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U.N. General Assembly Meets Online; Examining Logistics Of Distributing A Potential Coronavirus Vaccine; Report On Tug Of War. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 23, 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: 2020 has been a year of firsts, not all of them good. But in keeping with that tradition, we`re starting today`s show with
the first of the United Nation`s General Assembly. I`m Carl Azuz. This is CNN 10.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of when the United Nations was established and this week marks the beginning of the U.N. General Assembly,
an annual meeting at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. Representatives, often the leaders of the UN`s 193 member countries, are
there to publicly address global cooperation, global concerns, global problems. This is what the event usually looks like with as many as 2,500
people assembled in one room. That`s under normal circumstances.
But for the first time in the organization`s history, its meeting is happening online this week out of concerns over the spread of coronavirus.
Roughly 210 people, less than one-tenth of what you normally see are expected in the assembly hall. Their role, to introduce the videotaped
speeches of their leaders.
Those recordings and virtual meetings will replace the large gatherings and sideline get-togethers. They`ll be no in person lobbying, no power lunches.
Diplomacy has gone online and while Tuesday`s speakers alone included the leaders of the United States, China, Russia, France, Iran and all of them
within hours.
There`s no way to gauge audience reactions or to know who`s watching live and the Secretary General of the United Nations, the leader of the
organization, says for diplomacy to be effective person to person contact is needed. So it`s hard to say how much will get accomplished through this
year`s UN General Assembly. But the event still has a list of topics it plans to address.
Armed conflict, hunger, poverty and racism are among them. So is the elephant in the room, the coronavirus pandemic. Scientists around the world
continue their race to find antibody treatments and drugs to fight the disease. The quest to develop a widely approved vaccine continues. But even
that`s only a step of the pandemic, getting it to people will be the next challenge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pharmaceutical companies are inching closer to the finish line. There are over 170 vaccine candidates around the world. Eight
are in the final stage of human trials. Proving them to be effective, safe and achieve regulatory approval isn`t the only challenge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to go from there to actually having billions of doses of vaccine that can be delivered to people around the world. We`re
investing in the process of manufacturing before we even know whether a given vaccine will reach licensure and could be used.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governments around the world have committed billions of dollars to vaccine makers. Buying up hundreds of millions of vaccine
doses which may not even work. Pfizer, in partnership with BioNTech plans to make 100 million doses of its vaccine candidate by the end of the year
and over a billion next.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well it`s --it`s absolutely not normal, it`s unprecedented.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To try and meet that demand, Pfizer has set up separate manufacturing in the U.S. and Europe and is drawing on all it`s
resources. Making the vaccine isn`t the end of the challenge. Next up, getting it to those that need it all over the world.
Companies like UPS plan to be ready to pick up, store and deliver a successful vaccine. Different types of vaccines need different transport
and storage conditions. One of the biggest challenges is temperature. Keeping the vaccine safe and secure is critical and UPS plans to have 24/7
tracking for every single vial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. What occurs when the sun crosses Earth`s equator? Solar eclipse, Equinox, Daylight Saving Time, or Solstice. When this
happens, day and night are the same length and an equinox is occurring.
It`s fall, ya`ll at least it is in the Northern Hemisphere. Yesterday marked the second equinox of the year which signals the advent of autumn if
you live north of the equator and the start of spring if you live south of it. The term equinox comes from the Latin word aequinoctium and yes, I
wrote that in because I wanted to say aequinoctium.
It means equality between day and night and that`s what people saw yesterday no matter where they lived. It doesn`t make much difference if
you live on or very near the equator. Your days and nights are roughly the same length year around. But the farther you live from the equator, the
more you`re going to notice the changes in daylight for the months ahead.
Folks in northern Canada, Norway and Russia are going to see a long, dark winter with minimal sunshine. Their daylight hours in the summer are the
opposite. If the decent into darker months gets them down though, they have this as their consolation prize, the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are
usually more active during the equinoxes according to a solar physicist interviewed by CNN.
Most of the world`s population, an estimated 90 percent, lives in the Northern Hemisphere and many of them are looking forward to the change of
scenery that comes with the change of seasons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The term leaf peeping, you often hear it from say September through November and it`s the informal term given to people who
travel vast distances to get a glimpse of the fall colors. Certainly, you feel the cool temperatures outside, you can see the splash of colors
beginning to take place but why does this all happen?
I want you to think about leaves on a tree as essentially mini solar panels. What they`re able to do is fascinating, they`re taking the sunlight
in and through a process known as photosynthesis, they`re able to transfer the sun`s energy and create a chemical known as chlorophyll.
Now chlorophyll is key because it gives the leaves its green colors during the long summer months but beneath the surface, the leave actually always
have the red, the oranges, the yellows in place. While chlorophyll is there, it`s there and it`s green. While it`s taken away in the shorter
days, the shorter months of autumn, now you`re releasing some of the true colors back to the surface.
Of course, weather can play a role in this as well especially in the vibrancy of it. When you have plenty of rainfall in the growing season or
in the spring season, you`re able to get plenty of good colors in early September, October and November.
If you have extreme heat, extreme drought in place, maybe a freeze or early snowstorm or even strong winds, certainly that can do damage. The leave
will not be there for you to see them in peak foliage. So hopefully you have a chance to get out there this year to enjoy the fall colors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: We`re going to spend the last part of today`s show talking about tug- of-war. Now you might be like, dude, how long can you talk about that? Well I start with history. According to time.com, tug-of-war used to be an
Olympic sport. From 1900 to 1920, teams of eight men tried to drag their opponents over a certain distance.
If neither team could get the upper hand or foot, whoever made the most progress won and one of the most successful countries at this was Britain.
Whose city of London Police Officers proved opponents couldn`t escape the long arm or the strong arm of the law. Now some people might think of tug-
of-war as a game for summer camp or county fairs but a group of folks in Brooklyn, Wisconsin hopes to drag the sport into the 21st century.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tug-of-war is ultimate team sport. If one man goes down, he can take the whole team down with him. Because you have to have eight
pullers working in unison as one. To the general public, they think tug-of- war maybe just a game in high school.
In serious competition, there are strict rules and guidelines and only the top athletes in the country get to that level. If you`re going into a rope
pull, you might be the strongest person in the world but if your head isn`t in it, you`re going to lose.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your legs are the strongest muscles in your body and they can push 400 pounds easy and you`ve got to transfer that through your
hands. They`re not allowed to wear gloves. They can only put the tack on. Calluses build up. I -- I call them square fingers because you get -- you
get the edges pushed.
Well, the reason that tug-of-war was ousted from the Olympics is that they were cutting sports. So they dropped it and that`s been the fight to get it
back in. I hope to see it back in the Olympics because I believe it deserves to be there. I`m representing the U.S. and I take a lot of pride
in trying to do the best job I possibly can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: So, anyone could get roped in, pulled in, dragged in, towed in, hauled in, strung along and find the whole idea moving. Does it "tug" at
your heartstrings? It certainly seems to have a "draw" even if it doesn`t end in one. I`m Carl Azuz. Santa Rita High School, we see you. Shout out to
our viewers in Tucson, Arizona. We`ll see you tomorrow on CNN 10.
END
