CBS Evening News - 2009-03-25 (bad video)

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Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:03] Tonight, the president on Capitol Hill.

[0:05] A trim here, a trim there, but it looks

[0:07] like Congress is ready to give him most

[0:10] of his more than $3 trillion budget. I'm

[0:13] Katie Kurrick. Also tonight, it's man

[0:16] against river. The fight to hold back

[0:18] rising waters invading street after

[0:20] street, acre after acre in the upper

[0:23] Midwest.

[0:25] In this recession, a scam that turns ash

[0:28] to cash. the explosion of car arson to

[0:31] collect the insurance money. And he

[0:34] single-handedly captured more than 40

[0:36] enemy soldiers. A hero story tonight.

[0:47] >> This is the CBS Evening News with Katie

[0:50] Kur.

[0:53] >> And good evening everyone. It's his

[0:55] first budget and President Obama is

[0:57] doing everything he can to make sure it

[0:59] passes. And that includes playing the

[1:01] role of salesman and chief, taking his

[1:03] case to TV viewers last night and today

[1:06] to the men and women who will vote on

[1:07] the plan. Chip Reed tells us it looks

[1:10] like the president will get most of what

[1:12] he wants.

[1:14] On Capitol Hill today, the president

[1:15] smiled broadly going into a meeting on

[1:18] his budget with Senate Democrats and

[1:20] seemed just as upbeat 41 minutes later

[1:23] on the way out. I'll see you guys.

[1:27] >> White House officials say the president

[1:28] is quote enormously pleased with what he

[1:30] heard, especially because his top three

[1:33] budget priorities are on track in the

[1:35] House and Senate budget resolutions,

[1:37] overhauling the health care system this

[1:39] year, and making major investments in

[1:41] renewable energy and education. White

[1:44] House budget director Peter Orzag. The

[1:46] budget resolutions may not be exactly

[1:49] identical twins to the budget that we

[1:51] submitted, but they're like brothers

[1:52] that look awfully alike.

[1:54] >> The president, though, is not getting

[1:55] everything he asked for, as he predicted

[1:58] in last night's press conference.

[1:59] >> We never expected when we printed out

[2:01] our budget that they would simply xerox

[2:04] it and vote on it. The Senate Democratic

[2:07] plan would cut about $ 160 billion

[2:09] dollar in domestic spending over five

[2:11] years from the president's budget, and

[2:14] it would not renew the president's tax

[2:16] cuts of $800 for families and $400 for

[2:19] individuals when they expire in two

[2:21] years. Democrats say their plan would

[2:23] cut the deficit from $1.7 trillion this

[2:26] year to $58 billion in 5 years. But the

[2:29] president's budget ran into a buzzsaw of

[2:32] criticism today among House Republicans.

[2:34] The president's budget employs an

[2:36] incredible arsenal of gimmicks and of

[2:38] tricks to mask an incredible explosion

[2:40] of more spending.

[2:42] >> Our nation has never seen this level of

[2:43] debt. Never. Drowning drowning in a sea

[2:47] of red ink.

[2:48] >> It's criticism the president anticipated

[2:51] last night.

[2:51] >> That some of those Republican critics uh

[2:54] have a short memory uh because as I

[2:57] recall, I'm inheriting a $ 1.3 trillion

[3:01] deficit, annual deficit from them.

[3:03] Today, one Republican said he may be

[3:05] right, but that's no excuse for this

[3:07] massive budget.

[3:09] >> Yes, Republicans clearly made mistakes

[3:11] in that area. Let's accept all of that.

[3:13] Let's not make them worse. Let's not

[3:15] compound these problems.

[3:17] >> Tomorrow morning, the president will

[3:19] talk about the budget in an online town

[3:21] hall. Just log on to the White House

[3:23] website and suggest a question more than

[3:25] 30,000 people already have. Katie

[3:28] >> Chip Reed at the White House tonight.

