Hello and rise up. Happy Friday, Friday,
and happy Independence Eve. I am here on
the campus of Stanford University at
Stanford Stadium. This is my alma mater.
Now, why am I here? I am in the Bay Area
of Northern California covering the
history making moments from the World
Cup this week, including the USA winning
its first World Cup knockout game since
2002. They beat Bosnia and Herzgavina
2-nil and it was a roller coaster of
emotions. Their breakout star Falen
Ballagan was given a red card in this
game. So that means he will now be
suspended for their round of 16 match
against Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
He's the USA's leading goal scorer. So,
will this adversity make this team
crumble, or will it galvanize them? The
strongest steel is burned in the hottest
coals, and the best of the best can be
forged in moments just like this. All
right, tomorrow marks the United States
250th anniversary, and cities across the
country are gearing up to go big for the
semiquentennial birthday bash. National
landmarks from Mount Rushmore to Niagara
Falls will host epic fireworks shows.
Some cities opting for synchronized
drone light shows as a more ecological
option. In New York, the US Coast Guard
will host the International Parade of
Sale. The largest ever flotilla of tall
ships from around the world. And from LA
to Boston, some of the country's biggest
cities will transform into patriotic
block parties. It's all part of a
massive plan celebration organized by
the nonpartisan Congressional America
250 Commission. And if you're headed to
our nation's capital, be sure to look
up. Washington DC is going all out with
a planned record-breaking fireworks
display featuring more than 860,000
pyrochnics among the city's historical
landmarks and reflecting pool.
Did you know one of America's most
famous monuments here in Washington DC
is packed with hidden secrets? One of
the most visited landmarks in the United
States, this memorial honors President
Abraham Lincoln, who led the nation
through the Civil War and helped end
slavery in America. Construction began
on February 12th, 1914 on what would
have been Lincoln's 105th birthday. It
took about 8 years to build.
The Lincoln Memorial has 36 massive
columns. Why? one for every state in the
Union when Abraham Lincoln, the 16th US
president, was assassinated in 1865.
Now, the names of all 48 states existing
when the memorial opened in 1922 were
added around the top. Then, a plaque for
Alaska and Hawaii were added later. The
giant Lincoln statue weighs 350,000 lbs,
about 35 fully grown African elephants.
And if honest Abe were to stand up, he'd
be nearly three stories tall. And get
this, there's a typo inside to the right
first panel. Workers accidentally carved
an E instead of an F in the word future.
Later corrected it, but if you know
where to look, you can still see it
today. Even national monuments need
spellch check. And these steps, they
became the stage when Martin Luther King
Jr. gave his legendary I have a dream
speech in 1963.
A monument built for one president
became a symbol for an entire nation.
As we celebrate America's independence,
it gives us an opportunity to salute and
to honor the heroes that have made it
so. The CNN 10 honor roll, where your
submissions help us put the spotlight on
some special service members and their
impact on your lives. Our first salute
today goes to Lieutenant Colonel Justin
Kirk in the United States Marine Corps,
who has served nearly 20 years in total,
including wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
His daughter Charlotte nominated him and
sent us this special moment from his
Naval War College graduation earlier
this month. Congratulations. Now, First
Lieutenant Sarah Rule is currently
serving in the Middle East as part of
the 82nd Airborne Division in the US
Army. Her aunt Judy says she's a
courageous young woman who followed her
convictions to protect her country. Way
to go, Lieutenant. Your aunt wants you
to know she is incredibly proud of you
and loves you very much. And this salute
goes to private first class Braden
Hackne O'Brien in the US Army who is
currently stationed in Hawaii. His
mother Leslie writes, "His family is so
proud of him and misses him every day."
A big thank you to everyone who sent us
nominations this month and keep them
coming. Send us a photo and a few lines
about the hero in your life to CNN10 at
CNN.com.
Pop quiz hot shot. In this 1893 ruling,
the Supreme Court unanimously voted that
a tomato is classified as hot fruit,
legume, gourd, or vegetable.
