CNN Student News - October 9, 2017

cnn 10

A Category 1 Hurricane Hits the U.S. Gulf Coast; A Chinese City Near North Korea`s Border Remains Nervous About Nuclear Tests; cnn Hero Aaron Valencia Talks About Helping Kids

Aired October 9, 2017 - 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: Reporting from cnn International newsroom at the cnn Center, I`m Carl Azuz for cnn 10. Thank you for starting your week with us.

Several states along the U.S. Gulf Coast are cleaning up from Hurricane Nate. Storm`s first landfall in the country was near the mouth of the Mississippi River in southeast Louisiana. That was just after midnight Sunday. It`s second landfall was in Biloxi, Mississippi, Sunday morning.

It was a category one hurricane then that was since been downgraded as it moved inland and weakened.

Nate`s the third hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in six weeks. It`s 85-mile-per-hour wind speeds at landfall were much weaker than those of the category four hurricanes Harvey and Irma. But Nate still caused flooding along the Mississippi coast. It prompted warnings about storm surge, the rise of ocean water blown ashore by a hurricane, and it knocked out power to tens of thousands of Americans.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared emergencies in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. What that does is speed up the process of getting money and help to those who need it.

Before it hit the U.S., Nate killed at least 28 people across Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras and caused flooding and mudslides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUBTITLE: This is what happens to a typical U.S. house when it`s hit by winds over 100mph.

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety conducts these tests.

They`re designed to help others learn how to construct sturdier homes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

Which of these countries does not share a border with North Korea?

China, Russia, Mongolia, or South Korea?

Mongolia is the only one of these countries that does not border North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: International government officials are keeping a close eye on North Korea. October is the month when its communist party was founded back in 1945, and South Korea believes the North may be planning some provocative actions around the upcoming anniversary. That`s according to the "Reuters" news agency.

Another country that could factor in here is China. It`s North Korea`s closest ally. It also shares a border with the country. And when it comes to North Korea`s nuclear test, the ripple effects don`t always stay inside North Korean territory.

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MATT RIVERS, cnn CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The nuclear test on September 3rd was North Korea`s largest to date that triggered an earthquake, and international reaction was swift. The U.N. Security Council passed new sanctions, Donald Trump threatened to completely destroy North Korea, and Kim Jong-un warned his next test would be over the Pacific Ocean.

But at the exact moment of this latest test, the people in the Chinese city of Yangzi (ph), just 120 miles from the test site, didn`t know about the nuclear blast or the international outcry that would follow. All they knew was that the earth was shaking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Is this an earthquake in my apartment?

RIVERS: Hundreds of thousands of people felt the physical repercussions of a nuclear test without knowing at first what it was. Many rushed outside to safety.

(on camera): This is where you were when the earthquake happened.

(voice-over): This man, a butcher, was asleep in his bed.

(on camera): So, were you scared?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): All of a sudden, everything began shaking back and forth. So, I ran outside and everyone was saying it was an earthquake. I had no idea what was going on.

RIVERS (voice-over): An entire city thinking the same thing, though collectively about to connect the nuclear dots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Everybody came in and said it was an earthquake. A bit later, we realized it was from the North Koreans.

RIVERS: Wang Zhou Zhion (ph) runs a restaurant in town, where conversations have lately focused on Kim Jong-un`s nuclear program and what it could mean for them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I`m worried about the radiation. It could really hurt us.

RIVERS: Concerns over radiation escaping from the test site have increased with each explosion. Some experts have suggested that the mountain at the site had even collapsed, spewing deadly radiation into the air and quickly across the Chinese border. China says it has not detected anything of the sort, and that its military keeps a vigilant watch over air quality levels. But in Yangzi (ph), for some parents, it`s of little comfort.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I have a 4-year-old daughter. These tests could make buildings collapse. There could be radiation. I`d like to move to Beijing or Shanghai, but I don`t have the money.

