NBC Nightly News - 1999-05-05 - 1 of 2

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Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] New hope tonight?

[0:03] >> [music]

[0:07] >> Is there new hope tonight for peace in

[0:09] Kosovo? And will Milosevic agree? Also,

[0:12] President Clinton, the troops, and the

[0:14] former POW.

[0:17] In-depth tonight on board Air Force One.

[0:20] Exclusive access inside the flying war

[0:23] room.

[0:23] >> Didn't you expect to be farther along at

[0:25] this point we're now 6 weeks into the

[0:27] operation?

[0:28] >> One-on-one with the commander-in-chief.

[0:31] In Oklahoma, digging out, starting over.

[0:34] Plus, blown away, one man's amazing

[0:37] survival story in the killer tornadoes.

[0:40] And lost in space, another American

[0:43] rocket launch gone wrong. Six failures,

[0:46] nine months. What is going on?

[0:51] >> [music]

[0:51] >> This is NBC Nightly News with Tom

[0:53] Brokaw.

[0:55] Reporting tonight from Ramstein Air Base

[0:57] in Germany.

[1:00] >> Good evening from Ramstein Air Base in

[1:01] Germany where President Clinton wrapped

[1:03] up a day-long pep rally for American

[1:05] troops involved in Operation Allied

[1:07] Force, but this is also a day that

[1:09] brought the first American casualties.

[1:12] But, there was a declaration from the

[1:13] American commander of NATO forces that,

[1:16] quote, "We're winning."

[1:18] I joined the president on Air Force One

[1:20] for the trip here and an exclusive

[1:22] interview on how he is encouraged by

[1:24] some plans in the works. We'll have more

[1:26] on that. Also, the Oklahoma tornadoes

[1:28] coming up. First, for the latest on the

[1:30] war, here's NBC's Jim Miklaszewski at

[1:33] the Pentagon.

[1:34] >> Tom, as NATO air strikes enter their

[1:36] seventh week, there's increasing talk

[1:38] tonight of a possible peace deal to try

[1:40] to end the war.

[1:42] At the US Air Base in Spangdahlem,

[1:44] Germany, President Clinton meets

[1:45] face-to-face today with frontline war

[1:47] fighters, American pilots flying daily

[1:49] air strikes in Yugoslavia. In a speech

[1:52] to the troops, the president praises

[1:53] them for their courage in carrying out

[1:55] their mission to halt the ethnic

[1:57] cleansing in Kosovo.

[1:58] >> This is occurring in the heart of Europe

[2:01] on NATO's doorstep.

[2:03] We must repudiate it.

[2:06] We must reverse it.

[2:08] >> But even as the president reviews the

[2:09] latest war plans, the White House has

[2:11] come up with a framework for peace. US

[2:14] and diplomatic sources tell NBC News the

[2:15] plan would call for a pause in the

[2:17] bombing and put up to 60,000

[2:19] peacekeeping troops inside Kosovo, but

[2:22] only when the shooting stops and

[2:23] Milosevic starts to withdraw his forces.

[2:26] The peacekeepers would include Russian

[2:28] troops, but NATO commander General

[2:29] Wesley Clark tells Tom Brokaw the bulk

[2:32] of the force would be NATO.

[2:33] >> NATO forces must be at least the core of

[2:36] this force. It needs a NATO command and

[2:38] control structure and it needs the

[2:40] backbone of of the kind of

[2:42] demonstrated capability that we've had

[2:44] for example in Bosnia.

[2:46] >> Russian envoy Victor Chernomyrdin is

[2:47] expected to take the offer to Belgrade

[2:49] within days.

[2:51] The president extended his own olive

[2:53] branch today as he met with the three

[2:55] former American POWs. He suggested two

[2:58] Serb prisoners of war will soon be

[3:00] released. Meanwhile, tragedy struck the

[3:02] American military early today when an

[3:04] Apache helicopter crashed and burned

[3:06] during a training mission in Albania.

[3:08] The two crew members were killed. It's

[3:10] the second Apache to crash in a week.

[3:12] Military investigators say there's no

[3:14] evidence this helicopter was shot down,

[3:16] but all Apaches are grounded in Albania

[3:18] pending an investigation. And in New

[3:20] Jersey tonight, the first Kosovo

[3:22] refugees arrive at Fort Dix. As many as

[3:24] 20,000 will be temporarily housed in the

[3:26] US.

[3:27] And US officials warn tonight that

[3:29] there's no solid evidence that Milosevic

[3:31] himself is about to back down and that

[3:33] even the prospect for peace is at least

[3:35] several weeks away. So in the meantime,

[3:38] NATO bombing will intensify to make sure

[3:40] that any settlement reached with

[3:42] Milosevic is on NATO's terms, Tom.

[3:46] >> Thanks, NBC's Jim Miklaszewski at the

[3:48] Pentagon tonight. We'll have more on the

[3:50] president coming up in depth. My

[3:52] exclusive interview with Mr. Clinton.

