September 20, 2019
Remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda Soak Parts of Texas; U.S. Federal Reserve Lowers Key Interest Rate; Athlete Takes on Mountains with One Wheel
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: A state of disaster in the state of Texas is our first story this Friday. Thank you all for taking 10 for CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz at the CNN Center. Imelda was the name of the storm system that is soaking parts of the Lone Star State. It formed as a tropical depression, strengthened to a tropical storm and made landfall all on the same day. That was Tuesday so there really wasn`t time for people near Texas` Gulf coast to make any major preparations. Still, Imelda wasn`t projected to have anywhere near the impact that Hurricane Dorian had on the Bahamas earlier this month but it did cause flooding, tremendous amounts of it in Texas. And even though Imelda is no longer a tropical storm or a weaker tropical depression for that matter, conditions were still worsening yesterday for many people in southeast Texas.
In the city of Beaumont, for example, where the average rainfall is about 60 inches per year police say the city got a third of that as much as 20 inches in one night. Beaumont is in one of the 13 Texas counties where Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster yesterday. That speeds up money and help to those in need and there are a lot of people in need. Police say they`ve gotten hundreds of calls for rescues. People have been trapped in homes and cars. Residents are being told not to drive because the roads are flooded and entire neighborhoods have become like lakes with houses and trees in the middle of them.
As what`s left of Imelda moves northeast, millions of people in eastern Texas and western Louisiana were told to keep an eye out for possible flash floods. Some victims are comparing this storm to Hurricane Harvey and it certainly caused the worst flooding in the region since Harvey did this in 2017. Though that storm was considered to be an even bigger rainmaker, Imelda`s threat continues with more rain in the forecast before it completely moves out of Texas.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While this was Imelda, the storm that really was only a tropical storm didn`t really ever turn into a hurricane but that`s not the point. It has tropical moisture with it and that tropical moisture has just been sitting right from Houston and points eastward all the way toward Beaumont and I-10 is completely underwater. Completely shut down around Beaumont. We are going to see this now, this water, going to take a long time for it to run off. Even now toward Woodland and Houston getting in on a little bit more rainfall from the north here, coming down you`ll see heavier rainfall here. What the biggest story here is this white area here, from Winnie this over toward Beaumont there`s 350 square miles of 20 inches of rain or more. That`s 15 times the size of Manhattan covered with 20 inches of rain or more and some of these - - these gauges now are out of control. I mean we don`t know if we believe them any - - or not but up to 40 inches of rain in some spots there to the southwest of Beaumont.
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AZUZ: For the second time since July, the United States Federal Reserve cut interest rates this week. The Federal Funds Rate was reduced a quarter of a percentage point and it will now hover between 1.75 percent and 2 percent. Does that affect individual Americans? Yes, because lower interest rates make it cheaper to borrow money. Payments on mortgages, payments on credit card balances, what businesses have to pay back when they borrow, all of that can decrease when the Fed cuts interest rates. It`s a move the Central Bank can make to influence the U.S. economy and analysts think that economy will continue to grow in the months ahead and that the nation`s unemployment rate will stay near its lowest levels in 50 years. But there are concerns that global growth will slow down. This rate cut, according to the Fed chairman, was made to keep the U.S. economy strong.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let`s go all the way back to the late 19th century when people couldn`t trust that their money was safe in the bank and bank runs weren`t unusual. That led to the creation of the country`s Central Bank, the Federal Reserve in 1913. It was the first step toward adding safety and stability to America`s financial system. Today the Fed is essentially the architect of America`s money policy. It`s run by a board of governors based in Washington, D.C. and has 12 Federal Reserve banks around the country. Those bank presidents and the board meet eight times a year to make big policy decisions. Decisions that effect the Fed`s two main goals, to make sure prices are stable and that everyone who wants a job has a job.
So how exactly does the Fed do this? Mainly using three tools. First, by adjusting the discount rate. That`s the interest rate the Fed charges commercial banks for short term loans and it`s one of the most influential interest rates there is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Dow had it`s biggest points drop in history today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For example, in 2008 when the economy was tanking - -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some companies may not be able to make their payroll. Then they have to shut down a shift at a plant. That means people will lose their jobs, more people will lose their homes. People will have difficultly getting loans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Fed in an unprecedented move cut interest rates to zero making it cheaper to borrow money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This plan is an emergency plan to put out a fire, to resolve a serious crisis which has real main street implications.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Fed can`t force banks to lend or companies to hire but it can use its tools to create an environment for economic growth.
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AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these contraptions was invented first? Vacuum cleaner, AM radio, Bakelite, or Penny Farthing. Penny Farthing "for your thoughts" was the only one of these inventions made before the 20th century.
And here is what a Penny Farthing looks like. It`s also known as a high- wheel bicycle for obvious reasons. It appeared on the scene around the year 1870 and historians believe it led to the invention of the unicycle because why not leave the relative safety of two wheels for just one. If keeping balance by mountain biking is more challenging than road biking, let`s turn 10 out of 10 up to 11 and go off roading on a mountain unicycle.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you are a unicyclist, you see the world really, really different. If I go to a city and I see a bench, for me it`s not a bench. It`s something saying can I jump on it so the world is an obstacle for me. I always think, is this too steep? Is it possible to jump on this rock. So it really changes my perspective on everything. (ph)
My name is Lutz Eischoltz (ph). I`m a professional mountain unicyclist. That means I unicycle through the mountains. I started unicycling at the age of nine. First I only unicycled on the street and over the years I got more and more experienced and now I unicycle mostly in the mountains. I really like to go down big mountains so I did a 5,600 meter mountain (inaudible) a couple of years ago and I want to go on even higher mountains.
I unicycled on five continents, saw many, many places in the world. The biggest challenge on a unicycle is to always stay balanced (ph).
Technically the most important movement are my legs because I always have to pedal so my legs are always moving. Then my right arm I use to balance so I move it up and down. My left arm maintains the (inaudible). If I go down on hard terrain (ph), I`m not thinking (ph) at all. I`m just in the moment. I`m 100 percent focused just on the (inaudible) on the movement because if I start to sink, for sure I would fall down.
I like to do stuff which has not been (ph) done by so many people and I think it`s a bigger challenge if you don`t have people you can copy and you have to rent (ph) a little bit by yourself. It`s really unique. It`s really special and (inaudible) a big part why I like it so much.
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AZUZ: Where (ph) he spoke of some "wheely" interesting points, if not "universal" ones, it`s hard to switch gears and can even grind your gears if you know you`ve only got one and not everyone would "pedal" the idea of taking a seat where a "wheely" is the only way to ride. You`re only keeping it half as "wheel" as a bicycle. Still, as we ride off into the sunset for the week we hope you`ll keep it in the road even if you go "off road" and we thank you for keeping CNN 10 your number one for news. I`m Carl Azuz.
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