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CNN 10
Fed Raises Rates; Can Science Predict Tsunamis?; What`s The Deal With The Groundhog? Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired February 03, 2023 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hey, everyone. You made it to Friday, and you already know Friday`s rock.
This is the first Friday in February, one of the coldest months in the year for many Americans but it`s also a month that celebrates love and
appreciation. So, we`re sending you our love and appreciation.
I`m Coy. This is CNN 10. Let`s finish this week strong.
We`re going to begin today`s episode by talking finance, specifically about interest rate hikes. An interest rate is what banks get paid by the people
who borrow money from them.
In the United States, the Federal Reserve System is the central banking system for the entire country. It was created on December 23rd, 1913 with
the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act as a way to protect against future financial crises. When the Federal Reserve 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? Well, because of inflation. 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. The cost of living in America has gone up significantly
as prices of things we buy have risen.
We`ll hear now from CNN business reporter Matt Egan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: The Fed`s war on inflation isn`t over but it is shifting. This 25-basis point rate increased from the Fed is the
smallest since this fight against inflation began back in March. Now, the Fed is still trying to slow this economy down to knock inflation down.
But it`s gone from slamming the brakes on the economy to tapping the brakes and that is an important shift because it lowers the risk that the Fed ends
up causing an accident, either in financial markets or in the real economy or in both.
And the Fed is changing its tune on inflation a bit. The statement says that inflation remains elevated, but it also concedes that it has eased.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Okay. Did you know tsunamis can travel thousands of miles at speeds up to 500 miles per hour. A tsunami is a series of waves usually caused by
an underwater event like an earthquake or a volcanic eruption and they can cause serious damage to communities that are hit by them. More than 700
million people live in coastal areas that could be exposed to tsunamis. So, imagine how powerful it would be if we could predict them.
We`re traveling to Tonga, a Polynesian country that`s part of an archipelago of islands to hear about the work of the folks at the Tonga
Geological Society who are studying the ocean floor to get a better sense of what causes tsunamis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REPORTER: Late December, in the middle of the South Pacific, an underwater volcano is active once again. Two weeks later, a series of eruptions will
reverberate around the planet and be visible from space.
Tsunami warnings were issued across the Pacific and the next afternoon, a series of waves hit the island country of Tonga, some as high as 15 meters,
killing three people and leaving mass destruction in their wake.
When the dust had settled a few months later, a ship from New Zealand`s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWAR set sail to
find out what had triggered the eruption.
Marine geology technician Erica Spain was on board.
DR. ERICA SPAIN, MARINE GEOLOGY TECHNICIAN, NIWA: The voyage up to Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha`apai, an active volcano, was really exciting. It`s a multi-
disciplinary voyage. So, you`ve got multiple science streams working together to try and figure out what was going on and why it erupted so
violently.
There are the multi-beams on either side.
REPORTER: Spain`s mission was to map the sea floor around the volcano using a machine called a multi-beam echo sounder.
SPAIN: An acoustic pulse, so a ping or a sound is emitted or sent out from the bottom of the ship and then it echoes effectively off the sea floor and
then we have hydrophones or a listening ear that receives that echo and from that we can determine how deep the sea floor is and build up an idea
of its shape and geometry.
Every volcano has a different trigger in terms of when it might erupt, and by mapping Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha`apai and then comparing that to other
volcanoes, we can begin to build up a better image of what these triggers might be or what they might look like on the sea floor.
REPORTER: Mapping, taking rock samples and filming underwater all help build a bigger picture of what happened here.
SPAIN: So, you have to become a seafloor detective to piece all those small parts together.
REPORTER: That detective work can help countries like Tonga better prepare for tsunamis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
The vernal equinox marks the start of what season?
Spring, summer, fall or winter?
Happening on March 20th this year, the vernal equinox marks the start of spring. Bye, bye wintertime.
Yesterday, February 2nd was Groundhog Day. On this day, some people predict when winter will come to an end by watching a groundhog.
In Pennsylvania, my home state, one of the most notorious groundhogs of all time, Punxsutawney Phil. Each year in a tradition derived from a
Pennsylvania Dutch superstition, people watch to see how the groundhog emerges from its burrow and whether or not the furry creature sees its
shadow well that will determine when winter will end and spring begins.
February 2nd isn`t just some random day. It falls at the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring or vernal equinox, making it the ideal
time to consider when springtime might finally come.
We`re going to meet up with one of our in-house experts now to break it all down and find out what Punxsutawney Phil had in store for us this time.
All right. The forecast in the hat you`ve all been waiting for, we`re here with friend of the show, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
And here it is, Punxsutawney Phil officially predicts six more weeks of winter after seeing a shadow Thursday morning.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That`s right. Now, the legend goes, if the groundhog sees his shadow, which he did this morning, we will have
six more weeks of winter. But if there had not been a shadow, spring would actually arrive early.
Now scientifically speaking, winter will officially come to an end on the equinox, on March 20th, regardless of what Phil predicts but Mother Nature
doesn`t always follow the timetable and neither does Phil.
WIRE: All right. So, what if we don`t like his forecast?
CHINCHAR: Okay. So don`t worry because he`s actually usually wrong. In the past, Phil has been way more likely to see his shadow than not in fact.
He`s reportedly seen his shadow 105 times, but not seen his shadow only 20 times.
Statistically speaking, Phil has only been correct in his forecast about 40 percent of the time in just the last years.
WIRE: That`s not very good, Phil. Sorry.
The interesting thing here is also the Phil`s not the only forecasting groundhog. In fact, there are many others just like him. He has competitors
in states like Georgia, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and some states they`re not even groundhogs, they have nutrias, they have possums, they
have ducks and a lobster?
CHINCHAR: I`m not sure how you`d see that shadow, not so much.
Now some of the more colorful names include PRC shadow of Louisiana, General Beauregard Lee of Georgia, and Staten Island Chuck from New York
just to name a few.
And ultimately quite what this means is if you don`t like Phil`s forecast, chances are you`ll like one of the other forecasters` forecasts just as
well.
(MUSIC)
WIRE: And for today`s story getting a 10 out of 10, scientists have invented a shape-shifting robot. Check this out. The robot was presented as
part of the research on metal micro particles, and it`s made from gallium, a metal with a low melting point.
The robot is able to move via the use of magnets. Scientists hope that one of the areas this type of drippy droid could help would be surgeries
believe it or not, potentially making them more effective and safe.
And their inspiration for all this? A sea cucumber. What in the world?
All right. Special shout out now to Sycamore Middle School in Sycamore, Illinois. We see you.
It has been awesome learning with you this week. Let`s finish this day off right and take boundless energy into the weekend. And remember, you are
more powerful than you know.
I`m Coy Wire, and it`s been a blessing to spend this week with you.
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