[3:54] But now the other top story of the day,

[3:55] Oklahoma and the aftermath of those

[3:58] killer tornadoes. My colleague in New

[4:00] York, Brian Williams. Brian.

[4:02] >> Tom, thanks. In the American Midwest

[4:04] tonight, the tornado zone. Shock giving

[4:06] way to an overwhelming feeling of loss

[4:08] as thousands of families are facing the

[4:10] fact that their homes and everything in

[4:12] them is gone. That includes entire

[4:14] towns. You are looking now at one of the

[4:16] hardest hit areas after the storms,

[4:18] Moore, Oklahoma. NBC's Jim Cummins joins

[4:21] us tonight from Midwest City, Oklahoma

[4:23] with the damage assessment state-wide.

[4:25] Jim.

[4:26] >> Brian, authorities now believe the cost

[4:27] of this storm could be as high as a

[4:29] billion dollars. And late today the

[4:31] medical examiner said the death toll

[4:33] could go much higher.

[4:35] >> As I indicated, we have uh

[4:38] uh more than 100 missing person reports

[4:41] uh that are unaccounted for at present

[4:43] time.

[4:46] >> Today the survivors began to pick up the

[4:48] pieces and assess the damage.

[4:50] >> Oh, you found the Christmas tree? All

[4:51] right.

[4:52] >> They want to talk about living through a

[4:53] tornado with top winds of 300 mph.

[4:57] >> They say it doesn't sound like a train.

[4:58] It does. It sounds like a train.

[5:00] >> [panting and laughter]

[5:01] >> Ripped out.

[5:03] >> But then there is this realization.

[5:06] >> Why us?

[5:07] We have no house.

[5:09] We don't know where to go.

[5:11] >> The house is insured for 42 or 43,000.

[5:13] >> There will be thousands of insurance

[5:15] claims and now authorities say the

[5:16] number of homes destroyed by the

[5:18] twisters is much higher than they

[5:20] originally estimated.

[5:21] >> We're thinking between two somewhere

[5:24] between two 3,000 homes.

[5:27] >> Weather experts say their reading showed

[5:29] the big twister traveled about 80 miles

[5:31] from where it formed and then carved a

[5:33] 19-mile gash through one of the most

[5:35] populated areas in Oklahoma.

[5:37] And the search for survivors goes on.

[5:40] >> No one else has been found alive. But

[5:42] nobody else has been found dead.

[5:45] >> Today one fire department official said

[5:46] there is only an outside chance that

[5:48] anybody else will be found alive in the

[5:50] rubble. Most homes in this part of the

[5:52] country are built on concrete slabs.

[5:55] Verlin Marchbanks is one of the few

[5:56] people lucky enough to have a storm

[5:58] cellar. He was out of town when the

[6:00] twister hit his neighborhood.

[6:01] >> I kept a featuring somebody dying and my

[6:04] cellar sitting there empty.

[6:05] >> But his neighbor Delma Whitaker jumped

[6:07] in the storm cellar after her son

[6:09] Phillip convinced her to do it. They

[6:11] took cover just 2 minutes before the

[6:13] tornado hit.

[6:14] >> He opened the up the cellar door and

[6:17] looked out and he said, "Mama, you don't

[6:18] have a house."

[6:20] And

[6:21] then he come on and twice he could see

[6:23] his house and he said, "Come back and he

[6:25] said, "Mama, I don't have a house

[6:26] either."

[6:28] I would have been dead.

[6:30] >> You think so?

[6:30] >> Yes.

[6:32] Because see, right there was my living

[6:34] room.

[6:34] >> When she told me that they got in it,

[6:36] that just

[6:37] like just you know, took a load off my

[6:40] heart.

[6:41] >> Tonight, the police say they have set up

[6:43] a hotline for families of those

[6:45] >> who are missing, Brian. Jim Cummins

[6:46] reporting for us tonight. Thanks.

[6:48] Tonight, so many people in the Oklahoma

[6:50] City area, people who live there, work

[6:52] there, own property, now have to start

[6:54] over. A process that can be as traumatic

[6:56] as what they're going through right now.

[6:58] Here with that, NBC's Jim Avila tonight.

[7:01] Jim.

[7:01] >> Brian, Oklahoma County officials are now

[7:04] saying that 1/3 of the some 2,000 homes

[7:07] destroyed here, buildings destroyed

[7:09] here, were actually businesses. Now,

[7:10] while those businesses may be eligible

[7:12] for low-income loans and grants, will

[7:14] that mean that they'll be able to

[7:15] restore these neighborhoods what they

[7:17] looked like before Monday? Well,

[7:19] experience says not soon. It takes

[7:21] years, not months.

[7:24] >> Apparently,

[7:25] >> David Twindle figures his share of the

[7:28] estimated billion-dollar price tag to

[7:30] rebuild the tornado-stricken Midwest

[7:32] runs about $200,000.

