Hey everybody, I'm Mina Derson back in
the chair for Koi Wire and I'm excited
to be with you for another fresh edition
of CNN 10. It is Thursday, February 12th
and we have some really important
stories to tell you about today. So,
let's do it. We begin in Italy where a
helmet is turning heads and making
headlines at the Winter Olympics. It
belongs to Ukrainian flag bearer
Vladislav Herskevich who is competing in
skeleton, an event similar to luge where
racers hurdle down an icy track head
first. The helmet in question features
portraits of Hereskovich's fellow
Ukrainian Olympians who were killed
during Russia's war in Ukraine. But he
says he's now been barred from wearing
it by the International Olympic
Committee. Check this out. Why did this
helmet get banned by Olympic officials?
A Ukrainian athlete says it's because of
the people who are pictured on it.
Skeleton racer Vladis Lavarkevich wants
to keep the world's focus on the war in
Ukraine. His helmet is decorated with
portraits of fellow athletes who were
killed in the war.
>> I feel that I fulfill someone dreams and
uh
uh yeah, this these people don't deserve
to die so young. Harriskevich says he
was prevented from wearing the helmet by
the International Olympics Committee.
>> Ukrainian President Vladimir Zilinski
praised Tarskevich on X for quote
reminding the world of the price of our
struggle. Some things are more important
than sport and uh it's no medal that
worth the same as life of of of people
and we lost many of them and uh yeah I
believe that it's important to show that
also
>> Ukraine's national Olympic committee
says they appealed the International
Olympic Committee's decision earlier
this week. The IOC for their part says
the helmet was banned for violating
their guidelines on athletes making
quote political statements. They've
instead encouraged Hersgavage to wear a
black armband during competition to
commemorate his teammates.
>> What we've tried to do is to address uh
his desires with compassion and
understanding. He has expressed himself
on social media and in the training. And
as you know, we will not stop him
expressing himself in press conferences
in the in the um uh as he leaves
competition in the mix zone and
elsewhere. And um we feel that this is a
a good compromise in the situation.
>> But a defiant hersavic has told CNN that
he doesn't think that's enough and he
plans to wear the helmet anyway.
>> Yes. Uh I wear this helmet two days ago,
yesterday, today. I will wear it
tomorrow and I will wear it for the race
day. Uh these people sacrificed their
lives. Uh and because of that I'm able
to be here today. I'm able to be at the
Olympics and I will not betray them.
>> So, what do you think? Should Olympic
athletes be allowed to make statements
like this? Is the IOC right to try and
keep things fair for all participants?
How would you handle this situation if
it was up to you? Teachers, feel free to
pause and take a moment to discuss
amongst yourselves.
Now to some more breaking news,
literally elsewhere at the Olympics. As
some gold medal winners celebrate with
their hard-earned bling, they're getting
an unwelcome surprise. Their medals are
falling off their ribbons. Our Samantha
Lindell has a look at how the awkward
moments are taking center stage at this
year's games.
>> So there's the metal and there's the
ribbon. Here's the little piece that is
supposed to go in the ribbon to hold it
in the metal. And
yeah, it came apart.
>> Some Olympians are celebrating their
wins with broken medals.
>> It's real.
I I broke it.
>> After winning Team USA's first gold
medal of the games in downhill skiing,
Brie Johnson showcased her medal, which
had separated from its ribbon.
>> Do not jump in them.
>> It broke.
Meanwhile, Germany ski team were jumping
in celebration when one member's medal
slipped off its ribbon. And figure
skater Alysa Lu said her gold medal
doesn't even need a ribbon. These medals
are the most expensive in Olympic
history thanks to the price of gold and
silver skyrocketing. Chief games
operations officer Andrea Franchi says
they're looking into the problem.
Imagine
Time for 10-second trivia. Manatees are
most closely related to which animal? Is
it walruses, elephants, hippos, or
whales?
If you said elephants, you are
manitrific.
