CNN Student News - September 12, 2017

cnn 10

Americans Assess the Damage Caused by Irma; A U.S. Family Remembers a Hero of the September 11th Attacks; China Considers a Ban on Gas-Powered Car Sales

Aired September 12, 2017 - 04:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CARL AZUZ, cnn 10 ANCHOR: Hi. I`m Carl Azuz for cnn 10.

What remains of Hurricane Irma has moved inland. Last night, the storm had howled through Georgia, toward Alabama and Tennessee, and was expected to clip several other southern states. But its greatest toll on the U.S. was in Florida, where it made landfall.

Last night, an estimated 65 percent of the state was without power and the White House said some places wouldn`t get it back for weeks. The Keys and island chain off Florida`s southern tip took a direct hit and official there said there as no cell service, no electricity, no running water.

Satellite phones and landlines were being used to communicate.

Some streets in Miami were underwater. The city`s airport closed because of water damage.

And while the Gulf Coast city of Tampa was not damaged as badly as many expected, and there wasn`t much storm surge, the Atlantic coast city of Jacksonville saw a record storm surge, the rise in sea levels blown ashore. There was immense flooding there that officials expected to get worse.

Storm surge warnings remain in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, and as the U.S. gets its first look at Irma`s effects, parts of Cuba are grappling with severe damage. Irma killed 10 people there and at least 36 total throughout the aribbean. Cuba and some other islands weather Irma as a

category five storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:

When it opened in 1943, which of these locations became the world`s largest office building?

The Pentagon, the Empire State Building, the Burj Khalifa or the Venetian Las Vegas?

Of these options, only the Pentagon opened in 1943, and it remains one of the office buildings worldwide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: On the 16th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, U.S. President Donald Trump visited the Pentagon. It`s the site where 184 people were killed when terrorists crashed American Airlines flight 77 into the building. Speaking of both the attacks and the hurricanes that hit the U.S. within the past month, the president said when Americans are need, Americans pulled together and we are one country. He also paid tribute to the police officers and firefighters who gave their lives trying to save other victims of September 11th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All of them loved this country and pledged their very lives to protect it. That September morning, each of those brave Americans died as they had lived as heroes, doing their duty and protecting us and our country. We mourn them, we

honor them and we pledge to never, ever forget them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSEPH PALOMBO, FATHER DIED IN 9/11: I want to be surrounded by the same group of guys that are like my dad.

THOMAS PALOMBO, FATHER DIED IN 9/11: He was my hero before he died. He was my hero because of the man he was. It`s a blessing if you`re one of ten, because nine other people who went through what you went through.

SUBTITLE: The Palombos: 10 Siblings, 1 Legacy.

The Palombo siblings lost their father on 9/11. Twelve years later, they lost their mother to cancer. The 10 of them decided to stay together and help raise each other. They range from 30 to 15 years old.

T. PALOMBO: So crazy to be back here, huh? Right? 2006, we moved out?

J. PALOMBO: Yes, we grew up in this house.

T. PALOMBO: Yes.

J. PALOMBO: So many memories.

T. PALOMBO: Yes, playing hockey in the driveway and fighting the driveway.

Remember when I chased around the block with a hockey stick?

J. PALOMBO: Yes, yes.

This is where, you know, September 11th, we were here, you know? We were at this house. It`s crazy to think 15 years ago, all that was going on, right? It feels like it was just yesterday.

T. PALOMBO: It was like the same, like every day, but at the same time, it was like -- you know, you felt the difference.

J. PALOMBO: You knew there was something weird going on that at 12 years old, I wasn`t able to comprehend.

T. PALOMBO: Growing up with my dad, he was always there for us. He was always with us.

J. PALOMBO: One thing that really drove him I think more than anything was his faith. He felt blessed definitely to have so many kids.

T. PALOMBO: Joe is the third. I`m the fifth.

J. PALOMBO: Of course, it`s hard, you know. Like how could God allow this? How could we go without a father? But I think, you know, with the faith of my mom, if anything, it strengthened it, right?

T. PALOMBO: Yes.

My mom was more concerned about, you know, am I loving you enough? Are you feeling loved?

J. PALOMBO: My mom did an amazing job concerning the circumstances, but she battles colon cancer for four years and she passed away in 2013.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There he is. That`s him right there, right?

ANNOUNCER: Probationary Firefighter, Thomas Palombo.

