it becomes, and that's what i believe. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. this is our western edition. the results of the white house investigation of v.a. healthcare were released this evening, and they paint a bleak picture. the report says "v.a. leadership is not prepared to deliver effective day-to-day management and is marked by an inherent lack of responsiveness." the president ordered the investigation after reports that some v.a. managers lied about how long veterans waited for healthcare, hiding the fact that many couldn't get appointments for months. wyatt andrews has the story. wyatt? >> reporter: scott, president obama sent his deputy white house chief of staff, rob nabors, to be his eyes and ears at the v.a., and his report today combined scathing criticism with ideas on how to move the v.a. forward. he began his six-week study with a visit to the phoenix v.a., where 18 veterans died waiting for care. he described a corrosive culture marked by poor management, distrust between some v.a. employees and management, a history of retaliation toward employees, and a lack of accountability. his recommendations include several changes. he would scrap the stated goal of making appointments within 14 days-- an unrealistic goal, he said, that encouraged false reports and hidden wait times. he would update the v.a. software program for scheduling called vista, a program first used in 1985. he also calls for the v.a. to hire more doctors and nurses, and build more physical space that will be needed for veterans in the future. during his time at the v.a., there's been an executive shake- up. secretary eric shinseki, two of the department's top health officials, and the v.a.'s chief lawyer have all been asked to resign. perhaps most important to veterans right now is that the v.a. is also reporting an unprecedented number of new appointments, 182,000 since the scandal began. scott, that's a sign of a new, serious effort to get veterans into care. but it's also a sign of just how backlogged the medical system had become. >> pelley: wyatt, thank you very much. today, armed american drones flew over baghdad to protect u.s. troops sent by president obama to assess iraq's desperate situation. islamic extremists have seized large sections of the north in a fight to establish a strict islamic state in and syria. they're threatening to attack baghdad. we have two reports. first, david martin at the pentagon. david. >> reporter: scott, now that american advisers are in baghdad, they're joining up with iraqi army units defending the city, and that could potentially expose them to combat. so the pentagon has begun flying predator drones armed with hellfire missiles over baghdad to provide air cover for the american advisers. other aircraft, from high-flying global hawk drones to f-18 fighter jets, are flying about 30 reconnaissance missions a day over western and northern iraq. but the armed drones are there to provide backup for the advisers. under the command of major general dana pittard, the advisers' primary mission is to determine whether the iraqi army can defend the capital. insurgent fighters numbering in the thousands are moving toward baghdad from both the north and the west, positioning themselves for what u.s. intelligence calls a multi-pronged assault, although there is no indication yet they have actually made the decision to attack. the iraqi army has deployed units across the most likely avenues of approach, and u.s. intelligence believes these units can successfully defend baghdad. but officials admit they were caught by surprise earlier this month when four divisions defending the northern city of mosul broke and ran. if the president decides to launch air strikes, those same american advisors could end up directing the strikes onto specific targets. >> pelley: david martin at the pentagon. david, thank you. this is a fight, of course, between two branches of islam. the attacking force, which calls itself isis, is sunni. the government in baghdad is dominated by shia muslims. today, a human rights group accused isis of slaughtering captured government soldiers. charlie d'agata is in iraq. >> reporter: the shiite army soldiers were led away by the sunni militants fighting for isis, more than 1,000 taken prisoner. we can't verify this video, but the insurgents' own twitter feed showed what happened next. the iraqi troops were forced to lie in a shallow ditch and then were shot in the head, all part of a campaign of fear and intimidation isis is waging across iraq. today, the u.s.