CBS Evening News - 1993-04-13

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] Thousands of Bosnians try to escape

[0:04] Serbian attacks as the Allied

[0:07] enforcement of a no-fly zone has little

[0:10] effect. In Los Angeles, security

[0:12] increases at the federal courthouse as

[0:14] the jury in the Rodney King case

[0:16] deliberates for a fourth day. And eye on

[0:20] America. Tonight, the sorry state of

[0:23] some public schools and why some parents

[0:26] will go to court to get things changed.

[0:29] We're killing the country because we're

[0:31] killing the kids.

[0:32] >> This is the CBS Evening News. [music]

[0:40] >> Dan Rather reporting. [music] Good

[0:41] evening. While US war plananes patrol

[0:44] the skies over Bosnia today, some of the

[0:46] worst shelling of the war was going on

[0:49] down below on the ground. On the ground,

[0:51] the Serbs reign supreme. And there was a

[0:54] rising course of outrage from those who

[0:56] believe the United States and its allies

[0:58] should no longer fly above the prey. Tom

[1:01] Fenton reports.

[1:04] >> These are the lucky ones, Muslim women

[1:06] and children who survived yesterday's

[1:08] brutal Serbian attack on Rebanita.

[1:12] >> They escaped from that town today after

[1:14] the massacre of up to 150 civilians.

[1:22] 15 minutes after the first American and

[1:25] Allied planes took off yesterday to

[1:27] launch Operation Deny flight, the Serbs

[1:30] launched some of the heaviest artillery

[1:32] bombardment so far against Rebanita and

[1:34] Sievo. These latest attacks are an

[1:37] example of how the Serbs ignore and even

[1:39] show contempt for the UN's attempt to

[1:41] put pressure on them. Serbian soldiers

[1:43] know that no matter what they do, under

[1:45] the UN rules of engagement, the NATO

[1:47] pilots can't intervene in the ground

[1:49] war. And even if they did, that wouldn't

[1:52] necessarily stop the Serbs on on grounds

[1:55] of of um psychology. I think it wouldn't

[1:58] work on on on technical grounds. It

[2:01] would have limited effect. It is very

[2:03] difficult to target single artillery

[2:06] pieces.

[2:07] >> The Serbs have the upper hand here in

[2:09] the hills above SVO. They've gained this

[2:12] ground and now they're lording it high

[2:14] above their enemies.

[2:16] >> We've negotiated a lot, but the fighting

[2:18] just continues. So, in the end, it'll be

[2:20] a fight to the last man, them or us.

[2:23] That's what the other side wants, too.

[2:26] >> This complex NATO air operation

[2:28] involving more than 50 flights a day is

[2:31] powered by the need to seem to be doing

[2:33] something. Former British Prime Minister

[2:35] Margaret Thatcher tonight said the

[2:37] Muslims should be armed. The West by not

[2:41] doing more has been a little like an

[2:44] accomplice to massacre.

[2:47] >> As the air patrols continue around the

[2:49] clock, the Serbs continue to gain

[2:51] ground. It's two worlds. The NATO pilots

[2:54] have encountered nothing but open skies.

[2:57] >> Nice weather. Uh nothing real unusual

[3:00] happened.

[3:01] >> They are masters of empty airspace. Tom

[3:04] Patton, CBS News, Picenza, Italy. A

[3:08] fourth day of deliberations and still no

[3:11] verdict in the case of four Los Angeles

[3:13] police officers charged with violating

[3:15] the civil rights of Rodney Glenn King.

[3:17] Correspondent Bill Whitaker has been

[3:19] following this trial since it started in

[3:21] February and he has the latest from

[3:23] federal court.

[3:25] Like a giant magnet, the federal

[3:27] courthouse in downtown Los Angeles has

[3:29] drawn a crowd of international press and

[3:31] citizens with a cause, a message. We

[3:34] feel that injustice remains a year after

[3:38] April 29th, 1992.

