What's up, sunshine? Happy Friday. Yay.
I am here in sunny Irvine, California,
where I just caught up with the US men's
World Cup team ahead of their tournament
debut. The excitement is kicking. More
on that in a minute. But first, let's
get you your news for Friday, June 12th.
NASA is preparing to return man to the
moon for the first time in more than 50
years with a series of historic Artemis
missions. Turns out shoot for the moon
isn't just some motivational poster
advice. And now we know who will take
part in the next mission. The space
agency has revealed the four astronauts
who will take part in Artemis 3, a
planned two-week flight which will test
out various technologies ahead of a
return to the lunar surface. Our Pete
Montine has more on the historic mission
and the crew behind it. This is a huge
announcement uh from NASA about these
four astronauts. They have whittleled
this down from an astronaut core of
about 40 uh mostly men although a lot of
women involved. Uh this is an allmale
crew. Andre Douglas, mission specialist,
his first uh mission as part of a NASA
astronaut crew. Uh US Coast Guard uh
veteran. Uh first European uh to make a
moon mission. Uh Luca Pararmatano got a
very emotional and choked up. ex-Italian
Air Force. Uh, and then we also heard
from Frank Rubio, ex- Army pilot, uh,
who is the mission specialist, one of
two on this flight, and then commander
Randy Breznik, ex United States Marine
Corps Colonel. Want you to hear from
them here. Uh, this was a quite surprise
announcement. There was so much
speculation online about who NASA would
announce as part of this crew. Would
there be a return of the four Artemis 2
astronauts as part of this? That did not
happen. We've seen an entirely new uh
cadre of astronauts here for this
Artemis 3 mission. Want you to listen to
what they said in their remarks.
>> So, Mom, thank you so much for believing
in me. For believing in me this whole
time, all these years.
>> Wow is the right word. What an
incredible blessing and an honor it is
to be standing here representing all of
you.
>> I'm honored by the the role that I've
been given. I'm also very humbled by the
task in front of us and every single
person in NASA, issa, our industry
partners, our international partners
whose blood, sweat, and tears. Okay,
hopefully not blood and very few tears
um but their collective effort will lift
all of us up on that SLS rocket when we
hit launch day and carry us through the
mission. The astronauts did a literal
handing of the baton from the Artemis 2
crew to the Artemis 3 crew. This mission
is a huge lynch pin, really the keystone
uh to getting us to the moon again. Now
to some fascinating new photos from far
beyond the moon. This incredible site
was captured by one of the world's most
powerful telescopes. Scientists at
Hawaii's Gemini Observatory snapped this
pic of NGC514,
nicknamed the Crystal Ball Nebula. Its
unique nickname comes from its binary
star system, which is two stars that
formed around the same time and orbit
each other. The stunning scene is
actually the result of one of the stars
uh shedding its layers as it dies,
eventually becoming a white dwarf. And
although crystal balls are normally
known, of course, for telling the
future, this one gives us a glimpse into
the cosmic past. This nebula lies about
1,500 light years from Earth. A
lightyear measures how far light can
travel in one year, roughly 5.8 8
trillion miles. That means the light
emitted in this photo took 1,500 years
to reach us. Imagine taking a selfie and
waiting 1500 years for it to arrive. Pop
quiz hot shot. What was Pixar Animation
Studios first featurelength film? A
Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Finding
Nemo, or Toy Story?
If you said Toy Story, you've got a
friend in me. Toy Story was released in
1995, and it wasn't just Pixar's first
movie. It was the first fully computer
animated film ever.
Maybe you've already heard the buzz.
Buzz Lightyear and the gang are back.
Toy Story 5 hits theaters next week, and
one of the world's most famous car
companies is taking the hype to infinity
and beyond. Porsche and Pixar have
teamed up to create a trio of custom
cars celebrating three of the film's
most beloved characters, proving that
eventually even toys grow up and get
expensive tastes. Bespoke 911s made
their red carpet debut at the film's
world premiere this week. We're talking
one-of-a-kind details like a Buzz
Lightyear body kit, a woody themed denim
paint job, and a custom Jesse inspired
cowgirl interior. Yee-haw. If you want
to get your hands on one, you're in
luck. The toy rific trio being sold to
benefit charities. Good cars for a good
cause. The World Cup is returning to a
very different America than the one that
visited here when it was last hosted in
1994. The biggest difference isn't the
stadiums, it's the people filling them.
