What's up, sunshine? I'm Ky Wire here
with your news for Monday, March 2nd.
We've got a lot to cover today and only
10 minutes to do it. So, let's get to
it. We begin in the Middle East where
tensions are high after a series of
major United States and Israeli military
strikes on Iran over the weekend. US
President Donald Trump announced the
strikes early Saturday morning and
indicated the strikes could continue
through the week.
>> A short time ago, the United States
military began major combat operations
in Iran.
Our objective is to defend the American
people by eliminating eminent threats
from the Iranian regime. Later that same
day, Iran announced that Ayatollah Ali
Kamei, the country's supreme leader for
nearly four decades, had been killed
during a strike in the capital city of
Thran. Iran responded with a series of
deadly strikes of their own, targeting
Israel and US military bases in
countries throughout the region. Iranian
officials formed a transitional council
to lead the country in the wake of
Khmeni's killing. The conflict has
caused destruction at major air hubs and
densely populated civilian areas and it
has disrupted worldwide oil shipments.
The decision to strike Iran is being
seen as a controversial one. It follows
weeks of deliberations stemming from
mass protests across Iran earlier this
year. Our Fred Pleitkin has more on how
this situation is unfolding. The current
confrontation between the United States
and Iran essentially kicked off during
that crackdown on protests that had
turned violent in Iran at the beginning
of this year, specifically starting on
January 8th, January 9th, and January
10th of uh of this year. Now, we recall
that President Trump back then claimed
that help was on the way for Iranians
and started putting US assets into the
region. first the carrier strike group
around the Abraham Lincoln, then later
the Gerald Ford, but of course other
assets as well, including a lot of US
fighter jets and tanker aircraft. At the
same time, a diplomatic process was also
kicked off led by US special envy Steve
Vit Witoff and also Jared Kushner, the
president's son-in-law. Those talks
centered around Iran's nuclear program.
Obviously, the US wanting Iran to stop
nuclear enrichment. the Iranians saying
that they have a right to enrichment. In
the end, both sides acknowledged that
there was some progress in those talks,
but it didn't seem as though that was
enough for President Trump. In the past
couple of days, President Trump has been
quite negative about how those talks
were going and then launched the
attacks. The Iranians are now saying
that their retaliation is in full swing.
That while they were in this diplomatic
process, at the same time, they were
also preparing for war. And it certainly
seems as though they were a lot better
prepared this time than in June when
they faced off with the Israelis with a
lot of Iranian retaliation coming not
just against Israel but against states
in the Gulf and specifically US military
installations in the Gulf region as
well. Lots of big space news recently
and coming tomorrow many of us will be
able to witness a total lunar eclipse
known as blood moon when the moon
appears red. It will be visible in Asia,
Australia, the Pacific Islands, and the
Americas. Remember, a lunar eclipse is
when Earth passes between the moon and
the sun, casting a shadow on the moon,
while a solar eclipse occurs when the
moon passes between the sun and Earth,
casting a shadow on Earth. So, go online
and research when will be the best time
to look up tomorrow based on where you
live. Scientists say those of us in the
Eastern time zone will be able to
witness the phenomenon at 6:04 a.m. This
will be the last total lunar eclipse
visible from North America until 2028.
Our next story is making waves, a
refreshing reminder that it's still
plenty left to discover under the sea. A
motheraughter diving duo in Australia
uncovered the largest coral colony ever
recorded in the Great Barrier Reef
stretching more than 40,000 square ft.
The massive Pavona coral was discovered
by citizens of the reef marine
coordinator Sophie Kaukosski Pope and
her mother, underwater photographer and
conservationist Jan Pope during a reef
survey expedition.
>> I knew right from the minute that we
hopped in that it was something special.
And this was no no ordinary super coral.
This might be the coral. The discovery
was part of a the Great Reef Census, a
global citizen science effort bringing
together divers, sailors, researchers,
and local communities to monitor reef
health. And this coral lossal find comes
as reefs worldwide face widespread
bleaching and warming oceans.
>> Everyone is playing their part in
gathering really critical data to help
look after this extraordinary place um
which is under so much pressure.
Scientists say massive corals like this
can keep growing if conditions are
right, offering hope that even under
pressure, some reefs are still finding
ways to thrive. Many of us might dream
of traveling around the world, but
probably not on a bike. One World
Traveler has been biking for 5 years on
a mission to cross all seven continents.
