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Takeaways from Joe Biden`s State of the Union Address; Clockmakers Adjust 2,000 Clocks at the Palace of Westminster for When Both Daylight Saving Time Begins and Ends; Gray Whale Species Spotted in the Atlantic Again After 200 Years. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired March 11, 2024 - 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: Hello, lovely people, I`m Coy Wire. Welcome to the show. I have some motivation Monday for us this March 11th from former
South African President Nelson Mandela who said, do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.
Awesome stuff. Let`s stay humble, stay hungry and start this week off strong.
We start today by breaking down some of the key takeaways from President Joe Biden`s State of the Union speech. This annual event allows U.S.
presidents to outline priorities for the year and keep the public informed about the direction of the government. This was a high stakes moment in
President Biden`s reelection campaign.
According to a recent Times/Siena Poll, he`s facing an approval rating of around 38% as he seeks to reassure voters who might doubt his leadership
and may favor former President Donald Trump. Biden started his speech with a call to protect democracy at home and abroad by adopting the bipartisan
national security bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk. The free world will be at risk,
emboldening others to do what they wish to do us harm. My message to President Putin, who I`ve known for a long time, is simple. We will not
walk away.
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: President Biden criticized former President Trump, his likely opponent in the November general election, multiple times, but notably did
so without mentioning his name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: My predecessor, a former Republican president. My predecessor -- my predecessor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Now, for the most part, Biden focused his speech on economy. He spoke to his stance on taxes, promising that under his plan, families
earning less than $400,000 won`t be paying any additional federal taxes. Biden also highlighted his work on America`s financial recovery post-
pandemic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I inherited economy that`s on the brink. Now our economy is literally the envy of the world. Fifteen million new jobs in just three
years, a record, a record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Biden`s State of the Union address and his big win on Super Tuesday last week, as well as former President Trump`s kick off what appears to be
an election season headlined by a presidential rematch. Our Chief National Affairs Correspondent examines what both candidates need to do as they
pivot their focus to November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The curtain finally goes up on a historic presidential rematch, Joe Biden and
Donald Trump. Emerging from Super Tuesday primaries as the effective nominees of their parties. But there are warning signs in winning, with
both men facing distinct challenges of rebuilding their coalitions.
Nikki Haley, the last standing Republican rival, suspended her campaign without offering an endorsement.
NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not
support him, and I hope he does that.
ZELENY: Eight months before the general election, the Republican Party is rallying around Trump.
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: November 5th is going to go down as the single most important day in the history of our country.
ZELENY: Senator Mitch McConnell, who hasn`t spoken to Trump in more than three years, offered his endorsement, saying, it should come as no surprise
that as the nominee, he will have my support.
Tonight, after a string of Democratic primary victories, President Biden is preparing to make his case at the State of the Union Address on Thursday, a
primetime opportunity to tackle myriad challenges he faces to win re- election.
Biden easily swept away long-shot rivals like Dean Phillips, but a series of protest votes made clear he faces the task of uniting Democrats too,
like in Minnesota on Tuesday, where uncommitted received 19% of the vote.
With a general election contest finally taking shape, history will be tested anew, as Trump seeks to become the first president since Grover
Cleveland was voted out of office to be sent back for a second term.
ZELENY (on camera): So the sequel between Biden and Trump will play out in a far different political context. And there are wildcards galore, from
Trump`s criminal cases to Biden`s foreign policy challenges and the fitness of both of these presidential candidates.
There is no doubt these primaries have shown the vulnerabilities of both campaigns and both candidates. There`s no modern-day historical guide for
the campaign that is to come, but it starts now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten second trivia. Which country was the first to enact Daylight Saving Time?
France, United Kingdom, Germany, or the United States?
If you said Germany, you`re awesome. On April 30th, 1916, Germany adopted Daylight Saving Time as it looked to conserve electricity. Weeks later, the
United Kingdom followed suit.
