Practice 7: CNN 10-minute news - the origin of Covid 19 - The future of travel - TIKTOK new feature
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PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The theory that the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, China in the spotlight. The Department of Energy now saying in an updated classified report, that it believes with low confidence that the virus accidentally escaped from a lab, but that theory remains a minority opinion within the U.S. intelligence community.
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: Some elements of the Intelligence Community have reached conclusions on one side, some on the other a number of them have said they just don`t have enough information to be sure.
BROWN: Early in the pandemic, many prominent scientists discredited the so-called lab leak theory. One group writing a letter published in The Lancet Medical Journal saying, "We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin."
But other medical professionals have long refused to rule it out.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: These kinds of lab leaks happen all the time, actually, even here in the United States, we`ve had mishaps. And in China, the last six known outbreaks of SARS 1 have been out of labs.
BROWN: Even Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, agreed it was possible.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLEGERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: It might possibly have been something that Chinese were doing a virus that they isolated in the wild, and we`re having it in the lab and then somehow it escaped out. I don`t think that happened, but I have an open mind.
BROWN: According to the intelligence community`s assessment, first published in 2021, the origins of the virus will remain elusive until China cooperates with global investigations. Why at this point, do you say it`s possible maybe even probable that the virus came from a lab and accidentally leaked out?
JAMIE METZL, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has an ancestral origin and a type of horseshoe bat, that doesn`t exist in Wuhan. If this comes from nature, there would have to be some evidence of it coming from nature. Right now, we don`t have that evidence.
BROWN: Now, House Republicans are demanding more information from the State Department, FBI and DOE on the origins of COVID-19.
REP. BRAD WENSTRUP (R-OH): I want to make sure that we are readying ourselves for the next pandemic. If we will and the more we can learn about natural origins and/or possible lab leak, then the better off we`re going to be.
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WIRE: Ten-second trivia: An object traveling at a supersonic speed is traveling faster than -- 200 miles per hour, the speed of light, the speed of sound or the speed of a hedgehog?
Here comes the boom, a supersonic object is traveling faster than the speed of sound. Continuing now with our series on the future of travel, we take to the skies where one company says that they`ll be able to take passengers in planes that fly twice as fast as commercial planes being used today. And that means getting to where you`re going twice as fast. But here`s the thing, you`d have to be willing to break the sound barrier to do so and that means you`d be going so fast that the aircraft would create a sonic boom which according to NASA is as loud as an explosion or thunderclap. Here`s CNN business correspondent Rahel Solomon with more.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Planes are a ubiquitous mode of transportation today. They`ve allowed us to link cities, countries and continents like never before. But what if we could fly faster and experience more in a way that`s also better for the planet.
BLAKE SCHOLL, CEO, BOOM SUPERSONIC: I believe in a future where more people can go more places more often. I think that life happens in person, that connecting across oceans is incredibly important to our future. I`m Blake Scholl, founder and CEO at Boom Supersonic. The last frontier in air travel was more than half a century ago when we went from propeller aircraft into the jet age, and it`s been a long time since we had a step forward. I think the next frontier is all about making the planet more accessible, about having flights that are faster, more affordable, more convenient and dramatically more sustainable.
SOLOMON: Just under a decade old, Colorado-based startup Boom is working to bring supersonic travel back to the skies.
SCHOLL: I started my career as a software engineer, but I`ve been passionate about aviation since I was a kid. And I never understood as a tech guy why everything in our world was getting faster and better but our flights weren`t.
SOLOMON: Commercial supersonic air travel was first realized in the 1970s when Concord took flight. But after just 27 years, the fleet was retired due to a number of issues, including noise, expensive overhead and cost prohibitive tickets.
SCHOLL: The supersonic airplane fundamentally is about being able to go very efficiently at very high speed.
SOLOMON: Supersonic means flying faster than the speed of sound. According to NASA, typical speeds for these aircraft range from about 1,200 kilometers per hour to about 2,400. These speeds are achievable through powerful engines and a long lean fuselage design. The downside, supersonic travel creates a shock wave or sonic boom that is loud and disruptive over land, which is why it`s only intended for long hauls across oceans.
SCHOLL: We`re building on a proven foundation and delivering a new capability to passengers. It doesn`t require a massive regulatory change or any regulatory change at all. We`ve now built XB-1 which is history`s first independently developed supersonic jet, and it`s going to be in the air here in the next few months, to prove that all of this technology actually works.
