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Constitution Week in the United States; Update on Hurricane Lee. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 18, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, lovely people. Hope you had an awesome weekend. So good to be back with you. Let`s start this week strong.
Remember complacency is the constant enemy. Let`s learn one thing or do something today that makes us a little better today than we were yesterday.
It`s Constitution week here in the United States. The document that starts with the famous words, we, the people was signed 236 years ago on Sunday.
The Constitution created a charter for the United States as we know it today. Of course, it hasn`t stayed the same since 1787. There have been
various changes or amendments through the years.
In 1791, the first 10 amendments of the constitution were ratified. Forming what is known as the bill of rights. They list specific prohibitions on the
government`s power and guarantee certain individual protections and liberties in the United States like freedom of speech. And that leads us to
pop quiz hotshot.
Since the Bill of Rights, how many additional amendments have been added to the Constitution?
7, 10, 15, or 17?
Put your hands up if you`ve said 17. The most recent the 27th amendment was passed in 1992.
More news now on the historic and unprecedented United Auto Workers strike against the big three American automakers, Ford, General Motors and
Stellantis. It`s unprecedented because this is the first time in its history that the Union has struck all three of America`s unionized car
makers.
Union workers are seeking increased wages, benefits, and job protections. The demands come as all three auto makers reported record or near record
profits. The union is trying to recapture many benefits they had been forced to give up more than a decade ago when the companies were cash
starved and on the brink of bankruptcy.
Union members say they had reasonably productive talks with Ford on Saturday, but the Union and the three major companies still remain far
apart on wages and benefits.
Ford and General Motors have responded to the strike by threatening layoffs for non-striking workers due to the lack of parts from striking plants.
General Motors says they will lay off up to 2000 workers this week if the strike continues. But the workers walking the picket line, they say that
they`re going to stick it out until they get a deal that suits them. Negotiations were ongoing at the time of this recording. Here`s our Rahel
Solomon with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is going to come down to time, ultimately. How economically costly this ultimately is, will
really hinge on how long the strike continues. Now, if it is an extended strike while analysts warn the economic costs will add up. One estimate
from the Anderson Economic Group, estimates that the strike could cost the economy $5 billion if it lasts 10 days.
Now, one thing to consider with that estimate is that, that would`ve been a full strike of UAW 143,000 workers at this point about a 10th of that
figure is actually striking. So keep that in mind, but that estimate does include things like lost pay, losses to manufacturers, but also suppliers.
Now guys, if it feels like there have been more strikes than usual. Yeah, it`s not just your imagination. So what`s behind the increased strike
activity, both here in the U.S. and around the world, to be honest, while I asked our wheat in that he runs the labor program at Cornell and he says
high inflation, a tight labor market, which has workers feeling like they have the upper hand. They can ask for the things that they want. Also
public support has steadily increased for Unions. And also COVID-19 as workers continue to think about the type of work life balance that they
want.
Now, in terms of wages, Auto Workers fall behind the average worker. This is average. According to government data, the average hourly worker for an
Auto Worker is about $27.99. Whereas the average worker around the country makes about $33.82.
Now we should say for the automaker`s part, you know, they say, wait a minute, we have to worry about prices as well, because we have to compete
with the non-union competitors. And so they have to be conscious of prices as well. I mean, that`s what the automakers are saying. Clearly the two
sides are still pretty far apart. It seems at least from what we can tell. But ultimately the damage that could be caused in terms of the economy will
really just depend on how long this strike ultimately takes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Moving on now to the latest about Hurricane Lee, which was reclassed as a post-tropical cyclone, before it made landfall over the weekend. Lee
hit Canada`s east coast on Saturday with strong wind, heavy rain and flooding. Tens of thousands of people lost power in the storm. It`s the
eighth time since 2016 that a storm in the North Atlantic has reached Category 5 or the highest category for hurricanes.
