(energetic instrumental music) - Coming up next on "NewsDepth".

(swoosh effect) SpaceX Starship explodes on first launch attempt.

(swoosh effect) Artificial intelligence is being used to fight wildfires and create art.

(swoosh effect) An art studio in Canton is creating buzz for all the right reasons.

(swoosh effect) Take a hike just like Grandma Gatewood did back in 1955.

(swoosh effect) "NewsDepth" is now.

(energetic instrumental music) The most powerful rocket ever built faced its biggest test yet, but it did not go as expected.

Hello everybody, I'm Drew Maziasz, in for Rick Jackson.

Thanks for joining us.

SpaceX's Starship was designed to transport cargo and people to the moon, and potentially even to Mars.

First, it had to prove it could lift off from the orbital launch pad.

But due to engine failure, the rocket exploded just four minutes after launch.

But don't worry, nobody was hurt, and it didn't cause any property damage.

Emily Schmidt reports.

- [Emily] SpaceX's Starship is about big scale, big plans.

- [Crowd] Eight, seven, six, five.

- [Emily] And as of Thursday morning, big sendoff.

At 8:33 central time, Starship lifted off from the orbital launch pad for the first time, soaring higher than any Starship so far.

Then SpaceX says Multiple engines went out, Starship exploded.

Big loss.

Listen to the live SpaceX commentary.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted his congratulations to the team.

Despite the explosion, SpaceX called a rapid unscheduled disassembly.

Space experts say it's the right call.

- The whole job of test is to find out what goes wrong, to let things failed.

- There definitely were some big successes here.

- They'll overcome this, and we'll be on the way, and we'll be landing on the moon late '25, early '26.

- We're going inside.

- [Emily] A livestream group more than five miles from the launch ran inside when a parent debris started falling from the sky.

Others said sand like particles covered their cars.

The FAA says there were no injuries or public property damage reported.

It will oversee the investigation to ensure Starship can return to flight.

- I think it's the right thing that we are looking up, and looking, and dreaming big, and trying to push our frontiers.

- [Emily] This future crew member says the explosion doesn't deter him.

Accepting big risks in hopes of bigger discoveries.

- Thank you, Emily.

(cat meows) NewsCat?

You're ready with your story already?

I've never seen you this excited about the news before.

Go ahead, tell us what you found in this week's petting zoo.

(cheerful drum music) (cat meows) Going old school, listening to the latest on the radio, NewsCat.

and she's off.

Boy, is it me, or does she seem faster this week?

Aha, she found a sloth stealing the spotlight from a rocket launch in Europe during a live broadcast.

To see the mammals two seconds of fame, click the petting zoo button on our website.

Thanks, NewsCat.

(cheerful drum music) (swoosh effect) (bouncy effect) Okay, back to the news.

Last week, president Joe Biden celebrated Earth Day by signing an executive order to create a new office of environmental justice.

The EPA says such justice means involving communities in environmental policies fairly and without discrimination.

Biden says his order requires all federal agencies to take it into account.

- That means every federal agency must take into account environmental and health impacts on communities and the work to prevent those negative impacts.

- And we celebrated by imagining what a greener future would look like.

We asked you to tell us how you think clean energy would change your community.

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

(swoosh effect) (phone clicks) Moonia from Erie Lakeside School District in Ashtabula starts us off with, "How I think that clean energy changes our community is that we would be more responsible and see that it's better to be cleaner so we could continue working and helping the world.

I also think that everyone should do that no matter what."

(phone bleeps) Oakley from Mulberry Elementary in Milford is already noticing changes in their community.

Dear "NewsDepth", clean energy is not very common in my community.

However, recently I've been seeing more and more houses using solar panels.

Using clean energy would help my community because it's not only cheaper long-term than non-renewable energy, but also helps to protect the environment around us."

(phone bleeps) Caitlin from Miami East Local schools in Casstown knows that clean energy is also good for our wallets.

"Dear "NewsDepth", clean energy would change our community by making electrical bills lower.

You also don't have to worry about the solar panel because when it does work, you don't have to fix it.

Clean energy could also help so we don't have to pay so much.