RIVERS: So, it`s fair to say that people are more nervous about the constant nuclear activity going on not that far away from here. But there is also this kind of pervasive sense that, well, there is not much that we can do about it and we still got to pay the bills and we still got to take the kids to school, so life goes on, right?

(voice-over): So, the restaurants are still open. There is still outdoor recess and new buildings are going up, even if they might be shaken by another nuclear test soon -- a concerted effort to look past a problem that`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

Matt Rivers, cnn, Yangzi (ph), China.

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AZUZ: Since 2015, about 100 young people have had a chance to work with the Lost Angels Children`s Project. It`s an after-school program in Lancaster, California, where kids can learn how to restore classic cars. But because its founder, Aaron Valencia, traveled a rough road before finding his way out, he`s able to teach them about more than car restoration.

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AARON VALENCIA, cnn HERO: When I look back at my life, a lot of it is about stability. Not having stability took me down. I was a smart kid. I had a good heart.

Not having any outlets, positive influences, started smoking meth at about 14, at 15, the first time I ever shot heroin, robbing and stealing.

Bouncing in and out of jail at nowhere left to turn. A judge committed to a year of drug treatment.

I walked into rehab 1999, and never looked back. My life completely changed.

Custom cars set in my life in a whole different direction. Before long, I opened up a small shop.

Oh, you came here to work? That`s what I`d like to hear.

The kids were kind of gravitating towards the shop to see what was going on.

What`s up? How are you?

So, it was like let`s have them come here and they can actually learn a trade, learn a lesson, learn something to better their life.

We`ve got to take the bumper brackets off. We`ve got to paint the brackets, clean the bumpers. We`ve got a lot to do.

We cater to foster at-risk and low income youths in the community.

This is the rear, so this would be driver side, right?

Teach them how to read a tape measure, fractions, nuts and bolts, wrenches, just the basic safety and tools. And we take those skills to an actual classic car.

We`ve got to pull this thing out nice and slow, OK?

This year, we`re working on a 1958 Chevy Apache pickup truck, and the kids have started from ground zero. They`ve been here doing all the body work.

Slowing down.

Wiring, the fuel system, carburetor.

I`m doing the color. Look, no crazy cut lines in it, nothing. It looks great.

The whole time they`re working, we`re dropping little bits of knowledge on how to make the right decisions in life.

We`re not looking for perfection, we`re just looking for better than yesterday.

Talking about peer pressure, drugs, life experiences and stuff that they`re going through. They`re learning. They`re somewhere positive. There was a win for all of us.

Perfect, man. Thank you, guys.

Throughout the year, I sell raffle tickets for our charity build (ph) giveaway. It goes back and to keep the program going.

One of the highlights is actually being at the show.

Are you guys ready to roll?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, let`s hear it. Yes!

VALENCIA: They`re getting the accolades that they deserve for the time and effort that they put in.

This is something that they belong to forever.

If any of you guys ever thought that maybe you`re out there in this world alone and nobody`s got your back, there`s a lot of people who got your back right now.

(CHEERS)

VALENCIA: I like a lot of my kids, I had to grow up fast.

Two-one-five-one.

(CHEERS)

VALENCIA: Just trying to be someone who sees where they`re at right now and what they`re going through and offer stability.

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AZUZ: Football games often come down to the skill of a kicker in the final seconds, but not usually like this. After kicking the field goal that put his team up by one point, Cole Miracle made the last kickoff with three seconds left in the game, thanks to a series of laterals, his opponents kept the play alive and Miracle was the only thing that stood between them and a touchdown. He stayed with the play and wound up making the game winning tackle.

It seems being the last line of defense suits Miracle to a T. His sportsmanlike conduct could be considered a by the numbers example of fielding of your kick and limiting your opponents to a lateral move on the scoreboard.

I`m Carl Azuz and I`m getting ejected for targeting our audience with unsportsmanlike puns, y`all.

END