World News Tonight (ABC) - 1998-08-24

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:03] On World News Tonight this Monday, from

[0:05] the east coast to Texas, nature's fury.

[0:09] Near the Mexican border, flash floods

[0:11] that have left dozens dead or missing.

[0:13] And out in the Atlantic, the first big

[0:16] hurricane of the year churns toward

[0:18] shore, and it may be a sign of storms to

[0:21] come. Our closer look at the dream of

[0:24] taming nature. Can humans find a way to

[0:27] curb the brutal power of a hurricane and

[0:30] stealing your identity? How the internet

[0:33] is in danger of becoming a thieves

[0:35] paradise. It's your money.

[0:45] From ABC News World Headquarters in New

[0:48] York, this is World News Tonight with

[0:51] Peter Jennings. Sitting in tonight,

[0:54] Forest Sawyer.

[0:55] >> Good evening. Weather leads the news

[0:57] tonight. South Texas has been hit with a

[0:59] painful one-two punch. From the long

[1:01] summer drought that left crops

[1:03] devastated to terrifying floods today.

[1:06] Entire neighborhoods in Del Rio along

[1:08] the Mexican border are submerged. More

[1:11] than a dozen people are dead. At least

[1:13] 30 are missing. All of it caused by

[1:15] Tropical Storm Charlie, which rolled

[1:17] ashore from the Gulf of Mexico late

[1:19] Friday. The remnants of the storm have

[1:21] been sitting over Del Rio, pushing the

[1:24] rivers higher and higher. ABC's Dean

[1:26] Reynolds is there.

[1:29] It was a flash flood that did tidal wave

[1:32] damage, tossing trucks around like toys,

[1:35] flattening entire homes, uprooting old

[1:38] trees, and even ripping streets apart,

[1:42] lashing an area that until recently had

[1:44] been praying for rain. What Del Rio got

[1:47] in answer to its prayers was a deluge of

[1:49] almost biblical proportions in the form

[1:52] of tropical storm Charlie.

[1:54] >> These creeks keep going up and they have

[1:56] come down and they seem to go back up.

[1:58] >> Officials estimated that as much as 25

[2:01] in of rain fell on parts of Del Rio

[2:04] yesterday and today.

[2:05] >> That was a huge bridge that it knocked

[2:07] off. That was all steel construction and

[2:09] it's gone. With a number of drownings

[2:12] reported during the storm both here and

[2:14] across the border in Seodatada Aunia,

[2:16] Mexico, officials were desperately

[2:18] trying to get everyone to higher ground.

[2:21] >> They want to evacuate everybody out of

[2:22] there.

[2:23] >> Adding to the concern was the fact that

[2:25] many roads were impassible to potential

[2:27] evacuees. Roads were closed as far as 30

[2:30] m outside Del Rio. In addition to the

[2:33] flooding Rio Grand, at least four other

[2:36] rivers spilled over their banks, and

[2:38] others were threatening to do the same.

[2:40] One veteran law enforcement officer said

[2:42] he hadn't seen rain this bad in 50

[2:45] years. The good news is that it hasn't

[2:47] rained much here this afternoon. But

[2:49] there's bad news from the National

[2:51] Weather Service, which expects heavy

[2:53] rainfall in this already waterlogged

[2:55] area in the coming hours. Dean Reynolds,

[2:58] ABC News, Del Rio, Texas.

[3:01] >> The other big weather story today, the

[3:03] first big hurricane of the season. And

[3:05] the National Weather Service has issued

[3:06] a hurricane watch for the Atlantic coast

[3:08] between Savannah, Georgia, and the North

[3:10] Carolina Virginia state line. Former

[3:13] director of the National Hurricane

[3:14] Center, Bob Sheets, is now an ABC News

[3:16] consultant. He joins us from Orlando.

[3:18] And Bob, just how bad is the storm?

[3:20] >> Well, right now it's of course a very

[3:22] large hurricane that's uh heading toward

[3:24] the Carolina coast. It may affect the

[3:27] Carolinas. It may actually turn before

[3:29] it reaches that coast.

[3:31] >> It's How big and how long do you think

[3:32] it might take to get there? If it does

[3:34] get there,

[3:34] >> it's a very slowmoving storm right now.

[3:36] We think it's going to pick up a forward

[3:38] speed over the next 12 to 24 hours and

[3:41] probably be there sometime Wednesday or

[3:43] Thursday. It might again skirt along the

[3:45] coast, but it's so large that the

[3:47] windfield's out in front of it and

[3:48] that's the reason he had to put the

[3:50] watch up. Those winds will be felt there

[3:51] within about 36 hours.

