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CNN 10
Investigation Into Problems With Boeing 737 Max 8 After Two Airline Crashes; Chinese Telecom Company Huawei Hardware Warning; U.S. College Cheating Scam; Ford Mustang Made Out of Snow in Nebraska
Aired March 13, 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 and welcome to CNN 10. It`s always good to see you. A growing number of countries around the world are
grounding a popular type of passenger plane and that`s the first story we`re explaining. On Sunday an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed shortly
after take off in the capital of Ethiopia. All 157 people aboard were killed. It happened less than six months after an incident on October 29th
when a Lion air flight crashed shortly after take off in the capital of Indonesia.
All 189 people aboard that flight were killed. The one thing these two flights have in common is that they were aboard new models of the same
airplane, a Boeing 737 Max 8. It was introduced two years ago. It`s a very technologically advanced jet and it might be that technology that`s
causing its problems.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boeing bills its 737 Max as the fastest selling airplane in the company`s history. A high tech single aisle jet, there are
more than 5,000 on order for 100 airlines world wide. Many of them are in China and India. The 737 has a long history since the first twin jet Baby
Boeing was introduced in 1967. It`s grown into the best selling line of commercial jets in history. The Max 8 variant, launched in 2017 seats up
to 200 passengers. It was designed to offer airlines greater range, better fuel efficiency from the models that came before. Like any new series,
Boeing introduced brand new technology and features into the 737 series including the automatic safety system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This particular aircraft has a new - - something new as far as how the autopilot responds when the angle of attack, when the
aircraft nose goes up too high it pushes that nose down even when the autopilot`s off. And a lot of pilots aren`t used to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the case of Lion Air, Indonesia investigators say pilots repeatedly fought to override that system before the fatal crash of
the plane back in October. The preliminary crash report said, 40 sensors that the automated system to push the nose of the plane down again and
again. It`s not clear why the pilots did not follow the recognized procedure and turn the system off. Now this crash, the second in a brand
new model plane shortly after takeoff. It`s provoking more questions about the planes design and what Boeing has told the airlines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: The CEO of Ethiopian Airlines says the pilot had flight control problems shortly before the plane crashed but both accidents involving this
Boeing model are under investigation and there`s no evidence at this point that the same problem caused them. Still, countries from Australia to
China to the European Union and India have grounded the 737 Max 8 airplanes making it illegal for them to fly in or over these nations. According to
the Reuters News organization, Boeing says it`s been developing a software update for the plane that`s quote "designed to make an already safe
aircraft even safer."
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration also said earlier this week that the aircraft is safe though it has ordered Boeing to make some design
changes to it. Some U.S. Senators are now saying the FAA should temporarily ground it until its proven air worthy. The U.S. and Canada are
the only two countries where substantial numbers of these planes are still flying.
The United States government is trying to keep American wireless companies and countries around the world from buying telecommunications equipment
made by a Chinese company named Huawei. This is the worlds largest telecom manufacturer. It`s taken such a lead in developing 5G wireless technology
that many carriers can`t replace it. 5G is said to be many times faster and more reliable than 4G. China and Huawei have denied doing anything
wrong but the U.S. says Huawei has connections to Chinese government intelligence and that Huawei`s equipment could allow China to potentially
spy on people who use it. Its not just civilian security the U.S. is concerned about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hidden beneath this vast, snowy prairie land in central Montana are more than 100 nuclear armed intercontinental ballistic
missiles, ready for launch. It`s desolate terrain but vital to American national security which experts worry could face a threat from China. This
fenced in area is a missile silo controlled by Malmstrom Air Force Base. Right next to it a cell tower belonging to a company called Triangle
Communication System. It`s an American company but its network uses radio transmitters and receivers made by the Chinese company Huawei. A telecom
giant that has been called a national security risk by U.S. intelligence officials.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re deeply concerned about the risks allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don`t share
our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given the power of the Chinese government over Chinese companies experts say the Huawei technology could be weaponized by Beijing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they ask Huawei turn off the phones, tell us what people are doing. Scramble the data going over it. Block calls. Make
random phone calls, there`s nothing we could do to stop that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These bases use encrypted communications but valuable intelligence could be gathered on the people working with the ICBMs and the
area could also be targeted with network attacks. There`s no evidence that anything like this has happened but CNN has identified dozens of cell phone
towers equipped with Huawei technology. Some dispersed among the Malmstrom nuclear fields.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see the answers supposed to be pretty hard. That might not be easy to do but that doesn`t mean our opponents won`t try and
figure out if they can do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Areas like this are so remote that often the only cell phone service comes from small networks. Unlike major carriers like
Verizon and AT&T, smaller companies depend on government subsidies and many buy cheaper equipment made by Chinese companies like Huawei. While the
company is barred from U.S. government contracts and Federal employees can`t use their devices, rural carriers have no such restrictions. The
companies that own these towers are part of the Rural Wireless Association who say a quarter of their members buy Huawei because it`s far cheaper and
say it would cost up to $1 billion to replace.
The Pentagon would not say what kind of relationship, if any, it has with these carriers but acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told CNN in a
statement, they are working closely with our industrial and research partners to develop comprehensive and innovative solutions for both the
department and commercial industries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these American universities is the oldest? Wake Forest, Georgetown, Stanford, the University of Southern
California. The oldest university and the only one on this list that was founded in the 1700s is Georgetown.
Fifty people across the United States have been formally charged with cheating to get students into highly respected colleges. The FBI`s
criminal investigation was called Operation Varsity Blues. It covers crimes allegedly committed between 2011 and 2019 and it led to the arrest
of athletic coaches, SAT and ACT administrators and dozens of parents. What they`re accused of doing is helping students cheat on college entrance
exams like the SAT and paying some sports coaches to say certain students should be admitted to their colleges because the students were good
athletes, even when they weren`t.
In some cases this involved creating fake athletic profiles for students to make them look like good athletes. Prosecutors say the cheating was
carried out mostly without the student`s knowledge according to ABC News and that it was done to get them in to schools like Yale, Georgetown,
Stanford and the University of Southern California among others. The interim president of USC called it immensely disappointing that school
employees would allegedly abuse their positions in this way. A U.S. attorney involved in the investigation said, for every student admitted
through fraud an honest, genuinely, talented student was rejected. U.S. officials say this was the largest college cheating scam the Federal
government has ever prosecuted.
When you see this winterized car for the first time, don`t be fooled. It`s no Mustang. It`s Snow Mustang. A Nebraska State Trooper found this and
shared it on social media saying that while some people make snow men, in this part of the country they make snow cars. The officer even gave it a
ticket, a fake one of course for being double parked. Apparently a local businessman and his kids formed this frosty Ford.
Forget 5.0 it`s a "5.snow". It`s a cold weather curbside car you can`t "tow". Only where it`s "chillin" could you shape one if you`re "willin"
but there`s no way to be "tellin" when your sculpture will be "melted". So if you`re going to make one, it has to be a fake one. You be sure to break
one if you ever tried to take one. It`s a truly "cool" vehicle that no one`s going to "seize" and making it`s as easy because it needs no
"antifreeze". I`m Carl Azuz on the loose for CNN.
END
