World News Tonight (ABC) - 1998-08-15

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:04] On World News Tonight this Saturday,

[0:07] terror in Northern Ireland, the

[0:09] deadliest attack in 30 years. What could

[0:12] be a major break in the investigation

[0:14] into the embassy bombings as reporters

[0:16] get their first look inside the embassy

[0:19] in Nairobi. And the president holds up

[0:22] with his lawyers as he prepares for

[0:24] Monday's showdown with independent

[0:25] council Kenneth Star.

[0:33] From ABC News, this is World News

[0:38] Tonight, Saturday. Good evening. I'm

[0:40] Aaron Brown. We have two important

[0:42] stories tonight. A devastating bomb

[0:44] attack in Northern Ireland and what

[0:46] appears to be a break in the

[0:47] investigation into the bomb attacks on

[0:49] the American embassies in East Africa.

[0:52] We begin in Northern Ireland where the

[0:54] enemies of the peace agreement there

[0:56] struck today with deadly results. At

[0:58] least 25 people have died, more than a

[1:00] hundred are injured. A bomb went off in

[1:03] the town of Omma, a community where

[1:05] Protestants and Catholics live side by

[1:07] side. And as ABC's reports, today they

[1:12] died side by side.

[1:15] The bomb ripped through a busy section

[1:16] of Omaha, 50 mi west of Belfast, where

[1:19] Protestant and Catholic families had

[1:21] been doing their Saturday shopping and

[1:22] gathering for a festival.

[1:25] There had been an anonymous telephone

[1:27] warning 40 minutes before the explosion,

[1:29] but the caller had given police the

[1:31] wrong location. So, hundreds of people

[1:33] were directed to an area where the bomb

[1:35] exploded.

[1:36] >> The bang came behind me. I looked over

[1:38] and the smoke had just come over the

[1:40] building here that you see over there

[1:42] and I I went just my god it's in the

[1:44] wrong place and ran back around the

[1:46] corner and the carnage around that

[1:48] corner is unbelievable.

[1:50] Even by Northern Ireland's violent

[1:52] standards, this one was big, ugly and

[1:54] devastating. So many killed and injured.

[1:57] The shock and terror still showing on

[1:59] the faces of survivors.

[2:00] >> Massive explosion,

[2:03] windows came in, roof come down top of

[2:04] us. So why can't we say we're out of

[2:06] peace when we have this?

[2:09] Anyone who goes up that street and just

[2:12] sees the carnage that's left there, sees

[2:14] the baby's shoes, the pampers, the

[2:19] spectacles on the ground, the blood

[2:21] there must say that Northern Ireland

[2:24] must have a better future.

[2:26] >> I'm a Catholic who can't stand up and

[2:29] say they've done this for my benefit. I

[2:31] didn't ask them to come and do this. If

[2:33] I knew who they were, I would definitely

[2:36] give them up. Hanging's too good for

[2:38] these people.

[2:39] >> The Irish prime minister called it

[2:40] quote, "The most evil deed in many

[2:43] years."

[2:43] >> And we'll use whatever resources we have

[2:45] to to crush these people.

[2:47] >> The Irish Republican Army in recent

[2:49] months declared it had given up

[2:50] violence, but IRA breakaway factions

[2:53] have not. Today's bombing could put the

[2:55] recently signed Northern Ireland peace

[2:57] agreement in grave trouble. very much on

[2:59] the mind of British Prime Minister Tony

[3:01] Blair who had this reaction.

[3:03] >> Not simply one of outrage

[3:06] at the evil of it and total

[3:09] determination

[3:11] to bring the perpetrators of it to

[3:13] justice

[3:14] but an equal determination that these

[3:17] people will not win that they will not

[3:19] destroy the process that we have built

[3:22] up. Politicians on both sides had feared

[3:25] some kind of violent reaction to the

[3:26] peace agreement, but no one, Erin, had

[3:28] predicted it would be this bad.

[3:30] >> And Mike, has anyone yet claimed

[3:32] responsibility for the attack?

