CBS Evening News - 1999-05-31 (partial)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] 60% are accused of artificially boosting

[0:03] profits. Among them, Cendant, Sunbeam,

[0:06] and Boston Market, all charged with

[0:09] cooking the books.

[0:11] Independent accountants like Deloitte &

[0:14] Touche, which audited Livent's books,

[0:16] are supposed to check the numbers. The

[0:18] problem? Auditors are paid by the very

[0:21] people they're supposed to police.

[0:23] Harris DeVoore should know. He spent

[0:25] eight years with one of the big

[0:27] accounting firms. The message from

[0:29] above, he says, was clear. "Don't blow

[0:32] the whistle. Don't jeopardize our

[0:34] accounts."

[0:35] >> I was given significant pressure to make

[0:38] my clients happy and to find the way

[0:42] to be able to live with what the client

[0:44] wanted to do.

[0:45] >> When auditors look the other way,

[0:47] there's a last line of defense, the SEC.

[0:50] But critics say they're outgunned, and

[0:52] even top cop Arthur Levitt acknowledges

[0:55] there's a problem.

[0:57] >> If America's investors cannot rely upon

[1:01] the sanctity of the numbers that are

[1:03] presented to them, our whole capital

[1:05] system is at stake.

[1:07] >> So to those who are dazzled by elaborate

[1:09] corporate numbers, be warned. Sometimes

[1:13] all you're getting is a song and dance.

[1:18] For Eye on America, this is Ray Brady in

[1:20] New York.

[1:23] >> Straight ahead on tonight's CBS Evening

[1:25] News, an immigrant to America searches

[1:27] for his kin amidst the chaos of the

[1:30] Balkan war.

[1:41] >> Nancy will have to see from near to far

[1:44] almost a thousand times today. Her eyes

[1:46] will focus on 40 labels, 60 charts, and

[1:49] 100 smiles. And in all that time, she'll

[1:51] never once think about the science that

[1:53] allows her to focus instantly at all

[1:56] distances. Nancy just knows that her

[1:58] Varilux lenses help her see better, and

[2:01] for her, that's a very comforting

[2:03] thought. Varilux, the comfort of better

[2:06] vision. For more information, call

[2:07] toll-free 1-800-Varilux.

[2:12] >> Hey Dad, what are you doing up?

[2:13] >> Relieving your mother's stuff, Pepsi.

[2:15] >> Heartburn again, huh? What are you

[2:17] taking?

[2:17] >> Tums, and I'm back for more.

[2:18] >> You're still taking that stuff?

[2:20] Look, Dad, take a Pepsid AC. One tiny

[2:23] pill controls acid all night.

[2:25] >> You can get some sleep.

[2:26] >> Next time, take one before dinner, and

[2:27] you can stop heartburn before it starts.

[2:29] >> Before it starts? So, you don't see me

[2:31] suffering, do you?

[2:33] >> What are you guys doing now?

[2:34] >> Uh nothing, dear. We were talking about

[2:36] your your peppers.

[2:37] >> Peppers, yes.

[2:37] >> I have some in the fridge.

[2:38] >> You can sleep heartburn-free with Pepsid

[2:41] AC.

[2:41] >> I'm glad you came home for the weekend.

[2:43] >> Dad, when are you going to stop with the

[2:45] butter?

[2:45] >> You know, I like you without the blue

[2:47] hair.

[2:47] >> Steve didn't like it, either.

[2:48] >> Steve?

[2:49] >> Dad, seriously, your cholesterol.

[2:51] >> My cholesterol's looking good, and this

[2:53] is not butter.

[2:54] >> New Benecol, a delicious spread proven

[2:56] to promote healthy cholesterol levels,

[2:58] as reported in places like the New

[2:59] England Journal of Medicine.

[3:01] >> You can eat this, and it can be good for

[3:02] you?

[3:02] >> They did some studies. I read about it.

[3:04] >> Wow, I'm impressed.