[3:41] Today, they continue to erect barriers

[3:43] near the courthouse, a sign of

[3:45] heightened anxiety and security as the

[3:47] city awaits the decision of the 12

[3:49] jurors inside, deliberating whether the

[3:52] four LA police officers violated Rodney

[3:54] King's civil rights. Despite the

[3:57] racially charged atmosphere, the

[3:58] officers are not accused of violating

[4:01] King's civil rights based on his race.

[4:03] Much of the jury's decision probably

[4:05] will rest on how they view this

[4:07] videotape. Three of the officers,

[4:09] Lawrence Powell, Timothy Wind, and

[4:11] Theodore Brceno, each are charged with

[4:13] one count of violating King's Fourth

[4:16] Amendment right of intentionally using

[4:18] excessive force or aiding and abetting

[4:21] an assault. Sergeant Stacy [ __ ] is

[4:23] charged separately with one count of

[4:25] violating King's 14th Amendment right by

[4:28] permitting an assault by officers under

[4:30] his command. convictions could bring 10

[4:33] years in federal prison and $250,000

[4:37] in fines.

[4:38] >> The sentence will vary according to the

[4:40] injury to Rodney King, the force that

[4:42] was used, uh the officer's role in using

[4:45] that force, and in fact for Stacy [ __ ]

[4:47] whether the judge believes he lied when

[4:49] he got up on the witness stand.

[4:51] >> The jury of nine whites, two

[4:52] African-Americans, and one Hispanic, has

[4:55] this city in its grip, fixated on every

[4:58] nuance, every movement, every question.

[5:00] But all anyone knows for sure is that

[5:03] after 4 days of deliberation, there

[5:05] still is no decision.

[5:07] >> I think it's too too soon to u u predict

[5:11] anything at this point. Um a quiddle

[5:14] conviction or a hung jury. I think it's

[5:16] too soon.

[5:17] >> Deliberations have ended for the day.

[5:19] The jury will pick up with day five of

[5:21] deliberations tomorrow. If the jury

[5:23] finds any one of these defendants guilty

[5:25] and that their actions caused bodily

[5:27] harm to Rodney King, federal guidelines

[5:30] recommend that the judge sentence them

[5:32] to no less than 37 months in prison. Dan

[5:37] Bill Whitaker waiting for the jury.

[5:39] Thanks. Another big city where relations

[5:41] are tense between police and minorities

[5:44] is Miami, Florida. Recently, a judge in

[5:47] Miami refused to allow criminal charges

[5:49] in the case of an elderly Hispanic man

[5:52] who died from a police beating. Reed

[5:54] Jalen has that story.

[5:58] It was such a small incident.

[6:01] >> It never had to end this way.

[6:04] Those in the neighborhood saw no reason

[6:05] for it to end this way.

[6:08] >> A 63year-old man dead. He resisted and

[6:12] during that resistance he sustained an

[6:14] injury that resulted in his death.

[6:16] Killed by police officers.

[6:19] >> They threw him against the ground. They

[6:21] handcuffed him. They started hitting

[6:22] him.

[6:23] >> His name was Ferman Alama, a simple old

[6:26] man well-liked in this poor Miami

[6:28] neighborhood where he lived for 30

[6:30] years. His death never went beyond the

[6:32] coroner's inquest. The judge made the

[6:35] determination that there was no probable

[6:37] cause to believe that a crime was

[6:39] committed and that the death was

[6:41] accidental.

[6:41] >> But Alama has become a potent symbol for

[6:44] those who feel the system looks down on

[6:46] them.

[6:47] >> I learned that my father was wrong all

[6:50] along when he told us

[6:54] that the system

[6:56] wasn't there to serve you to protect

[6:58] you.

[6:59] >> Ferman Alama died on the date of his

[7:02] birth. He was here at home with friends.

[7:04] They were drinking well into the night.

[7:06] It was his birthday celebration. When

[7:08] they realized that the miniar just up

[7:10] the street was on fire. Alama dragged a

[7:13] garden hose down the alley behind his

[7:15] house. He wanted to help put out the

[7:17] fire. Two officers told him to leave. He

[7:20] didn't.

[7:22] >> They threw him against the ground. They

[7:23] handcuffed him. They started kicking

[7:25] him.