[3:30] Thank you, Chip. In California today, an

[3:32] Air Force F-22 fighter jet crashed in

[3:35] the Mojave Desert during a training

[3:37] flight near Edwards Air Force Base. No

[3:39] word yet on the fate of the pilot. The

[3:41] F-22 is the next generation of stealth

[3:44] fighter jet, a high-tech wonder with a

[3:46] sky-high price tag, which puts it at the

[3:49] heart of the debate over Pentagon

[3:50] spending. At his news conference last

[3:52] night, the president vowed to bring

[3:54] military costs under control. But as

[3:56] David Martin reports, cutting projects

[3:58] like the F-22 won't be easy.

[4:03] >> The old New England Miltown of

[4:04] Amesberry, Massachusetts, does not look

[4:06] like it has a stake in the battle over

[4:08] the Pentagon's high techch big ticket

[4:10] weapons.

[4:12] But it does. The F-22, the most

[4:14] expensive fighter ever built, is on the

[4:16] topping block. and so are the 120

[4:19] employees of Ames's Arc Technologies,

[4:22] which manufactures the special coding

[4:24] that makes the F-22 a stealth aircraft.

[4:27] This is not just about whether America

[4:29] needs the F-22 for its security. This is

[4:32] about all the jobs the F-22 brings to

[4:35] places like Amesberry.

[4:37] >> Arc President Chip Madden says nearly

[4:39] half his workforce will have to go if

[4:41] funding for the F-22 is cut off.

[4:43] >> The thought of it, um, it turns my

[4:46] stomach.

[4:47] It makes me ill to to think about it. To

[4:49] think of handing out pink slips.

[4:51] >> Absolutely. I take it personal.

[4:52] >> Lheed Martin, the plane's manufacturer,

[4:54] says 95,000 jobs nationwide depend on

[4:58] keeping the F-22 production line open.

[5:01] Contracts to produce parts have been let

[5:03] in 44 states. It's called political

[5:06] engineering. According to Pierre Spray,

[5:08] who helped build an earlier generation

[5:09] of jets, he says that has contributed to

[5:12] the plane's staggering price tag. $62

[5:15] billion for the 183 built so far, $339

[5:21] million for each one.

[5:23] >> A good part of that has to do with doing

[5:26] out tiny contracts all over the country.

[5:28] >> But local jobs are a powerful political

[5:31] tool.

[5:31] >> It sure keeps them killproof.

[5:33] >> The F22 is designed to be killproof in

[5:35] the air. A cockpit simulator gives you

[5:38] some idea of what it's like to fly a

[5:40] supersonic stealth aircraft. There's

[5:42] four guys here, so it's one against

[5:44] four, but none of them can see me.

[5:48] >> Is it really this easy?

[5:49] >> It's very similar to being this easy.

[5:52] >> It's as high as high-tech gets, but none

[5:54] of the nearly 200 planes have seen

[5:56] combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. That's

[5:59] why Congressman Joe Cestack, a retired

[6:01] three-star admiral, doesn't want to buy

[6:03] anymore.

[6:04] >> I think we have the right number now.

[6:06] >> If it's up to you, you cut off funding

[6:08] for the F-22.

[6:09] >> Yes, I would. That would leave Bob

[6:11] Frost, who programs ARC's precision

[6:13] drills, looking for a new job in a town

[6:16] whose unemployment rate has already

[6:18] doubled.

[6:18] >> President's promising jobs, but uh you

[6:21] know, the way it's been going lately is

[6:22] a lot of people's losing jobs.

[6:24] >> What started out as a fire for the 21st

[6:26] century,

[6:27] >> America's air dominant

[6:28] >> has turned into an economic stimulus

[6:30] package.

[6:31] >> David Martin, CBS News, Amesberry,

[6:34] Massachusetts.

[6:35] >> Now to the flooding in North Dakota.

[6:37] More than a thousand people have been

[6:39] evacuated in Bismar, where today

[6:41] explosives were used to try to break up

[6:43] an ice jam on the Missouri River. 200

[6:45] miles to the east, the people of Fargo

[6:48] are desperately trying to protect the

[6:50] city from the rising Red River. Early

[6:52] show weather anchor Dave Price is there.

