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The Amazon`s Rivers Are Running Dry; Geophysicists Use New Technology on Very Old Lunar Samples to Get a More Precise Age of Our Moon; Tips to Avoid Pumpkin Carving Injuries. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired October 25, 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 lovely people. Welcome to CNN 10, and welcome to Barclays Center in New York city. I`m here because fanatics, the

digital sports platform is teaming up with a nonprofit Make-A-Wish, which grants wishes of children with critical illnesses. And three youngsters are

going to meet their heroes today. Tom Brady, Aaron Judge, and Jayson Tatum. And I can`t wait to share those moments with you soon. Remember, you can be

a hero to someone too, even if it`s just making someone smile today.

All right, let`s get to the news. We start in Brazil where a record drought is drastically affecting waterways in the Amazon jungle. On Monday,

researchers recorded water levels where the Rio Negro and the Amazon river meet and found the water had dropped to its lowest levels ever recorded.

These rivers in tributaries, which means they flow in and out of lakes and streams creating the normally lush jungle ecosystem we`ve come to love.

Hundreds of thousands of people depend on these tributaries for fishing and transportation. And to get key supplies into their remote villages, many

boats and floating houses are now left stranded. The region is in its dry season, but the Brazilian government says the Amazon has seen the least

rain from July to September in more than 40 years. They say the El Nino weather pattern, which we learned about here on CNN 10 earlier along with

global warmings intensifying heat are to blame.

Wildlife is also feeling the pain. Earlier this month, researchers found over 100 dead dolphins, suggesting water temperatures were the cause. The

low river levels and high heat brought the water temperature up to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That`s how hot, hot tubs are. These boto or pink

river dolphins, they`re so cute, right? Well, they only live in fresh water throughout south America. Researchers and activists have been trying to

move the dolphins to cooler waters, but say the continued drought will only make things worse.

Ten second trivia.

Which of these was the last mission to have people on the moon? Apollo 11, Apollo 13, Apollo 17 or Apollo 19?

Apollo 17 is your answer here. And as part of that mission in 1972, astronaut Gene Cernan was the last person to walk on the moon.

The moon has been Earth`s constant companion for more than 4 billion years. And it`s been a constant source of discovery for science. A new study

suggests that the moon is even older than we`d originally thought about 35 million years older. And a crystal called Zircon is at the heart of this

discovery.

To take a step back, we know that scientists believe the moon formed when our solar system was in its early chaotic days, where rocks were colliding

and our earth was forming. A proto planet called Theia crashed into earth, flinging off a large rocky piece, which became the moon. The energy from

that impact created a molten lunar magma ocean that eventually became the moon surface.

Two years ago, scientists used modeling to understand how that ocean cooled and thought the moon was 85 million years younger than we`d believed. But

incomes, new technology, geophysicists who studied natural resources like oil, gas, and minerals used Atom Probe Tomography that takes a moon

material, sharpens off samples. And like a pencil sharpener then works like an hourglass to push those samples through a spectrometer, to see how fast

they move. That speed showed that the samples were made of zircon and zircon is one of the oldest known solids, meaning the moon must be the same

age, 4.46 billion years old. Those lunar samples were collected way back in the 1970s by the Apollo 17 astronauts. And they still teach us things

today.

Here`s more now on those incredible Apollo missions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 600 million people watched Neil Armstrong take those famous first steps on the Moon.

(OFF MIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But after the Apollo 11 astronauts return to earth, public interest in later Apollo missions began to fade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, here`s -- we`ve had a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the people who continued to tune in were treated to some pretty special moments. Astronauts took advantage of their unique

surroundings to have a bit of fun. During the Apollo 17 mission, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt sang their own rendition of the fountain in the

park.

JACK SCHMITT: I was strolling on the Moon one day --

JACK SCHMITT & GENE CERNAN: -- in the merry, merry month of --

GENE CERNAN: May.

JACK SCHMITT: December

GENE CERNAN: No, May.

JACK SCHMITT: May.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The classic jumping photo, it may have been attempted at the last wedding you attended.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on out here, give me your photos.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, during the Apollo 16 mission, astronaut Charles Duke captured John Young in Mida (ph) while saluting to the flag.

CHARLES DUKE, ASTRONAUT: OK, here we go, a big one. Off the ground one mor. There we go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s since gone down as one of the most famous Apollo photos ever taken.