[7:26] >> Alama weighed 145 pounds. He suffered

[7:29] five broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder,

[7:31] a ruptured liver, and died of internal

[7:33] bleeding. But why, the neighborhood

[7:36] keeps asking, why was it left mostly to

[7:38] police to investigate the death of a man

[7:40] in police custody? And why did state

[7:42] prosecutors simply accept the outcome of

[7:44] the coroner's inquest? There was a

[7:46] conflict, not only in how it was done or

[7:50] how Mr. Alamator was injured, but who

[7:52] actually was the officer who caused the

[7:55] injuries. Federal prosecutors too say

[7:57] there's just not enough evidence to step

[7:59] in as they did in the Rodney King case.

[8:02] Here there is no videotape. There will

[8:04] be no trial and Ferman Alama's death

[8:06] will forever remain an open angry

[8:09] question for his neighborhood, his

[8:11] family. Reed Galen, CBS News, Miami.

[8:16] >> Police organizations emphasize that

[8:18] cases such as that one in Miami and the

[8:20] Rodney King case in Los Angeles are

[8:22] exceptions, not the norm. Straight ahead

[8:24] on tonight's CBS Evening News, another

[8:27] victim as the prison standoff continues

[8:29] in Ohio while the barbed wire goes up in

[8:32] Waco. And still nobody's coming out.

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[9:12] >> How many times I told my dad to see a

[9:14] doctor? He was stubborn, but the pain in

[9:18] his stomach just wouldn't go away. He

[9:20] had to go.

[9:21] >> You should have seen the relief on his

[9:23] face when the doctor [music] said

[9:24] myanta. He said it was indigestion and

[9:27] his kind of indigestion needed strong

[9:28] [music] medicine.

[9:29] >> Milanta is strong medicine. Strongly

[9:32] recommended. In fact, milanta is the ant

[9:33] acid doctors recommend most.

[9:35] >> My doctor said myanta [music]

[9:38] also available in tablets and new gel

[9:40] caps.

[9:43] The government of Vietnam said today

[9:45] that a Russian document about US PWS is

[9:48] a flatout fabrication at issue how many

[9:51] PS Hanoi was holding in 1972. Uncovered

[9:55] recently in Moscow the document puts the

[9:58] number of PS at 1,200 at a time when

[10:01] Vietnam officially claimed to have only

[10:04] 368.

[10:06] In this country two ugly standoffs are

[10:08] still underway. One near Waco, Texas,

[10:11] the other in Lucasville, Ohio. We have

[10:13] updates on both stories. First from

[10:15] Jiselle Fernandez at the Maximum

[10:17] Security Prison in Lucasville.

[10:20] There has been no break in the tense

[10:22] prison standoff here at Ohio's maximum

[10:24] security facility. 450 convicts

[10:27] barricaded inside cell block L behind me

[10:29] have been holding eight guards hostage

[10:31] now for three long days without any

[10:33] heat, food, or water. Early this

[10:35] morning, a heavily armed SWAT team moved

[10:37] in. The prison officials insist extreme

[10:39] force will only be used as a last

[10:41] resort. Now, as negotiators continue

[10:43] their efforts to try and break the

[10:45] deadlock, the body of a seventh prisoner

[10:47] was removed from the facility. He was

[10:49] reportedly found dead in an isolated

[10:51] cell block, not the one under siege.

[10:53] This inmate was black. The previous six

[10:56] were white. It's not known if his death

[10:57] was a homicide or a suicide. Now, for

[11:00] security reasons, prison officials say

[11:02] they're moving inmates out of this

[11:04] facility to other prisons throughout the

[11:06] state. They're also assuring this

[11:07] frightened community that the eight men

[11:09] held inside are still alive. But

[11:12] tonight, they remain hostages and this

[11:14] crisis appears far from over. Jazelle

[11:17] Fernandez, CBS News, Lucasville, Ohio.

[11:21] This is Vicky Mabberry outside Waco,

[11:23] Texas, where the standoff between

[11:25] federal agents and branch devidians is

[11:27] ending its 45th day. As the cult's

[11:30] Passover winds down tonight, agents have

[11:32] ringed the compound with razor wire and

[11:34] cult leader David Caresh's attorney is

[11:36] back in Waco in case surrender is near.

