Preview -- World News Tonight 07/06/01
July 6, 2001 -- Good Afternoon.
Today, as expected, the government released the unemployment figures for June. More than 100,000 workers lost their jobs last month; unemployment rose one tenth of 1 percent, to 4.5 percent. That is not as high as some economists predicted but, nonetheless, it is seen by many as yet another sign of a weak economy. Manufacturing jobs, especially in the technology industries, were hardest hit. The demand for computers and computer-related products, it seems, is not as strong as it has been in recent years. But the Bush administration says not to worry, the economy is stable and will get jump-started when the Bush tax cut begins to kick in later this year. Bob Jamieson will try to sort all this out.
The deal is done. In the most egregious espionage episode in FBI history, former FBI agent Robert Hanssen appeared in federal court today in Washington and formally admitted he spied for the Russians. As part of the deal, Hanssen's life will be spared and part of his FBI pension will go to his wife and children. Hanssen will serve a life sentence without possibility of parole. The government will want him to come clean on virtually every detail of his two-decade-long spying career: every bit of information exchanged, every agent compromised. John Martin takes stock of the deal and the damage done.
The other story — which Washington will not stop talking about — is one we've avoided for many days because so much of it has been speculation. But now in the case of the missing intern, Chandra Levy, her aunt has spoken to ABCNEWS and has given a detailed description of Chandra's relationship with Rep. Gary Condit. The police say Condit is not a suspect because as far as they are concerned there is no crime in her disappearance nine weeks ago. Having said all that, does this mean that Condit had anything to do her disappearance? Washington police say there is not a shred of evidence of that or much of anything else. Pierre Thomas gets us up to date on the mystery of the missing intern.
We'll call this next story a womb with a view (one of our colleagues couldn't resist that one). It's a view that proves a great picture is worth more than a thousand words, but we'll keep it brief. Seriously, John McKenzie reports on an incredible new technology called the Volusion 730 scanner, which can show expectant parents intimate views of their expected child never seen before. An unborn baby only 7 weeks old can be seen scratching its nose, sucking its thumb, even hiccuping. The scanner is mostly for the enjoyment of the parents but many doctors are very excited about the possibilities of monitoring the unborn's health along the way.
"Gentlemen, start your engines...." That call will be heard at the Daytona Speedway for the first time since last February, the first time since racing's most celebrated driver, Dale Earnhardt, was killed. Auto racing is enjoying enormous popularity and the death of its biggest star has been a black mark on the entire sport. Our Erin Hayes is in Daytona and has been talking to both drivers and racing officials to try to assess the effectiveness of new safety measures designed to prevent another death like Earnhardt's. NASCAR, racing's governing body, says it is moving as quickly as possible to make the sport safer. Some drivers dispute that. We'll have a full report.
And finally: geocaching. What is geocaching? Our Dan Harris tells us its the newest international sport using the Internet and the latest in the military's satellite technology. It's really a very sophisticated scavenger hunt which takes participants virtually anywhere in the world hunting for hidden treasure. As Harris explains, this high-tech, high-stakes game allows players and their families to play a computer game together — albeit far away from the computer screen.
We hope you'll join us.
Peter Jennings