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CARL AZUZ: Hey, thanks for taking
10 minutes to watch our show.
My name is Carl Azuz.
We are your objective source for world news.
And this Wednesday, that starts with a report on a new missile
test by North Korea.
The secretive communist country reportedly
launched a ballistic missile on Tuesday
that traveled from the northern part of the nation
to the ocean between North Korea and Japan.
A ballistic missile has what's considered
to be a medium range.
It can fly several hundred miles,
potentially reaching a country like South Korea or Japan,
but not the United States.
South Korea, Japan, and the US are allies of each other,
and rivals of North Korea.
Government controlled media in North Korea
said the missile was hypersonic, meaning it could fly as
fast as 20 times the speed of sound
and be nearly impossible to shoot down.
Experts say they're doubtful the weapon was that advanced.
And South Korea says it does have
the ability to intercept the kind of missile
North Korea launched.
Still it's against international law for North Korea
to test out ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons,
though the country has repeatedly done that anyway
and considers weapons tests a right.
Analysts say North Korea launches missiles like this
to show off its military power and to get
attention from international governments and media.
Across the Pacific, the launch was followed by some confusion
in US airspace.
Officials say the test was not considered a threat to
the continental United States.
But at least two air traffic controllers
in different western states and a spokesperson for the San
Diego International Airport said US officials had ordered
a temporary ground stop, when pilots were
told to land and not take off from multiple west
coast airports.
It's an unusual order that reportedly lasted a few minutes
on Monday afternoon.
But some other airports in the region
said they were unaware of a ground stop order.
And a spokeswoman for NORAD, the North American Aerospace
Defense Command, said it gave no warnings to airports
about the missile launch.
On Tuesday, the US Federal Aviation Administration
said it briefly stopped flights from departing
at some airports on the west coast near the time
of the missile test.
10-second trivia.
Where would you most likely find a kite winder,
an enfilade, and an oxeye?
Plant nursery, subway, pet store, historic home.
[beeping]
These are all features you might find in a historic home
and some modern ones.
Supply and demand factor into our next story today.
In December, the prices of houses in the United States
hit an all-time high.
Real estate brokerage Redfin says the median home price was
$360,500, and that the number of homes for sale
dropped to an all time low.
That made it a great year for sellers
who could get top dollar for their homes and a tough year
for buyers who had to pay more for those homes.
Analysts expect the housing market to settle down a little
this year, especially if mortgage rates go up.
But one area of uncertainty is for flippers, people who
buy homes, clean and fix them up,
and try to sell them at a profit.
The average amount of money they made on flips last year
dropped dramatically from the year before.
Reasons included more expensive materials,
more expensive labor, and problems with the supply chain.
LEAH WENSINK: Where is this wood?
What is this?
- Leah Wensink has been renovating and reselling
homes for seven years.
LEAH WENSINK: Nope.
See?
Garbage.
This is a huge step outside my comfort zone.
I don't know if I will make any money on this house.
- The house she's working on is located here in east Tennessee.
LEAH WENSINK: This is definitely the most
I've ever paid for a flip.
- Does that have you worried?
LEAH WENSINK: Yeah, absolutely.
And I love them so much because they're lightweight.
- Wensink says she bought this home for around $170,000
and spent another 30 grand renovating
it with more expenses to come.
LEAH WENSINK: It should fit.
- She said she won't list it for less than $350,000.
LEAH WENSINK: I am very worried about being
able to sell the house for what I need in order
to compensate for my time.
I think it is getting a lot tighter
to try to meet your margin if you have a margin and goal.
It's good.
- That's because of rising costs.
Home prices, materials, and labor have
all spiked in the last year.
TODD TETA: Flippers, they're affected
pretty dramatically by supply chain and labor issues
in the market.
- Todd Tita is an executive at ATTOM Data Solutions,
which puts out a quarterly report
on the house flipping market.
TODD TETA: Flipping is becoming increasingly more difficult.
And good operators are going to have to create value
by rehabbing their homes intelligently,
buying at a discount, as opposed to just riding
the wave of rising prices like everybody else has been
doing for the last 18 months.
