Now, eyewitness news is everywhere.
Good evening everyone, I'm Barbara Rogers, our top story tonight taking a look at the
potential for a fail-safe catastrophe.
Tonight's CBS movie took place during the Cold War, but since then seven more nations
have acquired nuclear weapons, and that's been generating plenty of debate tonight at
Stanford and universities across the nation.
And that's where Sharon Chen joins us live tonight.
Sharon.
There was a lot of discussion here about the movie at Stanford University, and it was also
a chilling reminder that the nuclear threat is real.
About 50 people at Stanford University watched fail-safe, CBS's live remake of the 1964
thriller.
A computer glitch triggers an accidental attack by U.S. nuclear bombers on Russia, annihilating
Moscow then New York City.
Before the movie, a panel discussion pointed out the real danger of life imitating art.
A single Soviet submarine discharging its weapons in eight American cities in San Francisco
Bay Area, you'd have 700,000 people dead.
The panel's experts say even though the Cold War is past, the cold facts remain.
They say since the U.S. and Russia developed nuclear weapons, there have been a thousand
false alarms when one superpower mistakenly thought the other had attacked.
And there have been at least three close calls.
Former Senator Alan Cranston says Russia's troubled economy increases the chances of
a nuclear accident in the U.S.
The deterioration as a result of command and control, soldiers and scientists are not paid,
the discipline is low, their attention span may be greatly decreased, the morale is down,
and their equipment is wearing out.
So there's a graver chance now than during the Cold War of an accidental war between
the two countries.
And some students learned they could be potential targets in Silicon Valley, the heart of high
tech.
When they said the numbers, it quite surprised me about how many are targeted in certain
areas.
And the discussion was timely.
The nuclear nonproliferation tree is up for its 30-year review this month.
I'm Sharon Chin reporting live on the peninsula.
Is there any suggestion about what should be done about any of this?
A lot of the people here were from different groups that actually supported eliminating
nuclear weapons altogether, but of course there's a lot of debate about that as well.
Okay, thanks a lot Sharon.
Well at this hour rescue crews are searching for a missing boater in the San Francisco
Bay near Newark.
Fire officials say two men were coming in from a day of fishing when they accidentally
overturned their 15-foot boat.
One man was able to swim to shore, but the other man, a 50-year-old, has not been found.
Two helicopters and at least one boat are being used in the search.
New questions are being raised tonight about the safety of the marine aircraft that crashed
in Arizona last night.
All 19 people on board the Osprey aircraft were killed in the fiery crash, which took
place during a night training mission.
It's the third major crash for an Osprey since 1991 and the most deadly.
The aircraft, which is slated to replace the Marines current transport chopper, has the
range and speed of a turboprop plane, but can take off and land like a helicopter.
Two young men are in critical condition tonight after what police say is the latest explosion
of gang violence in San Francisco.
The two were shot early this morning at a large party in the city's Ingleside district.
Police say the injured are rival gang members who were fighting over rap music.
It all relates to rap music and you have a group, Big Block, North River Harbor, who
has their production and you have a group, West Mob, who have their production and they
tend to feud with each other in regards to the music.
Who's putting out the best music?
Who's putting out the music first?
Who's making more money?
A third teen was also grazed on the head with a bullet, but he is okay.
However, police say that attack sparked a drive-by shooting two hours later where another
young man was shot in the arm.
Gang shootings have skyrocketed in San Francisco lately.
Police say there have been 20 shootings in the past two months.
The bicyclist shot dead by police on the Bay Bridge last week has been identified.
Oakland police say he is Thomas Allen Freeman Jr., a 40-year-old homeless man.
Freeman was killed last Thursday after allegedly getting into a confrontation with officers
who told him bicycles were not permitted on the bridge.
Police say Freeman spent much of his time on the streets of Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward,
Santa Clara and San Jose.
The annual migration of whales up the coast from Mexico to Alaska is resulting in more
than its usual share of fatalities.
In the past two days, four gray whales have washed up on Bay Area beaches.
As John Lobertini reports, experts say it may be something to worry about.
This is the most recent discovery, a female gray whale just north of Coyote Point near
Burlingame.
The gray whales are migrating past our shore right now.
