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Mysterious Blast in Russia; Look Back At Chernobyl Disaster; Study Concerning Migraines; NASA Working On Living On Moon; T-Rex Race

Aired August 14, 2019 - 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: You are a perfect 10 out of 10 for taking 10 for CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz at the CNN Center. Day three of our Fall production

season begins in Russia. Last Thursday there was an accident. An apparent explosion that killed at least five nuclear scientists at a military test

site. But the nation`s government didn`t speak out about it until yesterday when a Russian government spokesman said that accidents happen

and that Russia was still quote "far ahead in developing advanced weapons." There`s an international mystery surrounding this incident. For one thing,

it happened in a city of northern Russia that`s only accessible by permit and it`s closed off to international visitors.

For another, officials in the area said there was a temporary rise in radiation levels after the explosion took place, though the Russian

government says radiation levels were normal. Overall, that government has been pretty secretive about this incident in general. It says a blast did

take place last week but that it involved liquid fuel and all this has analysts around the world speculating, though they don`t know for sure,

that the explosion involved a nuclear powered cruise missile. Here`s why that`s significant. Last year Russian President Vladimir Putin said his

country had developed new weapons. Ones that would make U.S. missile defenses ineffective.

He said a new Russian missile would have an unlimited range and suggested it could avoid defense missiles for as long as needed. An accident at a

secret military test range could come as an embarrassment to the Russian government and it has a lot of control over the nation`s media so it`s

possible that information about this explosion is intentionally being kept quiet, which has some analysts suggesting this is a cover up. Back in 1986

what was then the government of the Soviet Union initially tried to cover up an explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. To be clear,

whatever happened last Thursday did not appear to have given off a large plume of nuclear radiation like the Chernobyl disaster did but more than 30

years later Chernobyl`s effects are still rippling across Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was 1:23 a.m. on April 26th, 1986 when a routine test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant went horribly wrong

causing one of four reactors to melt down and explode. After the magnitude of the disaster became clear, so called liquidators were sent in trying to

contain the radioactivity and seal the destroyed facility. But it took more than 24 hours for authorities to order the evacuation of nearby towns

like Pripyat where many of the plant`s workers lived. Few understood they were leaving forever, and what they call their war continues. Cancer rates

among thousands of people exposed to radiation remain high as do birth defects in newborn babies. The area around Chernobyl is still an exclusion

zone but remarkably some are defying orders to stay out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE THROUGH TRANSLATOR: They say radiation levels are high this woman says. Maybe radiation effects outsiders, people who have never

come here but what are old people like us afraid of?

PLEITGEN: Chernobyl remains the worst civilian nuclear disaster in history. It changed the way many around the world feel about the use of

atomic energy and still effects the lives of thousands 30 years on. Fred Pleitgen, CNN Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. This is the chemical formula for what alkaloid? Cholesterol, Nicotine, Caffeine or Codeine. The bitter alkaloid that has

this formula is caffeine.

Caffeine works by stimulating the central nervous system. It`s been called the most widely consumed drug in the world. But if you`re among the 14

percent of Americans who suffer from migraines, a new study out of Harvard University says you should avoid having too much caffeine. So how much is

too much? Well researchers found that among people who suffered from severe headaches from time to time, figure between one and three per week,

drinking one or two caffeinated drinks a day did not seem to have much of an effect on their migraines.

But people who said they had three or more caffeinated drinks, like coffee, were more likely to get migraines on the days they drank that much. The

study relied on people to report their own diets and it didn`t detail how much caffeine was in each drink they consumed. A large cup of coffee, for

instance, would have more caffeine than a small cup of tea. But the study`s author called it an important first step in figuring out where the

line is between caffeine consumption and getting migraines.

There was a lot of news coverage over the summer of NASA`s Apollo 11 mission. July 20th marked exactly 50 years since Neil Armstrong and Buzz

Aldrin bounced along the surface of earth`s natural satellite. In the three years that followed, 10 more astronauts set foot on the moon but no

ones been there since 1972. The U.S. government is working on plans to return humans to the moon and for different reasons than why people first

went there. But before anything actually gets off the ground, there are a lot of questions being asked about the cost, the value and the level of

enthusiasm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly 50 years after humans first set foot on the moon - -

NEIL ARMSTRONG, NASA ASTRONAUT: That`s one small step for man - -

CRANE: NASA is planning to go back. This time to stay.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to prove how to live and work on another world and then take all of that knowledge to Mars. That`s the goal.

CRANE: Dubbed Artemis for Apollo`s twin sister, NASA hopes to send a woman this time. The space agency originally planned a lunar landing for 2028

but in March, the Trump Administration moved the deadline up by four years. Were you blindsided at all by the - - the new timeline?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. No. We have the opportunity to do this. A lot of things have to go right. I`m not saying that there`s no risk here

but it can be done. It`s good for our country. It`s got NASA moving in a very serious way.

CRANE: NASA has already spent years working on a new rocket booster and a crew capsule for the mission. Once beyond earth`s orbit, astronauts will

dock with a small space station. Lunar Landers built like commercial partners like Jeff Bezo`s Blue Origin will carry astronaut back and forth

from the moon. There`s still a lot to work out but the biggest obstacle probably isn`t technology.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the saying goes, it`s not rocket science that`s the hard part, it`s political science, convincing the politicians that they

need to fund this adequately.

CRANE: Whatever you think it might cost, it`s probably actually going to be more. NASA estimates total costs could hit $30 billion over five years.

So far, the White House has only asked for an additional $1.6 billion but it wants that money to come from the Federal Pell Grant Program.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that proposed source of funding is a non- starter for many people. Quite frankly I was scratching my head as were many as were many other people. If we`re going back to the moon, Mars and

beyond, we`re going to need more rocket scientists not fewer.

CRANE: What do you think it`s going to take to get that bipartisan support and also to get the American public jazzed about going back to the moon?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think when it comes to science, there`s not partisanship in Congress. When it comes to exploration, there`s not

partisanship in Congress. You walk around this agency. You talk to scientists and engineers, they can tell you exactly where they were when

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon July 20th, 1969. I`m the first NASA administrator that was not alive. I don`t have that memory. I

tell you what I do remember. I remember where I was in 5th grade, Miss Power`s (ph) class when - - when Challenger exploded. The whole world was

watching. Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space was on the mission so all teachers were interested.

I`m sorry I`m getting a little emotional here, but the reality is that`s - - that`s my kind of moment where I know exactly where I was. I want to be

clear, shuttles, amazing program. International Space Station, amazing program. But I don`t remember where I was on each one of those launches.

I remember where I was on that day. We need to do these stunning achievements to inspire the next generation.

CRANE: Fifty years ago the Apollo 11 mission changed the world. Now the Artemis program could inspire a whole new generation. Rachel Crane, CNN

New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Before the recent T-Rex race began in Nevada County, California, one thing was certain. There wouldn`t be much pushing and shoving because

little arms. This is what it looks like when a bunch of first responders put on inflatable tyrannosaurus costumes and take off in a county fair. It

sure doesn`t look like Jurassic Park but in the end an engineer from the fire department crossed the finish line first.

Was it historic? It was "prehistoric". Was it audacious? It was "cretaceous". And it couldn`t have been that easy to "fossilitate" as at

the tail end of the race there were a couple tyrannosaurus "wrecks". Still there`s no "dino-denying" that everyone had a "roar some" time and we hope

you did to watching CNN 10.

END