CNN10 - 11/10/20

If there was ever going to be a year to break an Atlantic storm record set in 2005, many folks won't be surprised that that year would be 2020. I'm Carl Azuz. Thank you for watching our show. Subtropical storm theta formed in the Atlantic Ocean this week. It's not expected to make landfall, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters think theta will dissipate over open water in the days ahead. But theta is the 29th named storm to materialize this season, which officially runs through the end of the month. And that officially breaks the record of 28 named storms. set in 2005. Meantime, Guatemala, Honduras, Cuba, and parts of the state of Florida are all dealing with the effects of the last storm to make landfall. That deadly system was named ADA.

Couple of other stories making headlines. The U.S. Supreme Court heard new arguments on Tuesday concerning the Affordable Care Act. also known as Obamacare. The controversial overhaul of the U.S. health care system was passed by Congress and signed by former President Barack Obama in 2010. Twenty states plus the Trump administration are asking the Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare.

20 states plus the House of Representatives are asking the Supreme Court to preserve Obamacare. The high court's expected to decide on the issue by next spring. In political news, Joe Biden, the projected winner of the 2020 presidential election, is planning his...

transition to power. One thing the president elect has done is announce a panel of 13 health experts who will be tasked with creating a plan to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump tweeted yesterday that he would ultimately win the election. U.S. Attorney General William Barr has told federal prosecutors to investigate accusations of voting problems before states certify their election results in the weeks ahead.

What nation has the most high-speed rail lines in the world? China, India, Spain or Japan? Makes sense that the world's most populous nation of China would also have the most miles of high-speed rail. High-speed rail is generally defined as trains that run at least 120 miles per hour. Some definitions put that at 155. But there's a type of rail under development that could run at several times that speed and change transport.

as we know it. It's called Hyperloop. Engineers from different companies have been working on it for years. What's not known yet is if it will be practical. Critics say a Hyperloop network would be very expensive to build. It wouldn't be able to carry as many people in its trains. It would be extremely dangerous if something goes wrong, but there's a lot of excitement about it whenever it's tested because of its potential.

What we're talking about today is that the first passenger test has now been done of the first new mode of transportation, mass transportation, that we've had in a hundred years. And we're now talking about something that's incredibly fast up to 600 miles an hour, that's high capacity, that's on demand and flexible the way we want to live our lives, that can carry people and cargo. And on top of all that, it's environmentally friendly.

I'll give you an example. Columbus, Ohio to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. If you took any single person in Columbus and said how far away is Pittsburgh, everybody would say three hours. With Hyperloop, that's less than 25 minutes. One of the things you have to recognize about safety is that there are no shortcuts. And sometimes people think of that as being an anathema to companies that are quick, innovative, entrepreneurial in the way that they're doing it.

This company, Virgin Hyperloop, has adopted a true safety-first culture of what we're doing. I have a name for it, which is called the Hyperloop. The Hyperloop? Hyperloop, yeah. Is it like a Jetsons tunnel? It's something like that, yeah. what we're looking at now is certification that will take place in 2025 or 2026. And I think you'll be able to see Hyperloop projects before the end of the decade.

It's not far off. We're at the moment in time where we're now ready to make this happen. Among the many aspects of life coronavirus has impacted in some way.

Pet adoptions. Working from home has led many Americans to bring home a new companion of the furry kind. Statistics on this are mixed. Some companies like Pet Health Inc., which track national demand for dogs and cats, say adoptions in 2020 are actually less than they were in 2019, that not as many people have gotten a new pet during the coronavirus.

pandemic. However, individual shelters in different states have said they've seen a big increase in the number of people getting a new dog or cat. And this has led to a shortage of available animals in some places. CNN 10 contributor Chris James is one of those. new pet parents. Chris. Hey Carl, I want to introduce you to someone very special. Meet my three-month-old pup Johnny, the newest addition to our family. He's a mini bull terrier with a big personality.

And turns out I am far from alone on this journey of new pup parenthood. The pandemic has contributed to a puppy boom of sorts, the likes of which have never been seen before. Since many of us have been spending so many more of our days at home. we have a lot more time to devote to a new pup. The pet supply company Westpaw has seen record sales in recent months. From May through September, they were up 55% from the same period last year.

So in response to the boost in business, the Bozeman, Montana company has added 18 employees, bumping its workforce to about 80 people. And a report in AdAge found Google Trends search results for puppy adoption hit an all-time high in April. And by September, they were still 38% higher than the year before. And Petfinder, which is one of the most popular websites for finding rescue dogs, has seen its traffic surge 79% compared to a year ago, according to SimilarWeb.

But while all our puppies like this guy are being showered with attention right now, what's going to happen once we return to schools and offices full time? The San Francisco SPCA says it's important to begin teaching your dog. to learn how to be okay with being alone for short stretches of time, and to be alert for signs of separation anxiety. All right, Johnny, time to put you back in your crate so I can get some work done. Back to you, Carl. Bye.

Disneyland in California is still closed, along with its famous Matterhorn bobsled roller coaster. So a family in Napa, California built their own. Two brothers, one of whom is an architecture student, enlisted the help of 30... friends and family members and the result was a two-story ride in their own yard. It shares a lot of details with the real thing, a water feature. A Yeti. It's reportedly 20 feet tall and it takes just under a minute to ride the entire 400 foot track.

All in all, it took them about four months to build, and if you have the time, the talent, the space, the workforce, and no community rules that prevent this sort of thing, you could build your own for an estimated $15,000. But bragging rights?

you'd be able to toot your own Matterhorn. It was a mountain of a challenge. We don't know how many times they got stucco or were asked, are you done yeti? But we're glad they stayed on track through all the ups and downs of the process because now they can just coaster after. satisfying their dis need for speed. I'm Coral Azuz. Today we're saying hi to Highline. That's Highline Academy Northeast in Denver, Colorado.

Also, this Veterans Day, we want to give a special shout out to all those who have served or are currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Thank you for your service.