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tv   CBS Evening News  CBS  March 8, 2014 6:00pm-6:31pm PST

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>> axelrod: tonight, airliner down. a malaysian airlines flight with three americans among the hundreds on board disappears off vietnam. we'll get the latest from seth doane in beijing, and captain sully sullenberger. more russian troops apparently sent into crimea. charlie d'agata and elizabeth palmer are on the ground in ukraine tonight. budget cutters take aim at military commissaries. what it would mean for the families who depend on them to make ends meet. >> it would directly affect my household budget. >> axelrod: and daylight saving. who really stands to gain when we lose an hour of sleep tonight? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod with a western edition of the broadcast.
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a malaysia airline 777 cruising along at 35,000 feet from kuala lumpur to beijing disappeared off the radar early this morning, no radio call, no distress signal. and now two oil slicks seen off the southern coast of vietnam are fueling fears that the plane with 239 people on board crashed into the south china sea. relatives of passengers have been gathering at the airport in beijing. three americans are reported to have been on board. the names of two passengers listed on the flight's manifest match passports stolen in thailand, which is raising questions about terrorism. malaysian prime minister says it is simply too soon to draw any conclusions. we begin our coverage with seth doane. >> reporter: the search by air for the missing plane is expected to resume at daylight. six countries are now taking part in the operation, including the united states. the guided missile destroyer "u.s.s. pinckney" is head to the region. the malaysian prime minister
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says the search-and-rescue operation will continue as long as necessary. according to authorities, the plane left kuala lumpur after midnight heading to beijing. it was last detected on radar at 1:30 a.m. 85 miles north of coastal malaysia. its last reported contact came at 2:40 a.m. when it was somewhere over the south china sea. on board the flight, 227 passengers, including two infants and 12 crew, all from 14 different countries. among the missing, 51-year-old philip wood who worked for i.b.m., and two other americans. foreign ministry officials in italy and australia say the names of two nationals from those countries listed on the flight manifest matches passports reportedly stolen in thailand. two-thirds of the passengers were from china. distraught family members rushed to beijing's international airport, hoping for news, any news about their missing loved ones.
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"my son is only 40 years old," this woman cried. many are frustrated with what they say is the airline's lack of response. "nobody has gotten in touch with us. nobody talks to us," she said. malaysia airline says they're dispatching all information when they receive it. >> reporter: malaysia airlines c.e.o. also said that there was no indication that the pilots had sent a distress signal, suggesting that whatever happened to the airplane happened quickly. u.s. officials tell cbs news they are aware of those reports of stolen passports but have not made any links to terrorism. jim, we're here at the hotel where family members of the passengers have been taken. so far, they've received very few answers. >> axelrod: seth doane covering for us tonight from beijing, thank you.
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the boeing 777 is widely regarded as one of the safest aircraft in the sky. the 777 first went into service in 1994. in its 19-year history the plane has had only one fatal accident, the crash landing of an asiana airlines flight in san francisco last july that killed three passengers. captain sully sullenberger is cbs news aviation expert. he joins us from san francisco, tonight. captain, you heard the initial reports. the plane is flying along at 35,000 feet, generally thought as one of the safest phases of flight. have you heard anything that's given you any indication of what has happened? >> it's too early to tell, jim. at this point, all causes should still be on the table. it's apparent, though, whatever happened quickly and probably catastrophically. >> axelrod: and happened before any mayday call could be issued. does that give any indication of what might have happened? >> not necessarily. you see, pilots are trained to have very clear priorities. first, to aviate, to navigate,
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and only then finally to communicate. in a serious emergency, they would have been trained to fly the airplane, try to solve the problems that they faced and only then try to communicate with someone. >> axelrod: if this plane, indeed, has gone down somewhere in the south china sea or the gulf of thailand, how likely are investigators to recover the black box? >> i think ultimately very likely, and much more likely easier than in the case of air france 447 several years ago where it was in much deeper water and it took almost two years to find the recorders and recover them. >> axelrod: and, of course, those black boxes send out a signal that will ping for at least 30 days. captain sullenberger, thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you, jim. >> axelrod: now to the crisis in ukraine. president obama spoke by phone today with the leaders of six european countries. all agreed russian troops in crimea must pull back to bases it has treaties to operate there.
