1994 Without Warning UNCUT MOVIE

Retro Movie Time

3 fragments of an asteroid hit USA, China and France. The events are covered by TV news reports. More meteors come. Is it natural events or alien aggression?

Transcript

00:00:00The End

00:00:30We interrupt this program for a special bulletin. Here now is Sandy Hill.

00:00:36Seismologists at Caltech now report at least three separate seismic events tonight,

00:00:40each in the northern hemisphere with earth tremors of magnitude 8.5 and above.

00:00:46The first location is believed to be in the Thunder Basin area of Wyoming.

00:00:50That's about 200 miles east of Casper.

00:00:53So far, we have no reports of casualties.

00:00:55The other two sites in Europe and Asia have not been identified.

00:00:59But stay tuned at 11 o'clock news for further details.

00:01:02We now resume our regularly scheduled program.

00:01:05We interrupt this program for a special report from Evening World News in Washington.

00:01:09We interrupt this program for a special report from Evening World News in Washington.

00:01:32Here now is Chief National Affairs Correspondent, Sander Van Oker.

00:01:35Good evening. A meteor shower, which appears at this time every year,

00:01:39erupted into a massive cosmic event tonight as pieces of an enormous asteroid plunged to Earth.

00:01:45Reports are just coming in, but it appears that at 8.24 p.m. Eastern Time,

00:01:51the near-Earth asteroid known as 6645 Venturi hurtled from space and broke apart,

00:01:58striking the Earth at three separate points around the globe.

00:02:01Aftershocks were felt from Kamchatka Island in the Aleutians to Santiago, Chile.

00:02:07In all three cases, the meteorites hit deserted rural areas, leaving wide impact zones.

00:02:14Scientists say if any one of them had struck near an urban center, the results would have been catastrophic.

00:02:20We begin our coverage with correspondent Pamela Barnes outside Mount Palomar Observatory in the mountains east of San Diego.

00:02:28Sandy, as this story first broke, the report suggested that three massive earthquakes struck worldwide.

00:02:36The initial shock waves registered within minutes of each other at Caltech.

00:02:40The best image we have right now is this infrared shot from a KH-11 reconnaissance satellite.

00:02:46The crater is 2.4 kilometers wide, more than a mile and a half across.

00:02:52The red you see around the rim is a section of scorched earth from a wildfire that set the grasslands ablaze at the moment of impact.

00:03:02Corresponder Bree Walker was vacationing in Wyoming when the meteor hit.

00:03:06She came in with the first fire crews, and we go to her above the crater.

00:03:10I'm told we're having trouble with the feed from Wyoming, so we'll bring Bree Walker's report to you as soon as possible.

00:03:17In the meantime, we go to Barry Steinbrenner of affiliate KTML in Casper, Wyoming.

00:03:23With fires from the meteor crater raging out of control, units from the 3rd Air National Guard Wing were quickly called in to extinguish the flames.

00:03:32More than 10,000 people living west of Thunder Basin are being evacuated by National Guardsmen amid fears the fires may spread.

00:03:39And there are numerous reports of power outages both north and east of Cheyenne.

00:03:45This is Barry Steinbrenner, KTML Action News, Casper, Wyoming.

00:03:50I'm told we've now contacted correspondent Bree Walker.

00:03:54She now brings us pictures of what is being called Impact Site Alpha, located 60 miles north of Grover's Mill, Wyoming.

00:04:02Bree, can you hear us?

00:04:04Sandy, as you well know, I've covered my share of disasters.

00:04:08The L.A. riots, Hurricane Andrew, last year's floods in the Mississippi, even Mount St. Helens when she blew.

00:04:15But nothing I've ever encountered could have prepared me for this.

00:04:19Let's give you a look from the chopper's camera mounted below.

00:04:23What you're looking at now is the crater itself.

00:04:26A massive inferno is the only way you could describe this.

00:04:30In fact, one of the firefighters I talked to said temperatures were near 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit and above.

00:04:37Any human being within miles of this impact would have been incinerated in seconds.

00:04:42As we came in through the smoke and the haze along the crater's east rim, the scene of devastation below was unbelievable.

00:04:48With dozens of state troopers and national guardsmen surrounding the impact site.

00:04:53When the asteroid hit, it touched off a massive firestorm that destroyed much of Thunder Basin.

00:05:00We're told that chopper you see down below is flying a team of hazardous material specialists from the Department of Energy.

00:05:05We expect that they'll be checking for radiation or any potentially deadly chemicals that might still be off-gassing from the site.

00:05:16And Sandy? Sandy, we're just getting word that there may have been some survivors along the Thunder Basin national grasslands.

00:05:23We're going to go over there now for a look.

00:05:26The two other pieces of this gigantic meteorite came down first in the Gobi Desert of China along the southern edge of Mongolia.

00:05:33And minutes later, in a mountainous area of the Pyrenees, about 20 miles south of Lourdes in southern France.

00:05:39Now tentatively known as Impact Site Bravo, Lourdes was the site in 1858 of a fabled visitation by the Virgin Mary.

00:05:48It's been a mecca for religious pilgrims ever since.

00:05:51But tonight, as correspondent Paul Whitaker reports, the mood there is one of fear.

00:05:57The churches are full here tonight with religious pilgrims giving thanks.

00:06:01But not because they came to this holy site, because they're alive.

00:06:06Only hours before the asteroid fell in the mountains to the south, hundreds of people were still on the snow-capped peaks after a long day of recreation and skiing.

00:06:13He was in the last table car off the mountain, just as the earth started to shake.

00:06:21And Ian's friends looked up to the sky and saw a huge fireball streaking across the sky.

00:06:29This woman, Sylvie Chouinard, also survived.

00:06:32But when she got down, she discovered her husband, Jean-Paul, was missing.

00:06:35I took down the cable car and Jean said he wanted to ski down for the last run of the day.

00:06:54And he, he, he didn't come, he didn't come back.

00:07:02Ironically, today was their third anniversary.

00:07:04French rescue teams are combing the mountainside for skier Jean-Paul Chouinard.

00:07:08A bitter twist to an already frightening turn of events.

00:07:12The French have an expression, plus a change, plus a meme shows.

00:07:17The more things change, the more they stay the same.

00:07:20But tonight, as the lucky ones celebrate, happy to be alive.

00:07:24One senses these people will never be quite the same again.

00:07:28Paul Whitaker reporting from Lourdes, France.

00:07:32Little is known tonight about the third impact site in China.

00:07:36But as correspondent Denise Wong reports in Beijing, the communist government has put the country on a state of alert.

00:07:41Sandy, it's just after 10.15 in the morning here in Beijing.

00:07:45Xinxinhua, the Chinese news agency, has reported that the third asteroid hit at 9.29 a.m. Beijing time.

00:07:53It struck at 105 degrees east, 45 degrees north along China's border with Mongolia.

00:07:59While little more has come from the government here,

00:08:02Reuters has just released this aerial photo taken by the French satellite agency SPOT from 12 miles above the Earth.

00:08:10The crater is almost a mile and a half across.

00:08:15Denise, that's almost identical, I repeat, identical to the Wyoming impact site.

00:08:21What do you know about casualties?

00:08:23Well, Sandy, Tiansang is in a remote area of the Gobi Desert with no rail lines and few highways in or out.

00:08:29As a result, it may be days before the full damage from this third impact site can be assessed.

00:08:36We'll be back to you, Denise, as soon as there's more. I thank you.

00:08:39We switch now to the Johnson Space Center where Matt Jensen is standing by.

00:08:44Sandy, the NASA scientists who track these enormous asteroids sometimes refer to them as killer rocks.

00:08:50As such, one of the first questions we asked was how.

00:08:52How could an asteroid of this magnitude have come so close to Earth and not be detected till impact?

00:08:58In July, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck the planet Jupiter in a series of massive impacts equal in force to 2 million hydrogen bombs.

00:09:05These events were monitored worldwide through the enormous eye of the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting the Earth.

00:09:11Scientists had known for months that these events on Jupiter were about to take place.

00:09:14In fact, they were actually able to predict the precise moments of impact.

00:09:17Dr. Curt Loudon was one of the NASA scientists tracking Shoemaker-Levy.

00:09:22Well, what about it, Doctor? Why the surprise this time?

00:09:25Well, first off, there are at present some 2,500 near-Earth asteroids, magnitude one mile and above, that could intersect with the Earth.

00:09:32We've only identified about 10% of them, and those have all been on benign trajectories.

00:09:36Until tonight.

00:09:38Yes, well, you see, if an asteroid is coming directly towards the Earth, it's very difficult to see it until it's literally on top of us.

00:09:45Dr. Loudon, this is Sander Van Oaken, Washington.

00:09:47Do I understand you to say, the Earth is at risk for more of these asteroids?

00:09:52Well, not to sound alarmist, but if one of those rocks came down on a big city...

00:09:59Well...

00:10:01Well, what, Doctor?

00:10:04Let's just say it would make Hiroshima seem like a three-alarm fire.

00:10:08That was Dr. Curt Loudon at the Johnson Space Center.

00:10:11In a moment, we'll be joined by Dr. Carolyn Jaffe, Evening World News Science Editor.

00:10:17But first, some rather startling developments from correspondent Brie Walker.

00:10:21Sandy, we're told now that at least three men perished in the firestorm touched off by the impact from the meteorite.

00:10:28Believed to be sheep ranchers who were leasing grazing lands from the nearby Thunder Basin National grasslands.

00:10:35What you are seeing is live and unedited.

00:10:37It's hard to believe, but only I was camping in these hills.

00:10:42This was lush, green grazing land.

00:10:44Leased by the federal government.

00:10:47Now, it's all just ash and char.

00:10:51You can see the bodies of dead animals scattered everywhere.

00:10:55Brie, you should know your signal's breaking up.

00:10:58It's kind of devastation.

00:10:58Wait a minute, something moved.

00:10:59What?

00:11:00What?

00:11:01Where?

00:11:01Down there to the left.

00:11:02You see that thing by the fire?

00:11:03Let's get a closer look.

00:11:05Go in.

00:11:06Oh, oh, you brought...

00:11:07I see.

00:11:08God.

00:11:09It's moving.

00:11:10All I know is the helicopter is over Thunder Basin National grasslands.

00:11:17We have the picture.

00:11:20Come on, Billy.

00:11:20I have no idea how anyone could have survived this, but that is a human being.

00:11:31It appears to be a child.

00:11:34It's a child.

00:11:36We're moving in.

00:11:38What you're seeing, Brie Walker, her cameraman, Billy Dunn.

00:11:42Now you're not seeing it.

00:11:43I hope you will.

00:11:44They're moving in.

00:11:45There they are.

00:11:46That's Brie moving in on what appears to be a survivor.

00:11:51She's moving toward the...

00:11:53It's okay.

00:11:54She's moving toward the child.

00:11:56There she is.

00:11:56It's okay.

00:11:57Cameraman, William Dunn behind her.

00:11:59It is definitely a child.

00:12:02It's all right.

00:12:03Okay.

00:12:05It looks like it is a little girl.

00:12:07It is a little girl.

00:12:09Finish over.

00:12:13It's okay.

00:12:14It's okay.

00:12:14I cannot tell you what she is saying.

00:12:22As you can see, she appears badly burned.

00:12:25How she survived, I will never know.

00:12:28What?

00:12:29What is she doing?

00:12:32I can't...

00:12:34I can't...

00:12:35I can't...

00:12:37I can't...

00:12:39I can't...

00:12:40I can't...

00:12:41I can't...

00:12:42I can't...

00:12:43Apparently, we've lost our signal.

00:12:48That's just extraordinary to think that anyone could have survived so close to that fire zone.

00:12:54It appears the child was trying to say something.

00:12:57Something incomprehensible.

00:12:59She obviously was in shock.

00:13:01We'll try to get back with Correspondent Walker to learn more about that little girl's condition.

00:13:06In the meantime, we'll give our affiliates a chance to break.

00:13:10This is Sander Van Oker in Washington.

00:13:30Here once again is Sander Van Oker.

00:13:32If you're just tuning in, all of us witnessed a remarkable rescue tonight.

00:13:38After three fragments from a giant asteroid fell to Earth causing untold damage worldwide,

00:13:43an evening world news crew was flying over one of the impact sites when they saw something moving.

00:13:50Correspondent Brie Walker and cameraman William Dunn found a survivor, a little girl.

00:13:55We still don't know who she is or what she was saying.

00:14:02At this moment, our helicopter is flying her to Mercy Medical Center in Casper, Wyoming,

00:14:09and we'll get word to you on her condition just as soon as we have it.

00:14:12Joining me now is our science editor, Dr. Carolyn Jaffe.

00:14:15Sandy, in the grip of a story like this, it's a reporter's job to hold back, remain dispassionate,

00:14:21and yet when you look in the eyes of that child, you can't help it be moved.

00:14:25I understand you prepared a report on just how powerful these meteors can be.

00:14:31That's right, Sandy.

00:14:32The philosopher George Santiano once said that he who forgets history is destined to repeat it.

00:14:38Well, the three asteroid fragments that rained down on the Earth tonight weren't the first,

00:14:42and most likely they won't be the last.

00:14:45The crater at Winslow, Arizona, more than half a mile across,

00:14:49an enormous hole caused by an iron asteroid just 60 meters wide that hit more than 50,000 years ago.

00:14:55In 1908, an object the same size exploded a few miles above the ground near Tunguska River in Siberia.

00:15:02The shockwave, with the force of 15 hydrogen bombs, incinerated millions of acres in an impact area

00:15:08that would have spread from Maine to the Carolinas if it had hit the Northeast.

00:15:12But both of these were just BB shots compared to the big one.

