World News Tonight (ABC) - 1998-09-24

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Tonight is next

[0:02] >> time

[0:03] >> on World News Tonight this Thursday.

[0:05] Hurricane George. More than 100 people

[0:07] dead in the Dominican Republic. Will

[0:10] Fidians heed the warning? How to succeed

[0:13] in the modern workplace more important

[0:15] every day to have a college degree? And

[0:18] the great American greenback, a story of

[0:20] confidence and change.

[0:29] From ABC News World Headquarters in New

[0:32] York, this is World News Tonight with

[0:36] Peter Jennings.

[0:36] >> Good evening. It is some storm Hurricane

[0:39] George today. With its winds down to 80

[0:41] mph, it still gave Cuba and Haiti a very

[0:43] rough time. Torrential is not strong

[0:46] enough to describe how heavy the rains

[0:48] were. And devastation is an

[0:50] understatement for what the Dominican

[0:52] Republic has been through. More than a

[0:53] hundred people have been killed by the

[0:55] storm and now George is on its way

[0:57] across the Florida Straits to the

[0:59] Florida Keys. But we're going to start

[1:01] our coverage in the Dominican Republic.

[1:03] ABC's Guju Chang managed to get in

[1:06] there.

[1:08] >> One look at the neighborhoods flooded by

[1:10] contaminated water and it's clear why

[1:12] the Dominican president called it a

[1:14] national tragedy. Relief officials

[1:16] estimate that more than 100 people were

[1:18] killed and hundreds more are missing.

[1:21] They're looking for 30 people washed

[1:23] away when a mudslide destroyed a single

[1:25] hillside shelter. There is little hope.

[1:28] Roughly 100,000 people are now homeless

[1:31] due to the storm. There is virtually no

[1:33] electricity and no running water.

[1:36] Residents are using plastic jugs to

[1:38] gather usable water wherever they can.

[1:42] >> They've given us no water, no

[1:44] information. This woman says the only

[1:46] help we've had has come from God who

[1:48] watched over us during the storm. In a

[1:51] country where most people live on the

[1:53] edge of poverty, officials believe 90%

[1:56] of the crops, bananas, and sugarcane

[1:58] have been wiped out. The US government

[2:01] is trying to bring in search and rescue

[2:03] teams as well as aid. And the damage

[2:05] assessments here are far from over

[2:07] because washed out bridges and roads

[2:09] have made it impossible to reach what

[2:11] authorities believe may have been the

[2:13] area's hardest hit. Juju Chang, ABC

[2:16] News, Santa Domingo, the Dominican

[2:18] Republic.

[2:19] >> So what next? We turn again to Bob

[2:21] Sheets, the former director of the

[2:22] National Hurricane Center and now an ABC

[2:24] News consultant. Bob, is the course for

[2:26] your set? And are you sure?

[2:28] >> It's pretty well set, Peter. Most of the

[2:29] models have come together. It's

[2:31] basically on its way toward the Florida

[2:33] Keys. The center there should be over

[2:35] the Florida Keys sometimes midday

[2:37] tomorrow. Right now, the bands are

[2:39] approaching there and affecting the Keys

[2:41] and Southeast Florida.

[2:42] >> And what does it mean when the center

[2:43] gets over the Keys? How bad?

[2:45] >> We think probably somewhere near a

[2:46] category 2 hurricane on the Saffer

[2:48] Simpson scale. So, a little over 100

[2:50] mile per hour winds at that stage and

[2:52] higher gusts.

[2:53] >> And so, what are the consequences of

[2:54] people living in the Keys and ignoring

[2:56] the warnings to get out? There's always

[2:58] the great risk of the tragedies that

[3:01] we've had from hurricanes in the past.

[3:02] 35 hurricane was one where some 600

[3:05] people died as a result of this storm

[3:07] surge. So that's always a risk.

[3:08] >> And as we've seen today, this is a bad

[3:09] one.

[3:10] >> Yes, it is.

[3:10] >> Many thanks, Bob Sheets, former director

[3:12] of the National Hurricane Center. Now

[3:14] ours still, even these warnings don't

[3:16] seem to be enough to get some people

[3:17] out. So we're going to go to the Keys

[3:18] now. ABC's Jim Williams is there.

