CBS Evening News (A block) - 2006-10-27

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] [music]

[0:02] >> I'm Katie Couric. That wildfire is

[0:04] spreading rapidly. The flames have now

[0:06] burned almost 38 square miles in the

[0:09] mountains of Southern California,

[0:10] [music] and hundreds of firefighters are

[0:12] trying to stop it. We'll have the very

[0:14] latest. Virginia isn't for lovers these

[0:17] days as election day nears new mud in

[0:20] the Old [music] Dominion. Michael J. Fox

[0:22] pushes embryonic stem cell research, but

[0:24] what exactly is it and [music] what

[0:26] makes it so controversial?

[0:28] And did you hear the one about the

[0:29] sheriff who made all his prisoners wear

[0:31] [music] pink? You will tonight.

[0:36] >> [music]

[0:39] >> This is the CBS Evening News with Katie

[0:42] Couric.

[0:45] >> Hi everyone. [music] That killer

[0:46] wildfire in Southern California is only

[0:49] getting bigger. Officials say it was

[0:51] started yesterday by arsonists, and now

[0:53] it's being aided and abetted by the

[0:55] weather. Strong winds are driving the

[0:57] flames, and the fear is that a huge wall

[0:59] of fire will head toward more populated

[1:02] areas. The fire is in the San Jacinto

[1:04] Mountains northwest of Palm Springs, and

[1:07] Bill Whitaker is on the scene in

[1:09] Beaumont, California.

[1:13] >> California wildfires usually lie down

[1:15] overnight when the wind subsides, but

[1:17] last night the wind howled.

[1:21] And this fire raged, more than doubling

[1:23] in size, trapping 400 people in this RV

[1:26] park until firefighters managed to push

[1:28] it back. Today, 1,800 firefighters were

[1:32] back at it with a vengeance. The air and

[1:34] earth so dry that much of their water is

[1:36] evaporating before it ever hits the

[1:38] fire.

[1:39] >> They need to be dropping way lower. It's

[1:41] not even affecting it.

[1:43] >> This Esperanza fire now has scorched

[1:45] 24,000 acres, a killer aided by its

[1:48] partner in crime, the Santa Ana winds.

[1:51] >> A wind driven fire is is is almost

[1:52] impossible to control. You really have

[1:54] to wait for the weather to change.

[1:56] >> With four firefighters killed, is a

[1:58] double crime, arson and murder. The

[2:01] reward for capture and conviction of the

[2:02] arsonist now stands at $400,000.

[2:06] Governor Schwarzenegger added 100,000

[2:08] from the state today.

[2:09] >> to be uh

[2:10] searching for the arsonists. We will

[2:13] find them and we will punish them.

[2:16] >> Investigators scoured the area today

[2:18] looking for evidence that might lead to

[2:20] the arsonist. Sources close to the

[2:21] investigation tell us that this fire was

[2:23] started right here. Probably something

[2:26] as simple as a lighter to ignite dry

[2:28] grasses along the side of the road.

[2:31] And they tell us that when the arsonist

[2:33] picked this spot, he knew exactly what

[2:35] he was doing.

[2:37] Because it's like a wind tunnel here,

[2:39] investigators say whoever set the fire

[2:41] knew the constant winds that power Palm

[2:43] Springs generators just down the road

[2:45] would fuel a wildfire. There have been

[2:48] more than 25 arson fires here in just

[2:50] the last few weeks. Solving this case, a

[2:53] murder case, won't be easy. Almost 3

[2:56] years to the day, another arson fire,

[2:58] the so-called Old Fire, killed four

[3:00] people and burned thousands of houses

[3:02] just north of here. That arsonist has

[3:04] never been caught.

[3:06] And even if investigators do find a

[3:08] suspect, proving wildfire arson is

[3:11] incredibly difficult. They first have to

[3:13] rule out any natural causes or even

[3:15] something as simple as a spark from a

[3:17] car. Katie?

[3:18] >> Bill, it's so hard to understand why

[3:20] anyone would do this. Do they have any

[3:22] leads at all?

[3:25] >> Well, nothing that they're sharing with

[3:26] us yet, but they have told us that

[3:28] they're looking for patterns between

[3:30] this fire and the others. They're also

[3:32] looking for certain personality

[3:33] personality traits. Someone who might

[3:35] hold a grudge or who has made a threat

[3:37] recently. One thing for sure, they've

[3:39] got their work cut out for them. Katie?

