NBC Nightly News - 2009-03-17

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] On our broadcast tonight, hitting a

[0:03] nerve, the growing fury over bonuses at

[0:06] taxpayerowned AIG in Washington and

[0:10] across the country. Who are the guys

[0:12] getting this money on the job at a time

[0:15] when so many people are out of work? Why

[0:17] does this town have the lowest

[0:20] unemployment rate in the country? Fallen

[0:23] Star. She's a member of one of the

[0:24] leading families of stage and screen.

[0:27] Tonight, she's in a real life and death

[0:29] drama of her own. We'll have the latest.

[0:32] And acts of kindness. The stories we

[0:34] covered last week, suggested by our

[0:36] viewers. Wait till you see what has

[0:38] happened since. The outpouring of

[0:41] generosity helping those who are making

[0:43] a difference. Nightly News begins now.

[0:47] [music]

[0:51] From NBC News World Headquarters in New

[0:53] York, this is NBC Nightly News with

[0:57] Brian Williams, brought to you with

[0:59] limited commercial interruption by

[1:01] Fidelity Investments.

[1:04] Good evening. You may notice we have

[1:06] more time for news in the broadcast

[1:08] tonight. As you might have just heard,

[1:09] it's being presented with limited

[1:11] commercial interruption, and we decided

[1:13] to devote some of that extra time to

[1:15] explain the story behind the outrage

[1:18] that is AIG. It's the insurance

[1:20] conglomerate that we were all told was

[1:23] too big and too important to be allowed

[1:25] to let fail. It's now 80% owned by

[1:28] American taxpayers. $180 billion worth

[1:32] of taxpayer money has been pumped into

[1:33] it. Now we learn they're handing out

[1:36] bonuses.

[1:37] 165 million in bonus money. 73 employees

[1:41] are receiving $1 million or more. Well,

[1:45] tonight we'll take a look at AIG. Who

[1:47] are these employees? who's making the

[1:49] case that they should get this money.

[1:52] We'll also hear the outrage from the

[1:54] east in Washington all the way across

[1:56] the country. We'll begin our coverage

[1:58] here tonight. NBC's Tom Castello in our

[2:00] Washington newsroom. Tom, good evening.

[2:02] Brian, good evening to you. New York

[2:04] Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is

[2:06] aggressively pursuing this as a legal

[2:08] matter, demanding records on who has

[2:10] received how much. He says 11 AIG

[2:13] employees have left after receiving

[2:16] their bonuses, which AIG insists it is

[2:18] contractually legally required to pay

[2:20] out.

[2:23] Tonight, the New York Attorney General

[2:25] says AIG's bonuses have made wealthy

[2:27] employees even wealthier. Many in the

[2:30] London trading office that was at the

[2:31] center of the company's near collapse.

[2:33] The top bonus recipient got more than

[2:35] $6.4 million. 22 employees received $2

[2:39] million or more. 73 employees received

[2:42] at least a million dollars. Many of the

[2:45] bonuses agreed to a year ago were

[2:47] designed to retain top talent.

[2:49] >> These are people that ought to be fired.

[2:51] They ought to be terminated rather than

[2:53] retained. These are the people that

[2:54] caused the problem. Who wants to retain

[2:57] them? And in fact, giving them this

[2:58] money doesn't retain them anyway.

[3:00] >> To understand AIG, it helps to know the

[3:02] top players. For nearly 40 years, Hank

[3:05] Greenberg was CEO, retiring in 2005 amid

[3:08] an accounting scandal. Martin Sullivan

[3:11] replaced Greenberg, but was forced out

[3:13] last June as the financial losses

[3:14] mounted. Robert Wllmstead ran the

[3:17] company until he was forced to step down

[3:19] last September. Now, with taxpayers

[3:21] owning 80% of the company, former

[3:24] Allstate CEO Edward Litty is in charge.

[3:27] He's been called to testify on Capitol

[3:28] Hill tomorrow about the bonuses. But it

[3:31] was Hank Greenberg who built AIG into an

[3:33] insurance powerhouse and then opened a

[3:36] special office in London to ensure other

[3:39] banks and their risky loans, so-called

[3:41] swaps, as a way to make quick money.

[3:44] >> They thought they could make money by

[3:46] ensuring the fact that people who

[3:48] couldn't afford mortgages would pay the

[3:50] mortgages.

[3:51] >> Today, former CEO Hank Greenberg

[3:53] insisted AIG's problems only began after

[3:56] he left office. We had a very strong

[4:00] risk management department. What

[4:02] happened to it, I don't know.

