CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2004-11-05

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Dan Rather and welcome to the

[0:02] CBS Evening News online edition. Just

[0:04] ahead, US forces found Fallujah in

[0:07] advance of an expected offensive. But

[0:10] will a military victory have a high

[0:12] political price? Also, a consumer alert.

[0:16] Scam artists beware. Seniors are

[0:18] learning you're never too old to catch a

[0:21] thief. And California taxpayers are

[0:24] about to spend almost hundred million

[0:26] dollars to preserve some beautiful

[0:28] beaches. But before you pack your

[0:30] swimsuit, you better see our report.

[0:33] It's all starting now on the CBS Evening

[0:35] News online edition.

[0:38] From the grunts on the line to the top

[0:40] brass, every soldier and marine facing

[0:42] battle hopes for the best, but plans for

[0:45] the worst. US commanders are sure they

[0:48] can take Fallujah, but CBS News national

[0:50] security correspondent David Martin

[0:52] reports the question remains at what

[0:55] cost.

[0:57] Pilots who would fly air strikes in

[0:59] support of a ground assault on Fallujah

[1:01] are expecting a battle lasting five or

[1:03] six days. Days that will mark a turning

[1:06] point in the war for Iraq. However many

[1:09] days it takes, no one doubts US troops

[1:11] can retake the city and eliminate what

[1:13] has become a major terrorist stronghold.

[1:16] But not even a gung-ho marine believes

[1:18] that alone will end the insurgency. Just

[1:20] by taking it out does not mean the rest

[1:22] of the insurgency will fall. That it

[1:24] will be a big chip in that block out

[1:26] there.

[1:27] >> US military officers say they can

[1:29] destroy any target, take any city,

[1:31] including Fallujah. But a military

[1:34] victory can end in political defeat if

[1:36] it alienates the local population. Will

[1:38] the residents of Fallujah, some of whom

[1:40] will almost certainly become casualties

[1:42] or be driven from their homes, feel

[1:44] liberated or terrorized by American

[1:47] firepower? That question is what led the

[1:49] US to call off its first attempt to

[1:51] retake Fallujah last April and has

[1:53] affected the timing of the next assault

[1:56] as Iraqi government officials who must

[1:58] give the final go-ahad argue among

[2:00] themselves. The UN's Kofi Annen has

[2:03] written President Bush, Britain's Tony

[2:04] Blair, and Iraq's Prime Minister Alawi

[2:07] warning the use of force would only

[2:09] alienate Iraqis and disrupt plans for

[2:11] nationwide elections in January. But US

[2:14] officials argue that since calling off

[2:16] last April's offensive against Fallujah,

[2:18] the insurgency has only grown in size

[2:21] and violence, and that it would be

[2:22] impossible to hold elections without

[2:24] first bringing the insurgency under

[2:27] control and restoring local government

[2:29] rule, as they have done recently in

[2:31] cities like Najaf and Samara. That means

[2:34] Iraqi forces have to fight as well. US

[2:36] troops could retake the city by

[2:38] themselves, but unless Iraqi soldiers

[2:40] and policemen quickly move in and take

[2:42] over, it would be an empty victory

[2:44] purchased at the almost certain price of

[2:46] more American casualties. David Martin,

[2:49] CBS News, the Pentagon. In tonight's CBS

[2:52] Consumer Alert, fighting back against

[2:54] scammers who often target the elderly.

[2:57] CBS's Gretchen Carlson shows you the old

[3:00] school approach to payback time.

[3:03] Congratulations on your purchase.

[3:05] >> In their 66 years together, Mac and

[3:08] Ethel Foster haven't argued over much.

[3:11] >> And you take it out of the box.

[3:12] >> But this mattress pad almost put an end

[3:15] to their marital bliss.

[3:16] >> Uhoh.

[3:17] >> Oh yes.

[3:18] >> After a high pressure sales pitch, Mac

[3:21] Foster plunked down more than a,000

[3:23] bucks on this supposedly magnetic

[3:25] mattress pad. It turns out the pad

[3:27] didn't even seem to have magnets. So,

[3:29] the Fosters got mad, joining Seniors

[3:32] Versus Crime, a volunteer program that

[3:34] turns senior victims into senior

[3:37] sleuths. For the Fosters, that meant

[3:39] tracking down the mattress salesmen who

[3:42] had scammed more than 60 other retirees.

[3:46] >> Each of them are like assistant attorney

[3:47] generals. You have to have heart and you

[3:49] have to have guts. And and the seniors

[3:51] in this program have both.

[3:53] >> Senior sleuths aren't just offering

[3:54] moral support to their peers, they're

[3:56] also making the bad guys pay. So far,

[3:59] recovering more than $3 million in

[4:01] Florida alone.