[7:35] >> The debris from the houses, well, you

[7:37] can see it's stuck in the buildings.

[7:38] >> The concrete walls of of sporting goods

[7:40] store, now a pin cushion filled with

[7:43] two-by-sixes launched by 200-mph winds.

[7:46] But, he plans to rebuild and reopen in

[7:49] days, not months.

[7:51] >> 1 week is my goal.

[7:52] So, uh I want to be I want to be open

[7:54] Monday, and if they can get us

[7:57] electricity, I will be.

[7:58] >> But, realistically, how long will it

[8:00] take for Oklahoma City to rebuild its

[8:02] damaged neighborhood? The government has

[8:04] plenty of experience with disasters.

[8:06] FEMA has paid $25 billion in disaster

[8:09] aid in the last decade, 1.3 billion for

[8:12] tornadoes. Still, FEMA director James

[8:15] Lee Witt may be overly optimistic in his

[8:17] recovery estimate.

[8:19] >> It'll take them 6 months to a year to

[8:21] get, you know, even uh

[8:24] 3/4 of it built back.

[8:26] >> But, the disaster record in other cities

[8:28] shows a much slower recovery. Xenia,

[8:30] Ohio, wiped out in April of 1974.

[8:34] 36 dead, $310 million damage. 10 years

[8:38] to rebuild. Plainfield, Illinois, August

[8:41] 1990. Twister kills 29, $192 million

[8:45] damage. Rebuilt in 2 years. Homestead,

[8:49] Florida, an August hurricane kills 58,

[8:52] causes $27 billion damage, totally

[8:54] leveled. And today, 7 years later, still

[8:58] rebuilding. Spencer, South Dakota, a

[9:00] tornado just last May. Five dead, $5.6

[9:04] million damage. Today, rebuilding still

[9:07] in progress.

[9:08] And a critical obstacle in rebuilding

[9:10] Oklahoma City, a nationwide shortage of

[9:12] drywall because of the booming

[9:14] construction market.

[9:15] >> There is a shortage nationwide, and the

[9:17] drywall manufacturers right now

[9:19] are building more plants as we speak

[9:23] to to meet that demand.

[9:25] >> For businesses and homeowners, a

[9:27] struggle that begins today and could

[9:29] last for years.

[9:30] >> Brian, Jim Avila tonight from Oklahoma.

[9:32] Thanks. And when we come back, more from

[9:34] Tom Brokaw traveling with the president

[9:36] in Europe. And have questions about

[9:38] Clinton's character hurt him as

[9:39] commander in chief.

[9:42] >> Has that made running this kind of

[9:44] operation more complicated for you?

[9:46] >> No.

[9:47] >> Our exclusive interview with the

[9:48] president as he meets with American

[9:49] troops and Kosovo refugees and later on

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[12:17] >> Weekdays at 9:00, on News Channel 8.

[12:21] >> NBC News in depth tonight, the

[12:23] commander-in-chief, President Bill

[12:25] Clinton, running a war that's gone on

[12:27] longer than anticipated, a war with

[12:30] hundreds of thousands of refugees, a

[12:32] wily and ruthless adversary in Belgrade,

[12:35] and now a war in which America's cold

[12:37] war enemy may become the best hope for

[12:40] peace.

[12:41] When the president left Washington last

[12:43] night, he gave me unusual access on Air

[12:45] Force One and here in Europe. Tonight,

[12:48] in depth, the commander-in-chief.

[12:53] We were barely wheels up in Air Force

[12:55] One when the president convened a

[12:56] briefing with his top national security

[12:59] advisers.

[13:00] >> Meeting with the

[13:01] Prime Minister of Japan.

[13:02] >> We were ushered out when Defense

[13:04] Secretary Cohen got to the military

[13:06] developments.

[13:08] But in his Air Force One office, the

[13:10] president was eager to include the

[13:12] Russians in the negotiations and also in

[13:15] the peacekeeping.

[13:16] >> I am encouraged because first of all, I

[13:17] think it's a good thing for the Russians

[13:19] to be

[13:20] aggressively involved

[13:22] and trying to

[13:24] find a diplomatic solution

[13:26] as long as it's a real solution to the

[13:29] problem.

[13:29] >> Then we flew through the night to arrive

[13:31] in Brussels and NATO headquarters

[13:33] shortly after dawn.

[13:35] The president met with NATO officials

[13:37] and received an upbeat military briefing

[13:39] from NATO commander General Wesley

[13:41] Clark.

[13:44] When President Clinton appeared before

[13:46] several thousand troops and their

[13:47] families at Spangdahlem Air Base in

[13:49] Germany, he thanked them for their

[13:51] service,

[13:52] but he was also careful not to wage war

[13:54] on all Serbs.

[13:56] >> We have no quarrel

[13:58] with the Serb people.

[14:00] America has many great Serbian

[14:03] Americans.

[14:04] They were our allies in war.