[4:04] >> AIG's credit rating was cut and when the

[4:06] risky loans collapsed, it didn't have

[4:08] the money to back up its insurance,

[4:10] leaving taxpayers to pick up a $180

[4:12] billion tab and now bonuses, which some

[4:15] argue are necessary to hold on to the

[4:17] very people who understand the mess many

[4:20] of them helped create. In an odd way,

[4:22] we're now shareholders of this company

[4:23] and we now have to bet that hopefully we

[4:26] can get out of this thing and we might

[4:27] actually need them.

[4:28] >> But Greenberg says, "No,

[4:30] >> I wouldn't pay the bonuses. Period. Now

[4:34] they they want to be sued. Sue us."

[4:37] >> In fact, Hank Greenberg is now suing AIG

[4:40] for the fortune he lost when AIG stock

[4:42] collapsed. Since taxpayers own AIG, Hank

[4:46] Greenberg is suing you and me. Brian,

[4:49] >> how to figure that one out, Tom?

[4:50] Castello starting us off from Washington

[4:53] tonight. Tom, thanks. One US senator

[4:56] actually suggested that AIG executives

[4:59] should either resign or kill themselves.

[5:02] He has since taken back the second part

[5:04] of that quote. While Washington blames

[5:07] AIG, others are blaming Washington for

[5:10] not watching the store. NBC's Kelly

[5:12] O'Donnell has more on this angle from

[5:14] Capitol Hill tonight. Kelly, good

[5:16] evening.

[5:16] >> Good evening, Brian. Congress is busy

[5:18] throwing its weight around. taking the

[5:20] nice route with a letter to AIG asking

[5:23] the company to simply cancel the bonuses

[5:25] and a more aggressive aggressive

[5:27] approach. A batch of legislation being

[5:29] written right now to take the money

[5:32] back.

[5:34] >> Senator Cornin's office.

[5:36] >> Anger on the line today.

[5:38] >> All right, I'll make sure he gets your

[5:39] message.

[5:39] >> At congressional offices, aids say the

[5:42] AIG bonus mess dominated calls from

[5:45] their home states. Outrage that

[5:47] reverberated across the capital. It's

[5:49] disgusting. It's disgraceful.

[5:52] >> No more bailouts.

[5:54] No more executive bonuses.

[5:55] >> AIG needs to step up and do the right

[5:58] thing.

[5:58] >> Getting AIG to do the right thing is

[6:01] what Republican Chuck Rasley had in

[6:03] mind, too. But on Iowa radio, his

[6:06] message to AIG executives went to the

[6:08] extreme.

[6:09] >> If they'd follow the Japanese example

[6:12] and come before the American people and

[6:14] take that deep bow and say, "I'm sorry."

[6:18] and then either do one of two things,

[6:20] resign or go commit suicide.

[6:23] >> Grassly later clarified,

[6:25] >> I'm not suggesting that anybody in

[6:27] America commit suicide. I just want to

[6:30] bring attention to the fact that we need

[6:32] a culture in the United States that

[6:34] holds corporate executives responsible.

[6:36] >> Today, there was an allout scramble to

[6:38] come up with a fix. A few tactics

[6:40] emerged. First, shame and embarrass AIG

[6:44] employees to simply give the money back.

[6:47] We can legislate all we want.

[6:49] Unfortunately, we cannot legislate

[6:51] morality and that is really a shame.

[6:54] >> Tactic two, get the bonus millions back

[6:57] through the power of the IRS.

[6:59] >> What's the highest tax that we can

[7:02] impose on those bonuses that is

[7:04] sustainable in court?

[7:06] >> The only way that you can get the money

[7:08] back is to tax it back.

[7:09] >> Tactic three, find a legal way to break

[7:12] the contracts that authorize the

[7:14] payouts. I think the time has come to

[7:16] exercise our ownership rights. We own

[7:17] most of the company and then say as

[7:19] owner, no, I'm not paying you the bonus.

[7:21] You didn't perform.

[7:23] >> And Brian, I talked to some members of

[7:25] Congress today who say they too should

[7:27] have done more to try to prevent this to

[7:29] put in tougher restrictions when the

[7:31] bailout plans were being written. Now,

[7:32] there was a bipartisan attempt to limit

[7:35] those bonuses, but it just simply didn't

[7:37] make it through the bill. Ryan,

[7:38] >> Kelly O'Donnell on Capitol Hill tonight.

