CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-10-20

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.

[0:04] Just ahead, in the path of Wilma,

[0:07] Jamaica and Haiti take a hit from the

[0:10] still powerful hurricane. Jim Maccasta

[0:12] will have details. Also, as Katrina

[0:15] wreaked havoc in New Orleans, a FEMA

[0:17] official says he repeatedly warned of

[0:20] disaster but was ignored. Bob our will

[0:23] have that story. and petting zoos. We'll

[0:26] show you why many of the popular

[0:27] attractions are about to undergo some

[0:30] major changes. It's all starting now on

[0:32] the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:37] Well, Hurricane Wilma may not be the

[0:40] monster storm that forecasters thought

[0:42] it was at one point yesterday, but it

[0:45] still looks like a bad one with the

[0:46] potential to cause extensive damage and

[0:49] death. Here's how it looks from the

[0:51] space station. A storm that is now 400 m

[0:54] wide as it churns toward the Gulf of

[0:57] Mexico. The good news, if there is any

[0:59] about this storm, is that it has slowed

[1:02] down. The best estimate now is that it

[1:04] won't hit the west coast of Florida

[1:06] until late Sunday, which means the

[1:08] residents there will have an extra day

[1:10] to get ready. Jim Acasta is there again

[1:13] tonight, and we hear first from him.

[1:15] Hurricane Wilma left a scene of misery

[1:17] in the Caribbean, killing more than a

[1:19] dozen people in Jamaica and Haiti, then

[1:22] setting a course for Mexico's Yucatan

[1:24] Peninsula. CBS News producer Ben

[1:26] Ferguson is riding out the storm in

[1:28] Cancun, where vacationers are packing

[1:31] their bags.

[1:32] >> Looking out my window, I see 15 to 20

[1:35] foot seas here in a place that's really

[1:37] usually calm water. While this monster

[1:39] storm is mellowing out, losing some

[1:41] intensity and slowing down, forecasters

[1:44] are no less concerned.

[1:46] >> It certainly doesn't look as powerful as

[1:48] it did yesterday. Uh but believe me,

[1:51] this is still a very, very powerful

[1:52] hurricane.

[1:53] >> And that means the hundreds of people

[1:55] still living in this FEMA trailer

[1:57] village who lost their homes in

[1:59] Hurricane Charlie last year have only

[2:01] one choice. If

[2:02] >> I can put an engine on this power chair,

[2:04] I'll have everything on my back and run

[2:06] out of here.

[2:08] But FEMA Park resident Lily Marson's and

[2:10] her two kids have one question. Where do

[2:13] they go now? If you're evacuated, can

[2:15] you come back here?

[2:16] >> I hope so.

[2:18] >> You don't know.

[2:18] >> We don't know. FEMA hasn't sent us no

[2:20] letters whether we should board up or,

[2:23] you know, be prepared for anything. FEMA

[2:25] hasn't told us nothing.

[2:26] >> GET IN THE HOUSE.

[2:26] >> Many here took their chances during the

[2:28] hurricane last year and experienced

[2:30] category 4 fury. This year, Pontagorta's

[2:33] mayor says storm gamblers are becoming

[2:36] storm scramblers.

[2:38] >> I've heard people say, "I I stayed last

[2:40] year, but I'm not staying this year."

[2:41] >> An hour south in Maples, which eluded

[2:43] Charlie, but may be in the bullseye this

[2:45] time, the big concern is the area's

[2:48] large retirey community.

[2:50] >> Harington Pharmacy may help you.

[2:51] >> Localarmacies are now factories.

[2:54] >> We have our hurricane kits set in a

[2:56] special cupboard and we have our plastic

[2:58] containers that we put everything in and

[3:00] duct tape them up and Your prescriptions

[3:02] are part of that.

[3:03] >> That is part of it.

[3:05] Authorities are starting to issue

[3:07] evacuation orders for parts of Southwest

[3:09] Florida, but all of that could change as

[3:12] Wilma seems to be taking her time.

[3:48] investigators today. That message, like

[3:50] many others he sent during the crisis,

[3:52] was largely ignored.

[3:54] >> And in my opinion, there was a

[3:55] systematic failure at all levels of

[3:57] government to fully comprehend the

[3:59] magnitude and the severity of the

[4:02] situation that was presenting itself on

[4:04] an hourby- hour basis. When the first

[4:07] levy failed, Bumundy frantically called

[4:08] FEMA boss Mike Brown, worried that

[4:11] floodwaters could keep FEMA trucks from

[4:13] reaching the city.

[4:14] >> The only thing he said to me was, "Thank

[4:17] you. I'm now going to call the White

[4:19] House."

[4:19] >> But Monday, who spent two days himself

[4:21] in the squalid conditions of the Super

[4:23] Dome, denied ever telling Brown the

[4:25] shelter of last resort was prepared for

[4:27] thousands of evacuees.

[4:29] >> Marty later was able to communicate to

[4:31] me uh the information that, you know,

[4:33] they had plenty of food. Did you

[4:35] communicate to Michael Brown that there

[4:38] was plenty of food in the Superdome?

[4:41] >> It couldn't been any more clear to him

[4:42] that food and water was a desperate

[4:44] situation at the Superdome.

[4:46] >> By day three, with people still being

[4:47] plucked from rooftops and health

[4:49] conditions deteriorating, but Monday

[4:51] emailed Brown with an even more urgent

[4:53] plea for help. The situation is past

[4:56] critical. Estimates are many will die

[4:58] within hours. We are out of food and

[5:00] running out of water at the dome. There

[5:02] was no response, but 3 hours later,

[5:05] Bamundi got a copy of this note from

[5:06] Brown's press secretary. It is very

[5:09] important that time is allowed for Mr.

