Countdown to the Autumnal Equinox

What's up, everyone? Happy Friday, Fry-yay. Welcome to CNN headquarters here in Atlanta, Georgia, where it is a perfect 80 degrees, perfect for the last official Friday of summer. That's right, Monday at 219 p.m. Eastern time. the northern hemisphere will enter the autumnal equinox, marking the start of fall. This calls for a Did You Know?

The term equinox comes from the Latin word equinoxium, meaning equality between day and night. Equinoxes occur twice a year when the sun rises and sets directly over the Earth's equator, causing day and night to be roughly the same. This year's Fall Equinox is this coming Monday, September 22nd. It marks the official start of the fall season. In Japan, Autumnal Equinox Day is a national holiday. It marks a time to pay respect to deceased family members.

China to Great Britain, countries around the globe celebrate various harvest festivals rooted in ancient tradition. Since it's such a lovely day and it is the last official Friday, of the school year i'm just going to do the whole show from out here that is the mansion

1980 Ted Turner started it all right there. All right, speaking of harvests and festivals, this weekend marks a milestone anniversary for a celebrated event that's become a lifeline for struggling farmers here in the U.S. The 40th annual Farm Aid Festival is set to kick off in Minneapolis tomorrow, featuring a star-studded lineup that includes legendary country singer

Willie Nelson. Nelson dreamed up the event back in 1985 when crashing crop prices and record foreclosures were devastating farms across the country. I knew what they were going through. I still know what they're going through. They need all the help they can get. Small family farmers.

And now pretty much all farmers need help. But I started out working for the small family farmers because that's what I could relate to. 40 years later, a new generation of farmers is facing age-old problems and new ones. Climate change has fueled... more extreme, unpredictable weather, and tariffs have left many farmers at the mercy of volatile markets. Our bill collectors want money now. The chemicals, the seed companies, the fertilizer companies, they need it now.

They don't want to hear, well, I'm waiting on a farm bill payment that's going to come two years from now. They don't want to hear that. Organizers say Farm Aid has raised more than $85 million to date. for support programs that help farmers. And if you want to catch Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and a host of other stars this weekend, you can watch the event live on CNN.

Pop quiz, hotshot, what is the longest river in the world? Amazon, Nile, Yangtze, or Mississippi? If you said Niall, you're right by a mile. Actually, about 132 of them. Africa's Nile River, which runs from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea, spans 4,132 miles. Second longest river is the Amazon at about 4,000 miles long. In Egypt, a priceless ancient artifact has met an unfortunate end. Authorities in the capital city of Cairo were on the hunt for a missing 3,000 year old golden bracelet.

that disappeared from a restoration lab. The lab was located at the Egyptian Museum, which displays some of the country's most storied cultural pieces. The priceless jewelry once belonged to a pharaoh, King Amenemope.

whose tomb was rediscovered in 1940. Photos of the ancient bling were circulated at airports, seaports, and border crossings in an effort to foil potential smugglers. Officials at Egypt's Interior Ministry finally cracked the case but it was too late they say a restoration specialist took the bracelet then sold it and the artifact was eventually melted down the suspects have been arrested and the proceeds from the sale Only about $4,000 US dollars were seized.

Doomscrolling, bed rot, you've heard the terms. A recent study from the Pew Research Center shows that nearly half of U.S. teens say they're on social media, quote, almost constantly. That's up nearly 25% from a decade ago and 96%. of teens say they use the internet daily but after growing up chronically online some gen z activists are leading a movement to take back control of their attention by logging off of addictive social media apps our phoebe golson spoke to one of them

I reached a breaking point. I distinctly remember hearing a buzz of a notification, having a Polovian response to grab for my phone. Why am I being controlled by something else? I'm someone who values control and agency, and I'm just giving that all away. like a dog literally responding to a bell or a whistle. Gen Z tech activist Emma Lemke is one of a growing number of teens and young adults, leading a movement to take back control of her attention by logging off.

They're pushing back against addictive platforms, not just for themselves, but their peers. And experts say they're onto something. Teenagers are very smart. and my students all tell me that they know that social media is really, really bad for them. The problem is that it's so difficult to disconnect. I do think it's very significant that teenagers are increasingly recognizing that something needs to change.

And that's often a shock to adults. Nearly half of US teens today say they're on social media almost constantly, according to Pew Research. For many, disconnecting feels impossible, especially when everyone else is still online. Researchers asked college students, how much would we have to pay you to deactivate Instagram or TikTok for four weeks? The average amount was $50.

Now how much would we have to pay you if everyone else here did the same? The answer is that the college students were willing to pay the researchers to make that happen. Users are questioning more than just how much time they're on social media. When debating whether to log off entirely, teens wonder if it's still serving them and why they're plugged in in the first place.

I do something called the five minute power scroll every few weeks, and I have to be incredibly picky and mindful and intentional. So every photo I go through, I'll stop and say, how does this make me feel? And I have to act based off those feelings. So if I feel frustrated and I don't like the content, I'll unfollow the person. And I do that every few weeks as kind of a digital reset, as a way of...

maintaining a digital experience that serves me rather than exploiting me. You've seen people post videos about digital detoxes. You've seen other larger celebrities and other influencers take breaks. I have taken a break from social media. for my mental health. I think it is the role and job of individuals in Gen Z and other generations to help continue to raise the status quo, to talk about healthier habits and to pursue them without judgment.

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, a reminder that even the smallest acts of kindness can have a domino effect of impacts. A young man receives a letter written by his mom. 24 years after she passed away on September 11th. But the path this letter traveled is not what you might expect. I gotta warn you, this story is a bit of a tearjerker, but it is one we just had to share.

is so sweet this is from our cnn affiliate tv station wp tv in florida a letter came to my attention at the television station the other day its real recipient lives in fort pierce Piece of history right here. It was for Javon Castrillo, dated March of 2001. Ancient artifact. And it was full of praise. Dear Ms. Thurman, Javon read a book last night.

that he brought home from the library. He read it from cover to cover. I told him that I would write you a note and tell you what an outstanding job he did. We are very proud of him. and we'll continue to work with him at home. Again, thank you for your dedication and courage to the job that you do. CC Lyles. Very touching. because it seems very sweet and it seems like something she would definitely say you know the writer of this letter javon castrio's mother was cc ross liles

This former Fort Pierce detective was a flight attendant on board Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on 911. The letter was sent to me by Javon's kindergarten teacher, Tammy Thurman. Full circle. Thurman tells me she kept this letter as she moved to four different schools in Lee County. As a mom, I know you need to see those words from your mom. And she was a wonderful woman and you were a wonderful. student Thurman even sent along a class photo

There we are, best of buds. Thank you so much for both the roles you guys played in getting me this note. Yeah, you guys did great. A father now to a three-month-old, Castrillo tells me he'll continue to make his mom proud since he knows she was proud of him.

all right that's all i have time for but i do have time for some shout outs time to show some love play that friday music not air this first one goes to mrs egan and northern valley regional high school in old tapen new jersey rise up and Mrs. Franklin, Koenig, and Dalibor and all our friends at Redwood Cooperative School in Lexington, Kentucky.

Thank you for following us at CNN10 on Instagram. Go on out. Make someone smile this weekend. You never know who, when, or how, but you may be the spark of joy someone needs. Enjoy your last official Friday of summer. I'm Koi Wire, and we are CNN10. you