“In a new push to integrate into multilateral relations with new nations, several embassies are being constructed along Seaside Street. No word yet as to how many agreements have been, or will be, secured, but we expect as many as five new embassies may open by the end of May. I’ll turn it over to Max with more on the future of the Quartz Embassy building, and what will be done in the future with the abandoned structures of ex-governments.”
“You see, city planners are expected to rezone the building as an outreach center, dedicated to rehousing displaced refugees from the now ungoverned dictatorship. Several local citizens are donating time and resources to the project, with a number of food drives and volunteer workers helping get this building going again…”
“Popular punk band Nervena is back after several years of hiatus, prompting a massive revival in the popularity of traditional media shops. Record and CD sales have exploded with a particular boom in sales of late 90’s, early 00’s punk music. With more on where to get the new album, I’ll hand it over to Michael.”
“Yeah, Marissa, you’ll find it easiest online, but many many, almost all the solid media stores I’ve visited today have been carrying the new album, as well as new deliveries of the band’s past hits…”
“Preparations are underway for the 2018 Pride Festival in Aura! The celebration will, as always, run from the second Saturday in June, to the following Saturday, culminating in a parade on the final afternoon. A historical turnout is expected this year, prompting unprecedented security precautions to protect what planners are expecting to be a crowd numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Similar events will be held around the nation, especially in major cities, but the celebration in the capitol is the largest gender and sexuality positivism event in the world. We’ll go live to Jordan what you can expect to see from this administration, you say you’ve heard the president and her wife will be in attendance again this year?”
“Yes Mary, I’ve got word from trusted sources and friends in the trans-lesbian community that the couple will be presenting a special speech on the importance of international tolerance…”
“Now, with some tech news, we’re gonna hand it over to Jeremy!”
“Thanks. Today we saw something straight out of your holy book of choice: weather control! Two A-19’s loaded with specialized thermobaric explosives were deployed over the Pacific Ocean, and were able to dissipate a small tropical disturbance to the south of the mainland.”
“Pretty impressive stuff!”
“Yep! A Homeland Department official said this could eventually help protect cities from worsening summer hurricanes, but were careful to suggest this was not a cure for the changing climate, only a stopgap for a specific symptom of the issue.”
“Good to know. We’re gonna pivot to some unexpected fallout from legislation, and possible changes to agricultural imports. Mary, what do you have for us…”
“We’re seeing the first steps of construction on the southshore quay; The construction and land-filling operation broke ground earlier today with some fanfare, we’ve got Andrew on the ground at the dig site.”
“Hey, good evening folks, I’m Andrew Kilver. Today we watched as mayor Oum took the first shovelful for the Southshore Protection Project, marking the end of a three year funding battle to keep the project from being defunded. The construction itself will consist of three phases: first, they’ll have to excavate to lay foundation for the levy, then they will begin pouring concrete over a steel superstructure. Finally there will be a massive project, moving soil and rock to fill in the area behind the seawall, before development of civilian buildings can proceed. Altogether, the wall itself is expected to be completed in late 2020, with the earth-filling portion being finished by mid 2021. John, Mary, back to you.”
“Thank you Andrew, we’re gonna take a look at the weather now, and it’s been a long time since we’ve got a break from this rain, huh…”
We’re continuing our coverage of the late-season blizzard impacting North Aura and much of Portside, can- can we drop the lower third? Can- thank you. Kim, can you give us another update on the high winds impacting embassy row, and the status of the emergency response?
Of course, and- and thank you Johnathan! Well- as you can see by- by the almost white-out conditions behind me, we’ve got gusts peaking at almost 70 kilometers per hour, there’s some worry that it could damage ongoing construction projects, you know, they’ve got- they have tower cranes that are swaying, probably 10, 12 stories tall. I was able to get a hold of the organizer of the Regent Avenue and Seaside Street Construction Site and they let me know that they had, in accordance with procedure, set their cranes to free-spin in preparation for the storm. Emergency services have managed to clear the west Reaver Street metro station entrance, two people are being moved to Aura General for treatment- treatment of exposure. This is Kim Lorris with CNC 7, back to you guys in studio.
Thank you Kim, stay warm out there. Alright, next, I’ll throw it back to Ryan, in studio, for the radar…
Plans for a new delegation on Seaside Street are finally bearing out, as a Nyerrian delegation has formed to take more organized leadership of territory left unclaimed after the unification of Quartz Fern Coast and Axdel. For years, the plot laid empty since demolition concluded in late 2018, but finally- construction has concluded on the initial structure of the embassy. No firm time frame has been released on the appointment of an ambassador from Nyerr, however, we do have some definite, and good, news: a fresh batch of Cavan vendors are opening in the metro promenade of both the Reaver Street and Olney Park platforms. A delicious- and bright- development for Emberwood Coast and the citizens of Aura. Back to you John!
