This program is about 1 hour long
#716088
(Studio: Aaron Brown) "The Whip" introduced.
(Charlotte: Jeff Flock; Baghdad: Nic Robertson; White House: Frank Buckley; Qatar: Anderson Cooper) "NewsNight"'s major headlines previewed.
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Page two & a half: more stories previewed.
#716089
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Report introduced.
(Charlotte: Jeff Flock) The cold winter weather in the East featured; scenes shown from icy Charlotte, North Carolina & from across the region. [Tow truck DRIVER - shows the thick ice.]
#716090
(Studio: Aaron Brown) A setback for United Airlines when the government refused to guarantee loans; the vote by a Boston archdiocese panel to allow Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization because of the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal & a judge's ruling that "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla should be allowed to speak to a lawyer reported.
#716091
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Report introduced.
(Baghdad: Nic Robertson) The U.N. weapons inspections featured; scenes shown from a desert complex in Al Mulhanna†, where weapons were found in a storage shed. [Iraqi liaison officer Riad Manhal ALI†- says the program stopped in 1991.] [Iraqi national monitoring directorate director Hossam Mohammed AMIN - calls investigations at the presidential site unjustified.] [Weapons inspector Demetrius PERRICOS†- comments on inspections.] How the weapons inspections are being reported to the Iraqi people & how much information the media is getting about the inspections discussed.
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Tomorrow's administration cabinet-level meeting on how to respond to the situation when Iraq delivers its December 8th declaration of weapons noted.
(White House: Frank Buckley) The US position on Iraq & U.N. weapons inspections examined. [President BUSH - accuses Iraq of 11 years of deceit & defiance; states President Saddam Hussein must fully disarm.] [AMIN - {thru translator} reacts to threatened aggression from the US & Britain.] [White House press secretary Ari FLEISCHER†- says Iraq has lied in the past about weapons of mass destruction.]
#716094
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Statement from Al Jazeera that it received a letter from fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar criticizing the US for waging war on Iraq reported.
#716095
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Report introduced.
(Doha, Qatar: Anderson Cooper) The role of the small oil-rich country of Qatar in any military action against Iraq examined; photos shown of preparations for "Eternal Look," a command & control drill; scenes shown of a US air base with a long runway. The low profile being kept by American soldiers in Doha discussed.
#716096
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Israeli helicopter attack in Gaza; the alert in Spain & Portugal for more oil slicks from the sunken tanker Prestige & today's total solar eclipse reported; scenes shown.
#716099
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Report introduced.
(Los Angeles: Charles Feldman) The issue of protecting airlines against shoulder-fired infrared missiles examined; details given of the vulnerability of commercial planes to assault while taking off or landing & of some costly countermeasure systems, including the Matador system. [Airline safety consultant Barry SCHIFF†- explains how a missile warning system would work.] The question of how well systems to protect passenger jets would actually work noted.
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Live interview held with Cato Institute defense policy analyst Charles Pena† about systems to protect commercial planes. [From Washington, PENA - says the systems are very expensive & we are not sure how serious this kind of threat is; states there is a "threshold of reasonableness" in airline security because terrorists will always find a way to exploit weaknesses.]
#716102
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Report introduced.
(New York: Jeffrey Toobin) The New York City Central Park Jogger Case of April 19, 1989, revisited; details given about the rape of a jogger in the park that resulted in the conviction of five young black men for the crime based on primitive forensic science & this year's confession by convicted murderer Matias Reyes that he alone attacked the jogger. [Defense counsel Roger WAREHAM†, Kharey Wise's attorney Eric SEIFF†- react to the original verdict.] The issue of false confession in this criminal case noted.
(Studio: Aaron Brown, Jeffrey Toobin) The possible outcome of the legal issues in the Central Park cases discussed.
#716104
#716105
(Studio: Aaron Brown) Live interview held with author John Feinstein† about the story of "The Punch" thrown 25 years ago in a pro basketball game; video of the punch shown. [From Washington, FEINSTEIN - describes what happened in the routine fight before Kermit Washington punched Rudy Tomjanovich & the serious nature of the sudden injury; recounts people's assumptions about Washington for this 10-second incident; describes the impact of the incident on both men.]
#716108
(Studio: Aaron Brown) The campaign by Cuban leader Fidel Castro against rum featured; details given from his speech to medical students about demon rum.
#716109