Four, five, six.
KEYSER (voice-over): When "Gabriela" imagines her future in boxing, though, it's not as a coach or a trainer. It's her in the ring.
GABRIELA: My goal is to have a fight, professional fight, something. I imagine my mom, my brother, my cousins, my auntie. I mean, all my family is there, you know? I'm being so strict with my dream. Who's got my dream? That's me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aha. Good job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten second trivia.
What do ants use to communicate?
Sound waves, body language, colors or pheromones?
If you said pheromones, you knows what's up. Ants release and detect invisible chemical messages. When a worker finds food, it lays a chemical trail on the way back to the nest. That's why those ants often form those neat single file lines.
Fair warning, this next story might make your skin crawl. These may look like vitamins, but they are ants. More than 2,200 of them, individually packaged. And they just landed one man in serious trouble. We're talking a 12-month jail sentence and a $7,700 fine. The ants were found in the luggage of a Chinese citizen in Nairobi's main international airport. A Kenyan court says he was caught trying to smuggle the live ants out of the country without a permit.
Illegal? Yes. The man pleaded guilty. His attorney says he'll appeal the prison sentence. Turns out, though, these ants are surprisingly valuable. They're prized by collectors who build formicariums, basically luxury ant farms where enthusiasts pay big money to study entire colonies.
Why are these specific garden ants valuable? Unclear.
Officials say as demand drops for things like elephant ivory, traffickers are turning to smaller, lesser-known species like ants. But prosecutors say removing ants in large numbers can damage ecosystems in ways that are anything but small.
From tiny ants to a massive canvas in Times Square in New York City, a Japanese artist is reminding us that every ending carries a spark of a new beginning. The piece is called Morning Again, a three-minute video installation that plays nightly, three minutes before midnight, across 96 digital screens.
Part of Times Square Arts' Midnight Moment, it's one of the world's largest digital public art programs. Artist Tomokazu Matsuyama says his inspiration was the moment where one day ends and another begins. Known for his large-scale paintings, Matsuyama says the installation allows us to redefine whether a moment marks the end of a day or its beginning.
Ryan Gosling just reached new heights, blasting into the record books. Well, a Lego version of the actor did, by launching into the stratosphere. A Lego set inspired by the film Project Hail Mary was launched high above Wales last week, using a high-altitude balloon system. On board were minifigures of Gosling's character Ryland Grace and his alien co-star Rocky. The result? A new Guinness World Record for highest altitude launch and retrieval of a Lego set. Yes, that's a thing. Reaching nearly 115,000 feet above sea level.
Baseball has long been called America's pastime, but one special league is making sure it's known as everyone's pastime. It aims to give kids and young adults with developmental and physical disabilities the chance to play, compete, and belong. No scoreboards, no strikeouts, and no one left sitting on the bench.
Our Ivan Rodriguez has more on the league where belonging is always a home run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For nearly 20 years, this specially designed rubber field in Acworth, Georgia has been the center of community for hundreds of families.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (OFF MIC) come on, you got to bring him in.
ILIANA GUZMAN (Antonio's Mom): We were here almost an hour earlier because we had to cheer on our own friends.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Iliana Guzman has been bringing her son Antonio to play in the Horizon League practically since the field opened. She says from birth, he's faced a number of medical challenges.
GUZMAN: Right when we think everything is almost done, he has a seizure, and we find out he has Chiari malformation, which required a brain surgery. So brain and neck surgery. And all of this before the age of 11.
RODRIGUEZ: While Antonio has gotten older, his joy of running around the bases lives on.
ANTONIO GUZMAN, HORIZON ATHLETE: It's a great way for me to see my friends. It's a great way to play baseball. It's a great way to get exercise. I love it. Horizon League is so unique in that this field, you can run on it, you can walk on it, and that it's safe for everyone.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): A special rubberized turf and completely flat playing field supporting the league's purpose, including everyone in the community.
LAUREN HAM, THERAPEUTIC RECREATION COORDINATOR, CITY OF ACWORTH: Not very many places have special needs leagues. And if they do, they're playing on grass or a dirt field. This turf field gives them the opportunity to come in a wheelchair. The dugouts are wider.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Lauren Ham says the league's popularity has grown so much over the years that some families travel hours so their children can be a part of it. As a mother, Iliana understands.
I. GUZMAN: It's a moment where you can be, just let them be a kid. Let them play. We can connect with families. We don't know what we would do without.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today's story getting a 10 out of 10. Prom season where every detail matters. And there are many considerations for the big night. The dress, the tux, the corsage, the date. Do you go with someone? Do you go with your friends?
And how will you get there? And for that, in Topeka, Kansas, one group just set the bar sky high, or shall we say bun high. How about arriving in the Wienermobile?
This all started when some friends spotted the classic Oscar Mayer ride in a grocery store parking lot and thought, why not?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm like, it would be amazing to go on this for prom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked the driver if they would take us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was crazy. It was a shot in the dark.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just used to asking weird questions like that, to be honest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Turns out the crew aboard the hot dog mobile had nothing better to do. So, the driver showed up to escort them with wiener whistle boutonnieres and matching corsages. Nothing like pulling up in 27 feet of process perfection. And let's just say their dates, they relished the moment.
I can't tell if that's the best or the brat worst. All right, superstars got time for two shout outs today.
First up, Miss Olivia at Point Loma High School in San Diego, California. Thank you for subscribing and always commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel. You rock.
And Miss Berg at Northwest Elementary in Houstonia, Missouri. Sutton, this beaded banner is the bomb. Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with me and the team.
I'm trying to figure out a way to turn this into like a belt, like a championship belt or something. This is a keeper. Thank you so much.
I will see you right back here tomorrow, y'all. Go make it an awesome day. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
END