[3:23] >> Authorities in the Florida Keys are

[3:25] frustrated. We tell them that if they

[3:27] don't leave, they are on their own.

[3:29] >> Despite a mandatory evacuation order,

[3:32] roughly half the residents here refuse

[3:34] to go.

[3:35] >> We have a business, a house, and we have

[3:37] a lot of people that depend on us. We're

[3:39] bringing the community and it's our job.

[3:41] >> Others are making light of the danger.

[3:43] >> This is the Key West we fell in love

[3:45] with 15 years ago. All the foreigners

[3:48] have gone, if you excuse the expression.

[3:50] It's just us locals, and it's just the

[3:52] way we like it. But authorities say they

[3:54] are risking their lives. The highest

[3:56] point on this string of islands is 16 ft

[3:59] above sea level. Even a moderate

[4:01] hurricane could flood streets and the

[4:03] only highway to safety. The threat has

[4:05] convinced most business owners to take

[4:07] no chances. Here on the normally busy

[4:10] Duval Street, just about all the

[4:12] restaurants and stores have shut down

[4:14] and boarded up. Many who are staying say

[4:17] they know the risk, but they are staying

[4:19] anyway.

[4:20] >> I believe in God sometimes. This is one

[4:22] of those times.

[4:23] >> As Hurricane George approaches these

[4:25] islands, it is clear not everyone here

[4:28] is prepared.

[4:31] >> Jim Williams, ABC News, Key West,

[4:33] Florida. When we come back, some of the

[4:36] other news of today, investigating the

[4:38] president. When is Congress going to

[4:39] make a decision about an impeachment

[4:41] inquiry?

[4:43] And changing cash, the new 20. We'll

[4:45] take a closer look at that and other

[4:48] things.

[4:51] This is World News Tonight with Peter

[4:53] Jennings, brought to you by the makers

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[6:15] In Washington today, there is every sign

[6:17] that disciplining President Clinton for

[6:19] his behavior, whatever finally happens,

[6:21] is going to be a lengthy affair. The

[6:23] chairman of the House Judiciary

[6:24] Committee says his committee will not

[6:25] even decide for another week or two

[6:28] whether to conduct an impeachment

[6:30] inquiry. For its part, the White House

[6:32] is trying to get out the word that from

[6:34] their point of view, the president can

[6:35] run the country anyway. We turn tonight

[6:37] to ABC's Sam Donaldson, who's at the

[6:39] White House.

[6:40] Well, Peter, White House officials are

[6:41] resigned to a formal impeachment

[6:43] inquiry, although the president himself

[6:45] made another try today at saying this

[6:47] pursuit of him is a foolish diversion

[6:49] from the truly important business of the

[6:51] country. At the conclusion of a Rose

[6:54] Garden ceremony, the president actually

[6:56] waited for a question on whether he

[6:57] could avoid an impeachment inquiry, even

[7:00] shushing the crowd to make certain he

[7:01] would hear it.

[7:02] >> It is utterly foolish for people to be

[7:05] diverted or distracted from the urgent

[7:07] challenges still before us. The way out

[7:09] here and the only way out is for people

[7:12] in Washington to do what the folks in

[7:14] America want them to do, which is to

[7:16] take care of their concerns, their

[7:17] children, and their future. That's

[7:19] >> But on Capitol Hill, House Judiciary

[7:21] Chairman Hyde said his committee will

[7:22] move forward.

[7:24] >> We want to hear anything and everything,

[7:26] good, bad, indifferent, exculpatory,

[7:28] accusatory, that bears on the main

[7:31] question. Uh but we're not seeking to

[7:35] widen the scope. Democrats weren't

[7:37] buying such professions of

[7:39] even-handedness from Republicans.

[7:41] >> And it does seem to be one consistent

[7:42] principle is governing them. How do we

[7:44] make the president look bad, make our

[7:45] side look good?