SOLOMON: XB-1 is Boom`s prototype of what will be their first airliner Overture according to Scholl. It`s expected to be capable of going twice as fast as regular aircraft therefore nearly having transit times. Think San Francisco to Tokyo in six hours or New York to Frankfurt and a little over four.
With orders already placed from U.S. carriers American and United, Boom has a sky-high goal to get Overture into service by 2029.
SCHOLL: On board the airplane, expect a large spacious interior and beautiful large windows it`s a supersonic airplane actually flies higher you`ll be able to see the skies a deeper blue actually see the curvature of the earth. All of that adds up to a machine that can take you across oceans but at roughly the same cost as flying business class today. Ultimately, our goal is to make supersonic flight available to anybody who flies. There are many challenges we still have left to overcome. What we`re doing is complex it`s safety critical it requires a lot of money. But when I look back to the past, I also see a lot of challenges that we`ve already overcome. And that gives me encouragement that we will continue to do
things that the world says we can`t do. Supersonic flight is about making the planet dramatically more accessible. When that happens, I think we will live in a very different, more peaceful, more harmonious, more collaborative future.
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WIRE: And for today`s story getting a 10 out of 10, teamwork makes the dream work for two eagles building. One is in the nest, then another flies in is like, hey, can you help me with this other one`s like, what this stick? And it`s like, yeah, can you help me put it over there? Sure, no problem. They pick up the branch and mark it over in perfect rhythm. If I give DJ Nader a beat, he can make them dance. Now, keep in mind, these eagles get to get to be about three feet tall so their nests can get to be about six feet wide. That`s wider than a queen-size bed. Well done, my feathery friends. Well, that`s about all we have time for today. Thanks to everyone who`s reaching out @coywire on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, and thanks to everyone showing love on our CNN YouTube page.
Northside High School in Jackson Tennessee, we see you and we are showing love right back at you.
Tomorrow`s Friday, can`t wait. Crush it today and go be awesome. I`m Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
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COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: What`s up, lovely people? It`s your boy Coy ready to shine bright with you this first Friday of March. Friday`s rock. But before we get into the weekend, let`s make a strong end to the week. We are fueled up and ready to rock it out with you right here on CNN 10, the best 10 minutes in news.
We`re going to start today with what I call the scroll that squashes your goals, spending too much time on social media. And one social media app TikTok is looking to put a lockdown on all you`re looking around on their wildly popular platform. On Wednesday, TikTok announced that users under 18 years of age will have their accounts locked after one hour of screen time on the app each day. In order to continue, users are going to have to enter a password. Now, the company and many experts believe that the feature could improve the digital wellbeing of users by requiring them to actively opt out of a screen time limit. The new initiative will roll out in the coming weeks and it`s one of the most aggressive moves yet by a social media company to prevent people from getting caught up in the seemingly endless scrolling that can be really consuming. The move also comes after TikTok, and other social media platform has faced years of scrutiny of their impact on young users. And TikTok specifically is facing mounting pressure from lawmakers, some of whom feel the platform should be banned altogether, due in part to online security concerns. How much time do you spend scrolling each day? We could all probably spend a little less time on social media, while apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat can be really powerful tolls to learn, motivate, inspire and connect us with people. Most experts agree that too much screen time can have that effect, especially on young people. More now from CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Everyone knows that screen time probably is a problem for them, whether you`re a teenager or an adult. We spent too much time on our phones. And what`s amazing is that, you know, look, these phones have not been around that long. So, a lot of people now research and kind of look into how much time are we spending on phones and what can we do about it? Interesting, one piece of data that jumped out at me, the average person will pick up their phone to look at it, just look at it 300-sometimes a day. So, you`re just constantly doing this, and breaking that cycle, that initial cycle of, look, I don`t even know why I`m picking up my phone, just doing it, I think was a really important thing that came up over and over again. So, Catherine Price who wrote up a book how to break up with your phone, she says "Ask these three questions every time you pick up your phone. What for? Why now? And what else? What else could I be doing instead?" It`s just to sort to bring your brain back online for a second so you`re not mindlessly starting to look up your phone. I thought that was really interesting, something I`ve been doing already in my life.
