(lively music) - Coming up next on NewsDepth, hockey players are pushing to protect the planet one game at a time.

Plus we meet a pair of daring siblings participating in a vaccine trial.

A big boat blocks global trade.

We'll tell you how it got unstuck, and learn about the life of beloved children's author, Beverly Cleary.

NewsDepth is now.

(lively music) One very big boat caused a major trade problem while we were away.

Hello everybody, I'm Rick Jackson.

Thank you for joining us.

Glad to be back from break because plenty has happened.

So let's get right to the news.

I wonder if you've heard about a ship called the Ever Given getting stuck in the Suez Canal.

At the end of March, the massive container ship ran aground in the man-made waterway that divides Africa from Asia.

You'll remember earlier in the season, we told you about Ohio's canals.

They help our state increase trade and travel, letting our economy grow.

Well the Suez Canal serves a similar purpose but for global trade.

So having it clogged for nearly a week created quite the problem.

Natalia Garcia has the details on the Ever Given getting stuck and unstuck.

Natalia?

- [Natalia] The world watched and wondered if the Ever Given would ever be freed.

For nearly a week, the giant container ship blocked the Suez Canal before finally continuing on its journey.

The 1,400 foot long Ever Given is as long as the Empire State Building is tall.

It became stuck at an angle in the Suez Canal during a sand storm on March 23rd, cutting off traffic in one of the world's busiest waterways.

Over 400 ships were left to wait in the canal.

It took five days, around the clock digging, tugging, and pulling to set the 224,000 ton vessel free.

But the economic impact is far from over.

- Yes, there's going to be a global disruption in the supply of goods; not immediately, but a few weeks from now.

- [Natalia] That is due in part to the importance of the Suez Canal.

The waterway in Egypt was constructed in 1869.

It runs North to South by connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

The cut-through is crucial for long journeys like the Ever Given's, which was headed from Malaysia to the Netherlands.

Nowadays about 12% of the global trade flows to the Suez Canal on massive ships like the Ever Given.

Before the Suez Canal was dug, trade routes went all the way around Africa to get to Europe.

This includes a treacherous passage around the Cape of Good Hope on Africa's southern tip.

So while the Ever Given was stuck, companies had to decide whether it was best to wait it out or head on the long journey of their predecessors.

Experts say even before the ship got stuck, supply chains were stretched to the limits.

This fiasco is making it much more expensive to move goods around the world.

- It may almost be invisible in certain areas to most people, but what they will see is increased costs.

It's gonna be more expensive to haul goods.

Vessels that are going around the Suez Canal have to use more fuel.

- [Natalia] While traffic has assumed in the vital waterway, experts say the impact of this disruption could last for weeks.

- Thanks, Natalia.

Boy, that's a big ship.

We've got another international update.

Two seasons ago back in April of 2019, we told you about a fire that destroyed part of the world famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Now a cathedral is a large and important church, especially in the Roman Catholic religion.

The entire country of France was in shock as part of that famous building went up in flames.

You may recognize the spot from the story of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Construction began on the building way back in 1163, but wasn't completed until 1250 which is still nearly 800 years ago!

Rebuilding the Gothic style building, no easy feat.

It requires materials that match.

So after centuries in the ground, historic French oaks will soon be uprooted to form part of the new spire on the building.

Jim Bitterman reports from the Beauce Forest of France.

(somber music) - It was one of the most heartbreaking sights of a tragic afternoon.

(crowd crying out) The towering spire of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame came crashing to the ground as a devastating fire swept through the roof.

(mechanical whirring) But now a more encouraging image of spires crashing down.

(tree trunk crashing) In a forest south of Le Mans, France, a harvest of mighty oaks is underway.

The first of 200 year old trees needed to rebuild the spire and roof support beams destroyed by the fire.

In all, a thousand trees will be needed.

While there has been some opposition from environmental groups about the use of centuries old trees to rebuild Notre-Dame, the forestry people here say it's a testament to the richness of natural resources in this country that, in this forest alone, there are more than 100,000 trees that are over 150 years old.

(workmen bustling) At the church itself, there is no resounding pipe organ playing just yet, but as CNN discovered when it got rare access to the Cathedral, the walls have been cleaned and stabilized.

Some of the stained glass windows and ancient stones statue are already restored.

There remains a gaping hole in the roof though, covered only with plastic to keep out the elements.

For that, workers are now building 90 foot tall walls of scaffolding inside the Cathedral, which will eventually support a temporary platform for restoring Notre-Dame's unique vaulted ceiling, much of which was destroyed or damaged in the fire.