00:15:15Known now as the KT event, scientists now believe an object in the order of 7 to 10 kilometers wide

00:15:21impacted 65 million years ago along the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula.

00:15:25A month after impact, the debris from the giant crater covered the Earth in a dust-like cloud

00:15:30that blocked out virtually all sunlight.

00:15:32Billions of lifeforms were killed within weeks,

00:15:34and ultimately the dinosaurs that had ruled the world for 140 million years perished.

00:15:40And Sandy, if an asteroid even one-half that size were to hit the Earth today,

00:15:44the death rate could easily match that of the Black Plague,

00:15:47which wiped out half the population in Europe during the Middle Ages.

00:15:50Well, the question I've got to put to you is,

00:15:52how real is the threat to the Earth today?

00:15:55I'm afraid it's quite real.

00:15:56Two years ago, NASA scientists calculated that the odds of a person dying from a near-Earth asteroid

00:16:02were about 1 in 20,000, about the same as being killed in an airline crash.

00:16:07And that's what they assumed?

00:16:08Until tonight.

00:16:10You see, the danger is increasing.

00:16:12Why is that?

00:16:13Astronomers at NASA's JPL say there is a 20% likelihood

00:16:16that because of the meteor shower tonight,

00:16:19we can expect more of these Earth-bound asteroids.

00:16:21Forgive me, I apologize, but they're ready now for that report from NASA.

00:16:27And we go to the Johnson Space Center,

00:16:29where correspondent Matthew Jensen is standing by.

00:16:32Matt.

00:16:32Sandy, the men and women who track these giant near-Earth objects

00:16:35have been working nonstop to analyze the data

00:16:37ever since the first impact at 724 Central Time.

00:16:40We were inside the operations center,

00:16:42where we regularly follow the shuttle flights.

00:16:45Then, just moments ago,

00:16:46some data came in from NASA's big radio telescope at Goldstone in the Mojave Desert.

00:16:50And all reporters were asked to move behind this wall of glass.

00:16:54They say a statement is imminent, but right now, we're watching and waiting.

00:16:57We'll be back to you, Matt.

00:16:59But first, for an insight on what may be happening,

00:17:02we go to correspondent Warren Olney at Goldstone.

00:17:05Warren?

00:17:06Sandy, this enormous 70-meter steerable antenna

00:17:09is part of NASA's deep space network used to track spacecraft.

00:17:13When a comet or asteroid is identified by wide-field telescopes

00:17:16like the one at Mount Palomar,

00:17:18the data is fed here, and the space debris,

00:17:21as they call these killer rocks,

00:17:23is then tracked with precision.

00:17:25Now, the scientists who work here are normally rather cool, understated people.

00:17:29But about an hour ago,

00:17:31when the data on 6645 Venturi was fully analyzed,

00:17:35this marine helicopter made an unscheduled landing.

00:17:38A pair of MPs raced inside.

00:17:41They emerged minutes later with one of the scientists here,

00:17:43and they rushed him aboard the chopper.

00:17:46No word yet on the scientist's name or his position with NASA.

00:17:50Sources say he was flown to nearby Edwards Air Force Base

00:17:53for a trip by jet to the space center in Houston.

00:17:56Warren, what could have been so important

00:17:58that they couldn't have linked up with Houston by phone or a teleconference?

00:18:02Another good question with no answer from here, Sandy.

00:18:05One source says that the scientist's involvement may have something to do

00:18:08with the asteroid's trajectory both before and after it broke up.

00:18:13Thank you very much.

00:18:15We've just received an update from correspondent Denise Wong in Beijing.

00:18:20There are no known casualties near the third impact site designated Charlie.

00:18:25However, the impact is said to have damaged the Tingshin Hydroelectric Dam

00:18:2940 kilometers to the south.

00:18:31Power outages have been reported throughout most of Langshan province,

00:18:35and the Chinese government is requesting emergency generating equipment

00:18:39and Red Cross assistance for the estimated 7.5 million people

00:18:43now without electricity or running water.

00:18:46Doctor, we've just gotten word on the condition of that little girl

00:18:50found wandering near the Wyoming impact site.

00:18:53We go now to evening world news correspondent Bree Walker

00:18:56standing by at Mercy Medical Center in Casper.

00:18:59The little girl we found at the scene was badly burned.

00:19:02She's in intensive care now, being treated for exposure and second-degree burns.

00:19:06Doctors have sedated her, and they say she's resting comfortably.

00:19:10Meanwhile, the Macomba County Sheriff's Department

00:19:11has set up a special hotline to try to find out who the little girl is.

00:19:15If you can help, here's the number.

00:19:171-800-555-4818.

00:19:22Bree Walker, Evening World News, Casper, Wyoming.

00:19:25There's more now on the fate of another victim,

00:19:28French skier Jean-Paul Chouinard.

00:19:30After combing the area near the second asteroid impact site,

00:19:35French rescue workers came upon Jean-Paul Chouinard,

00:19:38huddled in a snow cave near the base of Mount Vien-Maine.

00:19:42We'll have an update soon from correspondent Paul Whitaker in southern France.

00:19:46Sandy, in this era of home video where people seem to shoot everything,

00:19:50I guess this was inevitable.

00:19:51We've just received tape from KWBF, our affiliate in Newcastle, Wyoming,

00:19:57some 80 miles from the impact site.

00:20:00It purports to show asteroid fragment alpha streaking across the sky as it roars towards Thunder Basin.

00:20:07I'm told it was shot by Chris O'Neill, the father of three from Newcastle.

00:20:11The voice you're hearing is Mr. O'Neill's.

00:20:13Come on out, I'm freezing.

00:20:15Oh, Tyler, you look great, pretty scary.

00:20:17Joshua?

00:20:18Gosh, that's an ugly math, buddy.

00:20:19Ashley, you look great.

00:20:20Come on, doesn't she look...

00:20:21Tell Daddy what you're going to say when you're going to freak to a house.

00:20:24Trick or treat.

00:20:26That's great.

00:20:27What is that?

00:20:29Get the kids in the house.

00:20:30The tape was analyzed by the FAA, and apparently that was the alpha fragment from 6645 Venturi.

00:20:40We're going to watch it once more as it comes into the camera's lens.

00:20:44Get the kids in the house.

00:20:49Sandy, we're happy to report that no one was hurt,

00:20:51and the children went on to trick or treat with one incredible story to tell.

00:20:55Well, thank goodness for that.

00:20:56There's new information on that scientist rushed to Houston to confer with NASA officials.

00:21:02He is Dr. Avram Mandel, an astrophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.

00:21:08Sandy, sources say Dr. Mandel visits the space center here in Houston at least once a month,

00:21:13but this is far from a routine trip.

00:21:15In fact, we've just learned that he's flown here not on a conventional carrier,

00:21:19but in the jump seat of an Air Force F-16.

00:21:21With a maximum airspeed of more than 1,400 miles an hour,

00:21:24the flight time from Edwards to Houston should put Dr. Mandel on the ground some 22 minutes from now.

00:21:30Sandy, correspondent Robert Marino has just flown in from Denver,

00:21:33and he is at the edge of impact site alpha.

00:21:36Apparently, the police there have just changed the ground rules.

00:21:39Robert?

00:21:41All of the news crews here have been asked to pull back from the immediate edge of the crater.

00:21:45The official reason is safety.

00:21:46State police saying that there have been aftershocks as a result of the impact.

00:21:50But none of the press on the ground here has felt anything.

00:21:53And there's been stepped-up activity at the crater by NASA scientists.

00:21:56We shot this video only moments ago.

00:21:59Sandy, as you can see, dozens of investigators from NASA and the Pentagon have been flown into the site,

00:22:05which is now beginning to resemble a small air base.

00:22:08You can see a chopper below landing, carrying additional troops armed with assault weapons.

00:22:13Why the government would need firepower like that at the site of a meteor impact is anybody's guess.

00:22:19We're told among the personnel being moved to the site is a team of mapmakers from the U.S. Geological Survey.

00:22:25In addition, the FAA has now established a no-fly zone immediately over the crater.

00:22:31They've made it quite clear that anyone violating this restriction would be fired upon.

00:22:35So these are the last pictures you're likely to see for a while.

00:22:39Sandy, at impact site...

00:22:40We're going to have to cut away.

00:22:42A statement is imminent from the press room at the Johnson Space Center.

00:22:45We go now to correspondent Matt Jensen.

00:22:48After a virtual blackout since the first impact, Dale Powell, NASA's director of community relations, is about to speak.

00:22:56Mr. Powell, can you tell us...

00:22:58I have a short statement.

00:23:00There will be no questions at this time.

00:23:03Let me just say from the outset that what we're about to show you is based on findings that are preliminary at best.

00:23:09We didn't get that.

00:23:10The findings are not, I repeat, not definitive.

00:23:17Data just analyzed by the Space Center's computer suggests that the asteroid 6645 Venturi was approaching the Earth on a precise trajectory for impact at 90 degrees north latitude when it broke up over the polar ice cap.

00:23:32The three debris segments that split apart landed at the following impact points.

00:23:37It's zero degrees longitude near Lorde, France.

00:23:42The other two sites were at 105 degrees west in Wyoming and the same longitude east in Mongolia here and here.

00:23:51All three sites were located at 45 degrees north latitude.

00:23:57So that is all we have at this point.

00:24:00Dale, wait a minute.

00:24:02You're saying they broke up over the North Pole and came down in a perfect pattern?

00:24:06That is correct.

00:24:07What does that mean?

00:24:08We've made no conclusions at this point.

00:24:11Well, what are the chances that a random asteroid would hit and break up and fall with such precision?

00:24:15No comment.

00:24:16Dale, excuse me.

00:24:17What about the fact that Dr. Avram Mandel is being flown here on an Air Force fighter jet?

00:24:21What about it?

00:24:22Well, you couldn't have gotten him down here any faster if you'd shot him from a cannon.

00:24:25So, what's your point?

00:24:28Well, according to his bio, he is a founding member of SETI.

00:24:31Does that mean extraterrestrials were involved?

00:24:33Like I said at the beginning, there are no questions.

00:24:36Come on, Dale.

00:24:36Well, no.

00:24:38Come on.

00:24:40There you have it, Sandy.

00:24:44Back during the Watergate, they would have called that a non-denial denial.

00:24:48This isn't like NASA.

00:24:49Ever since the Challenger disaster, they've been one of the most open agencies in the government.

00:24:54That's right, Sandy.

00:24:55But as soon as I mentioned SETI, Powell shut right down.

00:24:58SETI was originally a NASA program.

00:25:00Yes, but just last year, their funding was cut.

00:25:03Most of the scientists here are members of SETI.

00:25:05And as you know, Sandy, SETI is an acronym.

00:25:08It stands for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.

00:25:11These are scientists who are dedicated to the belief that there is life on other planets.

00:25:17Our continuing coverage, asteroid, fire from the sky, will resume after this.

00:25:25Evening World News continues its coverage with Dr. Carolyn Jaffe and Sander Van Oker.

00:25:40For those of you just joining us, we're tracking the story of a large near-Earth asteroid that broke up over in the North Pole tonight

00:25:48and collided with the Earth at three sites in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

00:25:52We'll have more on the damage in a moment.

00:25:55But first, news on two of the survivors.

00:25:57Correspondent Paul Whitaker begins with this live report from Lourdes in southern France.

00:26:04Sandy, rescuers are bringing skier Jean-Paul Chouinard down from the mountain

00:26:08where he's been stranded since the asteroid hit earlier this evening.

00:26:11We've been getting reports that his condition is critical.

00:26:14He's semi-comatose and suffering from frostbite and third-degree burns.

00:26:19Getting him down off this mountain has been an incredible task, as you can well imagine,

00:26:23and his wife Sylvia is clearly relieved that he's been found alive.

00:26:27She's going to accompany him to the burn center in Nice.

00:26:30We're going to follow this story, and we'll get back to you as soon as we know more.

00:26:33This is Paul Whitaker, Evening World News, reporting from Lourdes.

00:26:37We switch now to Mercy Medical Center in Casper, Wyoming,

00:26:40where correspondent Bree Walker is standing by.

00:26:44Bree?

00:26:45Sandy, a woman called here to the hotline just moments ago

00:26:48and said the little girl is her daughter.

00:26:50The sheriff gave few other details,

00:26:52but did issue a statement confirming the identity of the little girl

00:26:54as 8-year-old Kimberly Hastings of Corrales, New Mexico.

00:26:59Apparently she had been missing since last Friday.

00:27:01No one knows yet how she got this far north.

00:27:04Corrales is almost 400 miles from where the asteroid hit.

00:27:08Doctors say she is still in critical condition tonight.

00:27:10Yet she is one lucky little girl.

00:27:12With the mystery over little Kimberly's identity cleared up,

00:27:16we shift now to a larger question.

00:27:18How is it that an asteroid could break up and fall to Earth

00:27:21with an almost geometric precision?

00:27:24My colleague, science editor Dr. Carolyn Jaffe,

00:27:27has found one astronomer who believes he has the answer.

00:27:30You are looking at the Sea of Tranquility,

00:27:33a vast stretch of craters created over the centuries

00:27:36when asteroids pockmarked the lunar surface.

00:27:39This shot of the moon was taken through

00:27:41a 158-inch Casagrain reflector telescope.

00:27:44The man operating it is Dr. Robert Perlman,

00:27:47a Caltech Ph.D. and astronomer

00:27:49who has personally identified a half-dozen major comets.

00:27:52Dr. Perlman, what's the significance of tonight's event?

00:27:58Well, you see, in astronomical terms,

00:28:01tonight's event coming so close to Shoemaker-Levy 9

00:28:04is really unique in recorded history.

