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American Morning

A Night of Terror; BP Damage Control?; Dangerous Classroom; World Stocks Drop After Rally; Fifteen Minutes Away From Death; Strained Relations Between U.S., Afghan Administrations; EPA Monitoring Environment Damage in Gulf

Aired May 11, 2010 - 08:58   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Tuesday. It's May 11th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. Here are the big stories that we'll be telling you about, coming up in the next 15 minutes.

It was a terrifying night in Oklahoma, five people killed, tornadoes taking out dozens of homes. There are thousands of people still without power this morning, and the horror may not be over because more extreme weather is on the way today.

CHETRY: First look at the underwater oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, BP releasing video three weeks after the explosion and catastrophe. Here it shows the underwater submersible robots trying to close off the third leaking well, which they did successfully here. But behind it, you can see the gush and the flow of the oil that's still leaking.

We're going to take a look at what's going on with the flow of information as well as the flow of oil.

ROBERTS: And stay seated. Keep your hands inside the car at all times. You must be this tall to go on this ride.

It could be another rollercoaster on Wall Street today. After falling last week, the Dow bounced back, finishing the day more than 400 points higher, so what's next? What's in store for today?

Christine Romans, breaking it all down for you.

CHETRY: And of course the AmFIX blog is up and running. We'd love it if you join the live conversation right now. Head to CNN.com/amFIX to weigh in.

ROBERTS: We begin the hour, though, with the aftermath of a horrifying night in Oklahoma. Five people are dead, more than 100 homes reportedly damaged or destroyed. Tornadoes tearing through the heart of the state last night, leaving dozens of people hospitalized. The devastation is widespread.

Mark Opgrande of affiliate KOCO in Oklahoma has surveyed some of the damage. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK OPGRANDE, KOCO REPORTER: I'm right here in Choctaw, Oklahoma, which is about 20 miles of Oklahoma City, right along I-40.

You can see back behind me, this used to be a Love's convenience store. A lot of trucks stop, truck stop, people coming to get gas. But believe it or not, there was 40 people inside this building when the tornado came across. Now, everybody was taken to the back of this building and kind of gotten into the cooler area there.

Now, everybody -- believe it or not -- everybody walked out, which is kind of hard to believe when you see all this devastation around us, all the metal. This stuff came from the awning, just thrown around. In fact, look at this right here, the ready cooler. I didn't know if there was any ice in here. But you can see, just got -- these things and things are very heavy.

But just a lot of damage around here. In fact, there are several, probably a couple of dozen homes in this area were damaged. In fact, we talked to some of the homeowners when we were here last night just about how they barely had enough time to jump in the storm shelters or the closets when the storm came through. But most of the people up there were OK.

But we do understand that there were five fatalities from the storm. In fact, the storm system spawned about 25 tornadoes across central and north-central Oklahoma throughout late afternoon.

Again, a lot of people are going to be getting up this morning trying to get back to their homes. They weren't allowed to go in last night. There's going to be a lot of cleanup to do.

In fact, once the light comes on, once the sun comes up, you are going to have all the first responders and emergency managers are going to go out to try to go back to door-to-door and just make sure everyone is OK.

In Choctaw, I'm Mark Opgrande -- back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Mark, thanks.

Well, the threat of tornadoes is still out there this morning. Jacqui Jeras in our extreme weather center in Atlanta. She's taking a look at how things could shake out today because there's more severe weather expected.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely. We think this will start firing up late this afternoon and into this evening. We've got a slight risk of severe thunderstorms. More into western parts of Oklahoma, the panhandle there of Texas and Oklahoma, up into Kansas and then stretching into parts of Missouri.

Now, upper level dynamics today aren't nearly as favorable as what they were yesterday. So, we're not expecting a widespread outbreak with a lot of those super-cell types of tornadoes. But we could see a couple of rotators as well as some large hail makers.

Let's show you some video and talk a little bit about how unique yesterday was. Yesterday was a high-risk day. You know, we only get a handful of days like this, where you get those individual storms that stand out there all by themselves and take up all the energy.

This video that you're looking at, you can see this tornado in Medford had multiple vortices. You know, it's not unusual to get those. But, boy, I have never seen video with four individual funnels and it's kind of the nature of spinning systems. You know, you can get multiple vortices and things like eddies in the water as well as hurricanes. They tend to cause more damage and you get these little fingers that move around. It has to do with the environmental winds getting sucked in and rising air as well, some little bit of friction with this interacting with the land as it moves over the areas.

