NBC Nightly News - 1985-12-07
Channel: malgent
Transcript
Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)
[0:01] The wife of Andre Sakurov arrives in the
[0:03] US and bombs explode in crowded downtown
[0:06] Paris.
[0:09] NBC Nightly News reported by Connie Ch.
[0:14] >> Good evening. Yolena Bonner, wife of
[0:16] Soviet dissident Andre Sakurov, is
[0:18] reunited with her family here in the US.
[0:20] She arrived tonight. The Soviet Union
[0:22] allowed her to come here for heart
[0:24] treatment. Jennifer Mcloan has details.
[0:29] Elena Bonner left Rome this morning. It
[0:31] was her first trip to the West in six
[0:33] years. Goodbye.
[0:41] >> I am very happy.
[0:44] >> Mrs. Bonner, who suffers from heart
[0:46] problems and glaucoma, arrived in Italy
[0:48] Monday for a series of eye examinations.
[0:51] During her stay, she met with Italian
[0:53] Premier Betino Kraxy and Pope John Paul
[0:55] II. She declined to comment on either
[0:58] meeting. She had signed an agreement
[0:59] with Soviet authorities not to make
[1:01] detailed statements to the press as a
[1:03] condition for receiving permission to
[1:05] leave the Soviet Union.
[1:10] >> Mrs. Bonner has been detained in the
[1:12] closed city of Gorki since the spring of
[1:14] 1984 on charges of antis-siet slander.
[1:18] She was convicted and sentenced to 5
[1:20] years of exile in Gorki where her
[1:21] husband Andre Sakurov was banished in
[1:24] 1980. Sakurov, the Soviet Union's best
[1:27] known dissident and winner of the 1975
[1:29] Nobel Peace Prize, reportedly staged a
[1:31] nearly six-month hunger strike aimed at
[1:34] winning permission for his wife to go
[1:35] abroad for medical treatment. In Moscow
[1:38] today, the official news agency TAS
[1:40] dismissed what it said were Western
[1:42] rumors that Sacarov was in poor health.
[1:44] Mrs. Bonner says her husband is very
[1:46] ill. Mrs. Bonner landed briefly in New
[1:49] York before flying on to Boston, where
[1:51] family members awaited her. Her exit
[1:53] visa lasts 3 months, but it may be
[1:55] extended if she decides to undergo heart
[1:58] bypass surgery in Boston. This evening,
[2:00] Elena Bonner's joyous family, which
[2:02] included her daughter, her son, and her
[2:05] elderly mother, greeted her at Boston's
[2:08] Logan Airport, and welcomed Elena Bonner
[2:11] home. Jennifer Mcloan, NBC News, New
[2:14] York.
[2:15] Bombs ripped through two downtown Paris
[2:18] department stores crowded with Christmas
[2:19] shoppers. At least 25 people were
[2:21] injured. Several terrorist groups claim
[2:24] responsibility, including the
[2:25] Palestinian group that hijacked the
[2:27] Achilaro. NBC News Paris Bureau Chief
[2:30] David Phillips reports.
[2:33] The bombs exploded in the two largest
[2:35] popular stores in Paris on the first big
[2:37] weekend of the Christmas shopping rush.
[2:40] The first went off in the basement of
[2:41] Gallery Lafayette, packed with 8,000
[2:44] shoppers, many of them stampeding into
[2:46] the street, hampering the arrival of
[2:48] ambulances, police, and firemen. Minutes
[2:50] later, the next explosion across the
[2:52] street at Pon in the perfume department.
[2:55] The casualties there could have been
[2:56] higher, but the package containing the
[2:58] bomb was spotted, and the department
[3:00] largely evacuated before it went off.
[3:03] Panic in the area increased with a rumor
[3:05] of another bomb in a subway station and
[3:07] with a fear of further explosions. Other
[3:10] stores shut early. Tonight, a French
[3:12] news agency received an anonymous call
[3:14] which claimed the bombs were set off by
[3:16] a Palestinian Liberation Front Splinter
[3:19] Group in protest against a move by the
[3:21] government to improve its relations with
[3:23] Iran. David Phillips, NBC News, Paris.