00:28:06We understand that you actually have a photograph

00:28:08of 6645 Venturi taken just before it broke up.

00:28:12Um, this was taken at an elevation of 12,500 miles above the pole.

00:28:18Now, four minutes later, when we attempted to take another plate,

00:28:23the asteroid exploded.

00:28:25Dr. Perlman, Sander Van Ocher.

00:28:27Ah, Mr. Van Ocher.

00:28:28I understand you're the co-chair with Dr. Avran Mandel of SETI,

00:28:32the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

00:28:35I am.

00:28:36Well, doctor, what do you make of the announcement by NASA

00:28:38that the asteroid fragments struck in precise order?

00:28:41Well, it just confirms what we've been saying for years.

00:28:44I mean, with 200 billion stellar systems

00:28:48in the Milky Way galaxy alone,

00:28:51the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth is, uh, undeniable.

00:28:55Perhaps, but why jump to that conclusion in this case

00:28:57just because the asteroid fragments hit at the same latitude?

00:29:00Ah, well, that's a very, very good question.

00:29:03Let me see if this, uh...

00:29:05Yes, yes.

00:29:07Uh, can you see this?

00:29:08Yes, we can.

00:29:09All right, um, 6645 Venturi.

00:29:13We approach the Earth on a dead-centered trajectory

00:29:16for the North Pole.

00:29:18The angles of the three impact sites, A, B, and C,

00:29:20are exactly 45 degrees.

00:29:24Huh.

00:29:24The odds against that happening in nature

00:29:26are something like, oh, uh, 10 to the 58th power.

00:29:30So, what are you saying?

00:29:32I'm saying that what we've seen tonight is unnatural.

00:29:36Could it happen at random?

00:29:38Not a chance.

00:29:40Oh, thank you, doctor.

00:29:41That was astronomer Robert Perlman,

00:29:44executive director of the American Observatory

00:29:46in Kitt Peak, Arizona.

00:29:48We need to point out for our viewers

00:29:50the danger of speculation at this point.

00:29:53Because of the breaking events tonight,

00:29:55we're bringing you information

00:29:56that's live and unedited.

00:29:59That's right, Sandy.

00:30:00And viewers should keep that in mind

00:30:02as they watch this next report

00:30:03from Barry Steinbrenner of affiliate KTML

00:30:06in Casper, Wyoming.

00:30:07A 39-year-old crop duster pilot

00:30:10identified as Dwayne Thomas Haskell

00:30:12was questioned by local law enforcement

00:30:14and Air Force officials tonight

00:30:15and later released after reporting a UFO.

00:30:18The alleged incident occurred

00:30:20as he was landing his plane

00:30:21some 40 miles west of Crash Site Alpha

00:30:24near Benson, Wyoming.

00:30:25They asked you about the UFO, Mr. Haskell.

00:30:31I've already said all I'm going to say.

00:30:34I've already said it.

00:30:35Why were you in there?

00:30:36I told the Air Force people all I know.

00:30:38But why were you in there so long?

00:30:40I wanted to say something.

00:30:41Get away from my truck!

00:30:43Since Haskell refuses to talk,

00:30:44we taped this interview

00:30:46with Sheriff's Deputy Anson Peters,

00:30:48the first official to speak with Haskell.

00:30:50He told me that he was just coming down

00:30:53at around 6.45 after dusting all day.

00:30:56Anyway, Haskell was shaking.

00:30:58I mean, the man was terrified.

00:31:00He said he was just coming in

00:31:01when this thing appeared on his right-hand side.

00:31:05And they followed him a few hundred feet as he landed.

00:31:08And then it streaked across his windshield

00:31:09and then the thing took off straight up like a shot.

00:31:12At this point, the pilot Haskell is in seclusion.

00:31:15We checked with the FAA

00:31:16to see if there was anything unusual on radar.

00:31:19And they had no comment.

00:31:21This is Barry Steinbrenner,

00:31:22KTML Action News, Wyoming.

00:31:26Well, we've just learned that Mr. Haskell

00:31:28has sold his story to the National Enquirer.

00:31:30Though he denies it,

00:31:32the full purchase price is believed

00:31:33to be upwards of $100,000.

00:31:37Well, was there really something up there tonight?

00:31:40We took our cameras outside just moments ago

00:31:42to get reactions.

00:31:43Do I believe in UFOs?

00:31:47I don't know.

00:31:49I like the aliens.

00:31:51I like that theory.

00:31:52I have no doubt there's a UFO.

00:31:55Um, I definitely, definitely don't think it's UFOs.

00:31:59Well, see, that to me is just humans' arrogancy

00:32:03to think that everything can be explained

00:32:05with scientific data and information.

00:32:08I mean, for years we've always assumed

00:32:11that there's no life on other planets.

00:32:13Well, why would they be there?

00:32:15I'm not surprised.

00:32:16I don't know.

00:32:17I don't think so.

00:32:20I, I really don't.

00:32:22I don't believe in aliens and stuff like that.

00:32:25No.

00:32:26All right.

00:32:28Did you know, the White House

00:32:29has been noticeably silent in all this.

00:32:32The president's out of the country

00:32:33at the G7 Economic Summit,

00:32:35and for him that may be a blessing.

00:32:37But there's at least one segment

00:32:39of the administration willing to comment

00:32:40on the alleged UFO incident.

00:32:42We go now to National Security Correspondent

00:32:45Mark Minetti at the Pentagon.

00:32:48Here with me tonight is

00:32:49the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense

00:32:50for Advanced Technologies,

00:32:52Dr. Norbert Hazleton.

00:32:57Now, Doctor, with NASA's announcement

00:32:59of how the asteroid fragments came in,

00:33:01I suppose that talk of UFOs was inevitable.

00:33:04Absolutely.

00:33:05They all come out of the woodwork

00:33:06at times like this.

00:33:08All right.

00:33:08Granted, the, the crop duster report

00:33:10has yet to be confirmed,

00:33:11but what about the findings

00:33:12of, uh, Dr. Robert Perlman?

00:33:14He's a respected scientist.

00:33:16Look.

00:33:19There's an irresponsible segment

00:33:20of the scientific community

00:33:21that seems bent

00:33:22on proving the existence

00:33:24of little green men,

00:33:25and that's fine.

00:33:27The problem is,

00:33:28is that the U.S. has been trying

00:33:29to establish contact

00:33:30for decades to no avail.

00:33:33Seven separate unmanned probes

00:33:34have been launched

00:33:35toward the edge of the galaxy,

00:33:37beaming messages from Earth.

00:33:38There have been more than

00:33:39a thousand U.S. space shots alone

00:33:42since the 1950s.

00:33:43Another, uh, 2,400 by the Russians.

00:33:46Twelve men landed on the moon

00:33:48and returned without sightings.

00:33:51We wanted to find them.

00:33:52There was nothing.

00:33:54What about the geometric pattern

00:33:56of the crashes?

00:33:57I mean, how could something

00:33:58so precise simply be attributed

00:34:00as a natural phenomenon?

00:34:02Well, I've got just one answer

00:34:03for you.

00:34:04Snowflakes.

00:34:06Hundreds of trillions of them

00:34:07fall to Earth every year,

00:34:09each with an intricate

00:34:10geometric pattern

00:34:11and no two alike.

00:34:13Nature is precise

00:34:14in its randomness,

00:34:15and that is the fascination of it.

00:34:17Thank you, Doctor.

00:34:19Back to you.

00:34:21Sandy, with these allegations

00:34:22of UFO involvement,

00:34:23we shouldn't forget

00:34:24the real story here.

00:34:25That the more than 2,000

00:34:27near-Earth asteroids

00:34:28still uncharted by NASA

00:34:30represent a significant threat

00:34:32to the Earth.

00:34:33Two years ago,

00:34:34during a football game

00:34:35in Peekskill, New York,

00:34:36fans observed this meteorite

00:34:38streak through the sky

00:34:39where it almost destroyed

00:34:40a residential neighborhood.

00:34:42In 1972,

00:34:44an alert photographer

00:34:45in the Grand Teton National Park

00:34:46caught this object

00:34:48as it streaked across the sky

00:34:49at 33,000 miles an hour.

00:34:52With an estimated weight

00:34:53of 1 million pounds,

00:34:55it narrowly missed a campground

00:34:56with thousands of people.

00:34:58And in 1989,

00:34:59an asteroid half a mile wide

00:35:01narrowly missed the planet.

00:35:03The Earth had been

00:35:04directly in line

00:35:05with that giant rock

00:35:06only six hours earlier.

00:35:08You're saying that we were

00:35:09only six hours away

00:35:10from catastrophe?

00:35:12That's right.

00:35:13In fact,

00:35:14after that near miss,

00:35:15a congressional report

00:35:16concluded,

00:35:17quote,

00:35:17had the asteroid struck

00:35:19the Earth,

00:35:20it would have caused

00:35:21a disaster unprecedented

00:35:22in human history.

00:35:23Doctors, you know,

00:35:24while government officials

00:35:25continue to insist

00:35:26that tonight's asteroid hits

00:35:28were of natural origin,

00:35:29there's a growing segment

00:35:30of the population

00:35:31who sense something more.

00:35:34And joining us now

00:35:35is Terence Freeman,

00:35:36author of the recent bestseller,

00:35:38Messengers from Beyond.

00:35:40Mr. Freeman, welcome.

00:35:41Glad to be here, Sandy.

00:35:42Mr. Freeman,

00:35:43you've long been

00:35:44a proponent of the theory

00:35:45that intelligent life

00:35:46has visited Earth before,

00:35:48correct?

00:35:49Oh, there's no question.

00:35:50There are ancient cave drawings

00:35:52showing figures

00:35:52in space helmets,

00:35:54the pyramids,

00:35:55the enormous figures

00:35:55on Easter Island.

00:35:57Even the circle

00:35:57at Stonehenge

00:35:58were all built at a time

00:36:00before we had

00:36:01the technical skills

00:36:02to create them.

00:36:03I'm sorry, Mr. Freeman,

00:36:04but you seem to be denying

00:36:06all human achievement.

00:36:07Oh, on the contrary.

00:36:08Men and women

00:36:09accomplished these things,

00:36:11but they were guided

00:36:11by forces on high.

00:36:13It's axiomatic.

00:36:14You can trace the benchmarks

00:36:16throughout history.

00:36:17They come every few hundred years,

00:36:19and we are long overdue.

00:36:20Well, there are plenty

00:36:21of responsible scientists

00:36:22who would argue

00:36:23that these asteroids

00:36:24are long overdue.

00:36:26You know, there's a dictum

00:36:27that scientists

00:36:27are taught to follow.

00:36:29It says that when you are

00:36:30faced with an enigma,

00:36:31the best explanation

00:36:33is usually the simplest

00:36:34and most logical one.

00:36:36In this case, asteroids,

00:36:37not aliens.

00:36:38Forgive me.

00:36:38I've got to interrupt you both.

00:36:40We've just received

00:36:41a disturbing report

00:36:42from correspondent

00:36:43Robert Marino.

00:36:44He's now on the ground

00:36:45near impact site Alpha

00:36:47in Wyoming.

00:36:48Robert?

00:36:49Sandy, two events

00:36:51in the last ten minutes

00:36:52have put this asteroid impact

00:36:53in a chilling new light.

00:36:55First, our news chopper

00:36:56and about a half a dozen

00:36:57other aircraft

00:36:57were forced to land

00:36:58when an intense radio signal

00:37:00began jamming

00:37:01our navigational system.

00:37:02Then, after we hit the ground,

00:37:04we began to hear

00:37:05that noise in the background.

00:37:06A loud, pulsating hum

00:37:08coming from the direction

00:37:09of the meteor crater.

00:37:11The decibel has increased

00:37:12minute by minute

00:37:13to the point where

00:37:14you almost have to scream

00:37:15to be heard.

00:37:16Bob, can you get any closer

00:37:17to the rim of the crater?

00:37:18I'm sorry.

00:37:19Can you get any closer

00:37:20to the rim of the crater?

00:37:21Right.

00:37:21I'll try.

00:37:23Uh...

00:37:23You hear the sound

00:37:29as we move

00:37:30towards the crater?

00:37:31It's, it's eerie.

00:37:35It's a sound

00:37:36unlike anything

00:37:37I've ever heard before.

00:37:39And it, it's loud.

00:37:43It's, uh,

00:37:44it's just so painful.

00:37:46In fact,

00:37:47it's, it's absolutely

00:37:49happening.

00:37:49It's, it's,

00:37:50you can hear me for this,

00:37:52but it's terrible.

00:37:54I can't take it anymore.

00:37:55We're going to

00:37:55reduce the market.

00:37:56The AP is reporting

00:38:00that state police units

00:38:02as far away

00:38:02as Casper, Wyoming

00:38:03have been picking up

00:38:05that same loud hum

00:38:06on their radios.

00:38:08And there's this statement

00:38:09just in from NASA's

00:38:10Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

00:38:12Quote,

00:38:13a persistent audio signal

00:38:14of unknown origin

00:38:16on the edge

00:38:17of the FM band

00:38:18is being emitted

00:38:19from the vortex

00:38:19of the crater.

00:38:20Unquote.

00:38:21In other words,

00:38:22that apparently benign

00:38:24piece of space rock

00:38:25is charged electronically

00:38:26and sending out

00:38:28some sort of signal.

00:38:29Matt Jensen

00:38:30has more from Houston.

00:38:31Officials here

00:38:32at the Johnson Space Center

00:38:33have confirmed

00:38:34that similar radio signals

00:38:35have now been detected

00:38:36emanating from the Bravo

00:38:38and Charlie impact sites

00:38:40in southern France

00:38:41and in the Gobi Desert

00:38:42of Mongolia.

