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The Year Of The Rabbit; Peru Has Closed Off Machu Picchu. Aired 4- 4:10a ET
Aired January 24, 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, everyone. Terrific Tuesday to you. I`m Coy Wire. This is CNN 10, and you are awesome. We have a great show for you
today, so let`s get to it.
We`re going to begin with the news on lunar New Year. This is the year of the rabbit in Chinese culture. In China, the festivities are known as
spring festival or lunar New Year because the New Year is determined by the lunar calendar. Every year, red packets of money will change hands and
dragon dances will roar through the streets as people around the world usher in the New Year.
The event typically results in what is considered the largest annual human migration as millions of people working and studying away from hometowns
head back to reunite with family and celebrate. Lunar New Year lasts 15 days. It`s an action-packed holiday with parades and fireworks and wearing
red is crucial.
The color red in Chinese culture is associated with luck and prosperity and, of course, we can`t forget about the food. Grubbing is loving. And
food is central and essential to all Chinese festivals and -- but sugary snacks man they are especially important for lunar New Year because they
are said to sweeten up prospects for the New Year ahead.
We`ll go now to international correspondent for CNN, Marc Stewart, who has more on what lunar New Year will look like this year in China.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The lunar New Year is underway and despite a mask mandate here in Hong Kong, people are
celebrating.
Take a look at the iconic Victoria Harbor. People are lined up anxious to take a picture in front of the different plastic figurines. This is the
year of the rabbit. There are families here. There are tourists here, all anxious to take pictures and in many cases just a few selfies.
This is a big shift from last year at this time when much of Asia had a lot of restrictions, even lockdowns. In mainland China, things have opened up
and as such, we have seen busy airports, busy train stations.
During this roughly month-long period, it`s estimated there may be as many as 2 billion individual trips out of this broader population of 1.4 billion
people. While some health officials are expressing concern, the Chinese government feels that COVID has peaked in many places. As far as the year
of the rabbit, it`s a symbol of peace and prosperity, a wish that many people here in Hong Kong hope to share with the rest of the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
Which of these world heritage sites was built most recently?
Machu Picchu, Great Wall of China, Chichen Itza, or Notre Dame Cathedral?
Dating back to the 15th century, Machu Picchu is the youngest of these oldies but goodies.
Right now, the world heritage site Machu Picchu is closed. It`s among the greatest artistic and architectural sites in the world built as a legacy of
the Inca civilization in Peru in the 15th century and then later abandoned. Built 2,400 meters above the sea level, the landmark site is made of
approximately structures. And did you know what exactly it was used for is still a mystery to this day.
This week, the government shut down Machu Picchu indefinitely as anti- government protests across the country grow.
We`ll hear more now from Rafael Romo, senior Latin American affairs editor of CNN worldwide, who has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Peru`s biggest tourist attraction, Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world
Peru announced Saturday it`s closing the famed site indefinitely including the Inca trail that leads up to it.
Anti-government protests have choked transportation to and from the ancient citadel rail operators say they`ve had to suspend services because several
tracks have been blocked or damaged by protests that have spread throughout the country.
In the past month, dozens of people have been killed in violent clashes. The fiery protest erupting after the ousting of former President Pedro
Castillo in December. Demonstrators are demanding new elections and calling for the resignation of current Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.
The civil unrest has stranded tourists before. Last month, authorities evacuated hundreds of people after similar transit issues at Machu Picchu.
Officials say this time around, some tourists have left by foot, but the trick is at least six to seven hours long.
Machu Picchu usually draws more than a million tourists a year but it`s now off limits. Peru`s national treasure overshadowed by its spiraling
political crisis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Up next, a Las Vegas family style Italian restaurant was struggling but now it has lines out the door. The owner of Frankensons Pizzeria says
his dream of owning a restaurant was fading away until a local content creator Keith Lee made the restaurant an overnight sensation with one
heartfelt TikTok review.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH LEE, CONTENT CREATOR: Yesterday afternoon, I got an email from an employee of a family-owned restaurant here in Vegas. I got it. Let`s try it
and rate it 1 to 10.
SUBTITLE: Content creator Keith Lee gave a heartfelt review after hearing from a manager at family owned Frankensons pizzeria.
LEE: Frank, if you`re watching this, I`m going to be completely honest, you are an amazing man.
SUBTITLE: His viral TikTok gave the Las Vegas restaurant new life.
LEE: Let`s try this food. Garlic knots off rick. These look amazing.
Boy, that thing packed with flavor. I ain`t going to try the ranch again because again I`m not a huge fan.
This is one of the best wings I`ve ever had.
SUBTITLE: Lee has posted hundreds of taste testing videos, but his Frankensons review is by far the most popular, garnering 37.3 million
views.
FRANK STEELE, OWNER, FRANKENSONS: So, I went out on delivery. It was just me and another girl walking that aisle because we`re not busy. And the
phone was just started blowing up. Come Tuesday morning, we had a long line out of our door prior to us opening up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys how many saw this man on TikTok?
(CHEERS)
SUBTITLE: Frank says prior to Keith Lee`s visit, his restaurant was struggling with rent and on the brink of closing down.
STEELE: Thirty years ago, I had a dream of opening my own restaurant. Finally, this year, it came through with the help of my family. But I saw
my dreams fading away because of the lack of traffic coming into my business.
LEE: That Summer, she the original employee that reached out to me. Summer, say hi.
SUBTITLE: Summer, the restaurant manager, reached out to Keith when she learned that the restaurant was close to shutting down.
LEE: The email read: I`m an employee at Frankensons pizzeria. It`s really slow. We really can`t afford rent and we would love for you to come and try
the food.
Frank, from me to you, this is my opinion. There is no way you should be behind our rent or struggling to pay rent. It is marketing. That`s a
hundred percent what I feel like. That food is delicious. The service is amazing.
SUBTITLE: Frank said he is overwhelmed by the onslaught of customers and hopes that the popularity will remain.
STEELE: People from everywhere and that is very emotional -- to me, but they will come out. It`s support of my family and this trip is (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: And for today`s 10 out of 10, if you love pizza, you`re going to love this. Pizza Hut went to the Los Angeles Convention Center to build the
world`s biggest pizza. And to complete the task, workers put down layers of dough, tomato sauce, toppings then bake the enormous pie with a special
heater. Let`s break this pie down by the numbers.
Nearly 14,000 square feet of pizza, more than thirteen thousand pounds of dough. We`re talking nearly pounds of sauce and more than eight thousand
pounds of cheese. At the end, it worked out to be 68,000 pieces of pizza for their record-breaking pie. And Guinness World Records confirms it`s the
world`s biggest pizza. That is huge, for real though.
Now, I`m going to be out the next two days but you`re going to be in great hands, and I look forward to coming back to finish this week strong with
you on Friday. I want to give a special shout out to Morton Middle School in Fall River, Massachusetts. We see you and we hope you and everyone
watching around the world have a wonderful one.
I`m Coy. This is CNN 10. Go out and make someone smile today.
END