[3:27] >> Coming up, President Reagan pushes for
[3:29] tax reform even though it may mean a
[3:31] Democratic bill. Bob Kerr will have
[3:33] details. Lee McCarthy on a disease
[3:35] called compulsive shopping as serious as
[3:38] drug addiction and alcoholism. And
[3:40] Steven Frasier tells us about the search
[3:42] to get a better look at Hal's comet.
[3:53] The Remington Microscreen shaves as
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[5:25] President Reagan today called on House
[5:27] members to pass major tax reform
[5:28] legislation next week, even if it is the
[5:31] Democratic version. The president said
[5:33] either of two competing bills under
[5:35] consideration would be an improvement
[5:36] over current tax law. Bob Kerr has more.
[5:41] >> In his weekly radio broadcast, President
[5:43] Reagan told reluctant House members that
[5:46] he wants them to pass a tax revision
[5:48] bill, even if he and they don't like
[5:51] parts of it. While the proposals before
[5:53] the House are far from perfect, they do
[5:55] represent an essential step toward a tax
[5:57] code that is fairer, simpler, and
[5:59] encourages greater growth. I hope the
[6:01] House will vote yes next week and allow
[6:03] the Senate to consider debate and to
[6:05] improve this important measure.
[6:07] >> The Democrat's response came from
[6:09] Chicago. And while the chairman of the
[6:11] House Tax Writing Committee had hoped
[6:13] for a stronger endorsement of his
[6:15] committee's bill, he appeared pleased to
[6:17] have won any help from the president.
[6:20] It's good to have him as an ally as we
[6:22] make the final push on the House floor
[6:24] next week. And I've got every reason to
[6:27] believe he will back his support with
[6:30] some political muscle in the days ahead.
[6:33] Some House members don't like the way
[6:35] the bill would affect industries in
[6:37] their districts. And there are other
[6:38] major objections. So, congressional
[6:41] leaders say it'll take hard lobbying by
[6:44] President Reagan to save the tax bill.
[6:46] Not only is a big change in tax law at
[6:49] stake here next week, but a major change
[6:51] in the budget process also is due for a
[6:54] vote. Senate and House negotiators
[6:57] reached tentative agreement last night
[6:59] on a bill to force a balanced budget in
[7:02] 5 years with the announcement a warning
[7:04] that even the first year's cuts would be
[7:07] painful.
[7:08] >> Our staff estimates that someplace
[7:10] between 30 and 50 non-defense programs
[7:12] will have to be terminated. I don't mean
[7:14] cut, I mean terminated.
[7:16] >> Under the balanced budget bill, the
[7:18] deficit would be reduced by a set amount
[7:21] each year. If the president and Congress
[7:23] failed to meet the annual limit, the
[7:25] president would order budget cuts.
[7:28] Social Security and most anti-poverty
[7:30] programs could not be cut. Critics
[7:33] labeled the idea of acrosstheboard
[7:35] budget cuts a copout.
[7:37] >> It's kind of a handsoff uh way to
[7:40] deficit reduction. Nobody has to vote
[7:42] for any individual painful action like
[7:45] cutting this program or raising that
[7:47] tax. You do it by some anonymous formula
[7:50] and therefore in theory at least you
[7:52] don't have any blame.
[7:54] >> Mandatory cuts in military spending, a
[7:57] feature of the bill which defense
[7:58] secretary weineberger warns could harm
[8:01] the national defense. the defense
[8:02] department uh and the national security
[8:04] requirements of the country uh are such
[8:07] that they can't be uh considered uh
[8:10] simply against the background of a
[8:12] deficit.
