Transcripts For WUSA CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley 20170509

Pelley we begin tonight with breaking news. This evening, President Trump fired the director of the f. B. I. James comey was leading the investigation into whether associates of mr. Trump colluded with the russian government to influence the u. S. President ial election. Late today, in an oddly worded letter in which the president declares his own innocence, mr. Trump told comey that he has concluded that comey is not able to effectively lead the bureau. Comey, who is well known for integrity, was appointed by president obama, and had about another six years to go on a 10year appointment. Recently, he has been controversial with both democrats and republicans leading the investigation of Hillary Clintons emails and the Russian Election tampering probe. Major garrett is at the white house for us now with the breaking news. Major. Reporter scott, the letter nowformer f. B. I. Director james comey was characteristically blunt. It reads in part, you are hereby terminated and removed from office, effective immediately. Accompanying letters released by the white house come from Senior Justice Department officials who say comey had to be fired because of actions and the lack of action he took with regards to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and the investigation into her email server. Those Senior Justice Department Officials Say not only was comey wrong not to pursue charges. He was wrong to have a press Conference Announcing that fact, and that he had failed to acknowledge both of those errors and both of those breaches with protocol, and that forced the president to accept their advice that comey be terminated. One letter from the new Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein says in part, the f. B. I. s reputation and credibility have suffered substantial damage. The letter goes on to say, the director announced his conclusions about the nations most sensitive criminal investigation without the authorization of duly appointed Justice Department leaders. Attorney general jeff session also wrote to President Trump, i have concluded that a fresh start is needed at the leadership of the f. B. I. The director must be someone who follows faithfully the rules and principles of the department of justice. Shortly after those letters were delivered to the president , the president sent his letter firing the nowformer f. B. I. Director. Also in this letter and, scott, you referred to it an odd statement from the president tying comey to the Ongoing Investigation into russia and possible collusion with possible Trump Officials during the campaign. The president s letter to comey resident in part, i greatly appreciate you informing me on three separate occasions that i am not under investigation. The president goes on, it is essential that we find new leadership for the f. B. I. That restores public trust and confidence in its vital Law Enforcement mission. President of the United States was asked if he still had confidence in comey. He said he did. Now, less than a month later, he does not, and comey has been fired. Pelley major garrett, thanks very much. Now, comey is only the second director of the f. B. I. To be fired in the history of the bureau. The last time it happened was president clinton in 1993 firing william session. But that was on a charge of violating ethical codes. And theres no suggestion of that here. Lets go now to our chief congressional correspondent, nancy cordes. Nancy, what are you hearing there . Reporter well, scott, what preceded all of this was a controversy that gained steam over the course of the day over some inaccurate comments that direct comey made when testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Last week. He was describing his decision to reopen the clinton investigation 11 days before the election, and he said that it was because of what agents found on the laptop of anthony weiner, husban abedin. Take a listen to the way he described it huma abedin appears to have had a regular practice of forwarding emails to him, for him i think to print out for her, so she could then deliver them to the secretary of state. Reporter at one point, comey even said that abedin sent hundreds and thousands of emails to her husband, but pretty quickly, sources close to the investigation were telling cbs news and other news outlets that actually, abedin only sporadically sent emails to her husband, and that most of the emails ended up on his laptop because of the unintentional backing up of a blackberry. The f. B. I. Even had to issue a correction to his testimony late this afternoon. It caused a lot of confusion among senators here on capitol hill, but notably, no one was calling for him to be fired over all of this. The congressional reaction to this surprise firing really runs the gamut. Saying, a fresh start will serve the f. B. I. And the nation well. But then you have democrats, like bob casey of pennsylvania, saying, this is nixonian, that a special counsel should be appointed, and ron widen of oregon saying, no one in trumps chain of