So, just some incredible pictures. You only get pictures like this really out of the plain states where the land is flat and there is just nothing out there. They were firing up along the dry line. And the dry line will advance during the day, the temperatures heat up, and then it will retreat back to the west at the nighttime.

So, today, we'll watch for more advancement. And you can see days of these types of thunderstorms igniting, while we many get them again for today. Again, we don't think it will be nearly as bad as the situation yesterday -- John and Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: Wow. Those were some pretty amazing pictures, like fingers of destruction reaching up into the air like that.

JERAS: Yes.

ROBERTS: Wow. Thanks, Jacqui.

Also developing this morning, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico -- it's getting more serious by the minute. And they may have just lost more time. Right now, crews are using deep-sea robots and chemicals to try to dilute the oil gushing from the Gulf -- now, 4 million gallons and counting.

CHETRY: Also along Louisiana's barrier islands, Blackhawk helicopters are stacking one-ton stacks of sand trying to keep the oil away from many sensitive wildlife areas. And they are now in more danger this morning. Forecasters say that shifting winds are pushing more oil into the Mississippi Delta and areas west of the river.

ROBERTS: And, today, Congress will hold hearings on the explosion and the fireball that started this all. Last night, I spoke to one of the men who was on that rig when it went up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHOY, RIG EXPLOSION SURVIVOR: Absolutely. That was the main thing going through my head. It just hit me in my stomach. I just kept thinking, there's no way we are getting off of here, you know? We're all -- we're all dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Congress begins hearings, as you just said, on the spill in just a few hours.

Our Ed Lavandera joins us live from New Orleans, with more on what we can expect today.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.

Well, those hearings in Washington really have the potential of being rather intense today as the company officials from all of the major players in this oil rig disaster will be showing up. You have executives from Transocean which owned the oil rig that sunk where the explosion happened. You've got BP, obviously, which was in control of the drilling operations. You also have Halliburton which really hasn't been talked about as much as the other those two companies have.

But Halliburton was contracted by BP to put in the cement plug, which is what was supposed to go into these wells to really prevent the escape of natural gas from rising back up to the surface, which many believe so far, which is what triggered this massive explosion, deadly explosion as well.

And what you're probably going to see here today, John and Kiran, is the beginning of that blame game, where these company officials have already hinted that they are blaming each other's work for what happened here and transpired here. And, of course, what's at play is millions and millions of dollars. There have been already hundreds, if not several thousand, lawsuits filed against these companies and claims, which will only continue.

And you can imagine that attorneys will be watching very closely across the Gulf Coast what is transpiring today in Washington -- John and Kiran.

ROBERTS: Ed, there's been some frustration with BP Critics are saying that they are much better at controlling the message than they are controlling the flow of oil from the sea floor.

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, we've been trying -- one of the things that they point to that kind of highlights what many critics of BP say is this effort of not being transparent enough with their disaster response. They have robotic vehicles under water.

You can see video images that they released last week from one of the robotic vehicles. Arms that were showing how the machine capped one of the leaks on that rise coming out of the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. In the background, you can see that cloud of what we presume is oil coming from one of those risers as well. But we do know from several government sources that BP has video of the oil leak and what it looks. We've talked to many environmentalists and scientists over the last week, couple of weeks, who say, look, being able to see that video might help independent sources kind of verify what's going on and be able to gauge how well the cleanup process and the attempts to get this well under control are actually going.

BP says that they have been more than open with government investigators about how they are conducting business under water there. But critics say that, really, this is an attempt by BP to control the message and the image of this disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

LAVANDERA: Why do you think we haven't seen much of that video yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, if I had to guess, it's that BP doesn't exactly want the public to see what's happening. They want to control the message. They want to control the information. But, I think the public needs to see what's happening both at the surface and at the sea floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are being extraordinarily open and transparent, whether it is ourselves or the government agencies involved. We are sharing tremendous amounts of information.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

LAVANDERA: We've asked BP repeatedly over the last few weeks to get a glimpse at least of some of this video. They keep telling us that they will look into it. They say their number one priority is capping that well and anything beyond that is extra.

But those -- we've heard extensively from critics now, John and Kiran, that they think -- that they would like to get a better view of what's going on underneath the surface of the water.