[3:06] >> New Benecol, a delicious way to manage

[3:08] cholesterol.

[3:09] >> What happened to Dave?

[3:10] >> Things change.

[3:12] >> While paramedic Dave McCloud checked the

[3:14] equipment before the day's first call,

[3:16] someone else was on realtor.com helping

[3:19] Dave's family search for their first

[3:20] home.

[3:22] Later, as he was racing to his sixth

[3:23] call, someone else was at the bank

[3:25] reviewing Dave's mortgage.

[3:27] And while Dave was helping deliver a

[3:29] healthy set of twins who couldn't wait

[3:31] for the hospital, someone else was

[3:33] delivering his cashier's check to the

[3:35] title company. You've got a life. We let

[3:38] you live it. We're realtors. Real estate

[3:40] is our life.

[3:41] >> Wednesday on 60 Minutes II, how safe is

[3:44] your backyard pool? Before you take the

[3:46] plunge this summer, take some time for

[3:48] 60 Minutes II, Wednesday.

[3:53] >> There's a nasty side to the sunny, dry,

[3:55] holiday weather today by coastal

[3:57] wildfires in at least four states. North

[4:00] Florida had the biggest fires, but the

[4:01] fragile desert habitat of California's

[4:04] Joshua Tree National Park suffered some

[4:06] of the worst damage. 11,000 acres

[4:09] burned, including trees up to 200 years

[4:12] old. A few days ago on this broadcast,

[4:14] we told you the story of an immigrant

[4:16] from Kosovo in New York. Gjevdet Rexhaj

[4:18] said he couldn't go on with his life in

[4:21] America when his whole nation was

[4:22] threatened and he didn't even know what

[4:24] had happened to his relatives. So, he

[4:26] returned to the Balkans to look for them

[4:29] among the masses of ethnic Albanian

[4:30] refugees. Tonight, we pick up his story

[4:33] in Albania with CBS News Correspondent

[4:36] Russ Mitchell.

[4:40] Gjevdet Rexhaj was on a mission to find

[4:42] his family. He found them and more

[4:44] stories of bitter memories and of

[4:46] bureaucratic problems.

[4:48] His parents had been forced to leave

[4:50] Kosovo as they watched their home burn.

[4:53] They're in Tirana now, living with 11

[4:55] people in an apartment built for four.

[4:58] >> I just cannot leave them living behind

[5:00] in the condition that they are

[5:02] living in.

[5:02] >> He wants to bring them to America, but

[5:04] he's had to spend most of his time

[5:06] following through red tape. The answer

[5:08] he keeps hearing from officials is no.

[5:14] His parents weren't the only family

[5:15] members he found here.

[5:17] After a day talking with relief agencies

[5:19] and friends, Gjevdet's search brought

[5:21] him here to the village of Mamurras,

[5:23] about an hour north of Tirana.

[5:25] He says he wasn't prepared for what he

[5:27] found out.

[5:28] >> It was painful. I could not find the

[5:30] words

[5:31] what would make them feel better.

[5:35] They were crying. They were

[5:37] explaining everything through tears.

[5:40] >> Gjevdet discovered 22 members of his

[5:42] family living in two rooms who had been

[5:44] dragged from their homes in Kosovo by

[5:46] Serb police and forced to watch as an

[5:49] officer shot Gevat's brother-in-law in

[5:51] the head.

[5:56] 17-year-old Lenora and her younger

[5:57] sister saw their father killed.

[6:00] >> I couldn't scream. I couldn't cry. I

[6:02] couldn't do anything to help.

[6:05] >> 6-year-old Merita was there, too. Her

[6:08] name means good life in Albanian, but

[6:10] after what she saw in Kosovo, her family

[6:13] worries that she has little chance of

[6:14] living one.

[6:16] Gevat says as a child he was taught not

[6:18] to hate.

[6:19] But now

[6:20] >> tell the truth.

[6:21] >> Yeah.

