CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-11-29

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Bob Schaefer and welcome to

[0:02] the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:05] Just ahead, the worst hurricane season

[0:07] ever officially ends just as tropical

[0:10] storm Epsilon takes shape. Jim Aostto

[0:13] will have details. Also, the Iraq

[0:21] from inside an Iraqi prison. And if

[0:24] you're one of millions who listen to

[0:26] loud music on one of those personal

[0:28] stereo systems, you may be damaging your

[0:31] hearing. We'll show you why. It's all

[0:33] starting now on the CBS Evening News

[0:35] Online Edition.

[0:38] It has been the first real snowstorm of

[0:40] the season, and it's been a severe one.

[0:43] Slippery roads have left five dead in

[0:45] Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and

[0:47] Kansas as snow is stretched from the

[0:50] Texas panhandle to the Great Lakes. And

[0:52] another person has died in a tornado in

[0:55] Arkansas. Lee Cowan is watching the

[0:58] weather for us tonight. Here's his

[0:59] report.

[1:02] It's Minnesota's version of a bad hair

[1:04] day. It started here and only got worse

[1:08] once out on the road. In fact, the

[1:10] morning commute across the nation's

[1:11] midsection was slowgoing at best

[1:15] when it was going at all.

[1:17] >> The traction is just terrible.

[1:19] Winds raced across the open plains as

[1:21] high as the 75 mph speed limit. They

[1:24] shut down interstates from Colorado to

[1:26] Nebraska. Some of them, like I7 in

[1:28] Kansas, have been closed for 2 days,

[1:31] wiping out motorists in white out

[1:33] conditions.

[1:34] >> We got here and my reservation was

[1:36] invalid. So, we ended up sleeping in the

[1:39] car with three children.

[1:42] >> Some roads were back open this morning,

[1:44] but that was cold comfort for those left

[1:46] behind. Power companies say it could be

[1:48] days before electricity is restored to

[1:50] some communities, leaving thousands

[1:52] looking for shelter. As fierce and quite

[1:55] frankly, as painful as this storm ended

[1:57] up being, it wasn't a record-breaker.

[1:59] Not in terms of the amount of snow that

[2:00] fell, and not even in terms of how

[2:02] strong those winds were. But what did

[2:04] seem to surprise forecasters is the

[2:06] breadth of this storm. It stretched

[2:08] nearly the entire width of the country.

[2:12] The same winds that caused snow drifts

[2:14] up north were feeding flames down south.

[2:17] This one in tinder dry Oklahoma. What a

[2:19] contrast. And if it wasn't burning, it

[2:22] was churning in tornadoes. An estimated

[2:24] three dozen twisters were spawned by

[2:26] that same stormfront as it made its way

[2:29] east. Back in Minnesota, Ron Schlor

[2:32] doesn't know what to think. He spent 15

[2:34] years clearing roads from mother

[2:36] nature's wintry worst and can only offer

[2:39] this. Some say this this storm is kind

[2:41] of an indication that it's going to be a

[2:42] really long winter. You think that's

[2:45] true?

[2:46] >> Whatever whatever happens, we'll have to

[2:47] deal with it one way or the other.

[2:49] >> One way or another, this first storm of

[2:51] the season seemed to drag everybody into

[2:54] its clutches. Lee Cowen, CBS News,

[2:57] Minneapolis. And this storm system is

[3:00] not done yet. It has moved east now,

[3:02] bringing rain and gusty wind to much of

[3:04] the Atlantic coast. Meanwhile, this

[3:07] year's hurricane season, the most active

[3:09] and destructive on record, will finally

[3:11] end tomorrow. But the weather service is

[3:13] already warning next year could be just

[3:16] as bad. Here's Jim Mccasta.

[3:19] >> The experts have spoken. This hurricane

[3:21] season will go down as the biggest,

[3:23] baddest, deadliest, and costliest of all

[3:26] time. Today, the government's weather

[3:28] watchers chocked it all up to a

[3:30] naturally occurring period that's

[3:32] combining warm ocean waters with storm

[3:35] friendly wind conditions.

[3:36] >> It probably has been the most

[3:38] devastating hurricane season uh that the

[3:40] country has experienced in modern times.