command can be trusted to carry out an impartial investigation. Pelley jeff glor, our chief justice correspondent, and you have been covering comey and the f. B. I. For years now. Jeff, bring us up to date on where the f. B. I. Is on the russia meddling investigation. Reporter well, it is midstream in this investigation, and thats why this move is stunning, and theres really no other way to describe it. And it is the timing that is important here. This is an investigation that is being conducted by the f. B. I. s counterintelligence unit. It is very secretive and confined to that division of the f. B. I. And so to make this change in midstream raises the direction of the investigation and who will come next to lead it. Pelley now, before he became f. B. I. Director, james comey was the Deputy Attorney general, the number two in the Justice Department. He was appointed by president bush to that position. Hes a man well known for integrity. What is the list of possible replacements at this point, at this early point . Reporter well at this point its pretty short, and there is one name on that list, and thats the Deputy Director of the f. B. I. , andrew mccabe. He is a duke graduate, also well respected in the Law Enforcement community. But his name also surfaced back over the summer in connection with the clinton email server investigation because his wife had accepted donations during her campaign in virginia from a democratic operative. And so, there are questions that some members of Congress Might raise about mccabe, but he is well respected in Law Enforcement circles. Circles. Pelley jeff pegues, thank you very much. John dickerson, our cheech washington correspondent is with us. John, the Political Climate on all of this. This is quite a surprise. Reporter quite a surprise. And already there was a considerable amount of backandforth and political blood in the water on the russia question this week alone. And now you have a situation where if you read the letter explaining why comey was let go, its thick with criticism of his handling of Hillary Clintons email situation. That was something, obviously, deeply political. Now, this week hes released. Hes in the middle. The f. B. I. Is investigating connection between russian meddling in the election and the trump campaign. So the political ramifications here will be ongoing, will be constant, and whoever is going to handle this supercharged atmosphere. Pelley john dickerson, thanks very much. Were going to be following the details and developments on this breaking story, and there will be a full report on all of the overnight details on cbs this morning tomorrow morning. In another developing story, an emergency was declared today at the Hanford Nuclear reservation in washington state, a vast Storage Facility in the eastern part of that state, part of a tunnel used to transport radioactive waste collapsed. Washingtons governor called it serious, though no radiation has been detected so far. John blackstone is following this. Reporter the collapsing soil created a 20 by 20 foot hole over a tunnel containing radioactive debris at hanford. Its the nations largest storage site of Nuclear Weapons waste. Destry henderson said 5,000 work herself to take cover. What that means is shelter in place. This is purely precautionary. Again, no employees were hurt and no indication of a spread of radioactive contamination. Reporter the tunnel contains rail cars used decades ago and stored plutonium and uranium. All the radioactive waste from the manahattan project, which tested and built the atomic bomb during world war ii, is buried at hanford, as is Defense Department Nuclear Weapons material through the 1980s. A massive cleanup effort costed 2 billion a year is aimed at decommenting a site half the size of rhode island. The crisis isnt over yet, and, you know, so were waiting to see how dad bad can it get . Reporter Tom Carpenter is with hanford challenge, a Watchdog Group monitoring safety at the site. In spite of the fact that the cleanup is going on, costing a couple of billion dollars a year, its actually getting more dangerous in some ways. More dangerous with time. Were g in the future. This is a wakeup call. Reporter at hanford, less than 200 miles from seattle, ought awl but essential workers have been told not to report for work tonight. Official says theyre looking for a way to fix the tunnel, scott, without making that hole any bigger. Pelley jakubowski for us tonight. John, thank you. After 16 years and 2,396 american deaths, there is no victory in afghanistan. Now, President Trump is considering whether to send more troops, and heres david martin. Reporter facing a stalemate in which the afghan army is suffering what the pentagon calls shockingly high casualties, the Trump Administration is preparing to send some 3,000 u. S. Troops back toofg. Toofg to afghanistan. The exact number would depend on how many allied troops were sent. The Top Commander in afghanistan said he needs more the plan, which has not yet been presented to President Trump for a decision, would allow american advisers to operate closer to the front lines