[7:40] Kelly, thanks. Of course, the anger and

[7:42] the outrage over these AIG bailouts and

[7:45] bonuses isn't confined to Washington.

[7:48] Ask people about it where you live.

[7:50] That's what we did in places like

[7:53] Libertyville, Illinois, and around the

[7:55] country today. That story from NBC's

[7:57] Kevin Tibbles.

[8:01] >> The Liberty Barber Shop, Main Street,

[8:03] Libertyville, Illinois, where there's no

[8:05] shortage of opinion.

[8:06] >> It's not right. Um, I work really hard

[8:09] for my money.

[8:11] in my company. If if uh even if I make

[8:14] good decisions, if the company does

[8:15] poorly, I don't get a bonus.

[8:18] >> Here, talk of 165 million in executive

[8:21] bonuses at AIG doesn't sound like

[8:24] stimulus.

[8:24] >> Back to the grind.

[8:25] >> It feels more like a sting in their

[8:27] behind than a anything else.

[8:30] >> Although some suggest AIG should simply

[8:32] go under,

[8:33] >> the government should leave them alone

[8:35] because we're not a socialist country.

[8:37] AIG's New York headquarters may be a

[8:39] long way from small town America, but

[8:42] people here are watching. It's their

[8:44] money. The nation's newspapers, those

[8:46] still in business, echo President

[8:48] Obama's outrage. That sentiment

[8:50] reverberates all the way to the Drake

[8:52] Diner in De Moine, Iowa. Senator Chuck

[8:55] Grassley's backyard.

[8:57] >> Just like rubbing it in. They say, "Hey,

[8:59] take that. You gave us some money. Now

[9:00] we go out and party with it." I think

[9:02] this is plain not dumb. It's just plain

[9:04] stupid.

[9:04] >> They just got help. They should just get

[9:06] out. They should just get out

[9:09] >> after after they give back the bonus.

[9:12] >> And in New York, in the shadow of AIG

[9:15] headquarters,

[9:16] >> this is how real America works.

[9:18] >> Some suggest it's time for an executive

[9:20] reality check.

[9:21] >> They should come down from their high

[9:22] horse and see what it's like to work

[9:24] down the subway or to work in a hole or

[9:27] to get up every morning at 4:30 in the

[9:28] morning and provide for their family.

[9:31] >> Back in Libertyville,

[9:33] >> I wouldn't cheat a customer out of a

[9:34] dollar.

[9:36] I It's not right.

[9:38] >> And in a place where a haircut is still

[9:40] 10 bucks, you can take that to the bank.

[9:44] >> Kevin Tibbles, NBC News, Libertyville,

[9:46] Illinois.

[9:48] >> On Wall Street today, stocks resumed

[9:50] their upward climb. The Dow gained just

[9:53] under 179 points. NASDAQ was up 58. S&P

[9:57] gained more than 24. Now to the Pentagon

[10:00] and a disturbing new report on sexual

[10:03] assault in the US military more

[10:06] widespread than was first thought, but

[10:08] very few cases are reported or

[10:11] prosecuted. That story from NBC's Jim

[10:13] Mlashesky.

[10:16] As a 20-year-old in the army, Angela

[10:18] Peacock was raped by a fellow soldier.

[10:21] She was shocked again when she reported

[10:23] the attack to her male commander.

[10:25] >> If you want to stay in the army, you

[10:26] keep your mouth shut, suck it up, and

[10:27] drive on. Angela did drive on and later

[10:30] deploy to Iraq, but under the lingering

[10:32] trauma of the sexual assault and the

[10:34] horrors of war, she cracked.

[10:36] >> I started having panic attacks and

[10:41] like sleepless nights. I was spiraling

[10:43] down uh pretty fast.

[10:45] >> She was diagnosed with post-traumatic

[10:47] stress and discharged from the army. A

[10:49] Pentagon report on sexual assaults

[10:51] released today shows Angela is not

[10:53] alone. In 2008, there were more than

[10:56] 2,900 sexual assaults in the military,

[10:58] an 8% jump over the previous year.

[11:01] Perhaps more alarming, the number of

[11:03] sexual assaults in the war zones of Iraq

[11:05] and Afghanistan spiked by 26%. Pentagon

[11:09] officials insist they're taking the

[11:11] disturbing trend seriously.