[11:39] Meanwhile, agents are concerned about

[11:41] the safety of nearby dams. Caresh, in a

[11:44] letter sent to the FBI, says these dams

[11:47] are targets for destruction. Authorities

[11:49] claim to be frustrated because all plans

[11:52] aimed at forcibly ending the standoff

[11:54] have been vetoed by Washington. They're

[11:56] now pinning their hopes for a peaceful

[11:58] settlement on cult leaders and their

[12:00] attorneys. Vicki Mabry, CBS News, Waco.

[12:03] >> The 1993 Puliter Prizes for Journalism

[12:06] were announced today. The Washington

[12:07] Post was the big winner, honored with

[12:09] three Puliters, including one for George

[12:12] Lardner Jr. He won for feature writing

[12:14] on a very personal subject, his

[12:16] daughter's murder by a killer who had

[12:18] slipped through the criminal justice

[12:20] system. Stay here with us now for more

[12:22] CBS News, including Dr. Bob Arnot with

[12:25] the sorry state of child healthcare in

[12:27] this country and a new report on how to

[12:30] improve it.

[12:34] >> Did you tell papa?

[12:35] >> No, papa. What

[12:36] >> does Kellogg's mic cereal taste like

[12:38] grandma's? [music]

[12:39] >> A family secret?

[12:40] >> Europeans are puzzled. Does the great

[12:42] taste of Kellogg's mucilix come from

[12:44] their secret recipe?

[12:45] >> Fruits, nuts, whole grains. It's

[12:47] perfect.

[12:48] >> Impossible. [music]

[12:49] >> Tastes like ours. Really?

[12:51] >> Good morning, children.

[12:52] >> Mama.

[12:57] Five. This is the best we've ever made.

[13:00] >> Kellog's Muslan [music]

[13:02] secret for great taste.

[13:04] >> To celebrate Buick's 90th anniversary,

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[13:34] My teeth are sensitive. They hurt.

[13:36] That's a warning. That's why dentists

[13:38] choose Sensidine to help stop the pain

[13:40] that can make you stop brushing. Could

[13:42] lead even to tooth loss.

[13:43] >> I got the warning. Then I got Sensidine.

[13:46] >> Trust Sensidine. The dentist's choice

[13:48] for sensitive teeth.

[13:49] >> Attention heartburn sufferers.

[13:51] >> If ant acids work, why do I keep getting

[13:54] heartburn?

[13:55] >> You know, frequent heartburn may be a

[13:56] sign of a more serious medical problem.

[13:58] Your doctor has treatment plans that can

[14:00] help.

[14:01] >> Frequent heartburn. Isn't it time you

[14:03] talk to your doctor?

[14:05] >> They call it the city that never sleeps.

[14:07] They're right. So, what's going on all

[14:09] night long? [music] And all new 48 hours

[14:12] Wednesday.

[14:16] Some researchers said today there's

[14:18] generally little value in tracking down

[14:20] patients treated by AIDS infected

[14:22] doctors. In case histories of three

[14:25] doctors in the Journal of the American

[14:27] Medical Association, there was said to

[14:29] be no evidence the virus was passed on.

[14:31] The AMA is opposed to mandatory AIDS

[14:34] testing of doctors and patients. One of

[14:37] the best ways to prevent disease is to

[14:39] vaccinate our children at an early age.

[14:42] It should also be one of the easiest

[14:44] ways. But to our national shame, some

[14:47] underdeveloped third world countries do

[14:50] it better when it comes to vaccinations.

[14:52] As we hear now from CBS News health

[14:54] correspondent Dr. Bob Arno.

[14:58] In Jefferson City, Missouri, 400

[15:00] students faced the needle today after

[15:02] one of their classmates came down with a

[15:04] measel. It's the state's first case in

[15:06] two years.

[15:08] >> This is the one that's going to hurt. In

[15:10] New York, Juan Aela has brought his

[15:12] one-year-old daughter, Ulysa, to be

[15:14] vaccinated.

