1. CNN 10 DECEMBER 6, 2017
IOC Bans the Russian Olympic Team; CVS Moves to Buy Aetna; Supreme Court
Hears Arguments Involving Same-Sex Couples` Rights and Religious Freedom
Aired December 6, 2017 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM
AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Kicking off your midweek edition of CNN 10. I`m Carl
Azuz.
The IOC, the International Olympic Committee, made a major announcement
yesterday about the upcoming 2018 Winter Games in Pyongchang, South Korea.
The Russian national team would be banned from the events. The decision followed a
long investigation into the alleged doping of Russian athletes.
IOC officials found the Russian Olympic Committee guilty of illegally giving some of
its athletes drugs to help them perform better.
This doesn`t mean that all Russian athletes would be kept out of the games. The IOC
says that clean athletes from Russia can participate, but they`ll have to be approved
by a panel first. They`ll be competing under the neutral Olympic flag, not the Russian
flag, and if they win any events, the Olympic anthem, not the Russian one will be
played. So, Russia won`t officially win any Olympic medals in 2018.
Some Russian officials are pushing for a boycott of the games, with one lawmaker
calling the IOC`s decision a humiliation and an insult, and a shame for the athletes.
"The New York Times" reports that Russia`s Olympic Committee will likely appeal the
decision in court.
In the U.S. Capitol, Democratic lawmaker John Conyers announced yesterday that
he`d give up his seat in the House of Representatives. The 88-year-old lawmaker
from Michigan was the longest serving member in the chamber, but he was under
pressure to resign after multiple accusations came out that Conyers had sexually
harassed women who worked with him.
Conyers was one of the several U.S. politicians, Democrat and Republican, who`ve
been accused of this in recent months. But he`s the first lawmaker to resign as a
2. result. Several news and entertainment personalities have also been accused of
harassment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
What are Aetna, Cigna and Humana?
Are they all health insurance companies, pet food distributors, investment
organizations or constellations?
These are the names of three health care companies in the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: And one of those insurance companies, Aetna, could soon be bought by a
pharmacy company named CVS. It`s offered $69 billion to take over Aetna.
If this goes through, it would be the largest health insurance deal in history, and
could affect tens of millions of people.
As things stand now, 23 million have Aetna insurance, and 90 million are customers of
CVS and Caremark, a mail order pharmacy that CVS owns.
There are more than 9,700 CVS pharmacies around the country and 1,100 minute
clinics, where people can walk in for vaccinations, lab tests and treatments for
common illnesses like strep throat (amigdalitis).
The head of CVS says the merger (union of companies/fusion) would lead to lower
health care expenses and better service for providers and patients who could get
their health care and medications in the same place.
But consumer advocacy groups (grupos de presión) like the Coalition to Protect
Patient Choice say these mergers haven`t gone well in the past and that patients wind
up (end) paying more money and having less choice when it comes to medications.
CVS`s purchase of Aetna is not a done deal. It will first have to be approved by
antitrust regulators with the U.S. government, and they`ve been skeptical of similar
health care mergers in the past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
3. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Now that we`ve announced the top 10 CNN
Heroes of 2017, it`s time to show you how you can help decide who should be CNN
Hero of the Year and receive $100,000 to help them continue their work.
Just go to CNNHeroes.com, where you can learn more about each hero and when
you`re ready, just click on vote. Log in using either your email address or Facebook
account and choose your favorite. Then confirm your selection and you`re all set
(ready).
And this year, you can also vote through Facebook messenger. You can vote up to ten
times a day per method every day through December 12. Then rally (gather to
support) your friends by sharing your vote on social media.
My friend and co-host Kelly Ripa joins me to reveal the 2017 Hero of the Year live
during our 11th Annual CNN Heroes and All Star Tribute, Sunday, December 17th.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in a closely watched case
that involves some major issues in America. One is the rights of same sex couples.
Another is religious freedom. The courts scheduled the arguments to last an hour,
but they went over that, an indication of how significant the case is.
It involves the owner of a bakery that opened in 1993 and two men who requested a
wedding cake for their marriage in 2012. At that time, same sex marriage wasn`t
legal in Colorado. The cake would have been for their wedding in another state.
Following is a balanced report on what happened in the words of those involved.
(BEIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MULLINS: Like any couple getting married, we had a million details to
penalize. On this particular day, it was special to us. We had a binder (carpeta con
ganchos) full of ideas.
JACK PHILLIPS, OWNER, MASTERPIECE CAKESHOP: They said that they were
here to look for wedding cakes.
MULLINS: As soon as we sat down with the owner, he asked who the cake was for.
4. PHILLIPS: They were sitting at our wedding desk, had my wedding book open with
wedding pictures in front of them.
MULLINS: We told him it was for us.
PHILLIPS: Right away, I know that it`s not a cake that I would be able to create for
them. Told them, sorry, guys, I don`t do cakes for same sex weddings. They looked at
me, like, what do you mean?
