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CNN 10
Extensive Protests In Hong Kong; U.S. Investigation Into Lung Disease Cases; CNN Hero
Aired August 20, 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: Eleven weeks of protests, hundreds of thousands of people, statements from both the local government and the mainland one.
There are a lot of elements to what`s going on right now in Hong Kong and that`s where we start today`s edition of CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz, thank you
for watching. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China because it was a British colony before China took over in 1997. The
communist nation promised that people in Hong Kong would continue to have many of the rights they had under British control, at least until 2047 when
Hong Kong is formally joined with the rest of China.
But many people in the city feel that China is chipping away at their rights. Earlier this year, a bill was proposed that would have allowed
Hong Kong to extradite or hand over certain crime suspects to mainland China. Critics said that bill could have been exploited to send Hong Kong
residents to mainland China for political reasons. China`s government and Hong Kong`s government have both said that wouldn`t happen and the bill has
since been put on hold but it triggered the protests that have grown in size over the past 11 weekends and they`re taking a toll on both Hong
Kong`s international image and its economy.
There are other objections that people in Hong Kong have when it comes to China and there are many in Hong Kong who support their local government
and that of China. The country says it has ultimate control over what happens in Hong Kong. It`s the disagreement over the level of that control
that`s fueling the unrest in the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CL IP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Sunday, the skies opened up over Hong Kong. A tropical downpour that did not stop this sea of humanity. A mass protest
against the government`s handling of the worst political crisis Hong Kong has seen in decades. If the authorities were hoping that this protest
movement would fizzle over time, they were terribly wrong. Even pouring rain hasn`t dampened the protestors enthusiasm. From Hong Kong`s Victoria
Park, the crowd trudged west. Hong Kong`s been locked in a cycle of unrest for more than two months.
After two separate million man protest marches last June, the city`s appointed government suspended but refused to completely withdraw the
proposed law that would allow the extradition of suspects from this former British colony to mainland China. Since then, the violence has only
escalated. The authorities denounced protestors calling them rioting criminals while the opposition accuses the police of excess use of force.
On Saturday, supporters of the government staged their own smaller demonstration supporting the police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We support the police and one (inaudible) of Hong Kong. We`re safe in Hong Kong. (Inaudible) education.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the government in mainland China has a more ominous message, showing off its security forces on the border with Hong Kong an
obvious warning. But these threats from Beijing haven`t quelled Hong Kong`s dissent but earlier this month a Senior Hong Kong government
official told CNN there would be no compromise when it comes to the protests demands. The test of wills between the government and the people
in the streets appears far from over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: From California to Connecticut, at least 15 U.S. states have identified dozens of cases of lung disease and they might be connected to
vaping. It`s another term for inhaling vapor from electronic cigarettes. Health officials in several states say they`re not sure if vaping
definitively caused more than 120 people nationwide to get sick, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is investigating. Some of the patients
with lung disease have been in the hospital for weeks. Their symptoms include fevers, dizziness, chest pain, coughing, stomach problems and
having trouble breathing. States are not required to report lung diseases related to vaping, so experts say the issue could be difficult to keep
track of but in Wisconsin, the state with the most confirmed and suspected cases.
A respiratory disease specialist said they involved otherwise healthy young people who had severe respiratory illnesses and no signs of infection.
Wisconsin`s government says all of the patients had said they vaped before they were hospitalized but what`s not known is exactly what products they
vaped. It`s possible but not certain that they were mixed with other chemicals. E-cigarettes are relatively new and health experts don`t know
yet what kinds of short and long term risks they carry.
10 Second Trivia. What U.S. city`s professional sports teams include the Wings, the Rangers and the Stars? Houston, Texas, Detroit Michigan,
Dallas, Texas or Sacramento, California. All of these are the mascots of teams from the Dallas, Texas area.
There`s a non-profit in Dallas named for Richard Miles. He was imprisoned for 15 years for a crime he didn`t commit. When an appeals court found him
innocent in 2012, it awarded him more than $1.2 million which he says he used to pay his tithe, buy his mom and himself houses and start Miles of
Freedom to help others transition back into society from prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD MILES: I was 19 when I got locked up. I was an innocent man but (ph) but I received 60 years. Just down the road, you can see Coffield
Unit and Coffield Unit is one of the biggest prisons in Texas. This was one of the fields that we worked in. I often times say May 15th, 1994 is a
day that Richard Ray Miles, Jr. died. I became a number, 728716. My mom would always tell me when you look out the window, don`t look at the bars
look at the sky. I could change my perception within the place of incarceration.
Good morning. All right. Thank you for coming out to another workshop of Miles of Freedom.
The idea really started from inside seeing the barriers and the recidivism. People get out and they come right back in, I said if I ever get out man,
we`re going to start a program and we`re going to help people.
Acknowledgement, transparency and forgiveness. These are the three essential things we need when we`re coming back home.
Seventeen years after my wrongful incarceration, I had my full exoneration. I was 34 years old. I sought these points of despair for people coming
home from prison. They`re not a lot of opportunities particularly for south Dallas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I got released, but because of my crime they - - they wouldn`t - - nobody would hire me at the time.
MILES: Consider us as that support system. We`re not going to go get it for you but we`re going to get it with you.
We provide case management. We help them with birth certificates, drivers licenses, housing, resume building.
At the end of the day be confident in your change.
One of the most tangible things that we also provide is confidence. Once a person receives that confidence, you can see the transformation in them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s been a lot of time restoring people (inaudible) destroy their lives. Now I want to be the one and be like, hey bro, you
need any type of help here I am. My goals in life is not to be the person that they have on file but to build a better life for me and my family.
MILES: We have a transitional employment lawn service to put them in a position that they can provide for their family. And every two weeks, we
go to area prisons, it`s about an hour and a half from Dallas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many people stop seeing their family members when something like this occurs and this is the time to step in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My dad loves (inaudible). He put a smile on his face when we show up. We do this for him.
MILES: The opportunities to see these families hug their husbands, their brothers, their cousins and then come back with the comfort that their
loved one is OK. It`s like one of the best things that this organization does. At the age of 19, all I had was 60 years in a block (ph) and God has
given me so much.
One more time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALES: (Inaudible)
MILES: That`s what we want to do. They`re like the people in prison are the ones that really, really need to know that coming home is possible.
Being successful is possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: It`s time to play name that fossil. Let`s see. It measures a little over seven inches. Experts say its` thousands of years old. It`s
kind of flat with ridges on the bottom. I know, it`s a wooly mammoth tooth. That`s what this is believed to be. It was discovered by a boy
playing near a creek bed in Ohio. He found the fossil jutting out of the mud. He`s hoping to get it back so he can show it off at school but is
this really a mammoth molar.
I mean, it`s so old it`s hard the "tooth". Maybe an "elephantine tooth fairy" dropped it off after leaving a carrot under its pillow. That would
have "enameled" scientists who didn`t think it was just "pulp". They "crown" the kid with getting to the "root" of an ancient mystery and making
the "mammother" of all discoveries. I`m Carl "Atooth" for CNN.
END