During a whale watching trip, members of the Oceanic Society say they saw nothing unusual
in the waters off Half Moon Bay, but researchers admit there's a serious problem.
One possibility is that the gray whale population is so high that we're now seeing it sort of
stabilize and that means a lot of the weaker animals will die off.
There's not enough food resources.
Serious because the gray found dead Saturday night near Land's End in San Francisco is
part of a disturbing trend.
Last year, 273 gray whales died and washed ashore during the spring and fall migrations.
In previous years though, the trip between Alaska and Mexico produced only about 100
deaths.
They were spotting, reaching and tail flicking a lot.
Whale watching is a thrill.
This one was spotted in the bay just this week.
But earlier this century, the gray whale was almost extinct.
That's really why we wanted the kids to be able to go out and see the whales in the wild
while there still is a lot.
Today the population is thriving.
The gray whales discovered dead near Los Angeles and Oregon this week are part of an estimated
26,000.
Researchers admit the die off could be an act of nature.
It may very well mean that they're stabilizing with their environment, they're coming up
and they're getting more in balance if you will with the resources.
So it's not necessarily a bad thing that's going on.
Researchers are likely taking tissue samples from carcasses like this one in an effort
to find out what might have killed the whales and if they might be related.
The environment is another possibility.
But researchers also say it's unlikely whatever is killing these whales will affect the population
here on the west coast.
In Burlingame, John Lobertini, Channel 5 Eyewitness News.
It may finally be time to breathe a sigh of relief where gas prices are concerned.
The latest industry survey shows the average price for a gallon of gas dipped nearly 2.5
cents in the past two weeks.
That's the biggest drop since the winter of 1998.
According to the Lundberg survey, the average national price for all grades of gas was about
$1.57 on Friday.
The Energy Department says that average should drop to $1.46 by the summer.
While the high-tech world is still red hot for job hunters, an industry survey finds
American companies expect to create more than a million and a half information technology
jobs this year.
About a third of the openings will be for technical support workers.
The Midwest is expected to win more new information technology jobs than any other region with
35 percent.
And it's a job seekers market.
Employees estimate they'll have trouble filling more than half of the available jobs.
Still ahead on Eyewitness News, a North Bay bishop issues an apology after being accused
of sexual and financial misconduct.
And will Elian Gonzalez finally be reunited with his father?
We'll be right back.
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It's the early days of the great war for talent, and you and I are in the crosshairs of the
productivity sniper's rifle.
90% of white collar jobs will be destroyed in the next 10 years.
I love you guys, but if you are not distinct, no matter how hard you work, you won't stand
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The former head of the Santa Rosa Diocese apologized to parishioners today in a letter read at
church mass as Bishop Patrick Zeeman said he deeply regretted both his financial mismanagement
of diocese funds and his failure to abide by his sacred vows.
Zeeman resigned last year after priest George Salas from Ukiah filed a lawsuit claiming
Zeeman coerced him into having sex.
In the letter, Zeeman said, quote, I acknowledge with deep regret my responsibility for the
current state of affairs about which you are justly angry.
Now will this be the last week for Elian Gonzalez to live in Miami?
The U.S. Attorney General says she is determined to reunite Elian with his father this week.
And as Lee Cowan reports, psychological tests to determine just how the handover should
occur are scheduled for tomorrow.
The fishermen who saved Elian Gonzalez's life are now trying to help save a family torn
apart by the boy's tragic ordeal.
On Sunday, the two men met with Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, hoping that he would
agree to sit down and talk to his Miami relatives, relatives who cared for Elian since his rescue
at sea last November.
I really would like to have come out of that meeting that he would have agreed to go and
meet with the family in a neutral place.
One of Elian's rescuers said he felt what others had said, that Gonzalez was not being
allowed to speak freely.
I don't feel that this man is being manipulated totally, but he is being controlled how conversations
will and will not take place.
But a lawyer representing Juan Gonzalez says his client makes his own decisions.
His decision is his alone.
He wants to be with his son, and he should have the right to decide where he raises his
son.
As Gonzalez waits for word on Elian at the home of a Cuban diplomat just outside Washington,
Attorney General Janet Reno is moving ahead with plans for a reunion.
We're going to try to resolve this and restore the child to his father in the most constructive
way possible.