MULLINS: We were horrified and just embarrassed and hurt.
PHILLIPS: I will make you birthday cakes, shower (de nacimiento) cakes, cookies,
brownies. Basically, I will sell you anything else in the store. But that`s just the cake
that I can`t do and the conversation didn`t go any further. They got mad, stood up,
stormed out (went out furious) of the shop.
MULLINS: In the parking lot, we were -- we were very emotional (sensitive). It`s
embarrassing to admit, but I cried.
PHILLIPS: I didn`t want to use my artistic talents to create something that went
against my Christian faith.
MULLINS: We haven`t spoken to Jack since this all began.
SUBTITLE: Craig and Mullins, represented by the ACLU, already won the lower
courts of Colorado.
Their case made it all the way to the Supreme Court.
MULLINS: This case is about more than us and it`s not about cakes. It`s about the
right of gay people to receive equal service.
PHILLIPS: I don`t see this as a case of discrimination. Discrimination is saying you
people are not welcomed in my shop. But I always, always, always welcome everybody
in my shop. They`re just an event I don`t create cakes for, this was one of them --
but the two gentlemen that came are welcome on my shop any day.
To turn away somebody because of their sexual orientation, that would be
discrimination. To turn away an event, the opportunity to create for an event is not
discrimination.
5. CHARLIE CRAIG: This isn`t about our artistic expression. I don`t feel like we asked
for a piece of art, or for him to make a statement, we simply asked him for a cake
and he denied that to us simply because of who we are.
PHILLIPS: I feel like I`m being compelled to create artwork for an event, an
inherently religious event that goes against my faith. And I`m being compelled to do
so under threat of penalty of jail time and fines for not complying (doing as
told/cumplir con lo estipulado).
MULLINS: Religion is an extremely important part of many people`s lives. That`s why
it`s protected under the Constitution. But you cannot practice your religion in a way
that demeans (debases/rebajar) others or excludes them from public life.
PHILLIPS: Fundamentally, I believe that marriage is a picture of Christ in the church
and that God designed marriage to be a man and a woman.
MULLINS: A win in the Supreme Court would validate and affirm what the Colorado
courts have decided at every level, which is that Masterpiece Cakeshop discriminated
against us and denied us service based upon who we are.
PHILLIPS: The Colorado Civil Rights Commission ruled that for now on, I have to
make cakes for same sex weddings and rather than disobey that ruling, we decided
that a way around that, obeying the law and the ruling, would be to try and continue
business without making wedding cakes at all.
SUBTITLE: Recently, the Department of Justice expressed support for Masterpiece
Cakeshop`s position in a legal brief (report).
PHILLIPS: The hardship (escasez) has been substantial, sacrificing that aspect of
our business. That was 40 percent of our business. The day these two gentlemen
came in, I had 10 employees working for me. Now, I have four, including myself.
MULLINS: If the court rules against us, it would open the door to many forms of
discrimination that had long been outlawed (made illegal/proscribir) in our society,
and not just regarding gay people but against many protected groups.
PHILLIPS: I am hoping that at the end of this, I do have the option of making
wedding cakes, but this case is much bigger than just Jack Phillips get to make
wedding cakes. This case is about our fundamental freedoms, freedom of speech,
freedom of artistic expression, freedom of exercise free exercise of religion in our
day to day lives.
6. (END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Hear ye, hear ye, there`s a castle for sale in the U.S. It`s a replica of an
actual 15 century Spanish castle, but it`s as close as Pennsylvania. The home is new
construction, but it still needs some work. The exterior, for example, needs to be
covered with stone.
But for $1.69 million, you could own 15,000 square feet of castle and 25 acres of land.
And because it`s designated as residential property only, the owner could truly be
king or queen of the castle.
You don`t have to be Renaissance man to buy this sort of draw-bridge (puente
levadizo) to the past. But you can`t be a peasant (paisano, villano). It`s royal
opportunity for the baron or baroness who mnight consider high walls embattlements
(defensas) a sweet security system, and with the lake nearby, an additional water
feature is a moat (foso) point.
I`m Carl Azuz bidding you good day for CNN 10.
END
7. (END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: Hear ye, hear ye, there`s a castle for sale in the U.S. It`s a replica of an
actual 15 century Spanish castle, but it`s as close as Pennsylvania. The home is new
construction, but it still needs some work. The exterior, for example, needs to be
covered with stone.
But for $1.69 million, you could own 15,000 square feet of castle and 25 acres of land.
And because it`s designated as residential property only, the owner could truly be
king or queen of the castle.
You don`t have to be Renaissance man to buy this sort of draw-bridge (puente
levadizo) to the past. But you can`t be a peasant (paisano, villano). It`s royal
opportunity for the baron or baroness who mnight consider high walls embattlements
(defensas) a sweet security system, and with the lake nearby, an additional water
feature is a moat (foso) point.
I`m Carl Azuz bidding you good day for CNN 10.
END