[5:10] Brown to eat dinner. Restaurants are

[5:13] getting busy. Brown has yet to tell his

[5:15] story to the Senate, but when he does,

[5:17] he'll face some tough new questions

[5:18] about the discrepancies and his role in

[5:21] the botched response to Katrina. Bob or

[5:24] CBS News, Capitol Hill. The army is

[5:28] investigating a report that American

[5:30] soldiers in Afghanistan desecrated the

[5:33] bodies of two dead Taliban fighters.

[5:36] Australian TV showed video of the bodies

[5:38] being burned, a violation of Muslim

[5:40] beliefs, and said it was done for

[5:42] hygienic reasons. The Australian report

[5:45] said American forces then used the

[5:47] incident to try to provoke other Taliban

[5:50] to come out of hiding and fight. The

[5:52] State Department calls all of this very

[5:54] troubling. In Iraq today, the military

[5:57] reported the deaths of five more

[5:59] American service members, including

[6:01] three killed by a roadside bomb north of

[6:03] Baghdad. Our Sharon Alonsi is traveling

[6:06] America coast to coast, reporting on the

[6:09] impact of the Iraq war there at home.

[6:12] And here she is now approaching the

[6:14] Pacific. Tonight on our road tour of the

[6:16] homeront, she is in East Los Angeles.

[6:18] Sharon.

[6:20] >> Well, for years, many people here looked

[6:22] as the military as a great way for

[6:24] low-income students to earn money for

[6:26] college. So, no one had a problem with

[6:28] it. But now, with a war going on, some

[6:31] people are taking aim at military

[6:32] recruiters, asking them to leave their

[6:35] kids alone.

[6:38] In the quiet of his family's apartment,

[6:40] Jorge Alakone puts on his ROC uniform, a

[6:44] silent ritual that transforms him from a

[6:46] student into a soldier.

[6:49] >> Right down.

[6:51] >> He makes his way down the dark streets

[6:53] of East Los Angeles to Lincoln High, an

[6:56] inner city school with a long tradition

[6:58] of sending kids like Jorge into the

[7:00] service.

[7:01] >> You take good care of that.

[7:02] >> Has that become part of who you are?

[7:04] >> Mhm. Jorge came to East LA from

[7:06] Guatemala.

[7:07] >> I came to this country looking for

[7:08] something. There's something I I got to

[7:10] do to pay back.

[7:11] >> He's the highest ranking ROC cadet at

[7:13] school.

[7:14] >> Get some air, Jorge.

[7:16] >> And teaches color guard classes. He

[7:18] tried to teach me.

[7:19] >> And I'm not going to shoot anyone,

[7:20] right?

[7:20] >> No, you won't shoot anybody.

[7:22] >> Clearly, the military isn't for

[7:23] everyone, but Jorge says it makes

[7:25] perfect sense to him.

[7:26] >> And I need money for the college and my

[7:29] family does have to support um my little

[7:30] brother, my little sister. He says the

[7:32] Marines will help him become a dentist.

[7:34] >> There's a good chance if you get in the

[7:36] Marines in the next few years, you could

[7:37] end up in Iraq.

[7:39] >> Probably. I I really don't think so.

[7:41] >> But it's war time.

[7:43] >> Doesn't mean we're going to get you like

[7:44] right away.

[7:45] >> I don't like to see our students

[7:47] exploited, taken advantage of.

[7:50] >> But many here say these lowincome

[7:52] students are being exploited by

[7:53] recruiters.

[7:54] >> Why are they coming here?

[7:56] >> I think they're coming here cuz it's a

[7:57] lowincome neighborhood. Are you dancers

[8:00] drill

[8:01] >> administrator Cynthia High is part of a

[8:03] growing group of parents and teachers

[8:05] who want to restrict recruiters access

[8:07] to kids on campus.

[8:08] >> I get the feeling that they feel like

[8:10] it's it's their turf. It's their

[8:12] territory.

[8:13] >> But if you bring in college recruiters,

[8:14] what's wrong with bringing in military

[8:16] recruiters?

[8:16] >> If it were done equitably, I wouldn't

[8:19] have as much of an argument with that.

[8:22] >> Do the kids, in your opinion, think it's

[8:24] the only option for them?

[8:25] >> I think sometimes they do think it's the

[8:27] only option. Jorge says it's the best

[8:29] option for him. He doesn't feel prayed

[8:31] upon. He feels proud.

[8:34] >> Everybody can have this type of um it's

[8:36] honor. You could say holding a rifle and

[8:38] wearing a uniform. Not a lot of people

[8:40] get to do that.

[8:43] >> And Jorge says the only way he can

[8:45] afford college is if the military pays

[8:47] for it. And if that means going to war

[8:49] first, he says it's worth it. Bob,

[8:52] >> well Sharon, you started two weeks ago

[8:54] at what? Paris Island, South Carolina.

[8:56] Where do you wind it up tomorrow?

[8:59] >> Well, we're going to end tomorrow in San

[9:00] Diego, California. We're going to

[9:02] revisit a soldier who had to leave a

[9:04] sick child behind when he left for Iraq,

[9:06] and we're going to see how they're all

[9:07] doing now.

[9:08] >> All right, more stories are just a click

[9:10] away, but don't forget to join me on

[9:11] television for the on air edition of the

[9:14] CBS Evening News. On Friday's broadcast,

[9:17] what you should know about bird flu in a

[9:20] consumer alert. And we'll have the very

[9:22] latest on Hurricane Wilma. for

[9:24] cbsnews.com.