CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-10-25

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, assessing the damage from

[0:06] Hurricane Wilma. Trish Rean will have

[0:09] details. Also, with the American death

[0:11] toll in Iraq reaching 2,000, we report

[0:14] on why smalltown America is bearing more

[0:17] than its share of the sadness. And

[0:20] patrolling the US Mexico border, a group

[0:23] calling themselves the Minutemen, have

[0:25] taken the law into their own hands. Are

[0:27] they vigilantes or just concerned

[0:30] citizens? It's all starting now on the

[0:32] CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:36] Well, Wilma has come and gone, but she

[0:38] left much of Florida in the dark. The

[0:40] lights have come on in some places, but

[0:43] 6 million people were left without

[0:45] power, and it may be weeks before it

[0:47] comes on again for many of them. Unlike

[0:49] the Gulf Coaster in Katrina, Florida was

[0:52] ready, and only five deaths were

[0:54] reported. The damage may run $10

[0:57] billion. 5,000 people are still in

[1:00] shelters and thousands more are still

[1:02] depending on rescue services for the

[1:05] basic necessities. Trish Rean has been

[1:07] in Florida through all of it. And we go

[1:09] first to her.

[1:12] Hurricane Wilma wasn't the biggest storm

[1:14] Florida has seen in recent years, but

[1:16] she was one of the most damaging.

[1:19] Roofs were torn off homes, windows were

[1:22] shattered in downtown Miami, and boats

[1:24] were left mangled. At airports, jets

[1:27] were tossed around like toy planes. On

[1:29] the roads, cars were swept up in the

[1:31] wind and left on top of each other. The

[1:34] storm is blamed for at least five deaths

[1:37] in the state.

[1:38] >> My heart goes out to to to people that

[1:40] uh have lost a lot. uh and they can be

[1:43] rest assured that the state government

[1:46] and the federal government will be

[1:49] working to provide support

[1:51] >> for people here. That support can't come

[1:53] soon enough. Wilma destroyed enough

[1:55] power lines to leave nearly 6 million

[1:58] people without electricity.

[2:00] >> Been up to almost 3/4 of our our

[2:02] customer base.

[2:03] >> Florida Power and Lights LT Dwinder is

[2:05] in charge of the company's storm

[2:07] management operation which was up and

[2:09] running long before Wulma hit. This is

[2:11] the biggest event that we have ever

[2:13] experienced in terms of hurricanes. It's

[2:15] big and it's going to take us a long

[2:17] time to get to get everything back in

[2:19] back in service.

[2:20] >> In fact, it's going to take 1 month to

[2:23] turn the lights back on. No power, no

[2:26] refrigeration, and in some cases, no

[2:28] water, which in the Florida heat is

[2:31] dangerous. So today, thousands in

[2:34] Broward County waited in their cars in

[2:36] hopes of getting the basics, a little

[2:38] ice and water.

[2:42] Outside Miami's Orange Bowl Stadium,

[2:44] people lined up for hours, also looking

[2:46] for supplies.

[2:50] >> Anna Leon says she's afraid for her two

[2:52] young boys. They need milk and food and

[2:54] water. Some grew frustrated by the long

[2:57] wait.

[2:57] >> And you have a line going all around the

[3:00] field to get one bottle of water and one

[3:03] bag of ice. That's absurd. By the time

[3:05] these people leave here with that bag of

[3:06] ice, it'll be melted when they get home.

[3:08] while others were simply scared. Are you

[3:11] worried about what you're going to do?

[3:12] >> Yes.

[3:14] >> I'm very worried.

[3:16] >> Officials estimate that at least 12,000

[3:19] people came here to the Miami Orange

[3:21] Bowl today. They expect that they will

[3:24] open again tomorrow, provided FEMA is

[3:27] able to come through with some

[3:28] additional supplies.

[3:30] >> Well, Trish, how is FEMA doing this time

[3:33] around? We know all the bad publicity

[3:35] got they got at Katrina. Have they have

[3:37] they done better this time?

