NBC Nightly News - 1992-03-07

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

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[0:43] toppings. What happened after the storm?

[0:46] Monday on News 8 at 5.

[0:50] Primary day in South Carolina, the

[0:52] voters have sent their messages.

[0:58] This is NBC Nightly News reported by

[1:00] Garrick Utley.

[1:02] Good evening. South Carolina is

[1:04] different. It holds its primary on

[1:06] Saturday rather than a Tuesday. And this

[1:08] evening we are projecting that President

[1:10] Bush is the winner among the Republicans

[1:12] and that Bill Clinton has won the

[1:13] Democratic vote by an overwhelming

[1:15] margin. Despite the President's victory,

[1:17] Patrick Buchanan again received a

[1:18] significant vote from those who are

[1:20] dissatisfied with the President. Kenly

[1:22] Jones is in Columbia, South Carolina.

[1:24] Kenly?

[1:25] Garrick, the President benefited from

[1:26] the Republican Party machine here in

[1:28] South Carolina led by Governor Carroll

[1:31] Campbell who said he intended to bury

[1:33] Pat Buchanan's challenge to the

[1:35] President here.

[1:36] >> There appears to be impacting turnout.

[1:38] Voting described as very light all

[1:40] across Election officials had predicted

[1:42] a light voter turnout. Although

[1:43] Republican voters turned out in higher

[1:45] numbers than expected. The economy was

[1:48] the big issue here. The state's

[1:49] unemployment rate has risen to almost 7

[1:52] and 1/2 percent, the highest in more

[1:54] than 6 years.

[1:55] While textile industry jobs have been

[1:57] declining here, partly as a result of

[1:59] foreign competition, the state ranks

[2:01] high in exports of light manufacturing

[2:04] goods and other products. So, the free

[2:06] trade that President Bush espouses is

[2:08] more popular here than the protectionism

[2:10] Pat Buchanan has been preaching.

[2:13] Clifford Short says he's sticking with

[2:14] Bush.

[2:15] >> George has been a pretty good president

[2:17] for the last 4 years.

[2:19] I like his policies. Buchanan's a little

[2:21] bit too far right-wing for me. David

[2:23] Duke is way out.

[2:25] >> David Duke was on the Republican ballot

[2:27] for the first time here, which took more

[2:29] votes away from Buchanan. Nevertheless,

[2:31] there were still a lot of people who

[2:33] continued to send Mr. Bush a message by

[2:35] voting for Buchanan. I want Mr. Bush to

[2:40] I guess get a little more conservative.

[2:42] I don't necessarily think he'll make the

[2:44] best president, but I think that he

[2:45] certainly sent a message. On the

[2:47] Democratic side, Bill Clinton was the

[2:49] overwhelming favorite, especially among

[2:51] black voters. And he impressed me as a

[2:53] progressive,

[2:55] upward mobility kind of guy who was

[2:57] interested in in education,

[3:00] uh seeing that people go to work.

[3:02] Paul Tsongas did not spend much time in

[3:04] the state. Well, I think he's got the

[3:06] right balance between

[3:08] looking out for the economy and looking

[3:10] out for working people from what I can

[3:12] tell.

[3:14] Tsongas said what he hoped to do was get

[3:15] about 20% of the vote here while

[3:18] concentrating on more delegate-rich

[3:19] states in next week's Super Tuesday

[3:22] primaries. It appears he will fall a few

[3:24] points short of that. Bill Clinton, on

[3:27] the other hand, made a major effort here

[3:29] hoping that a big win would give him

[3:31] insurmountable momentum in those same

[3:33] primaries, and it appears he will get

[3:35] that big win. As for President Bush, it

[3:38] appears he will get about the same

[3:40] number of votes, the same percentage

[3:41] that he has been getting in other

[3:43] primaries, somewhere around 60%, which

[3:46] means the protest vote against the

[3:47] President goes on. Garrick? Kenly Jones,

[3:50] thank you.