[8:12] >> And many legal scholars warned that the
[8:15] Supreme Court would rule the notion of
[8:17] broad new presidential budget cutting
[8:19] power unconstitutional. Essentially,
[8:22] however plausible it may be politically,
[8:25] the Constitution quite clearly gives to
[8:28] Congress the lawmaking power and the
[8:30] power of the purse.
[8:32] >> But in spite of all the criticism, an
[8:34] author of the bill defends what he calls
[8:36] its simple appeal.
[8:38] >> We make the budget binding on Congress,
[8:40] which is uh revolutionary here in
[8:43] Washington, but makes sense back home
[8:45] around the kitchen table.
[8:46] >> A unique deadline upcoming for the
[8:48] balanced budget amendment. It's attached
[8:50] to a bill authorizing the government to
[8:53] borrow enough money to pay its bills. If
[8:55] Congress doesn't act by Wednesday night,
[8:58] government checks would begin to bounce.
[9:00] Bob Kerr, NBC News, at the US capital.
[9:04] >> A young AIDS carrier is free on $10,000
[9:08] bond tonight in Flint, Michigan, pending
[9:10] a court hearing next week. 27-year-old
[9:12] John Richards is charged with assault
[9:14] with intent to murder after spitting in
[9:17] the faces of two police officers who
[9:19] were trying to arrest him on traffic
[9:20] charges. The assault charge was filed
[9:22] after a police physician advised that
[9:25] Richard saliva should be considered
[9:27] potentially dangerous. Moscow today
[9:29] acknowledged the existence of AIDS in
[9:31] the Soviet Union, but the Soviets were
[9:33] quick to point out that there have been
[9:35] fewer than 10 cases and they did not
[9:37] disclose whether any Soviet AIDS victims
[9:39] have died. This is the first time the
[9:41] Soviets have officially acknowledged the
[9:43] existence of AIDS inside the Soviet
[9:45] Union. Until now, Moscow has contended
[9:47] that the disease is the result of what
[9:49] it describes as experiments by the
[9:52] Pentagon and the CIA.
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[11:00] >> A three serial family. Maybe you'll
[11:02] agree on one when you see how they stack
[11:04] up to total.
[11:05] >> I like special K.
[11:07] >> Hope you're hungry. You'll have to eat
[11:08] almost three bowls to stack up to the
[11:10] vitamin nutrition in one bowl of total.
[11:13] >> Won't take three bowls of raisin brand.
[11:15] >> No, four.
[11:17] >> I'm eating shredded wheat.
[11:19] >> You're eating 12 bowls.
[11:21] >> I'm not eating.
[11:22] >> Whole wheat total gives you 100% of nine
[11:25] vitamins and iron. That's a stack of
[11:28] nutrition
[11:28] >> in just one bowl.
[11:31] Roman Catholic bishops today ended two
[11:34] weeks of meetings at the Vatican during
[11:36] which they assessed the state of the
[11:37] church in today's world. Keith Miller
[11:39] who covered the Senate for NBC News
[11:41] reports it produced no dramatic changes.
[11:47] >> The 165 participants in the
[11:50] extraordinary sin of bishops concluded
[11:52] their assembly by choosing to keep the
[11:54] church on its present course. The
[11:56] bishops in a statement reaffirmed the
[11:58] reforms of the second Vatican council
[12:00] which proclaimed that the church should
[12:01] move into the modern world and should be
[12:04] more concerned with the social needs of
[12:06] Catholics. Still, the bishops issued a
[12:08] warning to those who attempt to take
[12:09] reform too far. False social and
[12:12] political interpretations of the work of
[12:14] the church cannot be accepted, they
[12:16] said. Pope John Paul speaking to the
[12:19] bishops also warned against false
[12:21] interpretations. He called the Senate to
[12:23] reassess the course of the church since
[12:25] the second Vatican council 20 years ago.
[12:29] The bishops in their statements said
[12:30] contemporary problems facing the church
[12:33] include respect for human life, racial
[12:35] discrimination and suppression of civil
[12:38] and religious freedom. The bishops were
[12:40] clearly pleased with their performance.