[3:42] >> Like much of the Gulf Coast, weather

[3:44] records were blown away. The previous

[3:46] high number of named storms was beaten

[3:48] by five. So many the Greek alphabet was

[3:51] used for the first time. And the old

[3:53] mark for hurricanes was topped by one,

[3:55] as was the number of category fives. Lay

[3:58] them all out on a map, and it becomes a

[4:01] spaghetti dinner of destruction. The

[4:03] first major hurricane of '05, Dennis,

[4:06] clobbered Pensacola, where people like

[4:08] Mary and Brian were still in recovery

[4:10] from the record-breaking storms of ' 04.

[4:13] >> You do cry.

[4:14] >> You do cry.

[4:14] >> You do cry and then you get to work.

[4:16] Yeah.

[4:17] >> But nobody could have known how much

[4:19] misery the season had in store. Katrina,

[4:22] the mother of all hurricanes, wiped

[4:24] towns off the map in Mississippi and

[4:26] nearly sent a great American city to its

[4:29] grave.

[4:32] The air also delivered the most powerful

[4:34] storm ever measured in the Atlantic,

[4:36] Wilma, which thankfully weakened before

[4:39] slamming into the US. Forecasters fear

[4:42] the hurricane hyperactivity could drag

[4:44] on for another two decades. I would like

[4:47] to be able to stand up here and tell you

[4:48] that next year uh will not be any more

[4:52] severe than this year, but I can't do

[4:54] that.

[4:55] >> Today, tropical storm Epsilon formed in

[4:58] the Atlantic. And while it's not a

[4:59] threat to the US, it is a sign that a

[5:01] December hurricane and more debris piles

[5:04] like this are still a possibility. Bob,

[5:07] >> Jim, what are you standing in front of?

[5:09] Did you just say that's debris?

[5:13] This is a 110,000

[5:15] cubic ton of debris behind me. This is a

[5:19] pile of debris behind me. And it's and

[5:21] it's one of many piles across South

[5:23] Florida from Hurricane Wilma that still

[5:24] remain from the storm that hit a month

[5:26] ago. And we also are seeing many of

[5:29] these same piles across Mississippi and

[5:31] Louisiana. It's going to take a long

[5:33] time to get those piles taken away.

[5:35] >> I must say just seeing the size of that

[5:37] thing really brings it home as to how

[5:39] much damage this thing did create. Thank

[5:41] you very much, Jim. Earlier this month,

[5:43] the US military raided a prison run by

[5:46] Iraq's Interior Ministry in Baghdad, and

[5:48] they found some inmates had been

[5:50] tortured. The Iraqi government was

[5:52] accused of adopting the brutal methods

[5:55] of Saddam Hussein. Well, now hoping to

[5:57] quiet these critics, Iraqi officials

[5:59] took CBS News into a prison. But the

[6:03] visit only raised more questions. Here's

[6:05] Kimberly Doer now with the inside story.

[6:09] The police say these men were caught

[6:11] red-handed driving this car packed with

[6:14] explosives. The men say they're

[6:16] innocent. The Iraqi police say they

[6:18] found this remote control device inside

[6:20] the car. It's operated by this cell

[6:23] phone. There are also three large shells

[6:25] in the trunk that are wired to blow. The

[6:28] guy driving and the two men with him say

[6:30] they never saw any of this. You didn't

[6:32] know they were there?

[6:33] >> The driver said his cousin gave him the

[6:35] car a day earlier. Do you think anyone

[6:37] is going to believe you here?

[6:40] >> God knows. He says all three agree no

[6:43] one has tried to force them to change

[6:45] their minds. The cops insist the old

[6:47] Saddam ways of making suspects talk are

[6:50] no longer acceptable.

[6:52] In this room, 50 prisoners were packed

[6:54] in a small space. Have any of you been

[6:57] tortured here? Not a word. At least none

[7:01] they'd share with officials close by. In

[7:03] another room, we were given a few

[7:05] moments alone.

[7:06] >> Was anyone here beaten?

[7:08] >> Some said they'd been pushed around, but

[7:10] nothing more.

[7:12] >> Iraq's justice minister says his country

[7:14] has come a long way from Saddam's

[7:15] special courts where a hundred men could

[7:18] be sentenced and executed in an hour.