ROBERTS: Yes. It makes you wonder what it is that they're -- they don't want to show us, Ed.

LAVANDERA: Sure.

ROBERTS: All right. Ed Lavandera --

LAVANDERA: Environmentalists and scientists have been saying that what's going on below the surface of the water is actually very different from what we are seeing on the surface. That they believe that what's going on underneath is where the majority of the oil is and where the greatest environmental damage is occurring right now.

ROBERTS: Sure. Ed Lavandera in New Orleans this morning -- Ed, thanks. CHETRY: And coming up in 40 minutes, we're going to be actually speaking with EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson, about this very issue -- the threat to the sensitive wildlife in the region. And also the chemicals being used to clean up the oil spill, could they be just as harmful?

ROBERTS: Explosives class for first responders. What would have happened had that bomb in Times Square been one that could have actually detonated. It might look something like this. That's what 300 pounds of explosive-grade fertilizer will do. We'll have the whole story coming right up.

Nine minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Iran agreeing to allow the mothers of three jailed American hikers to visit them in a Tehran prison. Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal have been behind bars for nine months now charged with espionage and crossing Iran's border with Iraq illegally. Iran's foreign minister says visas have been ordered for all three mothers on humanitarian grounds.

ROBERTS: More than a week later, Faisal Shahzad is still a no- show in the courtroom. Federal authorities say he voluntarily waived his rights to a first appearance on terror charges. Although he is cooperating, legal experts recommend the government assign Shahzad an attorney and put him in front of a judge very soon.

CHETRY: Well, now, to an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING. It's hard to know just how bad the attempted Times Square bombing could have been. The device itself, of course, was not sophisticated.

ROBERTS: But we are about to give you a look at the powerful force of bombs similar to the one planted inside that SUV in Times Square.

Our Ted Rowlands takes us to the New Mexico desert this morning where first responders are quickly learning how to assess the danger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine if this blew up in Times Square.

(EXPLOSION)

ROWLANDS: What you're watching is the result of 300 pounds of explosive-grade fertilizer. Because the Times Square SUV had non- explosive-grade fertilizer, this blast is likely more intense than could have happened in New York, that's according to the experts here at New Mexico Tech, who conducted the explosion as part of a training course for first responders. (on camera): Knowing what you know was in that vehicle in Times Square, what kind of damage would that have done?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From what we have seen on the news, it was a very amateur device. The detonation, if they could have gotten something to detonate, would have probably been pretty low order but it would have spread stuff all over the street. And they had a lot of fuel. There's a lot of gas and other things associated with that. So, while we would have had a small explosion, it would have probably been a very big fire.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): The federal government has trained more than 300,000 first responders through this exclusive course at New Mexico Tech. They see firsthand what explosives like this briefcase bomb can do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, it has done more damage to our mannequin that we used. More damage to the ceiling. This is going to be an evidence-rich environment right here. And we're going to make sure we protect that.

ROWLANDS: We spent the day with the class that had law enforcement from D.C., Detroit, L.A., Atlanta, and other places. Most of the teaching is in a classroom setting. But seeing the explosions and the aftermath is what really hits home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.

(EXPLOSION)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see the circular -- the spherical blast. You can actually see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right over here, we have probably axle shaft, spring hangers. So, just by that, we can tell exactly where the explosives were placed inside this vehicle.

ROWLANDS (on camera): Is this worth it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Because the people who are going to go to any type of event, they are going to be your first responders -- your police officers, your firefighters, paramedics. And they need to have at least some idea of what they've come across and the dangers that poses, and also evidence issues. So, we have a chance of catching whoever is involved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: While nobody knows exactly if that bomb in New York would have gone off, how much damage it would have caused -- if it was anything close to what we saw here, it would have been devastating -- John, Kiran.

CHETRY: Ted Rowlands for us, that's amazing. ROBERTS: Yes, it's an interesting classroom, isn't it?

CHETRY: Yes, exactly.

ROBERTS: A classroom where they blow stuff up.

CHETRY: Well the largest games in more than a year erased. Now, stocks are set to slide again. Christine Romans with the up and down roller coaster, the volatility of the markets of late, what's behind it and what does it mean for the average investor. Sixteen minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: "Toxic" by Britney Spears and we are not talking assets.

ROBERTS: Boy, that's hummable.