Architects say once the platform is in place, precisely engineered wooden arches will provide the bracing to reconstruct the star-form stone ceiling vaults.

Once all that is done, the engineers will turn their attention to rebuilding the roof itself, reconstructing the spire, and replacing the interior roof beams using the oak that is now being cut, exactly in the same fashion as those that were destroyed in the fire.

There were hundreds of ideas from the public suggesting more modern ways to rebuild Notre-Dame, but in the end, President Macron decided that it should be rebuilt exactly as it was, albeit with better fire protection.

Reconstructing the Cathedral as it was, seems to be more or less a popular idea.

- It's a cultural building, it belongs to everybody.

So I think it's very important for everybody to rebuild it in that same way, I think, in the classical way.

- We should respect the monument and the century when it was made, and the methods that were used to build it.

(falling tree creaking) - [Jim] Back amid the ancient oaks, knowing they'll be used for a noble purpose suits the forestry managers just fine.

- We know it's the end of something, but it's the beginning of something else.

This piece of wood is going to have a second life and maybe even longer than the life he had in the forest.

- Thanks, Jim.

France's President Emmanuel Macron originally announced the country would have the Cathedral fixed by the time France host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

It's unclear if they'll meet that deadline now due to the pandemic.

Now, switching gears.

I want to share a snippet of a letter we've received from Zoe.

I've got it right here: I am asking if you would do a news story on climate change.

I have many good reasons for you to do a story on climate change, not!

You should do a news story for one good reason.

Climate change is actually a climate crisis.

And it goes on, but good letter.

Quick definition for you.

Climate change is the shift in average weather over an area over a long time.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, worldwide warming has been speeding up.

It's due in part to human activity.

Think of the things we do, cutting down forest, burning fossil fuels for energy.

As the earth gets hotter, natural spots for winter sports like hockey are getting harder to come by.

So Russian hockey legends are playing in vulnerable locations to bring attention to the problem, which is bigger than just not having a spot to play sports.

But before we head to the rink, let's learn a bit about Russia.

Privet!

Welcome to the largest country in the world.

Russia covers about a 10th of all of the world's land.

Being so vast, it encompasses a wide range of ecosystems and comes with plenty of natural resources including petroleum, coal, and natural gas.

The country has long cold winters.

It's capital city is Moscow, where the Republic is led by the people's elected president, currently Vladimir Putin.

They've had a rocky relationship with the US, especially in recent years.

But now, onto that hockey.

Fred Pleitgen has the story for us.

- [Fred] A power play to help save our planet.

Russian hockey legends playing a match on the majestic Lake Baikal, the largest fresh water reservoir in the world.

Organized by all-time NHL great Slava Fetisov, who is now the U.N.'s patron for Polar Regions.

- We play on ice and, as you know, ice is melting everywhere, not only in the North and the South Pole.

One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to see what's going on there.

(hockey sticks clattering) - I had the privilege of being allowed to play in the match on a rink made of ice blocks at this stunning venue.

The initiative is called "The Last Game," which plays hockey in places endangered by global warming around the world.

Endorsed by the U.N. and even blessed by Pope Francis.

Of course, the reason for this game is very serious.

The warmer our Earth gets, the less space there is for games like ice hockey and other winter sports as well.

Lake Baikal is one of those endangered areas.

It's gigantic, holding more fresh water than all of America's Great Lakes combined, a fifth of the world's unfrozen reserves.

But there are a lot of unresolved problems here, from unregulated tourism to harmful industries.

The Russian government also recently relaxed regulations protecting the Lake.

And Russia is one of the countries hardest hit by global warming.

Record temperatures for several years have led to a massive melt of its permafrost, leading to giant sinkholes and releasing even more greenhouse gases, as well as massive wildfires that further increase the world's temperatures.

- This is the catastrophes, no vaccine could be found.

- [Jim] And while hockey won't save the world's climate, at least the organizers hope it will cause some to take action to try and preserve the natural playing fields of the game that so many love so much.

- Thanks, Fred.

Hey, did you catch that line in his story about giant craters opening up in Russia?

It's happening in the Siberian Tundra.

A tundra is a flat treeless Arctic region where the soil is permanently frozen.

They actually call the ground permafrost.

Scientists who are researching the mystery behind the massive craters say methane gas and a rapidly warming Arctic may explain the phenomenon.

Jennifer Gray has more on the story.

