NBC Nightly News - 2009-03-17

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Transcript

Language: English (YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] government can't do anything about it.

[0:02] >> Also, why being unemployed could

[0:03] actually be good for your resume

[0:06] >> and why today could be the most

[0:07] dangerous day of the year.

[0:10] >> Tonight on Channel 4 News at 6, working

[0:12] for you.

[0:16] >> On our broadcast tonight, hitting a

[0:18] nerve, the growing fury over bonuses at

[0:21] taxpayerowned AIG in Washington and

[0:24] across the country. Who are the guys

[0:26] getting this money on the job at a time

[0:29] when so many people are out of work? Why

[0:32] does this town have the lowest

[0:34] unemployment rate in the country? Fallen

[0:37] star. She's a member of one of the

[0:38] leading families of stage and screen.

[0:41] Tonight, she's in a real life and death

[0:43] drama of her own. Will have the latest.

[0:46] And acts of kindness. The stories we

[0:48] covered last week suggested by our

[0:51] viewers. Wait till you see what has

[0:52] happened since. The outpouring of

[0:55] generosity helping those who are making

[0:58] a difference. Nightly News begins now.

[1:05] From NBC News World Headquarters in New

[1:08] York, this is NBC Nightly News with

[1:11] Brian Williams, brought to you with

[1:13] limited commercial interruption by

[1:16] Fidelity Investments.

[1:18] >> Good evening. You may notice we have

[1:20] more time for news in the broadcast

[1:22] tonight. As we said, it's being

[1:24] presented with limited commercial

[1:25] interruption. And we have decided to

[1:28] devote some of that extra time to

[1:30] explain the story behind the outrage

[1:32] that is AIG. It's the insurance

[1:35] conglomerate that we were told was too

[1:38] big, too important to be allowed to

[1:40] fail. It's now 80% owned by American

[1:43] taxpayers. $180 billion worth of

[1:46] taxpayer money has been pumped into it.

[1:48] And now we learn they are handing out

[1:50] bonuses. $165 million in bonus money. 73

[1:56] employees are receiving $1 million or

[1:59] more. Tonight we'll take a look at AIG.

[2:01] Who are these employees? Who's making

[2:03] the case they should get these money?

[2:06] We'll also this money rather will also

[2:08] hear the outrage all the way from the

[2:11] east in Washington across the country.

[2:14] We begin our coverage tonight with NBC's

[2:16] Tom Castello in our Washington newsroom.

[2:18] Tom, good evening.

[2:20] >> Hi, Brian. Good evening. New York

[2:21] Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is

[2:23] aggressively pursuing this as a legal

[2:25] matter, demanding records on who has

[2:27] received how much. He says 11 AIG

[2:30] employees have left after receiving

[2:33] their bonuses, which AIG insists it is

[2:35] contractually, legally required to pay

[2:37] out.

[2:40] Tonight, the New York Attorney General

[2:42] says AIG's bonuses have made wealthy

[2:45] employees even wealthier. Many in the

[2:47] London trading office that was at the

[2:49] center of the company's near collapse.

[2:51] The top bonus recipient got more than

[2:53] $6.4 million. 22 employees received $2

[2:57] million or more. 73 employees received

[3:00] at least a million dollar. Many of the

[3:02] bonuses agreed to a year ago were

[3:04] designed to retain top talent.

[3:07] >> These are people that ought to be fired.

[3:09] They ought to be terminated rather than

[3:10] retained. These are the people that

[3:12] caused the problem. Who wants to retain

[3:14] them? And in fact, giving them this

[3:16] money doesn't retain them anyway.

[3:18] >> To understand AIG, it helps to know the

[3:20] top players. For nearly 40 years, Hank

[3:23] Greenberg was CEO, retiring in 2005 amid

[3:26] an accounting scandal. Martin Sullivan

[3:28] replaced Greenberg, but was forced out

[3:30] last June as the financial losses

[3:32] mounted. Robert Wllmstead ran the

[3:34] company until he was forced to step down

[3:36] last September. Now, with taxpayers

[3:39] owning 80% of the company, former All

[3:42] State CEO Edward Litty is in charge.

[3:44] He's been called to testify on Capitol

[3:46] Hill tomorrow about the bonuses. But it

[3:48] was Hank Greenberg who built AIG into an

[3:51] insurance powerhouse and then opened a

[3:54] special office in London to ensure other

[3:56] banks and their risky loans, so-called

[3:59] swaps, as a way to make quick money.