People in my community, I believe could be happier because they know that they don't have to pay as much money as they used to.

This is what I think would happen to my community if there was clean energy."

(phone bleeps) Calvin from Rush Wood Elementary in Northfield wants a greener future for all living things.

"Clean energy would change my community by not polluting the environment.

Greenhouse gas is a toxic gas that is let out of some factories when coal carbon is used to form energy.

That gas is bad for the animals of the world."

(phone bleeps) And finally, Sonia from St. Ursula Villa in Cincinnati thinks it would be better for our health.

"Dear "NewsDepth", if there would be less air pollution that comes from factories and cars, then the air would be better to breathe and the sky would be more clear.

Water pollution is bad for animals that live in the ocean.

So if we use energy carefully and responsibly, then we can live happily on the earth.

That is how clean energy can help the community."

Thanks to everyone who wrote in this week, it really helped paint a greener future for us.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company has partnered up with the XPRIZE Foundation to sponsor a contest to create technology that can fight wildfires with artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science focused on the creation of intelligent machines that can learn, solve problems, and make decisions.

The goal of this competition is to spur innovation in a crucial industry that has not seen much change in almost a century.

Cornell Bernard has more.

- [Reporter] Imagine a world where technology could stop this and this from ever happening again.

- [Cornell] It may be a contest like no other, the goal, to detect and extinguish a wildfire within minutes with the help of AI.

- Think about de being able to detect and suppress a high risk wildfire in 10 minutes or less.

Or being able to pinpoint all fire ignitions across the size of multiple states, or countries even, from space in 60 seconds.

- [Cornell] PG&E is a partner in XPRIZE Wildfire.

A four year competition with an 11 million prize going to the company or team which could innovate firefighting solutions to help end devastating wildfires in California and across the nation.

- [Reporter] Along two complimentary tracks, competing teams will design radically novel solutions to overcome some of the most significant barriers to how we currently fight fires.

- [Cornell] Each team must develop satellite technology capable of detecting fires from space, then communicate on the ground with fully autonomous aircraft or drones which can fly to the source of a wildfire and put it out.

If it sounds like the stuff of science fiction, think again.

- We wanna partner with the best and the brightest.

Entrepreneurs, roboticists, artificial intelligence experts, scientists and innovators from Silicon Valley.

- [Cornell] Cal Fire is already using technology to fight fires.

Tactical analyst tells planes where to go and gives personnel weather information.

AI is also on duty around North Bay mountaintops.

While fire detection cameras can relay information about where a fire starts - Anything that can really be done to improve how we as a fire service and as emergency services can respond to developing incidents and keep them smaller benefits not only us, but to benefit to communities across the state.

- We hope that this will be a complimentary technology that will support our brave firefighters and if they're out there on the front lines.

- Thanks, Cornell.

A Dutch museum has received over 3000 art submissions to fill the empty space where "Girl With Pearl Earring" usually hangs.

And one of those submissions is causing controversy because of AI.

Layla Harak reports.

- [Layla] This is the real thing.

Johanna Vermeer's "Girl With A Pearl Earring", drawing admirers at a special exhibition of the artist's work in Amsterdam.

But while the famous painting is on loan, the Mauritshuis Museum in the Hague, where the work normally hangs, decided to fill the empty space by asking people to recreate the masterpiece in their own style.

They got close to 3,500 submissions, and maybe more than they bargained for.

- The youngest applicant was three and the eldest was 94.

And we had an enormous variety of materials.

It was crayon, paint, textile, salad, flowers anything you can imagine.

It was an explosion of creativity.

- [Layla] One work in particular is getting a lot of buzz.

A definitively modern take on the classic, featuring glowing earrings on an eye popping interpretation of the original, made with AI technology.

- We're not the museum to discuss if AI belongs in a museum or not.

I mean, for this project, this specific project, we liked it.

- [Layla] The digital creator who submitted the image says he used an AI tool, which generates pictures based on a prompt, using samples of millions of images collected from the internet and Photoshop.

It's inclusion in the exhibit is dividing museum goers.

With some critics saying it's an insult, and arguing AI technology breaches the copyright of real life artists.

The museum says it's not making any statements on AI.

