Today's CNN 10 Transcript

---

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: What's up, sunshine? Happy Friday, Fri-yay. I know some of you already have one foot out the door getting ready to have the best summer ever. Awesome. We are so excited for you.

I'm Coy Wire. This is CNN 10.

And on today's show, we have a wildfire threatening one of the rarest ecosystems in America, underwater chess, where only one wrong move is literally sink or swim. Let's go.

We're going to start, though, with major developments involving Cuba and a move by the United States that's sending political shockwaves from Havana to Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Justice Department announced this week it has indicted 94-year-old former Cuban President Raul Castro on charges that include murder and conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a 1996 incident when Cuban fighter jets shot down planes flown by Miami-based Volunteer Group over international waters, killing four people, including three Americans.

This case reopens one of the most painful chapters in U.S.-Cuba relations, a rivalry that's been simmering since the Cold War. This indictment is raising new questions about what comes next, including concerns about possible U.S. military activity near the island nation.

Our Patrick Oppmann explains how we got here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: While Raul Castro is officially retired. He remains the most powerful man on this island. He's handpicked many, if not all, of the top leadership here, both military and political.

And so, when Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel says that Castro is not going anywhere, much less a courtroom in Miami, that carries a lot of weight with it. It is essentially the Cuban government's way of saying that if the U.S. were to try to seize Raul Castro, like we saw take place against Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro, who himself was under U.S. indictment, then clearly the Cuban government, the Cuban military would put up a fight.

Already we have seen the Cuban military carrying out more maneuvers. We've seen Cuban officials tell the population here that they should prepare for any kind of military strikes or potentially a U.S. invasion. That is something that people take seriously here. This is an island that for decades has lived under the fear of a U.S. invasion, one that is becoming more and more probable as tensions get higher and higher here.

Cubans that I have spoken to, even those who don't support the government say they are very concerned, though, that there is an off ramp to this crisis, that any kind of military strikes that destabilize the government, cause it to collapse, eventually could lead to some kind of humanitarian disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Now to California, where a wildfire is tearing through one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet, Channel Islands National Park, often called North America's Galapagos, because its isolation helped rare species evolve there for thousands of years, basically nature's exclusive VIP section. But now a human-caused wildfire is threatening that fragile paradise. It began last week. Officials are investigating its origins. As of this taping, the fire has grown to more than 17,000 acres, making it the largest in the state this year.

And in the middle of all this chaos came a rescue straight out of a movie. A stranded sailor crashed near the island during the blaze and sent an SOS in the most dramatic way, carving a giant help message into the scorched earth. The Coast Guard spotted it and airlifted the 67-year-old to safety. Tom Hanks and castaways somewhere, but it's like, respect.

Typically when you think concert venue, you picture giant speakers, bright lights, and overpriced nachos. But one music festival is proving all you really need is a front porch and good vibes. PorchFest is a music festival highlighting local bands in cities across America and parts of Canada. And last week in Atlanta, Georgia, nearly 40,000 people showed up to rock the block.

Our CNN 10 News Associate, Lisa Wong, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA WONG, CNN 10 NEWS ASSOCIATE: In less than 12 hours, this quiet street in Atlanta, Georgia is going to go from this, to this. But before that happens, let's rewind a little bit.

(Voice-over): Listening to live music goes all the way back to when humans figured out they can make noises by banging items together and using their voices. That eventually evolved to making simple instruments. The oldest one we know of is a bone flute, 40,000 years old. The modern music listening experience is now so accessible and diverse. And the Atlanta, Georgia community is doing just that.

WONG: This is the sixth annual Virginia Highlands PorchFest. It's actually one of many that happen across America and parts of Canada. It's a music festival that features a variety of local bands and puts them on the big stage. Except the big stage is a bunch of neighborhood porches.

SARAH MILLER, MARKETING OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, PORCHFEST: It was during COVID that they decided, like, we need to get out in the streets and have some fun and why not bring it to this neighborhood?

WONG (voice-over): There are 100 bands playing this year. And according to the committee, over 38,000 people bought tickets. That's like 530 school buses packed with people, but all right outside your bedroom window.

LONNA YOUNG, PORCHFEST HOST: I'm not nervous for the crowd. It's been big crowds before. A lot of local bands. Some people live in the neighborhood are playing.

WONG: The unique thing about local bands is that a majority of its members have other full-time jobs. Getting together to play and perform is simply because they're passionate about it.

CAM CARR, SINGER FOR SCHMOOZE: Music is everywhere. Being able to play live music is even better because you know that you're providing the thing that people like.

GAMBLE CLEARY, SINGER FOR BENDR: Exposing people who maybe wouldn't usually go to shows or don't really necessarily listen to this type of music. It's super cool, especially in a local neighborhood that everyone's going to be at.

WONG: Being able to enjoy company over good tunes has been a favorite pastime for humans for thousands of years and we'll continue to see live music evolve for thousands more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Pop quiz, hot shot.

Which animal has the largest number of individual bones?

Python, elephant, cheetah, or bald eagle?

If you said python, you are smart. Some large pythons can have more than 1,800 bones. That's hundreds of vertebrae and ribs. Humans have 206 bones, meaning the python basically said, hold my skeleton.

Now to a positively adorable guest. Taking the stage to honor the graduating veterinary students that helped save her life.

Our Jeremy Roth has more on Honey, the dog's best in show moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honey has joined us to celebrate your special day.

(APPLAUSE)

JEREMY ROTH, CNN DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCER AND WRITER (voice-over): A very unique guest of honor headlined a recent college commencement in Iowa celebrating the very students that helped save her life. This is Honey. In December, she was critically injured after being hit by a car.

KCCI reports her owner couldn't afford treatment, so they surrendered her to the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine who worked tirelessly to save Honey through extensive treatment and rehabilitation, fundraising, and teamwork by doctors, residents, and students who got to see the fruits of their labors as Honey made her way happier and healthier with cap and gown across the commencement stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it just gives them a kind of peek into what they can do and the impact that they can have in taking care of animals.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIRE: Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10. Chess players are literally taking things to a deeper level. In Tarnowo Podgorne, Poland, 62 chess players from around the world participated in the largest world diving chess championship. What are the rules, you ask? Players dive to the bottom of a pool and make one chess move per breath on weighted magnetic boards before resurfacing.

So, not only do you need strategy, you need lungs of steel. This hybrid sport is gaining traction with seasoned pros and teenage newbies trying to make waves internationally with mastermind moves underwater.

OK, no show on Monday because of Memorial Day, so we're back on Tuesday. And for all of you celebrating the last day of school today, congrats, so pumped for you. Feel free to subscribe to our CNN 10 YouTube channel because we'll have summer Friday shows coming to keep those brains flexing while the backpacks rest.

Our first shout-out of the day goes to Mrs. Giegel at Burchall High School in Wasilla, Alaska. Thank you for this, a hand-painted fall antler from a moose. Love the time and the attention to detail that you put into this. It's headed to our Wall of Friends Hall of Fame.

And our next shout-out, music to our ears. Mr. Moreau at Ross A. Lurgio Middle School in Bedford, New Hampshire and student Colton sent us his version of Friday music on three different instruments. Play that Friday music, Colton.

(MUSIC)

WIRE: So good. Rise up, Colton. Rise up, all of you.

Go out, make someone's day better this weekend. One kind word or smile can have a huge ripple effect. You're more powerful than you know.

I'm Coy Wired. We are CNN 10.

CNN 10's Weekly News Quiz

---