Both animals share a common ancestor,
and despite their different habitats,
they have a lot in common. Manatee's
snouts are actually shortened versions
of elephant trunks, and they even have
elephant-like toenails on their
flippers.
Speaking of manatees, one of these
gentle giants is getting a second chance
thanks to an amazing rescue in Florida
after he became stuck in a storm drain.
City workers stumbled upon the stranded
sea cow while working on a baffle box,
which prevents trash and debris from
flowing back out into a nearby lagoon.
Following a roundthe-clock rescue
effort, the 400lb marine mammal was
finally freed and taken to nearby
SeaWorld to recover. That was really,
really awesome that someone was able to
spot him because if he was not being
able to be found, he would not have a
fortunate outcome like right now.
>> It's unclear exactly how the manatee
ended up stuck in the drain, but
officials think he may have been seeking
out warmer water. Manatees require warm
water to survive, and they'll often
migrate to many of Florida's natural
springs to wait out the winter.
Meanwhile, this lucky manatee is now on
the mend, and he's enjoying a lettuce
buffet while SeaWorld staffers work hard
to get him ready for release.
>> Once we can get his blood analyzed and
we can get a treatment plan, then I'm
hopeful for his recovery.
>> China's AI competition is bubbling over,
and this time it comes with tapioca
pearls. CNN's Mike Valerio takes us to
Beijing where a free bubble tea
promotion brewed up massive chaos for
delivery drivers.
Okay, why does it look like in some of
these videos, China is having a national
Boba emergency? Tons of delivery drivers
absolutely packing these stores. We'll
call it China's AI bubble tea. One of
China's biggest tech companies, Alibaba,
gave out millions of vouchers for free
boba, all to get people to download its
AI chatbot, Quen. You ask it to find
bubble tea. It suggests options. You
choose how much sugar you want, put in
your address, and then done. The result,
in just nine hours, people placed more
than 10 million free drink orders, the
company said.
>> Some bubble tea shops were out of cups.
Other stores had to shut down for the
day and the app temporarily crashed. But
Quen shot to number one on app stores in
China, beating offerings from Alibaba
rivals like Tencent, Bite Dance, and BU.
All these Chinese tech giants are
pouring billions of dollars into AI
labs. a key part of Beijing's push to
challenge Silicon Valley's early lead as
US China tensions continue to simmer.
But in the increasingly heated domestic
AI race, especially during the Lunar New
Year holiday, when companies duke it out
for attention and market share, Chinese
tech firms are now enticing users not
just with better benchmarks, but also
with tastier freebies one bubble tea at
a time.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10 is
ready for takeoff. At 88 years old,
Francis Dulkkey has reached plenty of
milestones. But she'd never stepped foot
on an airplane until now.
>> And I says, "Well, I'll fly when Alex
gets his pilot license."
>> That was her one condition. If she was
going to take to the skies, her
grandson, Alex, had to be the one flying
the plane. And after years of hard work,
the moment finally arrived.
>> As an airline employee, you do get um
these flight benefits. I was able to
throw her name on the list and then put
her on the standby list.
>> Francis and her family boarded the
flight from Wisconsin's Lacrosse
Regional Airport to Chicago with her
grandson in the cockpit, making sure the
trip was one to remember. It
>> was very, very nice. I felt like a
spoiled celebrity. I had I had the first
seat in the uh
>> first class.
>> First class.
>> A full circle moment years in the making
and a memory this family will hold on to
long after the flight touchdown.
All right, superstars. I've got time for
two shoutouts today. The first one is
going to Miss Baron at Marley Middle
School in Glenn Bernie, Maryland. Thank
you for subscribing to our YouTube
channel. And this next one is going all
the way to Africa. Mr. King Fischer at
Lusaka International Community School in
Lusaka, Zambia. Wow. Thanks for
watching. I hope you guys have an
awesome day. It's almost Friday. We'll
see you right back here tomorrow. I'm
Mina Derson and this is CNN 10.