[3:51] While voters in South Carolina were

[3:53] casting their votes, the three leading

[3:54] Democrats today focused on Super

[3:56] Tuesday, specifically on the important

[3:58] race in Florida. The topic of today's

[4:01] Miami debate was health care. Each of

[4:02] the Democrats has his own prescriptions

[4:05] for comprehensive health care reform,

[4:07] yet all three found agreement on one

[4:08] thing. They said that if President Bush

[4:10] is reelected, significant health care

[4:12] reform

[4:13] will not occur.

[4:15] And as for the Republican contest,

[4:17] George Bush and Pat Buchanan are going

[4:19] at it. Buchanan attacking the President,

[4:20] the President not attacking his

[4:22] opponent, at least not directly. Each

[4:24] man knows that when the primaries are

[4:26] over, they will have to make up for

[4:27] party unity. John Cochran shows us now

[4:30] what the two candidates were doing

[4:31] today.

[4:32] President Bush was still on the road,

[4:34] but not on the campaign trail. Aids said

[4:36] today's stop at the Pensacola Naval Air

[4:38] Station was not political, so taxpayers

[4:41] will pay for it. In this military

[4:43] setting, Bush portrayed himself as

[4:45] uniquely well qualified to continue as

[4:48] commander in chief and blasted political

[4:50] rivals who want much deeper cuts in

[4:52] defense spending. Don't play political

[4:55] games with the national security of the

[4:58] United States of America.

[5:01] Bush spoke at a museum which houses his

[5:03] World War II training records as a Navy

[5:05] pilot. His instructors rated his flying

[5:08] as average to above average, but said he

[5:10] had trouble maintaining altitude. He is

[5:13] having the same problem now trying to

[5:15] keep his popularity ratings up. Even so,

[5:18] he called an early halt to his Super

[5:20] Tuesday campaigning and went fishing

[5:22] this afternoon in Alabama.

[5:24] Bush decided another 3 days of

[5:26] campaigning would only make him look

[5:28] frantic and frazzled instead of

[5:29] confident and presidential.

[5:32] But Pat Buchanan is not relaxing and

[5:34] today was hammering away in New Orleans.

[5:36] The Bush campaign thinks Buchanan could

[5:38] again break 30% in some Super Tuesday

[5:41] states, even Louisiana, David Duke's

[5:43] home state. The former clan leader's

[5:45] campaign has stalled and Duke now talks

[5:48] of getting out of politics. Voters upset

[5:50] with President Bush have found Buchanan

[5:52] a more respectable alternative. Bush

[5:55] hopes to win Buchanan's support

[5:56] eventually and today after jogging, he

[5:59] again refused to accuse Buchanan of

[6:01] racism and anti-Semitism. And when I

[6:03] speak out against hatred,

[6:06] bigotry, anti-Semitism, racism, it's not

[6:08] aimed at anybody. Buchanan told NBC News

[6:11] that Bush can forget about any

[6:13] reconciliation until after the final

[6:15] primary in June. And the disagreements

[6:17] between the President and I on his new

[6:19] world order,

[6:20] on his quota bills, on his foreign aid

[6:23] bill, are very, very deep and they ought

[6:25] to be debated and fought out in the

[6:26] primary before there's any kind of

[6:29] reconciliation at that convention.

[6:31] Buchanan candidly admits he needs to win

[6:34] some state, any state. He says if the

[6:36] President loses just one state, then the

[6:39] Bush campaign will collapse. The

[6:41] President's campaign aids say, we will

[6:43] never know because Buchanan will never

[6:46] get that one state he needs.

[6:50] John Cochran, NBC News, Montgomery,

[6:52] Alabama.

[6:53] And as we cover our world this Saturday,

[6:55] we'll go next to South Africa where an

[6:57] important vote is coming in effect on

[6:59] whether to end apartheid. And this

[7:01] evening on Focus, as defense spending is

[7:03] cut, what happens to defense jobs? We'll

[7:06] visit one company that's already

[7:08] planning for an uncertain future.

[7:12] Like to try Total? Officially, I'm a

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[8:13] There's a very important vote coming in

[8:15] South Africa on whether to continue the

[8:17] efforts of President F.W. de Klerk to

[8:19] move towards a more democratic,

[8:21] non-racial society. South Africa is not

[8:23] there yet and only whites will vote in

[8:25] this special referendum. And today there

[8:27] was strong opposition, opposition from a

[8:29] former president saying ending apartheid

[8:31] would be, quote, suicidal for whites in

[8:33] South Africa. Here's Charles McLean.

