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CNN 10
Update on California`s Wildfires; Significant Rule Change From the NCAA; Business Side of Selling Candy
Aired October 31, 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. Some of you on Twitter asked if I`d be dressed up for Halloween. No, but if it`s ever
appropriate for someone in a Salvador Dali costume to bring you the news, I`d be happy to paint that picture. Let`s get to what`s happening. First
story out of California, hurricane force is a term to describe wind speeds that blow at or faster than 74 miles per hour and some of the winds
buffeting wildfires near Los Angeles are at hurricane force. These are the Santa Ana winds. Hot, dry, dusty gusts that blow from the desert across
southern California out towards the Pacific coast.
They can be at their worst in October and they make it very difficult if not impossible for firefighters to contain or wall in a wildfire. What`s
known as the Getty Fire was threatening more than 7,000 homes around L.A. last night and it was just one of at least 10 wildfires burning across
California. Tens of thousands of acres, each one roughly the size of a football field, have been scorched across the state. Dozens of homes have
been lost. Power`s been cut off to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses because California`s largest utility company doesn`t want its
equipment sparking new fires in the windy conditions. Schools, houses, businesses even museums have been evacuated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you can see this now called the Easy Fire because it started near Easy Street, ironically but these gusts are so powerful.
These 40, 50, 60 mile - - mile an hour Santa Ana winds come howling through these canyons. It`s pushing it so fast and no place seems to be safe. Of
course the precious artwork inside the Getty Museum, the point of concern, that place if fortified and safe. We think of (ph) the same is the case
here. Just give you some perspective, this is the Reagan Library. Right in there is Air Force One. This has been the site of Presidential debates
on CNN in the past in addition to the smoke in the air, the air pollution, the stress of evacuating yet another evacuation zone.
You have people dealing with those rolling black outs as PG&E, Pacific Gas and Electric, catches so much wrath from the public. They`re shutting down
huge swaths of - - of their service area to try to prevent more fires from sparking out there in the wild lands. They need to fortify something like
7,000 miles of vulnerable power lines in the state. This year they managed 100 miles. Whoa. And there goes a (inaudible) bomber right on queue.
We`ve seen helicopters coming through. The super-soakers dropping retardant trying to contain this but whoa it`s raining down now. In the
history of Cal-Fire, they have never been able to contain, fully stop, a fire that`s being fed by Santa Ana winds. All they can do is wait for the
weather to change and try to fortify human life (audio gap) Reagan Library. That is a stunning thing and you stand in it and you see it swirl as you
mentioned. It`s - - it`s no wonder you can`t stop a fire like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which sport sees the highest percentage of U.S. college athletes drafted to a major professional league? Baseball,
basketball, football or ice hockey. Last year almost 10 percent of eligible college baseball players were drafted into Major League Baseball
though many won`t actually play there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well then the NCAA had been adamant for years that they were against college athletes being able to make money but due to the
building public pressure, they`re finally changing their stance. The NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously on Tuesday to begin the process to
change the rules to allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness and this will be much more than just a college quarterback
being able to sell jerseys or sign autographs.
When this goes into effect in 2021, which is what they`re shooting for, volleyball players, soccer players, they`d be able to hold camps for kids
in order to make money and they can advertise it. Hey, I`m a star athlete at my university. That`s something that they can`t do right now. Now
there is no framework in place yet and that`s going to be the tough part for the NCAA. They say they want the new rules to still be in line with
the collegiate model. What that means exactly? We don`t know yet and NCAA Mark Emmert says making these new rules is going to be challenging.
MARK EMMERT: Collegiate sport, unlike any other sport has a recruitment process. You don`t - - you get to choose your school. You don`t get
drafted. You don`t - - it`s not like the Olympics where you`re - - you`re an American so you - - you play for the American team and that - - that
recruitment process is really part of the core of what constitutes anything like a fair level playing field. And - - and structuring a model for
allowing students to monetize a name, image and likeness as well, maintaining some recruiting balance is - - is one of the biggest and
hardest issues that everyone`s dealing with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this all comes after California signed the Fair Pay to Play Act into law, that will allow college athletes in the state of
California to profit off their name, image and likeness beginning in the year 2023. Other states have similar legislation in place right now. How
the NCAA makes those rules stricter and is able to enforce it? Well that`s still yet to be determined.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: The National Retail Federation, the world`s largest retail trade association, says Americans who participate in Halloween events plan to
spend $8.8 billion this year. It works out to just over $86 per participant going for everything from candy to decorations to costumes to
pumpkins to outfits for their pets. According to the NRF survey, this years spending will be short of last years record of $9 billion but for the
candy industry Halloween is like an annual Super Bowl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Halloween is very important to Mars-Wrigley. It is our number one season and it`s a $8.8 billion season for our retailers. We
start to prepare for Halloween two years out. One of the things that have really changed is adults are participating at a much higher level. Over
the last two years, we`ve seen a 45 percent increase in adult participation. There`s also a couple other trends. It`s really become an
eight week season and we`re seeing it happen in three stages. As Fall rolls in people are thinking about baking so there`s a baking element.
Then it transitions into a celebration time where you have those neighborhood parties. And last but not least, it is trick-or-treat where
the majority of our sales come from.
I would say one of the biggest trends we`ve seen over the last five years is consumers willingness to spend more. Where the traditional bag was
maybe a - - a medium size bag. You`re seeing consumers buying 60 ounce, 80 ounce, 100 ounce bags of product because it gives variety. Consumers love
variety. Consumers come in looking for America`s favorites and that`s everyday items like Twix and Milky Way, Starbursts and Skittles but it`s
critical to bring new innovation along the way. R & B (ph) Group and our food scientists work very closely to identify trends. Really the best
example of doing that would be Zombie Skittles.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The main inspiration for Zombies was to bring excitement and fun back into Halloween. Our customers are really enjoying
it and they`re daring each other to see if they can get the gross zombie flavor and if they can keep it in their mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you get to the final stages of Halloween, the most important elements is how your products show up in store. Confectionary is
very much an impulse category but seasons are planned. So it`s critically important to make sure the product available. We talk to our retailers
about where you put the top selling items, where you put the displays. Location really, really matters. The best real estate is in the fun end of
the store. This is the prime real estate of the store. When you look at the display, you have our beacon yellow that attracts consumers to the
destination. We use our iconic M&M characters. We have a theme, best house on the block and we have multiple price points. You want to disrupt
the consumer as they walk in with an empty cart and the opportunity to drive conversion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Apparently even galaxies far, far away aren`t immune to Halloween hoopla. Is it an alien, C3PO, The Iron Giant, no silly. Scientists say
it`s two galaxies of equal proportion involved in a head on collision 704 million light years away from Earth, of course. The eerie image was
captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in June and get a good look while you can because scientists say this will only be visible for 100 billion
more years.
It`s a sight to "galaxsee". A distant fright that space can`t flee. It`s eyes leave you "incredulous" even if its cause seems "nebulous". It`s more
"star fright" than "fighter", a "stellar collider". Run and "hideher". Good thing there are light years between the "space face" and us this
Halloween. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
END