Justice officials have asked the Miami family to meet with three psychiatric experts on
Monday in an effort to ease the transfer of custody.
The relatives have their misgivings.
They plan on actually reviewing the case without ever meeting with Elian, and that's where
the frustration lies with the family.
His best interests are not being taken into consideration at all.
Meanwhile, protesters in Miami's Little Havana continue to surround Elian's house, praying
for the boy to stay here, but realizing this time around, their prayers may not be answered.
Lee Cowan, CBS News, Washington.
Elian's father also met tonight with Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Jackson believes there
is some hope to be found in the pain of this situation.
The civil rights activist made his comments after attending a reception at the Cuban interest
section in Washington.
Juan Gonzalez was also there and spoke with Jackson, who says the fight over Elian offers
an opportunity to improve relations with Cuba.
I use even this moment, the turning of this child from a kind of war trophy to an opportunity
to build bridges between the U.S. and Cuba, Cuban-Cuban-American relations.
Jackson says if the U.S. can work to bring Israelis and Palestinians together, then the
administration should be doing the same thing to tear down the walls between Cuba and America.
Well, it's time now for Rick Kwan to give us a preview of what's coming up tonight on
Game Day.
Rick.
Well, Barbara, we have another great show coming up for you tonight at the Masters in
Augusta.
It was VJ Day as VJ Singh came away with his first green jacket.
We'll also show you what happened to David Duvall and Tiger Woods.
The Sharks close out their regular season tonight.
They next play St. Louis in the playoffs starting Wednesday.
We'll talk to team captain Owen Nolan about San Jose's chances.
A's mighty Mike Frank Minachino will join us in the studio to talk about today's A's
victory.
We'll talk about getting his chance in the majors and why his teammates say he should
be in the Sopranos.
On Tuesday, the Giants will not just play their home opener at Packville Park.
They'll unveil a really big attraction, meet Rusty the mechanical marvel.
We'll also show you how the Giants did today and guess what?
The Warriors, the Warriors actually won tonight.
That's all coming up on Game Day.
I'll see you right after the newscast.
No April Fool, huh?
Nope.
Thank you, Larry.
Coming up from shorts to snuggly parkas as the Northwest goes into a deep freeze in less
than a day.
Hi, I'm Lawrence Karn, a little sunshine around the Bay Area.
Temperatures warmed up a little bit, but cool outside right now and boy, snow coming down
elsewhere.
The forecast is coming up.
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Ah, springtime in New York.
The Big Apple got a white dusting today from an unusually late April storm
that provided snow as far south as the nation's capital.
It also knocked out power to as many as 15,000 homes in eastern New York State,
which got more than a foot of snow.
This is the same system that socked the Midwest late last week.
And is it the same system that's making us so cold?
I mean, it's freezing!
It is a bit cold, yeah, around the Bay Area tonight.
Skies are mostly clear, so those temperatures are really dropping off for you tonight.
Well, today we had some sunshine out there, and yeah, still a little bit cool around the Bay Area.
Temperatures running at or just below normal.
Beautiful shot of the Golden Gate there.
And yes, it was a rough day out on the bay.
Some folks managed to get out there and do some sailing, a little competition out there,
and the winds were blowing pretty well, filling up those sails all right.
And well, tonight the winds have since subsided,
and a nice shot of the ferry building in the Bay Bridge in the background there.
And the clouds, well, they just haven't reformed yet,
but they will likely start to reform in the next few hours.
All right, temperatures for today.
We had a high of only 58 degrees today in Pacifica,
60 degrees in San Francisco, you head inland.
Turned out to be pretty nice.
70 degrees in Vallejo and 69 degrees in Concord.
But there was some patchy fog we had to get through this morning,
and it extended inland all the way into the Delta.
You can see it down in the Monterey Bay and into the Salinas Valley.
But as we take you through the morning, it didn't take very long,
and it started to pull back, and by the afternoon really had mostly clear skies,
even along the coastline for today.
And again, we had those onshore breezes, so that kept those temperatures cool.
All right, you've seen the snow, and well, we are going to see more of that in the United States for tomorrow.
Most of that located across the Upper Plains here.
They're going to see some more snow showers.
Some of that could be very heavy in parts of North Dakota and sliding into parts of Minnesota.