[7:47] >> Everybody

[7:48] >> once again trying to make her husband

[7:49] look good or at least save him from

[7:51] impeachment. Mrs. Clinton, on a

[7:53] three-day campaign swing across the

[7:55] country, has been calling members of

[7:56] Congress about this because she's proud

[7:59] of her husband, explained her press

[8:00] secretary. Her husband's press secretary

[8:03] was asked if the president had asked her

[8:05] to make those calls.

[8:06] >> I don't think the president is in a

[8:08] position to make that request of her,

[8:10] but he would gratefully accept that

[8:12] assistance if it's rendered.

[8:14] >> And it turns out the president has

[8:15] reached out for assistance or at least

[8:17] advice to the man he beat in 1996,

[8:20] former Senator Bob Dole.

[8:22] >> Do said they talked last Friday about

[8:24] when all this will end.

[8:26] >> And I know the president like to do it

[8:27] quickly. I mean, I know that for a fact,

[8:30] but I also know for a fact it's not

[8:32] going to happen quickly.

[8:34] >> What all this seems to boil down to is

[8:36] that while an inquiry will be authorized

[8:38] next month, no formal impeachment

[8:40] hearings will begin until after the

[8:41] November elections. The Democrats don't

[8:43] like that. They want this settled now.

[8:45] The Republicans like that fine. They

[8:47] want the scandal to be fresh in the

[8:49] voters minds. What happens though may

[8:51] affect this election, Peter, because the

[8:54] voters in a referendum could turn out to

[8:56] affect whether the president stays or

[8:58] goes.

[8:59] >> Sam, one question. It it's obvious the

[9:01] White House would like the country to

[9:02] believe he can run the country all this

[9:04] notwithstanding. What do they say behind

[9:05] the scenes about his ability to do so?

[9:07] >> Well, the president clearly is

[9:08] distracted by this scandal. He has been

[9:10] all along. On the other hand, Peter, as

[9:13] we're about to hear, I suppose he's

[9:14] invited Prime Minister Netanyahu of

[9:16] Israel and Yaser Arafat of the

[9:18] Palestinian Organization here next week,

[9:20] hoping to move ahead on M East peace.

[9:21] So, he's going to do a lot of things

[9:23] which will suggest that he's still in

[9:24] charge.

[9:25] >> Sam, thanks very much. Sam Donaldson,

[9:26] the White House, of course, there will

[9:27] be a lot of tests, one right after the

[9:29] other for the president to see whether

[9:30] or not he is or can be in charge. Again,

[9:33] on the timing, the judiciary committee

[9:35] will vote October the 5th or 6th on

[9:37] whether to launch a formal impeachment

[9:39] inquiry into those 11 charges put

[9:42] forward by the independent council

[9:44] Kenneth Star. If the committee approves

[9:47] the inquiry, the full House would then

[9:49] vote on the measure of impeachment a few

[9:51] days later. When we come back, how long

[9:55] must they wait? Who will stop the

[9:58] slaughter of innocents in Kosovo?

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[12:06] From the United States and its NATO

[12:08] allies today, the strongest warning yet

[12:10] to the Serbian government of Slobadan

[12:12] Mallovich. Stop the aggression in the

[12:15] province of Kosovo or else. Or else what

[12:18] is the question. Is the US really ready

[12:20] to use force or is this more huffing and

[12:23] puffing? Here's ABC's John McQuey.

[12:27] The Serbs seem to taunt NATO by

[12:30] launching another bloody offensive

[12:32] against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

[12:34] There are now an estimated quarter of a

[12:37] million refugees, tens of thousands of

[12:39] them driven from their homes in the last

[12:41] few days.

[12:43] >> The situation is crazy, this refugee

[12:46] says. What is the West waiting for?

[12:50] Pentagon sources say the first step in a

[12:52] NATO attack would be a cruise missile

[12:55] strike against Serb troops and

[12:57] anti-aircraft batteries in Kosovo. If

[13:00] that does not stop the Serbs, plans call

[13:02] for air strikes all across Serbia at

[13:05] military installations, the electrical

[13:07] power grid and factories. American

[13:09] pilots are already practicing in special

[13:12] simulators that use animated satellite

[13:14] imagery of Kosovo and the rest of

[13:16] Serbia. So, you're you're making a turn

[13:18] here and you're heading toward the

[13:20] capital of Kosovo. Right now,

[13:22] >> the range of Serb anti-aircraft missile

[13:24] batteries are pictured as huge domes

[13:27] that a pilot must avoid.

