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CNN 10
Ending A Record-Breaking Mission; Electric-Blue Spiders; Long-Lived "Blue Zones." Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 29, 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. I`m Coy Wire. It`s Friyay, September 29th. And we`re going to finish this week
strong with some of the top stories from around the world, from the Plains of Kazakhstan to the south China Sea. But today`s lead story starts 250
miles above the Earth`s surface, aboard the International Space Station.
This large craft is the size of a football field end to end. And the living space is about the size of a six-bedroom house with two bathrooms and a
gym. Women and men from the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, and Europe live and work there while traveling at the speed of five miles per
second. This research in science lab orbits the earth once every 90 minutes.
For the past year, the ISS has been the home of NASA astronaut Frank Rubio. He was supposed to only spend six months there, but he had to stay longer
when his spacecraft sprung a leak. He ended up logging 371 days. That`s the longest any U.S. astronaut has ever spent in microgravity.
The world record is held by a Russian cosmonaut who spent 437 days in orbit back in the 90s. Rubio who has a wife and four children returned to earth
on Wednesday alongside two Russian colleagues. They dropped into Kazakhstan by parachute using this capsule. After such a long space light, Rubio needs
to adjust to life and gravity back on earth.
Let`s go from above the earth to below the sea, specifically the South China Sea, which is a major shipping route, surrounded by countries,
including China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Earlier this week, the Philippine Coast Guard released footage of bleached and crushed coral along
two reefs near the island nation. The Philippines claimed China was behind the destruction and blamed the country`s maritime militia. But China denied
the allegation.
Moreover, China has claimed ownership over most of the South China Sea in defiance of an international ruling and competing claims by other
countries. It`s the latest in a long list of disputes about the South China Sea. Let`s check in with Steven Jiang CNN`s Bureau Chief in Beijing for
more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: China actually claims almost the entirety of the South China Sea, which is about 1.3 million square miles
based on what they call "historical proof" even though an international tribunal has rejected that. Nonetheless, they have maintained this
sovereign claim and they have been able to do what none of the other claimants have been able to do, that is in the past few years through land
reclamation and massive construction, turning many of this previously uninhabited reefs and atolls and islets into man-made islands equipped with
sophisticated radars, airstrips and other equipment.
That is really the basis of why they have been able to increasingly project a military power in this region, not only through their Navy and Coast
Guard, but also through nominally civilian maritime militia. Now, we have been following the story for years, but in recent weeks and months, we have
seen this flare up of publicized incidents between China and other claimants, especially the Philippines. We have seen the Chinese Coast
Guard, for example, using water cannons and what Manila says are dangerous maneuvers to chase away, to drive away Philippine boats.
The Philippines, of course, also accusing China of destroying a marine ecosystem in waters near its borders, but based on very deliberate actions.
But Beijing, of course, pushing back all these allegations and saying the only thing that`s changed recently is the government in Manila. Now they
have a new president, President Marcos, who is doing the U.S. bidding to instigate tensions and to create political farce.
And they`re also very angry at the Philippines` decision to bring international media along to witness those encounters and saying this is
increasingly a stage performance to create more favorable international opinion for the Philippines. But the underlying question of all this, if
nothing changes, if the Chinese military is not going to pull out, what`s going to happen if people try to change the dynamic or the Chinese behavior
short of a war?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten second trivia.
Did you know tarantulas can have pets? That`s right, but do they keep mice, lizards, frogs, or smaller spiders?
Tarantulas can have a symbiotic relationship with frogs. In exchange for protection, the frogs eat insects that threaten the spiders eggs.
The tarantula in our next story blew my mind, check out a newly discovered species. Researchers on an expedition to Southern Thailand found this
electric blue arachnid hanging out in a mangrove forest. They described the spider as mesmerizing with its blue violet hue that looks like sparks of
electricity. Tarantulas are native to Thailand, and the researchers had set out to document their diversity and distribution throughout the country. To
catch this species, they had to climb trees to lure the spider out of hollows. They say the rare blue color comes from the structure of hair on
different parts of the spider`s body.
Speaking of blue, our next story is about blue zones. Have you ever heard of these? Blue zones are areas of the world where people live longer than
the average lifespan. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Okinawa, Japan, Sardinia, Italy, the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica, Ikaria, Greece, and
Loma Linda, California. They are the blue zones, five places where people live the longest and are the healthiest. But the question is why?
Let me pick one of these places. And I`ll just pick Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. What is it about this environment?
DAN BUETTNER, AUTHOR, "THE BLUE ZONES": You know, there is no silver bullet in any of these blue zones. I call it silver buckshot, or what are
they doing? Well, first of all, they`re eating a Mesoamerican staple diet, or they have for most of their life, which consists of three foods. I argue
it`s the best diets humans have ever invented, corn, beans and squash. Anybody can afford them, high in complex carbohydrates, high in niacin,
high in folate. That was about 80% of their diets. So that`s part of it.
Like all blue zones, they were remote from the rest of Costa Rica. They have a 30-or 40-year delay at, you know, the onset of fast-food restaurants
and chips and sodas and -- and cars. You know, none of these centenarians have driven. They`ve walked their whole lives. It`s the additive of the
right diet, the right social environment, the right physical environment that is producing these extraordinary outsized life expectancy numbers.
GUPTA: Can that, what you just described in Nicoya Peninsula, can that be adapted?
BUETTNER: Not only can, but it does. You know, take Fort Worth, Texas. We worked there for five years and after five years against Texas controls, we
saw a drop in obesity by about 3%. Life satisfaction went up, vegetable consumption, went up, physical activity, went up. Not because we went in
and tried to convince beef crazed Fort Worth to eat more beans but because we went to all the restaurants and the schools and the grocery stores and
convince them to make the healthy foods cheaper and more accessible. We got the city to adopt policies to make that city more walkable and more
bikeable and it worked.
Now, is it a full blue zone like Sardinia? No, but we got them 10% to 15% of the way towards a blue zone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today`s story getting a 10 out of 10 is about a family whose picnic got put on pause, bear, pause. Check out this black bear crash in this
family`s picnic in Mexico. The bear wandered over and started chowing down on enchiladas and tacos. That is not Joe food bear. The family sat frozen
just inches away. Black bears usually aren`t aggressive to humans. And thankfully, the only thing this bear was after was the people`s lunch.
The National Park Service says that wild animals can come to crave human food once they`ve had a taste of it. One interesting fact about black
bears, their sense of smell is very good. They can catch sense from more than a mile away. That`s why the National Park Service recommends storing
food in your vehicle with the windows shut or keeping it in sealed containers. And if you`re camping, never keep food in your tent. Makes
sense, right? We don`t need any of us becoming a burrito.
Shout out time now. There is a red storm brewing Mr. Cabana`s class in Scarborough Middle School in Scarborough, Maine rise up. I hope you and
everyone watching around the world. Have a wonderful weekend. Remember, you are more powerful than, you know, I`m Coy. It`s been a blessing to spend
this week with you.
END
