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Republican Convention Kicks Off; California Races to Contain Wildfires; Colleges Race to Contain Corona Virus; An Asteroid Approaches Earth
Aired August 24, 2020 - 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: Welcome to CNN 10. We are kicking off the second week of coverage of our fall season. We know a lot of you are just
now getting back into the swing of things. So we thank you for doing that with our show. I`m Carl Azuz. Last week America`s Democrats had their
time in the spotlight as their party convention was held Monday through Thursday. This week it`s the Republican`s turn as their event officially
gets underway. Like the one before, it`s expected to be a largely virtual convention with social distancing guidelines keeping delegates from having
the giant stadium filled blowouts we`re used to seeing. A scaled down gathering is still set to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina.
And the convention will allow Republicans to officially nominate incumbent President Donald Trump and incumbent Vice-President Mike Pence for a second
term in office. Other goals of the event include laying out the party`s priorities and drumming up voter support for the November 3rd election.
Experts say President Trump is hoping the Republican National Convention will have more live programming and audience response than last weeks
Democratic National Convention. By tradition, the party that holds the White House holds it`s convention second but there`s no tradition
associated with a pandemic. Another example on how these are unusual times we`re living in.
Hundreds of wildfires are raging in California. Here`s a quick by the numbers look. CAL FIRE, the State Department of Forestry and Fire
Protections, says there have been roughly 12,000 lightening strikes in California since August 15th. They`ve been blamed for starting most if not
all of the 615 new wildfires that have flared up in the past week. More than one million, one thousand acres have been burned and firefighters are
doing everything they can to contain these blazes. This doesn`t necessarily mean putting them out. It means keeping them from spreading.
That can be done by creating fire breaks, places where vegetation has been cleared out, for example, giving the blazes nothing to burn and nowhere
further to go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right guys. I`m going to get you out of here. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firefighters trapped on a ridgeline in California. The only way out is up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A helicopter crew braves gusting winds to scoop them away to safety. A close call here but it is a pitch battle across the
state to put out more than 500 fires. Many caused by lightening strikes. Officials say two of the blazes are among the biggest they`ve had in almost
90 years. More than 12,000 firefighters are battling the flames. Many working 24 hour shifts but so far it is not enough manpower to hold back
the fires which have burned an area bigger than the size of Rhode Island. Neighboring state are sending help but state officials say they need more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re also reached out across the border into Canada for resources and support and many of you up here recall it was 2017, some
of the best wildfire -- wildfire firefighters in the world from Australia. We also have requested out for that talent as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officials say there are too many fires right now to save some homes and nearly 120,000 people have been evacuated. Though some
people are taking it into their own hands to protect their property.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we got here flames were all out in front and half way down my driveway. My house was set way back so we just started getting
to work and we put the fires out and -- and so far we`ve saved it. But you never know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In previous fire seasons, prisoner firefighters have been used to help contain the blazes but authorities say there are fewer of
those resources now because of early releases due to the corona virus. Forecasters say dry thunderstorms are in the forecast which could bring
more lightening and strong winds to the region making the job of those trying to stop these ever growing wildfires even more dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Up next, corona virus has created a conundrum for campuses across America. Some have reopened. Some have partially reopened. Some have
gone virtual. The challenge for universities has another layer. This fall more than 75 percent of them are expected to be partially or fully virtual
and questions are being raised about them charging full tuition fees without providing face to face instruction. Some have offered discounts.
Some are struggling to find a balance when they do provide face to face instruction but it coincides with the spread of corona virus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A number of COVID-19 clusters have formed at universities across the U.S. where students have been invited back for
some form of face to face instruction. Now some schools have gone completely remote with virtual learning only, others have a hybrid system,
a combination of in-person and virtual learning. These schools sometimes have very strict rules when it comes to wearing masks and social distancing
but they still can`t control 100 percent of student activity. For example, we`ve seen where students have thrown some off campus parties and in the
case of Syracuse, at least 20 people have been suspended for throwing a party in their quad. Now Florida Atlantic University begins their fall
courses on Monday and we spoke to one family who moved their son into those dorms. Here`s what they told us about the virus concerns.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s everywhere. I don`t think there`s any hiding from it and I think just trying to protect yourself, you know, is
the best that you can do. You know, I think the school has been good as far as hand sanitizers, the social distancing, you know, they have a lot of
stuff in place. And it`s made me feel much more comfortable actually being here and seeing the steps that they`re taking.
CHEN: On that campus some of their safety measures include not having any in-person classes when there are more than 50 students per class. And when
there is face to face instruction, the number of students in the room is greatly reduced. FAU did report three of their football players testing
positive for COVID-19 and that`s why football practice is temporarily suspended until they can review the next round of tests which is scheduled
for Monday. Natasha Chen, CNN Miami.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. What is the term for a space rock that enters Earth`s atmosphere and hits the ground? Meteor, meteoroid, meteorite, or
meteoroid. Meteoroids become meteors when they enter our atmosphere and meteorites when they hit the ground.
Just like meteoroids are relatively small rocks that are zipping around in space. Asteroids are bigger ones and two of those have been in the news
recently. The first one passed very close by Earth on August 16th. It was about the size of a car and scientists say it probably wouldn`t have hurt
anyone if it had entered our atmosphere but NASA missed it. The agency didn`t pick up on the asteroid until after it had whizzed by less than
2,000 miles away.
And researchers say that makes it the closest asteroid ever known to pass by Earth and not hit it. NASA didn`t miss another asteroid that`s headed
our way. This one`s about six and a half feet in diameter and should zip by on November 2nd. Scientists say the chance of this rock hitting Earth
is about four tenths of one percent. They don`t expect it to have a major impact or to disrupt the U.S. election the next day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We get questions here all the time about comets, asteroids and meteors, meteorites. What`s the difference? Well let`s
start in space and work our way all the down to the surface. A comet is a snowball. It`s a piece of ice. Now the ice is mainly frozen gas not
water, but there could be dust and rocks and things inside the comet. Haley`s Comet, now NASA knows of about 3,600 other comets than that one
out there. Closer in in the asteroid belt, these are rocks, not gas. They could be metal as well but they are hard surfaces and sometimes they come
out of the asteroid belt, get closer to the surface of the Earth or at least our atmosphere.
If one or a piece of a smaller one called a meteoroid hits the surface of the atmosphere, it turns into a meteor. It gets bright because it hits our
atmosphere and begins to burn up if it doesn`t make it`s way all the way down to the surface. It turns into a shooting star. Now if it does, make
it`s way all the way down to the surface of the Earth and hits the ground and you can pick it up. That is a meteorite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: It`s a summer tradition to try to catch the ice cream van as it meanders through the neighborhood. You ain`t catching this one. It`s
electric. "Boogie woogie, woogie." And the British inventor who charged it up set a Guinness World Record for fastest electric ice cream van. How
fast? Not as fast as a minivan. It`s top speed was measured at about 74 miles per hour. But if you`re trying to chase down a bomb pop or strawberry
crunch on a hot summer`s day, you could go "Nutty Buddy" falling all "Oreover" yourself with your legs "Bubble gummed" up and feeling like
"slush" as you tried to "Push-up" close enough to this ice cream "Rocket". Whew. I`m Carl Azuz. There is one way to get a mention on our show and
Medina Public School in Medina, North Dakota knows it. You comment on the most recent show on our YouTube channel. CNN 10 is back tomorrow.
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