CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2004-12-09

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Dan Rather and welcome to the

[0:01] CBS Evening News online edition. Just

[0:04] ahead, a CBS News exclusive. The

[0:06] government orders a recall of Dodge

[0:08] Durango and Dakotas. This following a

[0:10] year-long CBS News investigation of

[0:13] problems with the vehicle's upper ball

[0:15] joints. Also, a star guitarist and four

[0:18] others are shot dead at a concert in

[0:20] Ohio. We'll give you the inside story.

[0:23] And what does it mean to you? CBS's

[0:26] series rolls on with a look at social

[0:28] security changes. The president pledges

[0:30] to make them without raising taxes. Is

[0:33] that possible? It's all starting now on

[0:35] the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:39] Many Americans are driving them right

[0:41] now, but they could be very dangerous.

[0:43] The US government is now ordering a

[0:45] safety recall of hundreds of thousands

[0:48] of light trucks built by Daimler

[0:50] Chrysler, the Dodge Durango, and the

[0:52] Dodge Dakota. CBS News correspondent

[0:55] Mika Bzinski first exposed a potentially

[0:57] deadly defect in these vehicles more

[1:00] than a year ago. A defect that could

[1:02] cause a wheel to fly off. And tonight,

[1:05] she has this exclusive follow-up. Ma?

[1:07] >> Well, Dan, 600,000 popular vehicles

[1:10] could be recalled if Daimler Chrysler

[1:12] complies with the government's demand.

[1:14] The recall order covers model years 2000

[1:17] to 2003 4x4 Dodge Durango SUVs and

[1:20] Dakota pickup trucks with four-wheel

[1:22] drive. The government action highlights

[1:24] a problem first uncovered by CBS News

[1:27] more than a year ago.

[1:28] >> I mean, unfortunately, it could have

[1:30] been a really deadly situation.

[1:32] >> Back then, Monique Conrad's 2000 Durango

[1:35] had only 31,000 m on it when the right

[1:38] front wheel suddenly flew off while she

[1:40] was driving.

[1:42] >> The tire and this big piece of metal

[1:43] that's probably a foot past the tire was

[1:46] bouncing across four lanes of the of the

[1:49] road. Her experience along with similar

[1:51] complaints prompted the government to

[1:53] investigate possible premature wear of

[1:55] Dodge Durango upper ball joints.

[1:58] A ball and socket attaching the wheel

[2:00] assembly to the vehicle. Since our first

[2:03] report, CBS News received hundreds of

[2:05] emails, photos, and calls from viewers

[2:08] around the country. Like Kate McGee

[2:10] Sawyer from Maine,

[2:11] >> the wheel just flew out.

[2:13] >> Tina Czech in Massachusetts.

[2:15] >> The wheel had completely fallen off.

[2:16] Joyce and John Gosh in Pennsylvania.

[2:19] >> This just ripped right out.

[2:20] >> As the complaints piled up, the

[2:22] government expanded its investigation to

[2:24] include the Dodge Dakota pickup truck,

[2:26] which uses the same upper ball joints.

[2:29] John Coron in Ohio.

[2:30] >> So, you got out of the car and what' you

[2:32] see?

[2:33] >> Saw the the tire and wheel underneath

[2:35] the front end of the truck.

[2:36] >> According to the government, a third of

[2:38] the nearly 2 million vehicles

[2:40] investigated had defective upper ball

[2:42] joints, and almost all were produced at

[2:44] this Indiana plant. Customers paid up to

[2:46] $1,200 to replace these parts. A recall

[2:50] would mean a huge financial hit for

[2:51] Daimler Chrysler.

[2:53] >> The cost is certainly going to run into

[2:55] the hundreds of millions of dollars.

[2:57] >> Daimler Chrysler also faces mounting

[2:59] lawsuits like the one filed by David and

[3:01] Christina Schaefer. They were on the

[3:03] highway in their Durango with their four

[3:05] young children when suddenly

[3:07] >> it seemed like we just went into a a

[3:08] frenzy of flipping.

[3:10] >> Bodies went flying everywhere.

[3:12] Christina, who was pregnant at the time,

[3:14] suffered numerous injuries, including a

[3:16] broken neck. Doctors were not

[3:18] optimistic.

[3:19] >> What about the baby?

[3:21] >> There was no certainty. They actually

[3:23] came to me and recommended me to take

[3:25] the baby's life.

[3:26] >> Medical bills forced the family into

[3:28] bankruptcy. And while they consider

[3:30] their new baby girl a miracle,

[3:33] >> oh no.

[3:34] >> The Schaers say they wish Daimler

[3:35] Chrysler had acted sooner.

[3:37] >> It could have been the whole family

[3:40] gone. And late today in a statement,

[3:42] Daimler Chrysler maintained that the

[3:44] upper ball joints do not pose a safety

[3:46] concern and that owners have substantial

[3:49] warning of any problems like noise or

[3:51] tire wear that would be picked up during

[3:53] routine inspections. The company says

[3:55] it's reviewing the government's order

[3:57] for a recall and will respond by Monday.

[4:00] Dan,

[4:00] >> police in Columbus, Ohio are

[4:02] investigating a deadly shooting last

[4:04] night at a nightclub where a heavy metal

[4:06] rock band was performing. CBS's Cynthia

[4:09] Bower gives you the inside story.