[8:37] With the crucial referendum just 10 days

[8:40] away, a confident President F.W. de

[8:42] Klerk took the morning off in Cape Town

[8:45] and played golf.

[8:47] While in Pretoria, a smaller than

[8:50] expected crowd of right-wing whites

[8:52] gathered to hear Conservative Party

[8:54] leader Andries Treurnicht call for a

[8:56] separate, all-white state and urge them

[8:58] to vote no on de Klerk's referendum.

[9:02] But Treurnicht was upstaged by Eugene

[9:05] Terre'Blanche, head of the militant

[9:07] Afrikaner Resistance Movement.

[9:09] Terre'Blanche's attempt at a dramatic

[9:11] entrance fell flat.

[9:14] But he recovered his poise on stage and

[9:16] told the crowd that a vote against de

[9:18] Klerk's referendum would save South

[9:21] Africa from godless communism and black

[9:23] majority rule. We don't want to be ruled

[9:26] by any other race other blacks. Never,

[9:29] ever. Thank you.

[9:31] On March 17th, South African whites will

[9:33] be asked whether they want to proceed

[9:35] with talks leading to a non-racist

[9:37] democracy or turn back the clock on the

[9:39] government's reforms.

[9:41] Polls show most South Africans intend to

[9:43] support de Klerk and vote yes on the

[9:46] referendum.

[9:47] But it would be a mistake to dismiss the

[9:49] right-wing as all talk or all show. Some

[9:52] militant groups are already preparing

[9:54] for a future civil war.

[9:57] Extremist groups like the Iron Guard are

[10:00] training in urban warfare. They feel

[10:02] that the clerk government is selling out

[10:04] South Africa to the black majority, and

[10:06] they want to be prepared to take it

[10:08] back. The government hands over to the

[10:09] blacks,

[10:11] and it's it.

[10:12] And right-wing sympathies run deep in

[10:14] the security forces, so it's not certain

[10:17] de Klerk could count on his troops in a

[10:19] full-scale conflict with the militant

[10:21] right wing.

[10:22] De Klerk has barnstormed the country in

[10:24] the last week, predicting tough new

[10:26] international sanctions against South

[10:28] Africa if he doesn't get a mandate for

[10:30] reform. A no vote

[10:34] will lead this country

[10:36] into chaos. But if de Klerk gets his yes

[10:39] vote, those who long for the old days of

[10:41] apartheid say they'll fight. We'll fight

[10:44] the hell out of them.

[10:46] Charles McLean, NBC News, Pretoria.

[10:50] Elsewhere, there was terrorism this day

[10:52] aimed at Israel. It happened in Ankara,

[10:55] Turkey, a car bombing that killed the

[10:57] security chief of the Israeli embassy

[10:59] and injured several others. Two Islamic

[11:01] groups claimed responsibility. It was

[11:03] the second attack against Jews in Turkey

[11:05] in less than a week.

[11:08] Back in this country, another kind of

[11:09] destruction, the Michelangelo computer

[11:11] virus. Today, the cost of it was still

[11:13] being added up. Here's correspondent

[11:15] Henry Champ.

[11:16] Exactly. Michelangelo didn't strike with

[11:19] the vengeance some expected, but tell

[11:21] that to computer users who were hit. The

[11:24] New Salem Baptist Church in Kennesaw,

[11:26] Georgia, lost all its records. I still

[11:28] can't believe it happened.

[11:30] You know, it's just

[11:31] us, cute little church out in Kennesaw,

[11:34] Georgia.

[11:35] So, I guess it could happen to anybody.

[11:37] And it did, stripping this accountant's

[11:40] files.

[11:40] >> I got this very sick feeling in my

[11:42] stomach that what was happening

[11:44] was the Michelangelo virus. And it

[11:47] struck other customers at that Chicago

[11:49] computer store.

