Today's Show Transcript

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, and happy Thursday everyone, it's almost Fri-yay, so let's smell the flowers, and cool the soup, and make this an awesome day, shall we?
I'm Coy Wire, here with your 10 minutes of news, and we start today's show with some very big news, NASA's historic Artemis II mission. After months of delays, the Artemis crew is now en route to the moon, following a successful launch last night. The milestone endeavor is the first manned mission of the Artemis program. It's also the first time NASA has sent man back to the moon since the 1970s. The Artemis II crew, however, will only orbit the moon this time, and will not land on the lunar surface.
The mission is a key step towards the program's ultimate goal, establishing a permanent presence on the moon. Here's how it all went down.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: GLS is go for core stage engine start.
Engine integrity, good, roll, pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, roll, pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Integrity AMT high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: AMT high.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
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WIRE: Fun little project for you, what questions might you have about the Artemis mission? Our Jackie Wattles is on this story. Email us at CNN10 @CNN.com or message us on our Instagrams at CNN10@coywire and your question and an answer to it could be featured in a future episode.
Drivers across the French capital of Paris were living in the slow lane this week to protest rising fuel costs. Dozens of truckers and bus drivers clogged key roadways as part of a go-slow demonstration aimed at pressuring the French government to provide more aid to transport businesses. Fuel costs have soared since the United States and Israel's war with Iran began and some businesses say their fuel costs have nearly doubled just as peak tourism season is arriving.
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CHIHEB BEN SALLEM, DIRECTOR OF BUS BUSINESS, AUTOCARS MAJESTI: It's not normal that you're seeing so many coach buses here. We are currently in peak season and you shouldn't even find one coach bus that's available. And seeing so many mobilized for the protest today means that there is a problem that we can see currently.
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WIRE: The French government says it will provide 50 million euros in aid for the month of April in a bid to help offset the shock to businesses. That equates to an estimated 20 cents per liter of fuel, a number the French transport minister says could grow as the situation in the Strait of Hormuz evolves.
Pop quiz hot shot.
Who is the author behind "The Three Musketeers?"
Mary Shelley, Mark Twain, Alexander Dumas or Charles Dickens?
If you said Alexander Dumas, en garde, the famed French novelist who also penned "The Count of Monte Cristo" was behind some of the most famous adventure novels of the 1800s.
A groundbreaking discovery in the Netherlands may have finally solved the mystery behind one of history's most famous swashbucklers. Archaeologists believe a skeleton found beneath the floor of a Dutch church may belong to none other than the famed French musketeer, d'Artagnan, the real-life inspiration behind "The Three Musketeers." Our Jasmine Amjad, one for all, all for one, fascinating story about a fantastic find.
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JASMINE AMJAD, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST (voice-over): This recently discovered skeleton could be the legendary French soldier who inspired "The Three Musketeers" novel, according to church officials and an archaeologist. The remains were unearthed after the floor of a Dutch church partially collapsed in front of the altar. After the discovery, archaeologists began working on DNA tests to identify the skeleton.
WIM DIJKMAN, ARCHAEOLOGIST (through translation): This has truly become a top-level investigation, in which we want to be absolutely certain, or as certain as possible, whether it is the famous musketeer who was killed here near Maastricht, or not.
AMJAD: Saint Peter and Paul Church has been identified in the past as a possible grave for the French musketeer Charles de Batz de Castelmore, d'Artagnan. While d'Artagnan was a heroic historical figure who was killed during the war in 1673, he was immortalized as a fictional version of himself in Alexander Dumas' novel "The Three Musketeers." Archaeologists are now waiting for the results of the DNA test from the remains' jawbone against descendants of d'Artagnan.
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WIRE: There is only one direct train from Beijing, China to Pyongyang, North Korea. Suspended during the 2020 pandemic, the 24-hour secretive route has just reopened for the first time in six years. And some diplomatic experts believe it means North Korea could be ready to reengage with the outside world. CNN Senior Photojournalist Justin Robertson rode the train as far as he was allowed to, and here is what he saw.
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JUSTIN ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR PHOTOJOURNALIST (voice-over): These old-school green trains are a far cry from China's famous high-speed bullet trains. But the route they serve is perhaps the most fascinating in the world, connecting the bustling Chinese capital to the so-called Hermit Kingdom.
ROBERTSON: I'm here in Beijing. And this train behind me is leaving for Pyongyang, North Korea. And I'm about to get on board.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): For decades, this rail line has quietly carried select diplomats and business people, as well as a modest number of tourists across tightly controlled borders. This vital route was cut when the COVID pandemic hit. After six years, the service was finally restored in March, a small but significant signal that North Korea is cautiously reopening to the outside world.
Inside the rail cars, it's a throwback to an earlier era of train travel. Cozy sleeping cabins with bunk beds, a dining car serving hot meals. The journey itself takes around 24 hours at what feels like a methodical pace covering over 1,200 kilometers from Beijing and on through northeastern China.
For now, the route is used mainly by Russian tour groups and approved Chinese business travelers. As the train reaches the Chinese border city, passengers are allowed out in the sensitivity of the place I've arrived at, sets in.
Security tightens and photography becomes increasingly restricted.
ROBERTSON (on camera): The train continues on to Pyongyang. For me, unfortunately, my journey ends here. I'm in Dandong right on the border of North Korea and China. A couple of hundred meters over there, that's North Korea. But I've heard there's a local boat to it that can take us quite close to the North Korean coast.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): This isn't my first time seeing North Korea up close. I've reported from there many times before, but this felt different. Usually, we're escorted through the polished streets of Pyongyang, kept away from scenes like these.
Peering into this secretive state from the Chinese side was something else entirely. Watching soldiers pace the shoreline and workers move through a shipyard, almost a surreal sense of calm and a completely different view of one of the world's biggest geopolitical flashpoints.
Justin Robertson, CNN, Dandong, China.
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WIRE: Let's travel to Italy now, where a brazen art museum heist has authorities working to recover stolen masterpieces. Three paintings by French masters Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse have been stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in northern Italy. Authorities say that the thieves broke into the museum and carried out the theft in under three minutes.
A lawyer for the foundation told CNN that the operation appeared carefully planned and coordinated, adding that it may have been influenced by another recent museum break-in. You may remember the Louvre in Paris.
Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, has us fired up. A group of high school students trading summer break for the firehouse at Camp Fury.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your feet planted for a second. We'll lower you down just a little bit.
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WIRE: At the week-long camp, these young women train like firefighters, learning CPR, rescues and even how to put out flames. Ember, some impressive skills.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women can't do this very physical job. Well, that's just simply not true.
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WIRE: Leaders of the camp say it's about opening the girls' minds to firefighting as a career option, fanning the flames of confidence and opening doors in a field where women make up less than 10 percent of firefighters nationwide.
For some participants, like Alyssa Harris, camp has sparked an interest that turned into a career.
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ALYSSA HARRIS, FIREFIGHTER: That's when I really knew, and I got to see them in action and do some evolutions. It was great.
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WIRE: With every drill and challenge, these campers are building skills and a new sense of what is possible.
All right, it is almost time to go, but we have some shout-outs coming in hot. This first one goes to Mr. Richards and Mr. Matthews at Madison Grant High School in Fairmount, Indiana. Thanks to all of you and everyone subscribing and commenting on our CNN10 YouTube channel for your shout-out requests.
And this shout-out goes to Mrs. Barlow at Gunnison Valley Middle School in Gunnison, Utah. You rock. Thank you for this exceedingly cool pop-up book, Sunshine. I see you. This really made my day. Thank you so much. Have a fantastic rest of your week. I'm Coy Wire, and we are CNN10.