CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-10-14

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Bob Schaefer and welcome to

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

[0:05] Just ahead, presidential advisor Carl

[0:07] Rove gives grand jury testimony for a

[0:10] fourth time in the CIA leak

[0:13] investigation. John Roberts has details

[0:15] and analysis. Also, saving the youngest

[0:18] victims of the Cashmere earthquake.

[0:21] Richard Roth reports on why it's such a

[0:23] huge and heartbreaking task. and making

[0:26] sense of the complicated new Medicare

[0:28] drug plan. That's the Friday Consumer

[0:31] Alert. It's all starting now on the CBS

[0:33] Evening News Online Edition.

[0:37] It is an unusual case peculiar to

[0:40] Washington, and it boils down to who

[0:42] blew the cover of a CIA agent at a time

[0:45] her husband was publicly challenging the

[0:48] White House claim that Saddam Hussein

[0:50] was trying to build a nuclear weapon.

[0:52] It's a federal crime to knowingly reveal

[0:55] the identity of an intelligent agent.

[0:57] And today, for the fourth time, Carl

[1:00] Rove, the president's most influential

[1:02] adviser, was called back to a federal

[1:05] grand jury to tell what he knows about

[1:07] it. White House correspondent John

[1:09] Roberts has today's developments.

[1:12] >> The investigation winding down, it was a

[1:15] last chance for Carl Rove to convince

[1:17] the grand jury he did nothing wrong.

[1:19] After 4 hours inside the courthouse,

[1:21] Ro's attorney said in a written

[1:23] statement, "The special counsel has not

[1:25] advised Mr. Rove that he is a target of

[1:27] the investigation and affirmed that he

[1:29] has made no decision concerning

[1:31] charges." Rove had volunteered to

[1:34] testify again, but a fourth round of

[1:36] questioning say experts carries with it

[1:38] both ominous appearance and potential

[1:41] risk.

[1:42] >> It's never a good sign when you're

[1:43] called once for a grand jury. When

[1:45] you're called four times, it means that

[1:46] something's up. It means the prosecutor

[1:48] isn't satisfied with what you've said

[1:49] before. There may be a gray area. There

[1:51] may be grounds for some sort of a

[1:53] charge. And I think that's the risk that

[1:55] Carl Rove has. At issue is who revealed

[1:58] the name of CIA operative Valerie Pla.

[2:00] And did that leak amount to a crime?

[2:03] Most of the testimony has swirled around

[2:05] Rove and Dick Cheneyy's chief of staff

[2:07] Lewis Scooter Libby, both of whom

[2:09] reporters said talked to them about

[2:11] claim. Even if prosecutors found no

[2:14] crime was committed in the leak, they

[2:16] could still bring indictments.

[2:18] >> I think it's more likely that if we see

[2:20] indictments, they're going to be for

[2:21] obstruction of justice or perjury rather

[2:24] than for the underlying crime.

[2:27] >> With Iraq, hurricanes, gas, and heating

[2:31] prices all demanding attention, is the

[2:33] investigation a terrible distraction for

[2:35] a president struggling to keep his

[2:37] agenda alive?

[2:39] >> Not to hear the White House tell it. And

[2:41] while there are other things going on,

[2:43] the White House doesn't have time to let

[2:45] those things distract from the important

[2:47] work at hand.

[2:49] But one official, former official at

[2:51] least from a previous Republican White

[2:53] House told us today, "This whole thing

[2:54] is a huge mess whenever one of your top

[2:57] people is under investigation. All the

[2:59] focus of the White House is on

[3:01] containing that issue." Bob, I noticed

[3:03] that Scott Mlullen, John, was asked

[3:06] today if Carl Rove still enjoys the

[3:09] president's confidence. He didn't

[3:11] exactly give a ringy endorsement, it

[3:13] seemed to me. Well, he wouldn't say

[3:14] specifically. He only reflected back on

[3:17] previous statements, leaving it to us to

[3:19] dig up those statements in which he did

[3:21] express confidence in Rogue. But Bob,

[3:23] that this whole thing really is a huge

[3:25] distraction to the White House,

[3:26] regardless of what the officials say.

[3:28] Thank you very much, John. Pakistan

[3:30] called off search and rescue operations

[3:32] in the earthquake disaster zone today,

[3:34] saying it's time to concentrate on

[3:36] helping survivors. Heavy rain is

[3:39] forecast and aid workers are struggling

[3:41] now to provide shelter for the 2 million

[3:44] people who are homeless. But the biggest

[3:46] challenge is caring for tens of

[3:48] thousands of injured, many of them

[3:50] children. Richard Roth now with that.

[3:55] The earthquake's smallest survivors are

[3:57] still pouring into Islamabad's

[3:59] children's hospital.

[4:02] >> Built for 200 patients with almost 600

[4:05] now. ERS expanded into the lobby where

[4:08] 5-year-old Aribba is waiting for

[4:10] surgery. Her brothers and sister were

[4:13] killed in the quake. And for 6 days,

[4:15] she's had just her mother's care.

[4:18] >> Did you have medicine to give her? Did

[4:19] you have something to give her for her

[4:20] pain?