[12:42] >> Senate was a success. I think a great
[12:46] success.
[12:48] American pre-la confirmed the church is
[12:51] on the right track and ended fears that
[12:54] reforms would be undone. And for the
[12:56] first time, the bishops will release a
[12:58] summary of their work, something that no
[13:00] sin has done before. But the document
[13:03] containing the findings and
[13:04] recommendations of the bishops is not
[13:06] likely to be controversial. suggestions
[13:08] that divorced and remarried Catholics be
[13:11] allowed to receive communion did not
[13:12] gain support and the issue of allowing
[13:15] women a greater role in the church was
[13:17] not openly discussed. The bishops will
[13:20] head home without any major changes for
[13:22] their flock. But the sinnod did produce
[13:24] at least the appearance of unity and
[13:26] confirmed that reforms set down 20 years
[13:29] ago still apply. Keith Miller, NBC News,
[13:33] the Vatican.
[13:35] In South Africa today, thousands of
[13:37] mourners turned out for the funeral of
[13:39] 11 more victims of racial violence.
[13:41] Peter Kent reports from Johannesburg.
[13:45] >> Today's mass funeral followed the same
[13:47] tragic routine that has become so
[13:48] familiar in South Africa's black
[13:50] townships this year. Defiant singing and
[13:53] dancing mourners, paramilitary manner
[13:55] and dress, and a long row of coffins. In
[13:58] this case, 11 of the 17 men, women, and
[14:01] children who died 3 weeks ago in what is
[14:03] remembered here as the Queenstown
[14:05] massacre. Community leaders say the
[14:07] police opened fire on a church meeting
[14:09] called to discuss a black consumer
[14:11] boycott of local white stores. As at
[14:14] another mass funeral earlier this week,
[14:16] the colors of the outlawed African
[14:18] National Congress were prominently
[14:20] displayed and the names of jailed and
[14:22] exiled ANC leaders fervently shouted.
[14:25] Scenes like this notwithstanding, state
[14:27] president TWW Bota says he believes the
[14:29] entire revolutionary movement is fading,
[14:32] but most blacks now support his
[14:34] negotiations with the men he calls
[14:36] responsible black leaders. His deputy
[14:39] minister of information contends
[14:41] township residents are increasingly
[14:43] progovern.
[14:44] >> There's also been a very strong reaction
[14:46] building up amongst the black black
[14:48] community uh against these people who
[14:51] instigate violence. But in this black
[14:53] community east of Johannesburg today,
[14:55] there was little evidence of
[14:56] progovernment sentiment. And these
[14:58] people blamed the police for the
[14:59] violence. A group of community mothers
[15:01] and church leaders tried to gain the
[15:03] release of 40 school children arrested
[15:05] in night raids on their homes and
[15:06] detained without charges being made. The
[15:09] police refused and dispersed the crowd.
[15:12] Township tier gassings are not unusual.
[15:14] This one is notable largely because it
[15:16] is one of the few confrontations that TV
[15:18] cameras have been able to record since
[15:20] the ban on news coverage of the unrest
[15:22] began last month. It was a relatively
[15:25] minor incident, one of literally
[15:27] thousands listed by police in recent
[15:29] months. The attitudes of these parents
[15:32] and these mourners today though provide
[15:35] strong evidence of continued black
[15:37] anger. There is little talk here of
[15:39] patient negotiation. These people seem
[15:41] convinced that despite the deaths and
[15:43] suffering, their dream of racial
[15:45] equality and black government is closer
[15:48] by the day. Peter Kent, NBC News, South
[15:51] Africa.
[15:53] Nicaragua today became the first Central
[15:56] American country to establish diplomatic
[15:58] relations with China. The two nations
[15:59] issued a joint communique in which Ping
[16:02] vows to support what it calls
[16:03] Nicaragua's just struggle to safeguard
[16:06] national independence. Managua's
[16:08] Sandinista government has been fighting
[16:09] a rebellion by US backed Contra rebels.
