CNN10 2024-09-25 CNN 10 Major Hurricane Could Hit Florida; Escalating Tensions Between Israel and Hezbollah. Aired 4-4:10a ET Aired September 25, 2024 - 04:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. SIMONE BILES, OLYMPIC GYMNAST: I'm Simone Biles. JORDAN CHILES, OLYMPIC GYMNAST: And I'm Jordan Chiles. BILES: And you guys are watching CNN 10. COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Yeah, that's right. We've got Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles on the show today answering some of your questions. Cannot wait to share that with you in just a bit. I'm Coy Wire. This is CNN 10. And we've got an action-packed show for you today. So let's get to it. First to the Gulf of Mexico, where a tropical storm is developing into a major threat for the Southeastern United States. The National Hurricane Center says a system in the Gulf will pick up pace and rapidly intensify into Hurricane Helene. Florida is bracing for what could be the United States' most powerful hurricane this season. Tropical storm-force winds could begin as early as this afternoon for the Florida Keys. The storm is expected to make landfall in the state late tomorrow. Helene would be the fourth hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. this year. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared an emergency in more than 40 of the state's 67 counties. That will help speed up preparations and coordination between the state and local governments before the storm's impact. Meanwhile, Hurricane John struck Mexico's southern coast earlier this week as a Category 3 storm after rapidly strengthening in the Pacific. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph as it made landfall in Mexico. John has since weakened to a tropical storm, bringing catastrophic rainfall to parts of Mexico. That deluge of rain is triggering warnings of dangerous floods and mudslides. Thousands of people have evacuated the Mexican state of Oaxaca, and many businesses in tourist areas along the coast have paused their operations. Next up, we head to the Middle East, where the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a paramilitary group in Lebanon, are escalating. Both sides are trading waves of airstrikes over Israel's northern border, and the United Nations says the number of displaced people in Lebanon is set to rise as tens of thousands flee their homes. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Israeli airstrikes battering southern and eastern Lebanon. It is the most intense Israeli bombardment of Lebanon since the 2006 war, and the deadliest. Hundreds were killed and many more injured, as the Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah weapons depots and rocket launchers. Meanwhile, Israeli air defenses springing into action as Hezbollah fired more than 200 rockets and drones at Israel, targeting the city of Haifa and aiming further south than usual. At least two rockets hitting the West Bank, more than 60 miles south of the Lebanese border and just east of Tel Aviv. As Israeli fighter jets carried out airstrikes, the country's leaders say they are deliberately escalating, hoping to change the equation. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I promised to change the security balance, the balance of power in the north, this is exactly what we're doing. We're dismantling thousands of rockets and missiles aimed at Israeli cities and citizens. DIAMOND: Lebanese officials say this is simply Israeli aggression. ZIAD MAKARY, LEBANESE INFORMATION MINISTER: The continuing Israeli aggression on Lebanon is a war of extermination in every sense of the word and a destructive plan aimed at destroying Lebanese villages and towns and eliminating green areas. DIAMOND: In Lebanon, Israel's new escalatory strategy is pushing thousands to flee their homes, as the Israeli military sent mass text messages, including to some residents of the Lebanese capital, and interrupted radio broadcasts, urging residents in Southern and Eastern Lebanon to evacuate. In Lebanon's Beqaa Valley -- DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL MILITARY SPOKESPERSON: This warning is focused on the villages in the Beqaa Valley. DIAMOND: -- residents were given just two hours' notice before Israeli jets began hitting targets, including homes where the Israeli military says Hezbollah is storing rockets and weapons. As smoke engulfed swaths of Lebanon, many now fear this is just the beginning, as the prospect of all-out war now looms larger than ever. (END VIDEOTAPE) WIRE: Pop quiz hot shot. What are the least commonly occurring types of galaxies in the universe? Spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, dwarf galaxies, or irregular galaxies? If you said irregular galaxies, put your hands up. They have unusual shapes like toothpicks, rings, even