[11:50] >> Michelangelo destroys everything, and

[11:54] we still don't know how those customers'

[11:56] files got it. Most of Friday's victims

[11:59] were small companies and individual

[12:01] users. It is estimated Michelangelo

[12:04] attacked several thousand American

[12:05] users, but an exact count will be

[12:07] difficult. Most were small businesses,

[12:10] and some told NBC they wouldn't publicly

[12:12] announce they had been caught.

[12:14] As one said, "I don't want to be known

[12:16] as dunce of the week." There are still

[12:19] more than 1,000 viruses stalking

[12:21] computer users, and as millions of

[12:23] computers link up worldwide, these

[12:25] viruses can spread quickly. I think the

[12:27] worst thing that Michelangelo taught us

[12:29] is how fragile our computer systems can

[12:31] be, and how important it is that we

[12:34] protect the integrity of our computer

[12:35] systems. There are three key protective

[12:38] steps. Periodically scan for viruses

[12:41] using a reliable program.

[12:43] Never use pirated software, and put

[12:46] irreplaceable information on backup

[12:48] disks. Michelangelo is very real,

[12:51] and I'll be backing up. And we'll we're

[12:54] we also ordered um

[12:56] some scanning equipment to look for

[12:58] viruses. Take it from someone who was

[13:00] caught.

[13:02] Henry Champ, NBC News, Washington.

[13:05] We want to follow up on this now, and

[13:06] with us in Washington is Dr. David

[13:08] Stein, an expert on computer viruses.

[13:10] Good evening, sir. A lot of people heard

[13:12] the some would say the hype on this

[13:14] virus. Was it exaggerated?

[13:17] Well, I think it was a good thing that

[13:18] we had warnings, so people were able to

[13:21] take action,

[13:23] but some of the claims of the number of

[13:25] infected machines seemed high to me. Uh

[13:28] one number I heard suggested we had one

[13:30] in 10 machines infected. I think the

[13:32] number was probably closer to one in

[13:34] 10,000, and probably one in 100,000 was

[13:38] actually hit on March 6th.

[13:39] >> I think a lot of people are asking the

[13:41] question to the makers of those programs

[13:43] which detect viruses, have they been

[13:45] making a profit on this?

[13:47] Well, certainly, there've been a huge

[13:49] number of sales of antivirus products in

[13:52] the last few weeks,

[13:53] uh but whether it's profit-making or

[13:55] not, I'm not so sure. I think the

[13:57] message does need to reach the the folks

[13:59] using computers that viruses are out

[14:01] there,

[14:02] the problems are getting worse, and they

[14:04] need to do something about it. So, I I

[14:06] don't begrudge any of those who gave us

[14:08] early warnings,

[14:10] even if it was kind of a bust.

[14:11] >> Well, the viruses are there. We heard

[14:13] Henry Champ say there are 1,000 or more.

[14:15] How serious are they? How fast does a

[14:18] computer virus actually spread?

[14:20] Well,

[14:22] a virus can spread from one file to

[14:23] another in maybe an eighth of a second.

[14:26] Uh can spread to a floppy disk from your

[14:28] computer in the time it takes to do a

[14:31] directory of that floppy. But to get

[14:33] from one computer to another may mean

[14:34] the transfer of a floppy from that

[14:36] machine to the other machine.

[14:38] And to get out of the building, it takes

[14:39] longer. So, most of the viruses we have

[14:41] today are two or three years old, the

[14:44] ones that are common that we need to

[14:45] worry about.

[14:46] >> But they can catch up with you. David

[14:48] Stein, thank you very much for being

[14:49] with us today from Washington.

[14:51] And in a moment, facing defense cuts in

[14:53] this nation, when are you when you are a

[14:55] defense worker, what do you do?

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[15:28] You rode the same ride, ate the same

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[15:37] His Tums has calcium. Most antacids

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[15:58] Hello. I'd like to talk to you about an

[16:01] invisible problem, the invisible

[16:03] bacteria that cause nasty denture odor.

[16:06] Fortunately, antibacterial Efferdent not

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[16:21] Darling, we're on TV. Antibacterial

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[16:29] On Focus this evening, the topic is

[16:31] money, the price of the peace dividend.