[3:41] >> All right, Bill Whitaker, thank you. You

[3:43] know, it's all too easy to forget about

[3:45] the men and women who are out there

[3:46] every day putting their lives on the

[3:48] line until a tragedy like this happens.

[3:51] So far this year more than 80

[3:53] firefighters across the country have

[3:55] died including 21 fighting wildfires.

[3:58] Sandra Hughes went to one town that's

[4:00] struggling with the loss of four heroes.

[4:05] >> It's normally a beautiful mountain

[4:07] retreat, but today Idyllwild, California

[4:09] could not escape its own tragic reality.

[4:12] The four fallen firefighters were based

[4:15] at the hometown station.

[4:16] >> It's a community that becomes a family

[4:18] during tragedy.

[4:20] We just pull tight.

[4:21] >> 44-year-old Captain Mark Loutzenhiser

[4:23] lived in Idyllwild most of his life and

[4:26] worked for the fire department for 21

[4:28] years. The father of five died after

[4:31] being airlifted to a nearby hospital.

[4:33] Today at JC's Red Kettle Diner just

[4:36] about everyone has a favorite memory of

[4:38] Captain Loutzenhiser. He coached

[4:40] Jennifer McCarron [music] Morton's

[4:41] daughter on the school basketball team.

[4:44] >> Aren't you afraid, you know?

[4:46] Isn't that scary for you? How'd you get

[4:47] into this? And he's like, I've done it a

[4:49] long time and I just

[4:51] it's my job, you know? What kind of a

[4:54] guy would you describe him as?

[4:57] >> One that you'd really want to be friends

[4:58] with.

[4:59] >> The firemen who worked and died with him

[5:01] were 27-year-old Jess McLean,

[5:03] 27-year-old Jason McKay, and 20-year-old

[5:07] Daniel Hoover Najarah. The only member

[5:10] of the crew to survive, 23-year-old

[5:12] Pablo Cerda, remains in dire condition.

[5:15] >> These firefighters

[5:17] took the risk that every firefighter

[5:21] faces.

[5:22] And that risk is to try to save life and

[5:25] property.

[5:26] >> His friends say Captain Loutzenhiser,

[5:27] known as Lotzi, would never have allowed

[5:30] his crew to be reckless. Yesterday's

[5:32] fire, they say, was just too fierce and

[5:34] unpredictable. Tonight, Idyllwild is

[5:36] mourning the loss of a local hero and

[5:39] comforting the wife and children he left

[5:41] behind.

[5:42] >> Mark was a special individual that uh

[5:44] I don't think he's going to ever be

[5:45] replaced. I don't think he could be

[5:47] replaced.

[5:49] >> The other firefighters here in town,

[5:51] many who rushed to the scene to try to

[5:53] save their friends, have been pulled

[5:55] from duty so they can grieve and get

[5:58] counseling. Katie.

[6:00] >> Sandra Hughes, Sandra, thank you so

[6:01] much.

[6:03] Now to campaign '06, it's 11 days and

[6:06] counting till the midterm elections and

[6:08] Virginia's wild Senate race could help

[6:10] determine the balance of power in

[6:12] Congress. In this one, as in so many

[6:14] others as we come down to the wire,

[6:16] everything seems to be fair game. Here's

[6:19] our national political correspondent

[6:21] Gloria Borger.

[6:23] >> Consider it one more race stuck in the

[6:25] muck. Today it was Virginia's turn.

[6:28] Republican Senator George Allen's

[6:30] campaign sent out a press release

[6:32] detailing steamy sex scenes in novels

[6:35] written over the last 30 years by

[6:37] opponent Jim Webb.

[6:39] >> It's just a classic example of the way

[6:41] this campaign has worked.

[6:43] Um,

[6:43] you know, it's smear after smear.

[6:45] >> But wait a minute. This race was

[6:47] supposed to be about issues, mostly

[6:49] Iraq. Allen is for the war, Webb, a

[6:52] former Navy secretary and decorated

[6:54] Vietnam vet, is against it.

[6:57] >> We must refocus our foreign policy and

[6:59] that begins with getting our combat

[7:01] troops out of Iraq.

