What's up, sunshine? Welcome to the
show. I'm Koi Wire here with your news
for Tuesday, December 9th. A brain
teaser Tuesday for you. What two coins
add up to 30 cents, but one of them is
not a nickel? 10 seconds. Go. What two
coins add up to 30 cents? One of them is
not a nickel. All right, time's up. If
you said a quarter and a nickel, you're
correct. Two coins that add up to 30
cents. A quarter and a nickel, the
quarter is not a nickel. Now, let's get
you your news. We begin in Syria, which
just marked the one-year anniversary of
the fall of former President Bashar
al-Assad's regime. Assad ruled the
country for more than 24 years and was
overthrown by rebel forces last December
following a brutal 13-year civil war.
Crowds poured into the streets this week
for the milestone anniversary, a moment
marked by both celebration and
uncertainty. The country is continuing
to rebuild and recover under President
Ahmed al-Shar's transitional government.
But they've also struggled with
continued regional instability and
ongoing tensions with Israel. Millions
of Syrians who were forced to flee
during the war have finally been able to
return home this year. And across the
country, the remains of the Assad regime
are being transformed into inspiring
community spaces. That includes a cafe
that once served as a jail. And one of
the caf's regular customers took
journalists inside the basement of that
very building where he says he was
imprisoned several times during Assad's
rule.
>> When you go downwards, it's as if you're
heading toward a grave. There are no
windows, nothing at all.
These solitary cells, they used to
imprison people here alone, without
light, without windows, and without
food. They would lock people up here
without anyone knowing their fate. But
now we come here and see that the place
is beautiful. It has become a cafe and a
place for culture and knowledge. And
there is calm and safety. It is
wonderful that this place has
transformed from a place of oppression
into a place of comfort and security.
>> Now to a story taking us back in time
with help from a very modern technology.
In Italy, archaeologists are teaming up
with robots to piece together ancient
Roman frescco or wall paintings from
Pompei. They were destroyed during World
War II. The European Union funded
project called Repair uses artificial
intelligence and twin robotic arms to
sort, match, and gently reassemble the
tiny fragments. Think of it like solving
several jigsaw puzzles at the same time,
but without help from the picture on the
box. Some question whether these robots
might someday replace archaeologists.
The director of the archaeological park
of Pompei had this to say.
>> The answer is obviously no. But what's
going to happen is I think that the work
of archaeologists will dramatically
change. And in some way I think we will
get back to to our origins to the
interpretation of artworks of uh daily
life of social structures architecture.
Blending ancient art with cuttingedge
technology. That's one way to bring the
past into the future.
Pop quiz hot shot. Who were the first
K-pop artists to get a Grammy
nomination? Stray Kids, BTS Twice, or
Girls Generation?
If you said BTS, you are bulletproof.
They made history as the first K-pop act
ever nominated at the Grammys. And now
years later, it's K-pop Demon Hunters,
the animated musical action film scoring
a nomination for song of the year. As
Hollywood awards season ramps up, the
year's biggest animated trio is putting
the Golden in Golden Globes. Roomie,
Zoe, and Meera. The K-pop Demon Hunters
trio has been nominated for three Golden
Globes Awards, including best song and
best animated picture. The movie is
Netflix's most watched title ever and
Google's second most searched term this
year. It had five Grammy nominations and
four top 10 hits on the Billboard Top
100. The mind behind it all, the
co-creator and co-director, Maggie Kang,
sat down with our Alexson to talk music,
representation, and more. in terms of
representation, in terms of being seen,
in terms of the Korean culture being
exposed to the world in ways it never
has before.
It's I mean, it it's wild. Um, I made a
movie because I wanted to see all the
things in this movie and I didn't really
realize that so many other people wanted
to see this too and so many other Asian
people wanted to see Asian characters on
screen. Um, I think we, you know, we've
all wanted that and we've we've all
wanted to see our culture represented
correctly and um, in the modern world
because a lot of times in animation we
do we do see Asian cultures but it's
like a fantasy version or you know more
of a hodge podge and um, so I I we
really wanted to show Korean culture
like on its own.
>> What was the process of putting that
music together? It was sort of an an
atypical band. Um, I mean that was kind
of my vision from the very beginning.