[16:33] With the Cold War over and big cuts in

[16:35] defense spending coming, we're only only

[16:37] beginning to understand what this is

[16:39] going to mean for civilian workers who

[16:41] depend on military contracts for their

[16:43] jobs. The fact is, much of our nation's

[16:45] industry is supported by the business of

[16:47] war, and Jeff Madrick takes us now to

[16:49] one defense contractor which see sees

[16:52] what is coming down the road and is

[16:53] doing something about it right now.

[16:57] This is the shipyard of the Bath Iron

[16:59] Works on Maine's Kennebec River.

[17:02] Birthplace to J.P. Morgan's yacht, the

[17:05] Corsair, in 1930, a fleet of World War

[17:08] II destroyers, and the frigate the

[17:10] Samuel B. Roberts, which hit an Iranian

[17:13] mine in the Persian Gulf in 1988.

[17:16] Captain Paul Rein credits Bath's

[17:18] workmanship for keeping his ship afloat.

[17:22] When you're caught in a very difficult

[17:24] situation where your ship is damaged

[17:26] somewheres on the oceans of the world,

[17:27] 8,000 mi from home,

[17:29] and you're in a life-and-death

[17:30] situation, it does make the difference

[17:32] between life and death. And this is the

[17:34] start of a new workday at Bath for

[17:35] thousands who now wonder how many more

[17:38] new days there will be. Bath is down to

[17:41] its last major defense contract, the

[17:43] Aegis destroyers. 2,000 workers have

[17:46] been laid off in 2 years. Union official

[17:49] Jim Mackie says most of them can't find

[17:51] other work. The problem here is that

[17:53] there's no there's no bottom to this

[17:55] wealth, and you know, the workers want

[17:58] to see something besides gray hulls in

[17:59] here. They'd like to see some commercial

[18:01] work. They'd like to see some

[18:01] diversification to maybe give a base to

[18:03] have something to believe in. We have a

[18:05] group of about a dozen people who are

[18:07] meeting and taking a look at what the

[18:09] company's strengths are. Two months ago,

[18:12] Bath's management started meetings with

[18:14] its union to find ways to apply its

[18:16] defense skills to the commercial market.

[18:19] We had welding skills in this this this

[18:21] company um

[18:23] that they could not be matched

[18:24] elsewhere. The high level of skills of

[18:26] its workers is Bath's best asset.

[18:30] Perhaps highest on the list of new

[18:32] possibilities, a state-of-the-art

[18:34] long-distance ferry for vacation travel.

[18:38] We think our duty is to

[18:40] not maximize the use of the physical

[18:43] plant, but rather maximize the number of

[18:45] people are working here. We want to

[18:47] build a more complicated ship. We want

[18:49] to build a more dense ship. We want to

[18:51] build a more high-value ship. Uh

[18:54] we want to build a ship that will use

[18:56] the the range of skills and talents

[18:59] possessed by our workforce. The state of

[19:01] Maine, hard hit by the recession, is

[19:03] watching Bath's transition closely. Uh

[19:06] Bath Iron Works is one of the four legs

[19:08] holding up the table that holds the

[19:10] whole state economy together.

[19:12] It's the single biggest employer in

[19:14] Maine, and is a critical part of the

[19:16] entire workings of the state economy.

[19:18] Bath Iron Works pays 1/3 of the property

[19:21] taxes for the city, employs 10,000

[19:23] people, a payroll of $325

[19:27] million. more important are the indirect

[19:29] benefits to the economy for everything

[19:32] from banks to restaurants to the local

[19:34] health care. But no one will be watching

[19:37] as closely as the workers themselves.

[19:40] Charles Kane's father worked at Bath,

[19:42] and now so does his son. What would

[19:44] Maine be without the Bath Iron Works?

[19:46] >> Nothing.

[19:48] Nothing.

[19:50] Without Bath Iron Works here, it would

[19:51] be nothing in the state of Maine.

[19:53] And there surely wouldn't be a bath.

[19:55] That's for sure.

[19:56] Charlie Cain says if he gets laid off,

[19:58] he's going to Florida to retire. He had

[20:01] 25 good years out of the company.

[20:03] His son's future will depend on how well

[20:06] Bath converts to its new world.