[3:34] >> No one claimed responsibility. And

[3:35] Shenfane, the political arm of the IRA

[3:37] has condemned the bombing, but

[3:39] Protestant leaders tonight saying the

[3:40] IRA has bomb material still in

[3:43] circulation and that someone may have

[3:45] used those today.

[3:46] >> Mike, thanks. ABC's Mike Lee on the

[3:49] story in Northern Ireland. Now on to

[3:50] East Africa where investigators into the

[3:52] bombing attacks and the American

[3:54] embassies in Kenya and Tanzania may have

[3:57] an important suspect in custody tonight.

[3:59] He was arrested in Pakistan, US

[4:01] authorities and brought him to Kenya for

[4:03] questioning by the FBI. ABC's Morin is

[4:07] in Nairobi.

[4:10] Sources have told ABC News that US

[4:12] federal agents were dispatched to

[4:14] Pakistan and that Muhammad Sadi is in

[4:17] custody and that he has been brought

[4:19] here to Nairobi. There are reports that

[4:22] Sadik confessed after being arrested at

[4:24] a Pakistani airport on the day the

[4:26] embassy in Nairobi was bombed. It's

[4:28] reported that he had flown from Kenya

[4:31] and was attempting to travel to

[4:32] Afghanistan with a false passport. Few

[4:35] other details have been made available.

[4:37] You think of this?

[4:38] >> Today, for the first time, a news camera

[4:40] was allowed into the battered embassy.

[4:42] >> It looked as if an earthquake and a

[4:44] tornado struck simultaneously,

[4:47] unleashing a lethal force of falling

[4:49] debris and flying shrapnel.

[4:52] >> The west side of the building, the blast

[4:54] side of the building.

[4:56] >> The explosion was followed by a huge

[4:58] shock wave which pushed through the

[4:59] embassy. Windows blown in, walls blown

[5:03] down, file cabinets sent flying,

[5:06] furniture overturned, heavy chunks of

[5:08] jagged concrete everywhere.

[5:11] >> Actually, this area toward the back is

[5:12] where the console general's office was.

[5:15] Um, unfortunately,

[5:17] >> the console general, Julian Bartley, was

[5:20] killed in another part of the building,

[5:22] but his 20-year-old son, Jay, an embassy

[5:25] intern, died here in his father's

[5:27] office. While some potentially crucial

[5:30] evidence from the blast area was flown

[5:32] to Washington this weekend for a

[5:34] detailed analysis, the detective work at

[5:37] the embassy has been agonizingly slow.

[5:39] >> The operation essentially is a very

[5:41] tedious floor by floor uh sifting uh of

[5:46] uh rubble, simply rubble and debris,

[5:50] going through it for evidence, um

[5:52] additional body parts uh from the

[5:55] deceased. Obviously, all of the official

[5:57] functions of the embassy are now being

[5:59] performed elsewhere in Nairobi. And

[6:02] because of all of the damage here and

[6:04] because there were serious concerns

[6:06] about security in the past, it's very

[6:08] doubtful that this building will ever

[6:11] open for business again. Or Dean, ABC

[6:14] News, Nairobi.

[6:17] >> And the first of the 12 American victims

[6:19] of the Nairobi embassy bombing was laid

[6:21] to rest today. Air Force Senior Master

[6:24] Sergeant Sher Lynn Olds was buried with

[6:27] full mil military honors in Panama City,

[6:31] Florida.

[6:32] In Washington, around much of the

[6:34] country, it is a weekend of waiting,

[6:36] waiting for Monday's historic testimony

[6:38] by the president in the Lewinsky case.