[4:02] They thought they could make money by

[4:04] ensuring the fact that people who

[4:06] couldn't afford mortgages would pay the

[4:08] mortgages.

[4:09] >> Today, former CEO Hank Greenberg

[4:11] insisted AIG's problems only began after

[4:14] he left office.

[4:15] >> We had a very strong riskmanagement

[4:18] department. What happened to it, I don't

[4:21] know.

[4:22] >> AIG's credit rating was cut, and when

[4:23] the risky loans collapsed, it didn't

[4:25] have the money to back up its insurance,

[4:27] leaving taxpayers to pick up a $180

[4:30] billion tab. and now bonuses which some

[4:33] argue are necessary to hold on to the

[4:35] very people who understand the mess many

[4:37] of them helped create.

[4:38] >> In an odd way, we're now shareholders of

[4:40] this company and we now have to bet that

[4:43] hopefully we can get out of this thing

[4:44] and we might actually need them.

[4:46] >> But Greenberg says, "No,

[4:47] >> I wouldn't pay the bonuses."

[4:49] Period. Now they they want to be sued.

[4:53] Sue us. In fact, Hank Greenberg is now

[4:56] suing AIG for the fortune he lost when

[4:59] AIG's stock collapsed. Since taxpayers

[5:02] own AIG, Hank Greenberg is suing you and

[5:05] me. Brian, how to figure that one out.

[5:08] Tom Castello starting us off from

[5:10] Washington tonight. Tom, thanks. One US

[5:13] senator actually suggested that AIG

[5:16] executives should either resign or kill

[5:19] themselves. He has since taken back the

[5:21] second part of that quote. While

[5:23] Washington blames AIG, others are

[5:26] blaming Washington for not watching the

[5:28] store. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell has more on

[5:31] this angle from Capitol Hill tonight.

[5:33] Kelly, good evening.

[5:34] >> Good evening, Brian. Congress is trying

[5:36] to throw its weight around. First taking

[5:38] the nice route, a letter to AIG asking

[5:40] the company to cancel the bonuses and

[5:42] then a more aggressive approach. A batch

[5:44] of legislation being written right now

[5:47] to take the money back.

[5:51] Senator Cornin's office.

[5:52] >> Anger on the line today.

[5:54] >> All right, I'll make sure he gets your

[5:55] message.

[5:56] >> At congressional offices, aids say the

[5:58] AIG bonus mess dominated calls from

[6:01] their home states. Outrage that

[6:04] reverberated across the capital.

[6:06] >> It's disgusting. It's disgraceful.

[6:08] >> No more bailouts.

[6:10] No more executive bonuses.

[6:12] >> AIG needs to step up and do the right

[6:14] thing. Getting AIG to do the right thing

[6:17] is what Republican Chuck Rasley had in

[6:19] mind, too. But on Iowa radio, his

[6:22] message to AIG executives went to the

[6:25] extreme.

[6:26] >> If they'd follow the Japanese example

[6:29] and come before the American people and

[6:31] take that deep bow and say, "I'm sorry,"

[6:34] and then either do one of two things,

[6:36] resign or go commit suicide. Grassly

[6:40] later clarified,

[6:42] >> "I'm not suggesting that anybody in

[6:43] America commits suicide. I just want to

[6:46] bring attention to the fact that we need

[6:48] a culture in the United States that

[6:50] holds corporate executives responsible."

[6:53] >> Today, there was an allout scramble to

[6:55] come up with a fix. A few tactics

[6:57] emerged. First, shame and embarrass AIG

[7:00] employees to simply give the money back.

[7:03] >> We can legislate all we want.

[7:06] Unfortunately, we cannot legislate

[7:07] morality. And that is really a shame.

[7:11] >> Tactic two, get the bonus millions back

[7:13] through the power of the IRS.

[7:15] >> What's the highest tax that we could

[7:18] impose on those bonuses that is

[7:21] sustainable in court?

[7:22] >> The only way that you can get the money

[7:24] back is to tax it back.

[7:26] >> Tactic three, find a legal way to break

[7:29] the contracts that authorize the

[7:30] payouts.

[7:31] >> I think the time has come to exercise

[7:33] our ownership rights. We own most of the

[7:34] company. And then say as owner, no, I'm

[7:37] not paying you the bonus. you didn't

[7:38] perform.

