CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-12-27

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm John Roberts and welcome to

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

[0:04] Just ahead, Iraq Sunni Arabs protest

[0:06] recent election results amid rising

[0:08] violence there. Kelly Kobier is going to

[0:09] have the details for us. Also,

[0:11] preventing an eye disease that affects

[0:13] millions of Americans. It may just be a

[0:16] matter of eating more vegetables. We'll

[0:18] have the latest research for you. And

[0:20] fasten your seat belt. We'll take you

[0:22] for a ride in a car that actually drives

[0:24] itself. It's all starting now on the CBS

[0:27] Evening News online edition.

[0:31] The American death toll in Iraq has

[0:33] risen yet again. Two US soldiers were

[0:36] killed after two Apache helicopters

[0:38] collided in midair. And a third soldier

[0:41] died after he was wounded in an attack

[0:43] west of Baghdad. On the political front,

[0:46] all sides are jockeying for a share of

[0:48] power in the new Iraqi government. The

[0:51] majority Shiites held talks today with

[0:53] Kurds about the makeup of that

[0:54] government. And the minority Sunnis did

[0:57] their talking out on the street. Kelly

[1:00] Kobea is in Baghdad.

[1:03] >> This is the new Iraq, a free country

[1:06] where thousands of protesters can take

[1:08] to the streets to voice their demands.

[1:10] The trouble is, they're here to reject

[1:12] the outcome of a democratic election.

[1:16] >> "We came out," says this man, to demand

[1:18] that the vote be rerun. A vote that was

[1:21] supposed to bring Iraq's waring ethnic

[1:23] tribes together, but instead is

[1:25] threatening to tear this nation apart.

[1:27] The Sunni Arab minority believes a

[1:29] coalition of Shiite religious parties

[1:31] stole the election and has declared war

[1:33] on Sunnis. These are the kinds of images

[1:36] that fuel the resentment. Three dozen

[1:38] homes destroyed to make room for an army

[1:41] base in the heart of the Sunni triangle.

[1:44] "We went to the polls," this woman says,

[1:46] hoping that a new president would come

[1:48] to take care of Iraqis. But what we see

[1:50] is the opposite. They threw us out of

[1:52] our houses.

[1:53] >> The Sunni street now is somehow boiling.

[1:57] >> Dr. Alam Maki was one of the Sunni

[1:59] leaders who urged their people to lay

[2:01] down their guns and turn out the vote.

[2:03] >> The situation is very dangerous and the

[2:07] hours, the coming hours, coming days,

[2:09] you might notice what will happen.

[2:11] >> It's happening already. The political

[2:13] frustration is fueling the insurgency.

[2:15] In the last 48 hours, there have been

[2:18] more than half a dozen bombings in

[2:19] Baghdad. An upsurge in violence that has

[2:22] so far claimed more than 40 lives.

[2:25] But for the victorious Shiites, the

[2:27] election results are simply a case of

[2:29] democracy in action. And the independent

[2:32] election committee says a revote is not

[2:34] an option.

[2:35] >> There is no revote because there is no

[2:37] any reason. We have our numbers. We have

[2:41] the results which is clean and pure.

[2:45] The final results are due in sometime

[2:47] next week, but getting all Iraqis to

[2:49] accept them as a legitimate basis for a

[2:52] new government just may be the biggest

[2:54] challenge yet for Iraq's democracy. John

[2:57] >> Kelly, is there any sign that these

[2:58] factions are considering some type of

[3:01] compromise to create a more inclusive

[3:03] government as these protesters have

[3:05] demanded?

[3:07] >> The leaders of some of these political

[3:09] parties have been meeting in the past

[3:10] couple of days. It's unlikely that any

[3:12] firm deal has been made as yet, but the

[3:15] hope is that all of this talk of

[3:17] protesting and political boycotting is

[3:20] just that talk maneuvering as opposed to

[3:22] a real threat.

[3:23] >> The Iraqi version of the smoke filled

[3:25] room. Kelly Kobier in Baghdad. Thanks.

[3:27] In health news tonight, a study finds

[3:29] that the aggressive treatment of heart

[3:31] attacks is causing other problems.

[3:33] Overdoses of so-called clotbusting drugs

[3:36] given in emergency rooms are causing

[3:38] excessive bleeding in more than 115,000

[3:40] patients every year. The bleeding

[3:43] sometimes occurs in the brain, which is

[3:45] especially dangerous. Another research

[3:48] discovery tonight, this one about

[3:49] preventing the leading cause of

[3:51] blindness in Americans over age 60.

[3:54] Sharon Alfonsi is here now with new

[3:55] research on macular degeneration. Sure.

[3:58] >> Well, John, this is really good news and

[4:00] an easy way to help prevent eye disease

[4:02] that affects 10 million Americans.

[4:05] >> The most common type of macular

[4:07] degeneration is caused by the

[4:09] deterioration of the central portion of

[4:11] the retina. That's the part responsible

[4:13] for focusing the eye. So, if it fails,

[4:16] your central vision gets blurred. You're

[4:18] not able to read, drive a car, or see

[4:21] objects in fine detail. It can be

[4:23] devastating.