(CHEERS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s awesome.

T. PALOMBO: Thanks for making me work so hard.

J. PALOMBO: No, I love you and I`m proud of you definitely.

T. PALOMBO: Thank you.

I always appreciated what he did, but now that I`m actually doing it, I appreciate how hard it is, you know?

The first day I worked, I was, you know, thought about him and thought about, you know, what his first day was like.

I tried my best to work as hard as I can. I know he always said, you know, just do your best no matter what it is.

My badge number is on my helmet, 10871. That was my dad`s badge number throughout his career. It means a lot to be able to carry on that same badge.

T. PALOMBO: Part of me, you know, died that day, I think, too. It`s like all the security that you have and all that, it`s like it was pulled out from under me.

You know, back in my head, there`s a risk, you know, that something could happen. I can`t really be afraid to take the train or working on a skyscraper. Like I can`t really let that holding back from living my life.

J. PALOMBO: How cool is this picture? You think that dad`s probie picture?

MARIA PALOMBO, FATHER DIED IN 9/11: Yes, if I remember.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of us live here still.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who`s this?

M. PALOMBO: That`s dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After my mom died, it wasn`t really a question to move out or anything. It made the most sense to stay together and be there for each other, just what our parents would have wanted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old is dad in this picture? Do you think he`s younger or older enough?

T. PALOMBO: We`re all raising each other, like they`d be definitely be laughing like --

M. PALOMBO: Yes.

T. PALOMBO: They`d be laughing like, oh my God, look at them trying to do everything by themselves.

M. PALOMBO: I think in one hand, our parents would probably be somewhat shocked. I think they also had, you know, we were all be OK.

T. PALOMBO: We couldn`t do any of this on our own. You know, clearly, you know, they`re watching over us in heaven.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: The vast majority of cars worldwide are powered by gasoline or diesel fuel. But the Chinese government is considering a ban on the production and sales of these vehicles to encourage sales of electric or electrified cars instead. China struggles with air pollution. Part of the

reason is because cities like Beijing are surrounded by mountains, which can trap the haze.

So, Chinese leaders are thinking that if they ban cars that are powered only by gas, it will help reduce the pollution. They haven`t set a date on when this might happen and electric and hybrid sale there, like in the U.S., make up only around 1 percent of all car sales in the country. So, even if the government subsidizes or pays part of the prize of electric or electrified car production, the change could be difficult and take decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VALDES-DAPENA, SENIOR AUTOMOTIVE REPORTER: Automakers are making big commitments to electrified cars. That probably just means electric cars, right? No. Electrified and electric mean two different things, very different things.

An electrified car is simply one that has some kind of electric mother. But it could also have a traditional gasoline engine too.

Let me draw it out for you. This big circle is electrified vehicles. This smaller circle is electric vehicle.

For electric cars, think Tesla or the Nissan Leaf. These vehicles run on electricity and nothing else.

But there are others in that big circle too. There are plug-in hybrids for instance, like the Chevy Volt, or the Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan.

These vehicles plug in and can run on pure electricity for some distance then switch over to a gasoline engine.

There are also regular hybrids, like the common Toyota Prius. These vehicles have electric motors and batteries but they never get plugged.

They`re very fuel efficient and can even run on pure electricity for short distances. But all that power is ultimately generated by the car`s own internal combustion engine.

And, finally, there are so-called mild hybrids. Right now, there aren`t many of these on the market. Mild hybrids can`t drive on electricity alone, even at low speed, but they can shut down their gasoline engines when the car is stopped, or even when it`s coasting.

So, when car companies like Volvo or even an entire country has talked about selling electrified vehicles, they`re really talking about all these

stuff. Don`t think they`re going all electric. They`re probably not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AZUZ: The folks running a recent charity auction for a new Ferrari expected the super car to go for around $5 million. It went for twice that. And here`s the kicker, which will look like this, hasn`t even been built yet. The winning bidder drops $10 million after seeing only a

picture of it. The record price for a 21st century vehicle will be donated to an international youth charity. The LaFerrari Aperta will be one of only 210 ever made.

So, you can see why someone might have been driven the buy-in. But he or she wasn`t prancing or horsing around. When the bids came in fast and ferrarious, someone was on a transmission to leave a fortune in the rare view for a car they could only picture.

cnn 10 has crossed the finish line. I`m Carl Azuz and we hope you can watch again tomorrow.

END