When they weren`t taking epic pictures, Duke and Young got to drive around in a Luna Rover. The electric buggies were used on the last Apollo

missions, 15, 16, and 17, and provided astronauts a fast way to cover large distances, helping them make more scientific discoveries than they could on

foot, or just to do a bit of joy riding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought the ride was real sporty. It bounced a lot. Sometimes both front wheels were off the surface. The back end is like

driving on ice and breaking loose occasionally, but it was a lot of fun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Back in the 16th Century, Galileo taught his students that objects fall at the same rate regardless of their size or mass. That

is if they`re not restricted by any resistance from the air.

DAVID SCOTT, APOLLO 15 COMMANDER: Well, in my left hand, I have a -- a feather. In my right hand, a hammer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, since the moon has virtually no air to breathe Apollo 15 commander David Scott decided to test this experiment by dropping

a feather and a hammer from the same height, low and behold, they did in fact hit the ground at the same time.

SCOTT: How about that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And just for a little fun, Alan Shepard brought the head of a 6-iron and a couple of golf balls aboard Apollo 14. The head was

modified so he could attach it to an instrument that collected rock samples.

(OFF MIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That should have gone probably on the earth, maybe 30, 35 yards. But that little rascal went over 200 yards of a one hand shot

like that. And it was in the air. The time of flight was almost 35 seconds.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perhaps the most enduring images are the ones when the astronauts actually looked back at earth, this one taken on Apollo 17. The

last time man was on the moon. It`s known simply as the Blue Marble.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Today`s story, getting a 10 out to 10, if you still got pumpkins to carve, don`t reach for that kitchen knife just yet. Did you know that

around half of all Halloween related injuries come from our creativity gone wrong since pumpkin carving catastrophes can be a quotidian experience this

time of year. We have a couple of tips just for you. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSEPH GALBO, U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: Probably the most surprising stat around Halloween related injuries is that almost half of

the injuries are related to pumpkin carving.

So now I`m going to show you how to carve a pumpkin safely. First tip, we want to make sure you`re carving your pumpkin on a firm flat surface. So

we`re just going to make sure this table is nice and firm, which it is. A lot of people carve their pumpkins at home on kitchen tables. If your

kitchen table`s wobbly, for any reason, you don`t feel like fixing your kitchen table, which I totally get, try a work bench or really a kitchen

one.

Now, a lot of people think, oh, this is a great pumpkin carving tool because it`s rigid, it`s short. It`s easy to hold in your hand. The problem

is, as you`re stabbing it into the pumpkin, your hand can slip. And we do see a lot of injuries happening in that way.

So this is an actual saw. Probably not the best thing to use if you`re carving a pumpkin with kids. Then we start getting into some of what I like

to refer to as the death or danger zone of pumpkin carving. And we`re not going to recommend you ever use scissors to carve a pumpkin. You should

never be carving a pumpkin with a razor blade. You should definitely never be carving a pumpkin with a giant carving knife.

Use the proper carving tool. So here we have our carving kit. This is the exact type of tool we want to see people using. You could run it across

your fingers. Nothing`s going to happen to you. But look how well it cuts a pumpkin. Doesn`t get any better or easier than that. We`re going to keep it

classic today, because my skill level is 4 out to 10. So we will be doing the classic Jack O` Lanterns.

On the safety pumpkin carving scale, I`m out to 10, 100% out to 10. You always want to make sure you`re carving away from yourself as opposed to

towards yourself. And that way, no matter where anyone is standing, you`re cutting in a safe direction with a safe blade. No one`s going to go to the

emergency room. You know, save yourself like a thousand bucks or something. The ER is so expensive these days.

We never want to see people using real fire, real candles in their pumpkins. We won`t start a fire here at CNN either. That`s can knock them

off the tables, kids can bump into them. Somebody`s costume can get a little bit too close. This is perfect. It blinks. So make sure you use an

LED light in your pumpkin and everybody will have a great safe, happy Halloween.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: All right, thanks to the Patriots in Ms. Ryan`s class at Hazel Park in Michigan. You submitted the winner of #YourWordWednesday. Quotidian, an

adjective, meaning occurring daily or ordinary and every day. Well done.

Our special shout out today is going to the Wolves of Lake Ridge Middle School in Woodbridge, Virginia, rise up. Thanks for spending part of your

day with us right here on CNN 10. We`ll see you tomorrow.

END