[6:57] Airboat rescues have already begun along

[7:00] the swollen Red River as sheriff's

[7:02] deputies had to rush into a southern

[7:04] section of Fargo today, racing the

[7:06] rising waters.

[7:07] >> It was terrifying. The water wasn't that

[7:09] deep this morning and we woke up and

[7:10] looked out the window and there there

[7:11] was the river. It was just right there.

[7:13] >> Complicating the battle against the

[7:15] river are falling snow and freezing

[7:17] temperatures. Up to 6 in of new snow are

[7:20] now raising flood projections another

[7:22] foot to 41 ft, 23 feet over flood stage.

[7:26] A new record for a region that knows

[7:28] flooding all too well.

[7:30] >> This one is unusual because of the

[7:32] weather and whatever nature can throw at

[7:34] us. So, if we survive this one, uh,

[7:38] we'll be very lucky.

[7:40] >> Luck aided by a herculean effort. By

[7:43] tonight, the city hopes to have in place

[7:45] nearly 2 million sandbags with the help

[7:48] of more than 30,000 volunteers from the

[7:50] northern plains along with prison

[7:52] inmates and 750 National Guardsmen.

[7:56] Together, they've built some 15 miles of

[7:58] dikes, some as high as 12 ft, hoping to

[8:01] keep the river in its place.

[8:03] >> Are you going to win this thing?

[8:05] >> Sure, we are. We got We have to. This

[8:08] region is prone to flooding, but the

[8:10] recent past has been especially painful.

[8:12] 12 years ago, the Red River burst its

[8:14] banks and caused 4 billion dollars in

[8:17] damage, virtually wiping out downtown

[8:19] Grand Forks.

[8:20] >> Right now, we're we're getting more and

[8:22] more worried.

[8:23] >> For the Roar family, it seems like their

[8:25] situation is going down the same path as

[8:27] it did in 1997. Today, the only way to

[8:30] get to their home was a half mile walk

[8:32] down railroad tracks and a quick trip

[8:34] through the rising water. Their home is

[8:36] surrounded.

[8:37] >> This is lakes shore property right now.

[8:39] Almost an island.

[8:40] >> Even so, Roar plans to stay this time.

[8:43] >> You say a prayer before you go to sleep.

[8:45] >> Every night. Every night.

[8:48] >> Now behind me a series of backyards

[8:50] which are now part of the Red River.

[8:52] FEMA now telling people be on alert for

[8:56] significant major dangerous flooding.

[8:58] And you can see behind me the National

[9:00] Guard at this point building a temporary

[9:02] levey hoping to stop the Red River from

[9:05] making further advances into this

[9:06] neighborhood with all eyes on both the

[9:09] water and the clock. Katie

[9:11] >> and Dave, after all this sandbagging, a

[9:13] race against time, when is the river now

[9:15] expected to crest?

[9:17] >> Well, here's the latest timeline. The

[9:19] forecast now calling for the river crest

[9:22] here in Fargo by 100 p.m. Saturday. And

[9:25] get this, it's expected to stay at that

[9:27] level through Tuesday. Now, in Grand

[9:30] Forks, they will see a crest Monday at

[9:33] about 7 a.m. at 51.9 ft, and it'll

[9:37] likely stay that way through April 4th.

[9:39] Katie.

[9:40] >> All right, Dave Price in Fargo tonight.

[9:42] Thanks, Dave. In other news, Secretary

[9:44] of State Hillary Clinton is in Mexico

[9:46] tonight. She says Americans share the

[9:48] blame for the drug war there because of

[9:50] quote, "Our insatiable demand for

[9:53] illegal drugs." President Obama is

[9:55] sending more US agents to the border to

[9:57] help fight the Mexican drug cartels. Our

[9:59] chief foreign affairs correspondent

[10:01] Larara Logan is in Mexico City tonight.

[10:05] This is what it takes to fight the drug

[10:07] cartels in Mexico. The president forced

[10:10] to deploy Mexico's army against ruthless

[10:12] narot traffickers and the network of

[10:14] corrupt police and officials supporting

[10:16] them. Now Mexico is getting the help

[10:19] it's been asking for from the US.