and give them Greater Authority to call in air strikes against the taliban. An enemy which can still carry out attacks, like this one last month on an Afghan Military base that left 140 dead. General nicholson has estimated it would take two to three years to regain an advantage over the taliban. The goal is not to defeat the taliban but to convince them they cannot win and and are better seeking an end to the war. According to cami mccormick, it comes dune to which side cracks first. War say clash of wiles, right, but who wins . Who wins and who loses . Who loses is whose will is lost first. Reporter after the increase u. S. Troops would number close to 12,000, some of which would conduct raids against terrorist groups like isis and al qaeda. The u. S. Military went in to afghanistan after 9 11 to prevent it from ever being used again as a base for attacks against the United States. 16 years later, afghanistan has the highest concentration of terrorist groups anyplace on earth. Scott. Pelley david martin at the pentagon. President trump will send weapons to syrias kurdish fighters, something that president obama declined to do in order to avoidangering turkey. The kurds are fighting isis around the terrorist groups capital in the town of raqqa. Turkey, a nato ally, has fought for decades against kurds who want independence. Coming up next on the cbs evening news, spirit was willing, but the pilots didnt show. Chaos broke out. On a perfect car, then smash it into a tree. Your Insurance Company raises your rates. Maybe you shouldve done more research on them. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Liberty Mutual Insurance. Due to your first accident. Flea bites can mean misery for your cat. Advantage® ii monthly topical kills fleas through contact. Fleas do not have to bite your cat to die. Advantage® ii. Fight the misery of biting fleas. My frii say not if you this protect yourself. Ary. What is scary . Pneumococcal pneumonia. Its a serious disease. My doctor said the risk is greater now that im over 50 yeah. Yaha. 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Today a judge issued a temporary restraining order against their union. Manuel bojorquez has more. Reporter at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter, fists and bodies were about the only things flying last night. It erupted after a week of canceled flights at four spirit airport hubs across the country, leaving passengers stranded and their patience short. Debbie mcgrandy has had three flights canceled. Very angry, angry, angry people. Everybody had places to be and couldnt be there. Reporter spirit is blaming a pilot work slowdown due to a contract dispute for the disruption. In a lawsuit, the airline says it has had to cancel 300 flights over the last week impacting some 20,000 passengers, costing them 8. 5 million in lost revenue. At Fort Lauderdale airport taed, it was calmer. The passengers like mike mcgraff were still frustrated. It feels like we have no control over this. Oh, my god look at what you did to him reporter from united to american hey, bud, you do that to me and ill knock you flat. Hey, you stay out of this reporter on board and in the terminal. Do you know why im videotaping you, because you guys have terrible Customer Service. Reporter the tensions between airlines and passengers have reached a Tipping Point for the industry. They cannot go on this way with this kind of news day after day. Reporter charles leocha, president of the Passenger Advocacy Group travelers united, says Airlines Need to refocus on Customer Service as a top priority. All the way from the c. E. O. Right down to the gate agent. Right now, the airlines are thinking about one thing thats profits. Reporter Spirit Airlines paul berry this isnt a Customer Service issue. This is a pilot issue not showing up to fly their flights. Reporter the Airline Pilots association denies conducting a work sloe down and says its working with the airline to resume norma operations. Spirit said it had to cancel 39 flights today due to pilot action. Pelley manuel bojorquez. Next, after a fraternity pledgeidize, well look at hazing. My a1c wasnt were it needed to be. So i liked when my doctor told me that i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating whats within me with onceweekly trulicity. Trulicity is not insulin. It helps activate my body to do what its suppose to do, release its own insulin. I take it once a week, and it works 24 7. It comes in an easytouse pen and i may even lose a little weight. Trulicity is a onceweekly injectable prescription medicine to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes when used with diet and exercise. Trulicity is not insulin. It should not be the first medicine to treat diabetes, or for people with type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. Do not take trulicity if you or a Family Member if youve had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if you are allergic to trulicity. 