Today's show describes some of the history and traditions associated with the U.S. president's State of the Union address and the opposing party's response. You'll hear from President Donald Trump, a Republican, and Stacey Abrams, a Democrat and former gubernatorial nominee. Afterward, we take a look at some of the traditions associated with a major holiday in China.
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TRANSCRIPT
CNN 10
History and Traditions Associated with the U.S. President`s State of the Union Address; Democratic Party`s Response from Stacey Abrams; Looking at Some of the Traditions Associated with the Chinese Lunar New Year; Possible Guinness World Record for Biggest Avocado
Aired February 6, 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: It`s great to have you catching up on world events with CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz with your daily down the middle explanations of what`s happening. Every year the United States around the time of the Super Bowl, there`s a type of political super bowl that takes place. It`s not an election. It`s an annual speech the U.S. president gives to a joint session of the U.S. Congress and what that means that Representatives and Senators are there along with their guests. There`s a great deal of tradition that surrounds the State of the Union Address. It`s given annually. It`s delivered in person. It`s broadcasted on TV and online. It`s followed by a speech from the political party that opposes the president. But none of this is required by the Constitution.
It says only that the president shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. President`s could just send Congress a letter and several American leaders have. But giving the speech live before Congress and the American public allows modern presidents to personally let people know what they want to do and why, when try to build support for their goals. That`s why state of the union speeches, like the one that President Donald Trump delivered last night usually cover a range of subjects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And my fellow Americans, we meet tonight at a moment of unlimited potential as we begin a new Congress, I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans. The agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or a Democrat agenda. It`s the agenda of the American people. Many of us have campaigned on the same core promises to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers.
To rebuild and revitalize our nation`s infrastructure, to reduce the price of healthcare and prescription drugs. In just over two years since the election, we have launched an unprecedented economic boom. A boom that has rarely been seen before.
Members of Congress, the state of our union is strong.
(APPLAUSE)
An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations.
(APPLAUSE)
If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.
Now, Republicans and Democrats must join forces again to confront an urgent national crisis. Congress has 10 days left to pass a bill that will fund our government, protect our homeland and secure our very dangerous southern border. Now is the time for Congress to show the world that America is committed to ending illegal immigration and putting the ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers and human traffickers out of business.
(APPLAUSE)
Most of the people in this room voted for a wall but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: OK. Speeches like that one have been televised since 1947. Another tradition carried on last night began in 1966. That`s when two Republican lawmakers gave a response to the Democratic president`s speech. Since then, the opposing party`s gotten a chance to outline it`s priorities often immediately after the presidential address. President Trump is a Republican so a Democrat named Stacey Abrams was chosen to give her party`s response. She`s from Georgia. She was the Democratic nominee for governor in last years race. She lost the election but received national media coverage and got the chance to speak to the nation last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACEY ABRAMS, FORMER GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE FOR GEORGIA: Our most urgent work is to realize American`s dreams of today and tomorrow. To carve a path to independence and prosperity that can last a lifetime. Children deserve an excellent education from cradle to career. We owe them safe schools and the highest standards regardless of zip code. From now on, our leaders must be willing to tackle gun safety measures and face the crippling effect of educational loans.
To support educators and invest what is necessary to unleash the power of American`s greatest minds. Under the current Administration, far too many hard working Americans are falling behind living paycheck to paycheck. Compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders and Democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders. But we must all embrace that from agriculture to healthcare to entrepreneurship, America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants not walls.
America wins by fighting for our shared values against all enemies foreign and domestic. That is who we are and when we do so, never wavering, the state of our union will always be strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. On what calendar is the current year numbered 4717? Lunar calendar, Jewish calendar, Islamic calendar or Julian calendar. As of Tuesday, it was the Lunar calendar or the Chinese Lunar solar calendar that entered year 4717.
Many Asian countries observe Lunar New Year but it`s in China, the world`s most populated nation that the world`s largest human migration takes place as people go home for the new year. We covered the impact on travel on January 25th at cnn10.com. Today we`re looking at some Chinese traditions associated with the Lunar New Year. The Communist nation is officially atheist but many Chinese practice Buddhism and folk religion according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and that`s influenced Lunar New Year customs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival is the biggest celebration of the year for the Chinese. It`s a time when traditionally business comes to a halt and the focus turns to home and to the family and of course appeasing the gods. So what do you need and where do you go? We`re here at a typical Chinese market. One of the first things anyone will buy is a phi chun. These you will find on the front door of people`s homes. This is a traditional welcome spring phi chun.
But perhaps the most important part of Chinese New Year, certainly for many Chinese, is the red packet. The (inaudible) packet. Into one of these you will insert a crisp, preferably new bank note. Traditionally the married gives it to the unmarried and the younger generation. How much? Well that all depends on how well you know that person and of course how rich you are and then there`s the flowers.
They are very important and perhaps none more important than the tangerine. Now the Chinese word for tangerine rhymes with luck, and as you see very, very popular as are the chrysanthemums. These are a sign of a good harvest, a good income all year round and the narcissus. Not much to look at but this actually blossoms during Chinese New Year which means health, good luck and liveliness. And it`s always a good idea to buy new clothes and the reason is, thank you very much, because you probably guessed it, it brings good luck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARL AZUZ: Today I learned that the average avocado weighs around six ounces. Not this beast, it`s closer to six pounds. For years, a local farmer`s been bring fruit like this to a hospital in Hawaii just to share. The Guinness World Record for largest avocado is five pounds, eight ounces so there may very well beat that. The farmer says gigantic alligator pears as they`re also called have been growing on a tree his brother planted in 1941.
As some people put it, "Holy Guacamole". If you find that fruit "apeeling", it`s enough so "salad bowl" you over. He should write a book on the "avocadoos and the "avocadon`ts" of growing them. It`s enough to make other farmers "green" with envy. I`m Carl Azuz and that`s CNN 10.
