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Dam in Australia Opened Amid Historic Rains City of Townsville Downstream Flooded; Pentagon Sends 3,750 more U.S. Troops to the Mexican Border Ahead of State of The Union Address; What Televisions Of the Future Will Look Like; Golden Retriever Gala in Golden Colorado
Aired February 05, 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: From Australia to America, we`re traveling the globe to get you up to speed on news. I`m Carl Azuz. This is CNN 10.
We`re happy to have you watching. While parts of the United States were shivering under record cold temperatures last week, Australia, both of it`s
territories and all six of it`s states were sweltering under a record heat wave. And in the northeastern state of Queensland days of intense rainfall
have caused the kind of flooding that officials say happens only once every 100 years.
Townsville is a city in Australia`s northeast coast more than 190,000 people live here. It`s city council says it gets more than 300 days of
sunshine every year, but the massive downpours that have hit Townsville recently have put a major strain on a nearby dam. On Sunday night the Ross
River Dam was at about 250 percent of its capacity and it`s flood gates had to be opened in to prevent the structure from collapsing. Australian
officials warned people in Townsville that historic flooding would happen as a result and some residents who`d reportedly thought they`d be OK have
had to climb to their roofs for safety.
And it`s not just the floodwaters that are dangerous, 9 news reports that there have been several sightings of crocodiles and snakes that have been
carried a long in the floods. And while you`re about to get a sense of the ongoing rescue effort, relief from the rain is nowhere in sight. A CNN
meteorologist predicted that Townsville would receive another four inches on Monday and two to three inches on Tuesday. Entire neighborhoods are
underwater and thousands of homes were in danger of flooding and strong winds that are in the forecast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For thousands of residents of Townsville it has been a long day and plenty more to come. I`m standing here at the Ross River.
This - - right now Ross is where the water is coming from the river which has made it`s way down the dam at a rapid pace heading right across. You
can see when we have a look at the water how fast it is still moving and making it`s way right into the suburb of Rossley which locals are
considering to be ground zero in what has been this flood emergency.
On the other side of where I`m standing is the suburb of Annandale (ph) where a number of properties, as you can see, are completely inundated on
the ground floor. We`ve seen helicopters that are constantly checking for people who are there trying to pluck them to safety. We also know the
swift water rescue teams have been out and about. So far at least a dozen rescues, probably even more overnight as well so a huge effort right across
Townsville. This all started last night, of course the rain has been building up for days but the Ross River Dam about 10 kilometers as the crow
flies from where I`m standing at the moment.
It opened automatically. The dam gates opened because it reached about 43 meters. At that stage, it`s built into the dam that it needed to open up
to let out some of that water to maintain the integrity of the dam. As that happened the velocity of the water 2,000 cubic meters per second was
released. It`s headed straight down the river trying to find its way to the ocean cutting a straight line through suburbs like this one in Rossley.
Now the Queensland Premier defending the actions of all emergency services in saying it`s a tough time for those people living in Townsville.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: U.S. President`s annual State of the Union Address is Tuesday night. It had originally been scheduled for last Tuesday but it was
postponed because of the U.S. government`s partial shutdown. When that ended late last month, the address was rescheduled. One issue that
President Donald Trump is expected to address is the major reason for the shutdown, security at America`s southern border with Mexico. The Pentagon
announced this week that an additional 3,750 American troops would be deployed to the border.
Their mission, to give extra support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. This could include assignments like installing wire fencing and
watching for illegal crossings. The deployment would bring the total number of U.S. military forces there to 4,350 and the new mission is
scheduled to last for three months. President Trump says this is necessary to stop large caravans of people who are headed to the border with the goal
of entering the U.S. illegally.
But U.S. Representative Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington and the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, questioned what the
additional troops would be doing at the border and suggested the increase could be unjustified. On Wednesday`s show we plan to bring you some
highlights of the Republican president`s speech and the Democratic party`s response. You`ll find it right here at cnn10.com.