[3:39] >> Well, Bob, they helped out today. For

[3:41] example, at one point the city did run

[3:43] out of ice and water, but FEMA stepped

[3:45] in, gave some additional supplies, and

[3:47] the hope is that this will reopen again

[3:49] tomorrow at noon. But it's provided that

[3:52] FEMA, it's provided that FEMA comes

[3:54] through. I can tell you the Red Cross

[3:55] has also been involved here. They

[3:57] arrived about 45 minutes ago with some

[3:59] hot meals for people, but they only had

[4:02] about a thousand of them. Bob.

[4:03] >> All right. Thank you very much, Trish.

[4:05] More than 90% of the 2,000 who died in

[4:08] the war have died since the president

[4:10] declared major combat was at an end in

[4:13] May 2003. Which brings us to our next

[4:16] report. Usually we salute fallen heroes

[4:19] during this part of our broadcast, but

[4:21] tonight we're going to look at the

[4:23] impact a military death can have on not

[4:25] just a family, but an entire community.

[4:28] Here is national security correspondent

[4:31] David Martin.

[4:33] It looks like a Fourth of July parade in

[4:36] smalltown America, but then the funeral

[4:38] procession comes down Main Street.

[4:40] >> We're all here this morning to honor

[4:42] Victor. He paid the ultimate price for

[4:46] all of us.

[4:47] >> Sergeant Victor Anderson, killed by a

[4:49] roadside bomb in Iraq, was from

[4:51] Elellville, Georgia. He was a deputy

[4:53] sheriff and a family man, and everybody

[4:55] from the mayor on down knew him. You

[4:58] know, it hits us hard because with a

[5:00] small population, it means more to you.

[5:03] >> 1/4 of the soldiers killed in Iraq and

[5:05] Afghanistan are from rural America,

[5:07] according to the most recent statistics,

[5:10] even though only 1 of the military-aged

[5:12] population lives there.

[5:14] >> In other words, small town America is

[5:16] bearing more than its fair share of

[5:18] sacrifice. And when death comes to a

[5:20] small town like Elellville, everybody

[5:22] feels it. the school where Victor

[5:25] Anderson's son is a student, workers in

[5:27] factories along the funeral route, the

[5:29] sheriff's department where he worked,

[5:32] they all turned out to pay their

[5:33] respects.

[5:34] >> It was most overwhelming. I I've never,

[5:37] you know, just seen that many people

[5:39] turn out to show their patriotism and

[5:42] their love and respect for fallen

[5:45] offspring.

[5:46] >> In this part of Georgia, it was the

[5:48] biggest story of the day. And for the

[5:50] widow, it was the end of life as she had

[5:52] come to know.

[5:54] >> You always think it won't be you.

[5:55] >> How did you react?

[5:58] >> I couldn't catch my breath.

[6:03] [snorts]

[6:05] Somebody, it's like they just tear your

[6:07] heart out.

[6:09] >> But on the day of the funeral, there was

[6:11] comfort in seeing the roadside lined

[6:13] with mourners. It was overwhelming to

[6:17] know that so many people cared for us

[6:20] the way they did.

[6:21] >> Ellen Anderson moved to Ellville when

[6:23] she married Victor and she plans to stay

[6:26] on without him.

[6:27] >> It's nice when people tell you, "Hey,

[6:31] greet you at the grocery store, see him

[6:33] at church."

[6:35] >> Tyler Anderson plays on the team his dad

[6:38] used to coach.

[6:39] >> Run, run, run. Take it down. Now, mom

[6:43] comes to practice. And on game day,

[6:45] every player will wear Victor Anderson's

[6:47] initials on his jersey. In a country of

[6:50] nearly 300 million people, 2,000 dead

[6:53] may seem like a small number, but not in

[6:56] Elville. 2,000 is the entire population

[6:59] of Victor Anderson's hometown. David

[7:02] Martin, CBS News, Elville, Georgia.

[7:05] >> All this week, we're reporting on what

[7:07] has become a very hot issue in this

[7:09] country. Security at the borders. Most

[7:11] Americans say the government is not

[7:13] doing enough to keep illegal immigrants

[7:15] out. But a CBS News poll finds that two

[7:18] out of three oppose the idea of letting

[7:21] civilian patrols do the job. Still, a

[7:24] growing number of so-called Minutemen

[7:26] are saying, "If the government can't get

[7:28] it done, we will." Here's Lee Cowan now

[7:30] with tonight's Eye on America.