Eighteen minutes after the hour. Christine Romans here "MINDING YOUR BUSINESS." And Dow after going way up yesterday is maybe going to go down today.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know so the Dow was up 405 points yesterday, a very, very big move in the Dow because there was some optimism.

ROBERTS: Got a little indigestion and ate too much -

ROMANS: Yes, a little of that big French meal, like a big European dinner. No, it looks like a big European rescue plan with something that really rescued stocks yesterday, and the Dow had the best day in 14 months. A really good day, really, 405 points, very rare to see such a big move. But today, Dow Futures down 105 points. So, you know, if things hold, you are going to take a quarter of that nice day's gain away here in the very early going.

Why? Well a lot of the things we were talking about yesterday they are still chewing over. How are they going to implement this rescue? Will there be the political will in all of these different countries to take some tough medicine to get some of these loans. Maybe the bailout overall won't solve the debt crisis.

You've got people -- exactly like in the U.S., you got people say, oh wait, we are solving a problem about borrowing too much money by borrowing too much money, talking about China and signs of inflation in China. I know it sounds like it's out of left field but it isn't folks. People have been really carefully watching how strong China's economy has been and how any kind of slowdown there will affect the U.S. and if there isn't a slowdown, whether inflation is going to be a problem for the Chinese currency and the like.

And there is just this real push back and forth everyday between today we want to be in safe assets. Today, we are going to go into risky assets. And there is a lot of volatility to this day in the markets. So -- CHETRY: The average person who is either putting money away or putting money in their 401(k) or just dollar cost averaging each month, you should just ignore all of this, right?

ROMANS: Look if you're the average person dollar cost averaging, you know, every month, all of the people that I talk to, the financial planners say, you should still be completely engaged in your long-term strategy because you are picking up stocks at all different kinds of prices and other assets too in all different kinds of prices and it smoothens out in the end. So, they say, don't wake up and, you know, get indigestion over this. You can watch it, it's interesting. But it's not, it's not affecting you in a very, very near term.

And remember, the stock market is still down about a quarter. Twenty five percent from where it was in 2007. So most of us are still under water on our 529 plans, on our 401(k)s, so - you know we are watching all of this --

CHETRY: It is taking a hit but it is coming back.

ROMANS: But it has been coming back, that's right, and you know, even today, there are people who are saying you got to keep it --

CHETRY: Why are you laughing?

ROBERTS: Oh just because we always say, it is coming back, it is coming back.

CHETRY: It's coming back, it's coming back -

ROMANS: Well I mean it has come back dramatically. The question is, does it keep going or has it lost all of its steam because of the, you know, the global recovery is --

ROBERTS: I read a story earlier last week I guess about William Shatner and Price Line.

ROMANS: Yes.

ROBERTS: In the dotcom bubble, when it burst I 2000, Price Line stock went down $1.20, it is $250 now.

CHETRY: Wow.

ROBERTS: If you invested in $1.20 then now you'd have some money.

ROMANS: See it came back.

ROBERTS: It really came back.

CHETRY: The wise words offer William Shatner.

ROMANS: Too bad I can never pick stocks like that. That's my particular problem.

ROBERTS: I thought about buying it but I thought if it is at $1.20, it will soon be at 80, that's would be my luck.

ROMANS: Well yes -

ROBERTS: Eighty cents that is.

ROMANS: Someday, I will tell you the story of Lucindet, ten - twenty cents --

ROBERTS: Someday I will tell you about the story of not taking the opportunity to buy the initial share of trivial pursuit.

CHETRY: See, this is why, dollar cost averaging. I don't have this problem. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: There you go.

ROBERTS: Thanks Christine.

ROMANS: Sure.

CHETRY: Thanks Christine.

ROBERTS: Reality check in the Gulf oil spill's environmental impact. The EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson coming up this morning.

CHETRY: I will take science for a piece of the pie. Oh sorry just kidding. And we are also going to check back in with Melissa as she tries to get sober inside her struggle with prescription drugs. Did she turn over a new leaf. Twenty two minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty five minutes aft hour. Today, the White House will release a new strategy to battle America's drug problem shifting the focus from law enforcement to prevention and treatment. And there is also new attention being given to prescription drug abuse.

