CBS Evening News (A block) - 2006-11-02
Channel: malgent
Transcript
Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)
[0:00] I'm Katie Kurrick. The battle for
[0:02] Congress shifts tonight to the Senate as
[0:04] President Bush and the Republicans try
[0:06] desperately to hold on to at least one
[0:08] chamber. Is he the man who set that
[0:11] deadly wildfire in Southern California?
[0:14] The police say he is. What would drive
[0:16] someone to do that? The factory door
[0:19] slammed in their face, but now a new
[0:21] one's opening. Former auto workers
[0:23] heading for a new frontier. And a funny
[0:26] thing happened on the way to the
[0:27] election.
[0:28] Everybody wang tonight.
[0:31] >> He's a bad karaoke singer.
[0:38] >> This is the CBS Evening News with Katie
[0:41] Kurrick.
[0:44] >> Hi everyone. There are now just 5 days
[0:46] till the midterm elections and with
[0:48] polls showing the Democrats in a very
[0:50] good position to win back the House, the
[0:52] focus for both parties is shifting to
[0:55] the Senate. There's growing concern
[0:56] among Republicans they could lose their
[0:58] majority in that chamber as well. They
[1:01] now hold 55 seats. The Democrats need a
[1:04] neck gain of six to take control. Can
[1:06] they do it? Not if the White House has
[1:08] its way. We have our campaign 06 team
[1:11] here with the very latest. And first,
[1:13] Jim Axelrod on the campaign trail with
[1:15] President Bush. Jim. Well, Kenny, even
[1:18] most Republicans now concede the House
[1:20] is gone, which is why President Bush is
[1:22] outworking red state America hard to try
[1:26] to keep from losing the Senate as well.
[1:29] >> Ladies and gentlemen, the president of
[1:32] the United States,
[1:33] >> Mr. Bush flew to Montana today to try to
[1:36] help Republican Senator Conrad Burns.
[1:38] >> Conrad, I'm keeping good company.
[1:41] Burns is a three-term incumbent fighting
[1:43] for his political life due to links with
[1:45] corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his
[1:48] own habit of sticking his foot in his
[1:49] mouth. Like this speculation about
[1:51] terrorists in America.
[1:53] >> They operate in the shadows. They drive
[1:55] taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at
[1:58] night.
[1:58] >> Just weeks ago, Republicans were ready
[2:00] to write Burns off. Democrat John Tester
[2:03] had that big a lead in the polls. But an
[2:05] infusion of Republican party cash to run
[2:08] a new ad hitting tester on taxes. has
[2:11] helped narrow the race.
[2:12] >> The White House is pulling out all the
[2:14] stops. The president's visit follows
[2:16] Dick Cheny's trip yesterday. The vice
[2:18] president busted on John Kerry with a
[2:20] page from the old flip-flop playbook. Of
[2:23] course, Senator Kerry said he was just
[2:26] making a joke and he botched it up.
[2:30] >> I guess we didn't get that nuance.
[2:35] >> Actually, he was for the joke before he
[2:37] was against it. But it's a gamble
[2:40] sending the president anywhere right
[2:41] now. In the latest CBS News New York
[2:44] Times poll, Mr. Bush's approval rating
[2:46] is 34%. That's 28 points lower than on
[2:50] the eve of the last midterms.
[2:52] >> If George Bush had a 55 60% job approval
[2:55] rating, I think he could help carry uh
[2:56] Conrad Burns to another term. But as it
[2:59] is now, Burns is on his own, and that's
[3:01] a problem.
[3:02] >> The president's itinerary at the end of
[3:04] this campaign shows what a liability
[3:06] he's become. He's dealing just with his
[3:08] base now. By the time this thing is
[3:10] over, he will have visited 13 states in
[3:13] the campaign's final 10 days. And all of
[3:16] those states are those he carried in
[3:18] 2004. Katie.
[3:20] >> All right, Jim Axelrod. Thank you. How
[3:22] are things shaping up across the
[3:23] country? Chief Washington correspondent
[3:26] Bob Sheer and national political
[3:27] correspondent Gloria Borgger are here
[3:29] with their insights. Nice to see you
[3:31] both, Gloria. 5 days to go and there are
[3:34] four key states, aren't there, when it
[3:35] comes to controlling the Senate.
[3:37] >> That's right, Katie. You know, just a
[3:38] month ago, nobody was giving the
[3:40] Democrats a shot at taking control of
[3:42] the Senate. As you said before, the math
[3:44] was too hard. The uh the Republicans
[3:46] have a 55 seat majority. But then within
[3:49] the last couple of weeks, the polls have
[3:51] started to shift. Suddenly, that looks
[3:53] like a real possibility. And as you
[3:55] said, there are these four key states
[3:57] that are so close. Let's take a look.