00:38:43There's no official word

00:38:45from NASA,

00:38:45but sources here say

00:38:46that the signals

00:38:47could be natural in origin.

00:38:49The result of

00:38:50what is being described

00:38:51as, quote,

00:38:52a pulsating charged ion field,

00:38:54which developed

00:38:55during the parent asteroid's

00:38:56flight through the atmosphere.

00:38:58We repeat,

00:38:59at this juncture,

00:39:00the word is

00:39:00that the signals

00:39:01are of natural origin.

00:39:04Back to you.

00:39:05There's some activity

00:39:07at the FAA's

00:39:08Air Traffic System Command

00:39:09in Washington, D.C.

00:39:10We go there now

00:39:11with correspondent

00:39:12Mike Curtis.

00:39:13Caroline,

00:39:14I'm standing

00:39:14in the Aviation Command Center

00:39:16where authorities

00:39:16have now confirmed

00:39:17that signals emanating

00:39:19from the asteroid sites

00:39:20have begun

00:39:21to disrupt

00:39:21commercial air traffic.

00:39:23With me now

00:39:24is Facility Manager

00:39:25David Case.

00:39:25David,

00:39:26are you able

00:39:26to shed any light

00:39:27on this situation

00:39:28for us?

00:39:28Well,

00:39:29traffic has been disrupted

00:39:30across the country,

00:39:31but as you can see

00:39:32on the screen behind me,

00:39:33the problem is most acute

00:39:35at O'Hare in Chicago,

00:39:36Wayne County Airport

00:39:37in Detroit,

00:39:38and the three

00:39:39New York City hubs,

00:39:40Newark, JFK,

00:39:40and LaGuardia.

00:39:41Mr. Case,

00:39:42this is Carolyn Jaffe.

00:39:4345 degrees north

00:39:44is the very same parallel

00:39:45where the asteroid

00:39:46fragments struck.

00:39:50Yes, ma'am?

00:39:50You have any comment

00:39:51on that?

00:39:52No, I'm afraid

00:39:53I have nothing to say

00:39:54about that at this time.

00:39:55If you'll excuse me,

00:39:56I have to get back to work.

00:39:59This is Mike Curtis

00:40:00reporting live.

00:40:01Back to you, Caroline.

00:40:02Thanks, Mike.

00:40:03In a moment,

00:40:04we hope to have more

00:40:05on those mysterious

00:40:06radio signals.

00:40:07We stress again,

00:40:08we don't yet know

00:40:09the full significance

00:40:10of all this,

00:40:11but one thing is clear.

00:40:13An event that began

00:40:14some 95 minutes ago

00:40:16with few human casualties

00:40:18has now grown into

00:40:20an international air crisis

00:40:21affecting thousands.

00:40:24Our continuing coverage,

00:40:26Asteroid Fire from the Sky,

00:40:28will return in a moment.

00:40:36Here once again

00:40:37are Dr. Carolyn Jaffe

00:40:38and Sander Van Oker.

00:40:40For those of you

00:40:41just joining us now,

00:40:42we are following

00:40:43an ever-widening crisis

00:40:44touched off by

00:40:45the impact tonight

00:40:46of a massive meteor

00:40:48that broke up

00:40:49and fell to Earth.

00:40:50Radio signals

00:40:51from the three impact sites

00:40:53are affecting air traffic

00:40:55worldwide,

00:40:55and FAA officials

00:40:57are recommending

00:40:58that people fly tonight

00:40:59only if it's

00:41:00absolutely necessary.

00:41:02We go now

00:41:03to one of the city's

00:41:04hardest hit.

00:41:05Correspondent

00:41:06Ernie Anastas

00:41:07is in New York.

00:41:09They come here

00:41:10to Times Square

00:41:11as they always do

00:41:12when the world

00:41:13is in trouble.

00:41:14The Cuban Missile Crisis,

00:41:15the Kennedy assassination,

00:41:17the war in the Gulf,

00:41:18all recorded up

00:41:19on that sign.

00:41:20When you want to take

00:41:21the pulse beat

00:41:21of the planet,

00:41:22few places can give you

00:41:23a reading like New York.

00:41:25Ever since the meteor shower

00:41:27started several hours ago,

00:41:28things we take for granted

00:41:30have been affected.

00:41:31Officials at Newark Airport

00:41:32are reporting delays

00:41:33of up to three hours.

00:41:35The situation is worse

00:41:36at LaGuardia,

00:41:37and the two runways

00:41:38at JFK

00:41:39have been completely shut down.

00:41:41All New York-bound air traffic

00:41:43was diverted

00:41:43to Boston and Hartford,

00:41:44as interference

00:41:45from the three impact sites

00:41:47continues to scramble radar.

00:41:49The only planes

00:41:50moving at LaGuardia

00:41:51were outgoing flights.

00:41:53The resulting gridlock

00:41:54at airports

00:41:54has produced

00:41:55massive traffic jams.

00:41:57This is the Holland Tunnel

00:41:58tonight,

00:41:58and as you can see,

00:41:59traffic backed up

00:42:00with thousands

00:42:01leaving the city by car.

00:42:03Others abandoned

00:42:03their vehicles

00:42:04and rushed into the tunnel

00:42:05trying to get out

00:42:06of the city on foot.

00:42:07New York City 911

00:42:08Emergency Center

00:42:09is overloaded now

00:42:11and running on

00:42:11backup generators

00:42:12at this hour.

00:42:13The police and fire departments

00:42:15have called in

00:42:15all off-duty personnel

00:42:16during the crisis.

00:42:18And finally,

00:42:19hundreds of people

00:42:20of all denominations

00:42:21jammed St. Patrick's Cathedral

00:42:23tonight

00:42:23for a prayer vigil

00:42:24conducted by

00:42:25Terrence Cardinal O'Connell.

00:42:26So, Sandy,

00:42:31here we are

00:42:32at the foot of the tower

00:42:32where the ball drops

00:42:34every New Year's Eve.

00:42:35And if we had stood here

00:42:36last December 31st

00:42:38looking ahead to 1994,

00:42:39I assure you

00:42:41that no one

00:42:41would have predicted this.

00:42:43Ernie Anastis,

00:42:44Evening World News,

00:42:46New York.

00:42:47As money markets

00:42:48open now in Asia,

00:42:49there are reports

00:42:50that trading

00:42:50has been suspended

00:42:51on the Hong Kong

00:42:52and Tokyo markets.

00:42:54Scattered power outages

00:42:55have been reported

00:42:56throughout Europe and Asia.

00:42:58But for the most part,

00:42:59people are staying calm,

00:43:01just watching

00:43:01and waiting to see

00:43:02if the unthinkable

00:43:03is possible.

00:43:05Could intelligent life

00:43:06exist elsewhere

00:43:07outside our solar system?

00:43:10And if so,

00:43:11do they have the capability

00:43:12of visiting Earth?

00:43:14Doctor?

00:43:15Sandy,

00:43:15America is a country

00:43:17that thrives on conspiracy.

00:43:19The very word cover-up

00:43:20is part of our national lexicon.

00:43:21And for close to five decades now,

00:43:23tens of thousands of Americans

00:43:25have been convinced

00:43:26of two things,

00:43:27that there is something out there

00:43:29and the government

00:43:29doesn't want us to know.

00:43:32The UFO era began in 1947

00:43:34when a sheep rancher

00:43:35in Roswell, New Mexico,

00:43:37found fragments

00:43:38of what he said

00:43:38was a flying disc.

00:43:40Later,

00:43:41the Air Force

00:43:41called it a weather balloon,

00:43:43but a secret government report

00:43:44made public years later

00:43:46described the recovery

00:43:47of four tiny bodies

00:43:49from the Roswell crash site.

00:43:50And ever since then,

00:43:52there have been hundreds

00:43:53of reported sightings.

00:43:55However,

00:43:56the Air Force

00:43:56shut down Project Blue Book

00:43:58concluding,

00:43:59quote,

00:43:59no evidence has been found

00:44:01that any of the UFO reports

00:44:02reflect a threat

00:44:04to our national security.

00:44:05Well,

00:44:06there's science fact

00:44:07and there's science fiction.

00:44:09To help separate the two,

00:44:10we go now

00:44:11to a man

00:44:11who spent years

00:44:12studying the threat

00:44:13from these massive meteors.

00:44:15Arthur C. Clarke,

00:44:16the noted author of 2001

00:44:18and dozens of other books,

00:44:20was recently nominated

00:44:21for the Nobel Peace Prize.

00:44:23He joins us now live

00:44:25from his home

00:44:25in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

00:44:27Dr. Clarke,

00:44:28thanks for being with us.

00:44:29My pleasure.

00:44:30Dr. Clarke,

00:44:31as far back as 1973,

00:44:34in your book

00:44:34Rendezvous with Rama,

00:44:36you wrote about the threat

00:44:37from near-Earth asteroids.

00:44:39Isn't that right?

00:44:40That's correct.

00:44:41There are those

00:44:42who believe

00:44:42tonight's impacts

00:44:44may have some connection

00:44:45to extraterrestrials.

00:44:47What's your view?

00:44:47Well, I believe

00:44:48there's plenty

00:44:49of intelligent life

00:44:50out there in space,

00:44:51but actual visitors

00:44:52are very unlikely,

00:44:54despite the claims

00:44:55of the UFO enthusiasts.

00:44:57Why is that?

00:44:59Well, we've been

00:45:00sending out radio,

00:45:02radar,

00:45:02signals

00:45:03for 50 years.

00:45:05They now fill

00:45:05a volume of space

00:45:06100 light-years across,

00:45:08but we haven't

00:45:09had any reply.

00:45:10Well, UFO advocates

00:45:11would say

00:45:11that you have had replies,

00:45:12but that the government

00:45:13just isn't telling.

00:45:14Nonsense.

00:45:15I'd give any

00:45:16saucer gate

00:45:17about 24 hours

00:45:19to unravel.

00:45:20And apart from

00:45:21the broadcast transmissions,

00:45:23NASA has made

00:45:24attempts to send

00:45:25messages to any

00:45:26possible civilization

00:45:28in space

00:45:28using the

00:45:29Voyager space probes.

00:45:32I understand

00:45:32you have a copy

00:45:33there of the disk

00:45:34they sent out

00:45:35on Voyager 2.

00:45:36Yes, a record like this,

00:45:40carrying pictures

00:45:41and messages

00:45:42from the peoples

00:45:43of Earth

00:45:44and from the

00:45:44United Nations.

00:45:45Well, if they're

00:45:46out there

00:45:47and we sent them

00:45:47a beacon,

00:45:48so to speak,

00:45:49why wouldn't

00:45:49they answer?

00:45:51I'm afraid

00:45:52it's a function

00:45:52of time and space.

00:45:54The distance

00:45:55between advanced

00:45:55civilizations

00:45:56may be thousands

00:45:57of light-years,

00:45:58so even if they

00:46:00were traveling

00:46:00at the speed of light,

00:46:02it might take them

00:46:02several millennia

00:46:04to get here.

00:46:04But just for the sake

00:46:06of argument,

00:46:07say it was possible.

00:46:09All right,

00:46:09and the question is

00:46:10why bother to come here?

00:46:12For the Earth

00:46:12to be chosen,

00:46:13we must assume

00:46:13we're rather special.

00:46:15But looking at the

00:46:16primitive state

00:46:17of our civilization,

00:46:19I think that's

00:46:19very conceited.

00:46:20So what are you saying?

00:46:23Well, there's a much

00:46:24bigger issue at stake.

00:46:25The need to protect

00:46:26ourselves against

00:46:27rogue asteroids,

00:46:29which are very real

00:46:30and pose a much

00:46:31bigger threat to Earth.

00:46:33Thank you,

00:46:33Dr. Clark.

00:46:35That was scientist

00:46:36and author

00:46:37Arthur C. Clark

00:46:38speaking to us

00:46:39from Sri Lanka.

00:46:41We go to Lourdes,

00:46:41France,

00:46:42where correspondent

00:46:43Paul Whitaker

00:46:43has an update

00:46:44on the condition

00:46:45of Jean-Paul Jouinard,

00:46:47the French skier

00:46:48who survived

00:46:48the second impact.

00:46:50I'm here at Julian

00:46:50Airport near Lourdes,

00:46:51France,

00:46:52where just moments ago

00:46:52doctors airlifted

00:46:53Jean-Paul Jouinard

00:46:54to the Colembert

00:46:55Burns Center in Nice.

00:46:57We spoke to Jouinard's

00:46:58wife, Sylvie,

00:46:59just moments

00:46:59before they departed.

00:47:00No, come back, no.

00:47:02What is your husband's

00:47:03condition, please?

00:47:04He was trying to tell me.

00:47:09I don't know,

00:47:10maybe how he survived.

00:47:13I just don't know.

00:47:14But Jean-Paul is strong

00:47:16and he will not give up.

00:47:18C'est toujours mon aller.

00:47:21In the meantime,

00:47:22Air France has suspended

00:47:23all flights

00:47:24in and out of Rome

00:47:24where these bizarre

00:47:25radio signals

00:47:26threatened to paralyze

00:47:28one of Europe's

00:47:29busiest airports.

00:47:30This is Paul Whitaker,

00:47:32Evening World News,

00:47:33Julian Airport

00:47:34near Lourdes, France.

00:47:35Wyoming police have widened

00:47:37the area of evacuation

00:47:39to some 200 miles

00:47:40around impact site Alpha.

00:47:42We're about to go live

00:47:44to correspondent

00:47:45Robert Marino

00:47:45near...

