Transcripts For KPIX CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley 2014

This is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. Pelley good evening. They were entrusted with the this is our western edition. They were entrusted with the most powerful, most lethal arsenal in the world. But tonight the trust placed in them has been called into question. National security correspondent david martin tells us that 34 air force Nuclear Missile officers have been stripped of their certification. Reporter they are the men and women who would fire the nations arsenal of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and now they are implicated in what air force chief of staff mark welch say may be the biggest cheating scandal ever to hit the armed forces. We dont know an incident of this scale involving cheating. Reporter four months ago a launch officer at mall strom air force base allegedly texted the answers to a monthly proficiency test to other officers at the base. Launch officers have to pass other monthly tests as well, including a simulated launch, so the cheating probably says more about their integrity than about their ability to perform the ossion. Its hard to cover up incompetence cheating one time on a test when youre going to have a monthly simulator with two instructors watching you actually conduct the Practical Application of this knowledge in the simulator. You cant hide that. Reporter those 34 represent just under 20 one in five of the Missile Launch officers at malstrom. Weve decertified all 34 officers in involved. Theyre restricted from missile crew duet, their security clearances have been suspended around their investigation into the level of their individual wyoming. But all of the air forces 600 launch officers will be retested. So far, 100 have taken it and 97 passed. The alleged cheating was discovered in the course of a drug investigation which has implicated three launch officers in the possession of recreational drugs. Pelley david martin at the pentagon for us tonight. David, thank you. A critical report tonight blames american diplomats and Intelligence Officers for failing to prevent the attack on the u. S. Mission in benghazi, libya. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other americans were killed. The report is the result of a Bipartisan Senate investigation. Heres nancy cordes. Reporter the Senate Intelligence committee handles documents so sensitive it mostly holds its hearings behind closed doors. After reviewing the benghazi attack for 15 months, the committee determined that the Intelligence Community Intelligence Community their report finds it all led the Defense Intelligence agency to warn in june of 2012. F 2012. 6 the pentagon agreed predicting agreed predicting was the intelligence adequate . And the answer is yes. Reporter california democrat Dianne Feinstein chairs the Senate Intelligence committee. Why do you think that the state department didnt beef up security at the compound or close the compound in the face of all of these warnings . I can only say that it should have happened. I wont speculate because i dont know. It should have happened. Reporter georgias Saxby Chambliss is the committees top republican. Certainly knew enough to know that we should not leave americans exposed in an area such as benghazi that has a history of violence and where the potential for an attack to occur was present. Reporter the state department pointed out today there was no intelligence that pointed to this specific attack which involved up to 60 assailants and, scott, they say they are already implementing many of the security recommendations that were made in todays report. Pelley nancy, thank you very much. Last night we broadcast for the first time video shot by firefighters minutes after a boeing 777 crashed at San Francisco International Last summer. The pictures raise questions about why a 16yearold girl who survived the crash was struck and killed by a fire truck. The girls family has filed a claim against the city. Anna werner follows up tonight. Theres essentially two large openings one in the middle of the fuselage and one in front of the fuselage. Reporter the truck and helmet cam videos show firefighters risked their lives to get near and inside the burning plane. Why dont we just go in the opening here. Its so easy. Reporter several climbed up the jets emergency slides to reach for passengers. But as with any disaster, there was confusion. Hey, hey this is the last time im telling you, man i want you to watch over there. Thats what theyre for, all right . Do not come over here again reporter some firefighters saw the 16yearold ye meng yuan near the wreckage but assumed she was dead. The coroner says ye actually survived the crash but was killed by a fire truck that accidentally ran her over. Reporter a summary of interviews conducted by the National Transportation safety board shows one airport Safety Officer described firefighters as reporter San Francisco Fire Department protocol say the dead may be left in place but must be labeled as deceased. Its not clear from the video if ye was marked before she was run over. Assistant deputy fire chief dale carnes told the n. T. S. B. There is no Industry Standard as to how to mark bodies of victims. But the departments safety plan does call for spotters to help drivers. This spotter got out to direct a driver around yes body but that firefighter then left to go inside the plane. Assistant deputy chief carnes said this in december. Our riders were pressed into Service Inside the aircraft leaving our drivers by themselves. Reporter the San Francisco Fire Department still wont comment on those videos. Scott, firefighters from that department are now receiving additional training here in texas. Pelley more than 300 survivors in that crash. Anna, thank you. An 11yearold boy remains in Critical Condition tonight after yesterdays School Shooting in roswell, new mexico. A second student, a 13yearold girl, is in satisfactory condition. Today we learned more about the student who opened fire and bob orr has that. Reporter Police Believe the shooting at roswells Berrendo Middle School was planned and carried out by a 12yearold student who used a shotgun taken from his parents home. New Mexicos State Police chief Pete Kassettas said the suspect cut off the weapon and hid it inside a duffel bag. Its a 20 gauge pump shotgun. The handle or stock was sawed off, making it more of a pistol grip type weapon. It had three rounds of ammunition in that weapon. Reporter police say the suspect, a seventh grader, fired all three rounds one into the floor of the schools gymnasium, one into the ceiling and the other into a crowd of students, wounding a boy and a girl. 911 dispatchers were alerted by frightened students. Reporter now, police have not offered a motive, but they say the suspect may have verbally warned some of the students just before the shootings and, scott, its expected prosecutors will charge the boy as a juvenile. Pelley bob, thank you. On friday president barack obama will spell out how he plans to overhaul the governments secret surveillance programs. Tonight, our Major Garrett has word on some of what the