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The U.S. Congress Averts a Government Shutdown; Hurricane Helene Pummels Florida; Panda Pair Arrive in Hong Kong. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 27, 2024 - 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, happy Friday, Friyay. I`m Coy Wire. This is CNN 10, bringing 10 minutes of news where I tell you the what, letting
you decide what to think.
First, we start in Washington, D.C., where a government shutdown has been averted. Earlier this week, we talked about how Congress needed to pass
funding bills by Monday to keep the operations of the federal government running. Well, they did. The House and Senate approved a short-term
spending bill that will fund the government until December 20th.
President Joe Biden applauded Congress for coming together to avoid what could have been a costly government shutdown. But the new December deadline
means congressional leaders will be right back here again in a few months, and the political landscape will look much different with a new president-
elect after the November election.
A NASA astronaut and Russian cosmonaut will have to wait until tomorrow to attempt a launch into space. SpaceX`s Dragon spacecraft was supposed to go
to the International Space Station with two crew members on board yesterday, but NASA postponed the launch of its Crew-9 mission with SpaceX
to the weekend because of Hurricane Helene.
Even though Helene is mainly impacting northwest Florida around the Gulf of Mexico, it`s such a monster that Cape Canaveral, on the other side of the
state, was at risk of high winds and heavy rains. Hurricane Helene intensified last night, absolutely pummeling Florida.
Its huge size means higher storm surges. The National Weather Service is warning of unsurvivable storm surge in Apalachee Bay. And Helene`s wind
field, how far its winds reach from the center, reached nearly 500 miles wide at times.
We`re talking about the distance from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. The storm brought evacuations, school and business closures, as well as flight
cancellations. Officials warned that catastrophic wind damage from the storm will cause power outages throughout the southeast that could take
days or weeks to restore. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is urging people to be careful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH TURI, OFFICE OF RESPONSE AND RECOVERY, FEMA: The most important thing today is just making sure that people stay safe, not just in
evacuating if you`re in a storm surge area or taking the appropriate steps if you`re going to have wind or rain impacts, but also reminding everybody
that many of the risks that pose from hurricanes come after landfall.
And so in those hours after the storm has passed, we need everyone to really be thoughtful about making sure they watch out for downed power
lines, they don`t walk through or drive through floodwaters. If your power is out, don`t use candles, use flashlights, and if you have a generator,
make sure you use that safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: All right, we hope that all of you in the path of this major storm are safe and sound. Be careful.
Meantime, Hurricane John is still drenching Mexico. The tropical storm system regenerated along the country`s southern Pacific coast. It`s
forecast to bring an additional 10 to 20 inches of rain, even 30 inches in some places. Authorities in Mexico are warning about the danger of flash
flooding, landslides, and storm surge.
Pop quiz, hot shot. What type of bears do not spend their winters hibernating?
Grizzly bear, panda bear, polar bear, or black bear?
If you said panda bear, put your hands up. Their bamboo-heavy diet prevents them from storing enough fat to sleep through the winter. It`s no secret
the unbearably cute, clumsy, and often sleepy giant panda is loved all over the world.
China loans its native pandas to more than 20 countries and territories as envoys of friendship and a measure of good relations. It`s known as panda
diplomacy. Well, Hong Kong, which is technically part of China, is the latest to roll out the red carpet this week for two giant panda VIPs. The
pair of five-year-old pandas were welcomed to their new home like rock stars, including a welcome ceremony, a police motorcycle escort, CNN`s
Kristie Lu Stout has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hong Kong is rolling out the red carpet for two very important pandas. They are national treasures
gifted by the Chinese central government to Hong Kong, ahead of the National Day holiday next week. The pandas arrived here in Hong Kong before
midday on Thursday, they had a welcoming ceremony at the airport before coming to their new home here at Ocean Park. The two pandas, their names
are An An and Ke Ke. They`re five years old. They`re from a Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan province.
An An is male, Ke Ke is female. They were both born in June of 2019, but they are not genetically related, and their personalities are said to be
very complementary.
Now, they`re said to be in good health, but they will undergo 30 days quarantine here in Ocean Park before going through another month of
acclimation, of adjusting to their new environment.
There will also be a dietary transition. They will start to eat new bamboo from neighboring Guangdong province, in addition to the bamboo from their
home province of Sichuan. And the public won`t get a chance to see the dynamic duo until mid-December.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: All right, you have to see this. Something that looks like it`s coming out of a radioactive disaster movie. Residents of Sydney, Australia
got a shock looking at the city`s famous harbor. The water turned neon green in some neighborhoods. Authorities say they believe a dye commonly
used by plumbers is to blame. It apparently leaked from a storm drain.
Fire and rescue officials tested the water. They say it`s non-toxic and odorless, and that no fish were killed. Sydney is forecast to get rain next
week, and officials hope that that will dissipate some of the fluorescent green water.
All right, a disclaimer for today`s story getting a 10 out of 10. If you have arachnophobia, you might want to avert your eyes, because a house in
Boston is creeping it real. These are not Halloween decorations. These are webs created by the invasive Joro spider. They get up to the size of a
Post-it note, and their webs are up to about 10 feet across, and they might be coming to a neighborhood near you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This invasive invader is drawing quite a crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thick body with the green yellow stripes on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s vibrant body clinging to a sprawling web right off the sidewalk on Mount Vernon Street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a bit early for Halloween.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s giving some here an early season spook.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`d be enough to freak you out if it, you know, were on your neck and you pull it off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And its arrival this far north is historic.
JOE SCHIFFERDECKER, SPOTTED JORO SPIDER: The black and yellow, it kind of gives you that heebie-jeebie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Schifferdecker first spotted the arachnid a few weeks ago, photographing it and then confirming what researchers say was
inevitable.
ANDY DAVIS, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCHER: These spiders are really good at hitchhiking on people`s cars and trucks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Andy Davis has studied Joro spiders since their arrival in Georgia a decade ago, likely on a container ship from East Asia. He says
they`re not as scary as they appear.
DAVIS: They`re no more venomous than any other garden spider. They`re not going to attack you. They`re not going to jump off the web and get you.
They don`t go inside houses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this is a species whose eggs can survive the winter. So even though this mother will die in a few weeks, the intrepid
traveler`s legacy will live on.
DAVIS: You folks need to get ready for this. Here in Georgia, there`s so many of them that when they`re all over, they can kind of gang up on you.
And they can make a cluster web for like dozens of spiders, all with interconnecting webs. It`s like 10 feet wide. It`s like straight out of
Indiana Jones.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: All right. Again, apologies to everyone out there who`s afraid of spiders, because that was something.
All right. I have a shout out today going to Ms. McDermott`s seventh grade social studies class, doing their thing at Glen Rock Middle School in the
fantastic town of Glen Rock, New Jersey. Let them hear you roar, Panthers. You stand on the shoulders of giants.
Cue that Friday music, Nadir. Thank you for learning with me this week. Hope you have an awesome weekend.
And remember to let your light shine. One smile might be exactly what someone needs. See you right back here Monday on CNN 10.
END