- [Jennifer] For several years now, mysterious giant craters have been appearing in the Siberian Tundra, like golf holes in a game played by giants.

At least 17 have been found so far.

With the help of 3D mapping drones, scientists have begun to work out how they are formed.

It starts with a buildup of methane gas in the permafrost.

- [Interpreter] As the pressure in these gas accumulations increases a mound forms.

Once the pressure passes a critical point, defined by the density of the upper layers of ground, an explosion throws debris hundreds of meters.

That's how these craters, which can be 30 to 40 meters deep and over 30 meters wide, are formed.

- [Jennifer] Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.

In the atmosphere, it traps Earth's heat, warming the climate.

And as the warmer climate melts the Siberian permafrost, more methane escapes, sometimes in the form of these exploding craters.

And that sends more methane into the air, heating the planet even more.

These exploding craters have been mainly limited to two Siberian peninsulas.

That's because these areas have unique conditions, very thick permafrost that's highly saturated with methane, that also contains pools of liquid water.

- So far, this is where we've seen them.

And these characteristics are pretty common in this area.

So I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's much more likely to happen when you have these features.

- [Jennifer] Natali also says these craters and other changes are indicative of a rapidly warming and thawing Arctic, and that can have severe consequences for Arctic residents and the globe.

- Thanks Jennifer.

Well, now that we've seen some of the results of climate change from melting ice to crater-causing explosions, we want you to write us a letter like Zoe's.

Persuade us to care for the environment.

And yes, I'm looking forward to those letters.

Of course, we couldn't come back from break without an update on the pandemic.

And there is some good news to report.

We told you before how the vaccines were found effective in trials, but those have a controlled environment.

Controlled means carried out under perfect conditions.

Out here in the real world, there are extra factors in play.

And a new study shows vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna work as expected in real-world conditions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed nearly 4,000 healthcare workers and first responders to see how the vaccines are working.

Some of them had received both doses, others one dose, some not at all.

Researchers found both vaccines were 90% effective at preventing infections, even in cases where people displayed no symptoms.

They also say both shots are 80% protective after just a single dose, but most doctors still recommend two shots.

Now these results are what scientists expected based on clinical trials, but those results don't always match up to what happens when real-world conditions are introduced.

And more good news?

Yeah, we could use that.

We're getting closer to a COVID vaccine for kids.

Both drug companies, Pfizer and Moderna, began testing their vaccines on children under 12.

Gary Tuchman reports on one of those trials.

- [Gary] This little boy and girl are about to make history.

Six year old are Arlo Swensen and his nine year old sister Phoebe are getting COVID vaccines.

- [Woman] Right?

- [Man] Okay.

All done!

- [Woman] That was it!

- [Gary] Phoebe becoming the very first child to get the shot at the Moderna Children's COVID vaccine trial at this Phoenix clinical research facility, and one of the first in the US and Canada.

The day began about 90 minutes earlier, Arlo and Phoebe walking into the facility with their parents, a big brother on the left who was too old for this trial, and a baby brother on the right who was too young.

The trial is for infant six months old through and including children 11 years old.

But this initial stage of the trial begins with children at least six years old.

Parents, Ashton and Stefan, take a seat and signed consent forms.

- I'm gonna have you write your name.

- [Gary] And children who are seven or above also have to sign.

Pre-vaccine medical procedures then begin.

Blood pressure, and ear check.

- Good, you see a lot of people in here, right?

- [Gary] And then a required COVID test.

- Could you pull your mask down for me and look up to the ceiling?

Thank you.

All the way up.

Yeah right, perfect!

(Arlo laughing) - [Gary] The children are brave throughout.

- [Woman] Keep your arms straight.

- [Gary] Even with the blood test, it's then almost time for the COVID vaccine.

And we take some time to talk to the proud parents.

Was it a hard one decision to allow your children to be in this trial?

- No, it was not a hard decision at all for me.

We believe in the science of vaccines and we were excited about the opportunity to be a part of it.

- [Gary] Among this first group of participants, also known as the First Arm, a lesser dose is given than the dose adults receive.

Jason Wallace is the Clinical Research Site Manager for the Phoenix Med Farm X facility, and says this regarding placebos.

- So for the first 750 patients nationwide, it's gonna be open label, which means all the children that are gonna be in those first arms for that 750 are guaranteed to get the actual vaccine.

- [Gary] Placebo will be used later on in trial.

- [Woman] There you go!

- [Gary] The youngest children will start getting scheduled soon.