[7:40] >> And Brian, I talked to some members of

[7:41] Congress today who say they too should

[7:43] have done more to try to prevent this to

[7:45] put in tougher restrictions when the

[7:47] bailout plans were being written. Now,

[7:49] there was a bipartisan attempt to limit

[7:51] those bonuses, but it just simply didn't

[7:53] make it through the bill. Brian,

[7:55] >> Kelly O'Donnell on Capitol Hill tonight.

[7:57] Kelly, thanks. Of course, the anger and

[7:59] the outrage over these AIG bailouts and

[8:02] bonuses isn't confined to Washington.

[8:05] Ask people about it where you live.

[8:07] That's what we did in places like

[8:09] Libertyville, Illinois, and around the

[8:12] country. Today, that story from NBC's

[8:14] Kevin Tibbles.

[8:17] >> The Liberty Barber Shop, Main Street,

[8:19] Libertyville, Illinois, where there's no

[8:21] shortage of opinion.

[8:23] >> It's not right. Um,

[8:25] >> I work really hard for my money

[8:28] >> in my company. If if uh even if I make

[8:30] good decisions, if the company does

[8:32] poorly, I don't get a bonus. here. Talk

[8:35] of 165 million in executive bonuses at

[8:38] AIG doesn't sound like stimulus.

[8:41] >> Back to the grind.

[8:42] >> It feels more like a sting in the behind

[8:44] than a anything else.

[8:46] >> Although some suggest AIG should simply

[8:49] go under.

[8:50] >> The government should leave them alone

[8:52] because we're not a socialist country.

[8:54] >> AIG's New York headquarters may be a

[8:56] long way from small town America, but

[8:58] people here are watching. It's their

[9:00] money. The nation's newspapers, those

[9:03] still in business, echo President

[9:05] Obama's outrage. That sentiment

[9:07] reverberates all the way to the Drake

[9:09] Diner in De Moine, Iowa. Senator Chuck

[9:12] Grassley's backyard.

[9:13] >> It's like rubbing it in. They say, "Hey,

[9:15] take that. You gave us some money. Now

[9:17] we go out and party with it." I think

[9:18] this is plain not dumb, it's just plain

[9:20] stupid.

[9:21] >> They just got help. They should just get

[9:23] out. They They should just get out

[9:26] >> after after they give back the bonus.

[9:29] And in New York, in the shadow of AIG

[9:31] headquarters,

[9:32] >> this is how real America works.

[9:34] >> Some suggest it's time for an executive

[9:36] reality check.

[9:37] >> They should come down from their high

[9:39] horse and see what it's like to work

[9:41] down the subway or to work in a hole or

[9:43] to get up every morning at 4:30 in the

[9:45] morning and provide for their family.

[9:48] >> Back in Libertyville,

[9:49] >> I wouldn't cheat a customer out of a

[9:51] dollar.

[9:52] I It's not right. And in a place where a

[9:55] haircut is still 10 bucks, you can take

[9:59] that to the bank.

[10:00] >> Kevin Tibbles, NBC News, Libertyville,

[10:03] Illinois.

[10:04] >> On Wall Street today, stocks resume

[10:07] their upward climb. The Dow gained just

[10:09] under 179 points. NASDAQ was up 58. S&P

[10:14] gained more than 24. Now to the Pentagon

[10:17] and a disturbing new report on sexual

[10:20] assault in the US military more

[10:22] widespread than was first thought, but

[10:25] very few cases are reported or

[10:27] prosecuted. That story from NBC's Jim

[10:30] Mlashki.

[10:33] As a 20-year-old in the army, Angela

[10:35] Peacock was raped by a fellow soldier.

[10:37] She was shocked again when she reported

[10:39] the attack to her male commander.

[10:41] >> If you want to stay in the army, you

[10:42] keep your mouth shut, suck it up, and

[10:44] drive on. Angela did drive on and later

[10:47] deploy to Iraq, but under the lingering

[10:49] trauma of the sexual assault and the

[10:51] horrors of war, she cracked.

[10:52] >> I started having panic attacks and

[10:57] like sleepless nights, I was spiraling

[10:59] down uh pretty fast.