[15:16] >> I know it's important to uh, you know,

[15:18] kids get sick now and, you know, even

[15:20] die. So, it's important to get them

[15:22] done.

[15:22] >> Juan is right. A major US measles

[15:25] epidemic just 2 years ago, killed 166,

[15:29] and hospitalized over 11,000.

[15:31] >> Measles epidemics are preventable by

[15:34] vaccination. And this is one of the

[15:36] tragedies of the 1989 911 epidemic.

[15:39] >> In all of North and South America, only

[15:42] Haiti and Bolivia have worse records

[15:44] than the United States for vaccinating

[15:47] young children. As many as half of

[15:49] 2-year-olds in America are not fully

[15:51] vaccinated.

[15:52] >> We spend a lot of time in this country

[15:54] uh worrying about everybody else's

[15:56] health except our children's health. To

[15:58] improve children's health, the National

[16:00] Vaccine Advisory Committee today

[16:02] published guidelines for the first time.

[16:05] Those include readily available free

[16:06] vaccines, extended clinic hours with

[16:09] short waiting periods, no need for

[16:11] appointments, and regular reminders for

[16:14] clinic visits.

[16:16] >> This public housing clinic in Manhattan

[16:19] already does it right. Help is available

[16:21] in Spanish and Chinese.

[16:23] >> This No.

[16:25] >> And vaccines are free. Right now, I

[16:28] don't have the coverage. So, you know,

[16:30] it's it's good that um that these free

[16:32] clinics here and I can get the

[16:34] immunizations free.

[16:35] >> For 2-year-olds, vaccine costs have

[16:37] risen from $22 in 1982 to $188 last

[16:41] year. The government hopes to make all

[16:43] vaccines free.

[16:45] >> We think that immunization is the

[16:47] opening wedge for a new prevention

[16:49] effort in the United States.

[16:51] When the World Health Organization

[16:53] assesses a nation's health, it's

[16:55] prevention that really counts. Infant

[16:57] death and life expectancy are the two

[16:59] most important measures. For infant

[17:01] mortality, America couldn't do much

[17:03] worse. Excluding white newborns, America

[17:05] ranks 70th in the world, roughly the

[17:08] same as Mongolia. Dan,

[17:10] >> doctor, isn't there something that

[17:11] doctors and nurses can do to improve

[17:13] this?

[17:14] >> Doctors and nurses should never miss an

[17:16] opportunity to assess vaccination. That

[17:18] means a trip to the emergency room, a

[17:20] hospitalization, or even when mom and

[17:22] dad go in for their own doctor's visits.

[17:24] >> Dr. Bob Barro, thanks. You're welcome.

[17:27] >> Coming up next, a nation that had showed

[17:30] such promise now trying to avoid

[17:32] disaster.

[17:37] [music]

[17:41] >> You like it?

[17:42] >> Is that new Bonavville yours?

[17:43] >> They really changed it, haven't they?

[17:45] >> That's sharp. I figured you for a BMW or

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[17:49] >> Well, I checked them out, but with the

[17:51] Bonavville, I got everything I wanted.

[17:53] Leather, airbag, anti-lock brakes, and

[17:55] the power, the handling.

[17:58] >> Mind me asking?

[17:59] >> It was 10 20,000 less than the BMW or

[18:02] Lexus.

[18:03] >> We are driving. [music]

[18:07] >> I like it.

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[19:10] >> Ready to [music] pay your taxes? If not,

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[19:18] Morning with Harry Smith and Paul.

[19:22] In South Africa, a white immigrant from

[19:24] Poland appeared in court under heavy

[19:25] guard today, charged with the

[19:27] assassination of a popular black leader.

[19:29] Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela was calling

[19:31] for faster progress toward a

[19:33] multi-racial democracy to head off a new

[19:36] tide of violence. Alan Pizzy is on the

[19:38] scene with the latest from Johannesburg,

[19:40] South Africa.

[19:43] They are singing it's madness in South

[19:45] Africa. There is virtually no one here

[19:48] who would disagree with that. The dread

[19:50] that has gripped the country in the wake

[19:51] of the murder of Chris Hani was

[19:53] graphically illustrated tonight in a

[19:55] national TV appeal that Nelson Mandela

[19:58] said came from the depths of his soul.

