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New U.S. Political Developments; New Observations Concerning COVID- 19; Power Outage In Pakistan; Unstable Polar Vortex. Aired 4-4:10a ET

Aired January 11, 2021 - 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: Delivering your down-the-middle explanation of world events. I`m Carl Azuz. We hope you`re doing well despite all of the

challenges facing the world today. There have been some new developments concerning last week`s events in Washington, D.C. Several arrests were made

over the weekend in connection with Wednesday`s riot at the U.S Capitol building.

Charges include entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct. There have been five deaths related

to the incident. A supporter of President Donald Trump, who is also an Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by police as she tried to enter the

Capitol building on Wednesday.

A Capitol police officer, who was attacked while trying to stop some rioters died of his wounds the next day and three people died from medical

emergencies they had while they were at the Capitol. The U.S. Capitol police chief has resigned from his job. He was in charge of the main law

enforcement agency that protects the building.

The Justice Department says 300 agents and officers from other groups like the FBI and U.S. Marshalls were sent to help Wednesday. But by the time the

additional officers got there, Capitol police had already lost control. The people who are serving as the House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms and

the Senate Sergeant at Arms, the chief law enforcement officers of these chambers also resigned after Wednesday`s events.

This week, House Democrats plan to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump. These are formal charges of wrong doing. As he

spoke to hundreds of thousands of supporters before the Capitol riot took place, President Trump outlined what he said were examples of how the

November 3rd election was unfair. Though in dozens of lawsuits, U.S. courts have ruled that there`s not enough evidence to overturn election results in

any state.

The president also said the demonstrators would march to the Capitol to quote, "peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard." But

President Trump`s critics say by repeating his election complaints and encouraging his supporters to quote, "show strength". He incited the

demonstration that became violent at the Capitol.

If the House votes to impeach the president again, it did this before over different charges in 2019. It`d be up to the Senate to decide whether to

convict him. But President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on January 20th so there are a lot of questions about whether enough lawmakers

will have the time or the desire to try to remove the sitting president before then. And the White House says doing that could further divide the

country.

President Trump says he doesn`t plan to attend the inauguration. This could make him the fourth U.S. leader to do that for political reasons. He`s also

been banned from Facebook and Twitter. The social media organizations say they`re concerned the president`s posts could encourage more violence, but

critics call the bans censorship that limits free speech in America. So there`s tremendous political strife in the country as one presidency winds

down and another one gears up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s changed about what we know about how coronavirus spreads? The virus that causes COVID-19 is a respiratory virus.

Someone who has COVID-19 and is coughing or sneezing expels droplets.

If you`re close by and breathe in these droplets or if the droplets land on your nose, your mouth or your eyes, you could be infected with coronavirus.

You could also contract COVID-19 if someone coughs or sneezes into their hand then touches your hand and then you touch your nose, your mouth or

your eyes. Over the last several months, scientific studies have shown that this coronavirus is also transmitted through aerosols.

These are microscopic particles that people exhale just by breathing and speaking. These tiny aerosols can linger in the air and if you breathe them

in they can transmit the virus too. This is why wearing a mask is so important. If someone is ill and doesn`t know it, the mask helps to trap

their droplets and prevent them from spreading in the air.

The masks also protect those who aren`t infected by stopping the droplets from entering their nose and mouth. Physical distancing is also important.

Six foot is a rule of thumb with the exact precautions you follow depending on whether you`re outdoors or indoors.

Outdoors there is very good air circulation that will quickly diffuse the virus particles. When you`re outdoors, it should be safe to keep six feet

away from others. Indoors, where there is less air circulation, microscopic aerosols could linger for longer in the air.

People could be infected beyond the six-foot distance especially in poorly ventilated spaces if they`re not wearing masks. That`s why indoors, you

should try to maintain at least a 10-foot distance and wear a mask at all times. Ventilation also helps. So open the windows and doors and run a fan.

What about surfaces? In the beginning of the pandemic, everyone was worried about wiping down everything. There have not been documented cases of

transmission through surfaces. So it`s not necessary to wipe down groceries or wear gloves when opening the mail.

However, it`s still good practice to wash your hands often and use hand sanitizer after touching frequently used surfaces like door handles and

faucets. This coronavirus is highly contagious. We need to keep up the measures that we know work to prevent its spread. Wear a mask. Keep

physical distancing. Avoid indoor gatherings and wash our hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these countries has the largest population? Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil or Russia. Though it`s far from the

largest country on this list, Pakistan has the largest population with more than 233 million people.

And unless they had back up power generators, they`re lights went out on Saturday night. Blackouts aren`t unusual in Pakistan but what the nation

saw over the weekend was its most widespread power shutdown since 2015.

An engineering problem at one plant in southern Pakistan reportedly caused the nation`s other ones to shut down. Because electricity can be unreliable

here, all of the nation`s major airports as well as many of its hospitals and some of its homes do have back-up generators.

Though residents say there was some very long lines at gas stations where people waited to get fuel for those generators. By dawn on Sunday morning,

Pakistan`s energy minister said power had come back on for major parts of the capital city of Islamabad. But there were still large parts of Karachi,

Pakistan`s biggest city, where power was still out early Sunday.

Polar vortex is so much fun to say. Forecasters say there could be some movement in the polar vortex and if this system which normally swirls cold

air around the earth`s polar regions does move off the North Pole. It could release some very cold air throughout parts of North America and Europe.

When could this happen?

Within the next week or two. Who will be affected? Forecasters don`t know yet. They`ve detected some instability in the vortex that can spill cold

air south but they`re in a wait and see mode for the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Polar vortex was one of the most trending terms. We heard it all the time and in fact it`s not something that`s going to come

and get you. It`s not something you can be inside. It`s not an alien. It`s not a monster. It`s not -- it`s not something that`s going to invade the

U.S. In fact, the only way to be inside the polar vortex is to be in an airplane.

It lives in the upper levels of the atmosphere. It`s a low-pressure system that`s basically locked into the North Pole. So, it`s not a hurricane. It`s

not a tornado. It`s just an air mass that`s locked right around the North Pole and it stays there all the time.

The frequency of the winter outbreaks, these cold outbreaks is dependent upon the weather patterns across the U.S. Depends on when we have these

large dips in the jet streams, placement of the high pressure and low pressure. So it all depends on mother nature. Extreme temperatures can be

very dangerous. It all depends on the temperature though.

The bottom line, a lot of areas can have -- there`s windy outside. You`ll have a really low wind chill. If you find yourself in the midst of one of

these winter outbreaks, just remember just try to stay warm. Put in as many layers as you can, bundle up, have a good jacket and try not to stay

outside for very long periods of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: When 91-year-old Dean Conklin was told that a sledding park was going to be named after him, he had just one thing to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DEAN CONKLIN: What?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

AZUZ: Conklin is a business owner, town councilman and former teacher in a small in Minnesota. He once gave this plot of land to a student and people

in the town loved Conklin so much that they dedicated the park to him and named it Conklin`s hill. He recently joined more than 100 others in testing

out the new slope.

And it`s easy to "ski" he`s got "slope" style. There`s "snow" question about it. Now some people might have buildings or monuments or streets

named after them but your own hill is a "mountainous" accomplishment that maybe worth "alpining" away for because only a "luger" would let that

"slide."

We`ve got Jurupa Hills High School watching today. Shout out to our viewers in Fontana, California for subscribing and leaving a comment on our most

recent You Tube show. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.

END