[7:34] They've been called everything from

[7:35] visionaries to vigilantes. Whatever you

[7:38] think of these self-described night

[7:39] watchmen of the border, the minute men

[7:41] seem to be right about one thing.

[7:43] >> It's going to grow and it's going to uh

[7:46] surprise a lot of people who were hoping

[7:47] that we would go away.

[7:50] >> They're not going away. The men and men

[7:52] have been trying to expand beyond

[7:53] Arizona to the poorest borders of

[7:55] California, New Mexico, and Texas. and

[7:58] to prove their increased numbers

[7:59] launched a 30-day patrol this month with

[8:02] what they claim are thousands of

[8:04] volunteers who turned out to guard the

[8:06] border in all four states. How would you

[8:08] rate the threat to the country as a

[8:11] whole?

[8:12] >> Oh, I think it's just this is just huge

[8:15] threat.

[8:16] I think our next 911 is going to be

[8:18] coming right through this southern

[8:19] border.

[8:19] >> Dr. Mike Vickers, a veterinarian and a

[8:21] rancher, is helping lead the charge in

[8:24] Texas. Well, here's another hole that

[8:25] they just cut probably last night or

[8:28] night before last.

[8:29] >> He estimates at least 100 illegal

[8:32] immigrants sneak across his ranch every

[8:34] single night. His duty as a minute man,

[8:36] he says, well, it's pretty simple.

[8:38] >> To document this flood of people, to try

[8:41] to assist the border patrol to catch him

[8:43] and to show Washington what's going on

[8:46] and how bad it really is.

[8:48] >> But this month, the men tried a

[8:50] different tact. Not just patrolling the

[8:52] border, but patrolling big cities with

[8:54] big immigrant populations. Chris Simcox

[8:57] is the organization's president.

[8:59] >> Our job is to intimidate law

[9:00] enforcement.

[9:01] >> But they're not targeting law

[9:02] enforcement. They're targeting day

[9:04] laborers. Those undocumented immigrants

[9:06] who gather on street corners like this

[9:08] one in Houston looking for work. All

[9:11] while the Minutemen say police look the

[9:13] other way. We want to go after the fact

[9:15] that people are employing illegal aliens

[9:18] and that's a violation of federal law.

[9:21] >> They're now videotaping those doing the

[9:22] hiring. And if it scares off day

[9:24] laborers like Jose Sado in the process,

[9:27] well, that's okay, too.

[9:28] >> If the minute men show up with a camera,

[9:31] what are you going to do?

[9:32] >> Run, this man told us. But I'm not doing

[9:35] anything wrong. I'm just looking for

[9:37] work. What solution does this really

[9:39] offer?

[9:39] >> None whatsoever. Critics argue it's not

[9:41] only unreasonable to expect the police

[9:43] to do the work of immigration officers,

[9:45] but it's also practically impossible.

[9:47] >> They don't have enough police officers

[9:49] to keep the city as safe as it needs to

[9:51] be, and putting them in charge of border

[9:53] enforcement would be a massive disaster.

[9:55] >> Either way, Dr. Vickers isn't proud of

[9:57] trying to shame his government into

[9:59] fixing the problem.

[10:00] >> But, as he put it,

[10:01] >> we have no other choice. We're we're on

[10:04] our own out here. We really are. Not a

[10:06] new frontier, but an old one that's

[10:09] growing more crowded by the day in

[10:11] Falurious, Texas. This is Lee Count for

[10:14] Eye on America.

[10:15] >> More stories are just a click away, but

[10:17] don't forget to join me on television

[10:19] for the on air edition of the CBS

[10:21] Evening News. On Wednesday's broadcast,

[10:24] you might call them terrorists at the

[10:26] gate. We'll show you why it isn't just

[10:28] poor immigrants who know how easy it is

[10:31] to cross America's borders. For

[10:33] CBSN.com,

[10:35] I'm Bob Schiffer.