[3:59] First of all, the state of Montana where
[4:01] Jim Axer just was with with the
[4:02] president of the United States. Then
[4:04] very close races in Missouri, in
[4:06] Tennessee, and in Virginia. I might add,
[4:09] Katie, these are all red or Republican
[4:12] states. The Republicans need to win two
[4:14] of these four seats to keep control of
[4:16] the Senate. In any other year, you might
[4:18] say, Gee, that's not going to be much of
[4:20] a problem. But this is not a normal
[4:22] year. This is a very tough environment.
[4:25] And Bob, in all of those key states, the
[4:27] key is turnout, right?
[4:29] >> Especially in Missouri and Virginia,
[4:31] which we think are the closest of all.
[4:34] Now, the Republicans think they've done
[4:35] a really good job in V in in uh in
[4:39] Missouri. They have uh identified at
[4:42] this point twice as many prospective
[4:44] Republican voters as they had in 2000.
[4:47] That's very important. If they can get
[4:48] those people to the polls, then they
[4:50] think they can win. In Virginia,
[4:52] interestingly enough, it is just the
[4:54] opposite. It's the Democrats who believe
[4:56] they've done a better job of getting
[4:58] their voters to the polls.
[4:59] >> But overall, the Republicans do have an
[5:02] edge when it comes to voter turnout. I
[5:03] mean, they've got a machine that really
[5:06] is unparalleled, don't they?
[5:08] >> They they do have astounding technology.
[5:10] They've been doing it for an awful lot
[5:12] of years, Katie. But the Democrats have
[5:13] one thing this year that they haven't
[5:15] had in years past, and that is they've
[5:17] got plenty of money, and that really
[5:19] matters. They're almost at parody with
[5:22] the Republicans when it comes to money.
[5:23] In fact, when we look back on this last
[5:25] three weeks of the campaign, the
[5:27] Republicans and Democrats combined will
[5:29] have spent in excess of $80 million.
[5:32] Just today, the Democrats said, "Gee, we
[5:35] think we have a shot at winning the
[5:36] state of Arizona. Let's throw another
[5:38] million bucks into the state of
[5:39] Arizona." They did. The Republicans say,
[5:41] "You're never going to do it." But the
[5:43] point is, Katie, they have the money to
[5:45] throw in there. At the very least,
[5:47] that'll mean that they can turn out
[5:48] their base of support.
[5:50] >> Another key factor, key being the key
[5:52] word tonight, independents.
[5:54] >> Yeah. And we're seeing something we
[5:55] haven't seen in a long, long time. We
[5:58] have half the people who identify
[5:59] themselves as independents saying that
[6:02] they intend to vote for the Democrats.
[6:04] We haven't had independents break toward
[6:06] the Democrats since 1986.
[6:10] This is the first time since then that
[6:12] most of the independents look like that
[6:14] they're going to vote for the Democrats.
[6:16] But here's the thing, the one thing in
[6:18] all the polling lately that makes the
[6:19] Republicans happy, and that is their
[6:22] people look like they're finally getting
[6:24] energized and excited. Look at this
[6:27] graph. This is from our our poll of
[6:29] yesterday. It shows that Republicans who
[6:32] are enthusiastic have risen from 35% to
[6:35] 42% the last two weeks. that means
[6:38] they're getting fired up and that that
[6:40] always helps.
[6:41] >> All right. Well, thank you both so much
[6:43] and look forward to working with you
[6:44] next Tuesday. And of course, Bob,
[6:46] Gloria, and the rest of our CBS News
[6:48] team will stay on top of developments in
[6:50] the remaining days of the campaign. And
[6:52] we hope you'll watch as we bring you
[6:54] campaign06 election night next Tuesday
[6:57] at 10 9 central. But right now, a major
[7:00] development in another story we've been
[7:02] following. That wildfire near Palm
[7:05] Springs, California that killed five
[7:06] firefighters. Tonight, a man is charged
[7:09] with setting the fire. Police say he's a
[7:12] serial arsonist. But as Jerry Bowen
[7:14] reports, prosecutors plan to speak with
[7:16] the victim's families before deciding
[7:18] whether to seek the death penalty.
[7:21] >> Today, I'm announcing that we have a
[7:22] suspect in custody for the Espiranza
[7:24] fire. Raymond Lee Oiler, 36 years old,
[7:28] from Bulmont, California.