[11:02] >> She was diagnosed with post-traumatic

[11:03] stress and discharged from the army. A

[11:06] Pentagon report on sexual assaults

[11:08] released today shows Angela is not

[11:10] alone. In 2008, there were more than

[11:12] 2900 sexual assaults in the military, an

[11:15] 8% jump over the previous year. Perhaps

[11:18] more alarming, the number of sexual

[11:20] assaults in the war zones of Iraq and

[11:22] Afghanistan spiked by 26%. Pentagon

[11:25] officials insist they're taking the

[11:27] disturbing trend seriously.

[11:29] >> We know one sexual assault's too many in

[11:31] the military. And uh so we know that

[11:33] that number is high. Only 11% of sexual

[11:36] assault cases last year went to court

[11:38] marshall and the Pentagon could not

[11:39] provide the number of convictions. The

[11:41] Pentagon has launched an aggressive

[11:43] campaign to convince the victims to step

[11:45] forward and report sexual assaults, but

[11:47] it's still estimated that only 10% of

[11:49] the attacks ever get reported. Experts

[11:52] claim female victims are too intimidated

[11:54] by the male dominated military.

[11:56] >> They'll find ways of isolating her,

[11:58] punishing her, shutting her up. And you

[12:01] know, women know this. Congresswoman

[12:02] Jane Harmon calls it a cover up.

[12:05] >> And anyone in the chain of command who

[12:07] covers up the act and says, "Oh, it's

[12:09] just a, you know, boys will be boys,"

[12:11] which is what has been happening, also

[12:12] should be prosecuted.

[12:14] >> Angela Peacock may never be convinced.

[12:16] >> When you're in the military, the last

[12:18] people that you want to tell that you

[12:19] just got raped is the military.

[12:20] >> Jim Mclashesky, NBC News. The Pentagon.

[12:24] >> The actress Natasha Richardson is part

[12:27] of an acting dynasty. She's married to

[12:29] actor Liam Niss. She's the daughter of

[12:31] Vanessa Redgrave. She is in the hospital

[12:34] tonight with a head injury suffered in a

[12:36] ski accident in Canada. Our chief

[12:39] science correspondent Robert Bazelle

[12:41] reports.

[12:42] >> Liam Natasha

[12:43] >> 45-year-old actress Natasha Richardson

[12:46] was taking a private lesson yesterday on

[12:48] the beginner slope at the Mount Trablanc

[12:50] Ski Resort in Quebec when she fell and

[12:52] hit her head. She seemed fine at first.

[12:55] >> It wasn't a hard fall. Um but we checked

[12:58] everything and she seemed to be all

[12:59] right. talking. She didn't show any

[13:02] signs of confusing uh confusion or any

[13:05] injury. Uh so it's very hard to know

[13:08] what h exactly happened.

[13:09] >> The ski patrol took her to her hotel in

[13:11] a sled. She had a headache and

[13:14] reportedly an hour later went to the

[13:15] local hospital. From there she was

[13:17] transported to this major medical center

[13:19] in Montreal where there are conflicting

[13:21] reports about a traumatic brain injury.

[13:24] Brain surgeons say it is not unusual for

[13:26] a seemingly small head injury to get

[13:28] worse with time. You can have even from

[13:30] very small falls injury to the veins

[13:33] around the brain and those veins

[13:34] subsequently can cause bleeding and and

[13:37] that can compress the brain and even in

[13:39] extreme circumstances cause uh you know

[13:42] severe or permanent brain damage.

[13:44] >> Oh, please. You look like you're someone

[13:47] who knows the difference between taupe

[13:48] and caramel.

[13:50] >> Richardson, who has been in several

[13:51] films and won a Tony on Broadway, is

[13:53] married to actor Liam Niss and the

[13:56] couple has two children. She is the

[13:58] daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and

[14:00] the granddaughter of actor Sir Michael

[14:01] Redgrave. Nissan reportedly left a set

[14:04] where he is making a film in Toronto to

[14:06] rush to her side. Doctors say that if

[14:08] Richardson is suffering a brain bleed,

[14:10] it could be treatable.

[14:12] >> If that is what's going on, untreated,

[14:14] it could cause a lot of trouble. The

[14:15] treatment is fairly simple. A simple

[14:17] surgery can evacuate that blood and and,

[14:20] you know, restore her to health.