- I go to a modern art museum or a contemporary art museum and I see the weirdest things which are considered art.

So it's such a difficult question.

What is art and what is not art?

- Thanks, Layla.

We just learned how artificial intelligence could be very beneficial or controversial, depending on how it's used.

So for this week's write-in question, we want to know how can we balance the benefits and risks of AI?

Go to our inbox form online to tell us what you think.

Now, we couldn't let April go by without celebrating Autism Awareness Month.

Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interaction, communication, and behavior.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated one in 36 children in the United States today.

Autism Awareness Month is observed in April to promote greater understanding and acceptance of individuals with autism.

During Autism Awareness Month, many organizations and individuals hold events and awareness campaigns.

But there is one art studio in Canton that celebrates individuals neurological and physical diversity year round.

And that is just where we are headed for this week's sketchbook.

Since opening its doors in 2017, Silo Art Studio has welcomed adults with disabilities to grow their artistic talents, learn new techniques, and build relationships with the community.

Check it out.

(paper scrunching) (swoosh effect) (pencil sketching effec) (uplifting instrumental music) - My name's Todd Donnelly, and I'm the owner and facilitator of Silo.

We are an artist collective.

(uplifting instrumental music) So I find the artists and I make sure that they have the materials that they need and the space that they need to express whatever they need to express.

(uplifting instrumental music) During the day, we'll have anywhere from 14 to close to 20 artists in the studio working on their art.

Some of them just trying to progress in their skills, some of them working on shows that are coming up.

They all kind of have their their lane, if you will.

And we do try to push people to explore a little bit outside of their lane, but they also have really interesting ways of expressing themselves.

(uplifting instrumental music) And there's guys here who do horror masks, and really high end looking horror masks.

(uplifting instrumental music) - I do horror mask and horror themed items.

This the first one I've ever done.

Its sentimental value.

(uplifting instrumental music) - There's painters, there's colored pencils, there's people who construct out of cardboard, just all different ways of expressing themselves.

So this is Ron Baab.

Ron does a lot of western scenes, very colorful western scenes.

One of our big things that we try to do is to introduce them to other artists.

They have a real drive to be artists.

This is what they wanna do.

This is what they spend their time doing, is their expressions.

And so the idea is to help connect them to the larger art world.

- This is my watercolor friendship around the world.

So I watercolored paints and girls in the earth with a red heart shape on it.

On it so that will see my beautiful art creation.

(uplifting instrumental music) - I do digital work, I also color pencil and marker.

Silo is a great place, it's different.

I've been with many places somewhere like this, and Silo is...

I love it here.

You can be yourself, you can do whatever you want.

(uplifting instrumental music) (swoosh effect) (bouncy effect) - Wow, sounds like that studio has created its own little community where artists can learn from each other.

Special thanks to arts producer Jean-Marie Papoi for sharing that story with us.

It's important to promote awareness and understanding of autism to ensure that individuals with autism are not discriminated against, and are given the same opportunities as others to succeed and thrive.

A Maryland man's desire to be self-sufficient drove him to start his own business.

Now, the 29 year old who has autism is running a successful company and giving opportunities to others.

Brianna Ross reports.

(pretzels crackling) - [Brianna] Marcus Moore has a passion for pretzels.

- [Marcus] Looking at it just makes me wanna eat it right now.

- [Brianna] You can see the joy on his face as he packs each bag of his very own brand, Moore Crunch.

- I just enjoy doing this, seriously.

I really do.

I love it.

- [Emily] Finding something he loves means so much to Marcus.

He's 29 years old and he's autistic.

Though he's worked at local grocery stores over the years, he always wanted to grow and be self-sufficient.

- I know some jobs may not offer those that, for that supervisor position or manager position, 'cause maybe autism, I may lack some that big, big leader skill.

- He came home one day from work and he was kind of upset.

He wanted to know if what he makes for a living is enough so he can take care of himself on his own as an adult.

His mother and I were sitting around one day, and we were like, "Okay, what can we do for him?"

- [Brianna] They thought about how much Marcus loves snacks and suggested he start his own pretzel business.

Marcus bought in, and started testing out flavors in the kitchen right away.