Out ahead of it, you've got this cold front and some powerful thunderstorms will develop by the afternoon.
Warm temperatures should return to the deep south, while out west we are still looking at some mostly sunny skies coming your way.
And probably the wind's going to subside, so that's some good news for temperatures, should be able to warm things up.
All right, here's your one storm system that rolled to the east of us today.
High pressure started to slide in. The difference between the two brought us the winds.
Now we've got this next system to contend with, but the good news is this ridge out ahead of it
will hold it to bay for at least a couple of days, and the jet stream right now is staying focused north of the bay area,
so nothing going to come our way except for a couple of high clouds, possibly late on Wednesday,
and of course your general morning low clouds early on.
After that, though, oh boy, things could get busy a bit on Thursday as that storm begins to make its way onshore.
Check out your bay vision forecast into tomorrow morning and a couple of patches of fog near the coastline.
Temperatures are going to be a bit chilly overnight, 40s and 50s by 8 o'clock in the morning,
but as we take you through the morning, lots of yellows showing up.
Those temperatures into the 60s by noontime, even some 70s starting to creep into the East Bay,
and as we take you into the afternoon, going to warm you up even a little bit further,
except right along the immediate coastline, 50s and 60s for highs there, well, I see pleasant 70s inland.
All right, temperatures around the bay area are going to be a nice one.
Probably not quite as strong tomorrow afternoon, so expect about 76 degrees and live more, about 75 in Concord,
64 a bit cooler in San Francisco, and 70 degrees in Redwood City.
Your five-day forecast coming your way, going to see a lot of sunshine to start you out at the beginning of this week.
It ain't going to be pretty nice.
Wednesday is when we're going to see some changes.
That's when we're going to see some high clouds begin to make their way into our area,
and by Thursday, looks like we could be looking at showers.
That's still real iffy, but that could last straight into the weekend.
Showers?
Sorry about that, Barbara. More April showers.
Boy, that hot weather a couple of weeks ago was just a tease, huh?
Long gone.
Okay. Thanks a lot, Lawrence.
All right.
Coming up, Iraqi prisoners of war held for more than a decade are finally set free,
and the new power of vitamin C, especially for women and their gallbladders.
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Unprecedented news out of Korea tonight where it has been announced that the leaders of North and South Korea will hold a summit.
The meeting could be the biggest step toward a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Leaders of the two republics are expected to meet in the North's capital in June.
It would be the first summit between the rival states since the division of the peninsula into communist North and capitalist South in 1945.
Hundreds of Iraqi prisoners of war were reunited with their families today after being released by Iran.
¶¶
It was an emotional scene as thousands of relatives welcomed the 500 men who had been held for more than 10 years.
The continued detention of prisoners of war remains the main obstacle to better relations between Iran and Iraq.
Both countries captured tens of thousands of prisoners during the war they fought between 1980 and 1988.
The leaders of the two hobby groups voted in Peru's closely fought presidential election today.
Incumbent President Alberto Fujimori voted this morning.
His leading rival, Alejandro Toledo, charges the vote may be rigged with the help of the military.
Early exit polls showed Toledo ahead of Fujimori, but all indications are that a runoff is likely.
The Organization of American States has sent in observers in an attempt to prevent election fraud.
A new study finds you might want to add an orange to your daily intake of fruit, especially
if you're a woman.
The study, appearing in tomorrow's archives of internal medicine, supports theories that
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Other studies have found similar associations, and research has shown that vitamin C-deficient
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some gum lovers were trying to blow their competition out of the water in
South Dakota today it was a bubble blowing contest for kids to raise money
for the Children's Miracle Network each child got three pieces of bubble gum and
three chances to blow the biggest bubble the bubbles were measured by a bubble
meter of course the winner gets a pop at the national finals and a ten thousand
dollar savings bond and finally tonight a different treat for the senses
traditional Japanese drummers provided much of the entertainment at day two of
the annual cherry blossom festival today in San Francisco's Japantown the
celebration featured musicians martial arts demonstrations and plenty of cherry
blossoms the festival coincides with the beginning of spring and that's it for
this edition of eyewitness news stay tuned for game day coming up next and
have a great week ahead we'll see you again next weekend good night