[16:19] >> Tell mommy I'm on my way.
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[17:50] >> That time of year is already here. The
[17:52] time when shoppers go on a buying binge.
[17:55] Buying more than you need is encouraged
[17:57] around Christmas time. But for millions
[17:59] of Americans, compulsive spending means
[18:01] more than a seasonal spree. It's a
[18:03] dangerous year- round obsession. As Lee
[18:05] McCarthy reports,
[18:08] >> Betty wants to remain anonymous because
[18:10] she is an addict. She is addicted not to
[18:13] alcohol, not to drugs, but to spending.
[18:17] >> I suppose um I felt that if I had more
[18:20] charge cards, I would be more accepted
[18:23] or a better person. I got the best cards
[18:26] from the best stores and charge things.
[18:32] >> Millions of Americans charge things,
[18:34] some more than they can afford. But
[18:37] compulsive spenders are constantly
[18:39] charging. They say it fills some inner
[18:41] need.
[18:42] >> And I I firmly believe when you hand
[18:44] over plastic, you're not cognizant of
[18:45] how much that thing costs and you just
[18:48] want it. You're not looking at the
[18:49] quality. It's just a fix. Give it to me.
[18:50] It's a fix.
[18:52] >> She ran up a debt of $6,000 on her
[18:54] credit cards while earning only $5,000 a
[18:57] year at a part-time job.
[18:59] >> Judy is also a compulsive spender. She
[19:02] charged $15,000 worth of clothes in just
[19:04] one year and then filed for bankruptcy.
[19:07] So, what I do when I get lonely is
[19:12] run out to a shopping mall. And I
[19:14] started buying things that uh I didn't
[19:18] know I was buying them even while it was
[19:20] happening, things that I didn't like,
[19:25] things that I knew I'd never wear.
[19:27] >> Compulsive spending, a disease which
[19:29] psychiatrists and psychologists say can
[19:31] be as serious as drug addiction or
[19:33] alcoholism. The experts say that because
[19:35] so little research has been done, they
[19:37] don't know how many Americans are
[19:39] compulsive spenders, but they suspect
[19:40] the number is in the millions. Now,
[19:42] we're finding that there are people who
[19:44] are out of control with shopping. It's
[19:46] like a drug to them. They feel like when
[19:49] you take a drug, they feel high. They
[19:52] feel powerful because society says the
[19:54] more you own, the more you are. If your
[19:56] shopping bag is full, your life is full.
[19:59] To those it afflicts, compulsive
[20:01] spending can mean more than heavy debts.
[20:03] >> I am a convicted felon.
[20:06] Uh I embezzled money from two
[20:08] organizations that I work for.
[20:11] >> After he said goodbye to his son, Buddy
[20:13] Choy started serving a six-month jail
[20:15] term for his crime. Buddy stole $16,000
[20:18] from the city of San Francisco to pay
[20:20] off his credit cards.
[20:21] >> I would not think of that, do I have
[20:24] enough cash to buy it? I wouldn't think
[20:26] about uh how will I be able to pay for
[20:29] this. If I had a credit card, I would
[20:31] just use the credit card.
[20:33] >> I have blocked out many parts of my
[20:37] memory and that's one part that I have
[20:39] blocked out. I don't know where the
[20:40] money went.
[20:42] >> Buddy recently joined a mutual support
[20:44] group called Spender Menders. It was
[20:46] started by Sandy Gosling just 2 years
[20:47] ago when she got out of prison. She had
[20:50] embezzled $29,000 to support her own
[20:53] spending habit. Psychologists credit
[20:55] such groups with helping people curb
[20:57] their spending by scrutinizing their
[20:58] budgets and shopping habits. Usually,
[21:01] their first advice is to get rid of
[21:03] credit cards.
[21:05] >> After Betty turned to a group in Los
[21:06] Angeles, that's exactly what she did.
[21:09] >> It was freedom. I just didn't have to
[21:11] rely on that plastic that that thing to
[21:14] to fill up my ego.