[7:31] >> 36-y old Raymond Lee Oiler appeared
[7:33] briefly in court today to face 26
[7:35] charges, including arson and five counts
[7:37] of murder for the deaths of the
[7:39] firefighting team in last week's
[7:40] Inferno. Oiler was initially questioned
[7:43] the day after the 40,000 acre blaze was
[7:45] set. This week, his home was searched
[7:48] and his tools removed from the shop
[7:50] where he worked as an auto mechanic.
[7:51] Before his arrest Tuesday, Oiler told
[7:54] his boss he was in trouble.
[7:56] >> He pulled me to the side and said, "Hey,
[7:58] I got some problems." And I was like,
[7:59] "What's what's going on?" He said,
[8:00] "Well, they actually investigating me
[8:03] for this fire over here."
[8:04] >> Oiler's neighbors were stunned by his
[8:06] arrest.
[8:07] >> For people to do things like that, and
[8:11] it's nothing but the devil.
[8:13] >> The Espironza fire consumed some 60
[8:15] square miles and destroyed 34 houses.
[8:18] Investigators allege it's one of several
[8:20] fires Oiler started since last summer,
[8:22] which if true would make him a serial
[8:25] arsonist.
[8:26] >> There's a lot of motives that that drive
[8:28] these people. Sometimes it's grudge,
[8:30] revenge, other times it's thrills,
[8:32] excitement.
[8:33] >> Veteran California investigator Doug
[8:35] Allen has apprehended more than 100
[8:37] serial arsonists.
[8:39] >> Probably a common trait that we see more
[8:41] often than anything is a lack of
[8:43] self-esteem.
[8:45] Uh they're depressed type people. They
[8:47] only feel good about themselves when
[8:49] they're setting a fire.
[8:50] >> The same day Oiler was arrested, the
[8:52] fifth firefighter was taken off life
[8:54] support and died. Now Oiler, who denies
[8:57] any involvement, could face the death
[8:58] penalty. Meanwhile, fire survivors met
[9:01] with officials last night to plan their
[9:03] recovery. And since no tip led to
[9:05] Oiler's arrest, the victims may share in
[9:08] the half million dollar reward fund to
[9:10] help rebuild their homes and lives.
[9:12] Jerry Bowen, CBS News, Los Angeles. In
[9:16] tonight's CBS news briefing, a
[9:18] nationwide roundup of fugitives and some
[9:20] somber news from ground zero. But we
[9:23] begin tonight in Baghdad, where chief
[9:24] foreign correspondent Lara Logan has the
[9:27] latest about a missing American soldier.
[9:30] US officials in Baghdad believe the
[9:32] American soldier kidnapped 10 days ago
[9:35] is still alive. The top military
[9:38] spokesman here said intense political
[9:40] lobbying is underway to try to secure
[9:42] his release. At this time, we believe
[9:44] the ones who kidnapped Amed currently
[9:46] still have him.
[9:47] >> Officially identifying him for the first
[9:49] time as Ahmed Alaii, a US soldier of
[9:52] Iraqi descent. Coldwell confirmed that
[9:55] he had been visiting his Iraqi wife at
[9:57] the time of his abduction.
[9:59] >> I'm Bob or in Washington where the
[10:01] Justice Department is trumpeting the
[10:03] arrests of thousands of fugitives,
[10:05] including more than 1,600 sex offenders.
[10:08] >> POLICE WANT THE DOOR. THE WANTED WERE
[10:11] ROUNDED UP IN A week-long crackdown that
[10:12] saw 3,000 police officers break down
[10:14] doors and take down criminals in 24
[10:17] states east of the Mississippi.
[10:19] >> The head of the US Marshall Service,
[10:20] John Clark, says gangbangers, murder
[10:22] suspects, and sexual predators were
[10:24] targeted.
[10:25] >> In all, we locked up 10,773
[10:29] fugitives, making America a bit safer.
[10:32] >> But the feds concede 1 million fugitives
[10:35] remain on the loose. I'm Byron Pittz in
[10:38] New York where authorities have
[10:39] identified the remains of an American
[10:41] Airlines flight attendant and a
[10:43] passenger killed when their jet crashed
[10:45] into the World Trade Center on September
[10:47] 11th. The remains have been in the hands
[10:49] of the medical examiner's office for 5
[10:51] years and were finally identified with
[10:53] the help of new DNA testing. This comes
[10:56] even as the families of 911 victims
[10:58] rallied today demanding a new search for
[11:01] human remains in and around Ground Zero.
[11:03] Last month, construction workers found
[11:05] human bones in a manhole, and since
[11:08] then, more than 200 other body parts
[11:10] have been found.
[11:12] We'll have much more CBS News straight
[11:15] ahead. And coming up next, bluecollar
[11:18] auto workers get their pink slips, but
[11:20] now help wanted in another industry has
[11:23] them headed to a new frontier.