[4:12] >> Damage Plan had just begun its first

[4:14] song at this Columbus concert hall when

[4:16] a man armed with a gun jumped on stage

[4:19] and opened fire in front of a stunned

[4:21] crowd.

[4:22] >> We heard the bang and you know we

[4:23] thought it was part of the stage show

[4:25] >> until thrash rock icon dimeag Daryl

[4:27] Abbott fell to the ground still

[4:30] clutching his guitar. Panicked concert

[4:32] goers raced for the doors frantically

[4:34] calling for help. This damage plane has

[4:37] been shot on stage. He's on stage right

[4:39] now. He's got a gun

[4:41] >> and a grudge.

[4:42] >> When you see somebody point a gun at one

[4:44] person only and unload five rounds in

[4:46] them, something personal is going on.

[4:48] >> Witnesses say the shooter then took aim

[4:50] at the audience, firing at Will, even

[4:52] reloading, killing three people,

[4:55] wounding two others.

[4:56] >> I watched the one guy go down. I jumped

[4:58] on stage, started helping another guy

[4:59] give him CPR.

[5:00] >> Police credit a nearby officer for

[5:03] keeping the death toll from being

[5:04] higher. He responded within minutes,

[5:06] getting off the shot that killed the

[5:08] gunman, who has been identified as

[5:10] 25-year-old Nathan Gale, a heavy metal

[5:13] music fan.

[5:16] Abbott, 38, was well known in rock and

[5:19] roll circles. He and his brother, Vinnie

[5:22] Paul Abbott, the band's drummer, had

[5:24] recently left Grammy nominated band

[5:26] Panta to form Damage Plan, a move that

[5:29] upset many fans, but one Abbott defended

[5:32] not long ago. we can get up with Damage

[5:34] Plan and blast them songs better than

[5:36] they've ever been played and sang.

[5:38] >> Panta was one of the few heavy metal

[5:41] bands to make it to the top of the

[5:42] charts. And millions of fans had hoped

[5:45] for a reunion one day, but as one said,

[5:47] just like the Beatles, it won't happen

[5:49] now. Ironically or not, Daryl Abbott was

[5:52] shot 24 years to the day that John Linen

[5:56] was killed. Cynthia Bowers, CBS News,

[5:59] Columbus. President Bush called again

[6:01] today for historic changes in the

[6:03] biggest, most successful retirement

[6:05] program in the world, Social Security.

[6:07] CBS's John Roberts reports on the plan,

[6:10] the cost, the battle ahead, and what it

[6:12] all means to you.

[6:15] >> Tad De Haven could be the poster child

[6:17] for social security reform. 28 years

[6:20] old, a college graduate in the workforce

[6:22] for 6 years, getting married next May,

[6:25] expected to retire in 2042.

[6:28] That's the year Social Security goes

[6:30] broke.

[6:31] >> I don't expect to get anything from

[6:33] Social Security. Okay. I don't consider

[6:35] it in terms of my long-term planning and

[6:37] financing. It's not going to be there.

[6:39] That's my assumption.

[6:40] >> So, Tad is fully on board the plan to

[6:42] establish private accounts for Social

[6:44] Security to allow younger workers to

[6:46] invest a small portion of their payroll

[6:48] taxes in the stock market. allow me to

[6:51] to invest some sort of money in the

[6:54] marketplace where I am going to earn a

[6:56] positive return where I am going to have

[6:57] a property right to this

[6:59] >> but getting there will carry a whopping

[7:01] price tag to fund the transition to

[7:03] private accounts while paying current

[7:05] retirees will cost an estimated 1 to2

[7:08] trillion

[7:09] >> we're suggesting uh a change in the uh

[7:12] payroll tax that

[7:13] >> one of President Bush's social security

[7:15] advisers unveiled a plan today that

[7:17] would pay the cost with a modest

[7:19] increase in weekly payroll taxes. Not a

[7:22] chance, said the president today.

[7:24] >> We will not raise payroll taxes to solve

[7:26] this problem.

[7:27] >> Which leaves other options. Raise the

[7:29] retirement age, reduce benefits, or

[7:31] borrow the money. None of which are easy

[7:33] to swallow. Then there's the issue of

[7:36] stock market stability. Remember what

[7:38] happened to all those 401k accounts 3

[7:40] years ago? The people who print social

[7:43] security checks never act like this.

[7:47] But De Haven argues doing nothing is not

[7:50] an option.

[7:51] >> At some point in time, somebody has to

[7:52] stepped up to the plate. If it has to be

[7:54] my generation, then I say so be it.

[7:56] >> And in an indication as to just where

[7:58] this fight is heading, some critics

[8:00] claim that the coming shortfall could

[8:01] easily be covered by repealing the

[8:03] president's tax cuts. But under the

[8:06] current system, there's no way to save

[8:07] that money for the future. And at the

[8:09] rate the government is spending money,

[8:11] there likely won't be anything to save

[8:13] anyway. John Roberts, CBS News, the

[8:16] White House. More stories are just a

[8:18] click away, but be sure to join me on

[8:20] television for the on air edition of the

[8:21] CBS Evening News. On Friday's broadcast,

[8:24] gift cards. They are the number one

[8:27] choice for shoppers this year, but

[8:28] they're not all created equal. Before

[8:31] you spend good money for a gift card,

[8:32] see CBS's Friday Consumer Alert for

[8:36] CBSN.com.

[8:37] I'm Dan Rather.