[4:25] Doctors are worried that it could become

[4:27] an epidemic as baby boomers grow older

[4:29] and live longer. But this new study

[4:32] found that by adding antioxidants to

[4:34] your diet, you can delay degeneration.

[4:37] Specifically, adding vitamin E, which

[4:39] can be found in eggs and nuts, zinc

[4:42] that's found in fish and poultry,

[4:44] vitamin C that's found in fruit and

[4:46] juices, and beta carotene that's in

[4:48] carrots and spinach. And it's worth

[4:50] noting that the study also found that

[4:51] foods high in those nutrients actually

[4:53] work better than nutritional supplements

[4:56] in preventing disease. Well, doctors say

[4:58] you don't need to dramatically change

[5:00] your life. You just have to change your

[5:01] diet. In other words, the next time you

[5:03] order that pizza, throw a little

[5:05] broccoli on it. And they say something

[5:06] that simple could actually save your

[5:08] eyesight.

[5:09] >> Awfully simple. There's two different

[5:10] types of macular degeneration. Does this

[5:13] work for both? This only works for dry

[5:15] degeneration, which is actually the most

[5:16] widespread. And most people who have

[5:18] degeneration, that's what they're

[5:19] they're looking at.

[5:20] >> And and should everybody follow this

[5:22] diet?

[5:22] >> They say this is a good diet for pretty

[5:24] much anyone. Any kind of anti rich

[5:26] antioxidant diet is good for anyone, but

[5:28] especially anyone who has the first

[5:30] signs of degeneration.

[5:31] >> Sounds like great news, Sharon. Thanks

[5:32] very much. A century ago, the world was

[5:35] introduced to a technological marvel.

[5:37] The Stanley Steamer, a car that ran on

[5:40] steam power. Well, now there's another

[5:43] Stanley. And this one is a marvel by any

[5:45] measure. You see, because this isn't a

[5:47] car you drive. This is a car that drives

[5:49] you. Just ask our John Blackstone, who

[5:52] really got taken for a ride. Going for a

[5:56] ride with Sebastian Tron is a test of

[5:58] faith. I must say, every time we pass

[6:01] this poll, I get a little worried.

[6:02] >> See, you're still in the beginning

[6:03] phase.

[6:04] >> You've got to have faith in technology.

[6:07] >> Now, this is completely hands off. Okay?

[6:08] Okay, I want you to appreciate this

[6:10] because

[6:10] >> your life is in our hands.

[6:12] >> Prune, you see, built a car that drives

[6:15] itself.

[6:15] >> Stop. Pay attention. Look at me.

[6:17] >> Relax. Trust the car.

[6:18] >> Trust me. Trust the car. Car does the

[6:20] right thing. I'm not looking. Are you?

[6:23] >> The robot car is nicknamed Stanley. We

[6:25] got a demonstration on a test track at

[6:27] Stanford University where Trun leads the

[6:30] team that designed Stanley. It is like

[6:32] having a ghost driver here.

[6:34] >> Yeah. The idea is at some point in the

[6:36] future, we'll just get into our car,

[6:38] push a button, and say, "I want to go to

[6:40] Los Angeles." And the car will do all

[6:42] the make all the decisions by

[6:43] themselves. That may sound far-fetched,

[6:45] but last summer, Stanley drove all by

[6:48] itself across 132 mi of desert, a

[6:52] demanding course laid out in a defense

[6:54] department challenge. Stanley won the

[6:56] race and a $2 million prize.

[7:00] >> The key thing that makes the drive

[7:02] itself are it sends us on the top. The

[7:04] camera, lasers, and satellite guidance

[7:06] equipment feed information to a couple

[7:08] of laptop computers in the trunk. Within

[7:11] about 25 years, Trune figures most cars

[7:14] won't need drivers. But the next step

[7:16] toward that future will come in October

[7:19] 2007 when Trun intends to have a robot

[7:22] car drive itself from San Francisco to

[7:25] Los Angeles.

[7:26] >> It won't be a very fast driver going

[7:28] from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It

[7:30] might just drive 55 mph and not go 90

[7:32] like everybody else does in California.

[7:34] >> It won't be a real California then.

[7:36] >> It won't be a real Californian.

[7:37] >> Stanley's program to be a safer, more

[7:40] considerate driver than most people.

[7:42] Road rage will never be an issue. After

[7:45] all, one thing Stanley's never learned

[7:47] is how to honk his own horn. John

[7:50] Blackstone, CBS News, Stanford. More

[7:52] stories are just a click away, but don't

[7:54] forget to join us on television for the

[7:56] on air edition of the CBS Evening News.

[7:58] On Wednesday's broadcast, you'll meet a

[8:00] tough former cop who teaches a kinder,

[8:02] gentler way of getting bad guys to do as

[8:05] they're told. Does it work? We'll give

[8:08] you a look. For cbsnews.com,

[8:11] I'm John Roberts.