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Midterm Elections; Attorney General Jeff Sessions Resigns; Accute Faccid Myelitis Hitting the United States; Dubai Drone Usage; Burro Racing in Colorado

Aired November 08, 2018 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Happy to see you this Thursday. I`m Carl Azuz. This is CNN 10. We have stories on health and technology ahead today but

before that, we`re bringing you more details on Tuesday`s U.S. midterm elections. Not all of the outcomes are known yet. Some of the races for

House seats, Senate seats and state governorships are still too close to call. But looking at where things stand for the next U.S. Congress, the

big picture results for Democrats and Republicans are a mixed bag and they`re pretty much in line with what analysts predicted.

Democrats did take control of the U.S. House of Representatives, as many political experts forecasted they would. 218 seats are needed to have

control of that chamber and as of last night, Democrats had secured 223 seats, Republicans had secured 199 seats and the outcomes of 13 races

weren`t known yet. Republicans did maintain control of the Senate as many political experts forecasted they would. They needed to secure at least 50

seats to keep control of the 100 member chamber. Republican Vice-President Mike Pence could be the tiebreaking vote if necessary and as of last night,

Republicans had secured 51 seats. Democrats secured 46 seats. The outcomes of three races weren`t known yet.

So Congress is split. Neither Democrats nor Republicans had a sweeping victory on Tuesday and while Republican President Donald Trump and House

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi are at opposite sides of a strongly divided political aisle, they both signaled on Wednesday that there were

opportunities for their two parties to work together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I really believe that we have a chance to get along very well with the Democrats and if that`s the case, we could do a

tremendous amount of legislation and get it approved. I really believe there`s going to be much less gridlock.

NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: We`ll have accountability and we will strive for bipartisanship with fairness on all sides. We will have a

responsibility to find our common ground where we can stand our ground, were we can`t but we must try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ: The next Congress which American`s voted for this week is the 116th United States Congress and it will be seated in January 3rd, 2019.

Democrats and Republicans had very different takes Wednesday following the sudden resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The former U.S.

Senator from Alabama was an early supporter of President Trump and as Attorney General, Sessions worked to carry out the President`s policies on

issues like immigration and crime.

But they did not see eye to eye on the ongoing investigation into whether the Trump campaign inappropriately coordinated with Russia in the 2016

election cycle. Yesterday, Sessions sent a letter to the White House saying quote, "at your request, I am submitting my resignation."

Afterward, President Trump announced that Matthew Whitaker, the former Attorney General`s Chief of Staff would replace sessions. Because Whitaker

has criticized the Russia investigation, Congressional Democrats called for him to recuse himself, to pull back from involvement in the investigation

as Sessions had done.

Meanwhile the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said the Justice Department was in good hands with Whitaker in charge.

10 Second Trivia. Which of these diseases was widely eliminated following the development of a vaccine for it in the 1950`s? Spanish Flu, Leprosy,

Polio or Tuberculosis. It is the nervous system disease polio that has been eradicated in most parts of the world.

But cases of an illness that`s like polio appeared to be on the rise in the U.S. It`s called Acute Flaccid Myelitis or AFM. It affects the nervous

system, specifically part of the spinal cord and it can cause muscle weakness and sudden paralysis. Scientists don`t know what causes it. They

don`t know why some patients have recovered while others have lasting effects but they do know that AFM mostly effects children. The U.S.

Centers for Disease Control that 90 percent of American patients since 2014 have been under the age of 4. The CDC has confirmed 80 cases this year.

It`s investigating more than 200 other cases.

And it says that they`re spread out over 25 states, though the CDC won`t say what states those are. It`s also been criticized for not spreading the

word fast enough about the symptoms and dangers of AFM. The search for answers and treatments is ongoing.

In Florida, drone technology is being used to patrol a high school campus. In Australia, it`s being used to explore underground mines and tunnels that

may be too dangerous for people to enter. In China, a stealth combat drone is being developed for sale to other countries. The technology is moving

ahead quickly bringing both conveniences and challenges where it`s being deployed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slowly but surely drones are humming their way into our lives. And while some cities are trying to limit their use, one city is

aiming to make them apart of everyday life. It`s hard to imagine a future without lots of drones in the skies and that makes many nervous. But in

Dubai, people are embracing drones with a mixture of infrastructure, a helping hand at start ups and education. Exponents is a drone tech company

that set up shop in 2012 and has created some imaginative tech since from burger delivery drones, to solar panel cleaners with leaf blowers attached

to them. So this the drone cleaner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you know Dubai actually has a lot of fine dust in the air ect cetera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see it everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this basically covers a camera and causes a lot of - - of problems with the imagery that can be collected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this drone comes, sprays the little bubble that covers the camera and then along side it another drone comes up - -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: - - and dries it off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could be easy to clean my life this way, the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s sounds zany but these are very serious applications related to the cleaning of CCTV cameras.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the relationship like between Dubai`s government and drone companies like yours?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Dubai government itself is one of the most prolific (inaudible). They created an environment for the drone industry to really,

really take off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What really makes Dubai stand out is how their keeping an eye on drones in their skies. The biggest threat that the rise in

drones pose is as arguably to airplanes. So we`re heading to Dubai`s Aviation Authority right now to see how they`re dealing with that.

Dubai International is one of the world`s busiest airports with more than 87 million passengers going through in 2017. It`s predicted by 2020 the

airport will account for a third of Dubai`s economy. If there`s a delay here it can cause them $1 million per minute and drones shut down the

airport three times in 2016 alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the reports dating back to 2015 with the near miss disruptions in the Dubai air space became a quicky sky track system. The

big difference and any other system that`s available out there, the information that you see portrayed on the screen comes directly from the

source. In other words, from the tracking device which we have one here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an actual device that goes on the drone to track it and then give you this real time information.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the drone industry booming in Dubai, even drone education is catching on. Places like the American University of Sharjah

are starting their own courses to satisfy high demand for drone jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ: Well we started with political races. We`re ending with races too but a very different kind. What you`re about to see is said to have

started back in Colorado`s mining days when burros were used to help carry supplies. Today they`re used for their speed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turn around. There we go. We want this side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burro races. Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burro races is - - is a fantastic spectacle. It`s a - - he`s going to wear me out for the race. Wow. Getting ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Colorado, a one of a kind race has been climbing the Rocky Mountain trails for the past 70 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back burro racing started in 1949 between Leadville and Fairplay. They needed revenue because the mining was dying. So the towns

got together and they decided to have a burro race.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This year 89 teams started the race in Fairplay. A world record according to the Western Pack Burro Association. This is a

physically challenging 29 mile ultra marathon through the Rockies featuring elevations of over 13,000 feet but the course might be the easiest part of

this competition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burro racing is brokering a deal between you and an animal that`s known for not so much cooperation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could get the guy that won the Boston Marathon out here running with a donkey and he could get last place. It`s about how

well you cooperate as a team maybe even more so than how fast you are your donkey are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The negotiation that you have to do with this guy, the terrain, the trails are brutal but they`re so sure footed. These critters,

they just have a good work ethic. So these burros can run a four minute mile if you can hang on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is their race. I love to run their race with them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re humble beasts. They`ll change your life if you own one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ: So it appears the "don-key" to victory is getting the "beast of burden" lifted. Getting an intractable pack mule to "hoof it" without

hemming and "hee hawing" it`s main objections. It`s one race no one wants to get a "kick" out of and the competition is more "equitable" than

equitable. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.

END