All right, how are we feeling today? Losing an hour of sleep is no good. In most of the U.S. and many other countries around the world, we spring ahead
or move our clocks forward by one hour in early spring, then fall back or move them back an hour again in mid to late fall. But most of us might not
actually have to physically change too many clocks, right, because our devices might do it for us.
But what if I told you, you had to change 2,000 clocks? That`s the task at hand for clockmasters at London`s Palace of Westminster. CNN followed the
small team there a few years ago as they tick-tocked their way through adjusting those clocks before British lawmakers arrived to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX JEFFREY, CLOCKMAKER, PALACE OF WESTMINSTER: Oh, I love talking about clocks. I could talk about clocks all day. Not everyone wants to hear about
them, but everyone wants to hear about the clocks at the Palace of Westminster. Whether it`s Big Ben, whether it`s just being interested in
such a busy building, working on clocks, doing the time change, maintaining, it`s something I take a lot of pride in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ian Westworth and Alex Jeffery are part of a small team of clockmakers at the Palace of Westminster in London. Twice a year, when
the clocks spring forward or fall back across the United Kingdom, they have the responsibility of adjusting 2,000 timepieces before lawmakers return to
work.
JEFFREY: There`s 2,000 clocks on the parliamentary estate. There`s 500 heritage clocks. There`s two days, and it`s our task to perform the GMT
time change.
IAN WESTWORTH, CLOCKMAKER, PLACE OF WESTMINSTER: We have clocks here that predate this palace, and some that were designed specifically for this
palace. We do actually come across clocks that we`ve never found before. It only happened the other week.
An MP contacted us saying, I`ve got a clock in my office that hasn`t run for some time. And I`m thinking, I`ve been here 18 years, and I`ve never
been into your office. He said, that`s probably why it hasn`t worked.
JEFFREY: The time changes were put in initially as a mechanism, a practical mechanism, to take advantage of daylight hours in the summer. So
it`s important, I think, to keep that tradition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill championed the concept of Daylight Saving during the First World War before he became
prime minister, believing that the country could save energy by stretching the hours of evening sunlight.
The practice has spread across the world. In the U.S., most states observe daylight saving, moving clocks forward in the spring. Only Hawaii and most
of Arizona don`t.
In the U.K., a 2019 poll showed that a small majority of Britons want to keep changing the clocks. At the Palace of Westminster, its resident
clockmakers are responsible for maintaining this tradition.
WESTWORTH: Even with this digital world, you know, everybody`s got a computer with a clock at the bottom or they`ve got a digital watch on. But
the MPs and the Lords or the staff who`ve actually got a ticking clock in their office, one of the first things they look at is the ticking clock and
not the one on the wrist. Our job is to make sure that every day these clocks are working for them.
Ah, the last clock of the day before doing great clock tonight.
JEFFREY: You know, there`s a lot of ground to cover. I left my step count on last year and it was 55,000 steps. It`s very time consuming, but it`s
very rewarding. You know, we can say to each other, well done guys. It`s a job well done. And when people turn up for work on Monday, they`re right on
time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Today`s story getting a 10 out of 10? Well, I`ll be darned. The New England Aquarium`s aerial unit captured a sight of the elusive gray whale.
The species disappeared from the Atlantic Ocean in the 18th Century, more than 200 years ago, but it`s back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scientists say these images captured in March are, quote, "an incredibly rare event." The New England Aquarium aerial survey
team spotted a gray whale 30 miles south of Nantucket. Gray whales are common in the North Pacific Ocean, but in the Atlantic, they were thought
to be long gone. They disappeared from the Atlantic in the 18th Century, more than 200 years ago.
Scientists say climate change accounts for the whale`s reappearance. The Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has regularly
been ice free in recent summers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right, before we say farewell, we are showing some love today. This shout out goes to Hankins Middle School in Theodore, Alabama. We hope
you absolutely crush it this week, Cougars.
And this shout out goes to the Kodiaks at Cascade High School in Leavenworth, Washington. Rise up.
Thanks to all of you for subscribing and commenting on our CNN 10 YouTube channel for your shout out requests. I`ll see you tomorrow, lovely people.
I`m Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
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