Today's CNN 10 Transcript

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COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: What's up, sunshine? I'm Coy Wire here with your daily 10 minutes of news. We've got an epic selfie from Mars today. A giant ice wall putting mountain climbers on pause and some Beyonce drama and basketball playing donkeys. Yeah, CNN 10 is about to bring it. We start, though, with a question.

Do you believe humans are alone in the universe? Well, the U.S. federal government just released some new information that may help all of us decide. The Pentagon just posted what's being called never before seen files about UFO's. Officials actually call them UAP's now. Or Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. Maybe UFO sounded a little too X-Files.

They released these photos and videos from individuals who say they recorded these. UAP's U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the release, billing it as an effort to increase transparency with the American public.

CNN's Tom Foreman combed through these files. Let's check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crackling with videos and photos, showing cryptic images of what appear to be very peculiar flying craft. The release by the Pentagon has UFO and UAP watchers buzzing even as President Trump, who ordered the release, has said he doesn't know if there is life beyond Earth.

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't have an opinion on it. I never talk about it. A lot of people do.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Many of the newly released reports are quite recent. For example, U.S. Intelligence officials just last year saying they saw glowing orbs traveling in some undisclosed spot at a high rate of speed. They appeared to be oval shaped orange in color, with a white or yellow center and emitting light in all directions.

In 2022, there are reports of a military sensor tracking a UAP moving from north to south. And in another report flying from west to east.

In 2024, a teardrop shaped craft and an uneven ball of white light and a diamond shaped vessel traveling nearly 500 miles an hour are all reported by military observers.

VOICE OVER: All engines running, commit lift off.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Older NASA missions also appear, although many were made public earlier, among them a bit of unusual audio between the capsule and ground control during the 1965 Gemini VII mission.

HOUSTON CREW: This is Houston, say again, Seven.

GEMINI VII CREW: We have a bogie at 10 o'clock high.

HOUSTON CREW: Do you have any more information, estimated distance or size?

GEMINI VII CREW: It looks like hundreds of little particles going by to the left out about three to four miles.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Also, Apollo 12 astronaut, Alan Bean, reporting from space in 1969. You can see these lights, particles of light, flashes of light, and they're just sailing off. They really haul out of here and press off out at the stars.

There are many pages of comments by curious citizens, some obvious hoaxes, and more, but no solid answers about what it all means from government officials, present or past.

LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR AND DEFENSE SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: I have not seen any firm evidence that there are aliens out there, but the Pentagon is now doing is basically letting the American people make up their own minds.

FOREMAN: To be clear, the overwhelming majority of these sightings are eventually explained as aircraft or weather balloons or mirages or meteoroids, something that makes sense. But some of them still are not explainable. And that's why the interest remains and it's going to keep going, because the Pentagon says more releases are coming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: All right, speaking of space, this next photo op is simply out of this world. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover snapped this epic selfie while exploring the red planet's western frontier earlier this year. The pic was actually stitched together from 61 separate images captured by a camera on the rover's robotic arm.

This marks Perseverance's sixth selfie since landing in 2021, and scientists say these images are actually incredibly useful. Every selfie, snapshot, and panorama helps scientists map new parts of the planet's rocky terrain, laying the roadmap for future expeditions. Basically, it's Google Maps, Mars edition.

Life is a climb. And on Mount Everest, sometimes it's an isolation challenge. For two weeks, climbers hoping to summit the tallest mountain on earth were stuck at base camp after a massive ice column blocked a key route.

The Khumbu Icefall is one of the most dangerous sections of Everest. Extremely technical, a constantly shifting maze of ice, but when specialized high altitude workers known as icefall doctors discovered a 10-story tall frozen column called a serac blocking the path, they put a freeze on their plans. These icefall docs are responsible for carving the best, safest paths possible up the mountain.

But this serac weighed millions of tons. Not something you can just shovel out, right? But just when they thought there was snow way out, parts of this serac started to melt away after some warmer temperatures, allowing the icefall doctors to slowly start to carve their way through.