[3:53] >> We remember Andrew Hugo. Compare it to

[3:55] those boat.

[3:56] >> Uh Andrew was a much smaller and tighter

[3:58] and intense hurricane. This is more like

[4:00] a Hugo. Not as strong as Hugo yet, but

[4:03] now it's moving away from its own cold

[4:05] waters over warm waters and likely to

[4:08] intensify.

[4:09] >> Bob Sheets down in Orlando. Thanks very

[4:10] much, Bob. I know you'll keep your eye

[4:11] on it.

[4:12] >> Well, as Bonnie churns offshore,

[4:14] authorities up and down the coastline

[4:15] are warning residents to prepare not

[4:17] only for this storm, but for what may be

[4:20] an unusually harsh hurricane season.

[4:22] Here is ABC's Steve Osansami.

[4:27] On the shores of North Carolina,

[4:29] homeowners are stocking up on plywood to

[4:32] protect windows and emptying shelves at

[4:34] grocery and hardware stores. In the

[4:36] Bahamas, where the islands first felt

[4:38] the storm Saturday, tourists have been

[4:41] heading home.

[4:42] >> We've been watching it to make sure that

[4:44] we got out in time.

[4:45] >> Hurricane Bonnie is now so strong, it's

[4:48] affecting coastal waters from South

[4:50] Florida to the northeastern seabboard.

[4:52] Already, it's causing dangerously high

[4:54] surf and rip tides, and the storm is

[4:57] still hundreds of miles away. More than

[4:59] a 100 swimmers in North Carolina and New

[5:02] Jersey got caught in those rough waters

[5:04] over the weekend. Most of them were

[5:06] rescued, but Bonnie is blamed for at

[5:08] least two deaths. Lifeguards have had

[5:10] trouble persuading swimmers that the

[5:12] surf is dangerous. The warm waters of

[5:15] last year's El Nino kept hurricanes in

[5:18] check. But now there is Leninia, a

[5:21] cooling trend that could mean an

[5:23] unusually bad hurricane season.

[5:25] >> If you assume a heavier hurricane season

[5:28] for the remainder of the season, then we

[5:30] end up having an above average hurricane

[5:32] season, which is really what we

[5:34] anticipate.

[5:36] >> 6 years have passed since Hurricane

[5:38] Andrew slammed into Florida, and the

[5:40] memory of that devastation has faded

[5:42] fast. So authorities are racing to

[5:45] remind residents along the coastline

[5:47] that now as then all these clear skies

[5:50] and sunshine are just the calm before

[5:52] the storm. Steoami, ABC News Miami.

[5:57] >> And just ahead, some of the days other

[5:59] news. Was that factory in Sudan really

[6:02] making chemical weapons? And will there

[6:04] finally be a trial for the bombers of

[6:07] Panama Flight 103? A major announcement

[6:10] today.

[6:13] This is World News Tonight with Peter

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[7:37] In Sudan today, the government there is

[7:39] demanding a full inspection of the

[7:41] rubble that used to be the country's

[7:43] largest pharmaceutical plant. American

[7:45] Tomahawk missiles destroyed it last

[7:47] week, and the United States insists

[7:49] there is convincing evidence that the

[7:52] factory was involved in making nerve

[7:54] gas. Here's ABC's John McQuey.

[7:58] >> US officials are increasingly worried

[8:00] they may lose the public relations

[8:02] battle.

[8:04] Sudan's president insisted today that

[8:07] the facility the US hit made only

[8:09] medicine and he invited the United

[8:11] Nations to inspect the rubble for traces

[8:14] of chemicals used to make poison gas.

[8:17] Worse for the US, a British engineer who

[8:19] once managed part of the plant said it

[8:21] was not built to deal with those kind of

[8:24] toxic chemicals. the factory itself just

[8:26] didn't lend itself to the manufacturer

[8:29] of even hazardous uh components.

[8:33] Um it didn't have the necessary uh

[8:36] safety factors in the way of air locks

[8:39] and decontamination areas and things

[8:41] like that.

[8:42] >> But hiding evidence of a small amount of

[8:44] poison gas production is not that

[8:46] difficult. Tim Trayvant caught the

[8:48] Iraqis doing it when he worked for the

[8:50] United Nations. With batch production,

[8:53] you can use the same equipment for any

[8:57] length of time, stop, shove it down very

[9:00] quickly in the course of a day, clean it

[9:02] out, and start a new production line of

[9:05] different chemicals.

