CNN 10 10/12/2020 ~ 10/16/2020

Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for latest video

Monday, October 12, 2020

Hearings for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, begin today and will last through Thursday. The Republicans in the Senate are hoping to confirm her to the high court by the November 3rd general election, while the Democrats are hoping to delay the vote until after the election, in which they hope to win more seats in the Senate. The presidential debate that was supposed to be held this week was canceled; after the president's positive COVID-19 test, the Commission on Presidential Debates proposed a virtual debate on October 15th. Joe Biden's campaign accepted that but President Trump's did not, and the debate was canceled. The next debate will be on October 22nd. In Louisiana, Hurricane Delta dumped more than a foot of rainfall after it made landfall as a category 2 storm on Friday. It has caused more damage to a region still recovering from Hurricane Laura. North Korea's ruling Workers' Party celebrated its 75th anniversary over the weekend; the party controls all aspects of the country, and it unveiled its latest weapon during the military parade. A ballistic missile that is now one of the largest in the world and, according to experts, could carry multiple warheads. Kim Jong-Un also did something unconventional during his speech. He admitted that his economic policies had failed and put citizens into especially hard conditions during these times, and tears could be heard in the audience as their leader gave his speech. 2015 CNN Hero Maggie Doyne runs a children's home in the Asian country of Nepal. When the pandemic hit, she had to find new ways to keep it running.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 37 million people worldwide and more than 7 million in the US, with more than a million deaths worldwide and a quarter of those casualties in the US. It is also deadlier than the flu, which has a 0.1% death rate, since it has a 0.6% death rate. However, conditions vary from country to country, even within a single country, due to various local safety protocols. Some countries like Australia and New Zealand have seen very few cases after imposing strict lockdowns when case numbers rose. On the other hand, most European countries are seeing spikes in cases, and new safety protocols based on the percentage of positive cases in each region. Millions of voters have voted early so far, and many more have voted by mail this year than in other years due to the pandemic. The interesting thing is that if voter opinions change before the election is over, they can't change their vote - it's already cast. Museums are seeing much fewer visitors than usual because of the pandemic. In their place, many companies are offering virtual 360-degree tours. It isn't quite as real as being there, but the exhibits are still the same and it's much better for the brain than binge-watching a show.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Facebook has enacted a new policy that any content denying the Holocaust would be banned from its platform. The Holocaust was a genocide, or mass killing of a particular group, of Jewish people by Adolf Hitler during World War II. Although Facebook said it would not do so in 2018 because different people get things wrong, it has changed its stance due to a worldwide increase in anti-Semitism and an alarming level of ignorance, especially among young people. Facebook has not said why it will still allow content denying other genocides, such as the Rwandan and Armenian. On election night, many people will often watch candidates get to 270 votes. However, the coronavirus pandemic has increased interest in mail-in voting, and since several states count ballots even if they are received after the election, we might have to wait for weeks to see the outcome of the election. Normally, TV stations generate projections on election night about the winner of the election. The main data that they use for this is exit polls. In battleground states, the projectors will also take samples of precincts that represent the people who voted in a certain area. Finally, as the projection is made, data coming in is cross-checked with multiple sources to ensure its veracity. In Washington state, officials are attempting to track down a hive of "murder hornets". They are also called Asian giant hornets, and they can kill humans with multiple stings. More important is the fact that they can take out entire beehives, which is why scientists are trying to track hornets back to the nest and kill them. Lopburi, Thailand has a different animal problem. The city has had macaques living in its streets for a long time, and they are a tourist attraction. They eat and steal from humans and shops, and their numbers have increased in recent years, making life difficult for residents.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

The general election is coming up soon. Since members of the House of Representative serve for two years, all 435 seats are up for grabs; the Democrats currently have a majority in the House. Senators serve for six years, and 35 seats are up for election, along with the White House and a variety of state and local offices and laws. With wildfires raging across the US West Coast, many people are wondering, couldn't we manipulate clouds to make it rain? It turns out you can. By sprinkling silver iodide into clouds, we can make the water droplets condense around the chemical, turning it into rain. New scientific experiments have proved that this does work, but it has raised new questions. For one, there is a debate about what happens after clouds are seeded with particles, and who gets access to the precious water. There is also a question as to silver iodide's long-term effects on the environment.

Friday, October 16, 2020

Coronavirus positive rates are going up across the US. 35 states have seen increases in infection rates, 12 have been holding steady, and just 3 states are seeing numbers go down. India is projected to pass the US in total infections soon. As of now, the US has more than 7.9 million cases and 217,000 deaths. However, nearly half of the people who catch the virus have no symptoms or think that it's just a cold, so the actual numbers are probably higher. Restrictions due to the virus vary across communities vary, as do the reactions. In some cities, you can see people going about their daily lives without any masks or social distancing. As we approach the winter months, experts expect the virus to spread faster. First, we have seen other coronaviruses and respiratory diseases spread more quickly in colder months, and expect the same with the novel coronavirus. Second, the winter months have drier air, allowing particles to stay suspended longer and get into our equally dry noses. Finally, people will stay indoor longer because of the cold weather, where the virus can spread more easily. Make sure to take precautions to keep you and those around you safe. A La Niña is occurring this year, and is expected to be especially strong. In this phenomenon, the trade winds blow more strongly, allowing cool water to rise in the east-central Pacific as warmer water is blown away. This in turn changes the shape of the jet stream, changing weather patterns around the globe. This year, it has caused an increase in hurricanes and flooding in Australia. There is an increasing number of objects in space, and SpaceX is adding more. The Starlink satellites will provide broadband Internet access to millions who do not have it. The increasing congestion in space traffic could culminate in what is known as Kessler's syndrome - where one crash creates another and so on until the space around Earth is a ball of debris. But experts say that if operators follow guidelines, this can be avoided, and SpaceX's Starlink satellites have a feature that allows them to get out of the way in case an object is nearby.