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but as charlie d'agata reports from eastern ukraine, it appears the russians just keep sending in more soldiers. >> reporter: a convoy of hundreds of russian troops and military vehicles drove through crimea's capital today, the latest sign of a buildup that officials say now numbers 30,000 russian soldiers. in neighboring donetsk, people are taking sides, and pro- russian supporters again took to the streets today. they shouted, "gubarev!" >> gubarev! gubarev! >> reporter: pavel gubarev became the face of the pro- russian movement, after leading the charge to storm the government headquarters here and appointing himself governor. that was enough for ukrainian police to arrest him and charge him with trying to overthrow the local government. his lawyer, elena pryvda, told us, the people chose gubarev to be governor. why in your opinion has pavel been arrested? >> it was a political arrest. they needed to take down the leader, she told us, because they think if they can take him down, donestk will be quiet again.
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>> reporter: pavel gubarev has become a powerful and popular figure here in donetsk and his arrest will not sit well with pro-russian people here, neither will his replacement. meet billionaire sergie taruta. kiev has appointed the steel and industrial tycoon as the governor of donetsk. he is the country's 16th richest man and he's told us he is confident he can reunite his divided home town. there are many russian-speaking people here who don't trust kiev and they don't trust you. how do you answer them? >> "i don't think donetsk has many people who don't trust me," he told us, "but give me two or three months and i will show you results that i deserve the trust of the people of donetsk." >> reporter: he may not have two or three months, jim. his whole job is to put out the fire and do something about the pro-russian sentiment that might be seized upon by russia as a
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pre-text for military intervention, the same way it justified the invasion of crimea. >> axelrod: charlie d'agata covering for us tonight on the eastern border of ukraine and russia. thank you. pro-russian forces confronted an unarmed team of international observers at the crimean border today. for more we turn to elizabeth palmer who is in the capital city of simferopol. liz, what can you tell bus reports that there are more russian troops heading into crimea? >> reporter: well, the kremlin said it won't annex crimea, and yet they seem to be building up their troop strength. there was a convoy today that was seen driving across the passenger, 60 trucks with heavily armed soldiers on board. witnesses say they were brought in from russia. they're new ones, and they were brought in, in amphibious landing craft. the unarmed observers, you mentioned a minute ago, they tried to come into crimea across this narrow neck of land that separates it from ukraine. they were turned back by the paramilitaries. this is the third time it's happened. it's not clear why they don't
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just get on a plane or a train, because at the moment there are no controls at either the airport or train station but that may not be true for much longer. there were men observed on the border today digging holes as if they're going to erect, perhaps, a real border fence for a territory that may soon be or proclaim itself to be part of the russian federation. >> axelrod: elizabeth palmer reporting from crimea tonight. thank you, liz. 245,000 homes and businesses are without power in north carolina tonight. two days of snow, sleet, and ice knocked out power in the central part of the state, the piedmont. it should take until wednesday to restore power to everyone there. for the second year in a row, conservatives at the cpac conference outside of washington picked kentucky senator rand paul as their choice for president in this afternoon's straw poll. paul came in at 31%, followed by
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texas senator ted cruz, and dr. ben carson. new jersey governor chris christie came in fourth. in the past three cpacs, winners have gone on to claim the republican nomination. this weekend has brought a break in the murder trial of oscar pistorius. the double amputee sprinter, known as, "the blade runner," who is accused of killing his girlfriend. the first week of testimony included witnesses who said pistorius had a dangerous history with guns. here's deborah patta. >> reporter: it was a week of dramatic and compelling testimony that began and ended much the same way, with oscar pistorius running against media gauntlet to get to and from court. neighbors of pistorius took to the stand to detail how they heard gunshots and a woman screaming on the night of the killing. radiologist dr. johan stipp lives 237 feet away and was one of the first to arrive. >> i remember the first thing he said when i got there was that-- he said, "i shot her. i thought she was a burglar, and