[10:21] >> It's important that we join together. uh

[10:23] to defeat uh the violence and uh the

[10:26] criminal gangs.

[10:27] >> In an interview with CBS News, Mexico's

[10:30] foreign minister welcomed the change in

[10:32] Washington's attitude.

[10:33] >> We want to address together the

[10:35] challenges that we are facing.

[10:38] >> Now, Mexico believes US at last is

[10:40] accepting its share of responsibility,

[10:43] beefing up agents and technology to help

[10:45] Mexico target illegal guns, drugs, and

[10:48] cash. But Mexico says it will never

[10:50] allow US troops to operate on their

[10:52] soil. And the possibility the US could

[10:55] deploy National Guard troops to the

[10:56] border is causing concern.

[10:58] >> Militarizing the border is is something

[11:01] that is is seen as uh as a very delicate

[11:06] issue.

[11:07] >> So National Guard troops would not be

[11:08] popular in Mexico.

[11:10] >> Yes, that's correct.

[11:12] >> The Mexican authorities have been making

[11:14] big arrests, sending a message to its

[11:17] enemies. Here in the capital, the

[11:18] authorities were eager to send another

[11:20] message that Mexico is not in danger of

[11:23] becoming a failed state. Sergeant Raone

[11:25] Perez took us around the city to show

[11:27] how much safer it's become.

[11:29] >> We work as two police officer per block.

[11:32] >> Two policemen per block.

[11:34] >> That's a lot.

[11:35] >> Yeah.

[11:36] >> But the safety of the capital is in

[11:38] stark contrast to the chaos and

[11:39] bloodshed in Mexico's border cities.

[11:42] Critics of Mexico's war on drugs say the

[11:44] increase in violence here is not a sign

[11:47] the government is winning. Rather, it's

[11:48] a sign that Mexico's president has stood

[11:50] up a hornet's nest and is only now

[11:53] discovering that the Mexican state is

[11:55] too weakened by fear and corruption to

[11:58] bring the situation under control

[12:00] that could drag the US even deeper into

[12:03] Mexico's drug war. Lara Logan, CBS News,

[12:06] Mexico City. In Washington today, a

[12:09] different battle, the battle against

[12:11] Alzheimer's disease. Congress heard

[12:13] about one of its most well-known

[12:15] victims, Sergeant Shrivever, the first

[12:17] director of the Peace Corps, the 1972

[12:20] Democratic vice presidential nominee,

[12:22] and the father of California First Lady

[12:25] Maria Shrivever.

[12:27] At the age of 93, he still goes to mass

[12:30] every day. And believe it or not, he

[12:32] still remembers the Hail Mary. But he

[12:34] doesn't remember me, Maria. I'd be lying

[12:37] if I didn't admit that. That still makes

[12:39] me cry.

[12:40] >> Maria Shrivever is a member of the

[12:42] Alzheimer's study group, one of the

[12:44] several who urged Congress to allocate

[12:46] more money to fight the disease that a

[12:49] afflicts more than 5 million people in

[12:51] this country alone. Coming up next,

[12:54] right here on the CBS Evening News, why

[12:55] so many drivers are torturing torching

[12:59] their cars.

[13:15] Arson investigators say it happens every

[13:18] time the economy is down, their business

[13:20] picks up. And in this recession, auto

[13:23] arson is on the rise. Mark Straman has

[13:26] more now about this insurance scam.

[13:30] >> You see all this right here? Yeah, this

[13:32] fire started inside.

[13:34] >> Outside Las Vegas, the desert's a

[13:37] dumping ground for a red-hot scam in

[13:39] this recession.

[13:41] Cars torched for the insurance money.

[13:44] Detective Mark Medsy's full-time beat.

[13:46] This wasn't a typical auto youth that

[13:48] did this.