[9:06] >> The US insists it has physical evidence.

[9:09] Intelligence sources tell ABC News that

[9:11] the CIA secretly collected soil samples

[9:14] outside of the plant and found very

[9:16] strong evidence of a chemical called

[9:19] EMPTA that has no known use except to

[9:22] make VX nerve gas. The US has been

[9:25] suspicious of the plant for months

[9:27] because of Osama bin Laden's financial

[9:29] ties, plus intercepted phone calls from

[9:32] the plant to Iraq to the man who runs

[9:35] that country's chemical weapons program.

[9:37] American officials say they'd be

[9:39] delighted if Sudan does allow UN

[9:41] inspectors to sample soil at the plant,

[9:44] convinced the evidence will support the

[9:46] US on this, not Sudan. John McQuey, ABC

[9:49] News. The Pentagon.

[9:51] >> From terrorism today to terrorism

[9:53] yesterday, the effort to bring to trial

[9:55] the two men suspected of bombing Panama

[9:57] flight 103, 103 that is over Lockerby,

[9:59] Scotland 10 years ago has moved a

[10:02] painful step further. Libya's been

[10:04] holding the suspects all these years,

[10:06] and today the United States and Britain

[10:08] finally agreed to Libya's terms for

[10:10] turning them over. Even so, no one

[10:13] expects the trial to begin anytime soon.

[10:16] Here is ABC's John Martin.

[10:19] Panama 103 went down in Scotland in

[10:21] 1988. But three years later, when two

[10:24] suspects, a Libyan airlines manager and

[10:27] a Libyan intelligence agent, were

[10:29] indicted, Libya refused to turn them

[10:31] over, ultimately insisting they could

[10:33] get a fair trial only in a third

[10:35] country. So today, the United States and

[10:37] the United Kingdom called Libya's bluff,

[10:39] notifying the United Nations they will

[10:41] accept such a trial in the Netherlands

[10:43] with Scottish judges presiding. Let me

[10:46] be clear. The plan is a take it or leave

[10:49] it proposition. It is not subject to

[10:52] negotiation or change.

[10:55] >> If Libya agrees, the suspects would be

[10:57] surrendered to the Dutch and held by

[10:59] Scottish police. If convicted of mass

[11:01] murder, they would face a maximum of 30

[11:04] years in a Scottish prison. Bert

[11:06] Ammerman lost his brother in the bombing

[11:08] and welcome the action. The Clinton

[11:09] administration should be applauded for

[11:12] forcing the issue and beginning to

[11:13] develop a national will to protect

[11:15] American citizens. I am elated with

[11:17] today's developments.

[11:18] >> But some were angry and doubtful this

[11:20] would lead to justice.

[11:22] >> We have been trying to dissuade the

[11:24] administration from doing this. Uh we

[11:27] think it's a mistake. Uh we think it's

[11:30] just going to continue this interational

[11:33] political game and we don't think it's

[11:35] going to accomplish anything. Libya has

[11:37] indicated in the past that it's willing

[11:39] to compromise. But if not, the United

[11:41] States now believes the United Nations

[11:43] would be ready to impose a worldwide ban

[11:46] on Libyan oil, which earns that country

[11:48] 5 billion to6 billion a year. John

[11:52] Martin, ABC News, the State Department.

[11:55] Still overseas in Russia today,

[11:56] President Boris Yelson went on

[11:58] television to explain why he fired his

[12:00] entire cabinet this weekend. He says

[12:03] that Russia needs the experience of the

[12:05] new acting prime minister Victor

[12:07] Chernameir even though when he fired

[12:09] Cheramiden 5 months ago. Yelson said the

[12:12] country needed new ideas. Then the White

[12:14] House says the changes will not affect

[12:17] President Clinton's plan to travel to

[12:18] Mex Moscow next week. When we come back,

[12:21] will Congress do to President Clinton

[12:23] what it has never done to any president

[12:26] except Andrew Jackson?

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[14:33] The president's vacation continues on

[14:35] Martha's Vineyard. Today, he was spotted

[14:37] in public for the first time since

[14:39] returning from Washington last week. Mr.