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Pelley more Penn State Fraternity brothers went before a judge today, charge inside the death of timothy piazza, a 19yearold pledge. Heres jericka duncan. Reporter the remaining eight Beta Theta Pi members rushed in and out of the courthouse this afternoon. William brennan represents joseph enz, who is chargewith recklessly endangering another person. Its unspeakable. Its a very, very sad and tragic case. Reporter District Attorney stacy parks miller charged a total of 18 Penn State University students with crimes ranging from hazing to aggravated assault. Its the saddest thing to say but the only reason this came to the surface was because timothy died. Reporter he died from traumatic brain injuries, according to this detailed grand story of a pb pledge night that included heave drinking and allegation a disregard for piazzas lifethreatening injuries. He fell down a flieft stairs, the report says, and went in and out of consciousness for over 12 hours before his Fraternity Brothers called 911. Surveillance cameras throughout the frat house captured much of what happened. Without the tools we had this time, would we have had the whole picture . Reporter and those tools being . Those tools being the video and being, you know, the the electronic devices. Reporter parks miller says in many ways that video brings to light a longstanding culture of hazing. According to a 2013 Bloomberg News report there have been more than 60 deaths in the last eight years involving initiation rituals. Writer and former praternity member david berkman, has produced haze a greek tragedy. That shows why people continue oto gou sometimes deadly. Its about terminology, about building brotherhood, sisterhood. These are going to be families, if if we go through something har, if were tested we do bond. Reporter all of the Fraternity Members posted bail. Scott, a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for next week. The District Attorney tells me theres a possibility that video might be played at the hearing. Pelley jericka duncan, thanks. And well be right back. When i feel controlled by frequent, unpredictable abdominal pain or discomfort and diarrhea. I tried Lifestyle Changes and overthecounter treatments, but my symptoms keep coming back. It turns out i have Irritable Bowel Syndrome with diarrhea, or ibsd. A condition thats really frustrating. Thats why i talked to my doctor about viberzi. A different way to treat ibsd. Viberzi is a Prescription Medication you take every day that helps proactively manage both abdominal pain and diarrhea at the same time. So i can stay ahead of my symptoms. Viberzi can cause new or worsening abdominal pain. Do not take viberzi if you have no gallbladder, have pancreas or severe liver problems, problems with alcohol abuse, longlasting or severe constipation, or a bowel or gallbladder blockage. 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Compared to rubix cube, and yoyos, kids cant get enough of them. Athena dorf buys them wherever she can find them. I like to see whose can spin the longest so we kind of have a competition about that. Reporter the challenge of tricks and twirling has generated a barrage of howto videos on youtube. Holding them and spinning them is oddly satisfying, and its really fun. Reporter with its calming effect, the toys were originally designed to help kids, well, stop fidgetting. Trying to make it stay. Reporter but like with any true fad comes a backlash. Educators say theyre becoming a dizzying classroom distraction. Theyre not collectors. Reporter John Mcdonald is assistant principle at Delano Elementary School in minnesota. Are no longe allowing them in school, and if they do bring them to school, we will take them, hold on to them and give them back at the end of the day. Reporter a survey of the 200 largest schools in the u. S. Found fidget spinners are banned in 32 of them. We go through a lot of qtips. Reporter even adults are getting in on the action. Joe garritano in wayzata, minnesota, makes custom spinners in metal and ceramic, some selling for as much as 175. His Internet Sales have been going through the roof. Someone said, oh, my god. Ill buy that from you. And then i made 10 more and then 100 more and 1,000 more and it kind of took off from there. Reporter many now are wonder pentagon newest fad will start to teeter or continue to twirl. Jamie yuccas, cbs news, wayzata, minnesota. Pelley we will have the latest on the sudden firing of the director of the f. B. I. On cbs this morning tomorrow. Until then, for all of us at cbs news, good night. We begin off script tonight with breaking news. A bomb shell out of the white house. Fbi director james comey has been fired by President Trump. The white house statement says the president acted based on the clear recommendations of both the Deputy Attorney general rod rosensteen and attorney general jeff sessions. Comey is only three years into his ten year term. Only the second fbi director ever fired. The president can fire the director but he has to have cause. The president believes comey is not able to effectively lead the bureau. Heres the reaction on social media from some of our local stars. Senator tim inkae says trump firing comey shows somehow scared