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CARL AZUZ: Hi, I'm Carl Azuz for "CNN 10."
We had some tragic news coming out of the US State of Texas
as we produce today's show.
There was a shooting Tuesday in the city of Uvalde.
It happened at an elementary school.
Officials say at least 18 students and two adults
were killed, and that the suspected shooter is also dead.
Several others were treated at a local hospital.
We didn't know how many when we produced this show.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott called
on people to show unwavering support
for those who are suffering.
And US President Joe Biden was scheduled to address
the nation last night.
CNN.com will have updated information on all of this.
Next, we're taking you to two island
countries on opposite sides of the Northern Hemisphere.
Tens of thousands of Cubans are leaving their nation.
It's currently dealing with runaway inflation, prices
around 70% higher at the end of last year
than they were the year before.
And the Communist country is seeing
its worst shortages of food and medicine in decades.
The COVID pandemic hurt Cuba's tourism industry.
The country is getting less oil from its ally,
Venezuela, which is having trouble producing
enough oil for itself.
And for years, the US has imposed sanctions,
economic penalties on Cuba to pressure
its government to make changes.
As Cubans protested last year over shortages, power outages,
and the lack of freedoms, their government
blamed the United States for trying to overturn
Cuba's Communist rule.
But critics of Cuba's leaders say
they try to take advantage of their country's
economic problems and exodus of migrants
to pressure the US government.
American officials say the number
of Cubans trying to enter the US is increasing exponentially.
Meanwhile, the island nation of Sri Lanka
is also dealing with shortages of fuel and food.
The inflation rate in this presidential republic
is more than 33% higher than it was last year at this time.
VEDIKA SUD: If you drive through Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo,
you'll spot hundreds of people standing
in multiple queues hoping to take home fuel
and gas from collection points.
For months, there's been an acute shortage
of essential commodities.
In a new low for the country, Sri Lanka defaulted
on its debts Thursday.
We speak to people in Colombo about the impact
the country's worst economic crisis has had on their lives.
36-year-old Tuvan, an auto rickshaw driver,
has spent two nights at this gas station in Central Colombo.
It's been an endless wait to refuel his three-wheeler.
Petrol pumps are all but dry across the city.
About five kilometers or three miles away from Tuvan's home,
[inaudible] can barely sit in this 30-inch wide balcony
where she cooks the day's meals.
She uses coconut husk, paper, and kerosene to get
the firewood stove started.
FATHIMA HAMEED: [non-english speech]
INTERPRETER: Since the 30th of April,
there's been no cooking gas.
We're now using a firewood stove.
VEDIKA SUD: Earlier, [inaudible] would cook three meals a day
on a gas stove.
It's now down to one.
Weeks of protests forced all the Rajapaksas except the president
to step down from senior government posts.
On Monday, Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister Wickramasinghe
warned that things will only get worse
before getting any better.
Four days later, and for the first time in its history,
the country defaulted on its debt.
CARL AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia.
What US State traditionally holds
the first primary or caucus in a presidential election year?
New Hampshire, Iowa, Washington or Virginia.
Every four years, Iowa usually holds
the first caucus in the nation.
Though this isn't a presidential election year in America,
primaries have still been going on starting
on the first Tuesday of this month.
And what they do is determine which candidates appear
on the ballots this November.
It's a midterm election year.
Americans will be choosing all 435 voting members of the US
House of Representatives.
They'll be deciding on 34 seats in the 100-member Senate.
They'll be picking governors in 36 states.
And a slew of politicians for state and local races
will also be on the ballots in the midterm elections.
In the primaries, voters can whittle down a list
of candidates who are running.
For example, if several Republicans
or several Democrats are all trying to win the same seat,
a primary in the spring can decide
which one candidate from each party
gets on the ballot in the fall.
There's a lot at stake in the midterms.
Control of Congress is one of the biggest headlines.
So the election season that's in full swing now
will decide the House and Senate makeup
until at least the next election in two years.
Next, we're going to the Himalayas.
Himlung Himal is a mountain in Nepal.
It's more than 23,000 feet above sea level.
That makes it thousands of feet higher than Mount
Kilimanjaro or Mount Rainier.
And a record was recently achieved on Himlung Himal
by a climber with a spinal cord injury,
even though his team didn't reach its summit.
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- Yeah!
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CARL AZUZ: Ding-dong, its delivery, with a lesson
about kids and smartphones.
A mom in Texas thought her phone was locked.
That if her two-year-old son was doing anything on it,
he'd be taking pictures.
Wrong.
He was placing an order for cheeseburgers, 31 of them.
And with the $16 tip he added, the total
came to more than $91.
The little guy ate half a burger,
leaving mom with an expensive but good story and 30 and 1/2
cheeseburgers to give away.
Let us look at this medium-rare event pragmatically.
When you ketchup up with the boy,
you can't have beef with the plan the onion one cooked up.
Oh yes, he might have mustard an order that cost a lot of bread,
leaving his mom in a pickle.
But once everything was said and well done.
it was all bunintentional
Today's shoutout takes this to Naples, Maine.
It is great to see the students and teachers of Lake Region
Middle School watching today.
I'm Carl Azuz.
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