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Attack Sent Thousands of Ethnic Armenians Fleeing To Safety in the Country of Azerbaijan; Worsening Drought Conditions Affect The Mississippi River and What It Means for Louisiana`s Drinking Water; Subway Artist Turned Influencer. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired September 27, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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


COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, sunshine. I`m Coy. This is CNN 10. And we are pumped for #YourWordWednesday. Follow me @coywire on Instagram,

Snapchat, and TikTok, and put your unique vocabulary word and definition in the comment section of my most recent post. And we will choose a winner to

sneak into tomorrow`s show.

We start by heading to Azerbaijan where there is quite a bit of unrest. The country sits between Iran and Russia and it`s home to a region called

Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian breakaway region that sits inside of Azerbaijan. This region has been the cause of years of unrest and war, and

it was in this region over the weekend that Azerbaijan launched a 24-hour assault leading to more than 13,000 people fleeing west back into the

country of Armenia.

There is currently a ceasefire brokered by Russia, but only after an explosion at a gas station inside Nagorno-Karabakh, which injured at least

200 people. Our Becky Anderson has more about the region`s current conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A mass exodus raising fears for Armenia of ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan, a charge Baku

staunchly denies. So far, thousands of ethnic Armenians have fled the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia, a tragic journey

they`ve become all too familiar with.

SVETLANA HARAPETYAN, NAGORNO-KARABAKH RESIDENT (through translator): We`ve had three wars, three times we left and came back. And now we, I don`t

know.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Last week, Azerbaijan forced the surrender of ethnic Armenian fighters in the breakaway disputed region, closing a major chapter

in a conflict that has simmered for decades. But like every war, the horrors don`t stop when the fighting abates. Although internationally

recognized as part of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh is home to about 120 thousand ethnic Armenians who make up the majority of the population.

Over the last three decades, the two countries have fought intense wars over the enclave, with a larger, more powerful Azerbaijani military ceasing

increased territory. Russia, the traditional power breaker, says it`s been delivering aid to the region`s capital, Stepanakert, and that its

peacekeepers on the ground will help escort civilians fleeing to Armenia. But despite Moscow`s presence, Nagorno-Karabakh has been under a blockade

for nine months.

Azerbaijan-backed forces blockading the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Armenia to the region. Preventing the import of food and aid and

separating families and loved ones. On Saturday, just days after the cease- fire was signed, the first convoy of humanitarian aid enter the region from the International Red Cross. Its members also carrying out medical

evacuations.

There are still fears aid isn`t reaching those who need it most, with thousands here having been surviving with little to no food and fuel for

close to a year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Ten second trivia.

What`s the longest river in the world? The Nile River, Amazon River, Yangtze River, or Mississippi River.

There`s no denying it, the Nile isn`t just a river in Africa. It`s also the longest in the world at 4,160 miles flowing right into the Mediterranean

sea.

This flows right into our next story. The mighty Mississippi River is looking more like the minuscule Mississippi. In the Crescent City of new

Orleans officials are saying that salt water from the Gulf of Mexico is threatening drinking water there. And in the surrounding region of Southern

Louisiana.

How did this water battle begin? Well where river and ocean meet the Mississippi is normally mighty enough to force the salt water to stay put

out in the Gulf, but experts predict the Mississippi will reach historic lows over the next several weeks after this summer`s lower than average

rainfall in the Midwest and a blistering heat wave.

Well, the U.S. army Corps of Engineers are coming to help to battle the ocean water from creeping up the river. They`re building a levy and they`re

barging in up to 36 million gallons of fresh water every day into area facilities to help supply people with drinking water.

Now it is officially fall here in the United States, but we can already get an idea of what winter might look like. Let`s go now to our CNN

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: You`ve probably heard about El Nino, a natural climate pattern that typically occurs every two to seven years,

bringing warmer than average sea surface temperatures to the Pacific Ocean. And consequently has a major influence on weather across the globe.