[6:40] The president spent his day at the White

[6:42] House with a small circle of legal

[6:44] advisers preparing for what may turn out

[6:46] to be the single most important day in

[6:49] his presidency. We're joined by ABC's

[6:51] Mike Bon at the White House. Mike,

[6:53] >> good evening. Aaron, other than First

[6:55] Lady Hillary Clinton, the president has

[6:57] just four people he can confide in about

[6:59] his testimony. And they all came to be

[7:01] with him at the White House today. White

[7:04] House Counsel Charles Ruff was the first

[7:06] to arrive, followed by former Commerce

[7:08] Secretary and now private attorney

[7:10] Mickey Cannor. Personal attorneys David

[7:12] Kendall and Nicole Seligman drove to the

[7:14] White House together. The president will

[7:17] give his testimony from here in the

[7:19] first floor map room. It's a familiar

[7:21] venue. The president has given videotape

[7:24] testimony here twice before for

[7:26] whitewater trials. The map room is also

[7:29] where the president held some of those

[7:31] controversial coffees for Democratic

[7:33] donors. Though advisers say no final

[7:36] decisions have been made about the

[7:37] president's testimony on Monday, people

[7:39] close to him are discussing various

[7:41] options that include acknowledging some

[7:44] kind of improper relationship with

[7:46] Monica Lewinsky. But he's expected to

[7:48] stand by his story that he was

[7:50] technically truthful about not engaging

[7:53] in sexual relations. Some attorneys

[7:55] warned that would be a difficult tact to

[7:57] take with a grand jury listening. if

[8:00] they see somebody slipping and sliding,

[8:03] uh, playing games with words, uh,

[8:06] saying, "What does engage mean?" In in

[8:08] the context of this definition, they're

[8:10] not going to believe him.

[8:11] >> Another scenario being suggested by some

[8:14] advisers involves the president refusing

[8:16] to answer some questions because they

[8:18] are too personal.

[8:19] >> If the president tries to decline to

[8:21] answer questions on privacy grounds,

[8:23] he's really leading with his chin. It's

[8:26] legally insupportable and politically

[8:28] disastrous.

[8:30] >> But late this afternoon, the president

[8:31] looked relaxed as he played with his

[8:33] dog. And lead attorney David Kendall

[8:36] left the White House after 4 and 1/2

[8:37] hours sounding very confident.

[8:40] >> How did it go with the president today?

[8:42] What's his mood like? And how's yours?

[8:46] >> Mine is great.

[8:47] >> And his

[8:48] >> great. Though there are reports the

[8:50] president will speak to the country

[8:52] after his testimony, the television

[8:54] networks have not received word from the

[8:56] White House. But Aaron, if the president

[8:58] decides after testifying that he wants

[9:00] to say something to the nation,

[9:02] arrangements could be made in very short

[9:03] order.

[9:05] Thanks, ABC's micron friend at the White

[9:07] House this evening. Thank you. And still

[9:09] ahead tonight, we'll have more on this

[9:10] weekend of waiting in Washington. How

[9:12] the first lady, Hillary Clinton, is

[9:14] weathering this crisis in the White

[9:15] House. Also coming up, a former Green

[9:18] Beret and his followers try to track

[9:20] down one of America's most wanted. An

[9:23] Apple computer bets the farm on its

[9:26] latest computer.

[9:29] >> This is World News Tonight Saturday,

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[11:08] >> Americans have not always known what to

[11:10] think about first lady Hillary Rodm

[11:11] Clinton. At her low point in the days

[11:14] after the massive healthc care reform

[11:15] plan was released, she was seen as too

[11:18] powerful, too liberal, too much by many.

[11:21] These days, it's a different story. With

[11:23] her husband under attack, she has been

[11:24] his strongest defender. And the country,

[11:27] whatever it might think of him, has come

[11:29] to admire her again. Here's ABC's Guju

[11:32] Chang.

[11:36] As her husband prepares to testify about

[11:38] whether he cheated on her, Mrs. Clinton

[11:41] has seemed anything but the wounded

[11:43] wife. Hi everybody.

[11:45] >> Nice to meet you.

[11:47] >> This week, she met with flood victims in

[11:49] Milwaukee, talked politics with local

[11:51] leaders, and helped the country to

[11:53] grieve.

[11:55] Hillary Clinton has remained her

[11:57] husband's strongest ally during these

[11:59] turbulent months. Her unflinching

[12:01] loyalty has earned her a new level of

[12:03] respect.