president is expected to say. Major . Reporter good evening, scott. The white house insists no final decisions have been made by numerous sources tell us the president will preserve most of the existing surveillance, technology, and tactics but will require more additional government oversight. In addition, president obama will keep the storage of phone and Internet Data under the supervision of the National Security agency, require high Level Administration approval for any surveillance of foreign heads of state and add a privacy advocate to the secrecy court in charge of foreign surveillance. All this, scott, in a speech friday at the justice department. Pelley Major Garrett at the white house. Thank you. This was one of the deadliest days in iraq since the u. S. Pulled out. At least 70 people were killed in bombings, part of a religious war between the two main factions of islam. Elizabeth palmer in baghdad found that many iraqis now blame the government for fanning the flames. Reporter iraqs Security Forces trained and equipped with american help are now well over half a million strong. For some, a proud symbol of iraqs independence, for others a dangerous and undisciplined force. Have a look at this video shot last april at a protest camp in central iraq. The demonstragm are from the sunni branch of islam and they say they are being unfairly treated by the Iraqi Government which is led by shiite muslims. Riot police moved in after reports that armed criminals were hiding among the protesters. Suddenly there was gunfire and people started to run. Look here on the left, soldiers appear to be firing their automatic weapons at the fleeing crowd. We took the video to iraqs minister of the interior to ask what happened that day. Look here. See how the they just seem to be shooting as the crowd is running past them. Do you recognize those forces . The demonstrators started shooting first, he said. The soldiers were acting in selfdefense. The aftermath was terrible, at least 50 killed and more than 100 injured. The video shows the Security Forces kicking a body and later vandalize protesters cars, actions the minister concedes are wrong. America is thinking of sending iraq a lot more equipments and weapons. But American People can see that video and go why should we give an army like that more weapons . Thats not the american weapons. Thats not american weapons. Reporter does it matter . These are the men who are going to use them. Now we fight al qaeda. Reporter Al Qaedalinked extremists have retaken the city of fallujah in the past week and theyre also believed to be responsible for this vicious bombing campaign. Seven bombs today in baghdad, scott. The iraqi Security Forces say they need american weapons to help fight them but given their general level of discipline and competence, america may have to face the blame for the collateral damage. Pelley liz palmer in the iraqi capital tonight. The Supreme Court considers restrictions at abortion clinics. And is los angeles prepared for the big one . When the cbs evening news continues. As fast as you use oing anything which is funny, cause i still do it better than her. You know, i dont think i was meant to sweep. Its a little frustrating. Look. [ zach ] i cant help out as much as i used to. Do you need help . [ doorbell rings ] lets open it up. Its a swiffer sweeper. Its a swiffer dusters. It can extend so i dont have to get on the step stool. I dont know how it stays on there. Its like a dirt magnet just like my kids. [ afi ] this is a danger zone. That is crazy. Ahhaha [ zach ] yeah. No, this definitely beats hanging out on a step ladder. Whats up, baby . My feet felt so heavy at the they used to get really tired. Until i started gellin. I got dr. Scholls massaging gel insoles. When theyre in my shoes, my feet and legs feel less tired. Its like walking on a wave. Dr. Scholls massaging gel insoles. Im a believer ive got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. Its time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that wont relieve all your symptoms. New alka seltzer plusd relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. Oh what a relief it is. Pelley the u. S. Supreme court heard arguments today in a free speech case. At issue is how close protesters may get to an abortion clinic. Chief Legal Correspondent jan crawford was in the court. Reporter Eleanor Mckellen is a grandmother with a mission standing outside clinics, she tries to discourage women from having abortions. I offer hope and i offer help and i offer love. Reporter but she says her efforts now are difficult because she has to stay behind this yellow line under a Massachusetts Law that requires people to stay 35 feet away from clinic entrances. I care. I truly care. But then when we get to the buffer zone, i have to stop reporter Massachusetts Attorney general Martha Coakley says the law is necessary because some protests got out of hand. The congestion became not just a difficult issue of enforcement around public safety, it actually blocked access. Reporter but in court today, the justices indicated the law violates a fundamental right of free speech. Justice about anyone Scalia Justice Anthony Kennedy sharply challenged Massachusetts Assistant Attorney general jennifer miller. Miller. Even liberal Justice Elena kagan, during an exchange with miller, expressed concerns the buffer zone was too big. Reporter just Ruth Bader Ginsburg provided by one reason but opponents say that there are other laws designed to protect clinics from violence and obstruction and that this one goes beyond whats in place in other states and, scott, after listening to these arguments, it appears a majority of the justices will agree it goes too far. Pelley but that decision wont come probably until june. Jan, thanks very much. Stock prices made big gains today. The dow picked up 108 points, the s p closed at a record high. The market was reacting to strong earnings reports from bank of america and a Federal Reserve report that the economy is growing at least moderately in most of the country. Well be right back. In most of the country. Well be right back. 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Safer from earthquakes and ben tracy has been looking into this. Reporter the postrecession building boom in hollywood is on shaky ground. Construction in the area prompted the California Geological survey to release this new map of the hollywood fault line. It appears to run under at least two proposed new towers. A building built across it gets ripped in half. Cant be stopped. Reporter lucy jones is a government seismologist. This week she was named the new earthquake advisor for los angeles. So when were building on these faults or near these faults, are we being willfully ignorant or just ignorant . We have to accept building near the fault because otherwise we give up on los angeles. There are over 100 faults in l. A. You cant get more than 10 miles away from a fault if you live in the los angeles area. Reporter the fault that caused the 1994 northridge earthquake was unknown to scientists. Now earthquake geologists such as james dolan have mapped more than 300 faults in Southern California. The problem