[4:03] >> Please contact us immediately.

[4:04] >> Don't be fooled by her frail appearance.

[4:06] Ruth Randall has collected more than

[4:08] $150,000 on the cases she's closed.

[4:12] >> If he's ducking me, I call him up very

[4:14] nicely or very nastly depending on who

[4:17] he is and what he has to say.

[4:18] >> This is the compressor unit.

[4:20] >> Martha Gibson came to Ruth with a badly

[4:23] botched air conditioning job. She had

[4:25] tried to get help at several other

[4:26] government agencies, but it was Ruth who

[4:29] got her $3,700 back in no time.

[4:32] >> She's a tiger, I'll tell you that.

[4:36] >> But Evelyn Burton really played up her

[4:38] senior sleuth assignment.

[4:40] >> He was facing the camera sitting there

[4:42] >> during an undercover government sting in

[4:44] her home.

[4:46] >> While helping to bust this bogus water

[4:49] purification salesman, it can be very

[4:51] dangerous. I just let him talk and he

[4:54] didn't scare me. Besides, I had a nice

[4:56] little gun in the house.

[4:58] >> They may look mildmannered, but these

[5:01] senior private eyes don't like to be

[5:03] taken. And now they're finally getting a

[5:05] chance to settle the score.

[5:07] >> She got her check.

[5:08] >> Gretchen Carlson, CBS News, Penllis

[5:10] Park, Florida.

[5:12] >> It's one of the most popular tourist

[5:13] stops on the West Coast. The Hurst

[5:15] Castle, an over-the-top tribute to

[5:18] extravagance midway between Los Angeles

[5:20] and San Francisco. Now, taxpayers will

[5:23] pay the Hurst family to preserve some of

[5:25] the estate's most scenic seaside land.

[5:28] But CBS's Sandra Hughes reports that

[5:30] does not mean the taxpayers will always

[5:33] be invited. Bob Bell spends his mornings

[5:36] in his machine shop and his afternoons

[5:39] walking with his wife Elise along

[5:41] California's central coast and hiking

[5:44] trails around the famed San Simeon

[5:46] Point.

[5:46] >> If you could go over there, you'd cry.

[5:49] It's so beautiful. You know, it's like a

[5:51] religious experience. It's just

[5:53] marvelous. Trails all through there.

[5:55] Now, the state of California is about to

[5:57] pay the descendants of millionaire

[5:59] publisher William Randph Hurst a

[6:01] whopping $95 million, plus millions more

[6:04] in tax breaks, for the coastal area they

[6:07] own surrounding the famous Hurst Castle.

[6:10] >> The least they could have done with this

[6:12] with all the money they're getting is to

[6:14] give the co the this whole coastal strip

[6:17] to the public with complete access.

[6:19] >> Three separate beaches and the entire

[6:21] Hurst Ranch will stay in family hands.

[6:24] and they can build homes and a hotel.

[6:26] The ranch stays off limits to the public

[6:29] and the beaches are severely restricted.

[6:31] The question being asked by many who

[6:33] live in the coastal communities as well

[6:35] as some of the millions of people who

[6:37] visit every year is what do they get for

[6:40] the $95 million.

[6:41] >> It's a family heirloom, if you will. And

[6:43] >> William Randph Hurst grandson sees it as

[6:46] a gift.

[6:47] >> You have to look at the deal in his

[6:48] total. You can't you can't take one

[6:50] little piece of it and say, you know,

[6:52] thanks for the gift, but I think it

[6:53] ought to be better.

[6:54] >> Critics say it's the Hurst family that's

[6:56] getting the gift. But state officials

[6:58] argue that it would cost hundreds of

[7:00] millions to buy the land outright. So,

[7:02] paying the Hurst to preserve the land is

[7:04] the next best thing.

[7:06] >> The preservation of the coastline for

[7:07] enjoyment of the people of California

[7:09] and the people of this country. We think

[7:11] it's an outstanding deal.

[7:13] >> Although a vocal opponent, Bob Bell is

[7:15] not sure his single voice matters. This

[7:17] is a corporation and they're out to make

[7:19] as much money as they can.

[7:21] >> Although he considers the beach

[7:23] priceless. Sandra Hughes, CBS News, San

[7:26] Simeon, California.

[7:28] >> More stories are just a click away. But

[7:30] don't forget to join me on television

[7:31] for the on air edition of the CBS

[7:34] Evening News. On Monday's broadcast,

[7:36] women in the workplace. They're facing

[7:38] new challenges but still facing down old

[7:42] obstacles. Join us for Women's Work, a

[7:45] special Eye on America series for

[7:48] cbsnews.com.

[7:49] I'm Dan Rather.