[12:04] >> I couldn't imagine how she could hold

[12:06] up. If it was me, I don't know if I

[12:07] could hold up and keep my duties and

[12:09] keep as strong as she has. And she's got

[12:11] a lot of courage. That kind of sympathy

[12:13] is being directed not at Hillary

[12:14] Clinton, the skillful politician, but to

[12:17] Hillary Clinton, the beautiful wife. And

[12:19] it's helped push the first lady's

[12:21] popularity to near all-time highs. Polls

[12:24] show her favorability rating reached its

[12:26] highest 60% just days after she lashed

[12:29] out at critics calling the investigation

[12:31] a right-wing conspiracy. Compare that to

[12:34] 28% just 2 years ago.

[12:39] And her popularity continues to

[12:41] translate into dollars. This week in

[12:43] Milwaukee, she raised 50,000 for the

[12:46] Democrats as a last minute fill-in for

[12:48] the president. We are very very close to

[12:51] taking back the House of

[12:52] Representatives.

[12:53] >> Friends have always believed and

[12:55] political opponents now concede that in

[12:58] this crisis, Mrs. Clinton is the

[13:00] president's first and best line of

[13:02] defense. The burden of the outcome of a

[13:05] favorable result rests solely on her. As

[13:09] she supports him, the country supports

[13:11] him. If she abandons him or shows any

[13:12] signs of cracking, that the country will

[13:14] crack.

[13:15] >> And she's not likely to. According to

[13:17] friends who insist the strength of the

[13:19] first couple's marriage is

[13:21] misunderstood.

[13:22] >> I think one of the reasons that she is

[13:24] always there for them for him is the

[13:27] most obvious. She loves him.

[13:28] >> Whatever her motivations, Hillary

[13:30] Clinton has used her fierce

[13:32] determination which used to be seen as a

[13:34] negative to turn what could have been a

[13:36] humiliating experience into a position

[13:39] of strength.

[13:40] >> Juju Chang, ABC News, Milwaukee,

[13:42] Wisconsin.

[13:43] >> So much. And tomorrow on this week with

[13:45] Sam Donaldson and Koki Roberts, a

[13:47] special round table will look in depth

[13:50] at the president's options for his grand

[13:52] jury testimony on Monday. Other news

[13:55] tonight, phone company workers are

[13:56] threatening to walk off the job at

[13:58] midnight tonight in a strike against US

[14:00] West. Both sides met with a federal

[14:02] mediator in Denver today, but still

[14:04] disagree over performance-based

[14:06] payraises. A strike could disrupt

[14:09] service calls and directory assistance

[14:11] in 14 states. And the nation's largest

[14:14] phone company, AT&T, is imposing a new

[14:16] minimum fee for long-distance service.

[14:19] AT&T will charge customers $3 a month,

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[14:34] come back, a new search team, this one

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[17:00] tale of. The practice 109 central, ABC

[17:03] Sunday.

[17:05] The search for bombing suspect Eric

[17:06] Rudolph has taken a new turn. It has now

[17:08] been more than a month since Rudolph

[17:10] briefly emerged, then disappeared again

[17:12] into the woods of North Carolina. Today,

[17:14] a band of volunteers led by former Green

[17:16] Beret James Boes headed in there after

[17:19] him. Here's ABC's Steve Osansami.

[17:24] >> Colonel James Boges is a decorated Green

[17:27] Beret who hopes to accomplish in 7 days

[17:29] what the FBI couldn't do in 7 months.

[17:33] With the help of volunteers from across

[17:35] the country, the former commander is

[17:37] searching the North Carolina mountains

[17:39] for an accused bomber who police believe

[17:41] still tunes in to Gres's national talk

[17:43] show. Eric, if you're hearing the radio

[17:46] program right now, then I want you to

[17:47] know that we are just about in place. We

[17:50] have two distinguishing articles that we

[17:53] will be wearing. One of them is the cap

[17:56] of St. Andrews. We also have a red,

[17:58] white, and blue scarf. You see us, you

[18:02] use any signal you'd like to make

[18:04] contact, and we'll take over from there.

[18:07] Brits is trying to negotiate the

[18:08] peaceful surrender of Eric Robert

[18:10] Rudolph, accused of bombing this

[18:12] Birmingham abortion clinic and suspected

[18:15] in two other bombings in the southeast.