00:47:46No, I'm sorry.

00:47:48We're not going there.

00:47:49We're not.

00:47:49We just received word

00:47:51of an unscheduled briefing

00:47:52at the White House.

00:47:54Correspondent Mike Curtis

00:47:55is standing by.

00:47:56Mike?

00:47:57Sandy,

00:47:58a formal briefing

00:47:59had been scheduled

00:48:00for 11 p.m. tonight

00:48:01to coincide

00:48:02with local news broadcasts.

00:48:03But moments ago,

00:48:04the White House press corps

00:48:05was summoned here

00:48:06for what's being described

00:48:07as a high-priority briefing.

00:48:09Press Secretary Barbara Schiller,

00:48:11that must be her now.

00:48:14Barbara?

00:48:15Barbara?

00:48:16Any questions, please?

00:48:22Earlier tonight,

00:48:23following the impact

00:48:24of three meteor fragments,

00:48:26President Clinton

00:48:27directed NASA

00:48:27to begin around-the-clock

00:48:28monitoring of all

00:48:30near-Earth asteroids

00:48:31with the potential

00:48:31of penetrating the atmosphere.

00:48:34At approximately 9.17 p.m.,

00:48:37the Air Force's

00:48:38geodes tracking stations

00:48:39at Saqqaro, New Mexico,

00:48:40Maui, Hawaii,

00:48:41and Diego Garcia

00:48:42in the Indian Ocean

00:48:43detected the presence

00:48:45of what appears to be

00:48:46a second asteroid.

00:48:48At 65 meters

00:48:50or 200 feet in length,

00:48:51it is on a trajectory

00:48:52almost identical

00:48:54to the path

00:48:54of 6645 Venturi.

00:48:56The radio telescope

00:48:58at Arecibo, Puerto Rico,

00:48:59locked on,

00:49:00and they confirm

00:49:01that the object

00:49:03is heading toward the Earth

00:49:05at an airspeed

00:49:05of 32,000 miles per hour.

00:49:08The expected impact

00:49:09in the area

00:49:10of the polar ice cap

00:49:11is some five minutes

00:49:12from now.

00:49:13At 9.52 p.m. Eastern time,

00:49:18the President

00:49:19and Joint Chiefs of Staff

00:49:20ordered units

00:49:21of the 388th Fighter Wing

00:49:24from Hill Air Force Base

00:49:27in Utah

00:49:28to a full alert.

00:49:29A pair of F-16 fighters

00:49:31from the 18th Space

00:49:32Surveillance Squadron

00:49:33were ordered into the air

00:49:34on a Defense Condition 2 status.

00:49:36The planes are armed

00:49:38with Hawk-optically guided missiles

00:49:40capable of destroying

00:49:41the asteroid

00:49:42before impact.

00:49:43These missiles

00:49:44are tipped

00:49:45with two kiloton

00:49:47low-yield

00:49:47nuclear warheads.

00:49:49The F-16s

00:49:51are expected

00:49:52to be in target range

00:49:53at approximately

00:49:5410.16.

00:49:56That's four minutes

00:49:56from now.

00:49:57Barbara, Barbara,

00:49:58Barbara, Barbara.

00:50:00Mario, yes.

00:50:01Barbara,

00:50:02how can the President

00:50:03possibly justify

00:50:04the use of nuclear weapons?

00:50:06Well, a panel

00:50:07from the National Academy

00:50:09of Sciences

00:50:09met tonight

00:50:10and their conclusion

00:50:11was that

00:50:12if the asteroid

00:50:13penetrated the ice cap,

00:50:15then the consequences

00:50:16to the Earth's

00:50:17ecological balance

00:50:18could be absolutely

00:50:19catastrophic.

00:50:20What about the radio signals

00:50:24jamming air traffic?

00:50:25How will that affect

00:50:25the F-16's launch?

00:50:27It is our understanding

00:50:29that the traffic

00:50:30is affected only along

00:50:31the 45th parallel.

00:50:32Yes.

00:50:32Did the President

00:50:37consult Congress?

00:50:38The President

00:50:39did speak with leaders

00:50:41of both houses

00:50:41earlier this evening.

00:50:42And what about

00:50:43other world leaders?

00:50:44Russian President

00:50:45Boris Yeltsin

00:50:46and Chinese Premier

00:50:48Deng Xiaoping

00:50:48have been informed.

00:50:50Both leaders

00:50:50have expressed

00:50:51their consent,

00:50:52as has the Chairman

00:50:53of the U.N. Security Council.

00:50:54Let me just wait.

00:50:55Let me just tell you

00:50:56one other thing,

00:50:56and that is that

00:50:57the missile hardware

00:50:58that is to be used

00:51:00is identical to that

00:51:01which was deployed

00:51:01so successfully

00:51:02in the Gulf War.

00:51:03That's all that we have

00:51:04to do.

00:51:08There's word just in

00:51:09that the event

00:51:09will be monitored live

00:51:11at the Johnson Space Center.

00:51:13They're deciding

00:51:13whether or not

00:51:14to give the media

00:51:15access to the feed,

00:51:16but NASA,

00:51:17which has been quite quiet

00:51:18throughout much

00:51:18of this crisis,

00:51:19now seems to be opening up.

00:51:22Matt Jensen's live

00:51:23in Houston.

00:51:23Why the sudden turnaround?

00:51:26Sandy,

00:51:27no one here wants

00:51:28to openly break ranks

00:51:29with the White House

00:51:30or the Pentagon,

00:51:31but there are a number

00:51:31of scientists

00:51:32who are unsure

00:51:33about the use

00:51:33of nuclear weapons,

00:51:35among them Dr. Kurt Loudon,

00:51:36who we spoke with earlier.

00:51:38Doctor, what is your concern?

00:51:40Simply this.

00:51:41With an incoming projectile

00:51:42moving at 50 times

00:51:43the speed of sound,

00:51:45a close-quarters air engagement

00:51:46may be quite ineffective.

00:51:48Also, the prospect

00:51:49of a nuclear burst

00:51:50over the ice cap

00:51:51may produce consequences

00:51:53even more dire

00:51:54for the Earth's ecology.

00:51:56Ladies and gentlemen,

00:51:57the point being,

00:51:57NASA will be monitoring

00:52:00U.S. Strategic Command

00:52:01off at Air Force Base,

00:52:03Omaha, Nebraska.

00:52:04We will be listening

00:52:05to the voice

00:52:05of Air Force Launch Control Officer

00:52:07Major Scotty Powers.

00:52:08You will be allowed to stay.

00:52:12That was Dale Powell,

00:52:14the Director of Community Relations

00:52:16here for NASA.

00:52:17He has just told the press

00:52:18that we will be allowed

00:52:19to stay here

00:52:19in the operations center

00:52:21where they will be

00:52:22monitoring the F-16s.

00:52:23So we'll be back

00:52:24when the missiles

00:52:25are ready to be launched.

00:52:26Doctor, there's late word

00:52:28from New York

00:52:29where the United Nations

00:52:30Security Council

00:52:31has gone into special session.

00:52:33Correspondent Ernie Anastas

00:52:34is outside UN headquarters.

00:52:37Excuse me.

00:52:38Could you tell me

00:52:38why you're here tonight?

00:52:40To let the world leaders

00:52:41know that if we are

00:52:42being visited,

00:52:44the asteroids represent

00:52:44some kind of contact

00:52:46and the world

00:52:46should respond in peace.

00:52:48Ambassador,

00:52:48what action

00:52:49will the Council take?

00:52:50In the event

00:52:51of the unthinkable,

00:52:52and these are indeed

00:52:53extraterrestrials,

00:52:54we'll try and formulate

00:52:55an agenda

00:52:56for receiving them.

00:52:57Personally,

00:52:59I don't care

00:52:59if it's asteroids

00:53:00or aliens.

00:53:01The most important thing

00:53:03is to keep our families safe,

00:53:04keep our homes safe.

00:53:06If they come to Brooklyn,

00:53:07we'll know what to do.

00:53:08And I come down here

00:53:09with my boys

00:53:09from SUNY College

00:53:11and figure maybe

00:53:11we could find us

00:53:12some enemies,

00:53:13smack some heads.

00:53:14Why so hostile?

00:53:16You kidding me?

00:53:16I got a brother

00:53:18flies for the airlines.

00:53:19Now,

00:53:19if these things

00:53:20are messing with air traffic,

00:53:21we got to stop them.

00:53:23The two fighters

00:53:24that took off

00:53:25from Hill Air Force Base

00:53:26in Utah

00:53:26will be designated

00:53:27Interceptor 1

00:53:28and Interceptor 2.

00:53:31We go back now

00:53:32to Mission Control

00:53:32at the Johnson Space Center.

00:53:35Sandy,

00:53:36we're at T-minus 52 seconds

00:53:38and counting here.

00:53:39You'll be seeing

00:53:40three pictures

00:53:40up on that

00:53:41active matrix display.

00:53:42On the furthest screen

00:53:43is a feed

00:53:44from the tracking station

00:53:45at Socorro,

00:53:46New Mexico.

00:53:47Showing the incoming asteroid.

00:53:49The middle screen

00:53:50will be a graphic

00:53:50showing the two F-16s

00:53:52and the asteroid

00:53:53in relation to the North Pole.

00:53:54And the image

00:53:55on the far left

00:53:56is from a camera

00:53:56mounted in the cockpit

00:53:58of Interceptor 1.

00:53:59T-minus 30 seconds.

00:54:03That's Major Scotty Powers,

00:54:04the Air Force

00:54:04Launch Control Officer.

00:54:05Enable warheads.

00:54:07Warhead enabled.

00:54:08Confirm.

00:54:09Locked on guidance.

00:54:10Roger.

00:54:10Radar locked.

00:54:11Two's locked.

00:54:11Prepare to fire,

00:54:12then egress left.

00:54:14Clear to fire

00:54:14in 3, 2, 1, engage.

00:54:20Come on home, boys.

00:54:21Ten seconds to contact.

00:54:23Eight, seven, six, five.

00:54:26We're losing video

00:54:27on India 1.

00:54:28India 2, do you copy?

00:54:30We have a copy.

00:54:30It seems like

00:54:31we've had a direct hit

00:54:33on the asteroid,

00:54:33but there's some concern here

00:54:35that we've lost

00:54:36the image of the cockpit.

00:54:37You copy.

00:54:38Say again.

00:54:39Okay, now we've walked

00:54:39through both India 1

00:54:40and India 2.

00:54:41Dale.

00:54:41India 1 and India 2.

00:54:42Dale, what happened

00:54:43to the image here

00:54:43on the cockpit?

00:54:45I have no comment.

00:54:46I don't know.

00:54:46We saw it.

00:54:46I saw it.

00:54:47I have no comment.

00:54:51What happened to the pilots?

00:54:52People are watching here.

00:54:54John.

00:54:54Now, come in.

00:54:55India 1, India 2.

00:54:57Dale, you have to let us know.

00:54:58Did we lose pilots on this or not?

00:55:00With a pilot shot down.

00:55:12At 10.16 p.m.,

00:55:14some four seconds

00:55:15before the asteroid

00:55:16was destroyed,

00:55:17the transponder signals

00:55:19from the two F-16s

00:55:20went off the radar screens.

00:55:22At the same time,

00:55:23the sounds we've been hearing

00:55:24from the craters

00:55:25were heard

00:55:25in the F-16s' transmissions.

00:55:27The two pilots,

00:55:28Air Force Captain

00:55:30Charles Reichheiser, 32,

00:55:32and Major John Pastorelli, 36,

00:55:35both of Hill Air Force Base,

00:55:37are missing and presumed dead.

00:55:39The nuclear submarine,

00:55:41USS Houston,

00:55:42which surfaced

00:55:42at the polar ice cap,

00:55:44has reported seeing debris

00:55:46consistent with the afterburner

00:55:48of an F-16.

00:55:49Search teams are racing

00:55:50to the scene

00:55:51from Gander, Newfoundland.

00:55:53Now to the Pentagon,

00:55:54where the Air Force

00:55:55is about to conduct

00:55:56a briefing

00:55:57on what they're calling

00:55:58defensive engagement

00:56:00with the meteor.

00:56:02The postmortem

00:56:03will be handled

00:56:03by Deputy Undersecretary of Defense

00:56:05Norbert Hazleton

00:56:06and General Lucian Alexander,

00:56:08U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff.

00:56:10Let me say

00:56:11at the outset

00:56:13that we are deeply grieved

00:56:14over the loss

00:56:16of two outstanding

00:56:17Air Force pilots.

00:56:19But they gave their lives

00:56:20so that we can stand here tonight

00:56:22and report

00:56:22a near-perfect mission profile.

00:56:26I want to stress

00:56:28that the warhead loads

00:56:30were extremely low yield.

00:56:32Any trace radiation

00:56:33should dissipate

00:56:34in the atmosphere

00:56:35within a matter of days.

00:56:36While radio signals

00:56:37from Wyoming,

00:56:39France, and Mongolia

00:56:40have ceased once again,

00:56:42there is every reason

00:56:43to believe

00:56:43that what the people

00:56:44of the Earth experienced

00:56:45was a natural phenomenon.

00:56:47General Alexander,

00:56:49General Alexander,

00:56:50how can you attribute this

00:56:52to natural phenomenon

00:56:53when we all saw

00:56:54the glow inside the cockpit?

00:56:56Just a lens flare.

00:56:58At airspeeds like that

00:56:59with the light conditions

00:57:00over the pole,

00:57:01the cockpit array

00:57:02throws off

00:57:03a number of video spikes.

00:57:05Okay, but wait,

00:57:05what about the trajectory?

00:57:08All right, come on.

