MORNING-05
will be able to use the device.>
caused fires. Today Verizon and AT&T will roll out a software update to
prevent the phone from recharging or connecting to cellular networks.>
GAYLE KING: That`s number one. Pop star Justin Timberlake drilled a half- court shot. That`s number two. At Staples Center in Los Angeles. Then to prove it wasn`t a fluke, Mister Wonderful did it again.
CHARLIE ROSE: He did it twice.
GAYLE KING: Yeah. Twice in a row. Timberlake play as lot of basketball and owns a piece of the Memphis Grizzlies. He was in Los Angeles to see his Grizzlies play the Clippers. The Clippers by the way beat Memphis 115-106. I guess they should have put Justin Timberlake in some shorts.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Yeah.
GAYLE KING: So he sings, he dances. I just love this guy.
NORAH O`DONNELL: I loved him.
GAYLE KING: I like him so much.
NORAH O`DONNELL: He`s a good golfer.
CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah.
GAYLE KING: He golf`s too?
NORAH O`DONNELL: Yeah.
GAYLE KING: All right.
CHARLIE ROSE: (INDISTINCT) straight.
GAYLE KING: Yeah, yeah I think so. He`s married to Jessica Biel, as you know, and has a beautiful son Silas. He`s awesome.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Yeah.
GAYLE KING: Go, JT.
Welcome back to CBS THIS MORNING. Coming up in this half hour, more than a hundred thousand Galaxy Note 7 smartphones have not been returned despite a fire risk and a worldwide recall. Today the nation`s two biggest cell phone carriers will disable the devices. Why some people-- some people are still refusing to give up that phone.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Plus, an airline is accused of keeping two sisters from seeing their dying father. Ahead why the flight crew decided the grieving women were a threat and then turned the plane around.
CHARLIE ROSE: Time to show you some of this morning`s headlines. The Washington Post reports on President Obama`s farewell to the military as Commander-in-Chief. The President spoke at a ceremony yesterday in Fort Myer, Virginia. He called for a seamless transition of military power to his successor. Mister Obama urged the United States military and the country to never abandon its core principles as it fights the nation`s wars.
GAYLE KING: USA Today says the CDC is not disclosing reports about safety violations involving some of the world`s most dangerous bacteria and viruses. The CDC finally released heavily redacted reports under the Freedom of Information Act, that they revealed a number of incidents including when CDC scientist apparently lost a box of deadly flu specimens. The incidents took place between 2013 and 2015 at lab facilities in Atlanta and Fort Collins, Colorado. In response the CDC said this, none of the incidents described in these documents resulted in reported illnesses among CDC staff or the public.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Business Insider reports that Macy`s announced it`s shutting down dozens of stores. The country`s largest department store chain identified sixty-eight stores that it will close this year. Now that is part of the retailers restructuring plan announced in August to close one hundred stores. Macy`s yesterday said it will cut more than ten thousand jobs after week holiday sales. Meanwhile Sears announced it`s going to close forty-two stores by April and one hundred and eight Kmart stores which are owned by Sears are also going to be shut down.
CHARLIE ROSE: Boy. The loss of jobs.
GAYLE KING: I know.
NORAH O`DONNELL: I know.
GAYLE KING: All the stores we remember in the childhood.
CHARLIE ROSE: (INDISTINCT)
GAYLE KING: That`s right.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Yeah.
GAYLE KING: Not good.
And the Reno Gazette-Journal reports on Tesla`s Gigafactory beginning battery production. The massive factory is east of Reno, Nevada. It`s making lithium ion cells that run Tesla`s existing electric cars and eventually the Model 3 sedan. The company expects the workforce at the Gigafactory to grow to sixty-five hundred people next year. The battery is critical to Tesla`s goal of making electric vehicles more affordable. It`s also a big step forward for American manufacturing. China, Japan, and South Korea have historically dominated battery production.
CHARLIE ROSE: This is the last day many owners of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone will be able to use the device. The phone is under a worldwide recall after several overheated and caused fires. Today Verizon and AT&T will roll out a software update to prevent the phone from recharging or connecting to cellular networks. Kris Van Cleave is at an AT&T store in Washington with why some people don`t want to give up the phone. Kris, good morning.
KRIS VAN CLEAVE (CBS News Correspondent): Good morning. The cell providers say the vast majority of Note 7 users have already turned in their phones and those who haven`t may find them a lot harder to use after today`s so- called kill update starts going out. And those people that have them are reminded the batteries can fail and catch fire.
(Begin VT)
KRIS VAN CLEAVE: Chris Thompson is holding on tight to his Samsung Note 7, despite nearly two million of the devices being recalled in the U.S. and banned on aircraft.
CHRIS THOMPSON: I am very attached to it. It`s-- it`s been the best phone I`ve ever had.
KRIS VAN CLEAVE: That`s despite a defect that`s cause the smartphone`s lithium-ion battery to overheat, and in some cases burst into flames, resulting in at least thirteen reports of burns and forty-seven reports of property damage.
CHRIS THOMPSON: A lot of us feel that there were not enough incidences out of how many phones were actually out there, for it to be a serious problem. I mean it`s-- it`s less than a one percent chance.
KRIS VAN CLEAVE: Samsung says more than ninety-three percent of the Note 7s under recall have been turned in, but more than one hundred thousand are still out there. That`s why the company has worked with wireless carriers on the update effectively rendering the phone useless. Thompson and other Note 7 fans are coming together online, sharing ways to avoid the update so they can keep using the device.
TIM BAXTER: As you know this year was a challenging year for Samsung.
KRIS VAN CLEAVE: The recall has cost Samsung billions. Its focus now is putting the Note 7 debacle in the past. Samsung U.S. President Tim Baxter spoke at the Consumer Electronics Show Wednesday, promising the company will soon release the cause of the defect.
TIM BAXTER: We continue our intensive efforts internally and with third- party experts to understand what happened and to make sure it does not happen again.
SHARA TIBKEN (CNET Senior Reporter): This is going to be a rebuilding year for Samsung. It`s-- it`s going to be a hard year for them. In terms of marketing, Samsung is going to have to do things to reassure customers that they know what happened, it`s not going to happen again, and that all Samsung devices are going to be safe from here on out.
(End VT)
KRIS VAN CLEAVE: Now Samsung and the Consumer Product Safety Commission say if you still have a Note 7 turn it off and bring it back. You can exchange it for a new phone or get a refund. Norah.
NORAH O`DONNELL: Why not get a new phone, right?
CHARLIE ROSE: I read somewhere that they`re coming out with an 8, coming at some point which they say will sort of be terrific.
NORAH O`DONNELL: All right. Sounds good. Kris, thank you so much.
END
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