CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-12-19

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 just

[0:05] ahead in a rare news conference. A

[0:07] combative President Bush defends his

[0:10] policy of eavesdropping on American

[0:12] citizens and takes on his war critics.

[0:15] John Roberts will have the story. Also,

[0:17] a sea plane carrying 19 people has

[0:21] crashed off Miami Beach, Florida. Bob

[0:23] our will have details on that. and

[0:25] defending Christmas. We'll give you the

[0:27] inside story on why hundreds of lawyers

[0:30] are ready to hit the courtrooms. It's

[0:32] all starting now on the CBS Evening News

[0:35] Online Edition.

[0:39] During his speech from the Oval Office

[0:41] last night, the president admitted the

[0:43] war in Iraq has not always gone the way

[0:46] he wanted, but he asked Americans for

[0:48] patience and he vowed to win it. Well,

[0:51] today he was in a much more combative

[0:53] mood at a White House news conference.

[0:55] He went headon at his critics, accused

[0:58] Congress of refusing to give him the

[1:00] tools he needs to keep the country safe,

[1:03] and said as long as the terrorist threat

[1:05] continues, he will use the National

[1:07] Security Agency to spy on Americans,

[1:10] even though some critics say he's

[1:12] breaking the law. Our first report on

[1:15] this tonight comes from John Roberts at

[1:17] the White House.

[1:19] It was the secret program to spy on

[1:22] suspected terrorists in America that got

[1:24] most of the attention at this final

[1:25] press conference of the year.

[1:27] >> President Bush was defiant and

[1:29] unapologetic.

[1:30] >> I just want to assure the American

[1:32] people that one, I've got the authority

[1:34] to do this. Two, it is a necessary part

[1:36] of my job to protect you, and three,

[1:39] we're guarding your civil liberties.

[1:41] >> And he had harsh words for the officials

[1:43] who leaked the story. A devastating

[1:45] blow, he said, to national security. It

[1:47] is a shameful act

[1:50] by somebody who has got secrets of the

[1:53] United States government and feels like

[1:54] they need to disclose them publicly.

[1:56] >> President Bush insists both the

[1:58] Constitution and Congressional

[2:00] authorization for the war on terror give

[2:02] him the power to circumvent the courts

[2:04] when eavesdropping on suspected

[2:06] terrorists and he is determined to keep

[2:08] doing it. But many legal scholars

[2:10] believe the program is utterly and

[2:13] completely illegal.

[2:14] >> I think their opinion is ludicrous. I

[2:16] think Congress expressly addressed

[2:18] whether the president could do this

[2:20] during wartime and they said yes but

[2:22] only for 15 days in an emergency

[2:24] situation. The president has now done it

[2:26] for 4 years. The president also had some

[2:29] choice words today for Democratic

[2:31] senators who are blocking renewal of the

[2:33] Patriot Act, saying it is essential to

[2:35] connect the sort of dots that were

[2:37] missed before the attacks on America. It

[2:39] is inexcusable for the United States

[2:41] Senate to let this Patriot Act expire.

[2:45] At the core of that dispute, civil

[2:47] liberties made all the more worrisome,

[2:49] say critics, with the disclosure of the

[2:50] secret eavesdropping program. When

[2:53] someone wondered about the appearance of

[2:55] a creep toward unchecked power, the

[2:57] president erupted.

[2:58] >> To say unchecked power basically is uh

[3:01] ascribing some kind of dictatorial

[3:02] position to the president, which I

[3:04] strongly reject.

[3:05] >> On Iraq, Mr. Bush admitted intelligence

[3:07] failures may hurt his ability to

[3:09] convince the world of future threats

[3:10] from nations like Iran. and he admitted

[3:13] that serious mistakes have set back the

[3:15] progress of training Iraqi forces. But

[3:18] he took a swing at critics who are

[3:20] insisting he set a timetable to pull US

[3:23] troops out.

[3:24] >> We got young men and women over there

[3:25] sacrificing and all of a sudden because

[3:27] of politics or some focus group or some

[3:30] poll they stand up and say we're out of

[3:31] there. President Bush also had awarded

[3:34] warning from members of Congress

[3:35] considering hearings into his spying

[3:37] tactics, cautioning that any airing of

[3:40] the program in public or its techniques

[3:42] will only give the terrorists the

[3:45] opportunity to adjust. But a vintage sea

[3:48] plane carrying 20 people crashed in

[3:50] shallow water just off Miami Beach today

[3:53] shortly after taking off on a flight to

[3:55] the Bahamas. All on board, 18 passengers

[3:58] and two crew were killed. Our aviation

[4:01] correspondent Bob our now with more on

[4:03] that.

[4:05] >> The sea plane went down in the shipping

[4:06] channel at the southern tip of Miami

[4:08] Beach. Within minutes, lifeguards

[4:10] paddling on surfboards joined rescue

[4:12] boats and the Coast Guard in a desperate

[4:14] search for survivors. But there were no

[4:16] signs of life in the water, only bodies

[4:19] which were recovered one by one. A

[4:22] fisherman on nearby South Beach saw the

[4:23] plane go down.

