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CNN 10

American Teenagers Discuss the Challenges They`re Facing; A Company Plans Balloon Trips to the Edge of Space; Groundhog Hogs a Piece of Pizza

Aired April 17, 2020 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Well, it`s springtime. We`re still producing our show. You`re still finding ways to watch it and Fridays are still

awesome. So at least this pandemic hasn`t changed everything. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10. Some American intelligence officials say it may never be

known exactly where COVID-19 came from. Scientists originally believed it started spreading from a seafood and animal market in Wuhan, China but we

told you last week how researchers didn`t all agree with that explanation. And now U.S. government investigators say they`re looking at several

theories for how the virus got into people and started spreading including the possibility that it came from a Chinese research laboratory in Wuhan.

American intelligence officials are examining whether some kind of accident led to COVID-19 getting out of the lab and into the public. They say they

don`t think it was developed as a biological weapon. They also say it`s too early to draw any conclusions and the Chinese government has denied

that lab research led to the corona virus pandemic. But the search for answers continues as the disease continues to spread. U.S. President

Donald Trump says America is past the peak on new corona virus cases so he`s looking at ways to reopen certain parts of the country but some health

experts say more testing is still needed before that should happen.

And the governor of New York, the state with the most cases, says businesses and schools there will stay shutdown until at least May 15th.

We know that for you students watching our show this is not how you pictured the school year panning out especially you graduating seniors. So

here`s a look at some of the challenges that American teenagers are facing and how they`re overcoming them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a freshman they kind of tell you like, oh, you know everything to the build up to senior year. And kind of, everything is

like, going down the drain now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me and my team are really, like, motivated and determined to like go win a championship next year. I would be very

(inaudible) if I happen to, like, miss my senior season.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mental health has affected so much of my senior year and then for corona virus take, like, the remainder of that is

definitely something that has been hard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got accepted to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. So I was really excited to be going to but now I don`t know

where I`m going to go. My mom lost her job. My dad might get laid off. I - - I don`t know what`s going to happen with them. So if we can`t afford

to pay the bills then I might have to go to community college or something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve kind of come to terms with it but it`s also depressing to think about because, you know, it - - it should - -it

shouldn`t have been this way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m practicing but now with my team. I go to the park by myself or with my dad, my brothers. I do, like, a workout like home

drills, ladders. I just miss being with my teammates and bonding with them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s me doing my Chemistry homework from my bed where I`ve been doing everything else as well recently.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never really considered, like, being able to go to school everyday and like being able to go to the store when I needed to

without, like, being worried.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know if it`s every kid`s dream to, like, be able to have, like, that prom, like a perfect prom and to be able to walk at

graduation with all those tassels.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I miss out on a lot of what I think, like, the dream high school experience was but I don`t think that was robbing you from high

school experience. Like, I think that was my high school experience and I think that was I was supposed to experience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I`ll cherish, like, more moments with friends, family. Definitely my friends (inaudible) life and how I think.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m trying to stay on the positive side. Here and now, this is only a fraction of my life. You know, I`m going to be going so far

and beyond into the stuff that I`m going to do in my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s just important that we, like, acknowledge how disappointing this is because it`s a loss to everybody for

different reasons. And while it`s disappointing we also have to use it as something to help us move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these layers of the Earth`s atmosphere is the highest? Thermosphere, troposphere, mesosphere or stratosphere. Of

these options no layer is higher than the thermosphere where the temperature is hotter the higher you go.

The stratosphere extends from about six to 30 miles over our heads and that`s where a company called World View wants to take people in a capsule

attached to a balloon if they can afford it. Here`s what the world view would look like if and when these trips get off the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it would be a tremendous shame to live my entire life on a planet I`ve never really seen. I think that sort of

changes how you view life and really gives you a better appreciation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re working to make space as accessible as a commercial airline flight. We have people from all around the world who

bought tickets to fly in a World View capsule. Our tickets right now are $75,000 a seat. The oldest person is in their 80s`.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Air Force Balloonist Captain Joseph Kittinger Jr. is laced into an elaborate pressure suit in preparation for a daring ascent

into the stratosphere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The idea for balloons and man space goes all the way back to - - to - - during the 50s`. Before the age of rockets and the

great space race, we were using high altitude balloons to take people to the edge of space. So it`s this really old idea that`s laid dormant really

for the last 60 years and it seemed it was time to bring it back. As we begin to develop that project, the Strat Edge (ph) program came along. The

team really jelled around taking Alan Eustace edge of space and having him jump from the edge of space down very quickly. The team has that

technology essentially formed the basis of World View.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The balloon that takes the capsule up is about the size of a football stadium. So imagine looking out the window when it`s

completely dark out and there`s an incredible starscape outside like - - like really nobody has seen except the astronauts. And you`ll see the sun

start lighting up the planet below you. You`ll see the curvature of the Earth but the sky will still be black. It`s going to be the most

extraordinary sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it`s time to come back, we open up a big parafoil that is 3,200 square feet. The largest parafoil that`s ever been operated.

This parafoil, for example, is about 1,200 square feet so it would be about three times bigger than this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The balloon itself falls essentially in a big ball of plastic towards the Earth and then a team goes out and collects the balloon

and it gets turn into plastic bottles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really feel that taking people in this way is going to really open the door to a space experience in a way that you

really can`t do any other way. Humans have always explored. We`ve always gone beyond. We always have and we always must. That`s what in large

measure makes us human.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck, would chuck wood? None if he had pizza. A woman in Philadelphia says she noticed her

dogs were looking intently out the glass door and on the other side looking right back at them was this merry, munchin`, marmot. As the groundhog

gorged himself on a stray piece of pie. This apparently went on for an hour before the ravenous rodent wrapped his "refection" and "rambled" away.

Who wouldn`t "chuck" the chance to capture a varmint like a marmot carving out the time to "groundhog" every pizza pie he could? It`s a "cheesy"

slice of life that would leave the "crustiest" rodent hungry for Groundhog Day. Rochester Beacon Academy is a beacon of education in Rochester,

Minnesota. We hope you and everyone watching worldwide has a wonderful weekend. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.

END