Three year old Eileen and two year old Charlotte will be two of those participants.

Their parents are Rachel and Garrett Guthrie.

- We knew that this was something we wanted to participate in, the opportunity for them to be vaccinated at such an early stage.

We jumped at the opportunity, honestly.

- Eileen and Charlotte are scheduled to be vaccinated within a few weeks.

These small children, unbeknownst to them, will soon be leaders in the effort to help humanity.

Which brings us back to Phoebe's brother Arlo.

The six year old is getting his COVID vaccine.

- Ready?

- Yeah.

- [Woman] You're gonna do great.

And go!

Good job.

See not too bad, was it?

- [Gary] Both children will come back at four weeks, their health will continue to be monitored.

You're done getting your shot now, right?

- Yeah.

- How did it feel?

- I felt good.

- Was it easy?

- Kinda.

- [Gary] Do you know that you're a hero?

- No.

(laughing) - You are, you're a medical hero.

It says it right there on your sticker.

(Phoebe giggling) - I know what 10 times 10 is.

- What's 10 times 10?

- 100.

- You're absolutely right!

You're not only a hero, you're smart.

Right?

- Yeah.

- Thanks, Gary.

Okay, I've been doing all the talking here.

Time to hear from you.

Last episode, we asked you to tell us your best joke and you had the team here just cracking up.

Let's see what you had to say by opening up our inbox.

(lively music) Here's the one from Gabe at Ross Middle School in Hamilton: If you want to hear my joke, then here, it's not funny but whatever.

Why was the football coach mad at the vending machine?

He wanted his quarterback.

Gabe, I think you're selling yourself short.

We appreciate your two cents, get it?

Two cents, quarter back?

Okay, bad joke here.

Evan from Parkside Elementary in Concord wrote: What do you call a train carrying bubblegum?

A chew chew train!

Olive from Roosevelt Elementary in Lakewood wrote: What kind of sandals do frogs wear?

The answer, of course, is open toad.

Jeron from Quinnipiac STEM School in New Haven, Connecticut, shout out to all of you out-of-state viewers wrote: What do you call Mac and Cheese that gets all up in your face?

Too-close-for-comfort food.

(laughing) And finally, here's one from Ajanae at Valley Forge Elementary in Huber Heights: My best joke is, what did the plate say to the other plate?

Dinner's on me!

Hope that's funny enough.

Yes, it was.

Have a great day.

Oh thanks, Ajanae.

Nice ones, everybody.

We received more than 1,000 jokes from you.

And boy would that make the joke book author we met before pretty proud.

And speaking of authors, over the break, we lost one of America's most beloved children's authors, Beverly Cleary.

The literary legend wrote dozens of popular children's books, including the "Ramona Quimby" series and "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" trilogy.

Stephanie Elam looks back at Cleary's life and career.

Steph?

(logo slashing) (sketchy scratchings) (lively music) - [Stephanie] Beverly Cleary lived a storybook life, creating characters beloved by millions of children and adults around the globe.

- The girl said- - This is work that I enjoy, I can do at home and I didn't have to catch a bus.

- [Stephanie] In the span of six decades, Cleary authored more than 40 books selling over 91 million copies in 14 different languages.

Her first children's book, "Henry Huggins," was published in 1950, inspired by a boy she met working as a librarian in Yakima, Washington.

- [Reader] "Henry Huggins was in the third grade.

His hair looked like a scrubbing brush and most of his grown-up front teeth were in."

- [Stephanie] Her stories captured the lives of middle-class everyday boys and girls.

Her characters so real, they felt like friends.

Her humor so irresistible, one had to laugh out loud.

Five years after the release of "Henry Huggins," readers fell in love with sassy Ramona Quimby.

- [Reader] "If she played with her finger paints in the front yard, she wiped her hands on the neighbor's cat."

- I was so annoyed with the books in my childhood because children always learned to be better children.

And in my experience, they didn't, they just grew.

(chuckling) And so, I started Ramona and she has never reformed.

- [Stephanie] The "Ramona" series, along with most of Cleary's books, are set in Grant Park, the Portland, Oregon, neighborhood where she grew up.

Over the years, the famous Klickitat Street became something of a pilgrimage site.

Cleary's award-winning stories pioneered the use of emotional realism in kids' literature, capturing childhood's emotional struggles and realizations.

- Emotions of children don't change, their life situations change.

- [Stephanie] Cleary has received countless accolades for her work, including the prestigious Newbery Medal.

In 2000, the Library of Congress named her a Living Legend.