CHETRY: Yes across the nation, more and more teenagers are abusing prescription pills, oftentimes pills they find in their family's medicine cabinet. In our special series "Addicted," we are checking back in with one teen named Melissa after battling a bill addiction for years, she hit bottom and tried to take her own life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA, 18-YEAR-OLD FORMER DRUG ABUSER (on camera): I went over to a friend's house. And I thought I was having a good time. And I ended up trying to commit suicide. I felt really lonely and I guess a lot of times whether you are using drugs, that's how you end up feeling. But I felt really alone and I felt worthless. I don't remember calling an ambulance or how it got to me.

(voice-over): I went to the hospital I was in intensive care for four days. They told me I was 15 minutes away from death.

CHETRY: What did you take? MELISSA (on camera): I took Benadryl, Tylenol, Aleve, Advil and some prescription pills that were in there. I took some of those as well. I'm not sure what they were. I basically went for anything I could get my hands on.

CHETRY (on camera): After you came to in the hospital, what was the first thing that went through your mind?

MELISSA: The first thing that came to my mind was wanting to get high and thinking that I need to be high. I've been in rehab and it just wasn't enough for me. It didn't strike me as that serious. But being 15 minutes away from death that was my bottom. That's as low as I can get. And it made me realize what I need to do.

CHETRY (voice-over): After being released from the hospital, Melissa was sent to a mental health facility. Where after years of abusing prescription pills, as well as, alcohol and pot, she made the decision to get clean.

(on camera): What was the withdrawal like when you were at the mental hospital?

MELISSA: It was terrible. It was absolutely terrible. I had really, really bad nightmares. And I just felt unease and uncomfortable all the time. It's like you think you are going to stop doing the drugs and OK maybe things will start to get better but it gets worse before it gets better.

CHETRY (voice-over): And that meant getting the proper diagnosis. During her counseling sessions, Melissa learned she was bipolar and began receiving the right treatment. She also made the tough call to leave home temporarily. Moving to North Carolina to stay with her sister and escape her daily temptations. We gave Melissa a video camera and asked her to document her recovery.

MELISSA: I woke up today so far feeling good. No temptations, no cravings. I have to say this isn't easy. I don't know what went wrong. But for some reason, I want to get high. I don't know, I just have to keep on the right track. And I feel really positive. Everything has been going good.

CHETRY: She had been clean for three weeks. However --

MELISSA: I guess I'm just going to have to see what happens when I get home. And I am scared. I am definitely scared, getting sober and cutting (EXPLICATIVE DELETED) is really, really scary.

CHETRY (on camera): The real challenge for Melissa lies ahead. She is back in her hometown. She has been here for just a day. And she knows how easy it could be to slip back into the same habits. And where are you at home, back living with your mom.

MELISSA: Yes.

CHETRY: You say that your mom does have prescription drugs. How is that working out? MELISSA: It was a little scary at first, but, you know, she got a lockbox and put them in a lock box. And more so my concern was the -- coming home to my hometown where people are going to, you know, send me a text message, like, hey, I got my script or something like that.

CHETRY (voice-over): Today, it is 46 days sober for Melissa and she says she sees life differently now.

(on camera): So what's your first thought usually when you wake up in the morning now?

MELISSA: Typically, I wake up and look outside and just kind of wonder what's going to come throughout the day, wonder what it will bring.

CHETRY: And when you were using drugs, what was your first thought when you woke up?

MELISSA: Normally, I feel like crap. I'm tired and I need to go get high.

CHETRY (on camera): Do you ever look back and say, man, I got off lucky compared to what could have happened?

MELISSA: I got off extremely lucky. I don't know how I haven't died with certain amounts of drugs I put into my system.

CHETRY (voice-over): An addiction she says has left a scar that she hopes will fade with time?

MELISSA: I love my life. I couldn't say that a while ago. I couldn't say that I love myself. I couldn't say that. I thought I was beautiful. Now, you know I think I'm an extremely beautiful person, more so on the inside. And that's all that matters, is that I'm happy with myself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Great to see how much progress she has made.

CHETRY: Yes, she looks like a whole different girl than the one we first met back in early March. And it's 46 days being sober. And I mean, you know that in the beginning it is hard. Of course, day by day by day, she is doing it.

And she has a whole different outlook. Perhaps one of the most important things is that she is being treated properly for chemical imbalance in her brain that perhaps helped her down the road of addiction.

ROBERTS: You have to wonder, did she do herself any damage when she was doing drugs so intensely?

