To the Point

Asbestos Trust Fund Reignites Tort Reform Debate

It-s been decades since asbestos first made headlines as a deadly workplace hazard. Some 200,000 lawsuits are currently pending, and the numbers keep rising every year. Two thousand people a year are dying from asbestos-related diseases. More than 60 companies, many of them in the fortune 500, have declared bankruptcy, blaming asbestos litigation. Tomorrow, the Senate will focus on a controversial plan to end the lawsuits and set up a private trust fund to pay victims. But who gets compensated, and how much? Will victims lose out in the battle between corporations and trial lawyers? Guest host Sara Terry joins investigative reporters, industry insiders, consumer advocates, attorneys, and the author of one Senate bill, for a look at the incredible strain asbestos litigation is putting on the courts, on victims and on businesses. Making News: Seoul Pressured by North Korea-s Nuclear Capability Pyongyang announced today, for the first time, that it has a nuclear program in place. International pressure is increasing to impose a blockade on North Korea, which continues to defy the world with its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Jay Solomon is in Seoul, following the story for the Wall Street Journal. Reporter's Notebook: US Conference of Catholic Bishops Gets Underway It-s been almost a year since US Catholic Bishops met in Dallas and pledged themselves to a new spirit of openness in dealing with priests' sexual abuse of children. Critics say not enough has changed, and the layman appointed to head an inquiry into the abuse crisis repeatedly compared the bishops' behavior to that of the -cosa nostra.- Michael Rezendes is part of the team that broke the story for the Boston Globe.