[14:22] But so far tonight, we have no definite

[14:24] word from the family or the hospital on

[14:26] what happened. Outside doctors emphasize

[14:29] she could have had some other problem

[14:30] such as a seizure following the fall. So

[14:32] we're awaiting word of her condition.

[14:34] Right.

[14:34] >> And we're hoping for the best. We'll

[14:35] watch it closely. Bob Bazelle, thanks as

[14:37] always when this special edition of

[14:39] Nightly News with limited commercial

[14:42] interruptions continues for this St.

[14:44] Patty's Day night. At one time, there

[14:47] was a pot of gold on the Emerald Isisle,

[14:49] but now sadly, the economy has hit the

[14:52] skids. And later, our series about

[14:54] Americans giving each other a helping

[14:56] hand in this bad economy. Tonight, we'll

[14:58] show you how the good deeds have

[15:00] multiplied.

[15:02] >> NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams

[15:05] brought to you with limited commercial

[15:07] interruption by Fidelity Investments.

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[16:12] Turn here.

[16:15] >> We live in extraordinary times. Our

[16:18] nation's in crisis. And yet, there's

[16:20] that uniquely American feeling of hope.

[16:24] This is the story of our nation. You

[16:26] rely on us to get it right every time.

[16:30] This is the tradition of NBC News.

[16:34] What will put Americans back to work?

[16:37] How to find a job and how to keep one. A

[16:40] series of special reports from the

[16:42] networks of NBC News Wednesday.

[16:46] >> To mark St. Patty's Day, this was a

[16:48] first in Washington. The fountain in

[16:50] front of the White House was turned

[16:52] green for the occasion. For that matter,

[16:54] so was a famous avenue here in New York.

[16:56] Hundreds of thousands of people, Irish

[16:58] and otherwise, celebrated by marching in

[17:00] this city's 248th

[17:03] St. Patrick's Day parade. And there was

[17:05] quite a turnout in Ireland itself where

[17:07] this day is a national holiday. Half a

[17:10] million people showed up to tip their

[17:12] hats at St. Pat in Dublin. Until

[17:14] recently, a lot of the green in Ireland

[17:16] was money. That country's economy was

[17:19] booming. The fastest growing economic

[17:21] engine in all of Europe, earning it the

[17:24] nickname the Celtic Tiger. But Ireland,

[17:27] like a lot of us, has fallen on hard

[17:29] times. NBC's Donna Fzen reports tonight

[17:31] from Dublin.

[17:33] For a time, it seemed the grass really

[17:35] was greener in Ireland. The country was

[17:38] unstoppable. The economy grew by almost

[17:40] 90% in just 10 years, catapulting

[17:43] Ireland from one of Europe's poorest

[17:44] nations to one of its richest. 600 US

[17:48] companies set up shop. Intel, Dell,

[17:50] Google, Microsoft, lured by the highly

[17:53] skilled and educated workforce and

[17:55] generous tax incentives. Construction

[17:58] took off. Like the US, house prices shot

[18:00] up.

[18:01] >> I think there was a problem. The people

[18:02] believed their own rhetoric about the

[18:04] dream. They believed that this could go

[18:06] on forever.

[18:07] >> It couldn't. Boom gave way to bust in

[18:10] Ireland with startling speed, leaving

[18:12] families like the Chamberlains wondering

[18:14] what hit them.

[18:14] >> And then we're going to have a party

[18:16] tonight. Are we?

[18:16] >> Last year, they were living the Irish

[18:18] dream. Two young children, a nice house,

[18:20] a successful business selling solar

[18:22] panels.

[18:23] >> Was going well. And I think we're kind

[18:24] of starting to think, oh, what we'll do

[18:26] with money.

[18:27] >> But just a few months later, the

[18:28] business failed and now bills are piling

[18:30] up. How long can you go kind of without

[18:33] work?

[18:34] >> Not much longer. I think it's really

[18:36] short. Like um it's a matter of it's a

[18:38] matter of weeks really.

[18:41] >> Unemployment is pushing 10%. Companies

[18:43] are pulling out. Dell moved 1,800 jobs

[18:46] to Poland recently. Property prices

[18:48] already down by a third keep dropping.

[18:51] The ultimate symbol of the Irish boom

[18:53] was to be here. A massive highrise. is

[18:56] the tallest building in Ireland with

[18:58] million-dollar apartments and a

[19:00] penthouse recording studio for the band

[19:02] You Too. You can see nothing's happened.