- Cinnamon sugar, Maryland Crab, Garlic Ranch, Buffalo, and the Smokehouse Ranch.

- [Brianna] Since the birth of Moore Crunch in October of 2022, Marcus has sold over 600 bags of pretzels.

Several stores carry his product too.

Business is booming.

And with his newfound success, Marcus is thinking about next steps.

Finding a commercial kitchen and hiring other people with autism or disabilities to help him.

- Just help expand, show them how do this.

Give them the chance, an opportunity.

- [Brianna] So with his passion for pretzels, he's got a new found love for inspiring people.

- It's great to see being an inspiration to those out there that you can do anything.

- Thank you, Brianna.

Here in Ohio, we also commemorate one more day in April.

April 27th is Grandma Gatewood Day.

Grandma Gatewood's achievements as a hiker and adventurer were remarkable for a woman of her time, and challenge the prevailing stereotypes and expectations of women's abilities.

Her legacy continues to inspire hikers and adventurers around the world.

And she's remembered as a pioneer in the outdoor and women's rights movements.

Anna Huntsman tells us this story in her brand new Know Ohio.

(country instrumental music) - There's a first for everything.

And this determined grandma made history by being the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.

Her name is Emma Gatewood, but is most famously known as Grandma Gatewood.

Grandma Gatewood was born October 25th, 1887, in Gallia County in southeastern Ohio.

She grew up working on her family's farm.

She was married, divorced, had 11 children and 23 grandchildren.

But one morning, in 1953, when she was 65 years old, she read an article on "National Geographic", and she decided she felt like going on a hike.

She was going on a 2,190 mile long hike on the Appalachian Trail.

The "National Geographic" article she read talked about the first man to through hike the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine.

But Grandma Gatewood saw this as a challenge, she said, "If a man can do it, so can I."

Hikers who travel through the entire trail in one season are known as through hikers.

Because of the rough terrain, changing weather, possible injuries, and the months it takes to complete, most people who attempt it don't finish.

Grandma Gatewood's first attempt to complete the trail in 1953 ended because she broke her glasses and had to be rescued after getting lost.

But that didn't stop her.

Just two years later in 1955, she tried again.

And on September 25th, 1955, she became the first woman ever to complete the trail on her own.

She was known as a pioneer in long distance hiking.

So what did Grandma Gatewood bring with her on the trail?

She only brought a homemade denim bag with a blanket, a shower curtain, a cup, a canteen and bottle for water, a small pot, a spoon, a Swiss army knife, a first aid kit, a flashlight, two coats, a change of clothes, and her trusty sneakers.

In fact, she wore out seven pairs of sneakers by the completion of her hike.

She was averaging 14 miles per day, so it took her 146 days to finish.

Two years later, she returned to hike the trail again, making her the first person to hike the full Appalachian trail twice.

Once back in Ohio, Grandma Gatewood helped found the Buckeye Trail Association, because she wanted to build a long distance hiking trail in her own backyard.

The Buckeye Trail is nearly 1,444 miles long, and loops around the entire state of Ohio.

The Buckeye Trail Association is a nonprofit which maintains and promotes the trail.

All 26 sections of the Buckeye Trail are open to the public year round.

And since it is all marked with a blue blaze, you can start at any trailhead and hike for as long as you'd like.

(camera reel shuttering) Grandma Gatewood was a trailblazer.

She inspired so many people to go outdoors.

In her interviews, whenever she was asked why she wanted to through hike the Appalachian Trail, she would always just answer, "Because I wanted to."

(swoosh effect) (bouncy effect) - Thanks, Anna.

Wow, that bag looks heavy.

You probably wanna put that down now, unless you remember this next club.

One of my favorite memories of middle school was participating in all sorts of clubs, because I got to learn about new things, make friends, and explore things that I thought were interesting.

When I was in middle school, I participated in drama club.

Recently we visited Cuyahoga Heights Middle School to spend time with this week's A+ award winners, The Red Wolf Ruck Club.

Rucking is walking or hiking while carrying a weighted ruck sack or backpack, and it's a great workout.

Carrying a weighted pack is a great full body workout because it works your heart, lungs, and basically every muscle from your shoulders to your toes.

