s general counsel michael millikin. she cited g.m.'eports that the legal staff failed to share details of settlements in crashes linked to the ignition problem. but c.e.o. mary barra defended millikin and insisted she's keeping him. >> he's the person i need on this team. he had a system in place. unfortunately in this instance it wasn't brought to his attention, frankly by people who brought many other issues forward. he is a man of high integrity and he is the right person. >> reporter: barra said the blame lies with other g.m. lawyers who've since been fired. mccaskill rejected that defense, and instead evoked the scandal at the veterans administration. >> i think the failure of this legal department is stunning and the notion-- i mean, you look around government, when something like this happens-- you know what? secretary shinseki didn't know about those problems with scheduling. nobody told him. he's gone. >> reporter: adding to the fire, a "new york times" report that g.m. kept quiet for years as federal regulators asked about th

. >> how in the world in the aftermath of this report, did michael millikin keep his job? do not understand how the general counsel for a litigation department that had this massive failure of responsibility, how he would be allowed to continue in that important leadership role in this company? >> the company has been fined $35 million, but for those keeping score at home, that is less than 1% of gm's earnings in just the last 12 months. poppy harlow joins me now from washington. this hearing there have been a number of them already, so what is today's hoping to accomplish? >> i think today's hoping to accomplish, has gm really told us everything? have gm lawyers told us everything. the fact that michael millikin, the lead counsel of gm, been brought the first time having to testify that's what we should focus on. we've heard from the ceo but this is important, gm settled a number of lawsuits with families for up to $5 million under michael millikin and did not tell the head of the company or superiors. and there are people that say that could have led them to know about t

. >> subcommittee chair claire mccaskill focused on gm's chief legal officer, michael millikin. >> ion't know how you and lucy clark dougherty e have your jobs. she slammed millikin claiming he didn't know about the problem until last year even though company lawyers were warning about it more than four years ago. >> what about the legal obligation to inform the board of directors? were they aware that your lawyers were telling you: this car was going to cause u pun i have been damages? >> they were not. >> gm ceo mary barra defended him? >> we are well on our way. we have made significant change. to do that, i need the right team. mike millikin is a man of high integrity. >> they charged the maximum fine but senators are proposing tougher laws. impose up to five years prison time for corporate executives who 450id defects but the proposal would protect whistle blowers from criminal prosecution if they notify regulator regulators. >> the man in charge of paying damages to haven'tim attorney ken eth feinberg said there is no cap on compensation but there are restrictions imposed by gm

. >> how in the world, in the aftermath of this report, did millikin keep his job? not understand. a the promise to make sure we are dedicated to safety and excellence and we are well on our way. to do that, any the right team. is a man ofn incredibly high integrity. >> microsoft is firing 18,000 workers, about 14% of its workforce. the cuts are the largest in microsoft's history and among the largest in the history of the tech industry. most cuts involve the nokia cellphone unit which microsoft bought in april. missouri has executed a prisoner convicted of three murders despite doubts over his guilt and concerns he may have been mentally ill. attorneys for john middleton said new evidence showed that one of the murders took place when he was actually 40 miles away, in a jail in iowa. earlier this week a federal judge stayed middleton's execution, saying he met the standard for mental incapacity "showing that he is incompetent to be executed." but an appeals court overturned the stay and middleton died by lethal injection on wednesday. his final statement was "you a

senator claire mccaskill was called for barra to fire michael millik millikin. >> this is either grosssay i didn't know? >> i need the right team and mike milliken is man of high integrity. >> reporter: they found the legal staff acted too slowly in notifying superiors about claims for crashes. craig boswell, cbs news, capitol hill. >>> a hawk is attacking humans in massachusetts. the redtailed hawk has swooped down and injured several people in one neighborhood. the hawk has a nest with baby chicks in a nearby oak tree. one woman attacked by a bird in the area had her wig stolen and it was used as part of a nest. i'm marlie hall. this is "cbs morning news." acidity was in my diet...much that it was damaging the enamel of my teeth. i wanted to fix it right away. my dentist recommended pronamel. he said pronamel can make my teeth stronger. pronamel is helping me lead the life that i want to live. ♪ dust irritating your eye? (singing) ♪ visine® gives your eyes relief in seconds. visine®. get back to normal. >>> doctors in miami have successfully performed the first kidney exchange transp

mi millikin, completely constructive. they want to do the right thing. i only have appreciation for general motors assisting miss burroughs and myself. they providesed us some very adequate information and i'm very great elf to them on it. >> thank you for your input and so many funds like this and i wish you well and certainly everybody involved as you move forward in trying to deal with the claims in the best possible way. in terms of the company, better late than never. but for those people who were dramatically impacted and who have a loss that they'll never recover from as senator klobuchar was talking about, that note from a daughter to her father is a sad and last only moments to have of that young girl's life. we're going to be have interested as you work your way through this. i think the company made a good choice and look forward to watching this as this progresses. >> thank you, sir. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you, madam chairman. i want to thank you for having this hearing which i think is very important. i thank mr. feinberg for your w

millikin, ms. barra, mr. o'neal, and mr. valukas. thank you for your patience. i'm sure you're not looking forward to a visit any time soosh. >> that is correct. >> i knew i could speak with you in that regard. it is important and the fact that you acknowledge our role and respect this is important. we all want general motors to succeed. there's no one in congress that doesn't -- this is an american company that all of us are very proud of. and those u who helped shape general motors are very proud what the american automobile industry has accomplished since those days. you've got a big problem still ahead of you and we'll continue to ask questions and do follow-ups on this hearing but know we appreciate the efforts you're making and we will look forward to checks in wu you after we have a further visit with nhtsa and making sure that all of the systems are working the way they should so we're never dealing with this again. thank you all very much. >> announcer: you can watch this hearing again on the gm ignition switch recall. also read the investigator's repor

millikin if the ceo has said on the record that this report is factual why is general motors refused to stipulate to the valukas report is factual in bankruptcy court? >> senator mccaskill i'm not aware of our position on the bankruptcy court that i can tell you that issue is associated probably with the attorney client privilege issues that are in that proceeding in on that basis they will probably probably take a position i'm not familiar with the position you are talking about in bankruptcy court on that issue. >> who would be? that is obviously an important legal decision that has been made by your company and you are the lawyer in charge. this is obviously, i don't know if you could have any more high-profile litigation the bankruptcy proceedings right now as to what did and didn't happen when bankruptcy occurred as a relates to our presentations that were made so if you don't know, who does no? >> senator that piece of litigation i've been working with the lawyers on it in terms of making sure that we are making the arguments that need to be made to deal with the economic loss

>> we have made mike millikin is a man of incredibly high integrity. >> federal authorities have charged maximum fine for failing to reveal defects. senators are proposing tougher laws to prohibit corporations from paying fines imposed on corporate officers. impose up to 5 years' prison time for corporate executives who hide defects. but the proposal would protect whistle blowers from criminal prosecution if they notify regulators. >> the man in charge of paying damages to victims was also at the hearing, attorney ken eth fineberg says there is no cap on compensation but there are restrictions imposed on gm on who qualifies for reimbursement. randall pinkston, al jazeera, washington. >> when we come right back, as one powerful storm winds down, another one begins to threaten southeast asia. from luxury liner to the scrap heap, the painful voyage of the costa concordia. vé presents... holy money only on al jazeera america heap, the painful voyage of t >>> after wreaking havoc on nabors, super tie fon ramussen slams into vietnam. the storm toppled trees and billboards. most were prepared.