[20:00] >> Our whole nation

[20:02] now tiers on the brink of disaster.

[20:05] >> It is the young who concerned Mandela

[20:07] the most.

[20:09] >> Your country, your people, your

[20:12] organization

[20:14] need you to act with wisdom. Mandela is

[20:17] also turning the event to political

[20:19] advantage. At a rally outside Han's

[20:22] house, he pressed the government to

[20:23] negotiate with him.

[20:24] >> Is to make sure that the date for

[20:26] elections is immediately announced.

[20:29] >> How much the government feels the

[20:31] pressure is evidenced by the police.

[20:33] They have been out in force but have

[20:35] acted with the restraint and sensitivity

[20:37] that Mandela has called for. Tomorrow,

[20:40] there will be 23,000 police and troops

[20:42] deployed just to monitor commemoration

[20:44] services.

[20:46] We will do, as I've already said,

[20:48] everything in our power to maintain law

[20:52] and order.

[20:53] >> Now is the time, Mandela told the

[20:54] nation, for blacks and whites to come

[20:57] together.

[20:58] >> The ANC leadership is telling its

[21:00] supporters that this is a crucial test.

[21:02] If Chris Hani can be mourned with

[21:04] discipline and dignity, they say it will

[21:06] prove that black South Africans are

[21:08] ready for democracy. Alanzi, CBS News,

[21:11] Dawn Park. In Wilmington, North

[21:13] Carolina, late today, three US Marines

[21:15] from Camp Ljun were acquitted on gay

[21:18] bashing charges. They had been charged

[21:20] with assaulting three men at a bar which

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[22:02] At erra real estate, we're calling our

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[23:35] >> Equality, as in equal chance, is what

[23:38] America is about. That's what it says in

[23:41] the Declaration of Independence, and

[23:42] that's what it says in the Constitution.

[23:45] But when you look at America's children,

[23:47] how they grow up, and what they learn,

[23:49] it's clear that some have a more equal

[23:52] chance than others. And now, some

[23:55] parents are fighting to change that.

[23:57] Wyatt Andrews has the story in tonight's

[23:59] Eye on America.

[24:02] >> To Michelle and John Jenkins, the fight

[24:05] is to get their children out of a

[24:07] certain kind of prison.

[24:08] >> You should not be confined to a losing

[24:10] situation,

[24:11] >> not the prison of the ghetto where they

[24:13] live.

[24:14] >> For most of us and my neighbors, it's a

[24:16] nightmare.

[24:17] >> What they want their children to escape

[24:19] is the Chicago public school.

[24:22] >> You should be able to choose what school

[24:24] is best for your child. And that's what

[24:26] America is about. Making your own

[24:28] choices.

[24:29] >> The wolf doesn't tail feather box.

[24:33] >> Like thousands of parents who find the

[24:35] public schools lacking, the Jenkins want

[24:37] school choice. The system where parents

[24:40] get publicly funded vouchers to send

[24:42] their kids to private school.

[24:44] >> As soon as we're all ready, we'll just

[24:46] walk into the courtroom. What's unique

[24:48] is that the Jenkins are part of a wave

[24:50] of recent lawsuits in which poor inner

[24:53] city parents are suing to get their

[24:55] money out of the school system. Their

[24:58] novel argument is that their kids have a

[25:00] state constitutional right to a good

[25:02] education or their money back.

[25:05] >> What we're saying is just like if you

[25:06] had an automobile warranty and ended up

[25:08] with a lemon, you'd go to court and get

[25:10] your money back. And that's exactly what

[25:12] we're asking for for these parents. The

[25:15] constitution says that we're entitled to

[25:16] an adequate education.

[25:18] All children are not getting an adequate

[25:20] education.

[25:21] >> Deborah Hackett, a mother raising two

[25:23] children in the area of the LA riots,

[25:26] has brought the same kind of lawsuit in

[25:28] Los Angeles.

[25:29] >> We need children that are able to

[25:31] articulate and speak and tell you things

[25:33] that are going on so that we can make a

[25:35] better America. We're killing the

[25:37] country because we're killing the kids.