If you didn't say vegetable, you better
catch up. Nicknamed the tomato case, the
Supreme Court officially classified
tomatoes as veggies after a farmer sued
the collector of the port of New York
for taxing them on vegetable imports,
arguing the tomatoes were fruits.
The US Supreme Court wrapped up a
landmark term this week. The court
issued several major decisions that will
affect the laws of this country for
decades, if not permanently. The
justices rejected an effort to limit
birthright citizenship, which is also
enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the
Constitution. This ruling reaffirmed
that children born on US soil are
citizens regardless of their parents'
immigration status. The vote was 6 to3
and analysts say the ruling means about
250,000 babies per year will retain
their birthright citizenship.
Millions of student loan borrowers are
now facing new changes that took effect
Wednesday. This is a result of last
year's tax and spending law. The federal
changes mostly affect students or
parents who plan to take out a loan in
the near future. But some current
borrowers will also need to take action.
And CNN senior business writer Tammy
Lubie has everything we need to know.
>> Some borrowers, particularly lower
income folks, will be hit with higher
monthly payments. And new professional
and graduate students won't be able to
borrow as much. And neither will parents
who are looking to help their kids pay
for college. People searching may be
wondering what the changes entail. The
law created two new repayment plans. The
standard tiered repayment plan and the
repayment assistance plan known as RAP.
But these options only apply to students
taking out new loans. Most existing
repayment plans will be around until
July 2028, but at that time, borrowers
will have to switch. Also, professional
and graduate students will no longer be
able to borrow up to the cost of
attendance. Professional students, such
as those going to medical school or law
school, will be limited to $50,000 a
year or $200,000 over their lifetime.
Graduate students will be limited to
$20,500
a year or $100,000 over their lifetime,
and the grad plus loan will be
eliminated. Meanwhile, the parent plus
loan will be limited to $20,000 a year
or $65,000 total over the course of a
student's study.
>> To Venezuela now, where more than a week
has passed since those devastating
earthquakes, but emergency crews are not
giving up hope of pulling more people
from the rubble alive. Thursday morning,
a 44 year old man was miraculously
pulled from the wreckage of a ninestory
building. He worked as a mall security
guard and was trapped in the debris of
what used to be the mall's parking
garage. International rescue teams were
able to get him food and fluids over the
course of eight days, keeping him alive.
Okay. Earlier this week, a search team
from Jordan found a three-year-old boy
trapped in the rubble for 6 days. They
were able to get him out and immediately
started medical care. The death toll in
Venezuela is still rising now at almost
2,300 people have died. There are
thousands still missing and tens of
thousands of people are living on the
street and intense as so many people
simply lost everything in an instant.
Okay, this next story is the one getting
today's 10 out of 10. A onewoman crew
rowing her own boat and uh seizing the
day. There is a woman named Kelsey
Fendler who's absolutely crushing it
right now. Racing to become the first
American woman and youngest woman ever
to row the Mid Pacific all alone. Her
goal 2400 miles from Monterey,
California to Oahu, Hawaii. She left on
May 21st and if she keeps her current
pace, she'll arrive between July 6th and
10th sometime next week. And that would
mean she'd be beating not only the the
women's record for that trip, but also
the men's. Again, all done solo, no
support staff, no food drops.
>> I won't say that this has zero risk
involved because that that's just not
true. But I think the context of that is
anything that is worth doing has some
risk involved. And I think that's the
whole point.
>> Kelsey's been a whitewater rafting guide
on the Colorado River for more than a
decade. She's now raising money for her
journey for the Whale Foundation, which
supports river guides in the Grand
Canyon area. That ordeal is a stroke of
genius. All right, sunshine. We have
time for two shoutouts today. This first
one goes to the PAVE program at Cedar
Crest High School in Duval, Washington.
Thank you for spending your summer
Fridays with us. This next shout out
goes to Miss Davis at Empowered
Solutions Micro School in Oklahoma City.
Thank you for subscribing and commenting
on our CNN 10 YouTube channel. Go out,
make it an awesome Fourth of July
weekend. Remember, be the spark of joy
someone needs. Make someone smile. You
never know when they might need you. I'm
Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.