[4:24] He said there's nothing out where we

[4:26] were.

[4:27] >> There are so many young patients now

[4:29] that this girl in a wheelchair can only

[4:31] have a bed if another injured girl gets

[4:33] out. Muhammad Sadika's only family here

[4:36] is the uncle who carried him in.

[4:38] >> He lost his mother and

[4:40] >> she was killed in the earthquake.

[4:41] >> Yeah, he was with her when she was

[4:43] killed and they haven't told him yet

[4:46] that his mother is dead. Fatima Ali

[4:48] dropped university studies to come here.

[4:50] While doctors are mending bones and

[4:52] bodies, she worried the children also

[4:55] had needs she could help fill. Do you

[4:57] try to talk to them?

[4:59] >> Yeah, I did. I tried to talk to them. I

[5:01] tried to give them toys and sweets and

[5:04] they're in shock. They're very disturbed

[5:06] all the kids.

[5:07] >> An even sadder wards in a separate wing.

[5:10] There were five children here this

[5:11] morning with no relatives at all. Then

[5:14] an uncle saw Amma Akbar on TV. A bit of

[5:17] publicity prescribed by her doctor. So

[5:21] this little girl lost is now found.

[5:23] Yeah, she's she's found. And uh right

[5:25] now we're still in the moment. And uh I

[5:28] want to make sure if her parents are

[5:30] alive as well.

[5:36] They say her parents are all right. Her

[5:38] parents are all right. It gives me

[5:40] goosebumps says Dr. Imran and a hope he

[5:44] can help the others. Richard Roth, CBS

[5:46] News, Islamabad. If you are on Social

[5:49] Security, you'll be getting the biggest

[5:51] cost of living raise in 15 years, 4.1%

[5:55] come January. The government says the

[5:57] average check will go up $39 a month.

[6:00] Some of that will be eaten up by a $10

[6:03] hike in Medicare premiums. The new

[6:06] Medicare drug benefit that starts in

[6:08] January will cost $32 a month. and

[6:11] enrollment for it begins in mid

[6:13] November. But many seniors say the

[6:15] hardest part may be just figuring out

[6:17] exactly what it is they're signing up

[6:20] for. Wyatt Andrews has our Friday

[6:22] Consumer Alert.

[6:26] >> Maybe one day America's seniors will see

[6:29] the new Medicare drug benefit as a great

[6:31] thing.

[6:32] >> This is not fair.

[6:34] >> But on this day at this senior center

[6:36] near Baltimore, great wasn't the word

[6:38] leaping to mind. One word was before

[6:42] >> and the most common was

[6:44] >> it's so confusing.

[6:46] >> What's complicated about it?

[6:47] >> Now I have to do a lot more reading, a

[6:49] lot more understanding what plan to

[6:51] pick.

[6:52] >> What plan to pick is a huge issue

[6:55] because there is no one plan. When

[6:57] Congress passed the drug benefit, it set

[7:00] the standard, but the benefits will come

[7:02] only through private insurance

[7:03] companies. In Maryland, there are 47

[7:06] plans being offered. Did you know going

[7:08] in that this was there was going to be

[7:10] 47 plans?

[7:11] >> No.

[7:12] >> No, I didn't. I thought Medicare was

[7:14] going to administer it, but they don't.

[7:16] >> With private insurance though, there

[7:17] will be competition and the ad campaigns

[7:20] have begun with several companies

[7:22] offering a no deductible benefit.

[7:24] >> So, what's the catch? There's no catch.

[7:26] And signing up is so easy. Come on.

[7:29] Beyond all of the issues over which

[7:31] insurance company to choose, the

[7:33] Medicare drug benefit itself is complex.

[7:36] For example, the government share, what

[7:38] it pays for drugs, ranges between zero

[7:41] and 95%. Why the benefit is so complex

[7:45] goes back to the fight in Congress.

[7:47] >> This was pure special interest lobbying.

[7:50] It was designed

[7:51] >> Ron Pollock of the healthcare interest

[7:53] group Families USA says private

[7:56] insurance got this job because the drug

[7:58] lobby didn't want Medicare negotiating

[8:00] drug discounts. So, they wanted lots of

[8:04] different plans, none of which would

[8:05] have the bargaining clout to get prices

[8:07] down.

[8:08] >> Medicare will soon provide an online

[8:10] service allowing seniors to compare the

[8:13] plans in their state. And there is time.

[8:15] Sign up begins on November 15th. But the

[8:19] initial reaction to this complicated

[8:20] benefit with its co-pays, co- insurance,

[8:23] and catastrophic coverage is a

[8:25] mind-numbing sense of confusion.

[8:28] >> Wyatt Andrews, CBS News, Baltimore. More

[8:31] stories are just a click away, but don't

[8:33] forget to join me on television for the

[8:35] on air edition of the CBS Evening News.

[8:38] On Monday's broadcast, airport

[8:40] screeners. Why are millions of your tax

[8:42] dollars going to pay for their hotel

[8:44] rooms and living expenses? We'll go

[8:47] undercover to find out. for cbsnews.com.