[25:38] >> They can get a good education today,

[25:40] just not in the public schools. Attorney

[25:43] Clint Bolock says the constitutional

[25:45] right to an education dates back to the

[25:47] battle for integration. If a state

[25:49] constitution guarantees a good

[25:51] education, the argument now goes that

[25:53] makes a bad public school a denial of

[25:56] civil rights.

[25:56] >> It would just kill me to have a child go

[25:59] all the way through 8th grade and find

[26:00] out they read at a third grade level. It

[26:02] would just kill me.

[26:04] >> These inner city parents are arguing

[26:06] that even after years of attempted

[26:08] reform, these inner city public schools

[26:10] are still hopeless. that many of them

[26:12] are unsafe and that most of the eighth

[26:14] graders still don't read at grade level

[26:16] and that the dropout rates are horrific.

[26:18] Los Angeles, for example, graduates only

[26:21] 60% of its high school students. In

[26:23] Chicago, it's 49%.

[26:26] >> Are the Chicago schools constitutionally

[26:29] inadequate?

[26:30] >> I would say no.

[26:31] >> Most school officials like Florence Cox

[26:33] in Chicago say whatever the school's

[26:35] crisis, vouchers for private schools

[26:38] will only make it worse. have fun.

[26:41] >> Choice, she says, will drain away the

[26:43] only motivated parents and students the

[26:45] public schools have left.

[26:47] >> What happens to the people who are left

[26:48] behind?

[26:50] We cannot afford in America to leave

[26:53] anybody behind anymore. We've done that

[26:55] too long.

[26:56] >> Vouchers would also drain money from

[26:58] schools, which in California are already

[27:01] near bankruptcy. If you want to make

[27:03] most LA teachers angry, mention

[27:05] vouchers. Do not experiment with the

[27:08] black and the Hispanic. We are the one

[27:10] who will suffer. It will divide us. We

[27:12] will have a cast system. These children

[27:14] would not be educated at all.

[27:16] >> But these lawsuits were filed by those

[27:18] who feel they've been left behind

[27:20] already. Most of the plaintiffs are

[27:22] black or Hispanic and desperate to

[27:24] escape the cycle of failure.

[27:26] >> All this other foolishness about it's

[27:28] going to destroy the public school that

[27:30] the school system is already destroyed.

[27:33] The record so far on these lawsuits is

[27:35] mixed. A judge in Alabama recently

[27:37] declared the state public schools

[27:39] constitutionally deficient. While the

[27:41] judge in the Jenkins case just threw the

[27:43] suit out. In this era where President

[27:46] Clinton himself has kept his child out

[27:48] of public schools, the Jenkins will now

[27:50] ask the Illinois Supreme Court to

[27:52] declare it's their civil right to use

[27:55] state money to do the same. In Chicago,

[27:58] Wyatt Andrews for Eye on America.

[28:01] And that's part of our world tonight.

[28:03] Tomorrow morning, join the likables

[28:04] Harry Smith and Paulon for CBS This

[28:06] Morning. Among other things, they'll

[28:08] have a report on the dangers of Lyme

[28:10] disease this spring and what you ought

[28:12] to do about it. Dan Rather reporting for

[28:14] the CBS Evening News. I'll see you again

[28:16] tomorrow. Good night.

[28:20] [music]

[28:26] [music] Experience CBS News.

[28:30] This woman desperately wanted a new

[28:32] breast cancer [music] treatment, but her

[28:33] insurance company delayed payment. Now

[28:35] it's too late.

[28:36] >> I'd say they shortened my life. [music]

[28:38] I always call it like a, you know,

[28:40] premeditated murderer.

[28:41] >> And she's not alone. This woman's

[28:43] insurance [music] company just said no.

[28:45] What's going on here? Eye on America

[28:47] investigates tomorrow [music] on the CBS

[28:48] Evening News.

[28:50] This is CBS.

[28:53] >> Next on Hard Copy, the only documented

[28:56] encounter of a UFO. Seven witnesses, all

[28:58] pass lie detectors twice. [music] UFO a

[29:00] special report.

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