[19:05] The project has been postponed

[19:06] indefinitely,

[19:07] >> which houses the

[19:08] >> lawyer Morris Lions has safe stuffed

[19:10] full of foreclosure cases, including

[19:13] ones they call jingle mail.

[19:16] >> So, this is the key to a house someone

[19:17] has just mailed in and said, "I'm

[19:18] walking away. Here's the key to my

[19:19] house."

[19:20] >> That's exactly it. The number of

[19:21] voluntary possessions within the last

[19:23] six months exceeds the number we would

[19:24] have had in 30 years.

[19:27] >> Still, many are counting on the luck and

[19:29] humor of the Irish to pull them through.

[19:31] As one man said, it's not a recession,

[19:34] it's a pre-boom.

[19:36] Donna Fzen, NBC News, Dublin.

[19:40] >> As we've been reporting, things are bad

[19:42] just about everywhere these days. But as

[19:45] we've also been trying to point out,

[19:47] there are some real bright spots out

[19:49] there, including one we found on the

[19:51] banks of the Mananga River. Morgantown,

[19:54] West Virginia. It's a place that likes

[19:56] to think of itself as one of the best

[19:58] small cities in the country. And they

[20:01] just might have a point here. Our own

[20:02] Peter Alexander paid a visit.

[20:05] >> That's one poll. And the outside then is

[20:07] the other poll. 15 years ago when an

[20:10] economic downturn moved into Morgantown,

[20:11] West Virginia, Terry Sappington saw the

[20:14] writing on the wall. Then an electrical

[20:16] engineer, she reinvented herself and

[20:19] became a teacher.

[20:20] >> I probably should have been a teacher to

[20:22] begin with. So when the opportunity

[20:24] presented itself, I jumped and ran.

[20:27] >> With the state's mining industry

[20:29] declining, Don Gallian and several

[20:31] friends shifted careers and started a

[20:33] tech manufacturing company. We found

[20:35] that you can't sit around and wait on

[20:37] the federal government or the state

[20:38] government to help you. You have to dig

[20:40] in and pull yourself up by your own

[20:42] bootstraps.

[20:44] >> Gallion hired more than 40 laid-off mine

[20:46] workers. Today, FCX Systems is growing.

[20:50] >> The can do mountaineer spirit, as the

[20:52] folks here like to call it, has enabled

[20:53] Morgantown to thrive. Shops are open.

[20:56] Businesses are even hiring. At 2.7%, the

[20:59] city's unemployment rate is the lowest

[21:01] in the nation. Carved into the Alagany

[21:04] foothills, the city is enjoying a streak

[21:06] of good news. Mayor Ron Justice says

[21:09] diversifying Morgantown's economy has

[21:11] been critical to its rebirth.

[21:13] >> Having sectors that that are all

[21:15] balanced is very education,

[21:17] >> education, healthcare, technology,

[21:19] manufacturing, retail service.

[21:22] >> This 500 bed hospital, an international

[21:24] pharmaceuticals company, and West

[21:26] Virginia University are among the

[21:28] largest employers. And this city of

[21:30] 87,000 is expanding with new

[21:33] construction, including the $400 million

[21:36] waterfront redevelopment project just a

[21:38] few blocks from a downtown lined with

[21:40] locallyowned businesses.

[21:42] >> If you work together and continue to

[21:44] collaborate on ideas, then we can grow

[21:47] from each other.

[21:48] >> Mayor Justice admits it's tough to

[21:50] relate to the rest of the country's wos,

[21:52] but experts offer a warning.

[21:54] >> No local economy is an economic island.

[21:57] We all depend on these trading

[21:58] relationships. We're all connected to

[22:00] each other these days.

[22:02] >> But for now, Morgantown is an oasis and

[22:04] perhaps a strong economic example for

[22:07] other cities in trouble. Peter

[22:09] Alexander, NBC News, Morgantown.

[22:13] >> And far from Morgantown, the shuttle

[22:15] Discovery successfully docked with the

[22:17] International Space Station late today.

[22:19] The crew will now begin a week-long

[22:21] construction mission at the station. and

[22:23] they're installing, among other things,

[22:24] the last of the solar panels needed to

[22:27] power the orbiting home. Speaking of

[22:29] space, the folks at Google, who are well

[22:31] on their way to mapping everything in

[22:33] the world, now have a way to track

[22:35] everything orbiting the world. And that

[22:37] includes the space junk that has

[22:39] recently become an issue in the news.