And three years later, President George W. Bush awarded her the National Medal of Arts.

Her birthday, April 12th, has been designated Drop Everything And Read Day.

In her memoir, "My Own Two Feet," Cleary recalls life during the Great Depression, eloping with her husband, working as an army librarian during World War II, and becoming a writer.

She also reveals the inspiration behind a lifetime of beloved prose.

- [Reader] "And as I wrote, Mother's words came back to me, 'Make it funny.

People always like to read something funny,' and 'Keep it simple.

The best writing is simple writing.'"

- [Stephanie] Funny simple writing that will be cherished for generations to come.

(dramatic music) (logo slashing) (globe pinging) - Thank you, Stephanie.

For this week's poll, we want to know which Beverly Cleary books have you read?

Head to our online poll to choose any and all that you've read.

Now, here are your choices.

The "Henry Huggins" series, "Dear Mr. Henshaw," "Ribsey," "The Mouse and the Motorcycle," or the "Ramona" series.

Also during the last episode, we asked you to vote on which prehistoric Ohio creature you thought was the coolest.

And 39% of you agreed with our past A-plus winner, that the ancient Dunkleosteus was the best.

So, how about we meet this week's A-plus winners?

At Richmond Heights Secondary School students in grade 7 to 12 can join the Rise Up after school program.

Rise Up allow students to get extra tutoring, join clubs, explore career interests, and take advantage of several mentorship opportunities.

This week's A-plus award goes to the Rise Up students.

"We have a core group of students who are doing great work," says Site Coordinator, Alicia Trescott.

Rise Up students can participate in several clubs, including boxing, guitar, fitness, robotics, and coding.

They also focus on student wellness, which is especially important these days.

Check out these photos of them learning various skills, this, of course, before the pandemic.

Ms. Trescott shared, "This year has been tough because we are meeting remotely, but the students are dedicated.

We've pivoted on a dime to transfer our program to a virtual experience for students."

Rise Up not only explores their interest and participates in tutoring, but they also explore social and community issues.

This year, Rise Up participated in a Martin Luther King Jr Day essay contest.

The students wrote essays about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's legacy and what it means today.

Many of the essays explored topics of social justice and equality.

The essays were so good, the school decided to make a video featuring the excerpts of the students' writing.

"We had a lot of fun recording the video.

Some of the students were nervous at first about how their voices sounded, but we are all really proud of the work they've done," added Ms. Trescott.

Well, this week's NewsDepth A-plus award goes to Rise Up at Richmond Heights Secondary School for going the extra mile to explore their interests and educate their community.

Now, how about we check in with the cuteness correspondent?

How much you wanna bet she's still napping?

Three weeks isn't enough, right?

It's time for Petting Zoo.

(lively music) (cat meowing) I knew it, upsy-daisy NewsCat!

(loud clapping) Spring break is over, get back to work.

Okay, that's more like it.

Oh, what's she got here?

(keyboard keys clacking) Oh, a story about a mysterious visit from a monkey.

Now that's a surprise guest.

- [Reporter] Audrey Lewis' grandfather says he first saw the monkey on Sunday on his back deck.

- [Woman] We thought he was joking with us something.

- [Reporter] But as they soon realized, - [Woman] Monkey!

- [Reporter] He wasn't!

- [Woman] Hi, buddy.

(monkey trilling) - [Reporter] They started to feed it, leaving food on the deck and in the cage to make it easier to transport to a safer place.

- [Woman] Here!

- [Rick] Go watch the full story, click the Petting Zoo button on our website.

(logo slashing) (globe pinging) And thank you, NewsCat.

And before we say goodbye, our end-of-season survey is on the NewsDepth website.

Teachers, we'd love for you to fill it out.

Your input is what helps us make NewsDepth better each and every year.

As a thank you, we will be choosing a couple of classes for a virtual or maybe even an in-person visit next season.

Oh and if you're not a teacher, we've still got some questions on that survey for you too so go ahead and take a look.

And that's gonna do it for us but of course we want to hear from you.

There are plenty of ways to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us like Zoe did, 1375 Euclid Avenue, that's Cleveland, Ohio.

Zip code here, 44115.

You can email us at NewsDepth@ideastream.org or you can tweet us.

Our handle is @NewsDepthOhio.

Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe if you're old enough so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thank you so much for joining us, I'm Rick Jackson.

And unlike the last time, we will be right back next week.

(lively music) - [Child] NewsDepth is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

(lively music) (lively outro music)