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CNN 10

Shake Up in the United States Government; Politics and Produce Along the U.S.-Mexican Border; U.S. Government Designates Parts of Iran`s Government Foreign Terrorist Organization; Pros and Cons of 5G Technology

Aired April 9, 2019 - 04:00:00   ET

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


CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hey everyone. I`m Carl Azuz. Welcome to CNN 10. A shakeup in the U.S. government leads off today`s show. Yesterday the

White House announced that Randolph "Tex" Alles, the Director of the U.S. Secret Service would be leaving his position. Director Alles says he was

told weeks ago that changes were coming. The White House thanked him for his decades of service and said he did a great job. But the Secret Service

came under scrutiny recently after an arrest was made at a resort in Florida owned by U.S. President Donald Trump. He`s met several

international leaders at his Mara Largo Club and the accused trespasser is a Chinese woman who`d gotten past security carrying Chinese passports and a

flash drive with computer threatening malware.

The Secret Service says it does not decide who gets into the resort but the incident raised security questions even though the White House says Alles

departure isn`t related to it. Meantime, Alles boss, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is leaving her job. President Trump made that

announcement on Sunday. In her resignation letter, Secretary Nielsen praised the departments workers for their service and sacrifices and said

she hoped the next secretary would have Congressional support in fixing the laws that have quote "impeded our ability to fully secure America`s

borders." The southern border with Mexico has been a major focus of the Trump Administration.

Last month officials estimated they`d stopped 100,000 people there from entering the U.S. illegally. The government says that`s the highest

monthly number of migrants in more than a decade. Observers say the president was getting more and more frustrated about it. He`d even

threatened to close the border. Congressional Democrats say Secretary Nielsen`s resignation shows how the Trump Administration`s border security

and immigration policies have failed. Congressional Republicans say Nielsen served honorably and that they`re confident the Homeland Security

Department is in good hands. Kevin McAleenan, the current U.S. Customs and Border Commissioner will serve as temporary DHS Secretary until Nielsen`s

replacement is confirmed by the Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well really what`s going on at the border is - - it`s almost like two different things that`s confluence of events. DHS and

government officials are predicting a system wide failure because of these increased numbers of migrants.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I told everybody, this is - - you have a national emergency at our border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With everything that Federal government officials are saying there is also coming with it a great deal of scrutiny. Many critics

of the - - of the Trump Administration are saying what they`re trying to do is to create this sense of chaos to further their case for the national

emergency in constructing more border wall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we see is that our community is being instrumental zed as a tool in a larger political game. I`m at the McCallen

Produce Terminal. Trucks are supposed to be coming in here from Mexico. You see the pinata there with fresh fruits, vegetables and other goods.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you go to the grocery store and you select your fruits and vegetables, they`re most likely coming from this part of the

country. Because of the migrant surge, Border Patrol has reallocated resources from the port of entry to areas where migrants need to be

processed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: For the first time the United States says part of another nation`s government is a foreign terrorist organization. That other nation is Iran

and a part of its government that received the designation is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC. According to Encyclopedia Britannica,

this is the second largest part of Iran`s military behind its Army. The IRGC leads or supports Iranian forces in both internal conflicts and

international war and U.S. government officials cited several examples of how the Iranian unit has participated in violence world wide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 40 years, the Islamic Republic`s Revolutionary Guard has actively engaged in terrorism and created, supported and directed

other terrorist groups. The IRGC masquerades as a legitimate military organization but none of this should be fooled. It regularly violates the

laws of armed conflict. It plans, organizes and executes terror campaigns all around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The IRGC is also highly influential in Iranian life. The U.S. government says it controls up to half of Iran`s economy by allegedly

stealing from the people. In designating it a terrorist group, the U.S. is pressuring Iran by telling international banks and businesses to stop any

dealings with this part of Iran`s government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It means that there is significantly more measures the U.S. can take against anybody considered to have given tangible, intangible

assistance to the IRGC anywhere in the world. They can be prosecuted on U.S. soil or have proceedings brought against them. So it enormously

increasing the toolbox for U.S. prosecutors or defense officials potentially if they choose to make moves against the IRGC. But I have to

say because this never happened before, we don`t really quite know how practically it will be applied but the point is though it`s the very hard

talk we`re hearing from the Trump Administration against Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: The U.S. says it`s been preparing to do this for months and Iran retaliated yesterday by declaring the United States a state sponsor of

terrorism. The Middle Eastern country says it considers American troops operating in the region to be terrorist groups and that the U.S. government

would be responsible for what Iran called the dangerous consequences. This is all according to Iran`s government controlled news agency. We`re not

sure how any of this will play out. The U.S. government says its IRGC designation will take effect on Monday.

10 Second Trivia. Which of these companies currently sells a smart phone that works on America`s budding 5G network? Samsung, Apple, Google or none

of these. At this moment, there is not a phone on the market that`s fully compatible with 5G.

Motorola offers a modification that makes one of its phones 5G compatible and Samsung plans to release a new 5G phone this summer. How big is the

network they have to run on? Well it`s not. Verizon has 5G available in several U.S. cities and AT&T which owns CNN`s parent company Warner Media

says it`s launched 5G in more than a dozen places. Industry analysts expect 5G to be available in 92 American cities by the end of the year.

And as far as 5G readiness goes, a group that represents the American Wireless Industry says the U.S. and China are now tied for first place.

And services are also available in several South Korean cities. But why are tech enthusiasts so excited about this? Why does it matter? According

to the Cellular Technology Industry Association, 5G is going to be a major factor in the U.S. economy, changing education, robotics and medicine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Self-driving cars, smart cities, fully connected homes, robots, this is the future and it will be powered by 5G. The G stands for

generation as in next generation wireless network and it`s going to be fast. About 10 times faster than 4G network. Today it takes about six

minutes to download a 3D movies with 4G. With 5G, it will be 30 seconds. But 5G is about more than just super fast downloads and fewer dropped

calls, really about connecting the internet (inaudible). All those sensors, thermostats, cars, robots, right now 4G just doesn`t have the

bandwidth for all those devices but 5G will.

That`s why it`s a game changer. Imagine self-driving cars instantly communicating with traffic lights and other cars, where a surgeon with

(inaudible) equipment and special gloves operating remotely on a patient thousands of miles away. 5G will make that possible but when? 2020 is a

working date for most of the wireless industry. Four nationwide carriers are already testing the technology. Chip makers are building processors

and radios with 5G communication and network equipment companies are building the back up (ph).

But the future won`t come cheap, 5G signals are powerful but they don`t reach as far. Making it work will require thousands maybe even millions of

(inaudible) cell phone towers pretty much everywhere you can imagine. Lamp posts, on a side of a building (ph) maybe even in every room of your home.

That`s why rolling out 5G to the entire United States could cost $300 billion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Sometimes a single picture can tell the story and here`s that story. Most pythons found in southern Florida are between six and 10 feet long.

This female was more than 17 feet long. She weighed 140 pounds and she was pregnant with 73 developing eggs. Pythons are an invasive species in the

region. They began showing up in Everglades National Park in the 1980s, probably from pet owners who didn`t want them anymore.

So they were willing to let "pythons be bygones" but with so many "snakes alive" they threaten to change the regions ecological "hiss story". One

that big would make some folks "jump out of their skin" while others would want to "bifold" it into a wallet or try it on for "shoe size". Whether

you`d want her "constrictly" gone or you`d "leather" alone. A snake that big is truly "pythonic". I`m Carl Azuz for CNN.

END