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U.S. Deploys 3,000 Troops Across Three European Countries; America Sees Record Number Of Job Resignations; NASA Sets A Date For Terminating The ISS. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired February 03, 2022 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: We`re traveling the world to report today`s news and we`re happy to have you along for the ride. I`m Carl Azuz. First
story take us to Europe where the United States is deploying 3,000 more servicemen and women. They`re headed to Germany, Poland and Romania and
the American military says additional troops could be on the way.
This is designed to send a signal that the U.S. is prepared to defend its allies in Europe. More than two dozen countries on that continent are
members of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was formed in 1949 as a guard against the Soviet Union. The United States is also a
member and NATO`s biggest contributor and NATO`s concerned that Russia may soon try to invade Ukraine.
Russia`s positioned more than 100,000 troops near its western border with Ukraine. NATO operates on the principle of collective defense. An attack
on one country is an attack on all of them, but Ukraine is not a member of NATO. Some Ukrainians want their country to be, others want closer ties to
Russia.
One thing Russia wants is a promise that Ukraine won`t become part of NATO. Russia`s trying to keep European influence at a distance, but the U.S. and
European allies have not promised that. Will American troops get involved if Russia invades? U.S. President Joe Biden has said no, and the Pentagon
says the thousands of American forces headed to the region now would not be fighting in Ukraine.
But they`ll be there to assure America`s other allies in the region that the U.S. supports them if Russia were to consider crossing other borders
for instance. Russia has said it has no plans to invade Ukraine and some Ukrainians near their country`s eastern border don`t seem too worried.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is Ukraine`s first line of defense if Russia decides to invade, and it is basic. Half a
dozen soldiers in snow covered trenches, no sign of heavy weapons. Russian backed separatists are just half a mile away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNTRANSLATED)
WARD: He`s saying that every night there`s fighting once it gets dark. These front lines have been frozen for years. A Russian offensive would
change that in an instant, but the alarm in Washington is not shared here. What`s amazing to see is that despite the build-up of tanks and heavy
weaponry on the Russian side of the border, which is less than 20 miles from here.
Here on the Ukrainian side, there`s no sense at all that anyone is preparing for an invasion. The sergeant here asked we not give his name.
He says he doesn`t expect conflict but he is prepared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRANSLATED: Our commanders told us that we must be alert, he tells us. We are ready to meet guests from Russia.
WARD: What kind of weapons do you have at this position? Do you have any heavy weaponry? I don`t see any but I just want to make sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRANSLATED: You don`t need to see and the enemy doesn`t need to see, he says. But we have everything.
WARD: What they don`t have here are many layers of defense, driving from the front we see just a handful of checkpoints. If the Ukrainian army
can`t hold this area, Russian forces could reach Mariupol, a port city of half a million in hours. Despite the threat, life here goes on much as
normal. At the local markets, stalls are open and the shelves are full. I`d love to know if you think that there will be a war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE TRANSLATED: We don`t want war. We have children and grandchildren Natalya says, and there won`t be war. We believe that.
WARD: Some like Erjon (ph) say that America is exaggerating the threat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE TRANSLATED: No there will not be a war, he says. It`s only Biden who thinks this.
WARD: It`s interesting talking to people here. Nobody seems to be remotely concerned about the prospect of an imminent invasion. These
people are no strangers to war. All around Mariupol, the hollowed-out remnants of villages destroyed and abandoned by fighting between Ukrainian
forces and pro-Russian separatists.
But whether moved by denial or disbelief, these soldiers and the people they`re protecting don`t expect history to repeat itself. For now, they
wait and they watch and they hope. The U.S. has been sending a steady stream of weapons to Ukraine including those much-coveted Javelin missiles,
anti-tank missiles but under the rules of the current ceasefire, even though it`s being broken on a regular basis.
Neither side is allowed to bring heavy weaponry down to the frontlines. So those Javelins cannot go to the frontlines and that could potentially be a
big problem for Ukrainian forces in those areas if Russia launches some type of lightening offensive. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: More Americans quit their jobs in 2021 than in any other year ever recorded. This is according to new data from the U.S. Labor Department,
47.4 million people left their jobs voluntarily meaning they weren`t fired or laid off. They just chose to leave. This doesn`t mean they all stopped
working.
Millions took new jobs that paid more or offered better benefits, but employers still had trouble filling available positions. This graphic shows
the number of job openings in America over the past 10 years and how available jobs skyrocketed in 2021. Among those who quit without getting
new jobs, some retired. Many had trouble finding childcare and quit to be with their kids.
Experts say some were concerned about catching COVID, while others refused the vaccine that some employers required. All these pressured businesses to
up their efforts to attract employees.
10 Second Trivia. Where would you find Point Nemo? Great Barrier Reef, Remote South Pacific, Key West, Florida, or Bali, Indonesia. Point Nemo is
an area in the South Pacific that`s the farthest location from land.
That`s why more than 260 pieces of discarded space equipment have been sent to and sunk near Point Nemo and the International Space Station will
probably be headed there in 2030. That`s when NASA plans to stop operating the orbiting laboratory. It costs billions of dollars each year to
maintain and the U.S. Space Agency has been pushing for more private investment in the ISS. NASA expects commercial stations will eventually
replace it, and Russia plans to leave the international project in 2025.
So, the ISS is scheduled to crash into the ocean in early 2031. The U.S. covered 2/3 the total cost of the ISS and critics have said it hasn`t been
worth the investment in terms of scientific discoveries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s the most expensive object ever built costing over $100 billion, and it`s a true marvel of engineering. So, what do we
have to show for it? First of all, we have the station itself. Astronauts helped put the floating laboratory together 250 miles above Earth, and it
was a monumental task seeing that it weighs in at nearly 1 million pounds and has the same livable space as a six-bedroom house, and Bob Cabana
literally turned the lights on.
ROBERT CABANA, DIRECTOR, KENNEDY SPACE CENTER: We actually opened the doors to the space station, powered up the computers and turned on the
lights for the -- for the first time and that was -- that was a pretty amazing mission. I will never forget that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It took over 40 rocket launches to build this thing. The first piece was sent up in 1998 but it wasn`t deemed complete until
2011. It`s been occupied since 2000.
CABANA: The International Space Station, it`s an international cooperative effort and I think this is the way that when we leave planet Earth, when we
go exploring. It set the model on how we`re going to explore beyond planet Earth. I would get the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, the European
Space Agency and all its partners and we are working together up there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congress declared the U.S. portion of ISS a national laboratory. Crew members spend about 35 hours per week conducting
research, which has led to a critical understanding of how the human body reacts to a microgravity environment, and has also helped in the
development of vaccines against pathogens like salmonella and developing drugs to combat osteoporosis. But the overarching goal of the station is
much greater.
CABANA: Our goal right now at NASA is to put boots on Mars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: You know those cardboard cut-outs of sports fans at pro games in 2020. Well, this happened recently at a town green in Connecticut.
Penguins are not indigenous to Connecticut. This was an idea of a local artist who wanted to bring smiles to residents, and judging by their
reactions mission accomplished.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it`s absolutely fabulous that we live in a town where someone cares enough to take the time and energy to spread joy.
AZUZ: People were getting "penguin" to it. They "marched" from all over to see it. Of course, this was in Guilford, not Gotham so Batman wasn`t
around, but while I`m being "flippant". Fans thought a great idea had been "hatched" and even if it doesn`t take "flight" to other places, people
still found it "antartistic". We`ve got Conrad Weiser Area School District watching today. It`s great to see you in Robesonia, Pennsylvania. I`m
Carl Azuz.
END