[13:29] >> Anytime a system like this can decrease

[13:32] the number of unknowns in our mission,

[13:35] it increases the probability of success.

[13:37] >> Ironically, bad weather may be tipping

[13:40] the scales in favor of NATO military

[13:42] action. An early winter in the Balkans

[13:45] could kill thousands of those refugees.

[13:48] John McQuey, ABC News. The Pentagon.

[13:51] >> In the northern German city of Hamburg

[13:53] tonight, the US consulate is still

[13:55] surrounded by tight security. Police say

[13:57] they got information from a serious

[13:59] source that the consulate has been

[14:01] targeted by terrorists, perhaps with

[14:03] links to the bombing of two American

[14:05] embassies in Africa. Divers were also

[14:08] sent to a nearby pond to search for

[14:11] explosives. At the United Nations today,

[14:13] the prime minister of India said his

[14:15] country is prepared to sign a nuclear

[14:17] test ban treaty. Pakistan made a similar

[14:20] pledge yesterday. The two countries

[14:22] conducted tests in May that set off

[14:25] fears, you'll recall, of a nuclear arms

[14:27] race in the region. ABC's Mark Litki

[14:29] reports from New Delhi in India tonight

[14:32] on why going nuclear may have been a

[14:34] colossal mistake for India.

[14:37] At first there was jubilation. The

[14:40] nuclear tests triggered an explosion of

[14:42] national pride in India.

[14:44] >> But today feelings range from

[14:46] disillusionment to anger.

[14:49] Most everyone here asking was it worth

[14:51] it.

[14:52] >> A few years from now I think historians

[14:54] will regard this as one of the grossest

[14:56] miscalculations ever.

[14:59] >> Already US-led sanctions have cut off

[15:01] millions of dollars in badly needed aid

[15:04] and investment in India. Confidence in

[15:06] the economy has crumbled. The stock

[15:08] market and currency have plunged.

[15:10] >> It is definitely having great impact on

[15:12] the economy.

[15:13] >> An impact felt in every city and village

[15:16] where prices for food and fuel are

[15:18] soaring. In India, outsiders are often

[15:22] blamed for the country's economic woes.

[15:24] This time, the government is taking most

[15:26] of the heat, especially from the young.

[15:28] >> I'm saying they should do something

[15:29] about like unemployment, poverty, and

[15:31] our education system. nuclear tests and

[15:33] like destruction and all of them affect

[15:35] us at all.

[15:36] >> There are those here who still argue the

[15:38] nuclear tests were good for India but

[15:41] they brought the country international

[15:42] respect and strengthened national

[15:44] security even though it now appears the

[15:47] opposite has happened.

[15:49] >> It's as if we dropped the bomb on

[15:50] ourselves says one critic. We're the

[15:53] ones suffering the fallout.

[15:55] >> Mark Litkkey ABC News New Delhi. In

[15:59] Britain today, the author Salman Rashi

[16:01] says it looks like his time on the run

[16:03] may be over. Today, the foreign minister

[16:05] of Iran said that Iran no longer

[16:07] supports the $2 million reward offered

[16:10] for Rashi's death. Rashi went into

[16:12] hiding in 1989 after the late Ayatali

[16:15] issued a religious ruling that Rashi

[16:17] should be killed for allegedly insulting

[16:20] Islam in his novel, The Satanic Versus.

[16:23] When we come back, how we work and why

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[18:49] The Census Bureau reported today that

[18:51] the proportion of Americans living below

[18:53] the poverty level is at its lowest in 8

[18:55] years. In 1996 and 1997, nearly a

[18:59] million people moved above the poverty

[19:01] level. Still, 35 million Americans do

[19:04] not have adequate financial resources.

[19:06] In other words, escaping poverty in an

[19:09] official sense is hard enough. For many

[19:11] workers, it's getting tougher to get

[19:13] ahead. Which leads us back to our

[19:15] series, The Way We Work. People with

[19:17] higher education are getting the

[19:18] high-tech jobs and the bigger paychecks

[19:21] that go with them. ABC's Rebecca Chase

[19:23] tonight finds that that leaves a lot of

[19:25] people out.