[22:41] Every orbiting icon represents an

[22:44] individual piece, and there are

[22:46] thousands of them. Everything from spent

[22:49] rockets to dead satellites to tools that

[22:52] got away. Look at them all. We didn't

[22:54] really worry about disposables in space

[22:56] for years. But now the Earth's orbit is

[22:59] crowded with debris from large to small,

[23:01] and it's a hazard. A close call caused

[23:03] an alarm on the space station this week

[23:06] and threatened to reroute the space

[23:08] shuttle itself. When Nightly News

[23:10] continues here tonight after a brief

[23:12] break, making a difference. We've all

[23:14] been reporting on all sorts of good

[23:16] deeds. you asked us to cover. Tonight,

[23:19] we'll tell you what happened after our

[23:21] reports aired.

[23:24] >> NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,

[23:27] brought to you with limited commercial

[23:28] interruption by Fidelity Investments.

[23:31] Turn here.

[23:35] >> Fidelity Freedom Funds. We pick a fund

[23:38] based on our retirement date, and it

[23:39] automatically gets more conservative as

[23:41] we get closer.

[23:42] >> Sounds good.

[23:46] I heard about this. It's our guidance

[23:49] from Fidelity to help us get to where we

[23:51] want to go.

[23:52] >> Well, that's pretty cool. Whatever your

[23:54] destination, Fidelity has the people,

[23:56] guidance, and investments to help you

[23:57] find your way. Before investing,

[23:59] consider the funds, investment

[24:00] objectives, risks, charges, and

[24:01] expenses. Contact Fidelity for

[24:02] perspectives contain this information.

[24:04] Read it carefully.

[24:05] >> So, what is this thing again?

[24:07] >> It's Fidelity's guidance. It shows you

[24:08] ways to spend in retirement that can

[24:10] help your money last, whatever your

[24:11] plans. Like if we wanted to travel

[24:16] >> or start a business.

[24:18] >> Yep.

[24:19] >> Or take some classes.

[24:21] >> Sure.

[24:22] >> Or find the best cheeseburger.

[24:26] >> The line isn't for everything.

[24:29] >> Whatever your destination, Fidelity has

[24:30] the people, guidance, and investments to

[24:32] help you find your way. Fidelity

[24:33] Investments. Turn here.

[24:42] their story tomorrow on Today on NBC.

[24:46] Nightly News at nightly.msnbc.com.

[24:51] We are still eager here to hear your

[24:53] stories about those who are doing good

[24:55] things for others during this bad

[24:57] economic time. They are stories like the

[25:00] one Vicki wrote to us from Missouri.

[25:02] Dave Sinclair, she writes, the owner of

[25:05] auto dealerships in St. Lewis has hired

[25:07] 12 people, not because he needed help,

[25:10] but because so many people are

[25:11] unemployed. It was the right thing to

[25:13] do. He has challenged other companies to

[25:15] do the same. This is just one of many

[25:18] nice things he has done to inspire and

[25:20] help the St. Louis area through the

[25:22] years. And about the story we aired here

[25:24] last week about the diner in Denver,

[25:26] where you can pay if you can, and you

[25:28] eat free if you need to, we got this.

[25:31] I'm a teacher at St. Christopher School

[25:33] in Tanawanda, New York. Your report

[25:36] about making a difference has affected

[25:38] my students. They are inspired to reach

[25:40] out to others and are doing things in

[25:42] their community. They even wrote to the

[25:44] cafe and a note of thanks and donated

[25:47] money to the cafe. What a great way to

[25:49] show what happens when people choose to

[25:51] make a difference. That cafe in Denver

[25:54] is one of the stops we make tonight as

[25:56] we revisit some of the places we saw and

[25:59] people we met in last week's series of

[26:02] reports. stories again submitted by our

[26:04] viewers. And wait till you see the

[26:06] generosity people have shown these

[26:08] already good causes. Our report from

[26:10] correspondent Roger O'Neal.

[26:14] >> Their hands serve food to empty bellies,

[26:17] hand out $2 bills, drive the sick to get

[26:20] healthy.

[26:21] >> It gives me a purpose in life.

[26:23] >> Their hearts steady slippery paths guide

[26:26] young minds.