[21:16] >> But most compulsive spenders continue to
[21:19] feed their egos with credit cards. And
[21:21] this is the time of year they can spend
[21:23] themselves into serious debt. Lee
[21:25] McCarthy, NBC News.
[21:29] >> At New York's downtown Athletic Club, in
[21:31] the closest vote in the history of the
[21:33] Heisman Trophy, Auburn running back Bo
[21:35] Jackson edged out Iowa quarterback Chuck
[21:37] Long to take the honor. After the
[21:39] announcement, Jackson had an answer for
[21:40] critics who have charged he is a quitter
[21:43] at heart. Well, the only thing that I
[21:46] can say about that is I know what I can
[21:49] do and
[21:51] I am not a quitter and if I feel that
[21:53] it's necessary for me to take myself out
[21:57] of competition, it's not because I'm a
[21:59] coward.
[22:01] >> Bo Jackson faces an unusual choice for a
[22:04] college player, whether to play pro
[22:05] football or baseball. Two professional
[22:08] baseball teams drafted Jackson and he's
[22:09] expected to rate highly in the pro
[22:11] football draft next spring.
[22:15] Former Supreme Court Justice Potter
[22:17] Stewart died today in a New Hampshire
[22:18] hospital. Stuart, who was 70, suffered a
[22:21] stroke this week. He was considered a
[22:23] pivotal swing vote on the court for 23
[22:25] years until he retired in 1981. He said
[22:28] he never wanted a label on himself other
[22:30] than trying to be a good lawyer.
[22:33] Television's Burr Tilstrom, the creator
[22:35] of Kla Fran and Ali, died at his home
[22:37] yesterday in Palm Springs, California.
[22:39] Tilstrom who was 68 was regarded as a
[22:41] television pioneer. His general puppets
[22:44] Kukla Ali Fletcher the rabbit and Bula
[22:46] the witch joined with Fran Allison for
[22:49] an immensely popular program Kucha Fran
[22:51] and Ali which ran for 10 years and won
[22:53] five Emmy awards. Here's a short clip of
[22:55] the program when it came on the air in
[22:57] the 1950s.
[23:01] RCA Victor and its dealers present Burr
[23:05] Tilstrom, creator of Kla, Ali, and all
[23:08] the Kapolitan players with Fran Allison
[23:11] in Kla Fran and Ali.
[23:16] >> Here we are back with you again. Yes.
[23:20] >> And yes, by
[23:23] >> Here we are again.
[23:34] I want to show you two beautiful new
[23:36] cars that are coming from Ford Motor
[23:38] Company. The way Ford engineers look at
[23:40] them from the inside out. This is the
[23:43] Ford Taurus wagon. And this is the
[23:46] Mercury Sable Sedan. Both are completely
[23:49] new midsized front-wheel drive cars, and
[23:51] we've engineered a new standard of
[23:53] quality into them. Part by part, feature
[23:56] by feature. We set new standards for six
[23:58] passenger roominess and comfort. For
[24:01] their engines and transaxles,
[24:03] for their suspensions, for corrosion
[24:06] protection. The V6 is even equipped with
[24:09] a stainless steel muffler and exhaust
[24:11] system. In all, these cars have over 300
[24:13] engineering details designed to set new
[24:16] standards of automotive quality. Cars
[24:18] and Saber will be in Ford and Lincoln
[24:20] Mercury dealer showrooms December 26th.
[24:23] And if you appreciate the beauty we see
[24:25] on the inside, way do you see them from
[24:28] the outside.
[24:35] I am Marvin Calb. Sunday on Meet the
[24:37] Press, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole
[24:39] on why there's nothing yet on tax reform
[24:41] and a balanced budget. Sunday on Meet
[24:43] the Press.
