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The U.S. Federal Reserve Hikes Up Interest Rates; U.S. Weapons Supplies To Ukraine; A Remote Place For Adventurers With Means. Aired 4- 4:10a ET
Aired May 05, 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: For the first time in 22 years, the U.S. Federal Reserve is raising interest rates by half a percentage point. That`s what
we`re breaking down first today. I`m Carl Azuz.
Interest is what banks get paid for loaning people money. If the Federal Reserve, America`s central bank raises interest rates, it means people have
to pay back a higher percentage of the money they borrow. Why would the Fed want to do that? Inflation.
The cost of living in America has gone up significantly over the past year as prices on the things we buy have risen. The thinking goes that if
interest rates are higher and it`s more expensive for people and businesses to borrow money, they`ll spend less of it and inflation will settle back
down.
It`s not an exact science. If the Fed raises interest rates too much too quickly, it can be like slamming the brakes on economic growth and that
could contribute to a recession. So, the central bank is trying to find a balance between managing decades-high inflation but without hampering
economic growth.
That`s what`s behind its decision on Wednesday to raise interest rates. Half a percentage point doesn`t sound like much, but the Fed usually makes
smaller adjustments like the quarter-point rate hike it issued in March. The last time the fed raised the rate by half a point was in 2000, and it
says more raises like this are possible in the months ahead.
The Fed says the U.S. labor market, the jobs picture, is strong. But consumer prices have risen at their highest rate in almost four decades and
the Fed doesn`t think inflation`s likely to go away on its own anytime soon. It says COVID-related lockdowns in China are contributing to ongoing
problems with the supply chain. It says the war in Ukraine is contributing to elevated food and energy prices and those had risen last year before
Russia invaded.
With all these economic pressures in place, the Fed is hoping its interest rate increases will slow down price increases. New data on inflation itself
is also expected soon.
Up next, U.S. President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve $33 billion in additional assistance to Ukraine. In March, Congress had approved more
than $13 billion in military and aid funding. President Biden says the cost isn`t cheap but that the bill is needed to support Ukraine in its fight
against Russia, which invaded the nation on February 24th.
U.S. Senator Rand Paul has suggested that America should sell Ukraine weapons but not give them to the country if doing so increases U.S.
national debt. There are also concerns about America`s own stockpiles of certain weapons running low.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The stunning success the much smaller Ukrainian military has had against
the Russian invaders would not be possible without the billions of dollars` worth of U.S. and NATO weapons flooding into Ukraine, notably, the
thousands of easy to use highly portable American Javelins and Stingers that for more than two months have taken out countless Russian tanks and
aircraft.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sometimes, we`ll speak softly and carry a large Javelin because we`re sending a lot of those in as well.
MARQUARDT: So many, in fact, that now the U.S. inventory of Stingers and Javelins is running dangerously low.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): The closet is bare. Just to give you one example. The United States military has probably dispensed about one-third
of its Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine.
MARQUARDT: While the U.S. wants to give Ukraine what it needs, Pentagon war planners must balance that with not letting supplies dip below what the
U.S. needs.
MARK CANCIAN, CSIS SENIOR ADVISOR, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM: I think we`re at that moment now with Javelins and Stingers. The recent aid
packages have not included more of these missiles. To me, that indicates that war planners have raised that civilian leadership doesn`t want to
exhaust these inventories further.
MARQUARDT: The Biden administration has just requested almost $5.5 billion from Congress to replenish its stocks, but the Pentagon insists the aid
packages for Ukraine have not hurt overall U.S. readiness.
LLOYD AUSTIN, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We will never go below our minimum requirement for our stockpiles. So, we`ll always maintain the capability to
defend this country and support our interests.
MARQUARDT: Fourteen hundred Stingers, about a quarter of the inventory, experts and lawmakers say, has been committed to Ukraine. The Stingers`
manufacturer, Raytheon, which also makes the Javelin, says it no longer has some of the electronics parts, so the Stinger needs to be redesigned.
GREG HAYES, RAYTHEON CEO: We have a very limited stock of material for Stinger production. We`ve been working with the DOD for the last couple
weeks. We`re actively trying to resource some of the material.
MARQUARDT: The new phase of fighting in the flat and open eastern Donbas is changing the fight. U.S. has just committed almost 100 howitzer systems
and tens of thousands of artillery shells, but it`s the Stingers and Javelins that had the greatest impact, and now, according to manufacturers,
getting back to pre-Ukraine inventory levels is going to take years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Which of these options occupies the greatest surface area?
Ross Sea Ice Shelf, Germany, Lake Michigan, or Great Victoria Desert?
With an estimated area of 182,000 square miles, the Ross Sea Ice Shelf in Antarctica is the largest of these options.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Scuba diving with leopard seals and a really good dry suit. Ski mountaineering where you actually hike up the mountain you ski down,
kayaking between icebergs and whales, and caving through frozen caverns -- all of these activities are possible for those with the means and the
motivation to explore the frozen continent. You don`t necessarily need a ship to get there, but if you take a seat on the plane you`re about to see,
you`ll need more than $14,000 for a one-day trip and more than $62,000 for a five-day stay.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUKE BRAUTESETH, ANTARCTIC OPERATIONS MANAGER, WHITE DESERT: I can`t say I`ve ever flown anywhere that would be as challenging as Antarctica. I`ve
seen penguins on two occasions at our runway.
I work for White Desert and I`m the Antarctic operations manager in Antarctica.
SUBTITLE: White Desert offers private flights to Antarctica and has three temporary camps on the continent.
BRAUTESETH: Everything has to come with you, there`s no shop that you can pop down to. Without the runway, we can`t do anything. All of our cargo
comes in through that, all of our people. It`s certainly nothing like your standard airport. Every season we build it and it`s an ongoing thing that
we maintain.
All the ice in Antarctica is slowing moving towards the ocean, so it means about 80 meters every year. So every year we come back and realign it.
One of our biggest issues is the heat. When the runway gets to above a certain temperature, we can`t land planes any longer because it`s just
unstable and obviously, it`s very slippery.
For every single flight we do friction testing. Then every season we`ll do ground penetrating radar, make sure there`s no crevasses or anything under
the runway.
SUBTITLE: The runway was used to land first ever Airbus A340 on Antarctica in 2021.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have just landed tell runway 175.
SUBTITLE: Planes have been flying to the continent since the early 20th century. The first landing at the South Pole came in 1956. Antarctica now
has around 50 landing strips, but most who visit still travel by ship.
BRAUTESETH: Spending time in Antarctica is a huge adventure. Every time I get off that plane, I still get that same feeling of just awe.
It`s the most amazing place to live for a little while.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
AZUZ: When I saw this next story was theater raised, I thought my producer meant razed with a Z, like it was being destroyed. I was wrong. He meant it
was being raised as in lifted up.
And for something that weighs 14 million pounds, hashtag engineering. This was part of a two and a half billion-dollar renovation, using 34 hydraulic
lifting posts, workers lifted New York`s Palace Theater about a quarter inch per hour. After four months of that, the landmark which dates back to
1913 will now sit on the third floor of its building while new retail and entertainment space will be installed below it.
Going any higher might bother the fiddler on the roof. The producers of that company might have thought, "Mamma Mia", we could have been Doubtfired
if we didn`t get all our cats in a row. They might have gotten spam a lot from a music man who thought they were out of chorus line. But thankfully,
the show will go on.
I`m Carl Azuz. Today`s shout-out takes us to Mount Tabor High School located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Thank you for subscribing and
leaving a comment at YouTube.com/CNN10.
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