00:57:0966-45 Venturi

00:57:10and the same asteroid,

00:57:12the latest one,

00:57:13they were on

00:57:13the identical path.

00:57:15Not surprising.

00:57:15It's not surprising.

00:57:17It's quite possible

00:57:18they were both part

00:57:19of the same source asteroid.

00:57:23The pieces simply split

00:57:25in deep space

00:57:26and came in online.

00:57:28I'll tell you one thing,

00:57:29ladies and gentlemen,

00:57:30if there was ever

00:57:30an argument for jump-starting

00:57:32the anti-missile

00:57:32defense shield,

00:57:33this is it.

00:57:34We were lucky tonight.

00:57:37Good shooting,

00:57:37great hardware.

00:57:38The next time,

00:57:39it might be

00:57:39a different story.

00:57:41Next time, General?

00:57:42What do you think,

00:57:43General?

00:57:43There's going to be

00:57:44a next time?

00:57:45That anti-missile shield

00:57:46the general was talking about,

00:57:47of course,

00:57:48is the Star Wars system,

00:57:49a favorite of President Reagan's,

00:57:51put on the shelf

00:57:52when President Clinton

00:57:53came into power.

00:57:54Sandy,

00:57:54the Air Force F-16 jet

00:57:55carrying Dr. Avram Mandel

00:57:57has touched down in Houston.

00:57:59He's about to arrive

00:58:00at the Johnson Space Center

00:58:01in Houston,

00:58:02and Matt Jensen

00:58:02is there live.

00:58:03Matthew?

00:58:04Carolyn,

00:58:05any minute now,

00:58:05that door behind me

00:58:06will open,

00:58:07and a man who has been

00:58:08something of an enigma

00:58:09in all this

00:58:09will arrive and speak

00:58:10with Matt.

00:58:10There he is.

00:58:11Any comment on the action

00:58:21over the Pope?

00:58:22Actually, I do have a comment.

00:58:24The action of the Pentagon

00:58:25is frankly unforgivable.

00:58:27There is a force

00:58:28behind these asteroids

00:58:29that is clearly intelligent.

00:58:30The fact that they chose

00:58:32to land first

00:58:33in unpopulated areas

00:58:34demonstrates clearly

00:58:35that they meant us

00:58:35no harm.

00:58:36The radio signal

00:58:38was acting merely

00:58:38as a sort of transponder

00:58:40to help steer

00:58:40the second vehicle in.

00:58:41The second vehicle?

00:58:42Why come crashing down

00:58:43to Earth?

00:58:44Listen to me, people.

00:58:45The entire notion

00:58:46of a flying saucer

00:58:47is a fiction.

00:58:48It's a fiction.

00:58:49They took the form

00:58:50that they wanted to take.

00:58:52They came in the way

00:58:53that they chose to come,

00:58:54in peace at first.

00:58:56What are you saying, Doctor?

00:58:57What I'm saying

00:58:58is that we have made

00:58:59a preemptive strike, people.

00:59:01We have just declared war.

00:59:02It's clear that Dr. Mandel

00:59:09is quite emotional.

00:59:11And as soon as we have

00:59:12details of his meeting here,

00:59:14we'll be back.

00:59:16This is Matt Jensen,

00:59:17Evening World News

00:59:18at the Johnson Space Center.

00:59:20An Evening World News

00:59:21telephone poll suggests

00:59:22that more than two-thirds

00:59:23of the public now believes

00:59:25that the asteroids

00:59:26are connected

00:59:27to alien life forms.

00:59:29It has been a night

00:59:30filled with charges

00:59:31and countercharges,

00:59:32but we would be remiss

00:59:33as journalists

00:59:33if we didn't separate

00:59:34fact from allegation.

00:59:36To the best of anyone's

00:59:38knowledge, at this point,

00:59:39the giant meteors

00:59:40that came to Earth

00:59:41tonight were of

00:59:42natural origin.

00:59:46All right.

00:59:48With the radio signals

00:59:49now silent,

00:59:49Robert Marino

00:59:50is live from Faith,

00:59:51a Wyoming town

00:59:53less than 50 miles

00:59:54from the impact site Alpha.

00:59:55Robert.

00:59:57I'm here in Faith,

00:59:58an old religious community

00:59:59dating back to the

01:00:00mid-19th century.

01:00:01The town is well outside

01:00:02the evacuation zone.

01:00:04There were no reported

01:00:04casualties or incidents

01:00:06after the nearby impact.

01:00:07Then, after the meteor

01:00:09explosion at the North Pole,

01:00:10Wyoming Edison detected

01:00:12an unusual power surge here.

01:00:14They sent a repair crew

01:00:15out to inspect,

01:00:16and when they got here,

01:00:17this is what they found.

01:00:19Sandy, the streets

01:00:20are deserted.

01:00:21Everybody has vanished.

01:00:22Men, women, children,

01:00:24cats and dogs.

01:00:25Cars are left in the middle

01:00:26of the streets,

01:00:28and except for the

01:00:28National Guardsmen,

01:00:29and there isn't a soul here.

01:00:31The town is completely empty,

01:00:33frozen in time.

01:00:35The sidewalks are strewn

01:00:36with trick-or-treat bags,

01:00:37as if the children

01:00:38had simply dropped them

01:00:39as they left.

01:00:40I don't know what else

01:00:41to say.

01:00:42It's eerie.

01:00:43Air National Guard

01:00:44Sergeant Leroy Diggs

01:00:45told us he was a forward

01:00:46recon in Desert Storm,

01:00:48but that he never saw

01:00:49anything like this.

01:00:50It's like they got

01:00:51swallowed up.

01:00:52We did a full

01:00:53house-to-house,

01:00:53checked for radiation,

01:00:55toxic emissions.

01:00:55We got nothing.

01:00:58I'm telling you,

01:00:58there's no way

01:00:59to explain this.

01:01:00The rescue workers

01:01:02are even using

01:01:03motion detectors,

01:01:04set to pick up

01:01:05the smallest movement,

01:01:06but there's nothing.

01:01:08In a town where

01:01:093,000 people live,

01:01:11work, and go to school,

01:01:13everyone is simply gone.

01:01:15As soon as we have

01:01:15any word on what

01:01:16happened here,

01:01:17we'll be back.

01:01:17But for now,

01:01:18this is a ghost town.

01:01:19This is Robert Marino,

01:01:21Faith, Wyoming.

01:01:22A rather sad note

01:01:25from France.

01:01:26Paul Whitaker reports

01:01:27from outside the

01:01:28Colombier Burn Center

01:01:29in Nice,

01:01:30where it's now morning.

01:01:31It's 6.43 a.m.

01:01:32Greenwich time here,

01:01:33Sandy,

01:01:34and doctors have just

01:01:34sent word that

01:01:35Jean-Paul Chouinard,

01:01:36the French skier

01:01:37they plucked off

01:01:37the mountain,

01:01:38has died.

01:01:39He regained consciousness

01:01:40briefly before succumbing

01:01:41to injuries sustained

01:01:42when the asteroid hit,

01:01:44and doctors were able

01:01:45to get a recording

01:01:45of his last words here.

01:01:47Fearing that it would be

01:01:48exploited by the

01:01:49tabloid press,

01:01:50his widow Sylvie

01:01:50has requested that

01:01:51it be released

01:01:52to the networks.

01:02:09Evening World News

01:02:10continuing coverage

01:02:11will resume in a moment.

01:02:17Continuing our coverage

01:02:18in the aftermath

01:02:19of three enormous

01:02:20meteor fragments

01:02:21that struck the earth

01:02:22tonight,

01:02:23we go first to

01:02:23correspondent Mike Curtis

01:02:25at the FAA's

01:02:26Air Traffic System

01:02:27Command in Washington,

01:02:28D.C.

01:02:29Radio signals from

01:02:30the three impact sites

01:02:31may have stopped,

01:02:32but aviation authorities

01:02:33report ticket counters

01:02:34jams at airports

01:02:36nationwide.

01:02:37This is Baltimore,

01:02:38Washington International.

01:02:39Most airlines report

01:02:40delays of up to

01:02:41three hours as dozens

01:02:42of flights are being

01:02:43diverted there.

01:02:44Sandy,

01:02:45this is a continental

01:02:46light market,

01:02:47and fortunately,

01:02:48the people at this end

01:02:49of the terminal

01:02:49are able to get out

01:02:51because these flights

01:02:52are still taking off.

01:02:53Authorities say

01:02:54it may be morning

01:02:55before traffic

01:02:56returns to normal.

01:02:57This is Mike Curtis

01:02:58at the Aviation Command

01:02:59Center, Washington, D.C.

01:03:01Meanwhile,

01:03:02correspondent Warren Olney

01:03:03has news on the final words

01:03:05of French skier

01:03:05Jean-Paul Chouinard.

01:03:07He's outside NASA's

01:03:08Goldstone facility

01:03:09in the Mojave Desert.

01:03:10Warren?

01:03:11Carolyn,

01:03:11in this breaking story

01:03:13that seems to take

01:03:13a different turn

01:03:14every minute,

01:03:15we have just learned

01:03:16that the last words

01:03:17of Jean-Paul Chouinard

01:03:18are being analyzed here

01:03:20by NASA's computers.

01:03:22They're checking

01:03:22for any similarities

01:03:23between Chouinard's

01:03:24incomprehensible speech pattern

01:03:26and that of

01:03:27eight-year-old

01:03:28Kimberly Hastings,

01:03:29who, of course,

01:03:29was found more than

01:03:306,000 miles away.

01:03:32We'll have more on this

01:03:33when we get it.

01:03:34Now back to you.

01:03:36We have an update now

01:03:37on little Kimberly Hastings,

01:03:39the eight-year-old girl

01:03:39found wandering

01:03:40near impact site Alpha.

01:03:42Bree Walker

01:03:43is at Mercy Medical Center

01:03:44in Casper, Wyoming.

01:03:45Bree?

01:03:47Finally,

01:03:47some good news

01:03:48to report

01:03:49as little Kimberly's

01:03:50condition is upgraded

01:03:50from critical to stable.

01:03:52Doctors are still not able

01:03:53to get through to her verbally,

01:03:54so there's no way

01:03:55to know what,

01:03:56if anything,

01:03:56she remembers

01:03:57from the asteroid crash.

01:03:58As to how she got

01:03:59to the impact site,

01:04:00when Donna Hastings,

01:04:01her mother,

01:04:02arrived at the hospital

01:04:03just moments ago,

01:04:04she was mobbed by media

01:04:05wanting to know

01:04:06the answer to that question.

01:04:08How did Kimberly

01:04:08get to Wyoming?

01:04:10Daddy,

01:04:10I got a court order.

01:04:12He moved away,

01:04:13but he didn't care about it.

01:04:14Come on,

01:04:14don't.

01:04:15Give us a break.

01:04:15Tell us more.

01:04:16Tell us more.

01:04:17Three days ago,

01:04:18he went off to daycare

01:04:19and he just left

01:04:19and he took her from me.

01:04:21But why so far from home?

01:04:22Come on,

01:04:23we're in here.

01:04:23He said he was going

01:04:24to go to Canada.

01:04:28You're the lady

01:04:28from the network, right?

01:04:29You're the one

01:04:29who found Kimber?

01:04:30What's her name?

01:04:31What's her name?

01:04:32Thank you so much.

01:04:34Thank you so much.

01:04:38She's so good to speak to you.

01:04:41Donna.

01:04:41You're going to do that?

01:04:42Hey.

01:04:43Donna.

01:04:44Let's go.

01:04:45A couple more questions

01:04:46for a minute.

01:04:46Thank you so much.

01:04:48Sandy,

01:04:49Dr. Robert Perlman,

01:04:50the astronomer

01:04:51we interviewed earlier,

01:04:52has done a computer analysis

01:04:53of the first three impact sites.

01:04:56He's joining us now

01:04:57live from his lab

01:04:57at the American Observatory

01:04:59in Kitt Peak, Arizona.

01:05:01Dr. Perlman,

01:05:01can you hear me?

01:05:02Yes, thanks.

01:05:03This is a 3D model

01:05:05of 6645 Venturi

01:05:08as it came to Earth.

01:05:10It breaks up at a point

01:05:11some 6,500 miles

01:05:13above 90 degrees north latitude,

01:05:15which is the true north pole.

01:05:18You can see the three fragments

01:05:20falling to their impact sites

01:05:22designated Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie.

01:05:25As I connect the trajectories,

01:05:27you will see what looks like

01:05:28a diamond-shaped pyramid

01:05:30with its apex above the pole.

01:05:33The angles on impact

01:05:34are exactly 45 degrees.

01:05:36Forgive me, Dr. Perlman,

01:05:38but that looks remarkably

01:05:39like the line drawing

01:05:40you showed us earlier.

01:05:41What's so new about this model?

01:05:43Well, it will become relevant

01:05:45when I show you this.

01:05:48Now, this is an exact reproduction

01:05:50of a pixelated message

01:05:52that was sent out in 1973

01:05:53on Pioneer 11.

01:05:56Here you will see symbols

01:05:57for man, the solar system,

01:06:00the DNA double helix,

01:06:01which is the basic molecule

01:06:02of life

01:06:03and a figure representing

01:06:05the Pioneer spacecraft itself.

01:06:10You will note

01:06:11the upside-down pyramid.

01:06:14Now watch.

01:06:18It's unmistakable.

01:06:20The asteroid fragments

01:06:22represented a symbol.

01:06:24They were using the descent vectors

01:06:25to send us a message.

01:06:27That's an intriguing theory,

01:06:29Dr. Perlman,

01:06:30but I'm sure you'll agree

01:06:31it's subject to debate.

