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A Bipartisan Bill Could Ban TikTok in the U.S.; Muslims Observe Ramadan, the Holiest Month in the Islamic Calendar; Rhino Populations led to Overcrowded Sanctuaries. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired March 12, 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, superstar, and welcome to CNN 10, where I tell you the what, letting you decide what to think. I`m Coy Wire. And we
begin on the nation`s capital, where House lawmakers are quickly moving ahead on legislation that could possibly ban the popular social media app
TikTok from the United States. TikTok is used by about 170 million Americans, but this measure is looking to prohibit TikTok from U.S. app
stores unless the app is no longer connected to ByteDance, its parent company, which is based in China.
Some lawmakers are concerned that TikTok could possibly enable the Chinese government to have too much information about its users, alleging that it`s
a possible national security threat.
On the other side, TikTok denies these claims and believes this legislation is an attack on First Amendment rights. This proposed bill has bipartisan
support and is scheduled to be voted by the House quickly. If the bill eventually does make its way to President Biden`s desk, the White House
says President Biden would sign it.
Now, if this proposed bill is put into law, it would allow TikTok about five months to cut ties with ByteDance. If ties were not to be cut, this
measure would prohibit TikTok to be downloaded on app stores in the U.S. Here`s our Manu Raju with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House plowing ahead and trying to take up legislation to essentially ban TikTok if the Chinese
firm, ByteDance does not sell it. They`re trying to force that sale because of concerns that the Chinese government is too close to private information
of Americans.
They are alleging that the Chinese government is interfering with that information and could exploit it, something that ByteDance has furiously
denied. But nevertheless, this has wide bipartisan support approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week, 50 to nothing. That is
something that is rarely seen on Capitol Hill, but that bipartisan support ultimately forcing the House Majority Leader to put this bill on the floor
very quickly.
Steve Scalise said that he would take up this measure, the full House would in just a matter of days. That doesn`t mean though that TikTok isn`t trying
to kill it. In fact, that`s exactly what they`re trying to do. The top Republican who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee told me that she is
getting flooded with phone calls over people opposed to their efforts.
REP. CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS (R-WA): Yes, we`ve been flooded with calls, record amounts of calls. Any member of the Energy and Commerce Committee
that voted yesterday has been flooded. The co-sponsors have been flooded.
TikTok actually put up a notice where they blocked an individual to actually get on TikTok unless you called your member of Congress and told
them not to vote for this legislation, but that`s just an example of how they can manipulate data and influence Americans for their agenda.
RAJU: But what will happen in the Senate? That is a completely different question. Altogether here, the senators have some of their own ideas, but
it could take some time to get through but if it does become law, President Biden said he will sign it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Next up in the Muslim calendar, one of the holiest, most sacred months is the ninth month or Ramadan. Several Muslim countries announced
Monday as the first day of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, where Muslims may not consume food or drinks from sunrise to sunset. The exact
start date of Ramadan changes because it`s based on clerics seeing a crescent or new moon as the Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle.
There were hopes of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip before the start of Ramadan, but both Hamas and Israel could not reach a deal. While the war
goes on, there`s a humanitarian crisis that continues to grapple the Gaza Strip. The U.S. is teaming up with several other nations by airdropping aid
into Gaza, but aid agencies recommend that it would be much more efficient if these supplies were transported on the ground. Our chief international
correspondent, Clarissa Ward, is here to give us the why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From the health ministry inside Gaza, they are now saying that 25 have died as a result of
acute malnutrition and dehydration. CNN cannot independently confirm that because international journalists are not allowed into Gaza to report on
the ground. But it certainly gels with what we have been hearing from groups like the U.N., who have warned that hundreds of thousands of Gazans
in the northern part of the enclave are one step away from famine, who have announced, as you mentioned, that four out of five people do not have -- or
four out of five households, I should say specifically, do not have access any longer to clean water.