[14:41] Clinton did some light shopping while

[14:43] the first lady was out on her own with

[14:45] friends. An ABC News poll finds that the

[14:48] public does favor some sort of

[14:50] punishment for the president over the

[14:52] Monica Lewinsky matter. Only 30% think

[14:54] he should resign. And when asked if

[14:56] Congress should impeach Mr. Clinton,

[14:59] just 24% think that's a good idea. Fewer

[15:02] than at any time since the scandal

[15:04] broke. But asked if Congress should

[15:06] censure or officially reprimand him, 55%

[15:10] say yes. As ABC's John Cochran reports,

[15:13] the idea of censure is starting to win

[15:16] some support in Congress as well.

[15:19] >> Congress has the power to censure its

[15:21] own members, as it did most recently

[15:22] with Senator David Duranberger for

[15:24] ethics violations and most famously with

[15:26] Joe McCarthy for abuse of power.

[15:28] Punishment includes not only disgrace

[15:31] but loss of power on important

[15:32] committees. But when it comes to

[15:34] censuring the president, the most

[15:35] Congress can do is what it did to Andrew

[15:37] Jackson passing a resolution attacking

[15:39] him. Old Hickory brushed off his censure

[15:42] like a nat on a summer's day. So if

[15:44] censure has no teeth, why would Congress

[15:46] do it? Because it would be popular with

[15:48] voters.

[15:49] >> The public is appalled by the

[15:51] president's behavior, but strongly

[15:54] objects to either resignation or

[15:56] impeachment. Censuring the president

[15:58] could offer a solution to many in both

[16:00] parties, to Republicans who do not want

[16:02] to be blamed for prolonging an

[16:04] investigation that many Americans find

[16:06] distasteful and to Democrats who want to

[16:08] separate themselves from the president

[16:10] without impeaching him.

[16:12] >> It gives everyone in Congress a chance

[16:14] to condemn his behavior and then move

[16:16] on. And that's why I think it's it's a

[16:18] very attractive possibility.

[16:20] >> Attractive, but not to everyone. Not to

[16:22] those who wonder how a president could

[16:24] govern after being censured by another

[16:26] branch of government. and not to those

[16:27] who after they read Kinstar's full

[16:29] report to Congress may decide that

[16:31] regardless of what the public thinks,

[16:33] the president deserves more than just

[16:35] condemnation.

[16:37] John Cochran, ABC News, Capitol Hill.

[16:40] Across the country in Los Angeles today,

[16:42] postal workers are checking public mail

[16:44] boxes for envelopes containing packets

[16:46] of the deadly poison cyanide. Over the

[16:49] weekend, police arrested a woman who was

[16:51] allegedly seen stuffing 100 envelopes

[16:54] with cyanide and attempting to mail

[16:56] them. They say the woman, apparently a

[16:58] cancer victim, was planning to mail the

[17:00] cyanide to a list of medical

[17:02] professionals and law enforcement

[17:04] agents. They say they have determined no

[17:06] motive. Business on Wall Street today,

[17:08] the Dow Jones Industrials gained nearly

[17:10] 33 points to close at 8566.

[17:13] On the NASDAQ market, stocks lost more

[17:16] than six points. When we come back, man

[17:18] versus hurricane trying to slow down a

[17:21] storm as big as a state.

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[19:49] >> Our closer look tonight is at one of

[19:51] nature's most powerful forces,

[19:52] hurricanes, and new efforts to make them

[19:55] less destructive. And destructive they

[19:57] are. 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck

[20:00] Louisiana and southeast Florida more

[20:01] than $25 billion in damage. 1989, Hugo

[20:06] hit South Carolina, $7 billion in

[20:09] destroyed homes and businesses, and the

[20:11] incalculable cost, all the lives that

[20:14] have been lost. Now, it seems ridiculous

[20:16] to imagine trying to slow or even stop a

[20:19] hurricane. But what if some way could be

[20:22] found to do just that? ABC's Bill

[20:24] Blakemore reports on a government

[20:25] scientist with some surprising ideas.

[20:30] >> This is a hurricane, the greatest storm

[20:32] on Earth.

[20:35] >> In 1962, the government began looking

[20:38] for ways to weaken hurricanes.

[20:41] >> Is there a way?

[20:43] >> Project Storm Fury sewed chemicals

[20:45] around the eyes of hurricanes to try to

[20:47] break them up. It ended without result

[20:49] in 1983.

[20:51] But Hugh Willoughby, one of the world's

[20:53] leading hurricane scientists, still

[20:55] receives ideas from all over the country

[20:58] with an open mind. Some he knocks down

[21:01] pretty quickly.

[21:02] >> Now, here's a guy who wants to put

[21:03] windmills on ships. Blow hurricanes

[21:05] away.

[21:06] >> What's wrong with that?