[11:12] >> We know one sexual assault's too many in

[11:14] the military. And uh so we know that

[11:16] that number is high. Only 11% of sexual

[11:19] assault cases last year went to court

[11:21] marshall and the Pentagon could not

[11:23] provide the number of convictions. The

[11:25] Pentagon has launched an aggressive

[11:26] campaign to convince the victims to step

[11:28] forward and report sexual assaults, but

[11:31] it's still estimated that only 10% of

[11:33] the attacks ever get reported. Experts

[11:36] claim female victims are too intimidated

[11:38] by the maledominated military.

[11:40] >> They'll find ways of isolating her,

[11:42] punishing her, shutting her up. And you

[11:44] know, women know this. Congresswoman

[11:46] Jane Harmon calls it a cover up.

[11:48] >> And anyone in the chain of command who

[11:50] covers up the act and says, "Oh, it's

[11:52] just a, you know, boys will be boys."

[11:54] Which is what has been happening, also

[11:56] should be prosecuted.

[11:57] >> Angela Peacock may never be convinced.

[12:00] >> When you're in the military, the last

[12:01] people that you want to tell that you

[12:02] just got raped is the military.

[12:04] >> Jim Mlashky, NBC News. The Pentagon.

[12:07] >> The actress Natasha Richardson is part

[12:10] of an acting dynasty. She's married to

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

[12:15] Vanessa Redgrave. She is in the hospital

[12:17] tonight with a head injury suffered in a

[12:20] ski accident in Canada. Our chief

[12:22] science correspondent Robert Bazelle

[12:24] reports.

[12:26] >> Liam Natasha.

[12:27] >> 45-year-old actress Natasha Richardson

[12:29] was taking a private lesson yesterday on

[12:31] the beginner slope at the Mount Trablanc

[12:34] Ski Resort in Quebec when she fell and

[12:36] hit her head. She seemed fine at first.

[12:38] >> It wasn't a hard fall. Um but we checked

[12:42] everything and she seemed to be all

[12:43] right. talking. She didn't show any

[12:46] signs of confusing uh confusion or any

[12:49] injury. Uh so it's very hard to know

[12:51] what h exactly happened.

[12:53] >> The ski patrol took her to her hotel in

[12:55] a sled. She had a headache and

[12:57] reportedly an hour later went to the

[12:59] local hospital. From there she was

[13:01] transported to this major medical center

[13:03] in Montreal where there are conflicting

[13:05] reports about a traumatic brain injury.

[13:07] Brain surgeons say it is not unusual for

[13:09] a seemingly small head injury to get

[13:12] worse with time.

[13:13] >> You can have even from very small falls

[13:15] injury to the veins around the brain and

[13:17] those veins subsequently can cause

[13:19] bleeding and and that can compress the

[13:21] brain and even in extreme circumstances

[13:24] cause uh you know severe or permanent

[13:26] brain damage.

[13:28] >> Oh please. You look like you're someone

[13:30] who knows the difference between taupe

[13:32] and caramel. Richardson, who has been in

[13:34] several films and won a Tony on

[13:36] Broadway, is married to actor Liam Niss,

[13:39] and the couple has two children. She is

[13:41] the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave

[13:43] and the granddaughter of actor Sir

[13:44] Michael Redgrave. Nissan reportedly left

[13:47] a set where he is making a film in

[13:49] Toronto to rush to her side. Doctors say

[13:51] that if Richardson is suffering a brain

[13:53] bleed, it could be treatable.

[13:55] >> If that is what's going on, uh

[13:57] untreated, it could cause a lot of

[13:58] trouble. The treatment is fairly simple.

[14:00] a simple surgery can evacuate that blood

[14:02] and and you know restore her to health.

[14:06] >> But so far tonight, we have no definite

[14:08] word from the family or the hospital on

[14:10] what happened. Outside doctors emphasize

[14:12] she could have had some other problem

[14:13] such as a seizure following the fall. So

[14:16] we're awaiting word of her condition.

[14:17] Brian,

[14:18] >> and we're hoping for the best. We'll

[14:19] watch it closely. Bob Bazelle, thanks as

[14:21] always when this special edition of

[14:23] Nightly News with limited commercial

[14:25] interruptions continues for this St.

[14:27] Patty's Day Night. At one time, there

[14:30] was a pot of gold on the Emerald Isisle,

[14:33] but now, sadly, the economy has hit the

[14:36] skids. [music] And later, our series

[14:37] about Americans giving each other a

[14:39] helping hand in this bad economy.

[14:41] Tonight, we'll show you how the good

[14:43] deeds have multiplied.

