it becomes, and that's what i believe. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. the results of the white house investigation of v.a. health care were released late this evening, and they paint a bleak picture. it says that 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 this investigation after reports that some v.a. managers lied about how long veterans waited for health care, hiding the fact that many couldn't get appointments for months. wyatt andrews is joining us now with the story. wyatt. >> reporter: scott, president obama sent his deputy white house chief of staff, rob neighborrers, to be his eyes and ears at the v.a., and his report today combined scathing criminal 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 two 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 iraq 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 warmed hell fire missiles over baghdad to provide aircover 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 multipronged 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 decide to launch airstrikes, those same american advisors could end up directing the strikeses on to specific targets. >> pelley: david martin at the pentagon. david, thank you. this is a fight, fg, between two branches of islam. the attacking force, which calls itself isis, is sunni. the government in baghdad is dominated by shia muslim. 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 gripe 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, we 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: long-standing racial prejudice and hatred. 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 ruthle 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 neighbor, 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. today in a move that angered russia, ukraine signed a free trade agreement with the european union. it's the same issue that triggered bloody riots earlier this year after ukraine's former president said that he favored ties with russia. a revolt forced him from power, and russia respond bide seizing argentina's crimean peninsula. today, president petro poroshenko said ukraine's european dreams have come true. 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 noble. today in san francisco, funding was approved for a net to prevent people from jumping off the golden gate bridge. it is estimated that 1600 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 suicide. >> 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, stor, for 20 year. >> 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. >> ran forward and catapulted myself over the rail. the single worst action of nigh 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. >> 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 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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 10 minutes, but now, some baby hatches with 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. 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 of 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 tropical depression 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." >> reporter: "when i sleep now," she said "i still touch my bell tow 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 work version to aware 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, astrazeneca may be able to help. >> 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 6-13 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 teenaged boys arrest forward the brutal rape of a 28-year-old white female jogger in new york's central park. the crime drew national headlineheadlines and polarizedy 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 d.n.a. 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, cereal rapist and murderer matias reyes confessed saying he acted alone. d.n.a. 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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(announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain especially with bloody or black stools the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach-area pain and swelling. bottom line, ask your doctor about linzess today. and cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or any allergic reactions like rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a free 30-tablet trial. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use >> pelley: our final story begins with a couple of guys who figured there was one thing that their city could use a little more of. what was it? 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 stay. >> 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? 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 here's what's coming up on "e.t." tonight -- >> "the view" in chaos. sherri shepherd can't make a deal. jenny mccarthy shown the door. >> i'm just really grateful to have this job. >> with barbara gone is the show falling apart? >> watch out, guys. >> then shia labeouf is handcuffed at a broadway play. released from jail. is he losing it? >> he seems to be out of control. and he does need somebody to rein him in. plus, rob lowe's family vacation nightmare. caught in raging flood waters. >> and he's talking to us just after their dramatic escape. >> very scary. cars were washing by. and jack osborne is here as our special correspondent. welcome, jack. what do you have for us? >> well, you guys sent me out on a very special assignment to interview one of my favorite singers, melissa etheridge. ♪ come to my window >> one of your lyrics says "it's divorce now and a couple of kids."

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