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Weather in California; Protest in France; Exploring the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom; Fan Letters sent to Spider-Man Peter Parker`s Address are Now on Display at a Museum. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired March 13, 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: Happy Monday and welcome back. If you`re still waking up, stretching and yawning because daylight savings stole an hour of

your sleep, I feel you. But I`m going to jab back at that sleepy voice in my head because somebody has to dominate this day, so why not us?

I`m Coy Wire. Thankful to be here to start this week strong with you right here on CNN 10. Parts of California faced persistent flooding over the

weekend after rounds of deadly storms. 34 of California`s 58 counties have been under a state of emergency issued by the governor`s office due to the

storms. And there`s still a threat of more severe weather this week. More than 41,000 homes and businesses across the state were without power this

weekend, and about 15 million people throughout the state were under flood watches, including parts of northwest Nevada.

Local emergency crews are having to rescue people from their homes. Roads have been washed away. Bridges have collapsed. The impacts from this week`s

storms have only compounded problems created in some areas by the severe rain and snowfall over the past two weeks.

President Biden approved a state of emergency declaration for California to help aid the millions of residents affected who are being urged to stay

clear of waterways and avoid all unnecessary travel.

Here`s CNN National Correspondent Nick Watt with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Water, everywhere, causing chaos across central California. Some 25 million are under flood warnings. The

Kern River usually runs at about six feet, it`s up over 17th. Snow is the issue up at altitude.

In SoCal, they`re rushing to rebuild some sort of road for 450 households. This is their only way out. Springville`s Pleasant Valley Road now anything

bad. In my 40 years, never seen it like that, to the man who shot these images. A major artery in Oakland closed at rush hour nearby a peach coffee

warehouse roof collapsed, killing one.

Around 25 times the volume of water that flows in the Mississippi is flowing through the air and this is the 10th so-called atmospheric river to

hit California this winter. Low pressure from the north meets moist air near Hawaii. They call it a Pineapple Express, sounds fun? It`s not.

Essentially a fire hose aimed at this state usually famed for its sunshine.

Throw in a couple of other winter storms that dumped a couple of years` worth of snow on some upland areas. And this is the result. Today`s storm

is a warm one. So along with all this rain, some of that snow is melting. The residents of Felton flooded in January once more told to evacuate, here

and elsewhere yet more upheaval.

ALISA, NEWMAN, CALIFORNIA: Now, we have to go home, pack our stuff and leave once again when we were just able to come back a couple of weeks ago.

WATT: Good news, all the water this winter is significantly rolling back. The years long drought suffered in the West. Bad news yet another

atmospheric river`s forecast to hit this state early next week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Ten-second trivia. Which of these European cities is known as the city of light?

Madrid, Paris, Rome or London?

It`s been called the capital of fashion and the city of love, but Paris is also well known as the city of light.

And up next, we`re traveling to France where over 1 million people have been protesting against the government`s plans to raise the retirement age

for most workers in the country from the age of 62 to 64.

The protests have happened in major French cities and the impact has been felt across the country. It`s brought many transportation services to a

standstill. Trains shut down, flights canceled, old schools and businesses, closed, as trash piles up on streets.

Even the Eiffel Tower was closed to visitors. The French government has said that raising the retirement age is necessary to keep their pension

system viable. All French retirees receive a pension from the government on average around $1,500 a month.

But this planned reform angers workers at a time when living costs, food costs and energy bills are rising in France and elsewhere. Many of the

protesters are young people, some who haven`t even entered the workforce yet, they say, though, that for a generation already concerned about

inflation and job prospects, the government moving the finish line on retirement is depressing. We`ll hear now from CNN`s Jim Bittermann from the

streets of Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): French President Emmanuel Macron, like his predecessors, has run into fierce

opposition from the streets trying to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Strikes are growing by transportation, energy and even garbage workers.

(On camera): In a country where the average life expectancy has now increased to the age of 82 years old, it seems reasonable to expect that

with France`s pay as you go retirement system that, in fact, the retirement age would have to increase as well.

After all, as it stands now, if you retire at 62, it means collecting pension benefits for, on average, 20 years. And the money has got to come

from somewhere.

(Voice-over): But it`s not that reasonable to everyone.

TAYEB KHOUIRA, SUD UNION SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We are going on an unlimited renewable strike as long as this reform has not been

withdrawn.

BITTERMANN: Economists here will explain that while people are not especially happy with the present system, any further meddling with it is

viewed with suspicion and anger.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: All right, up next, we are traveling to the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, where they have some of the rarest animals on the planet.

They`ve welcomed the birth of the endangered Malayan tapir, three of the threatened fossa pups, triplets they had, and the world`s rarest chimp, the

critically endangered Western chimpanzee. This zoo`s mission is to prevent animal extinction through conservation.

Let`s hear more about this zoo`s 10-year plan in the next episode of CNN Series Call to Earth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The small northern English city of Chester might seem like an unlikely place to find some of the world`s most endangered animals.

But since the 1930s, Chester Zoo has grown a reputation as one of the best in the world for conservation, with a targeted aim of preventing species

extinction.

MARK BRAYSHAW, CURATOR OF MAMMALS, CHESTER ZOO: There`s a huge biodiversity crisis at the moment. I mean, losing species at a phenomenal

rate. And some of these species, we`re not even aware of them. We don`t know their sort of role. And so, you know, by taking species out here, now

we don`t know the long-term impact on that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While the gold standard for Chester Zoo is to breed species to reintroduce to their natural habitat, in many cases now the

urgent focus is on creating a safety net population in captivity.

BRAYSHAW: Almost into the zoo action as an arc. And we might be in a situation where actually a species habitat is gone. They`re not going to go

back into their natural habitats. We had to sort of look at other places we could put them back into, balancing up, you know, any sort of impact that

might have.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Luckily for the preservation of some of these critically endangered species, the zoo is in the midst of a baby boom. A

birth for the world`s rarest chimpanzee, triplets for the Madagascar fossa, a greater one-horned rhino, a Malayan tapir, and finally, an addition to

the zoos family of Marsupials.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Morning Kitawa (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Increased mining and deforestation in Papua New Guinea have seen the wild population of Goodfellow`s tree-kangaroo more

than halved over the past 30 years. So the birth of a new joey in Chester provides a glimmer of hope for the future of the species.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: And for today`s story, getting a 10 out of 10, the family whose house was mistaken for Spiderman for decades, hundreds of letters have been

sent to 20 Ingram Street in Queens, New York, addressed to Peter Parker, aka, spiderman.

The address appeared in a comic book in 1989. And it just so happens that the real-life family who lived there is the Parker family. They thought

they were being pranked at first, receiving letters from kids all over the world, telling Spiderman how awesome he is.

Now, these superhero letters are now on display at the City Reliquary Museum in New York City, showing hope, optimism and belief in a better

tomorrow.

Now, your letters make us feel super. Thanks to the Senior Government class at Cascade High School in Montana, inspiring us to keep working to create a

better tomorrow.

And also Ms. Dahl`s class at North Hartford High School in Maryland, determined to make this world a bit of a better place.

Now, I do have a special shout out today as well for Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, South Carolina. You rock. It was great to

meet you, Mary. Thanks for subscribing and commenting. Your kindness on CNN 10 YouTube page.

And today is National Good Samaritan Day. Let`s all show some loving kindness and make this world a better place.

I`m Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.

END