[26:27] >> These girls need someone who will listen

[26:29] to them. helping not because they have

[26:32] so much but so many have so little.

[26:35] >> Thank you very much.

[26:37] >> Good deeds don't need rewards but good

[26:40] deeds are contagious.

[26:43] >> The same so All may eat cafe in Denver

[26:46] received more than 4,000 emails and

[26:49] $20,000 in donations.

[26:51] >> It's incredible. It means that we'll

[26:53] continue to feed people.

[26:54] >> It's believed Sir Winston Churchill said

[26:56] you make a living by what you get. You

[26:59] make a life by what you give. With so

[27:02] many out of work, giving, not in

[27:04] dollars, but in time, is one of the

[27:06] ironic twists of this recession. A flood

[27:09] of volunteers.

[27:11] Lifeb building.

[27:12] >> Wow, you are really getting good.

[27:15] >> Barbara Parton saw the smiles Charlie

[27:18] Olsen was bringing with old ice skates,

[27:20] so she dug into her closet and found an

[27:22] old pair so more can smile. Everybody

[27:25] has the power to give in any little way.

[27:29] Make life better. Make like make just

[27:31] make a little day a little nicer for

[27:32] somebody.

[27:35] >> Strangers are getting on the road with

[27:37] Bob Langley. Gas money for driving

[27:39] cancer patients to treatment.

[27:43] >> A stranger is sending a donation to the

[27:45] Hope Place in Alabama inspired by the $2

[27:48] bill who asked employees to send some of

[27:51] their bonus bills to charity. inspiring

[27:54] stories uniquely human.

[27:57] >> When we see people do beautiful actions,

[27:59] virtuous deeds, it affects us. It moves

[28:02] us uh and it makes us uh want to do the

[28:04] same.

[28:05] >> There have been dozens of calls to do

[28:07] what my sister's circle is doing in

[28:09] Baltimore. Women paving the way for

[28:11] young girls to a better life, not with

[28:13] money, but commitment.

[28:16] >> Tough times, you bet, but with helping

[28:19] hands and big hearts.

[28:21] >> Hope. Wait a second. Roger O'Neal, NBC

[28:23] News, Washington.

[28:26] >> And we want more. Please keep your ideas

[28:28] coming to our website. That's

[28:30] nightlyc.com.

[28:33] We promise to keep reading the stories

[28:35] you submit, and some of them will air on

[28:37] this broadcast. That's our broadcast for

[28:39] this Tuesday night. Thank you for being

[28:41] with us. I'm Brian Williams. We all hope

[28:43] to see you back here tomorrow night.

[28:45] Good night.

[28:52] Understand the politics of a changing

[28:54] America. MSNBC follows President Barack

[28:57] Obama through the first 100 days on

[29:00] MSNBC.

[29:02] Getting America back to work. An

[29:05] in-depth look at searching today's

[29:07] market. We'll show you where the jobs

[29:09] are, who's hiring, and how to go from

[29:12] unemployed to indispensable.

[29:15] Tomorrow, a special report on NBC

[29:18] Nightly News with Brian Williams.

[29:21] >> Working for you in high definition. This

[29:24] is Channel 4 News.

[29:26] >> Good evening and welcome to Channel 4

[29:27] News at 6.

[29:28] >> In most every neighborhood these days,

[29:30] you'll find at least one, a home that

[29:32] has been foreclosed or abandoned. These

[29:34] neglected houses are quickly turning to

[29:36] neighborhood blights. And with spring

[29:38] approaching, the situation is expected

[29:40] to get a lot worse. Channel 4's Alan

[29:42] Frio is live in West Nashville with the

[29:44] story for us. Alan? Well, Dan, trying to

[29:46] sell a house can be a daunting task at

[29:48] best in this tough economic environment,

[29:50] but just imagine you live in a

[29:51] neighborhood where there's an abandoned

[29:53] house just down the street. Now, this is

[29:55] not one of those neighborhoods, but in

[29:57] some neighborhoods, Metro is fighting

[29:59] that battle with one hand tied behind

[30:02] its back.

[30:04] >> Wayne Denton of Metro Public Health sees

[30:06] the worst of the abandoned homes.

[30:09] >> The grass will start growing. Uh, people

[30:11] start trashing it. This house in North

[30:13] Nashville has been abandoned since July.

[30:15] Wind is broken.