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Hundreds of Thousands Demonstrate in the U.S.; A Lawsuit Concerning A Major Media Merger; Positive Athlete Helps Families Fight Childhood Cancer
Aired March 26, 2018 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10. I have head cold this week, so please bear with me as we objectively explain each day`s
news.
We`re starting with a recap of a weekend event that brought out hundreds of thousands of demonstrators in cities across the U.S. and beyond. It was
called the March for Our Lives. It included students, parents, teachers, survivors of school shootings, and celebrities. And its main goal was to
push for new restrictions on guns in America, while also honoring the students and school staff who were killed last month at a shooting in
Parkland, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Politicians, either represent the people or get out. The people demand a lot, banning the sale of assault weapons. The people
demand we prohibit the sale of high capacity magazines. The people demand universal background checks. Stand for us or beware the voters are coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Those were some of the demands of the marchers. And while many echoed the call for new laws concerning gun control in the U.S., others
pushed for gun ownership to be outlawed altogether. There were also demonstrators who drew attention specifically to African-Americans who`ve
been killed in shootings.
The White House issued a statement saying the government applauded the many courageous young Americans exercising their First Amendment rights, and
that keeping children safe is a tough priority of the president.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio also issued a statement supporting the marchers` First Amendment rights. But he added that there are a number of
Americans concerned about, quote, an infringement on the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens, that while they too want to prevent mass
shootings, they don`t support a ban on guns.
That was the message of several groups of counter-protesters who also gathered on Saturday in support of gun rights. And there were some angry
arguments between the two sides.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
What did AT&T originally stand for?
Atlantic Transportation & Transshipping, Associated Tracking & Transfer, Allied Telecom & Telecom, or American Telephone & Telegraph.
The American Telecom & Telegraph Corporation dates back to the late 1800s.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: A trial is going on right now that`s closely being watched by companies and legal experts around America. AT&T is trying to buy Time
Warner, the parent company of CNN, for more than $85 million (ph).
Today, AT&T is a large wireless company and satellite TV distributor. But what it does not have is content programming and entertainment. And that`s
why it wants Time Warner, which includes CNN, HBO, Warner Brothers, TNT and TBS.
The merger would be one of the biggest media deals in history, but the U.S. government is trying to block it and one big question is, will the merger
break U.S. antitrust laws, which are designed to keep American companies from having too much control over the market.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNNMONEY: The antitrust case of the decade is here. It`s a case that will be thought in law schools for years to come.
Back in 2016, when AT&T announced plans to buy Time Warner, which, yes, owns CNN, most media analysts assumed that the deal would be approved.
After all, it`s a vertical merger. That means it`s two companies that don`t directly compete with one another.
Think of it like a shoe company buying the leather manufacturer. So, a year later, when the Justice Department sued to block the $85 billion bid,
it was a big deal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news here, the Justice Department is said to file a lawsuit to block AT&T`s takeover of Time Warner.
GOLD: At first, AT&T claimed selective enforcement, basically saying that it was personal between the president and CNN. But now, it`s unlikely
we`ll even hear the words "Donald Trump" during this trial. A judge blocked AT&T`s request to use messages between the administration and
regulators about the merger. So, the company will not be using the political bias argument in court. Instead, we`re in for a battle fought on
more traditional antitrust grounds.
The Justice Department says the combination of AT&T and Time Warner will lead to higher prices for consumers, and it argues AT&T could hog its
content, must-haves like sports and news, by not making it available to outside distribution. AT&T argues that it needs this merger to better
compete with upstarts like Facebook, Amazon and Netflix. It says there`s no evidence prices will go up and that they won`t withhold content from
anybody, because then they`d make less money.
It`s not just AT&T and Time Warner who care about the outcome of this case. Other media companies considering mergers like Disney and 21st Century Fox
are watching carefully.
If the Justice Department succeeds in blocking the merger, some see signals of a new era of government scrutiny. That might stop some future deals
from going forward.
That`s why this case could change the course of media industry history.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Noah Cory is a name of a high school athlete who`s overcome childhood cancer. According to the "Poughkeepsie Journal", he was given
only a 5 percent chance of surviving when he was diagnosed at 18 months of age. But he`s been in remission since he was about 4 years old and he now
raises thousands of dollars to support other families in their fight against the disease.
He`s an example of a "Positive Athlete", our new series on CNN 10. And if you`d like to nominate an athlete like Noah, head to
CNN.com/PositiveAthlete.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THERESA CORY, NOAH`S MOM: When Noah was 18 months old, we noticed that he had, you know, an extended stomach and he was having trouble walking. So,
we took him to our pedestrian and within an hour, there was an ambulance at the doctor`s office, sending us to Albany Medical Center where right away,
they determined that he did have stage 4 neuroblastoma.
NOAH CORY, POSITIVE ATHLETE: My mom said one of the doctors up there didn`t really expect to last long.
T. CORY: He went through major surgeries, to do tumor removal. He`s also had bone marrow transplant. Given the prognosis they gave us and where
he`s at now, we`re all very amazed with what happened.
JIM HENRY, CROSS COUNTRY COACH: Cross country is the ideal sport for him, because cross country might be the hardest sport and that`s kind of what
you would expect Noah to gravitate to. He doesn`t take the easy way out of anything.
T. CORY: He`s done so many fundraisers, but it was probably last winter time where he said he would like to do something, as far a walk, a run, to
help children with cancer.
N. CORY: I came up with a name which is Never Say No 5K, and that`s because the Ryan McElroy Foundation motto is never say no to a child in
need.
The Ryan McElroy Foundation is a children`s cancer foundation that was started when Ryan McElroy passed away. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung
cancer.
T. CORY: We were really seeing if we could get 75 runners, that`s going to be great for our first time. A hundred runners would be wonderful. So,
when we`re able to break that hundredth mark and get to 132. And, of course, next year, his goal is to double that.
N. CORY: For the 5K, we raised just over $2,000, which was just unbelievable. It was really nice, as you watch all those people out there.
T. CORY: The money goes to families who are in desperate need of just getting by, you know, paying for their bills at home that they can`t manage
to pay right now because they`re helping their child. But it`s also to get the word out on childhood cancer.
N. CORY: As a kid, you see everyone that helped you like you hear about all the money that raised money for you when you were young and stuff, they
were there to help you. So, now, it`s like, what can I do to give back to everyone.
HENRY: I think of Noah as somebody who`s probably on phase to try to do more in 20 years of life than most get done in 80 years of life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: It was a big day for a little giraffe at a zoo in Denmark. First, she was born. That`s always pretty dramatic. And then shortly afterwards,
she decided she wanted to get out and have a look around.
It`s common for newborn giraffes to attempt their first steps shortly after their entrance into the world, and you can see why we use the term attempt.
It didn`t go too well at first, but eventually, the little giraffe gets her legs under her and keeps them there.
Of course, it`s easy to love giraffes because they`re so giraffable. They`re stand up animals who aren`t afraid to stick their necks out for
you. They make great subjects for tall tales. And they always heighten people`s interest because they`re so easy to spot, heh!
I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
END