01:06:32Of course.

01:06:34We've invited

01:06:34Dr. Norbert Hazleton

01:06:36to join us.

01:06:36He's deputy

01:06:37undersecretary of defense,

01:06:38and if you don't mind,

01:06:39he has some questions.

01:06:41Not at all.

01:06:41Fire away, Dr. Hazleton.

01:06:44Dr. Perlman,

01:06:45if I understand you correctly,

01:06:47you're saying that aliens

01:06:48visited Earth tonight?

01:06:49No, no.

01:06:49I said it was possible.

01:06:52Come, come.

01:06:53You brought in Pioneer.

01:06:54You've matched

01:06:55a couple of triangles.

01:06:57What are you saying?

01:06:58Well, if you put it

01:06:59like that point blank,

01:07:00yes, it sounds improbable,

01:07:02but consider

01:07:03what happened tonight.

01:07:04The pattern

01:07:05of the impact sites,

01:07:06the radio signals,

01:07:07survivors speaking in tongues,

01:07:09an entire town missing.

01:07:11Forgive me, Doctor.

01:07:14This isn't some

01:07:15Trekkie convention.

01:07:16There are millions

01:07:17of people in the world

01:07:18right now panicking

01:07:19needlessly.

01:07:20Yes, and I would like

01:07:21to know how much

01:07:22that has to do

01:07:23with the hair-trigger

01:07:24response of the Pentagon.

01:07:25Don't spare me, Doctor.

01:07:26If you can show me aliens

01:07:27in those triangles,

01:07:29I'll give you the second gunman

01:07:30on the grassy knoll.

01:07:31Listen, you know

01:07:32as well as I do

01:07:33that the scientific community

01:07:34is divided on this,

01:07:35but you people,

01:07:36you people see this

01:07:37as an opportunity

01:07:38to hotwire Star Wars,

01:07:40and it shouldn't

01:07:41come down to that.

01:07:42There is much more

01:07:43at stake here.

01:07:44You're damn right there is.

01:07:46Gentlemen, I'm sorry,

01:07:47but we've run out of time.

01:07:49You've just heard

01:07:49from astronomer

01:07:50Robert Perlman

01:07:51and Deputy Undersecretary

01:07:52of Defense

01:07:53Norbert Hazleton.

01:07:54And now to recap,

01:07:55the Earth was rocked tonight

01:07:56by three separate fragments

01:07:58from an enormous meteor

01:07:59that landed in the United States,

01:08:01Europe, and Asia.

01:08:02A second meteor

01:08:03on a direct path

01:08:04with the first one

01:08:05was shot down

01:08:06by U.S. planes

01:08:07using nuclear weapons

01:08:08over the North Pole.

01:08:09The two pilots

01:08:11in that mission perished.

01:08:12After radio signals

01:08:14from the three meteor fragments

01:08:15began jamming

01:08:16air traffic worldwide,

01:08:18civil unrest broke out

01:08:19in a number of countries,

01:08:21with some speculating

01:08:22that the asteroids

01:08:23may have a connection

01:08:25to extraterrestrials.

01:08:27That issue

01:08:27has fractured

01:08:28the scientific community.

01:08:30While the sole survivor

01:08:31of the asteroid impact

01:08:32in Wyoming,

01:08:33an eight-year-old girl

01:08:34remains hospitalized,

01:08:36unable to speak.

01:08:37President Clinton

01:08:39is now jetting back

01:08:40to Washington

01:08:40aboard Air Force One.

01:08:42He's scheduled

01:08:42an address to the nation

01:08:44when he lands

01:08:45at Andrews Air Force Base

01:08:46at 11.16 p.m.

01:08:48Eastern time.

01:08:49Forgive me, Sandy,

01:08:50but Dr. Avram Mandel,

01:08:52the SETI scientist,

01:08:53rushed to the Johnson Space Center

01:08:54has just emerged

01:08:55from a meeting

01:08:55with NASA officials.

01:08:57He's talking with reporters

01:08:58right now,

01:08:58and we pick up

01:08:59his comments in progress.

01:09:00No, no, no,

01:09:02I'm way past that.

01:09:03Well, why do this here?

01:09:04Because I'm no longer

01:09:05speaking as a staff scientist

01:09:06at NASA.

01:09:07Effective at 9.32 p.m.

01:09:09Central Time,

01:09:10I have resigned my position.

01:09:12As a concerned astronomer

01:09:13and most importantly

01:09:13as a human being,

01:09:15I can no longer

01:09:15associate myself

01:09:16with the government's

01:09:17handling of this

01:09:18ongoing crisis.

01:09:19Look, look,

01:09:21we were given a gift

01:09:24tonight, people.

01:09:26We had a visitation.

01:09:27They came in peace

01:09:29and we answered them

01:09:30with 2,000 tons of TNT

01:09:32at the end

01:09:33of a nuclear warhead.

01:09:35Now, what if this

01:09:36had been Jesus

01:09:36or Buddha

01:09:38or Mohammed

01:09:39or a prophet of old?

01:09:41I mean,

01:09:41haven't we learned

01:09:41anything from history?

01:09:43I mean, we all know

01:09:44that we have

01:09:44the most violent planet

01:09:45in the galaxy,

01:09:46but why?

01:09:47In God's name,

01:09:48why did we have

01:09:49to take it to them?

01:09:49Look, Doctor,

01:09:50you're upset.

01:09:51Why don't we do this

01:09:53the right way?

01:09:53No, look,

01:09:53I wanted to do this

01:09:54the right way, Dale.

01:09:55That's why I flew out here.

01:09:56I tried to plead

01:09:57with these people

01:09:58and it didn't do any good.

01:09:59Dr. Mandel,

01:09:59you mentioned before

01:10:00that this is an ongoing crisis.

01:10:01What did you mean by that?

01:10:06You don't know?

01:10:08No.

01:10:08You mean they haven't

01:10:09told you anything?

01:10:10Look, the doctor

01:10:10is clearly disturbed.

01:10:12Bobby,

01:10:12don't you do this.

01:10:13This is not responsible.

01:10:14Dale, I am responsible

01:10:15to myself now.

01:10:24I'm so sorry.

01:10:26I'm so, so sorry.

01:10:30At approximately 10.32 p.m.

01:10:32eastern time,

01:10:33the radio telescope

01:10:35at Goldstone Mojave

01:10:40received a signal.

01:10:41Air Force tracking stations

01:10:43locked on as well.

01:10:45There are three asteroids

01:10:46of a magnitude

01:10:47of two miles each and above

01:10:48that are on a trajectory

01:10:49with Earth.

01:10:51they are headed

01:10:53directly toward

01:10:54three of the Earth's

01:10:55most populous cities,

01:10:56Beijing and the

01:10:57People's Republic of China,

01:10:58Moscow,

01:10:59as well as Washington, D.C.

01:11:01Why those cities, Dr.

01:11:02I don't know.

01:11:03I can only guess,

01:11:03and that is that

01:11:04they are the capitals

01:11:05of the only three nations

01:11:06on this planet

01:11:06who have a first-strike

01:11:08nuclear threat.

01:11:10The asteroids are expected

01:11:12to hit sometime

01:11:13around 10.52 p.m.

01:11:16eastern time.

01:11:17That's nine minutes

01:11:20from now.

01:11:23We declared war

01:11:25against them,

01:11:27people.

01:11:28We did it.

01:11:30And now they've just

01:11:31decided to respond.

01:11:32So may God

01:11:36have mercy

01:11:36on us all.

01:11:40Our coverage

01:11:41of this continuing

01:11:42crisis

01:11:42will resume

01:11:44after this.

01:11:56From now on,

01:11:58we'll stay on the air

01:11:58continuously

01:11:59until this crisis

01:12:00is over.

01:12:01As we count down

01:12:03now to the moment

01:12:04of impact,

01:12:04the mayors

01:12:05of the nation's

01:12:06ten largest cities

01:12:07have all imposed

01:12:08curfews.

01:12:09Looting is widespread

01:12:10amid fears

01:12:11of food shortages

01:12:12as the crisis

01:12:13deepens.

01:12:14Meanwhile,

01:12:15the radio signals

01:12:16at all three

01:12:16impact sites

01:12:17have resumed.

01:12:18This time,

01:12:19they're affecting

01:12:19not only commercial

01:12:20air traffic,

01:12:21but radio and TV

01:12:23signals across the globe.

01:12:25In many countries,

01:12:26telephone service

01:12:26is out.

01:12:27The reaction

01:12:28in this country

01:12:29has been panic.

01:12:30Hopefully,

01:12:30everything's going

01:12:31to be okay,

01:12:31but I just don't

01:12:32know what I'm

01:12:32going to do

01:12:32when it happens.

01:12:34Well,

01:12:34as of right now,

01:12:35I'm not really

01:12:36frightened because

01:12:37I haven't seen them

01:12:38and they haven't

01:12:40really come after me,

01:12:41but if they start

01:12:41coming after me,

01:12:42yeah,

01:12:42I'm going to be scared.

01:12:44I've got to get out

01:12:44of here.

01:12:45My family's waiting

01:12:46for me.

01:12:46I'm going to be scared.

01:12:47I'm not a religious person.

01:12:51I haven't been to mass

01:12:52in years,

01:12:53but I came tonight.

01:12:56Sandy,

01:12:56there are reports

01:12:57of panic worldwide

01:12:58as fears begin to mount.

01:12:59As you can see here,

01:13:00the French police

01:13:01are having no success

01:13:02in trying to calm

01:13:03the people who are rioting.

01:13:04While in Washington

01:13:05and other cities

01:13:06around the world,

01:13:07the fear is being expressed

01:13:08in candlelight vigils

01:13:10and other peaceful gatherings.

01:13:12No one seems to know

01:13:13what to do

01:13:13or where to go.

01:13:15No place is safe

01:13:16as we realize

01:13:17the magnitude

01:13:17of this crisis.

01:13:19People take to the streets

01:13:20in different ways,

01:13:21but one thing is clear.

01:13:23Racial and national boundaries

01:13:24are disappearing

01:13:25as the world reacts

01:13:26to a greater danger.

01:13:27The best advice

01:13:28anyone can give

01:13:29at this point

01:13:29is to get inside a building,

01:13:31move to the basement

01:13:32and stay there.

01:13:34In the event

01:13:34broadcast stations

01:13:35lose power,

01:13:36turn to the emergency

01:13:37broadcast network

01:13:38at AM 640

01:13:40or FM 102.4.

01:13:42We begin with a series

01:13:44of reports

01:13:45from evening

01:13:45world news correspondents.

01:13:48This is Paul Collingwood

01:13:49in Moscow.

01:13:50It's 6.40 in the morning here

01:13:52and Red Square

01:13:53is completely deserted.

01:13:55Even during the darkest days

01:13:56of the Cold War

01:13:57when the U.S. nuclear arsenal

01:13:58was aimed at this city,

01:14:00you never felt

01:14:01such palpable fear.

01:14:03This is not a religious country,

01:14:04but this morning

01:14:05the churches

01:14:05and synagogues

01:14:07are filled.

01:14:08This is Michael Curtis

01:14:09reporting

01:14:10from Washington,

01:14:11a city normally associated

01:14:12with great power.

01:14:14But tonight,

01:14:14all anybody really feels

01:14:16is powerless.

01:14:17Some people have gone home

01:14:19to be with their families.

01:14:20Some are in transit

01:14:21trying to get out

01:14:22of this city,

01:14:22but a group of people

01:14:23have gathered here

01:14:25to be together

01:14:26at the feet

01:14:27of a great man

01:14:28who once saved this union,

01:14:30perhaps in the hope

01:14:31that he might somehow

01:14:32do it again.

01:14:34What would you do

01:14:35if you were told

01:14:35you only had seven minutes

01:14:37to live?

01:14:38Or maybe it's just

01:14:39a strange attraction

01:14:40we have for witnessing

01:14:41natural disasters,

01:14:43tidal waves,

01:14:44great fires,

01:14:45or this,

01:14:47asteroids falling to Earth.

01:14:49Whatever the reason is,

01:14:50all we can really do

01:14:51is wait

01:14:52and watch

01:14:53and pray.

01:14:55This is Denise Wong

01:14:57reporting in Beijing

01:14:58where an eerie calm

01:15:00has set in

01:15:00after hours of fierce fighting

01:15:02between riot police

01:15:03and angry student demonstrators.

01:15:05Now people simply

01:15:07want to be with their families

01:15:08and we can understand why.

01:15:10All services

01:15:11are reported shut down,

01:15:13hospitals are overflowing,

01:15:14there's word

01:15:16of a massive fire

01:15:17raging through Shanghai

01:15:18with no apparatus

01:15:19or firefighters

01:15:20to stop it.

01:15:22If this is your last day

01:15:23on Earth,

01:15:25you want to spend it

01:15:26with the people you love.

01:15:28Denise Wong,

01:15:30Evening World News

01:15:30in Beijing.

01:15:33You know,

01:15:34Carolyn,

01:15:35in a time like this,

01:15:36you can't help but feel

01:15:37for our correspondents

01:15:38elsewhere.

01:15:39You know,

01:15:39Denise Wong

01:15:40has got a husband

01:15:40and two children

01:15:42up in San Francisco.

01:15:43Yes,

01:15:44the threat is imminent,

01:15:46of course,

01:15:46to the cities

01:15:46that we've just mentioned.

01:15:48But if the asteroids

01:15:49hit Earth,

01:15:49as feared,

01:15:51the entire planet

01:15:52will be impacted.

01:15:54Matt Jensen

01:15:55is standing by

01:15:56as he has been all night

01:15:57at the Johnson Space Center.

01:15:59Matthew?