[14:46] >> NBC Nightly News with [music] Brian

[14:48] Williams, brought to you with limited

[14:50] commercial interruption by Fidelity

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[15:55] Investments. Turn here.

[15:58] We live in extraordinary times. Our

[16:01] nation's [music] in crisis. And yet,

[16:03] there's that uniquely American feeling

[16:06] of hope. [music] This is the story of

[16:08] our nation. You rely on us to get it

[16:11] right [music] every time. This is the

[16:14] tradition of NBC News.

[16:18] >> What will put Americans back to [music]

[16:20] work? How to find a job and how to keep

[16:22] one. A series of special reports from

[16:25] the networks of NBC News. Wednesday

[16:29] >> to mark St. Patty's Day. This was a

[16:31] first in Washington. The fountain in

[16:34] front of the White House was turned

[16:35] green for the occasion. For that matter,

[16:38] so was a famous avenue here in New York.

[16:40] Hundreds of thousands of people, Irish

[16:42] and otherwise, celebrated by marching in

[16:44] this city's 248th

[16:47] St. Patrick's Day parade. And there was

[16:48] quite a turnout in Ireland itself where

[16:51] this day is a national holiday. Half a

[16:53] million people showed up to tip their

[16:55] hats at St. Pat in Dublin. Until

[16:58] recently, a lot of the green in Ireland

[17:00] was money. That country's economy was

[17:02] booming. the fastest growing economic

[17:05] engine in all of Europe, earning it the

[17:08] nickname the Celtic Tiger. But Ireland,

[17:10] like a lot of us, has fallen on hard

[17:12] times. NBC's Donna Fzen reports tonight

[17:15] from Dublin.

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

[17:19] was greener in Ireland. The country was

[17:21] unstoppable. The economy grew by almost

[17:23] 90% in just 10 years, catapulting

[17:26] Ireland from one of Europe's poorest

[17:28] nations to one of its richest. 600 US

[17:31] companies set up shop. Intel, Dell,

[17:34] Google, Microsoft. Lured by the highly

[17:36] skilled and educated workforce and

[17:39] generous tax incentives. Construction

[17:41] took off. Like the US, house prices shot

[17:44] up.

[17:44] >> I think there was a problem that people

[17:46] believed their own rhetoric about the

[17:48] dream. They believed that this could go

[17:49] on forever.

[17:51] >> It couldn't. Boom gave way to bust in

[17:53] Ireland with startling speed, leaving

[17:55] families like the Chamberlains wondering

[17:57] what hit them.

[17:58] >> And then we're going to have a party

[17:59] tonight. Are we? Last year they were

[18:01] living the Irish dream. Two young

[18:03] children, a nice house, a successful

[18:04] business selling solar panels.

[18:06] >> It was going well and I think we're kind

[18:07] of starting to think, oh, what we'll do

[18:09] with money.

[18:10] >> But just a few months later, the

[18:12] business failed and now bills are piling

[18:14] up.

[18:14] >> How long can you go kind of without

[18:16] work?

[18:17] >> Not much longer. I think it's really

[18:19] short. Like um it's a matter of it's a

[18:21] matter of weeks really.

[18:24] >> Unemployment is pushing 10%. Companies

[18:27] are pulling out. Dell moved 1,800 jobs

[18:29] to Poland recently. Property prices

[18:32] already down by a third keep dropping.

[18:35] The ultimate symbol of the Irish boom

[18:37] was to be here. A massive high-rise, the

[18:39] tallest building in Ireland with

[18:41] million-doll apartments and a penthouse

[18:44] recording studio for the band You Too.

[18:46] You can see nothing's happened. The

[18:48] project has been postponed indefinitely,

[18:51] >> which houses the

[18:52] >> lawyer Morris Lions has safe stuffed

[18:54] full of foreclosure cases, including

[18:56] ones they call jingle mail.

[18:59] >> So, this is the key to a house someone

[19:00] has just mailed in and said, "I'm

[19:02] walking away. Here's the key to my

[19:03] house."

[19:03] >> That's exactly it. The number of

[19:05] voluntary possessions within the last 6

[19:06] months exceeds the number we would have

[19:08] had in 30 years.

[19:10] >> Still, many are counting on the luck and

[19:13] humor of [music] the Irish to pull them

[19:14] through. As one man said, "It's not a

[19:16] recession. It's a pre-boom.

