CBS Evening News open - 1999-05-29

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] 1999.

[0:03] >> So far so good. Shuttle astronauts

[0:06] complete an historic first docking with

[0:08] the new International Space Station.

[0:11] Road work ahead. Holiday holdups across

[0:13] the country launch a vacation driving

[0:15] season of frustration. And baby boomers

[0:19] latest quest defying age through a host

[0:22] of new cosmetics.

[0:25] This is the CBS Evening News

[0:29] with John Roberts.

[0:32] >> Good evening. I'm Cheryl Atkinson in for

[0:34] John Roberts. The International Space

[0:37] Station, decades in the planning, made

[0:39] its first docking with a spacecraft

[0:41] today. The spacecraft was the shuttle

[0:43] Discovery. And Jeffrey Kaufman reports.

[0:45] The connection marks another milestone

[0:48] in what is to become an extraterrestrial

[0:50] home away from home.

[0:53] Distance between Discovery and the

[0:54] station is now about 335 ft. As

[0:58] >> 240 miles above Earth, foot by foot,

[1:01] they moved in.

[1:02] >> Currently now 65 ft separated.

[1:05] >> One more step in the construction of the

[1:06] giant international space station.

[1:10] >> Early this morning, the orbiting

[1:11] outpost's first ever docking with a

[1:13] visiting spacecraft, the space shuttle

[1:15] Discovery.

[1:16] >> You've made the first docking of space

[1:18] station look effortless. You've set the

[1:20] standard for all those who follow. This

[1:22] flight doesn't have the razzledazzle of

[1:23] a mission where they're carrying up

[1:24] modules and doing that kind of inspace

[1:27] construction, but it is a critical

[1:28] flight nonetheless.

[1:30] >> Critical because of the payload,

[1:31] technical equipment, and essentials for

[1:33] future inhabitants. Freshwater, clothes,

[1:36] even garbage bags. But it's also

[1:38] critical because assembly of this giant

[1:40] lab in the sky has been plagued with

[1:42] doubts about its $60 billion cost and

[1:45] endless delays.

[1:47] >> Funding problems in Russia have been a

[1:48] major factor. The service module, the

[1:50] initial living quarters and propulsion

[1:52] module for the station is well over a

[1:53] year behind schedule and that has held

[1:55] up subsequent assembly missions. Russia

[1:57] is also responsible for supplying fuel

[1:59] to the station, a role so critical that

[2:01] the US has been forced to build a backup

[2:03] fueling system just in case the Russians

[2:05] don't deliver. Today, their crew began

[2:08] preparing for the most dangerous part of

[2:09] this mission, tonight's 6-hour spacew

[2:11] walk to assemble construction cranes.

[2:14] Then astronauts enter the space station

[2:16] lugging their cargo with them as moving

[2:18] day begins. Jeffrey Kaufman, CBS News,

[2:22] New York.

[2:23] >> Down here on Earth, most Americans were

[2:25] in a holiday mood. Great weather over

[2:28] much of the nation made the beach a

[2:29] popular destination. Although it is the

[2:31] unofficial beginning of summer, ocean

[2:33] temperatures are still a bit cool.

[2:36] Memorial Day of course honors those who

[2:38] made the ultimate sacrifice to protect

[2:40] America. At the Vietnam Memorial on the

[2:42] Washington Mall, many silently paid

[2:44] respect. From one end of the country to

[2:47] another, motorists are clogging the

[2:49] roads as usual this holiday weekend.

[2:51] Experts predict there will be 271

[2:54] million travelers from now until Labor

[2:56] Day, an increase of 4% over last year.

[3:00] And almost everywhere, drivers will

[3:02] confront a massive investment in highway

[3:04] improvement. Maggie Cooper reports. This

[3:07] year's slogan is caution, construction

[3:10] ahead.

[3:12] >> Summer's coming. Time to hit the road

[3:14] for vacation.

[3:16] Time to hit the horn in frustration at

[3:18] another roadside distraction.

[3:21] This Memorial Day weekend, nearly 28

[3:24] million people will be on the highways.

[3:26] Many of them stuck in construction

[3:28] induced traffic jams. Last year,

[3:30] Congress provided record levels of

[3:33] investment for the improvement and

[3:35] reconstruction of our infrastructure,

[3:37] primarily on highways and transit.

[3:41] It's the largest public works project

[3:43] ever, $218 billion over the next 6

[3:46] years, have been budgeted to expand and

[3:49] shore up more than 400,000 miles of a

[3:52] decaying US highway system. The cost to

[3:55] motorists, lost time, and frayed

[3:58] tempers. I think it's outrageous and

[4:00] it's a very detrimental business.

[4:04] >> Some of the worst roadblocks will be

[4:05] along the following routes. Boston's

[4:08] massive bridge and tunnel project. In

[4:10] downtown Detroit, 3 miles of I75 are

[4:13] torn up. And out west, if you're

[4:15] planning a trip to Disneyland, watch out

[4:18] for lengthy delays on I5 in Orange

[4:20] County.

[4:21] >> We're lower. We have to advertise.