CHETRY: She said when she was in the hospital the first four days, they said her liver was very badly damaged but that it would come back. She would improve. She is young. She is 18, so the chances of being able to make a full recovery physically are also very high because of her age.

She admits, she got lucky. And the people who treated her in the days after that ambulance was called say she was lucky.

ROBERTS: Good for her. We certainly wish her well.

Crossing the half hour now, time for this morning's top stories. At least 14 militants have been killed and several others injured in the suspected U.S. drone attack in Pakistan. Officials say 18 missiles were fired at two vehicles and several compounds this morning in North Waziristan near the border of Afghanistan.

CHETRY: Also, a lot of heartache this morning in Oklahoma. Five people are dead after a series of powerful tornadoes swept through the state last night and 40 homes destroyed and more than 100 others damaged.

ROBERTS: Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will start meeting with senators tomorrow on Capitol Hill. Republicans say they plan to use this time before her confirmation hearings to take a long hard look at her record. Right now, Senate Democrats have more than enough votes to confirm her.

It could be a tense day for Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Washington for day two of what's being called "frank talks" with U.S. officials. Relations between Afghanistan and the U.S. continue to be strained at best.

CHETRY: Karzai is under pressure to do something about his corrupt government and the barrage of attacks against American troops. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us live from Washington this morning to talk about what's at stake here.

Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran.

This whole visit is designed today publicly bolster the U.S./Afghan relationship, work on improving how to fight the Taliban, improving economic development, all the things that could someday lead to U.S. troops coming home. There are plenty of simmering tensions, and they are not below the surface.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan has an unpleasant message. The war is about to get worse.

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, U.S. COMMANDER, AFGHANISTAN: We will encounter increased violence as our combined security forces expand into Taliban-controlled areas.

STARR: Violence is up nearly 90 percent from this time last year, roadside bombs up a staggering 240 percent. General Stanley McChrystal's next target, Kandahar, the Taliban heartland in southern Afghanistan.

But there are worries the Taliban have already stockpiled weapons for a counter assault. The U.S. efforts depend heavily on Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. But things haven't been so diplomatic. Karzai is increasingly irritated with U.S. demands he crack down on corruption and the drug trade.

HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN PRESIDENT: Afghanistan is somewhat of an occupied country.

STARR: After more than eight years of war, relations with Kabul, still a work in progress.

PETER BROOKES, FORMER DOD OFFICIAL: You don't always get to pick your partners and you have to do the best you can with what you have.

STARR: At a press conference designed to show unity, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry struggled to give the impression he was confident in the Afghan president despite three chances to do so.

QUESTION: Do you think that President Karzai is adequate --

KARL EIKENBERRY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: He is an elected president of Afghanistan. I highly respect President Karzai in that capacity. I have cautious optimism that we are making progress in an array of areas critical to our combined success in Afghanistan.

QUESTION: So you were skeptical of those successes before?

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We are going to let these guys get back to work. Thank you both for coming by.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: An abrupt end to a White House press conference there underscoring the bottom line reality -- eight and a half years of war, the U.S. ambassador still publicly uncomfortable endorsing Hamid Karzai, and questions across Washington about whether the Afghan leader can control the violence in his own country. John, Kiran?

ROBERTS: Barbara Starr for us this morning. Thanks so much.

The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, try as they may, BP has barely made a dent in stemming the flow of toxic crude, the potential for ecological disaster growing by the day. We will check in with the administrator of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, coming up next. Stay with us. It's 35 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 38 minutes past the hour.

BP is turning to plan b to try to plug the gushing oil leak. The first plan was to drop a 100-ton dome. As we know, that failed.

ROBERTS: Yesterday, they shot a chemical down into the mouth of the leak to try to dilute the oil and disperse it a little bit. It is another untested, unproven method at that depth. Some experts say that those dispersants may pose an environmental risk as well.

Joining us now from New Orleans is the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Lisa Jackson. Administrator Jackson, good to talk to you this morning. We see tar balls washing up on the Barrier Islands, some of the mainland beaches. The oil continues to flow out of that well unchecked.

Historically speaking, how bad could this get?

LISA JACKSON, EPA ADMINISTRATOR: Until we stop the release of the oil from the sea bed, it has the potential to be worse than anything we have seen. It also has the potential to be stopped sooner. What we need is we need a break.