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

[19:24] >> As we've been reporting, things are bad

[19:26] just about everywhere these days. But as

[19:28] we've also been trying to point out,

[19:30] there are some real bright spots out

[19:32] there, including one we found on the

[19:34] banks of the Mananga River, Morgantown,

[19:37] West Virginia. It's a place that likes

[19:40] to think of itself as one of the best

[19:42] small cities in the country, and they

[19:44] just might have a point here. Our own

[19:46] Peter Alexander paid a visit.

[19:49] >> That's one pole and the outside then is

[19:51] the other pole.

[19:52] >> 15 years ago when an economic downturn

[19:54] moved into Morgantown, West Virginia,

[19:56] Terry Sappington saw the writing on the

[19:58] wall. Then an electrical engineer, she

[20:00] reinvented herself and became a teacher.

[20:03] >> I probably should have been a teacher to

[20:05] begin with. So when the opportunity

[20:07] presented itself, I jumped and ran.

[20:11] With the state's mining industry

[20:12] declining, Don Gallian and several

[20:14] friends shifted careers and started a

[20:16] tech manufacturing company.

[20:18] >> We found that you can't sit around and

[20:20] wait on the federal government or the

[20:22] state government to help you. You have

[20:23] to dig in and pull yourself up by your

[20:25] own bootstraps.

[20:27] >> Gallion hired more than 40 laid-off mine

[20:30] workers. Today, FCX Systems is growing.

[20:33] >> The can do mountaineer spirit, as the

[20:35] folks here like to call it, has enabled

[20:37] Morgantown to thrive. Shops are open.

[20:39] Businesses are even hiring. At 2.7%, the

[20:43] city's unemployment rate is the lowest

[20:45] in the nation. Carved into the Alageney

[20:48] foothills, the city is enjoying a streak

[20:50] of good news. Mayor Ron Justice says

[20:52] diversifying Morgantown's economy has

[20:54] been critical to its rebirth.

[20:57] >> Having sectors that that are all

[20:58] balanced is very important.

[21:00] >> Education, healthcare, technology,

[21:03] manufacturing, retail, service. This 500

[21:06] bed hospital, an international

[21:08] pharmaceuticals company, and West

[21:10] Virginia University, are among the

[21:11] largest employers. And this city of

[21:14] 87,000 is expanding with new

[21:16] construction,

[21:17] including the $400 million waterfront

[21:20] redevelopment project just a few blocks

[21:22] from a downtown lined with locallyowned

[21:24] businesses.

[21:25] >> If you work together and continue to

[21:28] collaborate on ideas, then we can grow

[21:30] from each other. Mayor Justice admits

[21:32] it's tough to relate to the rest of the

[21:34] country's wos, but experts offer a

[21:37] warning.

[21:37] >> No local economy is an economic island.

[21:40] We all depend on these trading

[21:42] relationships. We're all connected to

[21:44] each other these days.

[21:45] >> But for now, Morgantown is an oasis and

[21:48] perhaps a strong economic example for

[21:50] other cities in trouble. Peter

[21:53] Alexander, NBC News, Morgantown.

[21:56] And far from Morgantown, the shuttle

[21:58] Discovery successfully docked with the

[22:00] International Space Station late today.

[22:02] The crew will now begin a week-long

[22:04] construction mission at the station.

[22:06] They're installing, among other things,

[22:08] the last of the solar panels needed to

[22:10] power the orbiting home. Speaking of

[22:12] space, the folks at Google, who are well

[22:14] on their way to mapping everything in

[22:16] the world, now have a way to track

[22:18] everything orbiting the world. And that

[22:20] includes the space junk that has

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

[22:25] Every orbiting icon represents an

[22:27] individual piece, and there are

[22:30] thousands of them. Everything from spent

[22:32] rockets to dead satellites to tools that

[22:35] got away. Look at them all. We didn't

[22:37] really worry about disposables in space

[22:39] for years. But now, the Earth's orbit is

[22:42] crowded with debris from large to small,

[22:44] and it's a hazard. A close call caused

[22:47] an alarm on the space station this week

[22:49] and threatened to reroute the space

[22:51] shuttle itself. When Nightly News

[22:53] continues here tonight after a brief

[22:55] break, making a difference. We've all

[22:58] been reporting on all sorts of good

[23:00] deeds you asked us to cover. Tonight,

[23:02] we'll tell you what happened after our

[23:04] reports aired.

[23:07] >> NBC Nightly News [music] with Brian

[23:09] Williams, brought to you with limited

[23:11] commercial interruption by Fidelity

[23:13] Investments. [music]

[23:15] Turn here.