Uh, growing up I I used to do a lot of
karaoke and um, I thought that I could
maybe pursue a career in K-pop. I always
thought it was a silly dream and um, but
when I got into animation I I saw it as
an opportunity to create a a band of my
own and kind of live vicariously through
the performers which I am doing now.
>> Um, but yeah, it's been it's been
amazing. uh create creating the music
was was very challenging because there's
it's not just music, it's not just pop
songs. They had to tell narrative, carry
story and develop characters and all of
that took a lot of time to craft. So, uh
it was it was very challenging but you
know really you know worth the effort.
>> Next up, a story showing the profound
impact that high school sports can have
on and off the field. Longtime Northern
California sports cer Dell Rogers
retired earlier this month after a
prolific career spanning three decades.
During his final broadcast, the former
NFL running back and Super Bowl champion
says the highlight of his career was
covering high school sports.
>> I covered professional sports because I
had to. But I also covered high school
sports because I needed to. You see,
high school sports is the backbone to
our community. teaches our future adults
teamwork, bouncing back from failure
and how to appreciate success with
honor. As I say goodbye,
I ask that you continue to support high
school sports. Yeah,
>> that's why our teenagers transition to
the real world. Thank you for letting me
be a part of your fields, your courts,
and your kids' lives.
California love you and good night.
>> Powerful stuff. And get this, following
that emotional signoff, Dell was
surprised in studio by not only his
family, but the local high school
marching band as well. Rise up.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10. A
teacher from Texas turning to social
media to save Christmas for hundreds of
students. Our Lee Waldman has more on a
heartwarming feat that took Tik Tok by
storm.
400 kids were about to lose their
Christmas gifts until a teacher with
about 100 Tik Tok followers tried
something desperate.
>> Hi, my name is Kyle and I have 54 days
to save Christmas.
>> Kyle Murphy is a data analyst and
testing coordinator at an elementary
school in Fort Worth, Texas, where
roughly 90% of students come from
lowincome households. For nearly 50
years, the school's parent teacher
organization has bought gifts for every
child before winter break. But this
year, the money was gone. So she turned
to Tik Tok and posted despite having
almost no followers. 48 hours later, she
had a toy for every student. And as the
money kept pouring in, they were able to
add a stuffed animal, too.
>> I had a donation for $1.80 with a note
that said, "I'm just a high school
student. This is all that I can afford,
but I want to step up."
>> Now she's using the extra support to
fill a stocking for every child with
toys and hygiene supplies. Everybody
gets a hat, a toothbrush, some gloves,
and a hairbrush.
>> She says many families at the school
don't typically do stockings. So, for a
lot of kids, this will be their first
one ever.
>> So, being able to give some of those
students a stocking for the first time
is going to be very magical.
>> Santa is coming to the school on
December 16th for the kids, but Kyle
isn't stopping there. A donor purchased
a cooler for every teacher. And now Kyle
is trying to fill up each with goodies
before they leave for break on the 19th.
>> Our students come from from rough
backgrounds. And our teachers don't just
show up and teach our kids. They really
are that consistency, that love, that
warmth. I would just love to kind of
have that Oprah moment where they open
it up and they see that, you know,
people around the country are thinking
about them, too.
>> There's still time to help. Links are on
her Tik Tok page and at
kylesaveschrist.com.
We are all more powerful than we know.
Especially all of you. Shout out to Mrs.
Walker and friends at Ann Arbor,
Michigan, at Bach Elementary. I see you,
Elena. Rise up. Thank you for making us
a part of your day. And this shout out
goes to Mrs. Andrade at Somerset College
Preparatory South in Miami. Thank you
for sending this very special laboo to
my office. Um, I don't know how you do
this, but uh I do love it. My team has
dubbed this uh the koi boooo. So, thank
you you my boo boos. You make me smile.
Tomorrow is your word Wednesday. So, put
your unique vocabulary word and
definition in the comments section of
the most recent post on Instagram. CNN10
and Koiwire. And we're going to choose
one winning school to help make us
smarter. Have a terrific Tuesday
everyone. Be someone's lab boooo today.
I'm Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.