[19:27] At the online research company of Lexus

[19:30] Nexus, phones are manned 24 hours a day

[19:33] to answer questions from its 2 million

[19:36] customers around the world.

[19:39] It's a high- techch, high-growth company

[19:42] where high school graduates need not

[19:44] apply.

[19:45] >> We want to make sure that we're able to

[19:47] talk the same language as our customer

[19:48] base. Our customers are highly

[19:51] professional, highly degreed people.

[19:53] >> Our market research,

[19:54] >> so it takes a college degree just to

[19:57] answer the phone here. And half of the

[19:59] customer service reps even have advanced

[20:02] degrees. Salaries can go as high as

[20:04] $70,000 a year.

[20:07] Across town at Gem City Engineering, the

[20:10] requirements for traditionally

[20:12] bluecollar jobs have also increased

[20:14] dramatically. Today, machinists have to

[20:17] know how to program software and operate

[20:20] computers.

[20:21] >> Before, it's always been you just went

[20:23] to work and did your job, but now it's

[20:26] just you just got to keep continually

[20:27] improving, improving, and learning more

[20:29] and learning more.

[20:30] >> Terry Molner has gone back to school

[20:32] several times so he can operate this

[20:34] sophisticated machine. Now he earns

[20:37] $65,000

[20:38] a year. But there is a disturbing trend

[20:41] here in Dayton and across the country.

[20:44] As wages for highly skilled and college

[20:46] educated people have increased,

[20:48] paychecks for high school graduates have

[20:51] dropped.

[20:53] Jack Cybert with only a high school

[20:55] education at age 49 earns $25,000 a year

[20:59] installing security systems.

[21:01] >> A good job. His wife Kathy earns 550 an

[21:05] hour working at a daycare center. Even

[21:08] living in a modest home and driving a

[21:10] 9-year-old van, the Cybberts say they

[21:12] are falling behind.

[21:15] >> Our level of income that's going up is

[21:18] not nearly as fast as what you know like

[21:22] everything else is going up.

[21:23] >> In fact, economists say the gap in wages

[21:26] has never been wider. College graduates

[21:29] used to earn about 30% more than high

[21:31] school graduates. Today, they make an

[21:34] amazing 60 to 70% more. And economists

[21:38] say given current trends, that wage gap

[21:41] is only going to get wider. Rebecca

[21:44] Chase, ABC News, Dayton, Ohio.

[21:48] >> On Wall Street today, investors cashed

[21:50] in a large part of yesterday's stock

[21:52] market gain. The Dow Jones Industrials

[21:54] lost 152 points to close at 8001. On the

[21:58] Nasdaq market, stocks dropped almost 40

[22:01] points. With all the focus on the health

[22:03] of the US economy, here is a sobering

[22:05] report. The United Nations says that 1

[22:07] billion people in the world may be

[22:09] without full-time work by the end of the

[22:12] year. The economic crisis in Asia

[22:14] certainly contributes to unemployment in

[22:16] Asia, but also elsewhere in the world.

[22:20] When we come back, changing in the 20.

[22:23] And why is the 20 green anyway?

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[22:47] Recently, we flew Carrie Eisenhandler

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[22:56] We flew Eric Gonzalez to the Cleveland

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[23:00] expertise in treating Crohn's disease.

[23:03] Hopefully, these stories fly in the face

[23:06] of the belief that health care isn't

[23:09] what it used to be. We're Etna US

[23:11] Healthcare. Raising the quality of

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[24:02] >> abcnews.com,

[24:04] the first place for news online. Get

[24:06] your news first from abcnews.com

[24:08] on the web and America Online.

[24:15] Finally, this evening, we're going to

[24:16] take a closer look at cash. Today, the

[24:18] Treasury Department began to ship $40

[24:21] billion in U20s to banks all over the

[24:24] country.

