All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.
Preview: America's Water Crisis
(CBS)
"Whiskey's for drinking, water's for fighting about." — Mark Twain
As we enter a new decade, water is the new oil: the scarce resource worth fighting over. In arid parts of the world, the fight for water has always been a fight for survival. One-third of the world's population lives where their water supply is either a stress or a crisis.
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The Future of America's Military
(CBS)
David Martin Preview: Future of War
The Pentagon believes the world has entered a period of "persistent conflict." Besides Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been more than 50 ethnic wars and 170 border conflicts across the globe in the last decade, according to a report by the
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The American Spirit: Treeman
(CBS)
He had an idea so simple, it's transformational.
When he turned 30 he decided he wanted to give something back to his hometown of Los Angeles. So, this landscaper planted 30 trees.
Every year since then, Brent has planted his age in trees. This year that's 41 trees.
His efforts have done more than add shade to the streets. His neighbors have taken Brent's advice on how to spruce up their front yards, started a block watch group, and convinced the city to paint the dilapidated fire hydrants in their area.
Now, crime is down 30 percent as police officers say criminals tend to avoid areas where neighbors take care of their properties. Better looking neighborhoods often means more watchful neighbors. All this began with a shovel, a tree, and a simple act of gratitude.
Be sure to catch Brent Green's story tonight on the CBS Evening News.
Teen Entrepreneur Sells T-Shirts
(NFTE)
(NFTE)
Obviously, it's hard to say "no" to Kalief.
Kelief lives in Compton, CA where he runs the "Phree Kountry Clothing" company out of his mom's garage. "I've wanted to be an entrepreneur since birth," he told me. His mother confirmed. She says in first grade he used to spend his lunch money on candy -- not for himself, but for resale to his fellow classmates. He would sell a 50 cent bag of Skittles for a buck. The kid knew his price-points from the get-go. In junior high he sold jewelry and today - T-shirts.
He started the shirt business as part of the National Youth Entrepreneurship Competition. More than 20,000 students enter this contest every year. Judges pick a winner based on the student's business plan and presentation and this year the prize went to Kalief.
He won $10,000 dollars and a trip to Washington D.C. to meet President Obama.
Our viewers will also have a chance to meet Kalief tonight in my Assignment America segmenton the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
Recycling Hotel Soap
(CBS)
I was curious to know more and looked into their organization "Clean the World."
Little Soaps Satisfy Big Demand in Haiti
I thought it would make for a good story for us because I've always wondered what happened to those little bars of hotel soap (they're thrown in the garbage) and secondly, I've always felt a little bit guilty about the whole thing.
More importantly, the story connects us to Haiti and is a good way to look into the much bigger issue of water and sanitation (and the lack thereof) in a country like Haiti.
The program seems to benefit a lot of folks from the hotel maids who collect the soap and feel like they're making a difference, to men from a local shelter who get jobs disinfecting the soap, to people in Haiti who cannot afford it.
Most of the soap is shipped by boat because it is a much cheaper mode of transport but we landed and met up with thousands of bars of soap that had been flown in. After we cleared customs, I got my first sense of just how valuable this commodity is in a place like Haiti...when the guys helping to load the soap into the trucks were "tipped" - not in cash - but with soap.
Check out the piece and see just how desperate folks are for something as simple as a tiny bar of soap, and how washing hands can save lives.
Amazing Basketball Shots
(Dude Perfect)
Typically, I'm looking for something heartwarming or humorous. But sometimes a story doesn't have to be either. Sometimes a story just has to be fun to watch.
Web Makes College Kids (Shooting) Stars
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Wizard of Oz, 70 Years Later
(AP Photo/Warner Bros)
Ask almost anyone about "The Wizard of Oz" and they immediately recount their favorite scene or the first time they watched it during childhood. I remember seeing the movie year after year with my mom and my two sisters in Brooklyn, New York, always eagerly anticipating my favorite scene when Dorothy clicks the heels of her fabulous ruby red slippers and says, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home."
See Kelly Wallace's Story about the 70th Anniversary of the "Wizard of Oz"
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Texting and Driving Dangers
(iStockphoto)
In the spirit of full disclosure, I'll raise my hand as a guilty party, too. But ever since I did Continue »
Assignment America: Ella, lost dog
(CBS)
"I could just tell right away she was somebody's baby," said Kathy Wilkes Meyers. "She just didn't act like a stray dog to me."
Myers found the dog a few months ago. It was emaciated and drinking from a drainage ditch along an empty stretch of highway about 30 miles south of Nashville.
Kathy says it's typical for people to dump unwanted pets in the middle of nowhere like that – but again, the dog's demeanor convinced her there was more to the story.
So she did some detective work and eventually found out what really happened to this dog.
It's an amazing story that will surely bring tears to even the most grizzled animal rescue worker.
Be sure to check out our story tonight on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
Problem with Your Bank? Take it to YouTube
(You Tube)
Well, some customers fed up with high banking fees and interest rate hikes are taking to the internet to rail against their banks.
See Ben Tracy's story
Ann Minch of California posted this YouTube video after Bank of American raised the interest rate on her credit card from 13 percent to 30 percent.
She vowed not to pay them one more cent until they changed her rate back.
More than 250,000 people viewed her video and many posted their own complaints against their banks.
Bank of America called her and changed her rate back.
How's that for results? Watch the CBS Evening News tonight and we will show you how consumers are being heard and how two major banks are lowering fees because of it.
