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Prime Minister Teresa May Narrowly Wins Vote of Confidence; Defense Missiles Are Discussed and How They Are Made; 3D Bridge in China Opens
Aired January 18, 2019 - 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 for CNN 10. After substantial investigative journalism, I can now confirm definitely that Fridays are
awesome. It is great to be wrapping up the week with you. We have a report out of the United Kingdom to kick things off today. We told you on
Wednesday how an agreement on Brexit, a plan for how Britain would leave the European Union failed. The deal was made between the EU and the
Administration of British Prime Minister Teresa May but it needed to be approved by Britain`s parliament first.
And British lawmakers voted against it. After that happened, the leader of Britain`s Labor Party which opposes the conservative party that`s in power
called for a no confidence vote in Prime Minister May`s government. That could have led to major changes in Britain`s leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In U.S. politics when the president dies, resigns or is impeached, finding a replacement is straight forward. The vice-president
steps up and after that the Speaker of the House. But in British politics the rules are a lot more complicated. A prime minister can resign but in
the UK, if parliament or their own MPs aren`t happy with their leadership they can also be forced out. During World War II, even Winston Churchill
survived two so-called votes of no confidence from parliament over his management of the war.
And almost 50 years later, Margaret Thatcher was ousted from office by disgruntled MPs in her own party and she chose to resign. In the UK, a
PM`s own political party chooses a successor and each has a different way of doing that. Conservative MPs elect two candidates from a choice of MPs
who put themselves forwards. Then, the public membership of the party votes for the winner. However, most Brits aren`t registered members of the
political party. Unlike the conservatives, in the Labor Party once candidates are endorsed by Labor parliamentarians registered members from
the general public has much say as politicians.
Members vote and if one candidate wins 50 percent of the ballots they win the election. If no one does, then the least popular candidate is
eliminated and voters second preferences are considered until one candidate holds 50 percent of the votes. This allows unexpected choices for party
leader like Jeremy Corbyn a far left candidate. He was elected to head labor in 2015 after a ground swell of popular support. Parliamentary rules
means that if this new leader can form a new government within two weeks, he or she can hold on to the PM seat. This is how Teresa May came to power
after David Cameron resigned in 2016.
But before they officially become PM, the Royal family does have a say. This is the United Kingdom after all. The prime minister serves at the
pleasure of the monarch. So before the PM can move into number 10 Downing Street, the official residence, they pop by Buckingham Palace to request
the Queen`s blessing to form an official government. And with that, the UK has a new PM.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: But the vote held in the British government on Wednesday confirmed that May still has the confidence of lawmakers. In December, she
won a confidence vote within her own conservative party. This week, the bigger House of Commons which includes hundreds more lawmakers from several
more parties voted in favor of Prime Minister May`s government staying in power. The count was 325 to 306. The nation`s leaders still has the
immense challenge of figuring out Brexit but she also gets to keep her job as the person to do it and to lead Britain.
10 Second Trivia. Patriots, Stinger and Tomahawk are all names of what? Military missions, missiles, modeling agencies, or monster trucks. All of
these are the names of missiles used by the U.S. military.
A review of U.S. weapons that was discussed Thursday was focused on missile defense. Protecting America against missile threats from other countries.
When President Donald Trump visited the Pentagon to discuss America`s strategy, he mentioned defending the U.S. from space. The plan would be to
deploy sensors there that could discover when a missile was fired from the ground and then keep track of where it went. It`s not clear what the cost
would be for a program like that.
Other options for missile defense could include lasers deployed from drones that would destroy incoming weapons and a system that`s now in place uses
interceptor missiles to blow up ones that are in flight. A company that makes those also manufactures computer guided cruise missiles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Tomahawk is considered the world`s most advanced cruise missile. It`s been used in combat more than 2,000
times by the U.S. Navy from Syria to Sudan to Serbia and all of the new Tomahawks come out of one factory. This one in a city and state we`ve been
asked not to reveal for security reasons. The 20 foot long Tomahawks are manufactured by the Raytheon Company. Kim Ernzen is one of Raytheon`s top
missile executives.
KIM ERNZEN: And this is the final configuration before it goes out the door to our customer. In this facility is where we do the integration of
the rocket motors and the warheads, what we call the energetic elements of the missiles. Other components and subassemblies come from our other
factories located here and then we do the final assembly here. Test it. Fuel it and get it ready to go out the door.
TUCHMAN: How soon will these be going out the door?
ERNZEN: In the next couple of days.
TUCHMAN: In this factory, 14 Tomahawks are about to be shipped out. Workers here are performing what they call a roll test to make sure there
is nothing loose inside the missile and that everything is connected correctly. Raytheon`s contract with the Navy is for 196 missiles for this
year.
ERNZEN: A Tomahawk can fly 1,000 plus miles. So it can get launched from a ship or submarine. It can go up and loiter as we call it, where it can
fly around in a figure eight.
TUCHMAN: So in other words, once it`s sent off if you want to change where it`s going - -
ERNZEN: Absolutely.
TUCHMAN: - - it loiters, just goes in a circle and you figure out - -
ERNZEN: Yes. It can be redirected and rerouted to a specific target.
TUCHMAN: The Tomahawk has been around since the 1980s but this is the newest version of the missile, manufactured since 2004. It can be used for
up to 30 years and Tomahawks that haven`t been used come back after 15 years for recertification and upgrades.
ERNZEN: So this is the rocket motor that launches it out of the verticalized system. So it is what propels it out so when you see the
footage of a missile coming out of a ship, it is the plume that gets it out of that vertical launch. As you move more up toward the front is the
navigation communication system and then ultimately up here at the very end is the warhead. And it is a 1,000 pound warhead.
TUCHMAN: With their GPS guidance, the Tomahawks can strike within mere feet of a target. They are launched from ships or submarines
ERNZEN: If it comes from a submarine it will then swim through the water, the rocket motor will take it up out of the water and then will eventually
get it up into the airplane mode which is where it will fly and perform it`s mission from there.
TUCHMAN: So it swims and it flies.
ERNZEN: It swims and it flies.
TUCHMAN: The price tag per missile, about $1.1 million. Each Tomahawk weighs about 3,500 pounds. So when 60 of them are fired towards Syria,
that was about 210,000 pounds of firepower. People who work here tell us this isn`t just a job.
ERNZEN : It is an honor to be able to work for the men and women in uniform and to be able to supply them with a competitive advantage when they`re put
in harms way. And that`s what we do. We make sure that they have an unfair advantage out in the theater.
TUCHMAN: So that`s what you said that this gives the U.S. military an unfair advantage.
ERNZEN: Absolutely. And we want to keep it that way.
TUCHMAN: Jerry Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: Lesser known creations made with three dimensional printers, musical flutes, shoes, a bridge. And unlike the 3D printed coat hooks or
phone cases you`ve seen, this thing is made of concrete and it spans more than 86 feet over a pond in Shanghai, China. Dozens of hollow concrete
sections were printed and then joined together to make it. The bridge is also said to be more than 30 percent cheaper to build than a traditional
one.
Of course it`s not a "bridge over troubled water". It may not get any "size". For those who can`t travel to China, it`s a "bridge too far" and
people who build bridges on rivers may ask "koiwhy"? But it does take old methods and bridge them with new technology so we`ll see if it "spans" the
test of time. I`m Carl Azuz. We`ll be off next Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. We`ll look forward to seeing you Tuesday when CNN
10 returns.
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