[7:21] >> He showed us pictures from a recent

[7:22] high-profile prison raid, downplaying

[7:25] the abuse and insisting most of it

[7:27] happened during the chaos of raids and

[7:29] arrests. They seem to have

[7:32] different definitions of what's okay.

[7:36] That's bruising all over.

[7:39] Looks pretty bad to me.

[7:42] >> He would have had to get hit and hit and

[7:43] hit.

[7:44] >> No, no, no. That's uh

[7:48] >> you have to hit a wall pretty hard.

[7:51] >> The photos of bruising matched others

[7:53] recently released by Sunni groups of

[7:55] other ex- prisoners. US commanders tell

[7:58] CBS News Iraqis are trying hard, but

[8:01] there's still a vast cultural divide to

[8:03] bridge. One US police trainer told us

[8:06] the first thing he teaches new Iraqi

[8:08] recruits is no torture during

[8:10] interrogation. And the first question

[8:13] every new class comes back with is why.

[8:16] Kimberly Doer, CBS News, Baghdad.

[8:20] >> No doubt you have noticed a lot of

[8:21] people walking down the street with

[8:23] earphones on these days listening to

[8:25] music. Sometimes it's so loud everyone

[8:27] gets to share it. Well, guess what?

[8:29] Doctors have discovered those people

[8:31] with the earphones may be ruining their

[8:34] hearing. Here is contributing

[8:36] correspondent Dr. Malikica Marshall with

[8:38] a story you should really listen to.

[8:43] Muel McCavana is a typical video game

[8:46] playing, cell phone talking.

[8:48] >> Cool. See you soon. music obsessed

[8:50] teenager

[8:52] and he loves his iPod.

[8:55] >> Pretty much every day, every moment that

[8:57] I can fit it in, I try to listen to

[8:59] music.

[9:01] >> But when the volume goes up, so does the

[9:03] risk of hearing loss dramatically.

[9:05] >> Noise induced hearing loss develops

[9:07] insidiously.

[9:08] >> Aiologist Brian Fleger has found that

[9:10] personal stereo systems like the iPod

[9:13] can lead to significant hearing loss. He

[9:15] says there are two critical factors. how

[9:17] loud the music is and how long you

[9:20] listen.

[9:23] >> When he tested my volume tolerance,

[9:25] that's probably the max for me. I was

[9:27] safe at around 80 dB or about halfway up

[9:30] the dial. But at decibel levels over 85,

[9:34] Fleer suggests no more than an hour a

[9:36] day with headsets outside the ears and

[9:39] only 15 minutes with those inside. for

[9:42] some types of in-ear earphones. Most

[9:44] certainly um there is greater potential

[9:47] for danger.

[9:48] >> While kids might be the most vulnerable

[9:50] to hearing damage, the generation which

[9:52] included the first Walkman users is now

[9:55] showing some of the worst hearing loss.

[9:59] Kathy Peek was a singer for an allgirl

[10:01] punk band until her hearing was damaged

[10:04] at a concert. After that show, it it I

[10:08] suffered hearing loss and tonitis, which

[10:11] is ringing in the ears.

[10:13] >> Peek teamed up with Pete Townsen of The

[10:15] WHO to warn people of all generations

[10:17] that too much of a good thing can be

[10:19] damaging.

[10:20] >> You know, if somebody that hear can hear

[10:22] your system next to you, if you're on

[10:25] the bus or something, it's too loud.

[10:28] It's way too loud.

[10:31] And it doesn't matter what type of music

[10:34] you enjoy, your ears don't discriminate.

[10:37] You can love rock and roll for a

[10:39] lifetime if you can just keep it down.

[10:44] >> Dr. Malica Marshall, CBS News,

[10:47] Lexington, Massachusetts.

[10:50] >> More stories are just a click away, but

[10:52] don't forget to join me on television

[10:53] for the on air edition of the CBS

[10:56] Evening News. On Wednesday's broadcast,

[10:58] Americans problems with debt and why

[11:01] paying it off may soon be tougher. Join

[11:04] us for the special series, The Debt

[11:06] Trap. for cbsnews.com.