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i shot her." >> reporter: stipp recalled how pistorius prayed for reeva steencamp to live. during the testimony, pistorius became visibly emotional. he broke down crying and then covered his ears as if to block out the words he was hearing. the court also heard damaging evidence of pistorius' reckless gun behavior, from his friend, professional boxer kevin lerena, who described how pistorius fired gun by accident underneath a table in a crowded restaurant. >> i don't know what happened, how the gun went off. but he did apologize and say, "i'm so sorry. it was a mistake. are you okay? is everybody okay?" i do remember oscar saying, "please," to darren, "just say it was you." "i don't want any attention around me, just say it was you." >> reporter: on friday, pistorius' ex-girlfriend, samantha taylor, told the court he once laughingly fired a gun
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through the rooftop of his car and never went anywhere without his gun. the prosecution is building up a case that pistorius is a gun- obsessed man who killed his girlfriend in a murderous fit of rage. next week they intend calling specialist witnesses, including blood-spatter and forensic experts, to add weight to the case. deborah patta, cbs news, pretoria, south africa. >> axelrod: an 89-year-old world war ii veteran by the name of richard faulkner got a purple heart today in upstate new york in a ceremony 70 years in the making. staff sergeant faulkner was the sole survivor of a combat crash in france in 1944 that left him stranded behind enemy lines. he originally declined a purple heart but decide year ago he wanted something for his grandchildren to remember him by. that should do the trick. the commissary cuts that could hit military family budgets hard. and the final journey of a native diver, saving the remains of a champion race horse but not track he ran on when the "cbs evening news" continues. continues.
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>> axelrod: american military families learned this week they may be taking on more of the burden of balancing the defense budget. the pentagon wants to slash the subsidies for base commissaries that make groceries cheaper. mark albert look as how that could make prices soar for millions of our troops and veterans. >> reporter: military families stock up on much-needed savings at base comsears around the world, as much as 30% off name brand supermarket prices. but this week, defense secretary chuck hagel told congress that to maintain force readiness, subsidies for nearly all 178 u.s. commaries and other military benefits must be cut. >> it's a plan that allows our military to meet america's future challenges and threats. >> reporter: the current subsidy stands at $1.4 billion. the new budget would slice that figure by 2-third. >> i just don't think it's
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responsible. >> reporter: military families like the benards could be hit hard. they have three young kids to feed. >> it would directly affect my household budget. it would-- it would cause stress because then you're trying to figure out where else you can cut. >> reporter: so you plan every meal. >> plan every meal. >> reporter: being frugal balances the budget for her and her husband. they are a single-income family living in northern virginia on about $40,000 a year. >> the overall savings of a commissary, it's almost i can't put it into words. >> reporter: at the fort bellvorstate comcircumstance bernard counts up the savings. that's about what, $200 savings every two weeks. >> yup. >> reporter: that adds up. >> yup. >> reporter: the bernards save about 5,000 a year. a half gallon of lactaid 2% milt at the commissary costs $3.39. at giant stores it's 76% more
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expensive. 18 egg land eggs go for $2.89. 12 at the supermarket cost more. >> you can't cowt where you live. you can't cut out your food, where you eat. so the niceties in life would have to be cut out and i think that directly affects the moral and welfare of our troops. >> reporter: a treasured benefit that soon culd carry a painful expiration date. mark albert, cbs news, washington. >> axelrod: up next, who saves what with daylight saving time? [ male announcer ] this is kevin.
