CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2004-11-24

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Dan Rather and welcome to the

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

[0:04] ahead, the most wanted man in Iraq rails

[0:07] against some Muslim clerics. Has Zakawi

[0:09] finally been backed into a corner? We'll

[0:12] give you details. Also, Thanksgiving

[0:14] travel, it's expected to be heavy this

[0:16] year, and bad weather won't help. A

[0:19] holiday weekend forecast. Here's

[0:21] tonight's inside story. And we report on

[0:23] a seal pup who lost his bearings. You

[0:26] won't believe where he ended up. It's

[0:29] all starting now on the CBS Evening News

[0:31] online edition. A US diplomat working

[0:34] with Iraq's education ministry was shot

[0:37] and killed today in Baghdad. West of the

[0:39] capital, US Marines searching Fallujah

[0:42] reported finding quote stunning

[0:44] quantities of weapons enough for a

[0:46] countrywide guerilla war. And CBS's Lee

[0:49] Cowan reports a terrorist who'd love to

[0:52] have those weapons issued an angry new

[0:54] audio tape.

[0:56] It was an uncharacteristic show of

[0:58] emotion from Iraq's most wanted

[1:00] terrorist.

[1:02] A furious Abu Masab al- Zarqawi ranting

[1:05] not against America but at Islamic

[1:07] Clerence. You've let us down, he cried.

[1:10] Hundreds of thousands of the nation's

[1:11] sons are being slaughtered at the hands

[1:13] of the infidels because of your silence.

[1:16] He went so far as to charge some Muslims

[1:18] with trading their faith for Western

[1:20] riches. You chose your wives, your

[1:22] properties, and your children, he said

[1:24] accusingly. you're idle and cozy. The

[1:27] criticism was aimed at religious clerics

[1:29] who al- Zarqawi says have pushed the

[1:31] ballot box instead of bullets and bombs.

[1:34] The Shiite Supreme Leader Grand

[1:35] Ayatollah Sustani even started a poster

[1:38] campaign suggesting Iraq's muscle should

[1:40] only be flexed at the polls.

[1:43] >> If you don't vote, this man says you

[1:45] will harm Iraq. Zarqawi's angry message

[1:48] seems as much of a shout against Muslim

[1:50] clerics as it is a call for help. And

[1:52] that's being read in some circles as a

[1:54] hint that the US-led offensive in

[1:55] Fallujah may have dealt a more serious,

[1:58] deeper blow to his terror network than

[2:00] he's willing to admit. Backed into a

[2:02] corner, some fear the more desperate

[2:04] insurgents get, the more dangerous they

[2:05] will be. Another roadside bomb hit a US

[2:08] military convoy today, and more bodies

[2:11] were discovered in Mosul, bringing the

[2:13] total to 20 there in the last week, most

[2:15] thought to be members of Iraq's security

[2:17] force. But the squeeze continues. There

[2:20] were additional raids south of Baghdad.

[2:22] Commanders say US, British, and Iraqi

[2:24] troops are taking a more targeted

[2:26] approach than they did in Fallujah and

[2:27] have rounded up crime families who've

[2:29] been supplying the Zarqawi network with

[2:31] arms. Another way to cut the insurgents

[2:33] off even as they're on the run. Lee

[2:36] Cowen, CBS News, Baghdad. Severe storms

[2:40] that have dumped rain over Texas for

[2:42] days, spun off deadly tornadoes there

[2:44] and in other southern states. One

[2:46] twister tore up homes in Slidell,

[2:48] Louisiana. And there was slipping and

[2:50] sliding in the Midwest, pounded by a

[2:53] heaping helping of snow, plus dangerous

[2:56] wind in the windy city. Gusts high

[2:58] enough to push pedestrians around in

[3:00] Chicago. But the weather blast with

[3:02] nasty trimmings isn't the only problem

[3:05] facing Americans on the move for the

[3:07] holidays. CBS's Bob or gives you the

[3:09] inside story.

[3:12] With a mix of snow, rain, and fog,

[3:15] tighter plane and train security out of

[3:18] the open,

[3:19] >> and larger than normal crowds,

[3:21] Thanksgiving travelers are facing a

[3:22] perfect storm of hassles.

[3:24] >> We're going to have us a nice time, so

[3:26] we're going to take it out one moment at

[3:27] a time.

