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U.S. Supreme Court Rules On Two Federal Vaccine Mandates; Workers Repair Leaning Tower In A U.S. City; We Examine The History Of Skyscrapers. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired January 14, 2022 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: It is Friday the 14th of January. Thank you for taking 10 minutes for our show. My name is Carl Azuz. We are your down
the middle overview of world events. The U.S. Supreme Court was in the news Thursday for its rulings concerning two vaccine requirements by the U.S.
government.
In November, the Biden Administration said it would require businesses with 100 or more employees to either make sure those workers were fully
vaccinated against COVID-19 or to get a COVID test every week. The government said the new rule applied to more than 84 million American
workers, about 2/3rds of the country`s private workforce.
The president also announced that healthcare workers at facilities that get certain types of government funding would also have to be fully vaccinated,
without the option to test weekly.
The government said this rule applied to more than 17 million American employees. The president said the mandates would result in millions of
Americans getting vaccinated and that they`d save lives and strengthen the economy, but 27 states sued the Biden Administration over the mandates.
They said the requirements were unconstitutional and that they`d cause staffing shortages in businesses and ultimately hurt the economy.
Concerning the mandate on businesses, the Supreme Court struck it down. The majority of justices said the Biden Administration went too far. That
the government`s job and health safety agency doesn`t have the power to require vaccinations for 84 million Americans.
In dissent or disagreement with the decision, three justices said it prevented the government from responding to the pandemic in the quote "most
effective way possible." Concerning the mandate on healthcare workers, the Supreme Court said it could take effect, meaning healthcare workers at
facilities that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding can lose their jobs
if they don`t get a COVID vaccine. The high court`s decision on the business mandate is considered a defeat to the Biden Administration`s
efforts to require vaccinations nationwide, but the White House said it still encourages businesses to put their own vaccine requirements in place.
10 Second Trivia. Which of these U.S. cities was named for a Native American leader? Cincinnati, Ohio, Fayetteville, North Carolina,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, or Seattle, Washington. Chief Seattle, a Duwamish Indian leader is the namesake of the Washington city.
Would you pay more than $1 million for a one-bedroom apartment in a tower that is leaning? We`re not talking about a historic tower, like the one in
Pisa, Italy. We`re talking about the Millennium Tower in Seattle, Washington. The $350 million structure was opened in 2009 and since then
as it settled into the ground, it has leaned a total of 24 inches to the west and almost eight inches to the north.
Is this normal? Not these days. The Millennium Tower`s uneven settling has caused cracks in the sidewalk and in the basement walls in the building
next door. Why is this happening?
Experts say nearby construction projects and the removal of ground water contributed to the problem. Is this safe? Engineers say it is, but owners
aren`t happy and in a $100 million repair project, workers are installing new supports so shore up the building and help reduce its tilt.
(BEGIN VIDEO C LIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sky has long been a fascination; a realm of the gods and civilizations have been building towards it for centuries. But a
skyscraper is an altogether modern idea made possible by modern technologies.
CAROL WILLIS, DIRECTOR, THE SKYSCRAPER MUSEUM: Skyscrapers are really an American invention. The first use of the word was around the 1880s`. They
were office buildings that concentrated a workforce. They employ technologies like the elevator, like steel construction to build very
efficiently and to pile a lot of space onto a small piece of land.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By using steel frame for structural support rather than heavy masonry walls, architects were able to get creative.
WILLIS: Skyscrapers began to get taller around the turn of the 20th century. There was competition to be the world`s highest. And that
chemical tower comes so intimately connected with modernity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Skyscraper hitching post for the great airliners of tomorrow.
WILLIS: The Empire State Building never actually (inaudible) but it gave that aspiration. After World War II, a new kind of technology of glass
allows for the curtain wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Windows you could open made way for giant glass worlds. They gave more floor space and natural light, but fresh air was shut out
and replaced with air conditioning.
WILLIS: In the 1960s` and `70s, that was the period of the World Trade Center with the Twin Towers. The Sears Tower in Chicago got a little bit
taller, but it was also the end of an era as American cities began to suburbanize and spread out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. had led the charge into the skies, but the rest of the world soon caught up.
SIMON CHAN, ARCHITECT, B.H. ARCHITECTS: In Hong Kong where the land is very sparse, going high is almost the only solution. As that need in terms
of urbanization, so people need to move to cities they need to work. In Asia and the Middle East, we took it to another level. Every city wants to
have this landmark that give that sense of distinct culture.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the end of the 20th century, architects in the east have been developing new techniques to beat the wind and climbed even
higher.
CHAN: We want to design the shape that is not square. We want rounded corners or faceted corners so that it takes pressure off the building when
the wind hits it. We design the building to sway a little bit. We use reinforced concrete to have that flexibility, that also absorbs movement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Taipei 101 used a step design, cut out corners and a 700-ton suspended dampener to help it withstand typhoons and earthquakes.
But it was Dubai`s Burj Khalifa that redefined super tall. It`s exaggerated take of shape ability to flex up to six feet at its top and a
double layered outer skin help it to counter desert storms and extreme heat.
WILLIS: To build the world`s tallest tower is a great demonstration of technological know-how, as well as wealth of course, but the vanguard of
architects has been very focused on sustainability.
CHAN: We want to design something that`s as sustainable as possible in terms of the spaces that (inaudible). Tall buildings is sustainable where
we can have a lot of people in a small footprint, but we all understand that building in itself is taking resources from the Earth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In cities like Hong Kong where skyscrapers dominate the environment, but also contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
The century`s old reach into the sky is now in question.
WILLIS: The skyscrapers become complicated negotiations between the way that we want to live in the future and the possibilities of how we can.
There are many different approaches of culture, of government, of public policy that either constrains or enable skyscrapers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: A police rescue in Miami, Florida gets a 10 out of 10. The call wasn`t about a person in distress. It was about a dolphin in distress. A
young marine mammal had gotten tangled in a fishing net. A marine patrol officer sailed out to the dolphin, pulled it close to his boat and started
cutting the net to set the animal free. The dolphin did not cooperate at first, but after a few patient attempts --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got ya. Woo. Yes.
AZUZ: It`s easy to "endorsal" such a rescue sensation. It`s no fluke when something`s saved at sea from "ecolocation". From the surface to the
coral, there`s no "quarrel about immoral" whether on the sea or "shoral". If you don`t rest on your "laurels" you can net a mammal free from its tail
to its "pectoral". Be forever in the "fin club" of every set free dolphin. Use your melon, they`ll be "yellen" that Fridays are awesome.
I`m Carl Azuz. Kellam High School gets today`s shout out. Hello to our viewers in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We will be off the air Monday for the
Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. So, we`ll look forward to seeing you Tuesday right here at CNN.
END