Thanks Jeremy, hope you’re on your way back with some food! Now over to some science news, a new species has been found in the Cenererian, and just take a look at this fish…
Tragedy took three lives today, when a member of the Portside-based “Storm Trackers” encountered their last storm. Our Tevan Rhodes has the story, in South Hills.
Thank you, Mary. I’m here on the border of South Hills It has been just fourteen hours since the wreck of their 2015 Civet Ispirit was found… Among it, investigators say: two injured meteorologists, and the body of their driver, twenty-seven year old Lillith White from the Palisade neighborhood of Portside. It’s thought that a storm lofted their car- almost two full tons- hundreds of feet into the air, and slamming it into the ground almost a mile from where it started. Video footage the team was capturing has yet to be released by West Mifflin border officals, who found the scene early on Friday.
They had been working as part of a dozen-strong team of scientists working to gather data on tornado producing super-cells, when they were reported missing after a night of particularly severe weather. The two surviving chasers, Rick Herthfeld and Sophie White are recovering in a West Mifflin hospital tonight. Heartbreaking video pulled from their media feed shows the three celebrating their seventieth tornado intercept just one day prior…
"Rollout of Aura Metrorail’s TYPE 5 program is scheduled to start tomorrow, we’ll be seeing the newest railcars on the green line between the Spring Hill West and Southgate Gap stations.
“Amenities on the upgraded cars include touch-screen maps, improved climate control, and-”
A loud alarm sounds; first a long tone, then several shorter ones. The anchor’s speech has been muted as text scrolls the screen. A synthesized voice narrates the crawl:
SEVERE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR: KERN RALLY, MAPLE; OLYNSK RALLY, MAPLE; SYBIL RALLY, MAPLE. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF UP TO 30 INCHES ARE EXPECTED FOR AREAS SOUTH AND EAST OF AURA, WITH AMOUNTS OF UP TO 16 INCHES EXPECTED IN AND AROUND DOWNTOWN AURA. REMAIN SHELTERED INDOORS, AVOID ROAD TRAVEL AND LIMIT EXPOSURE DURING PERIODS OF EXTREMELY LOW TEMPERATURES. PLEASE STAY SAFE.
“Sorry for that, we’ll resume our normal coverage in a moment, but first let’s get a look at that new warning just issued by the Weather Service.”
“Thank you Isa, that warning includes the cities of Myriad and Lakebed, and as we’ve been seeing all this week we’ll have temperatures well below freezing tonight…”
“Next, record high temperatures this week have folks in Aura’s historic Battlements neighborhood cooling off in a novel way; CBC’s Mike Heardt has the story.”
The camera cuts to a cobblestone street. Rain drifts down on an otherwise clear day.
“It’s no miracle: Yvonne street’s rain is the invention of a bright local college student.” B-roll plays of a young man fiddling with the connections of an industrial fan.
“I saw a need, and, well, it… it seemed like the obvious answer!”
“With temperatures climbing into dangerous territory, hitting 44 degrees just last week, Kelly Broll decided enough was enough.”
“You see, before, I use this thermometer,” the student begins, aiming a laser thermometer at the street. It beeps almost inaudibly when finished. “The pavement down there is almost 50 degrees! If someone fell, it could, you know, it would hurt someone…” B-roll shows the fan blasting water across the entire street.
“So right, now we check, and… only like 30 degrees.”
“With just a bit of water?”
“That’s, yeah, all it takes.”
“Broll says he refined the design from similar devices at an amusement park, but the effect here is not just fun and games.” The camera cuts to interview footage with an ailing Cavan woman.
“I could not be outside before, it was just too hot some days.”
“61 year old Loona Chit says, for the past two years, she could only come out in the summer, when it was raining.”
“And I look, and it wasn’t supposed to rain today! But out I go, and it’s safe! I can go to my doctor, safe!”
“Another community, banding together in the face of a warming world. CBC’s Mike Heardt, reporting.”
“Thank you, Mike, a wonderful story. Up next, traffic news, what lane closures on Pikes’ Run could mean for international drivers; After that, we’re rounding up the latest international news with foreign correspondent Mille Devon…”
“Next tonight, to the unfolding situation in Crossville. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals have spilled from ruptured train cars following a derailment just off of I-51 North and U-4. CBC’s Patience Povey has the latest.”
Flames pour dramatically from the side of a toppled locomotive. In the foreground of the shot, a small army of firefighters work to contain flames making their way towards a major highway.
“A disaster scene is the last thing this small town expected to see as the sun set this evening.” A helicopter shot shows several dozen train cars heaped to the side of a railroad, billowing smoke illuminated by the streetlights of the nearby road.
"At about 8:15pm, something derailed this EFR train, causing 49 train cars and two locomotives to derail. Efforts to control the flames are ongoing, but what concerns officials is the contents of those train cars: the drinking water of this town could be contaminated with what EFR representatives have described as, ‘Volatile petroleum products’. No injuries are reported at this time, but rally officials are preparing to evacuate residents if the fires spread further.