CHETRY: We certainly do. At this point the attempts to stop the leak haven't worked. We are entrusting BP to stop it, yet all of these potential solutions have not worked at this point. We don't have any idea of the scope of the spill. But are you confident that BP is up to the task of stopping the leak?

JACKSON: The president has made it clear that this is not just a matter of entrusting BP. He has asked everyone from the minerals management service to EPA and Steven Chu, the secretary of energy, and all the energy labs to bring their best minds to the task as well.

And between them and Commandant Allen at the coast guard and the Department of Defense, there has been every asset that we at the federal government can think of, and we are involving states and local governments as well.

ROBERTS: When you say this could be the worst that we have ever seen, could you help to sort of illuminate that for us? When you are talking about those sensitive areas around the mouth of the Mississippi River and those wildlife refuges and sensitive salt marshes, what could we see there along the Gulf coast?

JACKSON: Well, you know, the reason I say it could be the worse is the amount. Every spill is different. This one is unprecedented because it is a long-term release of oil. And right now we don't have a day we know that will stop.

When you talk about ecosystem here, you are talking about a way of life. You are talking about people who live in wetlands and marches. They live off the land and it's their culture as well.

And to the east, you're talking about beaches and all the recreation and tourism there. When you talk about a great city like New Orleans, my hometown, you talk about everything from the restaurants to the port that could be impacted if we don't stop this flow of oil.

ROBERTS: How long could the impact last?

JACKSON: Right now, we don't have a date certain which we know the release of oil will stop. And of course, even once the release stops, we will still deal with the oil that's already been released and its potential to make landfall.

CHETRY: I think the thing that is just so heartbreaking to see is we know thousands upon thousands of oil are still gushing, and nothing BP has done has worked so far. They are asking all bright minds to come forward, but how confident are you that they will get this plugged and soon?

JACKSON: Well, the only thing I can be confident now is that everything we can think of to direct them to do or ask them to do or work with them to do is being done.

That being said, I like Commandant Allen's analogy. This is like Apollo 13. We are in this subsea environment where we can see the problem as it occurs. But really you are talking about robots for the most part that have to do the actual work.

So there is a real frustration about wanting to try things and realizing that the environment you are in causes problems.

ROBERTS: We talked about this at the beginning, Administrator Jackson, this release of dispersants into the wellhead yesterday. There are a lot of concerns that these dispersants, while not as toxic as the oil, carry toxicity with them.

You met with scientists at LSU yesterday. How do you make the calculation regarding the tradeoff here between adding more toxins to the environment in trying to disperse this oil?

JACKSON: Yes, you are absolutely right, John, we are talking about tradeoffs. That's what the response to this spill is going to continue to involve.

Yesterday at LSU, today down at Tulane, my alma mater, talking to scientists about what we know and frankly what we don't know. We do know that the toxicity of the dispersant is less than that of the oil. One of the questions I think we can answer in short order is whether you can use less dispersant if you use it at the subsea than you can by using it at the surface. We have been using it at the surface all along.

What we don't know, quite frankly, is the fade and the transport of that oil over time. What we can assure folks and what I want people to know is that as head of the EPA, we have a monitoring plan in place to watch oil dispersion and to stop any application of dispersants if we get an indication that we're having a problem.

CHETRY: As head of the EPA, what assurances can you give the American public that something like this, this scope of disaster with this oil rig explosion, won't happen again as we look to expand offshore drilling? JACKSON: Well, you know, I don't think that we can -- at someone said at LSU yesterday, humans are involved. When humans are involved in an endeavor, things can go wrong.

What I think we have to learn is what the real worst case scenario is and what we need to do to make sure we are ready for that going forward, including ways to prevent it. Obviously, this all goes back to a prevention system that didn't work.

CHETRY: Right. This was worse case scenario. And many, many said it wouldn't happen, and it did.

JACKSON: Well, I think just like with any other disaster, people will later scratch their heads and say maybe there was a little bit of arrogance on our parts not to think we would face this.

ROBERTS: Administrator Lisa Jackson from the EPA, good to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much.

JACKSON: Thank you.

CHETRY: Thanks.

Well, cold and rain in the northeast and severe storms possible yet again in the Midwest and south. Jacqui Jeras tracking all the extreme weather for us still ahead.

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ROBERTS: So we told you that Dr. Sanjay Gupta and a group of CNN viewers are training for a triathlon coming up.