- Wensink says working in a smaller community
gives her an advantage.
LEAH WENSINK: Coming to a smaller town
allows me to feel like I'm not so competitive with everyone.
I'm hoping that there's not going to be a ton of people
coming in and trying to take over,
and just buying every house, and flipping it.
Thank you, ma'am.
I don't think for me, it would be possible to flip
a house in Nashville.
I just don't think I have the capital.
I don't think I'd have the resources
or ability to compete.
I just don't think it's possible.
MATT EDEN: So here in Nashville, I'd say that there's
a really high number of flips.
- Matt Eden flips houses part time in Madison,
Tennessee, a Nashville suburb.
MATT EDEN: My first flip was only a little over a year ago.
And I definitely learned a ton through that process.
So we're at a flip here in Madison.
We just closed on this about a week ago.
Every flip really has its different issues.
Most of mine have some sort of substantial damage.
This is probably one of the worst.
So we're going to be headed over to another one of my flips.
The inspector is there.
He inspects the work to ensure that it's complete.
And then he gives me the next draw of money from the lender.
The toughest part about being a flipper
is really the unknown and the what if.
What if we open the walls and there's major termite damage?
What if I have to switch contractors mid job?
Really, the anxiety I guess of flipping
is probably the hardest part.
- And the electrical panel.
MATT EDEN: You have to be pretty adventurous
from a financial perspective.
You have to be willing to accept a little bit of risk.
TODD TETA: The downside risk for a flipper is price declines.
We don't see that happening.
What we do see happening is leveling out.
Some markets may show some declines, some softness.
It's all going to come down to experienced flippers
knowing how much to rehab a home,
and then pricing it correctly.
MATT EDEN: We've got about $700,000
worth of debt at the moment.
- But you're not worried about it?
Or--
MATT EDEN: No, I'm not worried about it
simply because I know what the properties are going
to be worth once they're done.
And I don't see the bottom falling out of this market
any time soon.
LEAH WENSINK: It's important to just take your time
and hit it in the center.
I'm always worried that there's going to be a recession.
And then, what value will this be?
But at least still, I'm like, well
it's still you're holding property,
which is at least going to have some value
in this world I hope.
So I have to try to take comfort in that.
I try to talk myself off the ledge a lot.
CARL AZUZ: Unexpected question of the day.
Can fish drive?
The short answer is no.
But a team of Israeli researchers
did recently create a cart that responds to a goldfish fish's
movement inside a mounted tank.
When the fish swam toward a certain direction,
cameras, sensors, and a computer made the cart go there.
And if the fish reached the target that scientists set up,
it got rewarded with food.
At first, it reportedly took the animals
30 minutes to figure this out.
But after several days of fish driver's ed, some of them
could eventually reach the target within one minute,
even with obstacles in the way.
The scientists say this shows that goldfish have the ability
to navigate towards something outside
of their immediate environment, that they may be smarter
than people think they are, and that this might just
disprove the theory that goldfish have
an incredibly short memory.
But some of the animals in the study
were better at driving than others,
even with food on the line.
So it's probably a good idea to keep them in the tank
instead of on the road.
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Something else you don't see every day rates a 10 out of 10.
Why did the ostriches cross the road?
Because they escaped.
80 of these birds went AWOL from a farm in southern China
and made a rushed tour of city life.
Chinese media say the ostriches got out after a farm worker
didn't properly secure a gate.
No injuries were reported of people or the ostriches.
And with the help of police, the farmer
was able to recover most of the birds.
Maybe they just wanted to o-stretch their legs,
if you know what I'm saying.
Guess they thought farm life was for the birds.
They were frightless but flightless.
They took flight on a flight of fancy that got off the ground,
but ultimately didn't get them any air.
And while some might have found their long leggy
journey amusing, they certainly embodied gumption over farm.
Baraboo High School, shout-out to you.
Our viewers in Baraboo, Wisconsin,
thank you for your request on our YouTube channel.
I'm Carl Azuz for CNN.
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