Let's just say these doctors have patience. Climbers worry the delayed start could create dangerous overcrowding higher up the mountain. Experts say there's no need to rush, and respecting the mountain is key.

And get this. Did you know there are actually marine fossils near the top of Mount Everest? That's because the world's highest mountain used to be at the bottom of an ancient ocean.

The summit is made up of limestone packed with fossils from prehistoric sea creatures like trilobites and brachiopods dating back nearly half a billion years. That limestone originally sat at the bottom of a shallow tropical sea during the Ordovician period. But a mere 50 million years ago, it was thrust skyward.

The Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collided and formed what we know today as the Himalayan Mountains. Geologists say the Himalayas are babies by geological standards and about 70 times younger than some of the world's oldest peaks.

Pop quiz, hot shot.

Who has won the most Grammy awards of all time? Beyonce, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, or Stevie Wonder?

If you said Beyonce, let's get in formation. Queen Bey holds the all-time record of 35 Grammys. Her first, awarded in 2001 as a member of Destiny's Child for their hit song, "Say My Name."

A man accused of stealing unreleased music from the superstar, Beyonce has pleaded guilty. Investigators say Kelvin Evans broke into a Jeep last July, just days before Beyonce's Cowboy Carter tour stop in Atlanta. Police say the vehicle was rented by Beyonce's choreographer, who told police that hard drives containing unreleased music and other items were stolen. Surveillance camera footage shown in court reportedly captured this break-in. Evans was sentenced to two years in prison, three additional years on probation.

But here's the wild part. Authorities say that the missing hard drives have still never been recovered. Maybe some amateur beehive detectives are still on the case.

We talked a lot about A.I., from classrooms to careers to creativity. And it turns out not everyone's a fan of it. One graduation speaker learned that the hard way, after a commencement speech about the rise of AI drew loud boos from the audience.

Our Janelle Gonzalez has more on the moment, highlighting just how divisive this topic can be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLORIA CAULFIELD, COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER: What happened? OK, I struck a chord.

JANELLE GONZALEZ, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER (voice-over): This is the moment a real estate executive was booed at a University of Central Florida commencement because she said this:

CAULFIELD: The rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution.

GONZALEZ: The arts and humanities and communication schools booked Gloria Caulfield as the speaker, who was trying to compare today's A.I. boom to the launch of the internet during her time in university, saying every generation faces major tech change.

CAULFIELD: In my graduation era, we were faced with the launch of the internet. Only a few years ago, A.I. was not a factor in our lives.

OK, we've got a bipolar topic here, I see.

GONZALEZ (voice-over): But the speech sparked backlash online, with people calling it tone-deaf, as graduates prepare to enter industries already being shaped by A.I.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10. Have you ever tried to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time? How about shoot three-pointers while riding a donkey?

Well, the St. James Ambulance Association in Minnesota hosted a hee-haw-larious fundraiser to help pay for some new life-saving equipment. After mule-ling it over, the association decided it would behoove them to hold a community basketball game with a kick. Students, teachers, and first responders participated in a series of unbelievable competition. It's giving polo on horseback, donkey back, and a high school gym.

The goal was to pay for two new AutoPulse NXTs, which can perform automated chest compressions during CPR. At the end of the night, they raised $4,000. And with $46,000 to go, there are no ERs here. The Ambulance Association says we can expect more creative competitions in the months to come. Somebody get LeBron, Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson, Steph Curry. Get them on the phone and tell them to saddle up. Giddy up, y'all. It is shout-out time. Mrs. Johnson at Alger Middle School in Grand Rapids, Michigan, rise up and thank you for making us a part of your day.

And bling, bling, Mrs. Carpenter and friends at Warrior Run in Turbotville, Pennsylvania. This sparkly surprise showed up here at CNN headquarters. I understand this took you four days to make. Thank you so much. I will be slinging this bling for some tutties all across campus.

It's almost Friday, y'all. I'll meet you there. I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.

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