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i need your timesheets, larry! >> axelrod: it is time to spring ahead. turning the clock one hour ahead when daylight saving time begins at 2:00 tomorrow morning. the reason for the mad dash around the house to make sure we've got the right time on our clocks and watches has long been that an extra hour of light in our days translates to energy savings. but michael downing, the author of "spring forward: the annual madness of daylight saving time" doesn't buy it. the thinking is with an extra hour of daylight, that americans will be outside more, in their homes less and, therefore, not using as much energy. >> well, you know, it's absolutely true the first half. they got it right that daylight saving pushes us out of our
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houses. but when americans go to the ballpark or the mall at the end of the day, we don't walk there. heerpz the dirty secret-- daylight saving increases gasoline consumption, and it's not a small matter. the national association of convenience stores, who sell us 80% of our gasoline every year, says that one month of extra daylight that we got recently in 2005 is worth $1 billion to them. >> axelrod: so who benefits then? >> well, golfers benefit because, of course, golf courses are too large to illuminate. so the golf industry says every extra month of daylight saving is worth about $400 million in greens fees and equipment sales. similarly, the barbecue industry profits. anybody associated with outdoor recreation and sports loves daylight saving. >> axelrod: the way the calendar exists now, daylight saving time actually includes halloween. if there's an extra hour of halloween, that must make for
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some happy folks in the candy lewis. >> candy makers were always happy to try to push for this extra hour that we got by moving the last moment of saving saving from the end of october to the beginning of november, thinking that if we put more sunlight at the end of that at a, kids would go out on the street more. and the veeps stores seem to agree. they're selling more snickers bars in october now. >> axelrod: so you're listing all these folks who are benefiting from daylight saving time-- golf straerk barbecue industry, the candy industry. is there anything in it for the average american? >> the social benefit of daylight saving is real, particularly after a winter like we've all just enjoyed. daylight saving gives us one great benefit-- late summer sunset times to enjoy with our families and friends outdoors. we're the principal beneficiaries of the policy. >> axelrod: michael downing i'm afraid we're out of time. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> axelrod: and still ahead, champion race horse native diver
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before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. [ woman ] finally, clearer skin for more than a few days, weeks, or months. enbrel works for me. ask your dermatologist if you can have clearer skin with enbrel. >> axelrod: we close with an update on a story we first told you about last december. one of the country's best known racetracks of shutting town but only after everything valuable had been removed. carter evans reports they didn't
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get everything until now. >> reporter: there was a time when hollywood park attracted some of the world's most famous, those on two legs and on four. >> and they're off and running. >> the big crowds have come and gone and the track is now shut down for good, soon to be bulldozed. all that's left are memories, mostly fleeting, except for this. underneath hollywood park, ability feet under, to be exact, are the remains of one of the track's greatest racehorses. >> native driver won is easily. >> native diver who won the prestigious hollywood gold cup three consecutive times in the 1960s is buried here. >> we should see the whole skeleton displayed in the clay here. >> reporter: this weekend archaeology students from the university of southern california are digging up the remains. they've now uncovered part of the rib cage. you can see it right there. once the remains are fully exhumed, the flan is to rebury them at del mar, another race track b-100 miles south of here.
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del mar is rich in horse racing history, but so, too, was hollywood park. so it seemed perfectly fitting at the time for native diver to rest among this hallowed ground forever. it turns out, forever didn't last that long. carter evans, cbs news, englewood, california. >> axelrod: and that is the cbs evening news for tonight. later on cbs, "48 hours." for now, i'm jim axelrod in new york, and for all of us here at cbs news, thanks for joining us, and good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org
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hour for the suspect. still no sign of that malaya airlines jumbo jet that off the radar. a san francisco police officer is shot. the massive search at this hour for the suspect. >> still no sign of that malaysia airlines jumbo jet that disappeared. >> the new questions of foul play. >> we'll take you below the streets of san francisco for a unique look at the central subway project. >> kpix 5 news is next. ,,,,,,,,
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a san francisco police offir is seriously wounded when hs shot your realtime captioner is linda macdonald. thankfully, the officer is going to be okay. but when you get notified that an officer has been shot, that is the worst nightmare. >> a san francisco police officer is seriously wounded when he was shot by a suspect during a traffic stop. good evening. it started just before 3:00 this

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