[13:48] >> So many cars dumped over such a vast

[13:51] area. Every day, Las Vegas police patrol

[13:53] by helicopter to find them. And in a

[13:55] worsening economy, suspicious car fires

[13:58] have spiked from coast to coast. In

[14:00] California, suspected car arson almost

[14:03] doubled in the last three years. And in

[14:05] New York, the number of people arrested

[14:07] for setting their own cars on fire

[14:09] jumped 35% in the last year. One weekend

[14:12] alone, Las Vegas police found 10 charred

[14:15] cars.

[14:16] >> It's just gone completely crazy. I mean,

[14:18] there's there's probably not a night

[14:20] where there's a vehicle not burning

[14:21] somewhere in the desert around Las

[14:22] Vegas.

[14:25] Many are late model cars, some just

[14:27] months off the dealer lot, lit up by

[14:30] people trying to cash in bogus insurance

[14:32] claims. Most of these car fires aren't

[14:35] set by professional arsonists. They're

[14:36] amateurs, everyday people caught in a

[14:39] financial bind, suddenly desperate.

[14:41] >> The radio components

[14:43] >> John Thompson, an insurance

[14:44] investigator, says real thieves would

[14:46] never leave valuable parts on cars they

[14:48] torch. But on this new Chrysler,

[14:51] >> the airbag system is still intact. Uh,

[14:53] the electronics are still in the vehicle

[14:55] and all the seats.

[14:56] >> Everything about this says amateur job

[14:59] to you.

[15:00] >> Yes.

[15:01] >> And surveillance video show amateurs at

[15:03] work. This guy struggled to light this

[15:05] Toyota Tacoma and spotlighted himself

[15:08] for police to arrest. When flames dimmed

[15:11] inside this Cadillac Escalade, the

[15:13] frustrated arsonist opened a door. A

[15:15] surge of oxygen sparked a fireball and

[15:18] set him on fire. Mensy says these are

[15:21] usually people who've never been

[15:22] arrested for anything now deep in debt.

[15:25] >> This isn't your career criminal. This is

[15:26] your neighbor.

[15:27] >> No, exactly.

[15:29] >> Neighbors desperate enough to roll the

[15:31] dice in a city famous for bad gambles.

[15:34] Mark Straman, CBS News, Las Vegas.

[15:38] >> And there's something wild and very cute

[15:40] at the National Zoo. A pair of clouded

[15:43] leopard cubs born there yesterday.

[15:46] Scientists say these leopards are very

[15:47] rare in the wild and very difficult to

[15:50] breed in captivity. For now, the cubs

[15:52] are off limits to visitors.

[15:59] Things are looking up for the struggling

[16:01] economy. A couple of things anyway. For

[16:04] one, the government reported today that

[16:05] demand for refrigerators, washers, and

[16:08] other so-called durable goods is rising

[16:10] with orders up for the first time in

[16:13] seven months. And sales of new homes are

[16:16] up for the first time since last summer.

[16:19] Pria David has more in tonight's Bright

[16:22] Spots.

[16:23] Along New York's East River, it may not

[16:26] feel like spring, but there are signs of

[16:28] a thaw in the housing market.

[16:30] >> We're feeling pretty good right now.

[16:33] After a slow year, developer Michael Dub

[16:36] is selling more condos.

[16:38] >> We have absolutely started to see that

[16:40] turn and we are cautiously optimistic.

[16:42] >> The number of new homes sold in February

[16:44] is still 41% less than last year, but

[16:48] the glut of unsold new homes is being

[16:50] reduced. That's a key to stop the slide

[16:52] in housing, which has been at the root

[16:54] of the recession. I think what we can

[16:57] say now objectively is that the pace of

[17:01] the contraction will slow as the year

[17:04] progresses.

[17:05] >> And with mortgage rates at historic lows

[17:07] below 5%, more lenders are offering

[17:10] deals of a lifetime. Have you ever seen

[17:13] a deal like this?

[17:14] >> No. Never. Never.

[17:15] >> In Portland, Oregon, Banner Bank is

[17:17] offering a 30-year fixed rate mortgage

[17:20] below 4%. The bank's doing it by loaning

[17:23] more than a third of its $124 million in

[17:26] government bailout money. That was what

[17:27] it's supposed to be for. It was supposed

[17:29] to for banks to turn it around and lend

[17:31] it back out into the community. And

[17:33] that's what we're doing.