[20:09] Jeff Madrick, NBC News, Bath, Maine.

[20:14] And I'll be back with more news.

[20:23] Fleischmann's margarine asks, what is

[20:25] good?

[20:33] Fleischmann's margarine.

[20:35] Be good to yourself.

[20:37] Call me a trendsetter, but I was eating

[20:40] Wheat Thins before people knew why they

[20:41] were baked and not fried. Now everybody

[20:43] knows who needs a greasy chip, right?

[20:46] Besides, Wheat Thins are delicious.

[20:49] Delicious is still in, isn't it?

[20:53] It started early this morning, that

[20:55] feeling that something was a little off.

[20:57] But by noon, her fever had started to

[20:59] climb. Her whole body ached. And now at

[21:02] 5:30, she's coughing and congested. Her

[21:04] head is pounding. Kate Porter has the

[21:07] flu.

[21:08] And now all she can think about is

[21:10] relief.

[21:11] Theraflu relief. Theraflu is serious flu

[21:14] medicine doctors recommend. Soothing hot

[21:16] liquid relief to ease flu symptoms fast.

[21:19] Theraflu, your flu misery stops here.

[21:23] Here's coffee.

[21:24] You know,

[21:25] my decaffeinated is darker than yours.

[21:28] >> And you wake up perkier and your

[21:29] newspaper is more in depth.

[21:31] >> Wait, wait, wait, wait. I'll do it

[21:32] again. Here's your brand. My Folgers

[21:34] crystals, mountain grown.

[21:36] I'm filling.

[21:38] I'm pouring.

[21:40] I'm darker.

[21:40] >> Okay, okay. Can I have a taste?

[21:42] >> Sure.

[21:45] Decaffeinated Folgers crystals, so dark

[21:47] and rich, shouldn't you switch? You

[21:48] know, your decaffeinated is darker than

[21:50] mine.

[22:00] To protect the lives of firefighters,

[22:02] DuPont developed a remarkable fire

[22:04] resistant fiber for their clothing

[22:06] called Nomex.

[22:09] But perhaps even more remarkable is how

[22:11] it protects those who never even wear

[22:14] it.

[22:15] At DuPont, we make the things that make

[22:17] a difference.

[22:24] We note this news from China today where

[22:25] a new fad has emerged. The hula hoop,

[22:28] more than 30 years after it took America

[22:30] by storm, the Chinese government last

[22:32] month urged people to use the hula hoop

[22:34] as an inexpensive and effective physical

[22:36] exercise. But it seems a number of

[22:37] people have been admitted to hospitals

[22:39] with intestinal injuries due to all the

[22:41] twisting. So today, well today the

[22:43] Chinese government told people to ease

[22:45] up and not use the hula hoop just after

[22:48] they've eaten.

[22:49] Well, time now to look at some of the

[22:51] stories that made news this past week.

[22:55] There were mixed economic signals. The

[22:56] good news, 164,000 jobs were added to

[22:59] the nation's payrolls, many in

[23:01] retailing. The bad news, unemployment

[23:03] rose to its highest level in 7 years.

[23:06] Some in Congress may be fighting for

[23:07] their jobs. The House Ethics Committee

[23:09] called for naming the names of two dozen

[23:12] lawmakers who repeatedly wrote bad

[23:14] checks on their house bank accounts.

[23:17] In Virginia, Dr. Cecil Jacobson was

[23:19] found guilty of fraud and perjury. He

[23:21] used his own sperm to make patients

[23:23] pregnant and used hormones to make

[23:25] others think they were pregnant.

[23:28] Steve Allen Butler was granted his wish

[23:30] this week. A Houston judge said Butler

[23:32] could be surgically castrated for raping

[23:34] a 13-year-old girl instead of having to

[23:36] go to prison.

[23:37] Senator Bob Kerrey called it quits in

[23:39] his presidential campaign. He did poorly

[23:42] in primaries and caucuses and was $1

[23:44] million in debt.

[23:46] And for Ryne Sandberg, the issue was

[23:48] also money, lots of it. The Chicago Cubs

[23:50] second baseman will make more than $7

[23:53] million a year, a record contract, at

[23:56] least for this week.