There have been 10 named storms in the Atlantic since August 20th, breaking the old record for most name storms in the Atlantic between August 20th and
September 16th. Experts say this kind of severe weather could continue to happen more often as oceans warm up and it`s keeping hurricane hunters
busy. CNN`s Gary Tuchman joined a team of these scientists on a flight to document the storm last week. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Gulfstream IV is typically a business jet, but this one is reconfigured. And its business is to help
protect lives. These are the hurricane hunters, eight scientists, engineers, pilots. They work for the National Oceanic And Atmospheric
Administration known as NOAA. Paul Flaherty is the Flight Director and a Flight Meteorologist.
PAUL FLAHERTY, FLIGHT DIRECTOR & FLIGHT METEOROLOGIST: We want to make sure we`re collecting data in data sparse areas in which there`s currently no
data available, very little data available for the weather models to use, to make forecasts.
TUCHMAN (on camera): For this mission, this aircraft flies an altitude between 41,000 and 45,000 feet. It travels around 500 miles per hour. This
is essentially a flying weather station, a weather station that goes to the weather.
(Voice-over): For the next eight hours, the men and women of the NOAA Corps will fly in this high-altitude reconnaissance jet above, below, around and
in front of Hurricane Lee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think for now we`ll be fine, but --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, looks like plenty of space to maneuver around things.
TUCHMAN: After the jet leaves, Lakeland, Florida skies are clear at this high altitude. You can clearly see storm churn white caps in the ocean. It
doesn`t take long though for the sunshine to disappear. The flight gets turbulent as Hurricane Lee lurks ominously below us. All the while signs is
taking place. This screen shows 34 locations where at two known as a drop sound or sand will be dropped out of the plane.
(On camera): So this is the next drop sand. It`s going to be drops. Rebecca Keller, NOAA engineer. What is in the drops?
REBECCA KELLER, NOAA ENGINEER: So the drop zone consists of a sensor. And we have a circuit board inside as well as a battery. And the sensor is
picking up humidity, air temperature, pressure, wind direction, and wind speed.
TUCHMAN: And about every 10 minutes, another drop sound with a parachute that is deployed is launched to the ground. Along with the sands, the plane
also has radar in its nose, doppler radar in its tail. And two pilots up front flying with a deep sense of purpose.
LT. CMDR. DANIELLE VARWIG, NOAA PILOT: I joined the NOAA Corps as did all of my counterparts because we love to serve our country. We care about our
-- the citizens. And so it`s really rewarding to know that I am like right at the front lines and risking my life in order to help the lives of
everyone else that are back home.
TUCHMAN: The marathon flight is almost over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right! So that is the last "sonde" of the -- Woohoo, Woohoo indeed.
TUCHMAN: And as the plane heads back to Florida out the window.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking good.
TUCHMAN: A spectacular sunset.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, so we`re out of the storm environment, obviously. This will be just fair-weather cumulus on our way back to
Florida.
TUCHMAN: As the plane gets ready to land time for the hurricane hunters to decompress and get mentally ready for more eight-hour trips to come.
LT. CMDR. RICK DE TRIQUET, NOAA AIRCRAFT COMMANDER: So yeah, we kind of live up here, spend more time together than we do at home. Go home, sleep,
eat, and repeat, you know, and get back up here, start collecting the data again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Arizona Saguaro National Park and unidentified creature causing quite the stink on a surveillance camera. What is this? A spiky frizz out hair is
-- is this thing stretching its arms for a hug, doing a dance. Believe it or not. This is actually a spotted skunk upside down doing a handstand. And
apparently if you ever see a skunk doing this, it`s time to say smell you later, dude, because they do handstands as a form of intimidation. And if
that doesn`t work, their next move is to spray you.
Our special shout out today is going to Skyline High School is Scottsboro, Alabama. Go Vikings. Did you know that Vikings had ice skates. Fun fact,
they used animal bones for the bleeds. See you tomorrow my Vikings in Queens. I`m Coy, and we are CNN 10.
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