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CNN 10
The U.S. Presidential Election; Hurricane Eta`s Landfall in Nicaragua; The Reopening of Machu Picchu
Aired November 04, 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: Hi. I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to the presidential election edition of CNN 10.
What we know, what we don`t know, what we expect in the days ahead.
We`ll start with what we know.
It`s close. No landslides here in the presidential race. When we assembled this show in the overnight hours, a winner had not been declared yet. The
election results hinged on ten states -- Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
In the popular vote, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was leading Republican incumbent President Donald Trump. But it`s the electoral vote
that counts. The magic number of 270 of those that determined the presidency, and those results came down to the states I mentioned. There
were still unknown Tuesday night.
At 12:42 a.m., Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden addressed supporters at a drive-in event in Wilmington, Delaware.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Good evening. Your patience is commendable. We knew this was going long, but who knew we`re going to go
into maybe tomorrow morning, maybe even longer.
But, look, we feel good about where we are. We really do.
I`m here to tell you, tonight, we believe we`re on track to win this election.
We knew because of the unprecedented early vote and the mail-in vote, it`s going to take a while. We`re going to have to be patient, until we -- the
hard work of tallying votes is finished, and it ain`t over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: At 2:22 a.m., Republican incumbent President Donald Trump addressed supporters at the White House in Washington, D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank the American people for their tremendous support. Millions and millions of people voted
for us tonight. And a very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise that group of people.
We were getting ready to win this election -- frankly, we did win this election. We did win this election.
So, our goal now is to ensure the integrity -- for the good of this nation. This is a very big moment. This is a major fraud in our nation. We want the
law to be used in a proper manner.
So, we`ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop. We don`t want them to find any ballots at 4:00 in the morning and add them
to the list, OK?
It`s a very sad -- it`s a very sad moment. To me, this is a very sad moment, and we will win this.
And as far as I`m concerned, we already have won. So, I just want to thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: So, legal challenges to election results are expected.
How much will mail-in ballots factor in? What will be the new make-up of the Senate and House of Representatives? These are also questions to be
answered in the days ahead.
As another CNN anchor put it, this is not a 90-minute thriller. It`s like a 10-part mini-series.
All of this was constantly being updated as we put this show together late last night, and CNN.com will have the latest news and results concerning
the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Electoral College, it`s simpler than regular college. It`s actually the name of the group of people who chose the U.S. president. Why them and
not just citizens through a popular vote?
Well, some of the Founding Fathers weren`t completely comfortable with the direct election by the people. They wanted to buffer or limit that. They
didn`t think the average American was really in tune with politics. Electors on the other hand are all over `em.
UNCLE SAM: I need your vote.
AZUZ: Here`s how the system works. Each state gets a certain number of electoral votes. The more people who live in the state, the more electoral
votes it gets.
Take California, most populous state in the nation, 55 electoral votes. South Dakota, three, not many, but it doesn`t have nearly as many residents
as the Golden State.
Every state but Maine and Nebraska has a winner-take-all election system. That means whoever wins the state`s popular vote wins all of its electoral
votes.
What kinds of numbers are we talking? Well, there are 538 electors in the Electoral College, so you need just over half of them, 270, to win the
election.
But you can`t just win the top five states with the most electoral votes. In a close contests between two candidates, every electoral vote counts,
and here`s where it gets tricky. The Electoral College is supposed to reflect what most Americans want. But it is possible for a candidate to win
the popular vote and lose the Electoral College and therefore, the election.
Former Vice President Biden Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000 but lost the Electoral College and the election.
Same thing happened in 1876 to Samuel J. Tilden, and 1888 to Grover Cleveland.
Did some folks get mad at the college? Uh-huh.
But despite hundreds of proposals to change that or get rid of it, it hasn`t happened, in part because it allows smaller states to still have
some power in an election, and because it would take changing the U.S. Constitution.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: OK, another story making headlines today -- Eta. A very powerful category four storm made landfall in the Central American nation of
Nicaragua on Tuesday. This is what it looked like as it approached the coast.
Hurricane Eta was a relatively slow-moving storm that could bring the worst flooding Nicaragua had seen since Hurricane Mitch struck there in 1998. The
U.S. National Hurricane Center says deadly conditions could remain in the region for days because Eta`s rains could cause landslides, river flooding
and flash flooding which can occur within a few hours of heavy rainfall.
Nicaragua is the poorest nation in Central America, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. It estimates almost 30 percent of Nicaraguans
live below the poverty line. A Catholic priest who lives in the coastal city of Puerto Cabezas says some houses there are made of wood and adobe, a
type of clay. He told the "Reuters" news agency, that`s the city`s main weakness.
Even before Hurricane Eta hit, roofs were reportedly being ripped off homes. Puerto Cabezas had lost power and its storm shelters were filled up.
Besides its wind speeds of around 145 miles per hour, the storm was predicted to bring a major storm surge, a rise in seawater levels blown
ashore by a hurricane. Forecasters said they could be as much as 21 feet higher than then normal tide, so their affects could be catastrophic for
coastal Nicaragua and neighboring Honduras.
Hurricane Eta is the 28th named storm of this year`s Atlantic hurricane season. That ties the record set in 2005. Weather agencies counted 27
storms that year, but the National Hurricane Center decided that after the 2005 season was over, there was a 28th storm that should have been named
but wasn`t. So, this officially ties the 28 storms named in 2005.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Which of these World Heritage sites was built the most recently?
Machu Picchu, Great Wall of China, Chichen Itza, or Notre Dame Cathedral?
Dating to the 15th century, Machu Picchu is the youngest site on this list.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUBTITLE: Peruvian authorities have put on a show to mark the re-opening of Machu Picchu.
The ceremony started with a ritual honoring the land performed by local artists.
The show also featured several videos projected onto the archaeological site.
Machu Picchu has been closed to the public for almost eight months.
ROCIO BARRIOS, MINISTER OF FOREIGN TRADE AND TOURISM (translated): This will be a progressive return, that is to say it will be little by little.
First, the locals, then the nationals, and in the future foreign tourists.
SUBTITLE: The site will only allow 30 percent of its usual capacity with visits limited to 675 people a day in groups of eight people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: At first, this looks like a supercar with a giant wing on the back. But this wing flies, baby, along with the other ones that unfold from this
flying car.
It`s a prototype, the fifth generation air car designed by a professor in Slovakia, but it has completed its maiden flight, reaching an altitude of
1,500 feet.
The price? We don`t know yet, but based on what we`ve seen from other flying car prototypes, they are much more than the average house.
And it`s hard to scale something so upscale, to bring the car to market than to market the car. You hope it takes off in the year, and in sales. If
it ain`t clear for takeoff, you won`t get very far.
If it gets off the ground, up and down around the town, it`s a pretty far way to elevate a commute, a runway runaway success will be found for the
buyer with a loot (ph) and lofty attitude. We are all out of gas.
I want to give a shout-out to our viewers at the Punahou School in the Aloha state. It`s great to see you, guys, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
END