So what should the U.S. expect this fall? Some forecasts indicate the possibility of abnormal dryness in the Northwest and Midwest and weather

than normal conditions in the Southeast.

Historically the wind shear produced by El Nino has meant fewer hurricanes for the Atlantic. Wind shear is the upper-level winds that tend to

dissipate storm growth. However, warms fuel tropical storms. And this season ocean temperatures have hit record highs.

Therefore, despite the Atlantic nearing the peak of hurricane season, hurricane activity is forecast to remain high until mid-October ending in

late November. During a typical El Nino winter, the U.S. experiences a cooler than average south at a warmer than average north. It also has the

most influence over precipitation in the us during the cool months often resulting in wetter than average conditions across the Southern tier from

the Southwest to the Southeast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Next up, we have the "incredible" story of an artist from New York city who grew up on welfare and food stamps, but spent years fine tuning

his craft. And now after becoming one of the most followed visual artists on social media, he`s also getting his first solo exhibit and in art

gallery, meet Devon Rodriguez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEVON RODRIGUEZ, ARTIST (voice-over): I grew up in New York and I`ve been taking the subway since I was a child. You could see anything and

everything on the subway. You could have a homeless person next to a millionaire and you could have, you know, somebody with a fully tattooed

face next to like a conservative guy. And to me, that`s beautiful. These are like the people that I love. These are the people that I grew up

around. These are the people that run society. So this is what I wanted to present.

(On camera): Excuse me, sir. I -- I drew you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks.

RODRIGUEZ: I drew you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s amazing.

RODRIGUEZ: Nice to meet you too, bro.

(Voice-over): I was experimenting with so many different things. What I realized is that most people in society don`t love art. It`s just like a --

it`s probably like a niche thing. So I was thinking, how could I mix that with something that most people would enjoy and make it digestible to

people. So I`m mixing the drawing, but for them it`s more about the humanity of it and making somebody feel seen. The shock value of it and the

wholesome quality of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I drew you.

CROWD: Oh.

RODRIGUEZ: People just love it. And they`ll tell me like, man, I don`t know what it is. I don`t even care about art, but you, I`m obsessed with

your work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve been a fast since I was 16 years old. I`m 24 now.

RODRIGUEZ: Maybe like six months ago, I became the most followed visual artist on the whole entire internet. Now they`re going to come to the

gallery tonight at night. It might give them a different perspective.

The whole show is called Underground, because I went around the world, traveling the underground worlds. And the second meaning is I feel like I`m

an underground artist, because I never really had any work in any gallery or had a solo exhibition. Here from the Bronx that was on welfare and food

stamps in this, you know, gate kept industry. I always felt like -- I always just felt like I -- I didn`t belong.

I feel like I`ve been prepping for this moment since I was like 14, since I started painting for this show, I really had to show people, you know, what

I`m capable of because people think that I`m just like this TikToker overnight success. But, you know, I feel like I have more depth than that.

I really wanted to put all my effort so that people could see and hopefully they like it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Let`s go from underground to under the sea for today`s story, getting a 10 out of tentacles. Researcher spotted a rare Dumbo octopus

during an expedition in the Pacific Ocean, Northwest of Hawaii often called the Cutest Octopus in the World. These are cephalopods and those two-

elephant ear like things, well, those are two fins protruding from their mantles. They`re rarely seen because they live nearly 13,000 feet below the

surface. This Dumbo octopus sort of look like a friendly floating ghost as well. Thanks to light shining from a remotely operated vehicle.

How do you get an octopus to laugh? Ten-tickles. Don`t forget to octo-put your vocabulary word in the comment section @coywire on social. Put the

definition, teacher, and school name in there too. And we`ll choose a winner to sneak into tomorrow`s show.

Our shout out today goes two Mrs. Ellerman`s (ph) government class at Lakes Community High School in Lake Villa, Illinois, rise up. Keep chasing those

dreams. Remember you have to see it before you can see it. I`m Coy Wire. And I`ll see you tomorrow.

END