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Tensions Between Iran And The United States; Uncertain Future Of Popular Entertainment Venue; Rescue Workers` Creative Use Of Dogs. Aired 4- 4:10a ET
Aired January 06, 2021 - 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. Welcome to the show. Results from yesterday`s Senate races in Georgia were still coming in
when we produced today`s program. You can get the latest at CNN.com and we`ll bring you up to speed on them later this week. Right now, though,
geo-political tensions involving the Middle Eastern nation of Iran are simmering.
In December of 2019, militias supported by Iran made a number of attacks on American targets in the Middle East. The United States responded by
launching air strikes against Iranian militias. The U.S. government blamed protesters trained by Iran for trying to storm an American embassy in
neighboring Iraq and on January 3rd of 2020 the U.S. launched an air strike that killed an Iranian general named Qasem Soleimani along with several
other people.
The U.S. blamed General Soleimani for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and their allies and said he was planning new attacks. But Iran called the
air strike an act of terrorism and promised it would get revenge. There`s another issue here as well called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
It`s also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal. It was a controversial agreement reached in 2015 between Iran and six other countries led by America`s Obama
Administration. In the deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program which the other nations opposed.
And they agreed to remove their sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation which were worth billions to Iran`s economy. But in 2018, America`s Trump
Administration pulled the U.S. out of the Iranian Nuclear Agreement calling it a bad deal and Iran recently went back to enriching uranium at a higher
purity which could help the country build an illegal nuclear weapon. Though Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. The U.S. and Iran have been at
odds for decades.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s little love lost between Iran and the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it is now Washington`s move after Iran retaliated --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relations between the two countries have been troubled for more than half a century but where did the conflict start? To
understand that, we need to go back to the 1950s and this man, Mohammad Mosaddegh. Mosaddegh who became prime minister in 1951 was key in
nationalizing the country`s British controlled oil fields.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: British experts have (inaudible) --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a result, the British enlisted the U.S. to get rid of him. In 1953, the CIA and MI6 backed a coup ousting Mosaddegh restoring
instead Iran`s monarch the Shah. The Shah became unpopular at home for his lavish spending, ostentatious lifestyle and the torture of dissidents. That
all changed in 1979. The Islamic Revolution ushered in change forcing the Shah to flee the country.
The high-ranking Shia religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile in February to become Iran`s supreme leader. Later that year amid
death to American chants, Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran taking 90 people hostage including 66 Americans.
Ultimately all the hostages were released in a siege lasting 444 days but the damage was done. The U.S. designated Iran a state sponsor of terrorism
three years later. In the 1980s, Iran and Iraq became embroiled in a war. The U.S. was officially neutral but in a bid to contain Iran started
backing Iraq and it`s leader Saddam Hussein. The move put the U.S. and Iran even further at odds.
The tension ratcheted up toward the end of the Iran-Iraq War. In 1988, the U.S. shot down an Iranian passenger plane over Iranian territorial waters
when it mistakenly identified it as a fighter jet. It killed all 290 people onboard. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the U.S. and Iran suddenly
shared Saddam Hussein as a common enemy although it did little to improve relations.
U.S. sanctions against Iran accelerated under the Clinton Administration. In 2002, a year before the start of the Iraq War, President Bush included
Iran in what he called the axis of evil.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- states like these and their terrorists allies constitute an axis of evil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Due to concerns Tehran was trying to develop nuclear weapons to threaten the U.S.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is home to America`s first what? Pizza Museum, log cabin, White House, or movie theater. The nation`s
first nickelodeon or public movie theater opened in Pittsburgh in 1905.
It was a hit. Nickelodeons which only cost a nickel to get into rapidly opened across the country and movie theaters have been a popular part of
American culture ever since. But that popularity have been knocked down by a major one, two punch of online movie streaming and nationwide closures
because of the coronavirus pandemic. And while many theaters have reopened or are planning to in the days ahead, it`s anyone`s guess when or if
they`ll see the level of attendance they saw before their problems set in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a number of films in movie theaters at the time that the world went into quarantine and Trolls World Tour was poised
ready to come out in the movie theaters. So, you know, we had spend a majority of our marketing dollars and we needed to figure out how to
monetize the film.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When Donna Langley (ph), Chairman of Universal Pictures made the unprecedented decision to send Trolls World Tour straight
to digital, the industry was shocked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any idea of shortening the theatrical window with exhibition which usually unpopular. We found ourselves between a rock and
hard place. We really had no choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were there any concerns at the time about how the theaters would take it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were not happy. They quote, unquote, "boycott" the film but it didn`t really matter because there wasn`t a theatrical
footprint really to speak up. And, you know, it came at a time that families really needed something to do to occupy their children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Troll sequel made more money for the studio in just three weeks of its digital release than the original did during five
months in theaters. Universal has since made a deal with AMC to shorten the window of theater exclusivity in the future. Why is that deal so important?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you`re marketing a movie, it`s a huge expense. Right? We were waiting 90 days before that movie could come out on DVD or
into the home, which meant you had to market the movie all over again. So eradicating that and being able to pull that date up to 17 days, it means
that we can grasp off of that first theatrical marketing blast if you will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Recently, CNN parent company Warner Media said it would stream all of next years movies on HBO Max at the same time they hit
theaters, marking a huge shift in the industry. Do you believe it`s going to be good for theaters in the long run?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every time we launch a movie it`s like launching a small business and, you know, with all of this disruption and with
consumers migrating to streaming and uncertainty about what it`s all going to look like on the other side of this. We need to keep our distribution
ecosystem healthy. And the other thing I love about it, it gives optionality to the audience. And so it just makes sense that we`re bringing
the film business into the modern era and we`re meeting the consumer and the audience where they are and where they want to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does the future of movie theaters look like to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do think that there`s signs of life on the other side of the pandemic. You know, if you look to Asia, Japan and China who
are ahead of the curve in terms of COVID. They`re movie going -- it`s not back to normal numbers but they`ve had some local language movies that have
done really well. I think there`s some conversation around what movies deserve that theatrical release and what`s going to get people out into the
movie theater.
But that was happening pre-COVID, that sort of big blockbuster movie going was the thing that was driving hoards of people globally to the movie
theater. And some of the smaller movies were struggling a little bit and particularly with the disruption of streaming. I think we`re going to
continue to see those trends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you believe that after this pandemic which has rattled people to their core, that people will really come back to
theaters?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re in tough times. People look to the movies to take them out of their reality and to inspire them. And I think that is
going to be true more than ever on the other side of the pandemic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: There are many things rescue dogs can do, talking is not one of them. Or is it?
UNKNOWN: You can trigger an avalanche big enough to bury you in Summit County right now.
AZUZ: A serious message that is gone to the dogs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re seeing the weakest snow packs in our states since 2012.
AZUZ: In Colorado, rescue workers, the human kind, are trying to get people to pay attention to their warnings about dangerous conditions. So they`re
using the animals and a bit of technology to get the word out. Because while heavy snow is no problem for the Siberian Husky, the American Eskimo
dog, Alaskan Klekai or the Saint Bernard, people may have something to "fur". So rescuers may be "barking" up the right tree with these monodogs
designed to "Balto" people over as long as they don`t hit the "Malamute" button.
Before we leave today, we`re talking about Sullivan High School. It`s in another snowy place known as Chicago, Illinois. Thank you for watching. For
a chance to get your school mentioned, please subscribe and leave a comment at YouTube.com/CNN10. I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.
END
