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CNN 10

Ebola Spreads In Central Africa; State Funeral for President George H. W. Bush; Engineers Convert Wastewater into Drinking Water; Police Get Goats Into Cruiser with Fritos

Aired December 06, 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: Hi. It`s great to see you this Thursday, December 6th. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10. Always happy to welcome our

viewers from around the world. Let`s jump right into the news. Medical teams in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a nation in Central Africa, are

trying to get a handle on the worst outbreak of Ebola the country`s ever seen. To be clear, this isn`t the worst outbreak the world has ever seen.

That started in West Africa in 2014 and killed more than 11,300 people.

In the new outbreak so far the World Health Organization says more than 200 people are confirmed to have died. There`ve been around 440 cases in total

and it continues to spread. There`s no cure for the Ebola virus though an experimental vaccine and some experimental treatments have shown some

promise in fighting it. Scientists don`t know exactly where Ebola comes from. It causes fever, weakness, vomiting and unexplained bleeding. And

among the challenges of treating people in the Democratic Republic of Congo is that it`s one of the poorest countries in the world.

It struggles with corruption. It`s politically unstable and it`s dealt with on and off conflict for years. According to the Voice of America

Radio Service, one unique part of this outbreak there is that most of the Ebola patients, more than 60 percent are females. Doctors aren`t sure why.

They have been able to help slow or possibly stop it spread in some of the Congolese towns where this outbreak was first reported this summer. The

DRC has seen 10 outbreaks of Ebola since it was first identified in 1976.

Next this Thursday, the United States says goodbye to it`s 41st leader. Yesterday outside the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, members of all

five branches of the military stood in honor of the late President George H. W. Bush.

(AUDIO CLIP)

Afterward, 3,000 people including political leaders and the family of President George H. W. Bush gathered inside. President Donald Trump,

Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were there. As well as Britain`s Prince of Wales, Germany`s Chancellor, Jordan`s King,

Poland`s President and a Former Prime Minister of Canada. They heard hymns and reflections on President George H. W. Bush`s life. His eulogists

remembered his service as a World War II pilot. A statesman who led his country, a friend to many, a father to six and a grandfather to 17. George

W. Bush, the son who became the nation`s 43rd leader revered his father with love and humor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Last Friday when I was told he had minutes to live, I called him. The guy answered the phone said he - - I

think he can hear you but he hadn`t said anything for most of the day. I said Dad, I love you and you`ve been a wonderful father. And the last

words he would ever say on earth were, I love you too. To us he was close to perfect but not totally perfect. His short game was lousy. He wasn`t

exactly Fred Astaire on the dance floor. The man couldn`t stomach vegetables, especially broccoli. And by the way, he passed these genetic

defects along to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ: George H. W. Bush served as president from 1989 through 1993. He oversaw the end of the Cold War and led an international coalition in

the Gulf War. He became friends with President Bill Clinton who prevented President Bush from serving a second term. America`s 41st leader will be

buried in College Station, Texas.

10 Second Trivia. Which of these elements, who`s atomic number is six is one of the most abundant elements in the known universe? Carbon, Helium,

Hydrogen or Oxygen. It`s carbon and it`s used to make everything from fuel to pencils to jewelry to ink.

Carbon`s also used in treating wastewater. This is the used water that comes from baths, dishwashers, toilets, car washes, hair salons. It has

soaps, oils, chemicals, biological waste and food scraps in it and by law it has to be treated. Thoroughly cleaned before it can be released back

into the environment. In part because it can find it`s way into oceans and lakes. Even after treatment, wastewater does not usually return to the

water supply we drink and bathe in, but thanks in part to carbon and a complicated costly cleaning process, a city in Texas is bringing wastewater

back to the faucet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is a recycle water facility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reclaimed water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You take raw wastewater and you turn it into something that can be used to drink.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We - - we take raw wastewater, make it into drinking water quality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gilbert Trajo (ph) is with El Paso Water, the cities water utility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do replenish our aquifer with it. So, from our calculations after five years this water makes its way into one of our

wells. We pump it out and then we drink it. First thing you really notice obviously is the smell. The sulfur smell, that rotten egg smell. That`s

human products. That is raw food. But the first step to all of this is actually taking the big stuff out of the raw waste water. Rags, wipes,

leaves, whatever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It goes through multiple levels of filtering and disinfection to get rid of pathogens and viruses using everything from

bacteria to sand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the water definitely looks cleaner as we`ve gone along here. You`ve taken out the big stuff. You`ve put it through these -

- these filters, credit (ph) the bacteria and let it settle down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see it`s a much cleaner, clearer water now. For 30 years now, we`ve been going from this steps straight into what is a

- - a water treatment plant in very unique to be at one facility to go from wastewater into a water treatment plant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If - - if conditions continue, you know, drought continues, climate change progresses the way people have predicted. What

is going to need to be done in places like El Paso but I think in many other cities around the world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re not going to wait for a drastic climate situation to drive our decision making. We`re in the desert. We already don`t get a

lot of water but there`s water all around us. You know, we produce upwards to 50 to 60 million gallons of wastewater in a day and it`s good enough to

drink that is a water resource. We`ve just not tapped into it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, even more disinfecting and purifying. Including the ultimate workhorse of water treatment, carbon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Granular activated carbon is exactly just that. Small pieces of carbon, granules and each one has significant amounts of surface

area that allow for particles and organic matter to absorb onto each one of these granules.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this something that even people don`t realize, they`re familiar with because this is what`s also used in their own water

filters. Right? Activated carbon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Brita filter for example.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From here, it is injected back into the aquifer. But El Paso is also building a new facility to process and send it directly

back into their taps, a first for a major American metropolis. It`s not cheap. It costs the city about 10 times more than just pumping water out

of the ground. But it will provide up to 10 million gallons of water an investment against drought. And, how does it taste?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moment of truth. Let`s do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let`s do this. It tastes like water. I feel like I`m looking at something really important here. Is this the future of

water?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I - - I think it is. I think the future`s here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARL AZUZ: How could a story involving police, Fritos and goats not get a perfect 10 out of 10? Here`s what happened. Police were called after a

couple of wayward goats were spotted recently walking near Interstate 265 in Kentucky. The officers tried to get the goats into a police car to move

them somewhere safer but it wasn`t until they broke out a bag of Fritos, barbeque flavored ones, that the goats willingly followed the snack into

the police cruiser.

When they called the owner they were like, hey, we got your goat. If the animals wouldn`t give their names they`d have to be booked as "billy".

You`d think with all the cars passing they would have "hoofed" it on their own but then they wouldn`t have gotten Fritos for "Freeno". Guess the

solution was in the "bag". It certainly wasn`t a "baaaad" idea. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.

END