[3:28] >> But it may not be easy. After a

[3:30] three-year post 911 slump, travel is

[3:32] back. 37 million Americans will spend

[3:35] part of their holiday on the highways

[3:37] and 16 million more will trudge through

[3:39] airports. Overall, the expectation is

[3:42] that 2004 will surpass the year 2000 in

[3:44] terms of sheer volume numbers of

[3:47] travelers.

[3:47] >> Predictions of airport gridlock failed

[3:49] to materialize today. Passengers face

[3:51] some long lines, but only moderate

[3:53] delays from Los Angeles to Dallas,

[3:57] Atlanta, and Washington.

[3:59] >> Smoother than I ever imagined.

[4:01] >> But some passengers are protesting

[4:02] invasive physical searches. Since

[4:05] suicide bombers took down two Russian

[4:07] jets, US security screeners have been

[4:09] ordered to look for hidden explosives.

[4:11] >> It was very humiliating. I was very I I

[4:14] almost started to cry there,

[4:16] >> but security officials make no

[4:18] apologies. Until we can get the

[4:20] technology, and we're working hard to

[4:21] deploy explosive detection technology to

[4:23] the passenger screening checkpoints.

[4:25] We're using good oldfashioned patowns.

[4:27] Rail riders will escape patowns, but in

[4:29] light of the Madrid train bombings in

[4:31] March, Amtrak now does require passenger

[4:34] IDs.

[4:35] >> Bring with you a little patience and uh

[4:38] have a great trip.

[4:39] >> As for the highways, traffic is expected

[4:41] to build through the night, though.

[4:43] Motorists are smiling on the

[4:45] Pennsylvania Turnpike.

[4:46] >> I think it's cool because it's the

[4:47] biggest travel day of the year.

[4:49] >> Where a toll taker strike makes this a

[4:51] toll-free day. Bobble, CBS News,

[4:54] Washington. We closed this Thanksgiving

[4:57] Eve with a different kind of home for

[4:59] the holidays story. CBS's John

[5:01] Blackstone reports how some kind-hearted

[5:03] strangers helped a weward youngster make

[5:06] her way back to where she belongs. Not

[5:08] the city by the bay, but the bay by the

[5:11] city. The crowd that gathered to watch

[5:14] the police pursuit knew the stranger

[5:16] didn't belong in this neighborhood.

[5:18] >> It's unusual. I can't figure out for the

[5:20] life of me how how he managed to get

[5:22] this far. Somehow, the determined

[5:24] creature with the big eyes had made its

[5:26] way up a concrete storm drain beneath

[5:28] the streets of Oakland, California.

[5:30] >> Oh, I just love this little animal here.

[5:32] >> The little animal is a 181 lb elephant

[5:35] seal pup about a year old.

[5:38] >> You tired, huh?

[5:39] >> And some 2 miles from San Francisco Bay,

[5:42] where its unusual journey must have

[5:44] started. Firemen tried to turn the pup

[5:47] back downstream.

[5:48] >> Come on, baby. Keep it going. But this

[5:50] was a youngster bound to go in the wrong

[5:53] direction. So reluctantly and carefully,

[5:56] it was taken into custody. This weward

[5:59] elephant seal pup, so far from its home

[6:01] in the wild, seems to be part of a

[6:03] trend. Meandering marine mammals

[6:06] searching for adventure far from the

[6:08] seashore. Earlier this year, it was

[6:10] Chippy the sea lion who turned up in a

[6:12] farmer's field a 100 miles from the

[6:15] Pacific Ocean. Like Chippy, the young

[6:17] elephant sealed from the storm drain,

[6:19] now named Emmy, was brought to the

[6:21] Marine Mammal Center for a physical.

[6:23] >> She's got good body weight. She's well

[6:25] hydrated. Um, she's very alert for an

[6:28] elephant seal.

[6:29] >> Doesn't look alert. She's sleeping.

[6:32] >> This is about as alert as elephant seals

[6:34] get.

[6:34] >> And now she's being taken back to the

[6:36] ocean and advised to stay there. John

[6:40] Blackstone, CBS News, San Francisco.

[6:42] More stories are just a click away, but

[6:44] be sure to join me on television for the

[6:46] on air edition of the CBS Evening News

[6:49] on Thursday's broadcast. To be an Army

[6:52] Ranger, that's all a very special

[6:54] 9-year-old ever wanted. He's going to

[6:56] gut his wish, and you're invited to

[6:58] share in his adventure. For CBSN.com,

[7:02] I'm Dan Rather.