[23:58] And this week also marked a special

[23:59] anniversary. Let's go back 20 years,

[24:02] back to 1972. Richard Nixon was in the

[24:05] White House, there were Americans

[24:06] fighting in Vietnam, and a spacecraft

[24:09] named Pioneer was launched. Whatever

[24:11] happened to Pioneer? Well, it's still

[24:13] out there and it's still working. Here's

[24:15] our science correspondent Robert Bazell.

[24:18] This is an artist's conception of the

[24:20] Pioneer 10 spacecraft heading out into

[24:22] the vacuum of space. And here is the

[24:24] actual signal it is sending back to

[24:26] Earth.

[24:29] Pioneer is now so far from the Earth

[24:30] that the signal, traveling at the speed

[24:32] of light, takes 7 and 1/2 hours to reach

[24:35] us. Pioneer 10 is the furthest man-made

[24:38] object from the Earth. When the

[24:39] spacecraft was launched 20 years ago

[24:41] this week, the expectation was it would

[24:44] last for 2 years. Scientists at NASA's

[24:47] Ames Research Center held a birthday

[24:48] party this week to celebrate the

[24:50] spacecraft's longevity.

[24:52] In 1973, Pioneer 10 visited Jupiter,

[24:55] sending back the first photos of that

[24:57] planet and its moons. From there, it

[24:59] headed out on its present course, first

[25:01] gathering data on the sun, and now

[25:03] taking measurements beyond the orbit of

[25:05] the farthest planet. Basically, the

[25:07] spacecraft is performing quite well and

[25:10] it is transmitting good, solid,

[25:12] error-free data to Earth all the time.

[25:15] On its side, Pioneer carries this

[25:17] plaque. In addition to showing what

[25:19] humans look like, it illustrates radio

[25:21] signals that emanate from the sun and

[25:23] shows the location of the Earth in the

[25:25] solar system.

[25:26] The chances of someone or something

[25:28] finding that plaque increase each time

[25:31] Pioneer goes by a star system. It will

[25:33] approach the first one in 32,000 years

[25:36] and then pass another one every million

[25:37] years or so. And there's no reason to

[25:39] think it won't go on forever.

[25:42] Robert Bazell, NBC News, New York.

[25:45] And I'll be back with some final

[25:46] thoughts in just a moment.

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[27:35] And finally this evening, Steven Allen

[27:37] Butler and a question of making the

[27:39] punishment fit the crime. As we saw just

[27:41] a moment ago, a judge in Houston, Texas

[27:44] this week granted Butler's request that

[27:45] he be allowed to undergo surgical

[27:48] castration rather than face charges of

[27:50] rape. The theory behind the operation is

[27:52] that the man's sexual drive will be

[27:54] diminished and therefore he'll no longer

[27:56] be a threat to society. Well,

[27:59] we're certainly getting into some

[28:00] important questions here. We may not yet

[28:02] have the answers, but consider this.

[28:05] Is surgical castration a punishment or

[28:07] is it rather a means to keep Butler from

[28:09] committing the same crime again? After

[28:11] the operation, Butler will lead an

[28:13] otherwise normal life, although on

[28:15] probation.

[28:16] If it is punishment, critics ask, do we

[28:18] then follow the inevitable logic and cut

[28:21] off the hands of pickpockets? Islamic

[28:23] law already provides for that. Is that

[28:25] really the way we want to go? And if so,

[28:27] where do we stop?

[28:29] And finally, should someone who has

[28:31] committed a crime be allowed to choose

[28:33] his or her punishment? Butler, who has a

[28:36] wife and a child, is certainly not

[28:37] getting off easy, but he sees his

[28:39] sentence as better than going to prison.

[28:42] There are those who will say that

[28:43] there's a certain justice in how this

[28:45] punishment fits this crime. Perhaps.

[28:49] But before it becomes standard operating

[28:51] procedure,

[28:52] we might just pause and think at where

[28:56] it could take us.

[28:57] And that is our look at our world this

[28:59] day. Join us tomorrow morning for Sunday

[29:01] Today, followed by Meet the Press. I'm

[29:03] Garrick Utley.