Return to Transcripts main page
CNN 10
New Tariffs on Chinese Goods; Vote Delayed on Supreme Court Nominee Bret Kavanaugh; Space X to Take Tourists Around the Moon, Japanese Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa Buys Up All Seats; Floating Red Ant Islands Due To Flooding From Hurricane Florence
Aired September 19, 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. Explaining events taking place around the world and beyond as you`ll see in a few minutes. Welcome
to the show. First up, this Wednesday, the Trump Administration is planning to impose new tariffs, which are like taxes, on products that the
U.S. imports from China. The American government has done this before this year and China has retaliated with tariffs of it`s own on American made
products. So what`s different this time around? $200 billion. That`s the value of the goods from China that will be subject to the new tariffs
starting next week.
All together, this could mean that roughly half of everything China sells to the U.S. will be hit by American tariffs. And China is planning to tax
an additional $60 billion worth of goods from the U.S. What kinds of goods are we talking about? The Chinese products subject to additional taxes in
the U.S. will include things like food seasonings, baseball gloves and industrial machinery parts. The American products subject to additional
taxes in China will include meat, clothes and auto parts. Some analysts characterize all this as the latest shots fired in the trade war between
the two countries.
When back and forth tariffs escalate and the prices of imported products rise. But other`s say it`s not a trade war at least not yet and a lead
economic advisor to the Trump Administration says a trade deal with China is still possible. He also says the tariffs are not near a point where
they`ll have an impact on the U.S. economy. But what kinds of products, things that you might have lying around your living room could get more
expensive in the days ahead?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are freaking out about a trade war with China. But why? Well the U.S. imports more products from China than any other
country in the world, $505 billion worth of goods in 2017, while only sending $130 billion worth of products to China. This creates a gap of
$375 billion. A large part of the trade deficit with China. In the time I`ve been talking, did you notice all the products in the room that are
made in China have disappeared? Now a trade war with China doesn`t mean we`d stop importing these Chinese goods. But it does go to show just how
much we depend on them.
Let`s rewind in case you missed it. For example, this TV. The U.S. imports $146 billion worth of electrical machinery and equipment. The most
of anything we import from China. This includes remotes, laptops and cell phones. Also sneakers, we import $1.4 billion worth a year and these
umbrellas. The U.S. imported $113 million worth in 2017 and China happens to be the world`s large supplier of umbrellas and the list goes on. One
thing we export a lot of is playing cards. But the card stock we print on is from, you guessed it, China. There`s no tariff but we still spend $120
million importing card stock last year. So while these products aren`t going anywhere, they could have some steep tariffs on them which means our
lives could get a little more expensive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: A vote has been delayed on President Trump`s Supreme Court nominee. The Senate Judiciary Committee was originally scheduled to vote
Thursday on whether to recommend that Judge Bret Kavanaugh be confirmed to the High Court. It would then be up to the full Senate to decide whether
he`s ultimately get there. But late last week, Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein gave a letter to the FBI that she had received in late July. It
accused Judge Kavanaugh of having assaulted a woman when they were high school in the 1980`s. Judge Kavanaugh says he did not assault anyone in
high school or at any time.
But the Senate Judiciary Committee put Thursday`s vote on hold and scheduled a new hearing for next Monday when they interview both Judge
Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford. Judge Kavanaugh has agreed to testify before the committee but as of last night, Ford
reportedly hadn`t gotten back to the Senate on whether she would testify. So it`s unclear now whether that hearing will actually take place.
10 Second Trivia. Which of these events occurred in 1972? The last U.S. troops left Vietnam, Astronauts landed on the moon, President Johnson was
elected or the 26th Amendment was ratified. The last time someone visited the moon was during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Will the next time be in 2023? When the company Space X sends a tourist around the moon. That`s what they`re planning on but there`s still some
work to be done. For one thing, the rocket named "Big Falcon" is still being developed. For another, the spaceship that would carry the tourist
is still being developed, but the company has named the man who would be the first passenger, a Japanese billionaire who`s bought out the entire
flight. He`s someone who loves the moon, fashion and art and that will factor into the people he`s personally choosing to take along with him on a
slingshot mission around our natural satellite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YUSAKU MAEZAURA, JAPANESE BILLIONAIRE: I choose to go to the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yusaku Maezawa announcing his plans to make history as the first tourist to ride around the moon on a Space X commercial
flight. The Japanese billionaire purchased all the seats onboard the Space X "Big Falcon" rocket. He wants to fly to the moon with a group of
artists.
YUSAKU MAEZAWA: At the moment I have not decided which artists I`d like to invite but if possible I would like to reach out to top artists. That
represent our planet from various fields.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Space X CEO Elon Musk says that they`re working on a redesign of the "Big Falcon" rocket to get Maezawa and team to the moon
more than 384,000 kilometers away, about a five day trip. It is a big challenge for Space X and for the new crop of space tourists.
ELON MUSK, SPACE X CEO: It`s dangerous to be clear. This is dangerous. This is no inner walk in the park here. You know, this will require a lot
of training but whenever it`s the first flight of something on a new technology and we`re talking about deep space. You know, you have to be a
very brave person to do that. This is not no small matter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maezawa has taken big leaps before but all of those have been with his feet on the ground. The musician turned entrepreneur is
known for his relaxed management style in usually conservative Japan and he`s made a name for himself as a big spending art collector. In a
promotional video of his planned space trip, Maezawa says he believes art has the power to promote world peace. Space X says it`s enabling access to
space for everyday people.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Virgin boss Richard Branson have also entered the space tourism race. When they are ready to fly, a ticket on one of
their rockets would set you back some $200,000 to $250,000. That is a little out of reach for most people unless you`re one of the lucky artists
with an invite from Maezawa.
YUSAKU MAEZAWA: By the way, if you should hear from me please say yes and accept my invitation. Please don`t say no. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Blast off for Maezawa and his guests may not happen until around 2023. A trip of a lifetime to make history and inspire art
that will be out of this world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: If we told you our last story is about islands, you`d probably think yes please. If we told you it was about ant islands not the ants
you`re related to but the kind that sting your feet. You`d probably think, no thank you. They`re one of the many unpleasant side effects of flooding
like the kind that Hurricane Florence recently brought the U.S. Southeast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Floating in the flood waters, it looks like nondescript vegetation until you notice it`s moving. Yuck. Yikes. Ant
islands. Reporters covering the storm are tweeting images of islands of red ants. The kind that sting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the water level rises, the ants cling to each other forming a living raft.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their bodies are waxy, water resistant and look how tough their raft is. Tweeted one admirer, it`s strangely heart warming to
see a species that sticks together in hard times but not everyone`s heart was warmed. Thank you for a week of nightmares. OK, it could be worse.
(MOVIE CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These maybe smaller than "Them" but they`re way more of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: If at first "glants" when you see some buoyant ants in such "abund-ants" where they ain`t "inhabit-ants", you`ll have a "chants" per
chance to show some "tolerants" and avoid the "incidants" that could anger "errant" ants. Or you might just want to stomp them. All this floating
stuff can make folks a little "antcey". I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.
END