[6:22] >> I do have

[6:24] energy that tells me that

[6:27] after all of what happened I do hate.

[6:30] >> It is that hate that makes Gevat doubt

[6:32] if Serbs and ethnic Albanians can ever

[6:34] live together in peace.

[6:36] He had hoped to leave Albania last week.

[6:39] Now he doesn't know when he's coming

[6:40] home.

[6:42] Russ Mitchell, CBS News, Tirana,

[6:44] Albania.

[6:45] >> Coming up next on the CBS Evening News,

[6:48] Bill Geist approaches the sound barrier

[6:50] on a holiday drive.

[6:57] >> Some things can't be taught in a

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[7:02] but with Fixodent long-lasting hold

[7:04] you'll be ready no matter where the

[7:05] lesson takes you. For long-lasting hold,

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[7:11] >> We're here with grades three, four, and

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[7:15] long distance where calls are always 10

[7:17] cents a minute. So, what's that number?

[7:20] >> 10 10 3 4 5.

[7:21] >> Excellent.

[7:23] >> Dial 10 10 3 4 5 today.

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[7:56] >> Thanks, Dad.

[7:58] >> You can't do this with Caravan.

[8:00] >> Thanks.

[8:00] >> You can't do this with Voyager.

[8:02] >> Thanks, Pop.

[8:03] >> A little help?

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[8:26] >> The best way to cure athlete's foot so

[8:27] it won't come back is here. New Lamisil

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[8:34] These take 4 weeks of treatment to kill

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[8:48] Now without a prescription. New Lamisil

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[8:57] >> Our Bill Geist is just back from a road

[8:59] tour of America the Beautiful. He

[9:01] reports that between the spacious skies

[9:03] and amber waves of grain, there's a

[9:05] certain mounting travesty.

[9:08] >> See the USA in your Chevrolet. The

[9:12] Rockies way out west is calling you.

[9:15] >> As you travel the highways and byways of

[9:17] America this summer, you may notice some

[9:19] changes in the landscape. Increasingly,

[9:22] it's goodbye scenery, hello wall.

[9:25] >> Hello wall.

[9:28] >> America's highways are being lined with

[9:30] thousands of miles of walls. Concrete

[9:33] walls, stone walls, wooden walls, you

[9:38] name it.

[9:38] >> So won't you bear with me

[9:41] for a while?

[9:43] >> What's behind all these walls? What are

[9:45] we missing? Houses and people for the

[9:48] most part.

[9:51] The walls are noise barriers designed to

[9:53] give people who live on the other side a

[9:55] little peace and quiet.

[9:58] Respite from the 18-wheelers.

[10:01] >> I think that they're very ugly and

[10:02] they're very distracting. And they also

[10:05] really messed up the panoramic view.

[10:08] >> Why don't they wall this?

[10:11] These walls cost millions of dollars a

[10:13] mile. Some of them are 30 ft high.

[10:16] >> In defense of the state and the federal

[10:18] government, obviously, they feel they're

[10:20] doing a good thing for a community.

[10:22] >> I hate it.

[10:23] >> Walling out noise makes a lot of people

[10:25] feel walled in.

[10:27] >> You could see the cars going around from

[10:29] the deck and it it just never bothered

[10:31] me. It was like relaxing. I'd sit out

[10:33] there and just look and I enjoyed it.

[10:35] And now all I'm looking at is these high

[10:37] walls. If you notice here, they they

[10:39] gave us the ugly side of the wall.

[10:43] >> In a few places, government is trying to

[10:45] make these maximum security walls look a

[10:47] little nicer. This new wall is a blend

[10:50] concrete and aluminum siding.

[10:53] In some places, citizens are taking

[10:55] beautification into their own hands.

[10:58] But for the most part, it's getting so

[11:00] you can't tell sometimes whether you're

[11:02] in New York or Los Angeles or somewhere

[11:05] in between.

[11:06] >> Only walls

[11:09] will keep you.