[4:25] >> Exploded before it hit the water. like

[4:27] one wing came off and the rest of it

[4:29] just went straight down in the water. A

[4:31] big ball of fire.

[4:32] >> A German tourist snapped this digital

[4:34] picture which seems to show smoke rising

[4:36] from the watery crash site.

[4:38] >> It blew up in the air and one wing fell

[4:40] off.

[4:40] >> The twin engine plane took off from the

[4:42] waters at the Watson Island Seabase just

[4:44] after 2:30 heading east toward Biminy in

[4:46] the Bahamas. It was purposely flying low

[4:49] to stay clear of larger airplanes and

[4:51] the pilots were not in contact with air

[4:53] traffic controllers. But in a matter of

[4:55] seconds, just 2 miles or so after

[4:57] takeoff, the plane with 20 people on

[4:59] board, including three children,

[5:00] crashed. The pilots made no emergency

[5:03] calls, and there were no cries for help.

[5:07] The plane, built just after World War

[5:09] II, but outfitted with newer engines,

[5:11] was similar to this one, operated by

[5:13] Chox Ocean Airways. The company has been

[5:15] flying since 1919 and with very few

[5:17] problems. Two crew members were killed

[5:19] in a crash in 1994, but this is the

[5:22] first fatal crash involving passengers.

[5:25] The plane, which went down today, was

[5:26] also involved in another incident a year

[5:28] ago, and it broke a landing gear after

[5:30] touching on a bit too hard. Now,

[5:31] investigators are checking to see if

[5:33] that event played any role whatsoever in

[5:35] today's crash. Bob, thank you, Bob.

[5:37] President Bush today put out his annual

[5:39] Christmas message and his annual

[5:41] Hanukkah message and his annual Quanza

[5:44] message. Trying to keep everyone happy

[5:46] these days uh is a real challenge, one

[5:49] that sometimes actually winds up in

[5:51] court. Here's Cynthia Bowers now with

[5:53] tonight's inside story.

[5:57] You have to look pretty hard to even see

[5:59] what's at the center of this Christmas

[6:01] storm. It's there on this tiny traffic

[6:04] island on a beach near Jacksonville.

[6:07] For 7 years, a Christmas tree has

[6:09] quietly marked the holiday season here.

[6:12] But things got a lot louder this year.

[6:14] First, a local Jewish group got

[6:16] permission to put a manora alongside.

[6:19] >> We want to celebrate our our holiday in

[6:21] this festival in uh in in a public way,

[6:23] in a way that people can participate in.

[6:25] That participation prompted a protest

[6:27] and eventually a federal lawsuit after a

[6:30] request to put up a nativity scene

[6:32] nearby was denied because officials

[6:34] worried it was too religious for public

[6:37] property and would violate court rulings

[6:39] on separation of church and state.

[6:42] >> For some folks, it's a time of

[6:44] celebration and family and for others

[6:46] it's lawyers and judges.

[6:47] >> And just like that, this small dispute

[6:50] was at the heart of a national debate.

[6:52] But it's not so surprising when you

[6:54] consider that two Christian legal groups

[6:56] say they've signed up more than 1,500

[6:59] lawyers specifically to find cases like

[7:02] this.

[7:02] >> A lot of us have said enough is enough.

[7:05] >> Matt Staver heads a group leading a

[7:07] charge he calls a defense of Christmas

[7:09] against the politically correct.

[7:11] >> We believe it's the kind of religious

[7:13] confusion or discrimination that happens

[7:15] 365 days a year that escalates during

[7:17] December. We need to draw a line in the

[7:19] sand. The fighting over just how much

[7:22] Christ should be in Christmas is flaring

[7:24] up all over. First, Walmart was targeted

[7:27] for a boycott after the giant retailer

[7:29] replace Merry Christmas with Happy

[7:31] Holidays on store signs. Then, the White

[7:34] House angered conservative Christians

[7:36] with similar wording on its holiday

[7:38] card. And in Denver, officials gave in

[7:41] to public pressure and allowed this

[7:43] nativity themed parade float. In the

[7:46] end, the beachside nativity was allowed

[7:48] to go up, which ends this particular

[7:50] dispute, but doesn't resolve the ongoing

[7:53] issue.

[7:53] >> We're fighting wars in Iraq and

[7:55] Afghanistan. Iraq as a culture always

[7:57] fought for religious tolerance in every

[7:59] other part of the world. And sometimes

[8:01] it seems that the biggest battle for

[8:03] religious tolerance is here at home.

[8:04] >> A battle at home over, of all things,

[8:08] peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

[8:11] Cynthia Bowers, CBS News, Neptune Beach,

[8:14] Florida.

[8:15] >> More stories are just a click away. And

[8:17] don't forget to join me on television

[8:19] for the on air edition of the CBS

[8:21] Evening News. On Tuesday's broadcast,

[8:24] looking for a better night's sleep?

[8:26] We'll show you a radical new kind of bed

[8:29] that doesn't even have a mattress. For

[8:31] cbsnews.com,

[8:32] I'm Bob Schiffer.