[21:07] >> You need a lot of windmills. More ships

[21:08] than in all the world's navies.

[21:11] >> Somebody suggested blowing a hurricane

[21:12] apart with a hydrogen bomb.

[21:14] >> What you would get if you atom bombed a

[21:15] hurricane is a radioactive hurricane.

[21:18] >> But would it work?

[21:19] >> Probably not. Most suggestions fail to

[21:22] grasp the size. Eyes big as cities.

[21:25] Hurricane itself big as a big state. But

[21:28] scientists do think there just might be

[21:31] some way to disrupt the hurricane heat

[21:33] engine. Hurricanes keep going by moving

[21:36] across warm seawater, absorbing heat

[21:38] from it, which keeps recirculating down

[21:41] the eye, driving the winds. So, one idea

[21:44] scientists are looking at closely would

[21:46] put black soot into the air by burning

[21:48] petroleum on ships near the hurricane.

[21:51] Black absorbs heat from the sun, which

[21:54] would create updrafts to break up a

[21:56] hurricane's normal wind patterns.

[21:58] Willoughby has even considered a big

[22:00] tinfoil mirror in space to reflect

[22:03] sunlight to heat the ocean in just the

[22:06] right spot to divert a hurricane.

[22:08] >> Mirror would have to be 100 miles

[22:09] across.

[22:11] Scientists take these ideas seriously

[22:13] because they figure if they could cut

[22:15] hurricane winds by only 10 or 15%, say

[22:18] from 130 down to 110 m an hour, that

[22:22] could prevent many billions of dollars

[22:24] worth of damage.

[22:26] >> It's theoretically doable, but the

[22:27] question is how much uh how much stuff

[22:31] do you need to do it? You'd go after one

[22:33] or two hurricanes a year. That was the

[22:37] ones that were likely to uh affect a big

[22:39] city. Willoughby says he's happy to

[22:42] receive new ideas if they've already

[22:45] accounted for the enormous size of

[22:46] hurricanes and the problems of getting

[22:49] the solution into position for a

[22:52] conceivable price.

[22:56] Other than that, no problem. Bill

[22:59] Blakemore, ABC News, Miami.

[23:02] All right, I know it sounds crazy, but

[23:04] the military has already done quite a

[23:05] bit of work on weather modification.

[23:07] Consider this one. Researchers at the

[23:09] Air Force are working on a way to

[23:10] intensify thunderstorm cells in order to

[23:13] deter low-flying drug smuggling planes.

[23:17] When we come back, easy credit, fast

[23:19] technology making it too easy for a

[23:21] thief to turn your life upside down.

[23:31] >> Overactive bladder.

[23:32] >> That strong sudden urge. Having to go so

[23:35] often. The fear of wedding accidents.

[23:38] >> If you're one of the millions who live

[23:39] with some of these symptoms, there's

[23:41] something you should know. Overactive

[23:43] bladder isn't normal at any age and your

[23:45] doctor has treatments that can help.

[23:47] >> Need a break? I can wait.

[23:49] >> These treatments can help reduce the

[23:50] symptoms of an overactive bladder.

[23:52] >> You want to go back?

[23:54] >> Been a while.

[23:55] >> Overactive bladder isn't normal at any

[23:57] age. So, talk to your doctor today about

[23:59] treatments that can help.

[24:01] >> Is there a store between here and the

[24:02] Canadian border we haven't been to?

[24:05] Honey, I'm a beach. I'm starving.

[24:08] >> Here's something good for you.

[24:09] >> Ensure Bars.

[24:10] >> Complete balanced nutrition. The goat.

[24:12] >> Ensure bars with protein, 24 vitamins

[24:15] and minerals, including calcium, vitamin

[24:17] D, iron, zinc, antioxidants, C and E. A

[24:20] source of complete balanced nutrition.

[24:22] >> Delicious. What's next?

[24:24] >> The Canadian border.

[24:26] >> I'm ready.

[24:27] >> Ensure bars to your health.

[24:31] >> Do you have a lovehating relationship

[24:33] with dairy food? I love you.

[24:35] >> You love to eat it.

[24:37] >> I miss you.

[24:37] >> But hate the number it does on your

[24:39] stomach?

[24:40] >> Discover Lactate Ultra. It's not a

[24:41] medicine. It's a natural food supplement

[24:43] that makes dairy easy to digest.