Crowds are bigger, passion is louder,
soccer IQ is higher, and the
expectations for this team are rising
faster than the blood pressure and
stoppage time. As for the players, in
'94, 14 didn't even have pro clubs. US
soccer had to actually pay players just
so they could train together. No MLS, no
soccer specific stadiums, no generation
of kids growing up watching American
stars compete at some of Europe's most
storied clubs. The kids who grew up with
World Cup dreams are now living in one
right here on home soil.
>> You know, we already believe we can win
and and we're a we're a hungry
competitive group of guys. If you string
enough uh together enough wins and and
good performances,
uh you know, the the stars are the
limit.
>> We believe collectively that we can do
something really special to to change uh
yeah, soccer in this country forever.
>> We're looking forward to going out there
and making the nation proud. I think on
the outside, people maybe would doubt us
in a sense, but um why not us?
>> Now, the US haven't reached a World Cup
quarterfinal since 2002, but this group
known as America's golden generation
believes this tournament can be a soccer
moment. that changes how a country sees
the game. And if you spend any time
around this team, you'll quickly learn
they don't exactly lack confidence or
personality. We caught up with them to
ask about it. Fearless and ambitious. Um
I think we have so many guys that have
that national team experience. Um and
we're just trying to take this team to
the next level now. Fun, hardworking, um
dedicated.
>> It's really just a tight-knit family.
And you know, hopefully we can just
translate that to the pitch and uh take
care of business.
>> All right, you have to see this. While
the team was preparing for the biggest
tournament of their lives, the squad was
locked into the dramatic finish of game
four of the NBA finals. Tyler Adams is a
diehard Knicks fans. He and some of the
other players bouncing off the couches
like kids on a trampoline after too much
birthday cake. You would have thought
they just scored a World Cup winner. Now
they are hoping to create that same kind
of chaos for the rest of the country.
America's World Cup journey begins
tonight against Paraguay right here in
Los Angeles. And if this team has
anything to say about it, the party
might just be getting started.
All right, today's story getting a 10
out of 10 proves kindness can spread
faster than the latest viral dance
trend. A stranger in Mville, Tennessee,
helped generate a small fortune for an
elderly woman. 21-year-old Brooklyn
Green, posted this video on Tik Tok,
questioning why an 85-year-old woman,
Mary Aaron, a movie theater employee,
was still hauling trash at her age.
>> I thought maybe we could donate. We
could get $500 and I could go and just
give her a little tip and say, "I hope
this goes towards your retirement."
>> Well, it's overwhelming to say the very
least. We're all human beings on the one
face of Earth, and so we just need to
help if we have the opportunity. The
initiative went viral and has already
raised more than $146,000.
That's enough to make jaws drop faster
than they do for movie premiere popcorn.
All right, an example of how sometimes
social media can be used for good,
right? And there is power in numbers. We
have two shoutouts for you today on this
Friday. Yay. First up, Miss Lauren at
Montgomery Academy in Basking Ridge, New
Jersey. Thank you for making us a part
of your day. And this one goes to
Highline Big Picture Middle School in
Birian, Washington. Thank you for
subscribing to our YouTube channel. Uh,
this is our last full week before our
summer break. Class dismissed, but
curiosity, that's a year- round
assignment. So, our CNN 10 summer Friday
episodes start next week. We'll whip you
through 10 minutes of stories to get you
caught up each and every week. Play that
Friday music, nod air. Go out, make the
most of this summer. Set some goals.
Have some fun. Get some exercise. Get
some rest and most importantly, shine
bright. You never know when or how, but
you may be the spark of joy someone
needs. You are more powerful than you
know. See you next Friday. I'm Koi Wire
and we are CNN 10.
Heat.