10 Second Trivia. American inventor Philo Farnsworth is best known for his development of what? Telegraph, telephone, television or telescope. In
the late 1920`s, Farnsworth demonstrated his invention of the electronic television system.
A famous story about Philo Farnsworth is that he grew up in a house that didn`t have electricity until he was a teenager. So going from that to
presenting the first electronic TV within a few years, well is shows how Farnsworth had chosen the right field. Of course, the TV itself has
changed a lot over the decades bit it`s still a fixture in roughly 95 percent of American homes and a growing number of the ones that don`t have
TVs are still watching programs on other kinds of screens. Will the screen itself eventually become obsolete?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we`re surrounded by screens. They`re how we entertain ourselves but how we`ll watch them, the form factor, is changing
too. The size, the shape, and even the idea of needing a screen at all is evolving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think one of the big changes we`re just going to see over the next decade is that we`re going to start to have intelligent
conversations with inanimate objects.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it going to be on a gaming console? Is it going to be in everything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s going to be in everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peeker (ph) a French start up that thinks your future entertainment system will look like this. It`s a projector, sound system
and security system rolled into one. So Peeker`s (ph) kind of like an obedient dog?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A thousand whistles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A thousand whistles and just really useful in a sense that it can be there to give you your music, your TV experience and it can
be away if you don`t want to see it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peeker`s (ph) designed to do a lot but it isn`t perfect yet. Hey, Peeker (ph) come to the living room. Hey, Peeker (ph),
show me the weather. Peeker (ph), stop moving please. This is like a petulant version of the Amazon Echo. You have to say it over and over and
over instead of Alexa, say Peeker (ph). But you think there may be a day when Peeker (ph) replaces the TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the TV has to be replaced by something because it`s just too old. Like, you know, the - - the voice assistance, it`s all
about learning and trying to be better, to serve you better as opposed to just being a blank, plastic, you know, display.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turning TVs into something more than just a black box is a challenge lots of companies are tackling. Some are making screen more
flexible or getting rid of them entirely. Others are designing screens to blend in. This isn`t a painting behind me. It`s actually a TV. It`s
called the "Frame" and it`s made by Samsung. And when the TV`s off, Samsung provides hundreds of pieces of art that can be displayed but you
can also add your own and you can even change the color of the frame itself. But what if your screen could actually talk to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of the biggest advancements we`re going to see in home entertainment are going to virtual reality headsets coming into the
home. We`re going to make a big difference. Augmented reality systems and then also artificially intelligent characters that start to become part of
games and other experiences.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you would be talking then to a - - like a - - a character in one of your games about something that you`re watching?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of, kind of, saying, you know, hey television pull up video number three. You can just say, well hey Sidney what do you
think we should watch next and then the character will have some suggestions and the two of you will have a conversation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When these technologies get good enough, do you foresee a day when the screen just completely disappear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s sort of like, did television kill radio? I think just like AR is going to replace some screen applications, screens are
going to survive and - - and hang in there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what will we be watching in the future? We`re not exactly sure. I guess we`ll just have to stay tuned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: Golden Colorado, Golden Retrievers. Coincidence? No. Not at this gathering in the Centennial State. It`s called the "Golden`s in
Golden Gala". It was held on National Golden Retriever Day. It brought together animals from all "dog walks" of life and it might have set a
record too. There were reportedly about 1,000 Golden Retrievers and their owners here.
A previous record in Scotland brought around 361 dogs. So for fans of Golden`s, the idea was pure "gold". But if they can have "Golden`s in
Golden" can someone host "Airedales in Adairsville", "Bassett`s in Bassett", "Boston`s in Boston", "Chihuahua`s in Chihuahua", "Collies in
Colleyville", "Labradors in Labrador", "Maltese in Malta", Papion`s in Papion", "Terriers in Terre Haute" or "Yorkie`s in Yorkshire". That will
give them something to "yap" about and it takes a "bite out of another edition of CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz.
END