[17:34] >> It's allowed people that were sitting on

[17:36] the sideline to stand up and say, "Now's

[17:39] the time to buy."

[17:40] >> It's also allowed Ken Girtz to reduce

[17:42] inventory and build new homes.

[17:44] >> When we sell homes, we go back to work.

[17:48] Over 1 million construction jobs have

[17:50] been lost since January of 2007. It's

[17:52] been pretty rough for you.

[17:54] >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, we had to lay

[17:56] off four four or five people and so I'm

[17:59] just hoping to get them back to work.

[18:00] >> The trick to that will be building on

[18:02] what many hope is the foundation of a

[18:06] turnaround. Pria David, CBS News,

[18:09] Portland, Oregon.

[18:11] >> And coming up next, he could be the

[18:13] bravest war hero you've never heard of.

[18:21] This is Medal of Honor Day, a tribute to

[18:23] those who have received the nation's

[18:25] highest military award. The president

[18:27] took part in a ceremony today at

[18:29] Arlington National Cemetery. 98 Medal of

[18:32] Honor recipients are still alive and 38

[18:35] attended, including one hero with a

[18:37] truly remarkable story. Once again,

[18:40] here's David Martin.

[18:42] Robert Howard was the toughest, bravest

[18:44] cat in the jungle, but he deserved a

[18:46] better war than Vietnam. He was

[18:49] nominated for the Medal of Honor three

[18:51] times for three separate operations

[18:53] behind enemy lines. But when President

[18:56] Nixon finally awarded him the nation's

[18:58] highest honor,

[18:59] >> bring our brothers home.

[19:01] >> The ceremony was actually delayed by

[19:03] anti-war protests. He was a war hero at

[19:06] a time when Americans didn't believe in

[19:08] either the war or its heroes. He was

[19:11] wounded 14 times and has no business

[19:14] being alive.

[19:15] >> And here I come face to face with a

[19:18] platoon of enemy soldiers.

[19:20] And so I'm standing with my weapon like

[19:23] this and they fired directly at me. And

[19:26] I fell backwards like this and didn't

[19:29] get killed.

[19:30] >> That was just the beginning of the

[19:31] firefight for which he was awarded the

[19:33] Medal of Honor. It ended when out of

[19:35] ammunition he called in a 2,000lb bomb.

[19:38] But I said, "I want you to put it right

[19:40] on our possession." It blew us and the

[19:43] enemy up. Next thing I know, we're still

[19:46] alive.

[19:47] >> He's still picking shrapnel out of his

[19:49] body.

[19:49] >> I got a piece that's coming out of my

[19:51] side on this side this morning. It

[19:53] bothered me.

[19:54] >> America loves war heroes. Sergeant York

[19:57] in World War I, Audie Murphy in World

[19:59] War II. But in Vietnam, there were only

[20:01] scapegoats. Except Robert Howard, who

[20:05] captured 44 enemy soldiers and brought

[20:07] them back for questioning.

[20:08] >> I carried a damn enemy soldier for nine

[20:11] days because he was important and other

[20:15] people were trying to kill him.

[20:16] >> He did five combat tours in Vietnam and

[20:19] is about to pay his fifth visit to the

[20:21] troops in Iraq.

[20:22] >> I teach him how to survive on the

[20:24] battlefield. I teach him how to weigh

[20:27] courage and fear. You know, you can

[20:29] balance that. He can walk through the

[20:32] streets of Manhattan without anyone

[20:33] knowing who he is. Until today, when

[20:36] President Obama found out who Robert

[20:38] Howard is. Together, they and 37 other

[20:42] Medal of Honor recipients laid a wreath

[20:44] at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

[20:48] Robert Howard is an unknown hero no

[20:51] longer. David Martin, CBS News, the

[20:54] Pentagon.

[20:56] >> And that is the CBS Evening News. I'm

[20:58] Katie Carrick. Thanks for watching. I'll

[21:00] see you tomorrow. Good night.