[23:18] >> Fidelity [snorts] Freedom Funds. We pick

[23:21] a fund based on our retirement date and

[23:22] it automatically gets more conservative

[23:24] as we get closer.

[23:26] >> Sounds good.

[23:30] >> I heard about this. It's our guidance

[23:32] from Fidelity to help us get to where we

[23:34] want to go.

[23:36] >> Well, that's pretty cool.

[23:37] >> Whatever your destination, Fidelity

[23:38] [music] has the people, guidance, and

[23:40] investments to help you find your way.

[23:41] Before investing, consider the fund's

[23:43] investment objectives, risks, charges,

[23:44] and expenses. Contact Fidelity for

[23:46] perspectives containing this

[23:47] information. Read it carefully. So, what

[23:49] is this thing again?

[23:50] >> It's Fidelity's guidance. It shows you

[23:52] ways to spend in retirement that can

[23:53] help your money last. Whatever your

[23:55] plans,

[23:55] >> like if we wanted to travel

[24:00] >> or start a business.

[24:01] >> Yep.

[24:02] >> Or take some classes.

[24:04] >> Sure.

[24:06] >> Or find the best cheeseburger.

[24:09] >> The line [music] isn't for everything.

[24:12] >> Whatever your destination, Fidelity has

[24:14] the people, guidance, and investments

[24:15] [music] to help you find your way.

[24:16] Fidelity Investments. Turn here.

[24:20] >> This is a KJW News Channel 8 update.

[24:23] >> Next, pay more to park downtown. The

[24:25] mayor's newest plan. And the Oregon

[24:28] congressman who had words with security

[24:29] at Portland airport. What set him off?

[24:32] I'm Matt Safhino. We'll see if we can

[24:34] finish setting off showers. I've got a

[24:35] drier forecast for you. All the news and

[24:37] weather coming up at 6. During this bad

[24:40] economic time, they are stories like the

[24:43] one Vicki wrote to us from Missouri.

[24:46] Dave Sinclair, she writes, the owner of

[24:48] auto dealerships in St. Louis, has hired

[24:50] 12 people. Not because he needed help,

[24:53] but because so many people are

[24:54] unemployed. It was the right thing to

[24:56] do. He has challenged other companies to

[24:59] do the same. This is just one of many

[25:01] nice things he has done to inspire and

[25:03] help the St. Louis area through the

[25:05] years. And about the story we aired here

[25:07] last week about the diner in Denver,

[25:09] where you can pay if you can and you eat

[25:12] free if you need to, we got this. I'm a

[25:15] teacher at St. Christopher School in

[25:17] Tanowanda, New York. Your report about

[25:19] making a difference has affected my

[25:21] students. They are inspired to reach out

[25:23] to others and are doing things in their

[25:25] community. They even wrote to the cafe

[25:28] and a note of thanks and donated money

[25:30] to the cafe. What a great way to show

[25:32] what happens when people choose to make

[25:35] a difference. That cafe in Denver is one

[25:37] of the stops we make tonight as we

[25:40] revisit some of the places we saw and

[25:43] people we met in last week's series of

[25:45] reports. Stories again submitted by our

[25:48] viewers. And wait till you see the

[25:49] generosity people have shown these

[25:52] already good causes. Our report from

[25:54] correspondent Roger O'Neal.

[25:58] >> Their hands serve food to empty bellies,

[26:00] hand out $2 bills, drive the sick to get

[26:04] healthy. It gives me a purpose in life.

[26:06] >> Their hearts, steady, slippery paths,

[26:09] guide young minds.

[26:11] >> These girls need someone who will listen

[26:13] to them.

[26:13] >> Helping not because they have so much,

[26:16] but so many have so little.

[26:18] >> Thank you very much.

[26:20] >> Good deeds don't need rewards, but good

[26:23] deeds are contagious.

[26:26] The same So All May Eat Cafe in Denver

[26:29] received more than 4,000 emails and

[26:32] $20,000 in donations.

[26:35] >> It's incredible. It means that we'll

[26:36] continue to feed people.

[26:37] >> It's believed Sir Winston Churchill said

[26:40] you make a living by what you get. You

[26:42] make a life by what you give. With so

[26:45] many out of work, giving not in dollars

[26:48] but in time is one of the ironic twists

[26:50] of this recession. A flood of

[26:53] volunteers.

[26:54] Lifebuilding.

[26:56] >> Wow, you are really getting good.