-based group human rights watch concluded there had been a massacre. between 160 and 190 soldiers had been executed. erin evers works for the group in baghdad. >> these people were brutally massacred. >> reporter: unarmed, hands tied. >> unarmed, hands tied. their families have to live with this. >> reporter: it took two weeks of analyzing the twitter photos, as well as using satellite imagery, to erase any doubts about the photo's authenticity. >> having matched the individuals from the different photographs, our analysts said this person was alive in this picture, and in this picture, he's in a mass grave. >> reporter: the report also concluded the death toll may be much higher, but it isn't safe to travel where the killing took place and no witnesses have come forward. >> pelley: charlie d'agata is in baghdad tonight. and, charlie, it's not just isis that's committing these atrocities. >> reporter: no, scott. the largely shiite government forces have long been accused of executing sunni prisoners. in fact, just earlier this week, something like 70 sunni prisoners were apparently executed while being transferred to a prison in southern baghdad. but, scott, it's really coming from both sides. we've seen bodies on the streets piling up under bridges, whole families have been executed-- sunni and shia, and a return to some of the worst days of sectarian violence during the war. >> pelley: charlie d'agata, thanks very much. well, the success of the extremist isis forces is pulling the obama administration deeper into the syrian civil war. isis now holds territory across northern syria, and now that it's a regional threat, mr. obama is reversing himself and asking congress for half a billion dollars to support moderate syrian rebels who oppose isis. here's senior white house correspondent bill plante. >> reporter: the administration's request for new arms and aid to the syrian rebels is an about-face amid growing alarm over the gains made by islamist forces in iraq and syria. president obama has long been reluctant for the u.s. to become more involved in syria. just last week, he told norah o'donnell on "cbs this morning" why he has resisted pressure to arm the rebels. >> the notion that they were in a position suddenly to overturn not only assad but also ruthless, highly trained jihadists, if we just sent a few arms is a fantasy. >> reporter: the $500 million request would fund u.s. training of rebels in neighboring countries, most likely jordan. it would supply small arms, but not the anti-aircraft missiles the rebels are seeking. the president fears those could easily fall into the hands of extremists. >> president jarba represents a tribe that reaches right into iraq. >> reporter: secretary of state kerry met today with syrian opposition leader ahmad al- jarba, declaring the u.s. is at a moment of increased effort from his group. >> obviously, in light of what has happened in iraq, we have even more to talk about in terms of the moderate opposition in syria. >> reporter: congressional leaders in both parties say they believe the funding request can pass if the administration has a convincing strategy for spending it. and administration officials tell cbs news, look, congress wants us to do something. let them pass this. but even if congress approves this request, it will be months before any money begins flowing, late fall at the earliest. so the syrian rebels would get nothing for many months ahead. scott. >> pelley: bill plante at the white house. bill, thanks very much. tonight, winds are fanning the flames of an arizona wildfire. well, tonight, they're dreaming of a break in the rain in the midwest. there are fears that river flooding will only get worse. in st. paul, minnesota, the mississippi is at its highest level on record for the month of june. in texas, a tornado touched down near galveston last night. nobody was hurt. but in alabama, a towering water spout was seen mere mobile. tonight, winds are fanning the flames of an arizona wildfire. mandatory evacuations have been issued for the region in the white mountains, near the fort apache indian reservation. more than two square miles have burned, but no homes have been lost. today in san francisco, funding was approved for a net to prevent people from jumping off the golden gate bridge. it is estimated that 1,600 people have committed suicide there since the bridge opened 77 years ago. here's john blackstone. >> reporter: the golden gate bridge was shrouded in fog today as families of those who jumped from the iconic structure urged the bridge's board of directors to stop the suicides. >> i lost my husband. >> i lost my... 17-year-old daughter casey. >> this is a picture of him saying good-bye three minutes before he jumped off the bridge. >> reporter: the board was voting on a plan to add a suicide-prevention net, something families have been pressing for for 20 years. >> there's nothing i can do now to bring my son back. i'm doing this for other people. >> reporter: why did you choose the bridge? >> very simple-- four foot- nothing rail, easy access. >> reporter: kevin hines jumped and survived in the year 2000. >> i walked back toward the traffic railing. i ran forward, and i catapulted myself over the rail. the single worst action of my life-- i wouldn't call it a decision. >> reporter: for years, critics have complained a net would ruin the golden gate's classic design, that the estimated $76 million cost was too much, and that the suicidal might just go somewhere else. >> once you say to the person, give them the aid they need mentally, they stay stable and they stay sane and they stay away from that bridge. >> reporter: the board voted, and the decision to add the net was unanimous. ( applause ) >> it's a beautiful bridge now. it will be more beautiful when that net goes up. >> reporter: a study of 500 people who tried to jump from the bridge but were stopped showed that 90% of them, scott, never again attempted suicide. >> pelley: thanks very much, john. the ebola virus makes a deadly comeback in africa. and a program to save abandoned babies is putting lives at risk when the cbs evening news continues. the flavors, are anything but. so whether it's taste inspired by the freshness of the mediterranean... or the smoky spice of the southwest... or bold, adventurous thai flavors... ...you always get flavor that's anything but flat. and always with chicken raised without antibiotics. new flatbread sandwiches from panera... ... each 360 calories or less. try one today. it's about getting to the finish line. in life, it's how you get there that matters most. it's important to know the difference. like when i found out i had a blood clot in my leg. my doctor said that it could travel to my lungs and become an even bigger problem. and that i had to take action. so he talked to me about xarelto®. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor about xarelto® today. for more information including savings options, download the xarelto® patient center app, call 1-888-xarelto, or visit teamxarelto.com. >> pelley: the chinese government said this week that a program to care for abandoned babies has been overwhelmed. in 2011, china opened what it calls "baby hatches," where desperate parents can leave a newborn. a medical team is supposed to pick up the infant within ten minutes, but now, some baby hatches are closing because orphanages are full. seth doane is looking into this. >> reporter: their cramped home is filled with the toys 34-year- old chen dafu bought when his wife was pregnant. "actually, i got this one for free," he told me. "my family is so poor, we try all means to get gifts for the baby." but when their daughter was born, she had down syndrome, a cleft palate, tumors and breathing problems. "the doctor told us to prepare to pay more than $1,000 per day for treatment. how could we afford that?" zhen yulin asked. their combined income was just $800 a month. desperate, they turned to a baby hatch, run by a government orphanage. it's a place parents can leave a baby they can't care for, one of at least 25 across the country. "my husband said we should send our baby there," she said, "because the orphanage had more resources." as a mother, how can you abandon your child? "at the time, i couldn't even accept that my baby was sick," she said. "we felt powerless." this giant box now covers what once was the baby hatch. the way it worked was someone could come and put a baby inside an incubator, and then push a button that would signal a nearby orphanage that a baby had been placed here. but when chen dafu dropped off his baby, he says he didn't realize that the hatch was closed. only about 12 hours old, their daughter died, and now chen may face criminal charges for abandoning a baby. police took the only photo they have. 262 children were abandoned at the hatch in less than two months. 22 other babies died. luo zhiyong runs a charity that raises money for treatment of the abandoned babies. when you think of a communist government, you think of a strong social safety net. it sounds like that doesn't exist here. "the government doesn't budget enough," he said. "only one child per family is covered for medical care, and serious diseases aren't covered at all." "when i sleep now," she said, "i still touch my belly to try to feel my baby." their baby's death is a burden, they say, they'll live with forever. seth doane, cbs news. >> pelley: tonight, africa is confronting the largest outbreak ever of the ebola virus. more than 390 people have died in liberia, sierra leone, and guinea. 600 others are infected. ebola is so contagious, medical workers have to wear protective clothing. it has no cure and kills 90% of those who get it. and we'll be right back. crestor lowered bad cholesterol in it's a fact. high-risk patients more than lipitor. bad cholesterol... you're going down! yeah! lowering cholesterol is a big deal, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors, because you could be at increased risk for plaque buildup in your arteries over time. so, when diet and exercise aren't enough to lower cholesterol, adding crestor can help. i'm down with crestor! crestor is not right for everyone, like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired; have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects. are you down with crestor!? ask your doctor if crestor could help you. if you can't afford your medication, >> pelley: >> pelley: today, new york city agreed to pay $40 million to five men wrongly convicted of raping and beating a jogger in central park back in 1989. the men served six to 13 years in prison before their convictions were thrown out. here's michelle miller. >> reporter: 39-year-old kevin richardson spent nearly seven years of his life in prison for a crime he didn't commit. >> you all don't really understand what we went through. they try to