CNN caught up with Ian Anderson in Tokyo
and he is facing some unexpected
challenges on his trek.
All right.
I biked from Portugal across Europe all
the way to Asia.
I biked to Japan, baby. Ian Anderson
just traversed six continents on his
bike. It took 5 years to do it. His
latest leg was through 20 countries from
Portugal to Japan. Anderson documented
his journey along the way.
>> But the stars are unbelievable this
morning. I'm curious about the world,
people in the world, different cultures,
exploring. I was curious about places
like Iran, Russia,
what the people were like there. And so
I biked to them.
>> He said he was most surprised by
Afghanistan.
>> I was just so caught off guard,
surprised by their generosity. I felt
like every day they were inviting me
into their home, offering me food, tea.
while he faced his biggest challenge in
Iran, getting stuck in the country after
Israel launched a series of deadly
strikes in June last year.
>> More bombs are falling. We got our bed
in there.
>> Unsurprisingly, he says it's now time
for a break. But not for long. He says
next up and the last continent to cross
is Antarctica. He plans to do it later
this year.
Pop quiz hot shot. Satoshi Chajiri
attributes his creation of Pokémon to
what childhood hobby? Playing video
games, collecting insects, playing
cards, or solving puzzles.
If you said collecting insects, raise
your hand, Tana. Growing up in rural
Japan, Tajiri loved searching for rare
bugs and trading them with friends his
friends nicknamed him Dr. Bug.
Gamers and collectors around the globe
celebrated the 30th anniversary of a
beloved crew of characters. The Pokemon
franchise has thrived for 30 years, and
it's still evolving. From trading cards
to TV shows, video games to global
fandom, Pokémon has captured hearts
across generations, and the legacy keeps
growing.
>> Today, Pokémon turns 30. It started in
1996 when a Japanese game designer who
loved collecting bugs as a kid created
Pocket Monsters for the Nintendo Game
Boy. It launched in Japan on February
27th. Soon the name was shortened to
Pokémon. Within 3 years, the creatures
exploded into a global phenomenon. TV
shows, movies, trading cards. More than
75 billion cards have been produced.
Laid end to end, they'd stretch to the
moon and back eight times. The franchise
has generated over a h 100red billion,
reportedly making it the highest
grossing media franchise in the world.
And as demand exploded during the
pandemic, prices surged with some top
cards rising more than 6,000% since the
early 2000s. The boom has even led to
storef fights, museum chaos, and armed
robberies targeting rare cards. The
surge was aided by the success of
Pokémon Go in 2016. Within 2 months, it
hit 500 million downloads, turning
streets, parks, and cities into real
world hunting grounds.
Pokemon Mania was back. For millennials,
it's nostalgia. For kids today, it's
discovery. And for some collectors, it's
life-changing money. But at its core,
it's still about that feeling. Opening a
pack, hoping for Charizard. 30 years
later, we're still trying to catch them
all.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.
One California teen overcoming a rare
disease and forging a way forward on the
track. Xavier Marsh was just 13 when he
was diagnosed with labor hereditary
optic neuropathy. The extremely rare
genetic mutation left him legally blind,
but he hasn't let that stop him.
>> And he turns to me and he says, "I'm
going to figure out how to live with
this thing. You and mom go figure out
how you can help fix this." Xavier began
running track to cope with the diagnosis
and now he's blazing his own trail.
Incredibly, even without most of his
sight, Xavier is able to use his
peripheral vision to compete against his
cited peers. Although I started because
I lost my vision, I continued because I
actually truly loved it and I found a
passion with it.
>> Off the track, Xavier and his parents
are working with nonprofits to help
other families dealing with the disease.
And while there's no cure, Xavier isn't
letting that define him. He says his
future is bright and one day we may even
see him competing at the Parolympics.
How's that for some motivation Monday?
Let's bring this show home. This first
shout out is going to Mrs. Hart at
Sandstone Middle School in Herston,
Oregon. Your colleague, Miss Woodward,
reached out to us to say how much you
inspire her and all of your students.
Rise up. And this next shout out is
puzzling and I absolutely have to share
it with you. Mr. beard at Norton Middle
School in Norton, Massachusetts. His
Rubik's Cube Club carefully positioning
600 Rubik's cubes into this mural.
Consider my mind boggled. Thank you for
the love and thanks to all of you for
reaching out and commenting on our CNN
10 YouTube channel. We'll see you right
back here tomorrow. I'm Koi Wire and we
are CNN 10.