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CNN 10
Two Weeks Until Mid-Term Elections; Who Will Take Control of The House; Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, President Trump Getting Out of INF Treaty; Great Big Story; Elephants Smash Pumpkins At Halloween Festivities at Oregon Zoo
Aired October 24, 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. I`m Carl Azuz and welcome to CNN 10. We are a little more than one week from Halloween, one month from
Thanksgiving, two months from Christmas and exactly two weeks from a major electoral event coming this Fall, the U.S. mid-term elections.
Presidential terms last four years in America. Halfway through those terms are the mid-terms. In addition to state and local elections, the mid-terms
help determine the make-up of Congress and that can have an impact on how effective the President is in getting passage of the laws he supports.
The House of Representatives has 435 voting members. They serve two year terms so all of these seats are up for election on Tuesday, November 6th.
The Senate has 100 voting members. They serve six year terms so roughly a third of these seats are up for election. The President is a Republican.
The House and Senate are controlled by Republican majorities and Republicans want to keep that control. Democrats want to flip or win back
control of those chambers of Congress. Whether they`ll actually do that is unknown. No matter who the President is, lawmakers in the same political
party tend to lose seats in the mid-terms.
And many political analysts say there`s a strong chance this year that Democrats will take control of the House from Republicans. But they say
there`s not a strong chance that the Senate will lose it`s Republican control because these mid-terms most of the Senate seats that are up for
election are currently held by Democrats. What are the issues in the minds of voters? There are a lot. Immigration, drug addiction, welfare reform,
gun violence, taxes, the environment, healthcare, trade deals, terrorism, they all factor in. How Americans feel about the President and his
policies also factors in. How they`ll vote and who will vote are things we`ll know next month.
10 Second Trivia. In what year did the Soviet Union collapse? 1973, 1989, 1991 or 2002. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as it was also known
came to an end in 1991.
And with the collapse of the Soviet Union came the end of the Cold War. A period of intense rivalry but no direct military conflict between the
United States with it`s allies and the Soviet Union with it`s allies. As the Cold War was winding down in 1987, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. signed the
Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the INF. They agreed to destroy thousands of missiles that could fly between 300 and 3,400 miles. They
also agreed to stop testing these weapons. The INF Treaty stands today between the U.S. and Russia. But U.S. President Donald Trump wants to get
rid of it.
He says Russia hasn`t played by it`s rules for years and America and it`s NATO allies have criticized Russia for apparently testing a cruise missile
in 2014. The kind of missile that`s supposed to be banned by the treaty. Both sides seem to agree the treaty has problems. Getting rid of it could
allow the U.S. to develop a weapon like the cruise missile that Russia apparently tested. It could also allow Russia to freely build more
missiles. Analysts say the elimination of the treaty could lead to a renewed arms race between the U.S. and Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. has long been accusing Russia of violating the INF Treaty by developing and deploying
medium range nuclear capable missiles. Now President Trump says America is axing the agreement.
(VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We`re the ones who stayed in the agreement and we`ve honored the agreement but Russia has not unfortunately honored the
agreement. So we`re going to terminate the agreement and we`re going to pull out.
(END CLIP)
PLEITGEN: During his visit to Moscow in the coming days, National Security Advisor John Bolton is expected to formally tell the Russians that America
is leaving the INF Treaty. INF stands for Intermediate Nuclear Forces. The treaty was signed in 1987 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and
ultimately led to almost 2,700 medium range nuclear missiles being withdrawn. Experts saying by in large, the agreement has worked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was designed to provide a measure of strategic stability on the continent of Europe by banning missiles of a range between
300 and 3,400 miles, both cruise and ballistic missiles. So it was really meant to kind of take the temperature down and it resulted in the
destruction of literally thousands of missiles and it has been in effect every since.
PLEITGEN: Russia denies violating the treaty and accuses the U.S. of breeching it by developing anti-missile systems. The U.S. also believes
the INF Treaty puts it at a disadvantage versus a resurging China which is not part of the agreement. Another reason the Administration says to pull
out of the deal. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: Lucas Aldridge is teaching his community how to make the most out of life. He was born in 2007 with a rare neurological condition and
doctor`s don`t know how long he`ll live. He can`t stand, sit, speak or walk on his own but in his older brother`s words, Lucas is perfect.
Working together they`ve competed in triathlons and they`re the subjects of today`s Great Big Story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOAH ALDRIDGE: When my little brother Lucas was born, my parents were told that he wouldn`t walk or talk and the doctor`s even said he might not make
it to his 10th birthday. But today a few months from his 10th birthday, we`re doing our 15th triathlon together. My name is Noah Aldridge and this
is my brother Lucas Aldridge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Noah is 11 and Lucas is 9 and Lucas was born with a rare genetic neurologic condition called lissencephaly. He`s unable to
walk, unable to talk. He`s unable to feed himself but despite all these challenges he`s the happiest little boy that you`ll ever meet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About four years ago, our boys started doing triathlons together and most cases that wouldn`t be a big deal. A lot of kids do
triathlons but there`s something very special about the way our boys do triathlons.
NOAH ALDRIDGE: I pull Lucas in a raft for the swim portion. Then I pull him in a bike cart during the bike and I push him in a running cart during
the run. I wanted to do this because Lucas can`t do things like we can. He can`t really play sports so this is something we can do together.
Currently we`re training for our 15th triathlon which is this weekend. Before the race I always feel nervous. I don`t think I`ll ever get over
that. I just don`t want to hurt Lucas. I don`t care if I win the race. He just has to be OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before the race, Lucas gets serious and he gets his race face on and they`re ready to compete. They swim around 200 yards.
Then they transition to a bike, they`ll go usually about three to five miles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then they`ll run about a mile. Noah is strong physically and especially mentally because he`s truly only doing these
races for his brother.
NOAH ALDRIDGE: Sometimes I feel like, god, this has got to be over soon right? But I just hear Lucas. That`s how he says go faster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day is precious with that little boy. I try to soak in the experience because we don`t know how long the boy`s will be
able to do triathlons together. Any one of them can be their last. What these boys accomplish gives me a new sense of pride.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Noah and Lucas are an inspiration. People see these two young boys and it gives them hope and gives them encouragement to go
out and tackle life`s challenges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: If you`re watching this show from a classroom, your teacher may be more familiar with "Smashing Pumpkins" than you are but no one`s more
familiar with it than these elephants. Everything huge in this scene, first elephants. Then the pumpkins are reportedly some of the largest
grown nearby weighing nearly 1,000 pounds and the elephant`s enthusiasm is also on a massive scale. This is all part of the Halloween festivities at
the Oregon Zoo.
It is said that pumpkin is good for your skin. So that explains the elephant`s pulchritudinous "pacadermis". They don`t need a trunk full of
make-up. They don`t need to get it at a "white elephant" party. They don`t need "heavy foundation". They`ve already got that. They just
"pound" a few pumpkins to maintain their "gourd looks". I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.
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