dehumanize us as human beings, but we're still here. >> reporter: in 1989, richardson was one of five teen-aged boys arrested for the brutal rape of a 28-year-old white female jogger in new york's central park. the crime drew national headlines and polarized the city along racial lines. richard santana was 14 years old. >> these people had their mind fixated on us being guilty. we have tried everything we possibly could to prove our innocence. >> reporter: they were convicted in two separate trials, even though the victim had no memory of the attack and there was no dna evidence linking them to the crime. the case was built on videotaped confessions. attorneys for the men said police and prosecutors pressured them into implicating each other. yusef salaam was 15 years old. >> i met richard santana in prison. we didn't know each other. >> we didn't know each other. >> and they painted this picture as if we all knew each other, we all got together and said, "hey, man, let's go hang out and do this." and that's not what happened. >> reporter: in 2002, 12 years after they were sentenced, serial rapist and murderer matias reyes confessed, saying he acted alone. dna evidence corroborated his story. a judge threw out the convictions. >> this is an indelible scar. and even though we have somewhat been righted, we still have that indelible scar. >> reporter: 22 states now have laws requiring interrogations of minors to be recorded. and, scott, 15 of those states passed laws after the central park five were exonerated. >> pelley: michelle, thanks. what happened when signs bearing a certain four-letter word popped up? 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steve hartman found out "on the road." >> reporter: in new orleans, louisiana, like any city in america, there are thousands of signs constantly trying to push you away, pull you in, or simply fatten you up. but we found one sign here that has no agenda. no agenda at all. this sign and hundreds like it have been popping up on utility poles all over the city. >> you've probably seen the new signs all over town. >> more than 350 signs... >> reporter: on the local news, they've been trying to figure out who put them up. >> i would like to know who did it. >> reporter: and why. >> what does it mean? >> reporter: some wondered if it was part of an ad campaign, or a promotion for an upcoming prince concert. >> i kind of think of it like a social experiment. >> reporter: the two guys behind this, who choose to remain anonymous, wanted to find out if seeing the word more would make people feel the word more. >> i believe the power of language and words can transform. and the more you think it, the more you speak it, the more real it becomes. and that's what i believe. >> reporter: to test the belief, they plotted the signs on a map, and will later cross-reference the locations with crime statistics. a naive hypothesis, yes, but still... really sweet. >> awesome. >> reporter: the two men are both unemployed. they got the money for the signs when one of them fell into a small inheritance and decided to share the love. whether or not it works on the city as a whole, they say it's already worked on at least two people. >> you read it enough and you're trying to get it out there, it's had a great effect probably on both our attitudes and psyche. >> reporter: and if you're smiling right now, maybe they are on to something. steve hartman, "on the road," in new orleans. >> pelley: and that's the last word for the cbs evening news tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, i'm scott pelley. i'll see you sunday on "60 minutes." good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org suicide barrier on the gold gate bridge... the cost: 76- your realtime captioner is linda macdonald. finally it's not going to be the bridge of death anymore. >> it's a unanimous decision to build a suicide barrier on the golden gate bridge, for $76 million. good evening, i'm ken bastida. >> i'm veronica de la cruz. kpix 5's linda yee is at the bridge. linda? >> reporter: veronica, yes, you know, the golden gate bridge is still one of the most popular sites in the world even though like today you can barely see it. but lots of tourists are still out here. unfortunately, it does have a dark side. but today's decision will mean some relief for thousands of grieving families. she was overwhelmed with emotion after the unanimous motored. this person survived a suicide jump 14 years ago one of many who fought for a suicide barrier. >> this weight is off my shoulders, this weight that we carry every day that we fight for every day. >> reporter: the $76 million barrier will be a 20-foot-wide steel net that will extend on each side of the bridge. >> i do light pole number 97 is where he jumped. >> reporter: mark said years of therapy didn't help his 20-year- old son matthew. he prays a barrier will now save another family from his loss. 46 people jumped in 2013. the most in one year since it opened in 1937. manuel gamboa's 18-year-old son kyle was one of them. >> the news that came to me was devastating. you know, i was like, well, how can such a popular boll