And while these airdrops, you know, show a certain level of intention and goodwill, they, according to aid organizations, are not terribly efficient
and effective in terms of the mechanism for actually distributing aid.
We heard from one humanitarian worker who said they`re a great photo op, but they are terrible in terms of trying to make sure that people on the
ground get the aid they need.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Ten second trivia.
Which of these countries has the largest economy in East Africa? Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, or Rwanda?
If you said Kenya, Kenya, put your hands up. The National Treasury of Kenya attributes rapid economic growth and dominance in the region to factors
like public investments, policies encouraging smallholder, agricultural production, and incentives for private and often foreign industrial
investment.
Let`s head to Kenya now, where the East African country is dealing with a rise in the rhinoceros population. Overcrowding in sanctuaries has caused
problems such as rhinos attacking each other and competing for food. It`s such a concern that the Kenya Wildlife Service is transporting 21 rhinos to
a new location.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes nearly a dozen people to get this five-year-old black rhino up on its feet as the tranquilizer wears off. With the tracker
securely glued to her horn, she is ready to move 100 miles away.
Kenya has an unusual problem. Rhino populations here are actually going up. So Safia and others at this overcrowded rhino sanctuary in central Kenya
are getting a new home.
Decades ago, 20,000 eastern black rhinos like this one ran free in Africa. But in just under 20 years, their numbers plummeted to below 400 as
poachers hunted them for their precious horns.
Now Kenyan rhinos are making a comeback, thanks to anti-poaching efforts. But overcrowding in sanctuaries has become a problem for the solitary
animal.
DR. ISAAC KELOLOOL, HEAD OF VETERINARY AND CAPTURE, KENYAN WILDLIFE SERVICE: When you get to these numbers, when they exit the current
capacity, what happens first is you get territorial fights. So you find males killing each other. There`s also the pressure on the food
availability for the individuals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To give them a little more roaming space, 21 rhinos were taken to a brand-new sanctuary in Loisaba Conservancy. They are the first
rhinos to live on the land in 50 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: For today`s story getting a 10 out of 10, a video-bombing bird doing its best to break up a beat on broadcast TV, CNN`s Jeanne Moos has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Reporters are supposed to be able to wing it, but this was like something out of the birds.
OK, maybe not that extreme. But Australian reporter Ursula Heger was filing a report for 10 News First when she got dive-bombed over and over.
URSULA HEGER, 10 NEWS FIRST AUSTRALIAN REPORTER: Involving a taxi fare on January the 30th last year in Twickenham, an area southwest of London.
Now this -- oh, shoot -- (laughing).
MOOS: Dive-bombed nine times. Her own station called it "impeccable" journalism. Instead of doing this, Ursula did this.
HEGER: Stood there and took it.
MOOS: At least she didn`t get used as a landing strip by, say, a robin or a pet parrot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One just landed on the umpire.
MOOS: And Ursula didn`t get her earbud plucked like this reporter in Chile.
Ironically, he was reporting on a rise in robberies. They did manage to get the earbud back from the parrot.
The way Ursula handled the attack was a feather in her cap.
HEGER: One of the most ridiculous moments of my life.
MOOS: Could have been worse if she got pecked by a woodpecker.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Talk about foul play, and a "hawkward" situation. But that reporter had no egrets taking the "birden" in stride, delivering an impeccable
report that was like poultry in motion.
All right, remember tomorrow`s #YourWord Wednesday. So follow me @coywire on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Drop your unique vocabulary word in the
comment section on my most recent post and we`ll choose a winner to work into tomorrow`s show.
All right, shout out to the Ships at Manitowoc Lincoln High School in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. And as a former wrestler, special shout out to MJ
Newman and Amelia Fowler for their performances at States and MJ for her historic win.
And this shout out goes to Madison Middle School in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. We see you Bruins.
Rise up everyone. We`ll see you tomorrow. I`m Coy Wire. We are CNN 10.
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