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WIRE: Let`s continue now with part four of our series on the future of travel, the next frontier. It`s estimated that by the year 2050, the world population could grow from 7.8 billion to nearly 9 billion. Transportation experts are considering how to support the travel needs for that many people. But could the solution for congested cities mean zipping around above the streets? Here`s Rahel Solomon with more.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It`s not a plane and it`s not a helicopter. But it might just be your aerial ticket to the next frontier of urban transit. This is VoloCity, an all-electric, manned, drone-like aircraft. It looked like something of a sci-fi film, but this high-tech flyer is aiming to take off in the very near future.
DIRK HOKE, CEO, VOLOCOPTER: The next frontier for me is that we will see urban mobility coming to life and we will see vehicles flying, bringing us from A to B, making our life easier and ensuring the smooth end-to-end mobility. My name is Dirk Hoke and I`m the CEO of Volocopter.
SOLOMON: German manufacturer Volocopter has been busy building the flying taxis of the future.
HOKE: I believe in 2050, we will be using mobility air mobility and as a frequent transportation system, as we do today with taxis.
SOLOMON: But Hoke is quick to tell us, they`re not trying to disrupt the travel industry.
HOKE: So, it will not be used where you have an already existing tram, or you have a metro. But in any area where you have very high traffic congestions, the VoloCity will add more alternatives and options to your daily journey.
SOLOMON: VoloCity is designed for single passenger intercity transit with define roots, like from the airport to a hub in a city center. The aircraft is classified as eVTOL, or electric vertical take-off and landing.
HOKE: EVTOL means that we use electric motors to lift the vehicle and then to move forward.
SOLOMON: They are pilot controlled, fly at low altitudes and operate like drones.
HOKE: We chose a multicopter design. That means we have 18 motors and rotors, which enables us to fly very stable and fast and safe.
SOLOMON: VoloCity`s current range is 35 kilometers and can reach speeds up to 110 kilometers per hour and it`s all powered by nine swappable battery packs.
HOKE: We want to be adding a new mobility without adding to the congestion and to the emissions of this world. With that, we decided from the beginning to fly fully electric.
SOLOMON: Beyond last kilometer transit, Volocopter has plans for a larger integrated portfolio, from the booking platform to the landing platform.
HOKE: We also a designed a Volo Region which will be a five-seater connecting regions and cities up to a distance of 200 kilometers. We have also the Volodrone which is intended to carry cargo up to 200 kilo, and this is all managed by our software platform which we call VoloIQ, which is enabling not only to operate these vehicles, but also to maintain the vehicles and, of course, do also the booking and the security check at the Voloport. Voloports are designed to optimize the charging and the handling of the passenger. We are now leaving the prototype status. We`re really on a very solid track to go into commercial operation in 2024, in cities like Paris and Rome, because we believe if we can fly in Paris and Rome, we can fly almost anywhere, because it`s a very complex, very dense urban environment.
SOLOMON: Volocopter`s ultimate goal is autonomous flight. But for now, there are more steps just to get their fleet off the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s still the management of airspace, what are the paths, how do we manage, do we have the regulatory space to allow these things to be adopted? And I think that`s where you`re going to start to see hopefully soon some pretty interesting conversations taking place.
SOLOMON: And perhaps a bigger hurdle, Hoke says public acceptance.
HOKE: I really hope that people will embrace it, I believe it`s a very, very nice vision of the future to have quite sustainable air taxis. And we actually believe we will have a big impact on the transportation of the future.
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WIRE: For today`s story getting a 10 out of 10, an unfrogettable riveting story out of Australia, where a man named Dazza created a 3D printed home for a frog he found hanging out in his fence. He started small, but as his TikTok video of the frog get to rack up more than 20 million views, he got some frogsome ideas from viewers. The little pad has progressed into an amphibious mansion, complete with a porch, plants and the garden and an infinity edge waterfall pool. Oh, viewers named the frog Frederick, and the homebuilder says that Frederick has even some friends come over every now and then to visit. Unfrogettable.
All right. I want to give a special shout-out to Northwood Middle School in Wakarusa, Indiana. What`s up, lovely people? I also want to show some love to my friends at West View Middle School who sent me like all kinds of great letters and cards, uplifting, motivating messages and they also sent me this pretty sweet t-shirt right here. Tighten up, everybody. All right. Let`s keep shining. We`re CNN 10 on YouTube. Send your shout-out request there. Have an awesome weekend. And remember, you are more powerful than you know. I`m Coy Wire. It`s been a blessing to spend this week with you.
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