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Has Earth`s Core Stopped Spinning?; Families Celebrate As China Lifts COVID Restrictions. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired January 27, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Well, hello, you lovely people. You made it. A long week is now an almost gone week. It`s Friday, and you already know
Fridays rock. I`m Coy Wire. This is CNN 10 and we`re going to finish this week strong.
First up, a new study on our planet. Earth rotates at about a thousand miles per hour, but new research published in "Nature Geoscience" says that
the Earth`s inner core may have actually stopped turning and now might start to spin in reverse. What does this mean?
Well, the solid inner core of the Earth is located 3,200 miles below the crust. That`s roughly the size of Mars or a third of Earth`s mass. And
because that core is separated from the Earth`s mantle by a liquid outer core, it allows the inner core to potentially rotate at a different speed
from Earth`s crust.
The findings explain that seismic records taken since 2009 had always shown action but they`re now starting to show little difference, suggesting that
the inner core`s rotation has paused. The speed of the inner core`s rotation and whether it varies though are debated, and at least one
geophysicist not involved with this study says nothing cataclysmic is happening here.
Scientists believe the spin of the inner core is driven by the magnetic field and balanced by the gravitational effects of the Earth`s mantle.
Knowing how the inner core rotates could shed light on how these layers interact and other processes deep in the Earth.
Up next, we head to China where many families are reuniting for the first time in years. This week was the first week of lunar New Year. It`s the
year of the rabbit, the most important holiday in China which is widely celebrated across Asia has always prompted what has become known as the
world`s largest human migration, millions and millions of people returning to their hometowns to be with loved ones.
But for the last three years, China has been locked down due to the country`s zero COVID policy. But the nation has recently loosened its
restrictions so people who work or study away from their hometowns feel free to travel again to see their family without the fear of getting locked
down due to the virus.
My friend Selina Wang, our CNN international correspondent, is in Beijing, giving us a glimpse of what it`s like to finally be able to fully celebrate
lunar New Year again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This year`s celebration is particularly special. The adults around this table all work
in factories in the cities. This is the only time when many of them can see their children.
The man next to me says we got to go wherever we can make money and China`s Zero COVID policy over the last three years has made it all even harder.
He says the policy prevented them from going home but now that the country`s open, they can all be together.
We came to this place in China southern Guizhou province to see how the part of rural China is celebrating the Lunar New Year without pandemic
restrictions.
About 1000 people live in this village and for hundreds of years, they`ve lived in these traditional wooden houses, and you can hear the chickens
crowing and there are these ducks as well that they raised for food.
In many ways, this place is like a time capsule. Its physical isolation has preserved their way of life for centuries. They`re China`s Dong ethnic
minority. They have their own language, tradition and culture, but they can`t escape the economic realities of modernity.
Normally, this village is full of the elderly and young kids with most of the working age adults gone, working in faraway factories sending money
home.
This couple works in a factory 500 miles away in Guangdong province, making circuit boards.
He tells me he hasn`t seen his kids for a year. Last time he left, his son couldn`t even walk.
He says it`s emotional to see them grow so much. For the first time in three years, millions of Chinese migrant families are finally able to
reunite without the fear of COVID markdowns.
Almost everyone I speak to on camera says no one around them has gotten COVID. Like this elderly woman who makes traditional crafts. She says she
has not been wearing a mask and points to her shoulder saying she had the vaccine shots.
But we run into another group of young people who say otherwise. The man in the brown jacket with his back turned is a doctor at a hospital in a nearby
city. He says almost all of the villagers have been infected. I asked him if they just don`t realize they have COVID. In response he says they`ve
never been tested, but clearly, they had COVID symptoms.
So, we`ve got the three government minders following us.
It`s common for local officials to keep a close eye on foreign journalists in their jurisdictions. But they were especially persistent in this village
following our every move. So, we drive out of the village to visit a public hospital in a neighboring county about two hours away, hoping these
government minders won`t follow us, so people will feel more comfortable speaking freely. We walked inside the fever clinic.
It`s almost entirely empty.
In the main hospital area, there are more people, but it`s not packed.
Soon after, we`ve realized we`re being followed apparently by a whole different crew.
There are at least two, three government minders. They`re still following us all the way here. It`s very obvious.
They followed us to hospital after hospital preventing anyone from speaking to us. I try confronting them. I asked them why they`re following us
everywhere. And he ignores me.
He`s walking away.
So, I tried this official. She refuses to even acknowledge my question. And what happens next talk during my interview with this girl shocks us.
OK, so just interviewing the girl and then the mind literally took her away from us.
The man pushes the girl and her family away, then later leaves them alone. But her interviews in the marketplace are over.
China`s CDC says the COVID peak across the country has passed. But in rural areas like this, experts say there`s likely far more silent suffering.
Whether it`s in the village or in faraway factories, they`re hardworking people. They`ll do whatever it takes to give their kids a better life, even
if it means long bouts of separation from them, making reunions like these all the more meaningful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
What is the process where pieces of ice break away from a glacier and create an iceberg?
Calving, stagnation, downwasting or foliation?
Calving is the answer here and a nice shelf in Antarctica just dropped a tremendous chip off the old ice block.
An iceberg that`s 600 square miles broke off in Antarctica on Sunday. That`s the size of two New York cities or nearly the size of greater
London. This type of calving was one of the most major events we`ve seen in Antarctica in a long time. It broke free from one of the most closely
observed ice shelves. An ice shelf is a large floating sheet of ice permanently attached to a landmass. Scientists had previously discovered
cracks in this particular one, but two major breaks occurred in the last two years. Researchers say this event was expected not the result of
climate change and they`re going to continue to monitor its every move to ensure it`s safe.
(MUSIC)
WIRE: Today`s story getting a 10 out of 10 deserves a round of applause. Meet Spike, a Chihuahua mix hailing from Ohio, recently named the world`s
oldest living dog by Guinness World Records. Spike is 23 years old. According to American Kennel Club, a small dog that age would equate to 112
in human years.
Spike`s owner found her forever friend abandoned and injured in the parking lot of a grocery store back in 2009 but she says he has the attitude of a
big dog, hence the name Spike. He enjoys going for walks on his family`s farm, visiting the cows and horses in the barn and when he has a rough day,
he enjoys his favorite treats -- sausage, cheese and Doritos. He also likes taking naps. We see you, Spike.
All right. Let`s take great energy into this weekend. You never know who, you never know when, you never know how, but somehow, you just might be the
light someone needs this weekend.
Shout out to Osborne High School in Marietta, Georgia. Thanks for subscribing and commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube page for your shout out.
Remember, you are more powerful than you know. I`m Coy. This is CNN 10. It`s been a blessing to spend this week with you.
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