What's up, sunshine? Happy Friday. Fry.
Yay. I know some of you already have one
foot out the door getting ready to have
the best summer ever. Awesome. We are so
excited for you. I'm Ky Wire. This is
CNN 10. And on today's show, we have a
wildfire threatening one of the rarest
ecosystems in America. Underwater chess,
where only one wrong move is literally
sink or swim. Let's go. We're going to
start though with major developments
involving Cuba and a move by the United
States that's sending political shock
waves from Havana to Washington DC. The
US Justice Department announced this
week it has indicted 94year-old former
Cuban President Raul Castro on charges
that include murder and conspiracy to
kill US nationals. The charges stem from
his alleged involvement in a 1996
incident when Cuban fighter jets shot
down planes flown by Miami based
volunteer group over international
waters, killing four people, including
three Americans. This case reopens one
of the most painful chapters in US Cuba
relations. A rivalry that's been
simmering since the Cold War. This
indictment is raising new questions
about what comes next, including
concerns about possible US military
activity near the island nation. Our
Patrick Ottman explains how he got here.
While Ral Castro is officially retired,
he remains the most powerful man on this
island. He's handpicked many if not all
of the top leadership here both military
and political. And so when Cuba's
president Miguel Diaz Canel says that
Castro is not going anywhere, much less
a courtroom in Miami, that carries a lot
of weight with it, it is uh essentially
the Cuban government's way of saying
that if the US were to try to seize Ral
Castro, like we saw take place against
Venezuela's leader Nicholas Manduro, who
himself was under US indictment, then
clearly the Cuban government, the Cuban
military would put up a fight. Already
we have seen the Cuban military carrying
out more maneuvers. We've seen Cuban
officials tell the population here that
they should prepare for any kind of
military strikes or potentially a US
invasion. That is something that people
take seriously here. This is an island
that for decades uh has lived under the
fear of a US invasion. One that is
becoming more and more probable as
tensions get higher and higher here.
Cubans that I have spoken to, even those
who don't support the government, say
they are very concerned though that if
there is an off-ramp to this crisis that
any kind of military strikes that
destabilize the government, cause it to
collapse, eventually could lead to some
kind of humanitarian disaster. Now to
California, where a wildfire is tearing
through one of the most unique
ecosystems on the planet, Channel
Islands National Park, often called
North America's Galapagos, because its
isolation helped rare species evolved
there for thousands of years. Basically,
nature's exclusive VIP section. But now,
a human-caused wildfire is threatening
that fragile paradise. It began last
week. Officials are investigating its
origins. As of this taping, the fire has
grown to more than 17,000 acres, making
it the largest in the state this year.
And in the middle of all this chaos came
a rescue straight out of a movie. A
stranded sailor crashed near the island
during the blaze and sent an SOS in the
most dramatic way, carving a giant help
message into the scorched earth. The
Coast Guard spotted it and airlifted the
67year-old to safety. Tom Hanks and
Castaway Somewhere was like, "Respect."
Typically, when you think concert venue,
you picture giant speakers, bright
lights, and overpriced nachos. But one
music festival is proving all you really
need is a front porch and good vibes.
Porchfest is a music festival
highlighting local bands in cities
across America and parts of Canada. And
last week in Atlanta, Georgia, nearly
40,000 people showed up to rock the
block. Our CNN 10 News associate, Lisa
Wong, has more. In less than 12 hours,
this quiet street in Atlanta, Georgia is
going to go from this to this. But
before that happens, let's rewind a
little bit. Listening to live music goes
all the way back to when humans figured
out they can make noises by banging
items together and using their voices.
That eventually evolved to making simple
instruments. The oldest one we know of
is a bone flute, 40,000 years old.
The modern music listening experience is
now so accessible and diverse and the
Atlanta, Georgia community is doing just
that.
>> This is the sixth annual Virginia
Highlands Porchfest. It's actually one
of many that happen across America and
parts of Canada. It's a music festival
that features a variety of local bands
and puts them on the big stage. Except
the big stage is a bunch of neighborhood
porches. It was during CO that they
decided like we need to get out in the
streets and have some fun and why not
bring it to this neighborhood.
There are 100 bands playing this year
and according to the committee over
38,000 people bought tickets. That's
like 530 school buses packed with people
but all right outside your bedroom
window. I'm not nervous for the crowd.
It's been big crowds before. A lot of
local bands, some people live in the
neighborhood, are playing. The unique
thing about local bands is that a
majority of its members have other
full-time jobs. Getting together to play
and perform is simply because they're
passionate about it.
>> Music is everywhere. Being able to play
live music is even better cuz you know
that you're providing the thing that
people like.
>> Exposing people who maybe wouldn't
usually go to shows or um don't really
necessarily listen to this type of music
is super cool, especially in like a
local neighborhood that everyone's going
to be at. Being able to enjoy company
over good tunes has been a favorite
pastime for humans for thousands of
years, and we'll continue to see live
music evolve for thousands more.
Pop quiz hot shot. Which animal has the
largest number of individual bones?
Python, elephant, cheetah, or bald
eagle?
If you said python, you are smart. Some
large pythons can have more than 1,800
bones. That's hundreds of vertebrae and
ribs. Humans have 206 bones, meaning the
python basically said, "Hold my
skeleton." Now to a positively adorable
guest, taking the stage to honor the
graduating veterinary students that
helped save her life. Our Jeremy Roth
has more on Honey, the dog's best in
show moment.
>> Honey has joined us to celebrate your
special day. A very unique guest of
honor headlined a recent college
commencement in Iowa celebrating the
very students that helped save her life.
This is Honey. In December, she was
critically injured after being hit by a
car. KCCI reports her owner couldn't
afford treatment, so they surrendered
her to the Iowa State University College
of Veterinary Medicine, who worked
tirelessly to save Honey through
extensive treatment and rehabilitation,
fundraising, and teamwork by doctors,
residents, and students who got to see
the fruits of their labors as Honey made
her way happier and healthier with Cap
and Gown across the commencement stage.
I think it it just gives them kind of
peak into what they can do and the
impact that they can have in taking care
of animals.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.
Chess players are literally taking
things to a deeper level. In Tarnovo,
Padornne, Poland, 62 chess players from
around the world participated in the
largest world diving chess championship.
What are the rules you ask? Players dive
to the bottom of a pool and make one
chess move per breath on weighted
magnetic boards before resurfacing. So,
not only do you need strategy, you need
lungs of steel. This hybrid sport is
gaining traction with seasoned pros and
teenage newbies trying to make waves
internationally with mastermind moves
underwater. Okay, no show on Monday
because of Memorial Day. So, we're back
on Tuesday. And for all of you
celebrating the last day of school
today, congrats. So pumped for you. Feel
free to subscribe to our CNN 10 YouTube
channel because we'll have summer Friday
shows coming to keep those brains
flexing while the backpacks rest. Our
first shout out of the day goes to Mrs.
Giggle at Burchil High School in
Wasilla, Alaska. Thank you for this. A
handpainted fall antler from Amoose.
Love the time and the attention to
detail that you put into this. It's
headed to our wall of friends hall of
fame. And our next shout out, music to
our ears. Mr. Maro at Ross A. Lurgio
Middle School in Bedford, New Hampshire.
And student Colton sent us his version
of Friday Music on three different
instruments. Play that Friday music,
Colton.
So good. Rise up, Colton. Rise up all of
you. Go out. Make someone's day better
this weekend. One kind word or smile can
have a huge ripple effect. You're more
powerful than you know. I'm Koi Wire and
we are CNN 10.
Heat.