[26:59] >> Barbara Parton saw the smiles Charlie

[27:01] Olsen was bringing with old ice skates.

[27:03] So, she dug into her closet and found an

[27:05] old pair so more can smile.

[27:08] >> Everybody has the power to give in any

[27:11] little way. Make life better. Make like

[27:14] make just make the little day a little

[27:15] nicer for somebody.

[27:18] >> Strangers are getting on the road with

[27:20] Bob Langley. Gas money for driving

[27:22] cancer patients to treatment.

[27:26] >> A stranger is sending a donation to the

[27:28] Hope Place in Alabama, inspired by the

[27:31] $2 bill, who asked employees to send

[27:34] some of their bonus bills to charity.

[27:37] Inspiring stories uniquely human.

[27:40] >> When we see people do beautiful actions,

[27:43] virtuous deeds, it affects us. It moves

[27:45] us uh and it makes us uh want to do the

[27:48] same. There have been dozens of calls to

[27:50] do what my sister's circle is doing in

[27:53] Baltimore. Women paving the way for

[27:55] young girls to a better life. Not with

[27:57] money, but commitment.

[27:59] >> Tough times, you bet. But with helping

[28:02] hands and big hearts.

[28:04] >> Is that Wait a second.

[28:06] >> Roger O'Neal, NBC News, Washington.

[28:09] >> And we want more. Please keep your ideas

[28:12] coming to our website. That's

[28:13] nightlyc.com.

[28:16] We promise to keep reading the stories

[28:18] you submit and some of them will air on

[28:20] this broadcast. That that's our

[28:22] broadcast for this Tuesday night. Thank

[28:24] you for being with us. I'm Brian

[28:26] Williams. We all hope to see you back

[28:27] here tomorrow night. Good night.

[28:35] >> A deadly slip. A Portland woman killed

[28:38] hiking one of the most popular trails in

[28:40] the gorge.

[28:41] >> This is a handrail on the inside edge of

[28:43] the trail. It's really there to provide

[28:45] security for those who who want to hug

[28:48] the inside.

[28:49] >> How she fell 100 ft down an [music]

[28:51] embankment along Eagle Creek. Burning

[28:54] questions days after the fire.

[28:57] Authorities [music] haven't said much

[28:58] about the three bodies found inside. Why

[29:01] it's looking less like an accident. And

[29:03] no day of rest from parking fees. The

[29:07] mayor is pitching a plan that would make

[29:09] you feed [music] the meter even on

[29:11] Sundays. Why business owners say it's

[29:14] the lesser of two evils.

[29:17] >> From the KGWHD

[29:19] studios,

[29:21] where the news comes first. News Channel

[29:24] 8 at 6 starts now.

[29:27] >> Hello, I'm Tracy Barry.

[29:29] >> And I'm Joe Donlin. First at 6, a deadly

[29:31] fall on one of the most popular trails

[29:33] in the Columbia Gorge. Wet conditions

[29:35] and an eroding footpath sent a woman

[29:37] plunging 100 ft. News Channel 8's Key

[29:40] Chalmers joins us with a story. Key.

[29:42] >> Well, Joe, this happened on the Eagle

[29:44] Creek Trail near Cascade Locks. It's a

[29:46] trail hiked by thousands every year, but

[29:48] the recent wild weather has made the

[29:51] path slick and in spots dangerous.

[29:55] >> It's one of the nicest trails in the

[29:56] gorge.

[29:57] >> For 20 years, Steph Trotder has been

[29:59] hiking the Eagle Creek Trail near

[30:01] Cascade Locks. Looks like there's some

[30:03] erosion. We're getting some soil that's

[30:05] moving down into the water. And she says

[30:07] she's never seen it look like it does

[30:10] now.

[30:11] >> This is pretty unusual to have this type

[30:13] of water on this trail.

[30:14] >> The trail muddy and slick and

[30:16] potentially dangerous.

[30:18] >> Really steep cliffs and if you do lose

[30:20] your step or whatever, you're you're

[30:22] going to be going down.

[30:23] >> Hood River County deputies say that's

[30:25] exactly what happened to a Portland

[30:26] woman yesterday afternoon about a mile

[30:29] up the trail. 23-year-old Rhonda Castow

[30:32] was hiking with her boyfriend when

[30:33] deputies say she somehow slipped and

[30:35] fell.

[30:45] The franchises of Pacific Pride, an

[30:47] Oregon company serving the fueling needs

[30:50] of commercial customers throughout

[30:51] Oregon, the US, and Canada.