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CNN 10
Sightseeing in India; Sheltering on an East Atlantic Island Chain; Dogsledding in British Columbia; Planking Record
Aired February 25, 2020 - 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: A trip to India leads off today`s edition of CNN 10. I`m your anchor Carl Azuz. It`s great to have you watching. Monday
was the first time that U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to the world`s largest democracy. More than 1.3 billion people live in India. It`s the
second most populated country on the planet behind China. And it`s where the American leader received a large and warm welcome when he spoke at the
world`s biggest cricket stadium in the Indian city of Ahmedabad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The First Lady and I have just traveled 8,000 miles around the globe to deliver a message to every citizen across this
nation. America loves India. America respects India and America will always be faithful and loyal friends to the Indian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: President Trump was only scheduled to stay in India one night and the real work according to analysts gets going on Tuesday when he and
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to discuss a new trade agreement. A $3 billion deal involving military equipment including
India`s purchase of American helicopters was announced on Monday but a bigger trade deal between the two countries could be more challenging. As
within the last year, they`ve placed or threatened additional taxes on one another`s goods.
President Trump previously accused India of unfairly shutting out America businesses and though he said on Monday that major trade agreements were on
the horizon, they were in the early stages. Still the two leaders have had nothing but praise for one another in their public comments and one of the
larger than life pictures of them posted around Ahmedabad says, two dynamic personalities, one momentous occasion. Something that underscores the
important and complex relationship between their countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The United States and India, one is the world`s oldest democracy the latter is the biggest. Formal ties between the two
countries date back to India`s independence in 1947. They survived the ups and downs of the Cold War era and estrangement over India`s nuclear tests
in 1974 and 1998. Relations have since warmed with geopolitical and economic cooperation growing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of that conversion has really been in the security and - - and strategic relationship. So they went from being very
discontented (ph) but at the end of the Cold War and then quibbling over nuclear issues and - - and India (inaudible) into - - into the late
nineties. To now actually effectively cooperating very closely on maritime security, on internet governance, and - - and a whole range of - - of
strategic issues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Both nations are key global players and both are now led by populous leaders. U.S. President Donald Trump has reshaped the U.S.
political landscape while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who heads the part the agenda party propagates a hard line Hindu nationalists agenda
known as (inaudible). Many of the policies spearheaded by both Trump and Modi are geared toward protectionism. National security is a key area for
both leaders and when it comes to the economy their respective make in India and America first campaigns employ a similar nationalist stance. The
ties between India and the U.S. have been important on several levels including defense and security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you look at the business side, you look on the strategic side, if you look at the people the people relationship, all
these areas (inaudible) both countries need each other a lot more than I think sometimes it seems apparent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these island chains actually belongs to Spain though it`s geographically closer to Africa? Canary Islands, Azores,
Falkland Islands or Cape Verde. It`s off the southwest coast of Morocco you`ll find the Canary Islands of Spain.
Southwestern Morocco and Western Sahara and it`s from the Sahara Desert that winds known as la calima recently lifted tremendous amounts of dust
and sand and carried them west across hundreds of miles of ocean to the Canary Islands. The Spanish archipelago is a popular vacation destination
for European travelers and many were stuck there over the weekend, in some cases for days longer than they wanted with worse weather than they wanted.
Planes couldn`t take off or land in the islands until the storm passed and outdoor sports events were cancelled to because the air quality was so bad.
This isn`t the first time that la calima has scattered dust over the Canary Islands but a government official said it was the worst storm of its kind
in decades. It also had bad timing. It came during carnival celebrations so a lot of hotels were booked with people who were also stuck indoors.
Flights started getting off the ground again on Monday morning when the air quality improved.
In a very different environment people known as "mushers" are gearing up for this years Iditarod. It`s also called the last great race. It
involves teams of sled dogs making their way from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska and it commemorates an historic transportation route across America`s last
frontier. The Iditarod starts in 11 days. It can last as long as two weeks and cost thousands of dollars to run. But for something that`s much
lower key and less dangerous, you can take a three hour dog sledding excursion in British Columbia, Canada. Costs a little over $450 and you`ve
got to love the cold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dog sledding to me and from my experience is that it - - it tends to be a bucket list. (inaudible) You know, you grow up. You
watch the movie Balto and then that plants a little seed in your head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are (inaudible) - - we are about to go dog sledding on an epic adventure. I`m so excited. I`ve never done anything
like this before. It`s really cold. We`re bundled up but the energy got me excited. I can`t wait to meet them (ph). They`re about to come out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s my good boy Dasher. Come on dogs. We are Trappers Run Dog Sledding and we take racing dogs and sled dogs that aren`t
being used in their current homes and we re-home them and give them a lighter work load. And we try to make them affectionate at the same time.
Because at the end of their working careers, which is usually around eight or nine years old, that`s when we`re going to adopt them out and try and
find a home for them. So they can enjoy the couch life. If the dog doesn`t get adopted, well it just gets free time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re a good girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the things that I truly love about this activity is that its an activity for anybody. It can be as adventurous an activity
as you want it to be. If you`d like to sit in the dogsled wrapped up in blankets for the whole experience, that`s fantastic. You`re on holiday.
You deserve it. If you`d like to get hands on, help harnessing, help yoking, even do a bit of mushing. You can facilitate that as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That wasn`t so hard. I feel like a pro already.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can expect to drive the dog sled, get (inaudible) fly or die and you can also expect to be very hands on with the dogs. Or
if you want to practice harnessing, if you want to learn the dog`s history, we`re very happy to inform you. It also (inaudible) to enjoy to get cold,
get snowy and just get out of your comfort a little bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: For 10 out of 10. Ouch. This is not the face of someone who`s having fun but he is setting a Guinness World Record. George Hood is a
former U.S. Marine and for the last 18 months, he`s been training to set a new high bar for planking. He said this training involved hundreds of
push-ups, thousands of sit-ups and hundreds of curls every day. And when the time came to plank for the record, the 62 year old did that for eight
hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds which made is accomplishment "absolute".
It took more than doing the bare "abdominimum". You got to figure how much pain you can stomach. You`ve got to elbow you`re way to the top. You`ve
got to set your mind on "abdomination" and to pass the time you just let your thoughts go "plank". I`m Carl Azuz flexing puns for CNN. Shout out
to Robert Gray Middle School. It`s in Portland, Oregon. They did the only thing you can do to get mentioned on our show. Subscribe and leave a
comment on our official You Tube channel. Maybe you`re next.
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