[24:44] >> NBC Sports, all the excitement of
[24:47] college basketball is back. December
[24:49] 21st, John Thompson leads his Georgetown
[24:51] Hoya North to beat Joey Meyer, now in
[24:53] his second season in the Second City as
[24:56] Georgetown battles to Paul. College
[24:58] basketball, it's the stuff weekends are
[25:00] made of on NBC Sports.
[25:04] There's a time when others make
[25:06] decisions for you.
[25:07] >> This one.
[25:08] >> Later on, you make your own decisions.
[25:10] Now, many of you are being asked to make
[25:11] an important one. If you don't choose a
[25:13] long-distance company, one will be
[25:15] chosen for you, and it might not be the
[25:17] right one for you. So, if the AT&T
[25:19] services you've always counted on are
[25:21] important to you, be sure to mail in the
[25:23] ballot. You'll be receiving this one,
[25:25] please. There's one way to be sure the
[25:28] right choice is made. Make it yourself.
[25:31] AT&T, the right choice.
[25:35] How far would you go to watch Hall's
[25:37] comet, the kitchen window, on top of the
[25:39] shed, or the Kalahari Desert, a spot
[25:41] some astronomers recommend? NBC News
[25:43] correspondent Steven Frasier took a
[25:45] novel approach.
[25:47] >> It was a rare chance to pierce the
[25:49] clouds that settle over Britain in
[25:51] winter. A view of Hal's comet for 99
[25:54] Britons at a time.
[25:56] So many signed on for the original four
[25:58] flights, British Airways added 16 more.
[26:01] Every seat sold. As you can see, it's
[26:04] really black. It's absolutely black out
[26:05] there. So, there's nothing between us
[26:06] and the stars. And by having the experts
[26:09] on board to tell us exactly where to
[26:10] look, we're looking at it in the most
[26:12] clean, crystal clear way that we can
[26:14] possibly do it.
[26:16] >> Moments after takeoff, the lights went
[26:19] down and the passengers struggled to
[26:21] find the comet. A difficult task even
[26:23] went 7 mi high.
[26:26] This is how the night sky looked. That
[26:28] is Jupiter. This time around, the comet
[26:30] is not the blazing streak of light that
[26:32] was seen in 1910.
[26:34] It is still only a faint smudge in the
[26:36] sky, not visible to the camera, but
[26:38] apparent to some passengers.
[26:41] >> Like a a fuzzy blob in the sky, you
[26:43] could see four stars, top bottom left,
[26:46] on the right, couple of centimeters
[26:48] underneath was a fuzzy blob in the sky,
[26:50] but and that was it. But it was
[26:51] fabulous.
[26:52] >> Then tell me why it was special.
[26:53] >> Well, because I knew that was the comet.
[26:56] >> And what does the comet mean to you?
[26:57] Well, that we only see it once in our
[27:00] lifetime.
[27:02] >> It was a twice in a lifetime event for
[27:04] Ellen Brown, 87 years old, who said the
[27:06] comet looked better the first time she
[27:08] saw it in 1910.
[27:10] >> Well, it was just like a tadpole with a
[27:13] head and a flash tail.
[27:16] >> Very bright.
[27:19] >> This time it wasn't bright, but it was
[27:21] there. And that was enough for these
[27:22] people.
[27:24] It wasn't only the sweep of the
[27:25] constellations apparent tonight, but the
[27:27] sweep of history as well. Caesar saw
[27:29] this comet. So did Shakespeare and
[27:31] Toltoy. They saw it from the ground.
[27:33] Tonight, some people aboard this plane
[27:35] saw it from the air and wondered how
[27:37] people will see Haley's comet the next
[27:38] time it appears. Steven Frasier, NBC
[27:41] News, Manchester, England.
[27:44] >> And that's our news tomorrow. Senate
[27:46] Majority Leader Bob Dole will be
[27:48] interviewed on Meet the Press. I'm
[27:50] Connie Chung in New York. See you again
[27:51] Monday morning on NBC News at Sunrise.
[27:53] Thank you for joining us. And for all of
[27:55] us at NBC News, good night.
[28:25] Heat.