CHETRY: Right, because he is not busy enough.

ROBERTS: He gets real close. No, he's not busy enough.

CHETRY: So he needs to train for a triathlon.

ROBERTS: He needs to find things to do. So they've been training for swimming, they have been training for running. Well, there's a cycling component to it as well. Wait until you see who they were training with for the cycling component. Maybe you got an idea.

"Fit Nation" coming right up. Stay with us.

Ten minutes now to the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning. Sixty- eight days and counting until race day for CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta; he is competing in the New York City triathlon with a team of AM viewers. ROBERTS: And now they're kicking their training into high gear. Sanjay and the "Fit Nation" team went to Austin, Texas to get some cycling tips from a serious pro. And yes, you can probably guess who it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the things all of our athletes told us was that they would love a chance to meet Lance Armstrong, arguably one of the most inspiring athletes in the world. And obviously someone who can give them some tips about bicycling as well. There he is right there. So say hi to the man right over here.

LANCE ARMSTRONG, 7-TIME TOUR DE FRANCE CHAMPION: Hey.

GUPTA: There you go. You are right on cue.

ARMSTRONG: Am I -- I didn't want to interrupt.

GUPTA: It's good to see you man.

ARMSTRONG: You too.

GUPTA: These guys have been very excited to meet you.

RICKY: I'm Ricky.

ARMSTRONG: Hi, Ricky. Nice to meet you.

LAURA: Hi, I'm Laura.

ARMSTRONG: Nice to meet you.

LINDA: I'm Linda.

ARMSTRONG: Nice to meet you.

DEAN: Dean, a pleasure.

GUPTA: All of these athletes have never done a triathlon before and obviously. They are very interested in the cycling part of it and wanted to see if you had any specific ideas or tips for a first-time competitive cyclist.

ARMSTRONG: I guess the key is to really enjoy it. Obviously, nutrition, hydration is super important, especially if the weather is like today when it's hot and humid and steamy. Big mistakes can be made if you don't fuel up before the race, the days before, the hour before, and then also during.

GUPTA: What would you have for breakfast today?

ARMSTRONG: What did I have today? Don't ask me what I had today. We don't want to talk about that. ANGIE BROUHARD, CNN FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I have a question for you real quick. I am a cancer survivor, breast cancer last April. And I know you talked about how cancer survivors, it's a community. What advice do you have for those of us who are going through cancer or just getting beyond it?

ARMSTRONG: I have never forgotten those days. Never turn your back on this thing, this enemy, this foe that we know so well.

BROUHARD: Right.

ARMSTRONG: The support that's around you is really critical when you're diagnosed and being treated. But even afterwards, I mean those people have to be great teammates just like they were when you were sick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you get to points in the race when you find yourself just getting like really mentally exhausted, what do you tell yourself at that point?

ARMSTRONG: We all get to that point. I'm like, oh, I'm hurting so bad. I can't go any deeper. And you think wait a minute I am doing this for Leukemia Lymphoma Society, I'm doing this for the American Cancer Society or for Live Strong and think about all the people that would love to be doing what I am doing today. They are suffering. So that helps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys did great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: It's an interesting philosophy when he says I am hurting so bad, I don't think I can take it anymore I just -- thank goodness that I'm here where so many other people who went through what I went through with cancer aren't here. And maybe there are other people who I'd be racing for who won't make it unless I race.

CHETRY: There you go. That's inspiration.

ROBERTS: Good excuse to dig deep.

CHETRY: It is. And also for those trainers that are trying to figure this out and trying to get ready for their first triathlon, what inspiration to have Lance Armstrong there saying, you can do it.

ROBERTS: I want to borrow his legs just for one day just to see what it's like, just to see if it would make spin class any easier.

CHETRY: You need his legs and his lungs. You need his lung capacity. ROBERTS: Well, that's true. It's both, legs and lungs.

CHETRY: He wants your chest and your legs, Lance, but for reasons --

ROBERTS: Wait a second. Don't be twisting what I said.

CHETRY: But for different reasons than most women do.

Fifty-seven minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.

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ROBERTS: Continue the conversation on today's stories; go to our blog at CNN.com/amFIX. That will wrap it back up for us. We'll see you back here again bright and early tomorrow morning.

CHETRY: Glad you are with us today. Meanwhile, the news continues, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now.