[18:19] Brights won fame 6 years ago this month

[18:21] when he persuaded Randy Weaver to end

[18:23] the standoff at Ruby Ridge. This time,

[18:26] Weaver was along for the search.

[18:28] >> What we're doing here is trying to give

[18:31] him some hope. That's what we needed

[18:33] when we were on up at Ruby Ridge. And Bo

[18:36] provided that hope for us.

[18:38] >> And he made headlines again in 1996 when

[18:40] he tried to end the conflict with the

[18:42] Montana Freeman.

[18:44] >> If you were in trouble, I'd come for

[18:45] you. If I was in trouble, I'll hope

[18:48] you'd come for me.

[18:50] >> If Gres and his volunteers find Rudolph,

[18:53] they'll hand the government's million

[18:54] dollar reward to the fugitive's mother

[18:56] for his legal fees.

[18:59] We didn't come here for money or, you

[19:00] know, we gave up money to come here.

[19:03] Cost everybody a lot of money to come

[19:04] here.

[19:05] >> And with the blessings of federal

[19:06] investigators who this week moved more

[19:08] than a 100 agents elsewhere, Brights and

[19:11] his unarmed followers are free to search

[19:13] the same areas agents have already

[19:16] scoured. Steoami, ABC News, Andrews,

[19:20] North Carolina. Still ahead tonight, the

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[21:32] Six young American activists expelled

[21:34] from Myanmar, which used to be called

[21:36] Burma, were welcomed today by their

[21:38] families at the airport in Bangkok,

[21:40] Thailand. The Americans, along with a

[21:43] dozen other foreigners, were arrested

[21:44] for handing out pro-democracy leaflets

[21:47] and sentenced to 5 years of hard labor.

[21:50] The sentences were suspended and the

[21:52] Americans deported.

[21:55] >> We want to tell the world that we're

[21:56] fine. Um but we know that the many

[22:00] people inside Burma uh not only in the

[22:02] city of Rangon but all the different

[22:04] ethnic areas and on the borders um all

[22:06] the refugees throughout the world they

[22:08] are not okay.

[22:09] >> American students say they don't plan to

[22:11] give up their pro-democracy activism.

[22:14] The Russian President Boris Yelson moved

[22:16] his vacation spot closer to the Kremlin

[22:18] today to monitor that country's growing

[22:20] financial crisis. The Russian stock

[22:23] market hit its lowest level in 2 years

[22:25] on Thursday. But that's not what worries

[22:28] most Russians. As ABC's Ron Claybornne

[22:30] reports, they're worried about the

[22:32] ruble.

[22:33] >> These are wild times in Russia. The

[22:35] stock market has plunged. Interest rates

[22:38] have shot up to as high as an astounding

[22:40] 150%. And panicky investors have taken

[22:43] their money and fled. And yet, the vast

[22:46] majority of Russian citizens don't even

[22:48] care.

[22:49] >> The Russian people, not in any of these

[22:51] markets. The Russian people uh are

[22:54] really only interested at this point in

[22:55] the exchange rate, the dollar and the

[22:57] ruble.

[22:58] >> Unlike in the US, few average Russians

[23:01] invest in or even understand stock and

[23:03] bond markets. Many are deeply

[23:05] suspicious.

[23:07] >> Marina Vladimirova runs a small grocery

[23:10] store. She says she's wary of putting

[23:12] her money into Russian markets.

[23:15] >> I do not trust in shares of stock. She

[23:17] says they exist today, but they may

[23:19] evaporate tomorrow. Vladimir prefers to

[23:23] spend her money on her business, her

[23:25] country house, and her family. That's a

[23:27] typical reaction. Rather than invest,

[23:30] Russians tend to spend on cars, jewelry,

[23:34] clothes.

[23:35] There is a small but growing number of

[23:38] affluent Russians who do invest locally

[23:40] like Yini Okun who immigrated from

[23:43] Russia to the US 20 years ago and

[23:45] returned in 1991 as an investment

[23:48] banker. the long run, I'm absolutely

[23:50] confident then that investors will get

[23:52] some of the best returns available

[23:54] anywhere.

