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CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: A debate over U.S. minimum wage. A down the middle look at that is our first subject today on CNN 10. I'm Carl Azuz.
It's always good to have you watching. The Federal minimum wage is the least amount of money per hour that American businesses must pay their employees. States and communities are allowed to acquire higher minimum wages and many of them do.
But as of right now, $7.25 per hour is the minimum that U.S. employers must pay. That rate was updated in 2009 under then President Barack Obama. This week Democrats in Congress introduced a bill to increase the Federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. As it stands now, the proposal wouldn't do this immediately. It would include gradual wage increases until 2025 when it would hit the $15 minimum.
President Joe Biden has included this increase in his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. In case that package doesn't pass with the minimum wage change, Democrats had introduced a separate bill. The minimum wage is a controversial subject because experts and economists disagree over the effects it has.
Supporters of raising the wage say it will put more money in the pockets of workers, encouraging them to spend more and that this would help businesses and stimulate the economy. Opponents of raising the wage say it will do the opposite. That it would cause smaller businesses and restaurants to lay off workers because these organizations don't make enough in profits to afford the higher labor costs.
There's a political divide over this subject too. Democrats generally favor the minimum wage increase. Republicans generally oppose it. Democrats say it would help individuals who are struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans say it would hurt businesses that are struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic and individuals too if their jobs are cut.
Part of the reason why Democrats are pushing for it now is because they have control over both chambers of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2010. And while Democratic leaders have said they'd like to increase the minimum wage with at least some Republican support, they may try to pass the legislation without it.
When he was vice-president during the Obama Administration, Joe Biden had the job of overseeing the government's $840 billion economic stimulus package which was passed in 2009 to help the nation recover from the Great Recession. When he was vice-president during the Trump Administration, Mike Pence had the job of overseeing the government's coronavirus task force which was established in 2020 to help the nation address the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, CNN Contributor Kelly Mena explains the potential role of Vice-President Kamala Harris as the United States second in command.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY MENA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks Carl. Kamala Harris might be the first woman, black and South-Asian individual to hold the office of the vice-president but the role is crucial to the running of the Federal government. The vice-president's constitutional role is as president of the U.S.
Senate. As the head of the powerful upper chamber of Congress, the VP's main role is to break ties.
This year that could very possibly happen as Democrats are equal with Republicans for the number of members they have in the chamber. Though the VP role is also to be there in case anything happens to the president, it's position can be quite influential due to its proximity to the commander-in-chief.
For example, Richard Nixon was a busy VP under former President Dwight D. Eisenhower who gave him a slew of responsibilities including well informed of the activities and initiatives of the administration. Dick Cheney notably was on former President George W. Bush's (Inaudible) committee for vice-president and then chosen himself to be Bush's running mate.
Cheney went on to play an important role (inaudible) foreign policy decisions amid the September 11 attacks. The modern vice-president functions as part of the president's inner circle, influencing policy changes and orders. VPs also have the office in the West Wing of the White House. Some even become president themselves.
President Joe Biden has signaled that Harris will have a significant role in his administration. In the first week, she has been right by his side as he signs several executive orders and the next (inaudible) in the Oval Office to receive the president's daily briefing. Carl, the question now remains with that historical first in the VP's office, how much influence will Harris have on the Biden Administration?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Chum, Humpback and Silver are all used to describe a type of what? Sunfish, eels, whales or salmon. These are all salmon. A large type of fish you'll find in the Atlantic and Pacific.
Atlantic salmon are anadromous, which means they can live in saltwater and fresh water. They're considered the king of fish because they're extraordinary jumpers, able to leap tall obstacles like waterfalls when swimming upstream. Dams however are another story.
Some experts say they're the biggest threat to the endangered Atlantic salmon. There are a number of hatcheries that aim to repopulate their numbers in the wild but these facilities come with challenges of their own. And their results when it comes to Atlantic salmon are mixed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Atlantic salmon. Over the course of its lifetime, it will travel from its birthplace in the rivers flowing into the north Atlantic, up north as far as Greenland and back again to lay their eggs. It's an epic journey but the majestic salmon run may become a thing of the past. In the U.S., the Atlantic salmon is Federally endangered. Pollution and pesticides have severely affected their river habitat. But there's one thing more than any other that has devastated their numbers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dams were the primary and remain the primary issue and those dams can be as small as -- as a culvert at a road crossing that the salmon just can't get up and over. Ten to 15 years, we could see these fish gone from the planet forever if we don't move to action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dwayne Shaw (ph) manages the Downey Federation Hatcheries in Maine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over 200 years in the United States, there have been attempts made to maintain, restore and perpetuate the Atlantic salmon.
There's been many, many failures. We've adopted the technique developed by Peter Gray (ph) and as it turns out it's working quite well for us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Peter Gray (ph) ran a hatchery on Tyne River in Northumberland, UK. When he started, the river was heavily polluted and dammed. The salmon population was almost non-existent. Peter's (ph) unique methodology alongside habitat restoration and pollution reduction contributed to one of the biggest salmon recovery success stories in Europe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peter (ph) developed a technique over time that naturalized the hatchery methods such that the fish were treated more like a wild fish and less like a farmed creature.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Based on Peter's (ph) methodology, the Downey Hatchery's try and rear their salmon eggs in conditions to match their natural environment including using river water, dark bottom tanks and positioning the hatchery on the river of origin. But there's a strong debate around hatcheries with many facilities thought to do more harm than good to salmon populations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The science says that hatchery reared fish are not as strong as wild fish. But for instance, in the USA where wild (inaudible)
salmon (inaudible) so low, really the only way to be a catalyst to get those stocked back is to have summit hatcheries. So it is a balance.
Stocking to restore your stocks and then stock at a time when you can let nature take its course and you don't damage those (inaudible) genetically.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're keeping the hatchery manager out of the picture as much as possible. With the intent of actually closing the hatchery as soon as possible. If we were to do nothing, these fish would quickly move toward extinction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Success is measured by finding the eggs of adult salmon returning the river and linking their genetics to those of the hatchery fish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're seeing as much as 20 times the return rate. That gives us hope that, in fact, we can turn things around much more quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Conserving salmon does so much more than save the species. It's an umbrella species. Protecting salmon helps all life in its habitat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If salmon are running in abundance, then things are OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Hey, we have a newsletter and you're going to love it. If you're an educator or a parent looking for a preview on what's on each day's show, please visit CNN10.com and click on sign up for daily emails. You'll get a sneak peak sent to your inbox every weeknight.
It has been said that Border Collies are the smartest breed of dog. Debate that if you want but there is no debate that Wish and Halo, two Border Collies in California have just set a Guinness World Record for performing the most tricks by two dogs in one minute. How many did they do? Twenty-eight and separately one of them set a new record for the fastest five- meter crawl by a dog. Wish went the distance in just over two seconds.
Who needs "menta" when you've got "dogsa"? The training they had is part of their "dogma". It's one thing to know how to sit, speak and stay. Those two could "read that" and probably crochet. Are they cute? They're "eyecute" with plenty of sense to "bow wow" until "a ladies" and "intelli gents".
Bassick High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut we see you subscribing and leaving a comment at YouTube.com/CNN10. I'm Carl Azuz. Have a great rest of your day.
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