[24:45] >> To mama,

[24:46] >> take it with your first bite and it'll

[24:48] help you avoid stomach discomfort before

[24:50] it starts so you can enjoy every little

[24:52] bit of dairy. Lactate Ultra. Put dairy

[24:55] back in your life. For a free sample,

[24:58] call 1888 Ultra now. Maximum Bob is so

[25:02] high. I'm your big strong sailor man.

[25:05] >> The fever's contagious.

[25:06] >> Mermaid lur.

[25:07] >> I got dents on that tall one.

[25:09] >> Oh yeah.

[25:09] >> We went up to inspiration point. We just

[25:12] lost all track of time.

[25:14] >> Oh my god.

[25:15] >> Oh my god.

[25:15] >> Oh my god.

[25:17] >> Bridges time.

[25:18] >> Max Lumba. All new ABC Tuesday.

[25:22] >> Here's a brief review of the lead story

[25:24] tonight. All that bad weather in South

[25:26] Texas. Flash floods have left dozens of

[25:28] people dead or missing after a long

[25:30] summer of drought. And along the east

[25:33] coast, people are preparing for

[25:34] Hurricane Bonnie, which is still

[25:36] gathering strength. Finally, tonight,

[25:39] protecting your money from a very modern

[25:41] sort of crime. It barely existed a

[25:43] decade ago, but now it is costing

[25:45] Americans hundreds of millions of

[25:47] dollars every year. And you may be

[25:49] surprised to see how easy it is to

[25:51] become a victim. Here's ABC's Judy

[25:53] Mueller.

[25:56] For Mari Frank, it all began with a

[25:58] phone call from someone at a bank

[25:59] asking,

[26:00] >> "Why haven't you paid your $11,000

[26:02] credit card bill to us?"

[26:04] >> I said, "Wait a minute. You have the

[26:06] wrong number."

[26:07] >> But it wasn't the wrong number. This

[26:09] woman had stolen Frank's social security

[26:11] number and using a credit offer she'd

[26:13] received in the mail, simply crossed out

[26:15] her own name and became Mari Frank. She

[26:18] then ran up $50,000 in debt. We're

[26:21] living in an easy credit economy and for

[26:24] there to be easy credit, there has to be

[26:26] easy access to information. And when

[26:29] there is easy access to information,

[26:30] you've got easy crime. Identity theft is

[26:33] being called the crime of the '9s, and

[26:35] it's growing at an alarming rate. The

[26:37] government is just beginning to compile

[26:39] figures, but estimates that this type of

[26:41] fraud is already a billion dollar a year

[26:44] business. Criminals know all too well

[26:46] that a person's uh personal identifiers,

[26:49] the name, the social security number,

[26:50] the date of birth, the address, have far

[26:52] more value than cash or goods even.

[26:55] >> And it's easy to get that information by

[26:57] rifling through garbage or by stealing

[26:59] from mailboxes. And getting a social

[27:02] security number takes just three clicks

[27:04] on the internet.

[27:06] For victims like Mari, discovering the

[27:08] fraud is just the beginning. It can take

[27:10] years to clean up your credit record.

[27:12] the IRS, my accountant, passport agency,

[27:15] the postal inspector.

[27:16] >> So, these files represent how many hours

[27:19] of your time?

[27:20] >> At least 500.

[27:21] >> And how much money?

[27:23] >> $10,000 of out-of- pocket costs.

[27:25] >> And then there's the emotional toll.

[27:27] Victims are often treated with suspicion

[27:29] by creditors.

[27:30] >> They say, "Well, how do we know that

[27:31] you're not the imposttor?"

[27:33] >> And don't look to the police. Only four

[27:35] states, four, now have laws making

[27:38] identity theft a crime. As for the

[27:40] banks, they simply pass on their losses.

[27:42] >> We, the consumers, bear the brunt of

[27:44] this crime because we end up paying the

[27:47] higher fees, the higher interest rates,

[27:49] and also the higher annual fees.

[27:51] >> In other words, you can still lose your

[27:53] money even if you manage to safeguard

[27:55] your identity. Judy Mueller, ABC News,

[27:58] Los Angeles.

[28:00] >> And that is our report on World News

[28:02] Tonight. Don't forget Night Line later.

[28:03] I'm Forest Sawyer. For all of us here at

[28:05] ABC News, good night.

[28:12] Tomorrow, the rush, the money, the

[28:14] stress. Men and women who are giving it

[28:16] up to create a different kind of life.

[28:19] Watch ABC's World News Tonight. This has

[28:22] been a presentation of ABC News. More

[28:24] Americans get their news from ABC News

[28:27] than from any other source. ABC News.