[7:04] >> That's Webb on the campaign trail, where

[7:06] both candidates like to talk policy.

[7:09] >> A key to economic prosperity is keeping

[7:12] taxes low.

[7:13] >> But their television ads air in a

[7:15] parallel universe, where no personal

[7:17] attack seems out of bounds, like this.

[7:21] >> George Allen, scandals, slurs and

[7:23] insults.

[7:24] >> And this. The same Jim Webb who declared

[7:27] the Naval Academy a horny woman's dream

[7:30] and women psychologically unfit [music]

[7:33] for combat. It's gotten so bad that even

[7:36] though Senator Allen's campaign is no

[7:38] stranger to the low road, his wife,

[7:41] Susan, pleads for the high.

[7:42] >> This campaign has perhaps gotten off

[7:45] track with some personal attacks and

[7:47] some other things that have

[7:49] unfortunately gathered more attention

[7:51] than what is more important and that is

[7:52] dealing with the future and talking

[7:54] about issues.

[7:55] >> The issue right now is winning and the

[7:56] Virginia Senate seat is considered a

[7:58] must win by both sides and it's very

[8:00] close and that may mean that no mud goes

[8:04] unsung. Gloria Borger, CBS News,

[8:07] Arlington, Virginia.

[8:09] >> The Bush administration today put out

[8:11] one of the last big economic numbers

[8:13] before the election. It shows the

[8:15] economy slowed sharply in the third

[8:17] quarter of this year growing at an

[8:18] annual rate of just 1.6%

[8:21] the slowest in more than 3 years. Once

[8:24] again this election year the economy is

[8:26] one of the chief concerns of voters. The

[8:28] president says it's in good shape but

[8:30] what do voters think? Republicans and

[8:33] Democrats.

[8:34] >> Earlier this week I sat down with six

[8:36] Connecticut voters at the Silverstar

[8:38] Diner in Norwalk to find out what's

[8:41] really on their minds.

[8:43] >> I believe that the economy is good but

[8:45] the economy is good only if you have

[8:46] money. It helps if you're an investor,

[8:49] it helps if you make money but it does

[8:51] not help if you're working class poor

[8:53] person is out there every day trying to

[8:54] make it.

[8:55] >> The economy as it stands right now is as

[8:57] good as it gets.

[8:59] >> We have got a great economy.

[9:01] >> It all depends on your point of view.

[9:03] The stock market is up but growth is

[9:05] down. Gas prices are down but so is the

[9:09] housing market. Republicans boast the

[9:11] economy is healthy.

[9:13] >> It's pretty strong right now. I know

[9:14] that with my husband has a small a small

[9:16] business owner also and you know

[9:19] I'm paying a lot of attention to a lot

[9:21] of policies that are written you know in

[9:22] favor or against small business and how

[9:24] we're taxed and

[9:27] but I think overall that our economy is

[9:29] pretty good right now.

[9:30] >> In Connecticut the economy isn't a big

[9:33] problem. It's strong here and some worry

[9:36] the Democrats will weaken it.

[9:37] >> You run a small business, are you

[9:39] worried that the Democrats are not going

[9:41] to be on your side?

[9:42] >> I hate to see interest rates go up cuz

[9:43] that would just really bloody the

[9:45] business if they went up. I do think

[9:47] taxes will go up.

[9:49] And they'll probably go up on the the

[9:51] you know, the upper class.

[9:52] >> You can't fault Democrats as for being

[9:55] tax and spend when you've got a an

[9:58] administration right now that has has

[10:00] spent and has no plan to pay for it.

[10:02] >> Even if the health of the economy is

[10:04] debatable, what's motivating these

[10:06] voters is not.

[10:08] >> Let me have a quick show of hands for

[10:10] how many of you is Iraq the number one

[10:13] thing on your minds right now?

[10:18] >> And when all is said and done, how they

[10:20] feel about the war may determine how

[10:23] they'll vote on November 7th.

[10:27] >> And there's much more ahead from CBS

[10:29] News. Coming up, Michael J. Fox's

[10:31] [music] passionate plea reignited the

[10:33] national debate over embryonic stem cell

[10:36] [music] research, but what is it really

[10:38] all about? We'll try to answer that

[10:40] next.

[10:42] >> [music]