little groupings of stars. All right, let's get to some news from out of this world. NASA is preparing to launch its SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station tomorrow. It was originally set to carry four people, but now only two will be in the capsule. That's so astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore can grab a couple of seats back to Earth early next year. Remember, they got stuck on the ISS after their ride home, the Boeing Starliner, had complications with its thrusters. And check out the moment a NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts landed safely in Kazakhstan on Monday. A Soyuz capsule carrying them undocked from the International Space Station before heading back to Earth and touching down safely. Welcome home. Next up, The GOAT, the Gold Over America Tour. A resplendent show featuring Simone Biles, she and fellow Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles are headlining 30 shows in 30 cities over the next month and a half. I caught up with Simone and Jordan in L.A. to talk about what they're looking forward to and to ask them some of the questions you submitted. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BILES: Such an honor and such a blessing that they come out to support us, but it really is inspiring the next generation and that's why we do what we do. We have a love and a passion and we want to share that with everyone because we do such a beautiful sport. So why not share it with everyone? CHILES: Yeah. I think it's really just us having fun and really bringing our personalities out. There are a bunch of different personalities on this tour. And I think honestly, especially having the boys now, we give two different atmospheres of, you know, the girls with the prettiness and then the guys who have the ability to bring in that strongness as well. And it's really cool. It's really fun. I enjoy it. WIRE: CNN 10, I'm the host of that. About 3 million students watch every day. And I asked for some viewer questions. BILES: Yeah. WIRE: So this one is from Ms. Cortez's class at Belvedere Middle, home of the Olympians in East Los Angeles. What do you like to do for healthy alone time? BILES: Oh my goodness. OK, if I'm doing healthy alone time, it's definitely like taking a hot bath with Epsom salts with bubbles or just laying out by the pool with my dogs. I mean, they're French Bulldogs, but they still love to get in the water. And so, yeah, that would be that. WIRE: Oh, that sounds lovely. BILES: Yeah. CHILES: I'm just straight bougie. BILES: Spa days. CHILES: Yeah, I love it. Mine's the opposite. I don't know if it's really healthy. BILES: Shopping. CHILES: Yeah. Yeah, I will definitely -- BILES: It's like nails, hair, eyelashes. CHILES: Nails, lashes, I do get my nails done all the time. BILES: Yeah. CHILES: Whether it's like drawing while watching Netflix, like, yeah. WIRE: Mrs. Lobb's class in Bremen High School in Bremen, Georgia. What do you eat for breakfast? And what's your favorite fast-food restaurant? BILES: OK. Do not grill me on this because breakfast is the most important meal. And I know that. But I do not eat breakfast. It's just like our practices are so early. I can't. And we start flipping quick. OK. But if I had to choose breakfast, I would do like a bagel, boiled eggs. Like, OK. And then favorite fast food. So I would say a good burger and fry. I'm going to keep it Texas Whataburger. WIRE: OK, there you go. BILES: Yeah. CHILES: You really like Whataburger? WIRE: Yeah. CHILES: I'm a Wendy's type of girl. WIRE: Yeah. CHILES: I will get myself a 10-piece spicy chicken nugget meal with a vanilla frosty and a lemonade, so. WIRE: Oh, that's great. Love that. (END VIDEOTAPE) WIRE: Today's story getting a 10 out of 10. An unbelievable escape. A herd of bulls jumping fences, causing a seriously chaotic situation after escaping from a rodeo in Massachusetts this week. People were moving out of the way as the bulls charged towards nearby neighborhoods. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. And all the bulls were steered back to safety. Check them out. Going up a driveway. Why did the bull cross the road? To get to the other side. Big thanks to everyone who submitted some phenomenal words for hashtag your word Wednesday. Today's winner is Mr. Gallagher's class at Conway High School in Conway, South Carolina for "resplendent," an adjective meaning shining brilliantly, characterized by a glowing splendor. Look at you boosting our vocabulary. We love to see it. Our shout out today goes to Central Lee Middle School in Donnellson, Iowa. Thank you for showing the love. I'm Coy Wire. And thanks to all of you for subscribing and commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel. We're up to 900,000 subscribers now because of you. Rise up. END