Most people who ruck carry between 10 and 25 pounds in their packs.

I bet most of you have book bags that weigh that much.

Louie told us that the exercise is exactly why he joined the club, which is open to students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.

The club meets twice a week and has about 20 members.

Avram told us that he likes the social aspects of the club.

He explained that they have talked about all kinds of things during their rucking, including AI, leadership, goal setting, and their pets.

You hear that, news hound, better get a pack.

Speaking of packs, Adam told us that one of the cool things about rucking is how simple the gear is.

All you need is a backpack and things to put in it.

Some of the Ruckers at Cuhayoga Heights use bricks, weight plates, or even just their school books.

Talk about resourcefulness.

Enzo told us that he likes the Rucking Club because he has a great time with his friends.

He shared that they've had theme rucks.

During the holidays, they all dressed in festive outfits and hats, and around Halloween, they wore costumes.

It's not all fun costumes and great conversation though, the club really works hard.

The day that we visited them, they walked a mile and a half with their packs in about 40 minutes.

That's pretty quick, especially since they won up a famous hill on campus called the Big Kahuna.

We took a look at the Kahuna, and we didn't even wanna walk down the hill.

The club's advisor, Mr. Burich, told us that he's continually impressed by how hard and dedicated the group is.

He said that they've really established a sense of community that's welcoming and supportive.

This week's A+ award goes to the ruck club at Cuyahoga Heights Middle School.

The New York State Education Department is taking a stand against symbols that many say are hurtful to Native Americans.

The State Board of Regents voted to ban Native American references for team names, logos, and mascots.

Local school boards must eliminate those symbols by the end of this school year.

Kristen Morand has the details.

- All those in favor?

- [Board] Aye.

- [Kristen] The Board of Regents unanimously approve the state education department's requirement that districts across New York can no longer use Native American names, mascots, imagery, or logos.

- We're committed to following those regulations, those changes.

- [Kristen] Tonawanda City School superintendent, Dr. Timothy Oldenberg, is now preparing for his district to change its logo.

Oldenberg says this change will be costly with no support from the state.

- And we're a district that's going to comply, and we're gonna do very good work working with our stakeholders, our community, again, most importantly, the students, in determining what our next steps are.

- [Kristen] If changes aren't made by the end of the 2024-2025 school year, it could be ineligible for state aid.

- We will have to, because of New York State, change our chief and our Native American male figurehead that we have been using since the inception of the district.

- [Kristen] Iroquois Central School district superintendent Douglas Scofield says the school's mascot when it was created, was done out of a sign of respect - Because it's been respectful and we wanna be respectful.

If this is the direction for respect to change, we should honor that and move forward with it.

And then we're gonna move forward with a bright new future, and that'll be inclusive of everybody.

- [Kristen] And these changes are what John Kane, a native activist, says is long overdue.

- I hope the student bodies of these schools are educated as to why this was necessary.

- [Kristen] He says the logos and mascots are cultural appropriation.

- And we're saying we're just taking our identity back.

We're reclaiming it, because what you've done was you've appropriated it.

- Thanks, Kristen.

And that brings us to today's poll.

Do you think Ohio schools should ban Native American mascots?

Jump over to the poll page to choose between, yes, it's cultural appropriation, or, no, it's the school's history.

Well, that's all the time we have for today.

Just kidding.

We've still gotta share the poll results from last week.

Did you really think I'd forget?

Last week, we asked you where you stand on the book ban debate.

61% of you said, no, because no one can say what everyone is allowed to read or not read.

While 39% of you voted, yes, because some books are not appropriate.

Okay, we are actually out of time for today's episode.

We only have a few episodes left before summer break, so make sure you stay tuned.

And remember, we wanna hear from you, and there are plenty ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us.

We're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

Our zip code here is 44115.

You can also email us at newsdepth@ideastream.org.

Or you can tweet us, our handle is @NewsDepthOhio.

Thanks for joining us.

I'm Drew Maziasz.

We'll see you right back here next week.

(swoosh effect) (energetic instrumental music) - [Child Voiceover] "NewsDepth" is made possible by a grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

(energetic instrumental music) (drum and shimmer tone)