[24:27] For the government, it's an event of

[24:28] enormous significance when a new bill is

[24:30] introduced. Just think of all the debate

[24:32] there is in a government bureaucracy

[24:34] about a design change. And the new 20 is

[24:38] different. President Andrew Jackson is

[24:40] still on the front. Incidentally, he's

[24:43] the only president ever to be censured

[24:45] 1834 for shifting the government's funds

[24:48] out of the central bank, which he

[24:50] thought too powerful, into various state

[24:52] banks. On the new 20, he is bigger

[24:55] nonetheless, though he's been moved off

[24:57] center a bit. on the back. It's still

[24:59] the White House, except now it's the

[25:01] north side instead of the south as on

[25:03] the old 20. Don't ask us why these

[25:05] things happen. In God We Trust is still

[25:08] there. You know the joke. Everyone else

[25:10] pays cash. They did make the number 20

[25:13] larger on the back. Easier to identify,

[25:16] they say. The 20 is the bill most often

[25:19] counterfeited. And this time there's a

[25:21] green security thread that glows when

[25:23] you hold the bill under ultraviolet

[25:25] light. If it seems that Americans like

[25:27] to fuss about their money, it's because

[25:29] they do. Here's ABC's Ned Potter.

[25:33] >> The things people will do for a buck.

[25:36] >> Today in San Francisco, a bank was

[25:38] giving away the new 20s if you were

[25:40] willing to climb into a glass booth and

[25:42] make a fool of yourself.

[25:44] >> But what was that person really

[25:46] grabbing? It's just a sheet of paper,

[25:48] mostly cotton, with some fancy printing.

[25:50] If it didn't say $20 on the front, the

[25:54] material and labor in it would be worth

[25:56] only 5.2.

[25:58] In fact, even though the government

[25:59] prints 38 million new bills a day with a

[26:02] value of $541 million, nobody's even

[26:06] quite sure anymore why they're green.

[26:08] >> According to American mythology, in the

[26:11] Civil War, when the first greenbacks

[26:13] were printed, there was simply an excess

[26:14] amount of green ink in Washington DC.

[26:16] The government disagrees with that, but

[26:18] it does grant it's a big step to make

[26:20] big changes in a bill that's looked the

[26:23] same since 1929.

[26:25] 20s are the bill of choice at automatic

[26:27] teller machines, of which there are now

[26:29] 187,000.

[26:31] They're mostly used by young people who

[26:33] only take about $40 each time.

[26:36] >> Their average transaction is popping

[26:38] down to a convenience store on on a

[26:39] nightly basis, taking $20 and buying

[26:42] Pringles for dinner, and leaving the

[26:43] store with the other $20 for the

[26:45] following day. Some social scientists

[26:47] say it's a good thing we don't think too

[26:49] hard about cash because there's no

[26:51] longer anything real behind it.

[26:53] >> Okay, total comes to 2003.

[26:55] >> It's no longer true that you can take a

[26:57] bill and exchange it for gold.

[26:59] >> Today it says in God we trust. And

[27:01] that's exactly what it's based on. Sheer

[27:03] trust

[27:04] >> doesn't.

[27:05] >> And the problem the Treasury faces now

[27:08] is getting people to trust those odd new

[27:10] bills. Is this $20?

[27:15] >> It's a $20 bill.

[27:17] >> No.

[27:18] >> The publicity campaign to prevent the

[27:20] slightest hiccup in people's confidence

[27:22] in American currency will cost $8

[27:25] million, which is of course equal to

[27:28] 400,000 new $20 bills. Ed Potter, ABC

[27:31] News, New York.

[27:33] >> That is our report on World News

[27:35] Tonight. Later on Night Line, while

[27:36] Washington is absorbed in its own

[27:38] crisis, they're going to focus on some

[27:40] of the events going on in the rest of

[27:41] the world. I'm Peter Jennings. Have a

[27:43] good evening. See you tomorrow. Good

[27:45] night.

[28:01] Tomorrow, with all attention on the home

[28:03] run race, season thrillers we missed,

[28:05] and who really holds baseball's home run

[28:07] record. Watch World News Tonight with

[28:09] Peter Jennings.

[28:11] This has been a presentation of ABC

[28:13] News. More Americans get their news from

[28:15] ABC News than from any other source.