[23:55] >> But for most Russians, what matters is

[23:57] the ruble. If it loses value, prices

[24:00] will rise and that will anger a lot of

[24:02] people. Which is why Baris Yelson is

[24:04] determined that whatever else happens to

[24:06] Russian markets, the ruble holds firm.

[24:10] Ron Claybourne, ABC News, Moscow. The

[24:13] balloonist Steve Faucet reached the

[24:14] halfway point in his round the world

[24:17] journey eight days after he took off

[24:19] from Argentina. Faucet has now broken

[24:21] his own record for distance traveled in

[24:23] a balloon. Today he crossed into

[24:25] Australian airspace. His mission

[24:27] controllers say that he could run out of

[24:30] oxygen in four or 5 days and then would

[24:33] have to finish his flight if possible at

[24:36] lower altitudes.

[24:38] When we come back, is this the shape of

[24:41] things to come in the computer world?

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[26:19] >> Finally tonight, a new apple in the

[26:21] orchard. Apple computer has struggled in

[26:23] recent years. Windows-based PCs

[26:25] dominating the market. Apple's Macintosh

[26:28] far behind. Well, the iMac went on sale

[26:31] today. And the iMac is supposed to

[26:33] change the company's fortunes. And a lot

[26:35] of computer people believe it will.

[26:37] Here's ABC's Bob Woodruff.

[26:42] >> At the stroke of midnight last night,

[26:44] the Apple faithful burst through the

[26:46] doors to see perhaps the strangest

[26:48] looking computer ever sold. It's pretty

[26:51] unusual looking. I would It looks like

[26:53] something from outer space.

[26:54] >> The iMac is made of translucent plastic

[26:56] and it looks almost like a beach ball.

[26:58] It has some sex appeal to it. It's It's

[27:00] beautiful. People touch it.

[27:02] >> But to make sure people buy it, Apple

[27:04] has unleashed a $100 million marketing

[27:06] campaign. Its biggest ever. Industry

[27:09] experts say Apple needs a smash hit.

[27:11] >> If it doesn't succeed, the company will

[27:13] still continue on. But the question is,

[27:15] what do they have left that's going to

[27:17] make it grow?

[27:19] If the iMac succeeds, it would mark a

[27:21] dramatic comeback for Apple's co-founder

[27:23] Steve Jobs. Shortly after he unveiled

[27:26] the Macintosh in 1984, Jobs left the

[27:28] company after a power struggle. Since

[27:31] 1993, Apple's share of the computer

[27:33] market has plummeted from almost 12% to

[27:36] a little more than 4%. So last July,

[27:39] Steve Jobs took control of the company

[27:41] once again and started turning it

[27:43] around. Apple has now posted three

[27:45] profitable quarters in a row, and it

[27:47] stock price has more than tripled in

[27:49] less than a year. Analysts say much of

[27:51] that increase is because of the

[27:52] excitement over this computer. This is

[27:55] Apple's uh Apple's re-entry into the

[27:57] consumer market in a pretty big way. I

[27:59] think we've got a a very strong product,

[28:01] a product that's much better than

[28:03] anything else out there.

[28:03] >> But at $1,300, the iMac is more

[28:06] expensive than many IBM compatible PCs,

[28:09] and it has no floppy disc drive.

[28:11] Nevertheless, on this first day, the

[28:13] machines were selling fast. Welcome news

[28:16] for a struggling company. Bob Woodruff,

[28:18] ABC News, Alexandria, Virginia.

[28:21] >> Quick program reminder, tomorrow night,

[28:23] Peter Jennings anchors a 1-hour special,

[28:25] Crisis in the White House. The president

[28:27] testifies the latest on the Lewinsky

[28:29] investigation. That's 9:00 tomorrow

[28:31] night, 8 central time. I'll see you

[28:34] tomorrow morning on Good Morning America

[28:36] Sunday. Until then, I'm Eron Brown in

[28:38] New York. for all of us at ABC News.

[28:40] Good night.

[28:47] >> When it's time to change, then it's time

[28:50] to change.

[28:52] >> Videos moves to its new night. ABC

[28:54] tonight at 87.