Sunday, January 31, 2021

CNN 10 2/1/2021 ~ 2/5/2021


Go to cnn.com/cnn10 for the latest video

Monday, February 1, 2021
The CDC has announced a new rule requiring all people to wear masks on public transportation and the places where people wait for public transportation in the United States. Masks can only be taken off to eat, drink, or take medicine and the rule doesn't apply for children under the age of two or people with disabilities making it hard for them to wear masks. The CDC says this will protect Americans and bolster confidence in travel. The hyperloop is a concept in which pods would travel via electromagnetic propulsion in a vacuum. Through this, these train-like pods can achieve speeds over 500 mph with no turbulence. It would be much faster than train or car, and though ticket prices would vary, they would be much cheaper than airplanes. Virgin Hyperloop plans to start commercial operations in 2030, and other companies like Hyperloop TT are working to the same goals. A storm system that is moving across the US is bringing a variety of weather conditions in different areas, from rain to snow. The type of weather you see depends on temperature in the atmosphere. If all the air that water droplets encounter is warm, you get rain. If it goes through a cold patch closer to the ground, then it doesn't get cold enough to be snow, but instead becomes freezing rain. Sleet happens when the precipitation goes through a small patch of warm air before going through freezing air again. Tomorrow, groundhogs across the US will attempt to predict the coming of spring. If they see their shadow, more winter, and if they don't, spring will come.

Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Myanmar's military has taken over the country again. It has done this in the past - it staged a military coup for decades until 2015, when they finally allowed democratic elections. The democratic party of a Nobel Prize winner won by a landslide at the polls and entered into a power-sharing agreement. In 2017, the country came under fire for its "genocide" of Rohingya Muslims, but the president defended the military's actions. More recently, the second civilian election resulted in a decimation of army-backed candidates, and the fragile power balance broke. Dozens of top elected officials have been arrested for what the military calls a rigged election, and a 1-year martial law has been declared. The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world, and it is also endangered. Due to human fishing and habitat destruction, their numbers have plummeted in the past 75 years. Researchers in Australia have developed software that tags whale sharks based on their unique spot pattern to track their behavior and movements. This will help preserve the most important sites for the future.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021
The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are still scheduled to begin on July 23 of this year. If they are not held then, they will be canceled entirely, though both the Japanese Prime Minister and the head of the IOC have said that they must go on. Japan has instituted a state of emergency in 9 different areas to try to curb the spread of COVID-19 before the torch relay starting in March. Athletes will not be required to have a vaccination, but there will be guidelines set out very soon. Should they be unable to occur in Japan, the US state of Florida has expressed interest in sponsoring the games, citing its selection for major sporting events. In China, WHO officials are continuing to look into the origins of COVID-19, visiting an animal center this week to investigate the possibility of transfer from animals to humans. The golden monkeys in Yunnan are endangered. Habitat loss combined with hunting from nearby villages and natural predators has decreased the numbers of one of the few monkeys living in the mountains. Conservation groups have been using a combination of monitoring and training of the locals in order to protect this unique group.

Thursday, February 4, 2021
All 50 US states will experience freezing temperatures at some point in the next few days. A polar vortex, or a low-pressure air mass near the poles, will be sending freezing temperatures, resulting in snow and ice as far as Hawaii. Several states will see subzero Fahrenheit temperatures, so cold that you could get frostbite in just 30 minutes. Countries around the world are struggling with COVID-19 lockdowns, and with it comes the problem of schools. All the US states have seen school closures at some point, and now, some states are requiring in-person learning or allowing individual districts to decide. In communities with low virus spread, schools can safely reopen. EU countries have similarly varying measures.

Friday, February 5, 2021
On Thursday, President Biden and his team laid out his administration's plans for foreign policy over the next four years. First, in regards to Russia, he said that they would be extending a deal that limits the nuclear weapons of both countries, but that there would be repercussions if Russia tried to interfere in the US or poisoned its own citizens. He also said that China was the biggest competitor to the US and addressed the military takeover in Burma, saying the military should return to democracy. He also said that the US would end support for the Yemeni rebels and decrease the number of refugees allowed into the US. A nor'easter is bringing snow and powerful waves to coastal areas in the northern US. Record-breaking snowfall is expected, and it may be surprising that each snowflake is different. All snowflakes have a general shape of six branches and are categorized into 8 subgroups. Each one has a slightly different pattern because they all fall through slightly different temperatures and humidities on their way to the ground.

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