01:15:59Carolyn,

01:16:00as you can see behind me,

01:16:01many of the scientists

01:16:02here at the operations center

01:16:03have gone home

01:16:04to be with their families.

01:16:05Of the few that remain,

01:16:07Dr. Kurt Loudon.

01:16:09Doctor,

01:16:09we've been told

01:16:10that if even one

01:16:10of these asteroids' impacts

01:16:12is expected,

01:16:12the effect worldwide

01:16:13could be apocalyptic.

01:16:14Could you elaborate?

01:16:16Yeah,

01:16:16just like the KT event

01:16:1765 million years ago.

01:16:20If an asteroid

01:16:21one mile or larger

01:16:21strikes on land,

01:16:23it'll throw up

01:16:24enough debris

01:16:24to create what amounts

01:16:25to a nuclear winter.

01:16:30If we can see

01:16:31the screens behind us,

01:16:32you can see

01:16:33the three asteroids

01:16:34as they proceed

01:16:35on target.

01:16:36They are now

01:16:36some 11,000 miles

01:16:38from Earth

01:16:38but closing fast.

01:16:42With five minutes

01:16:43and counting

01:16:44until the asteroids

01:16:45break the Earth's atmosphere,

01:16:47late word from the Pentagon

01:16:48that there's a plan

01:16:49in place

01:16:50to meet them

01:16:50head on.

01:16:52General Lucian Alexander

01:16:53is briefing the reporters.

01:16:55Air Force Space Command

01:16:56and the U.S. Navy

01:16:57are preparing

01:16:58to counter the threat

01:16:59of nuclear weapons

01:17:00directed by

01:17:01the most advanced

01:17:02guidance system,

01:17:04each carrying

01:17:0410 independently

01:17:06targetable

01:17:06re-entry vehicles.

01:17:08They'll be launched

01:17:09from the Trident

01:17:10submarine USS Ohio

01:17:11in the North Sea

01:17:12and from F.E. Warren

01:17:13Air Force Base

01:17:14in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

01:17:16The Soviets

01:17:17and the Chinese

01:17:17have agreed

01:17:18not to respond

01:17:18for fear

01:17:19of an all-out

01:17:19nuclear exchange.

01:17:21This peacekeeper

01:17:21and Trident D-5 devices

01:17:23will hit their targets

01:17:24and take them out

01:17:25with surgical precision

01:17:26and minimum

01:17:27collateral damage.

01:17:28What about

01:17:28the fire-up, Jim?

01:17:29What about

01:17:30the defense?

01:17:31Can nuclear missiles

01:17:32be against UFOs?

01:17:33We still have

01:17:35no definitive proof

01:17:37of alien life forms.

01:17:39There's every likelihood

01:17:40that these asteroids

01:17:41are the result

01:17:41of a media shower

01:17:42of massive proportions.

01:17:44The point is,

01:17:44either we cut and run

01:17:45or we stand and fight.

01:17:47We are now

01:17:47at DEFCON 1,

01:17:48T-minus three minutes

01:17:49and counting.

01:17:53You know, Carolyn,

01:17:54in the midst

01:17:55of a story like this,

01:17:56when you talk about

01:17:57millions of lives

01:17:58being affected,

01:17:59I can't help

01:18:00but think of one,

01:18:02Kimberly Hastings,

01:18:03in Wyoming.

01:18:04We go now

01:18:05to Brie Walker

01:18:06at Mercy Medical Center

01:18:07in Wyoming.

01:18:09With all the hope

01:18:10in this room

01:18:11just moments ago,

01:18:13I don't quite know

01:18:14how to say this.

01:18:17Shortly after we spoke

01:18:18to you,

01:18:20little Kimberly Hastings

01:18:21collapsed

01:18:22and went into

01:18:23cardiac arrest.

01:18:25A crash team

01:18:26rushed in

01:18:26but they,

01:18:28at 8.51 p.m.,

01:18:30little Kimberly Hastings

01:18:32passed away

01:18:33and whatever it is

01:18:36that she knew

01:18:36about that asteroid

01:18:37went with her.

01:18:42We are now

01:18:43less than three minutes

01:18:44from the first impact

01:18:45in the People's Republic.

01:18:46I just want to say

01:18:51something to, uh,

01:18:54Lindsay,

01:18:55my little girl.

01:18:59She's six.

01:19:00She had a,

01:19:00she had a tooth out

01:19:02last week.

01:19:03The, uh,

01:19:04tooth fairy brought

01:19:04her a silver dollar.

01:19:10Honey,

01:19:10I want you to know

01:19:11that Mommy loves you

01:19:14very much.

01:19:16I want you and Daddy,

01:19:18you hold each other

01:19:19real, real tight.

01:19:22Know how much

01:19:23I love you both.

01:19:25I'm just gonna

01:19:26finish up here

01:19:26and we're all

01:19:30gonna be together

01:19:30real soon.

01:19:33Okay?

01:19:34Carolyn,

01:19:34you don't have

01:19:35to stay here.

01:19:36You don't.

01:19:37Let's, um,

01:19:39let's just see it through.

01:19:41You sure?

01:19:45We're now

01:19:46less than two minutes

01:19:46before the Air Force

01:19:47launches its

01:19:48Peacekeeper missiles.

01:19:50We'll be live

01:19:50via satellite

01:19:51with correspondent

01:19:52Denise Wong

01:19:53in Beijing,

01:19:54Paul Collingwood

01:19:55in Moscow,

01:19:56and Mike Curtis

01:19:57here in the nation's

01:19:58capital.

01:19:59And now for the

01:20:00launch phase,

01:20:00we go to Matt Jensen

01:20:01at the Johnson

01:20:02Space Center.

01:20:05Sandy,

01:20:05the radio signals

01:20:06that you hear

01:20:06and that are coming

01:20:07through our headsets

01:20:08are coming off the feed

01:20:09from Impact Site Alpha.

01:20:10The sound is ear

01:20:11piercing.

01:20:11I'm gonna have

01:20:12to do the rest

01:20:12of this with headphones.

01:20:13Patrick?

01:20:17It's okay, Matt.

01:20:19We can hear you now.

01:20:20The asteroids

01:20:21have now been

01:20:21designated X-ray,

01:20:23Yankee,

01:20:24and Zulu.

01:20:24That's X, Y, Z.

01:20:26In a few seconds,

01:20:27you'll be able

01:20:27to see them

01:20:28hurtling down

01:20:28towards Earth

01:20:29at 4,000 to 5,000

01:20:30miles an hour.

01:20:32The missile exchange

01:20:33will be monitored

01:20:34by tracking stations

01:20:35in Maui,

01:20:36Socorro,

01:20:37and in Diego Garcia.

01:20:38Attention all stations.

01:20:40Status green alert.

01:20:41That voice you're hearing

01:20:42is Major Skidee Powers,

01:20:44the launch control officer.

01:20:44Combat crew,

01:20:45initiate execute launch command

01:20:47on my mark

01:20:48in 10 seconds.

01:20:49His voice is from

01:20:50the U.S. Strategic Command,

01:20:51all-foot Air Force Base

01:20:52in Omaha, Nebraska.

01:20:545, 4, 3, 2, 1.

01:20:58Launcher closure open.

01:20:59Missile away.

01:21:00Denise Wong,

01:21:02Beijing is target one.

01:21:04Impact expected

01:21:05at 40 seconds from now.

01:21:07The radio interference

01:21:09is too strong.

01:21:10Do you see anything at all?

01:21:12You're breaking up, Sandy.

01:21:14I'm sorry.

01:21:15I'm going to have

01:21:16to take a headset off.

01:21:18I think you were asking

01:21:20if I saw anything.

01:21:21The answer is not yet.

01:21:24I can't tell you I'm scared.

01:21:26Impact over China

01:21:30at T-15, 14, 13, 12, 11,

01:21:35and her two children,

01:21:36Tisha and Mallory.

01:21:37I said before,

01:21:38they all live in San Francisco.

01:21:40Denise, please hold on

01:21:42if you can.

01:21:433, 2, 1.

01:21:47We've lost contact

01:21:48with Denise Wong in Beijing.

01:21:50Matt Jensen,

01:21:51can you tell us the status

01:21:52from where you are?

01:21:53Well, by the cheering behind me,

01:21:56I'm sure you can tell

01:21:57we've had total incineration

01:21:58on X-ray,

01:21:59but it is far from over yet.

01:22:02We believe the first asteroid

01:22:04has been destroyed.

01:22:06We go now to Paul Collingwood

01:22:07in Moscow.

01:22:08Paul, what's it look like

01:22:10where you are?

01:22:11Nothing so far, Sandy.

01:22:12Just the same piercing signal

01:22:14in my headset.

01:22:17Sandy, for the record,

01:22:18I'm a four-year correspondent.

01:22:20We're all proud of you, Paul,

01:22:21and your colleagues.

01:22:22And tomorrow would have been

01:22:24my 28th birthday.

01:22:2512, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

01:22:41Sandy, what happened?

01:22:44They should have impacted by now.

01:22:46Paul, it looks like we've destroyed

01:22:48two out of three now.

01:22:50Mike Curtis at the Lincoln Memorial.

01:22:54Sandy, it's really impossible

01:22:55to see anything tonight.

01:22:57It's so overcast all night long.

01:23:00Impact over Washington in 15,

01:23:02oh, my God.

01:23:02Now, now, now, now I see it.

01:23:05It's so bright, and it's coming in fast.

01:23:08They've got the countdown.

01:23:10It's getting too close, Sandy.

01:23:12Why aren't they shooting at this thing now?

01:23:14Three, two, one.

01:23:16Oh!

01:23:17Yeah!

01:23:19Thank God.

01:23:22Thank God.

01:23:23Thank God.

01:23:24How does it feel out there?

01:23:30It feels fabulous.

01:23:32It's like the day the wall went down.

01:23:34Yeah.

01:23:35Happy birthday, Paul.

01:23:36Happy birthday, Paul.

01:23:37Thank you, Sandy.

01:23:38Thank you, Denise.

01:23:39We're going to go home now.

01:23:41I'd say you've earned it.

01:23:42Thanks for a job well done.

01:23:44Thank you very much.

01:23:45Have a very good day.

01:23:46Have a good day.

01:23:48Reaction from around the world

01:23:49is typical of this live footage

01:23:51you're seeing right now.

01:23:52Well, before we sign off,

01:24:00correspondent Warren Olney

01:24:02has some information for us

01:24:03from Goldstone.

01:24:04Sandy, the scientists here

01:24:06have deciphered the speech patterns

01:24:07of Kimberly Hastings

01:24:08and John Paul Schunar.

01:24:10Here's the feed now.

01:24:11147 member states.

01:24:40Wait a minute.

01:24:44That's the recorded message

01:24:46we sent up in Voyager 2.

01:24:52Sandy, there's a report

01:24:53from the Johnson Space Center.

01:24:55Matt Jensen is there with a...

01:24:57comes to us live.

01:24:58Matt?

01:24:58Carolyn, as you can see,

01:24:59the elation in the room

01:25:00behind me has stopped.

01:25:02People were cheering

01:25:03and celebrating,

01:25:04and then it was as if

01:25:04a balloon would burst.

01:25:06The quiet permeated the room,

01:25:07and nobody seems to be giving

01:25:08any indication why.

01:25:10Matt, what is it?

01:25:14Matt, what do you see?

01:25:15Just tell us what you're seeing, Matt.

01:25:17The camera.

01:25:17What's the cameraman's name?

01:25:20I'm told his name is Patrick.

01:25:22Patrick, Patrick,

01:25:23just move the camera to the screen.

01:25:24Show us what you're seeing

01:25:25on the screen.

01:25:27Patrick, do you read the...

01:25:27Show us what's on the...

01:25:29Track trajectories.

01:25:30No, there's too many.

01:25:31There's too many to calculate.

01:25:33Now, by the...

01:25:33France, this is Houston.

01:25:34France, do you copy?

01:25:35France, this is Houston.

01:25:36Come in, please.

01:25:37Do you copy?

01:25:38Mexico City, this is Houston.

01:25:42Mexico City, do you copy?

01:25:43Do you read me?

01:25:44We have no response.

01:25:46Please change frequencies and copy.

01:25:48Mexico City, Maui.

01:25:49Stage your incoming.

01:25:51London, this is Houston.

01:25:52London, do you read me?

01:25:53This is Houston.

01:25:54London, if you're there, please add.

01:25:56Anchorage, too.

01:25:56Anchorage report.

01:25:57Juno has been destroyed.

01:25:59Beijing, Beijing.

01:26:00This is Houston.

01:26:00Beijing, do you copy?

01:26:01Beijing, please come in.

01:26:02If you can hear the sound of my voice,

01:26:05please come in, Beijing.

01:26:06Obviously, we'll stay on as long as we can.

01:26:13And we'll keep feeding you the signal from the Johnson Space Center

01:26:17as long as possible.

01:26:19This is Houston.

01:26:20Please commit.

01:26:21Please commit.

01:26:21With all the missiles and all the power.

01:26:23Cindy, this is Houston.

01:26:24Vector 8.

01:26:25I can only leave you with this thought from Shakespeare.

01:26:27Greenland, please.

01:26:28This is Houston.

01:26:29The fault, your Buddhist, is not in our stories, but in ourselves.

01:26:37The report just came in that Edinburgh has been obliterated.

01:26:39Cape Town, Cape Town, Washington, Washington, this is Houston.

01:26:41Washington, do you read me?

01:26:43Washington, this is Houston Control.

01:26:45Please come in.

01:26:46Come in, Washington.

01:26:47This is Houston Control.

01:26:49Washington, come in, Washington.

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