Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

BP Top Kill Operation Planned to Plug Oil Leak; Grand Isle Mayor Weighs in on Outrage and Anger Over BP and D.C.; Cost of BP Oil Spill; Five Weeks of Gushing Oil; Has Obama Dropped the Ball?; Consumers Boycott B.P

Aired May 26, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning in what is a big news day. I'm John Roberts in New York.

Good morning, Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John, good morning. I'm Kiran Chetry.

And we're here right along the beaches the Gulf of Mexico in Grand Isle, Louisiana. And really it's much of the same. Each day the locals here are waiting for something to happen. They either want to know from BP whether there's a plan for compensation. They want to know whether or not they're going to finally get that leaking well capped or stopped. And in the meantime they're suffering.

This is prime shrimping season. All of the fisheries in this area are closed down, all of the fishing areas, all of the beaches. The mayor of Grand Isle told me around this time they'd be expecting right before Memorial Day weekend about 10,000 people to come to this town. They come to this area, use these waters. And all of that is effectively stopped.

Meantime, the oil giant's "top kill" operation is poised to begin. You're looking at live video feed of the oil leak. It's at the bottom of the gulf and we'll be showing it to you all morning as BP attempts to inject thousands of pounds, 50,000 pounds of industrial mud into that spewing well in an attempt to stop it. And of course, the eyes of the world are on this operation. Hundreds of miles of coastline now covered with the crude. Wildlife and literally the way of life all in jeopardy.

Now if the "top kill" doesn't work, the environmental disaster could continue as we've been talking about unchecked for months. Meantime, there is an enormous amount of pressure right now on BP where 37 days into this environmental disaster and a frustrated President Obama is blasting the oil company for its inability to plug the leak so far. He's going to be heading to the Gulf Coast on Friday to meet with locals and to see firsthand again the devastation.

The president is also putting a stop to BP's plan to turn off the video feed of the leaking well which they wanted to do as this top kill operation started to get underway. The oil company announced last night that it would black out the pictures during the "top kill" operation, but the White House objected and BP backed down.

And there's also some new information about the moment leading up to the explosion that triggered this leak last month. Clear warning signs that something was terribly wrong. Leaks and also pressure spikes in the well were all ignored apparently by BP.

Meantime, about the dispersants, it's risky and there's a lot riding on the top kill attempt. But even if it works, it's still millions of gallons too late. And there's another very serious concern on Grand Isle and that is the chemicals being used to clean up the spill, the Corexit 9500 that we've been talking so much about. The federal government has told BP to cut back on it. BP has not done that. And many experts and people who fish these waters are worried that it may end up being more toxic than the actual sludge that's washing ashore.

We have David Mattingly with us this morning to tell us more about the "top kill." Also Ed Lavandera on the dispute over the dispersant.

Thanks to both of you for being with us this morning. And, Dave, let me start with you as we talk about this live camera. They're going to, I guess, do diagnostics today, this morning in just a few hours to see if it's all a go to attempt this risky operation.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. They started those diagnostics yesterday. And as of the last release from BP that came in overnight they are still continuing that. No word about when they plan to start that top kill.

They wanted to start at dawn today. We haven't received that notice that says they've got the green light to do that. Those diagnostics are very important. They're dealing with this huge piece of machinery down there called the blowout preventer, and they were making sure that that device was still capable of handling this type of -- this type of operation. It's going to be a lot of pressure there putting through that device to push this oil back down. They're essentially trying to drown this well and those heavy fluids, so they have to make sure their equipment can take this pressure before they move forward.

CHETRY: This has been attempted and been successful in wells in the Middle East, right? But they've all been above ground? So at this depth, this has not happened before?

MATTINGLY: It's been successful but not 100 percent successful. They've had some failures on land, and they've tried this on land and they've had some success. They tried this in shallow water. They've had some success. They've never done this at a mile under the ocean. Every step they've taken through this entire step has been literally into unchartered waters.

CHETRY: And largely not successful from the containment dome to the top hat to trying to siphon it off on and on. Everything has sort of failed up until this point. Now explain to us just briefly how this "top kill" is supposed to work.

MATTINGLY: The way it's supposed to work they're pumping these heavy fluids into that blowout preventer. They're trying to create more pressure to counteract the pressure of the oil that's spewing out. So they're going to push that oil back down, so to speak, sort of drown this well and then they're going to put cement on top of it to temporarily hold that oil back until they come up with a permanent solution of drilling those relief wells.

But let's put this in perspective. This is BP's best shot. And they're giving it a 60 percent chance of success. So they've been walking back anticipations of success on this just to make sure everybody is prepared and let everybody know, we don't know how this is going to turn out because we never tried it before.

CHETRY: And so that means there's no timeline as to when we know if it's successful? They don't know at what stage of the operation they can start figuring out whether or not it's working?

MATTINGLY: Even when they start the top kill, they were saying it's going to take 10 hours, maybe more. So they don't know. They're trying to give themselves a lot of leeway here to learn as they go and to maybe make adjustments as they go.

CHETRY: And so as the hopes for a permanent solution ride on this operation is taking place, meantime, Ed, there's still a big debate and controversy over what they're using right now to break up this oil, the dispersant. Explain the latest on BP sort of thumbing its nose at the EPA when it comes to a, stopping it, and b, cutting down on using it.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of frustration over the EPA. And essentially so people understand these dispersants are being sprayed on the surface of the water. But then about a couple of weeks ago they started spraying underwater at the site of the leak. And what it's supposed to do is break up the oil into droplets. And what environmentalists will tell you is that it doesn't make the oil go away, it just makes it essentially kind of harder to find.

CHETRY: Invisible, right?

LAVANDERA: Which is, of course, of great concern. We spent a little bit of time yesterday from the National Wildlife Federation. A scientist over there by the name of Doug Inkley and he was kind enough to spend some time with us. And he talked about what he worries about here not just in the coming weeks and the coming months, perhaps even years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG INKLEY, CERTIFIED WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST: What I'm concerned about here is that these dispersants are being applied a mile beneath the ocean at an experimental basis in quantities of the hundreds of thousands of gallons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: You get that sense, they just don't -- there's not enough science at this point to really understand how this works under water. EPA right now its scientists are checking out all of the different dispersants that are essentially viable options at this point. I don't think we've heard the last of this controversy.

CHETRY: Oh, yes.

LAVANDERA: There's still that struggle going on between BP scientists and the EPA scientists. And I think in the coming days if the EPA decides that the Corexit that they're using right now, they don't feel is a best option, I think we're going to see a big circle over that.

CHETRY: Right. And you know, a few of the locals that I had a chance to talk you yesterday including experts in fish and wildlife feel that they want to -- BP doesn't want the water to look oiled. And so it's getting dispersed far under, but the questions about whether or not it's having an impact on the very basics of the sea life, you know, the food chain is another question entirely and they're very, very upset about it.

All right. We'll continue to follow that aspect as well with the "top kill" operation. Meantime, let's send it back to John.

Also, one note we want to let you know about. Coming up in about an hour, we're going to be interviewing BP CEO Tony Hayward. He called the environmental impact of the spill modest before then backtracking on that. We're going to ask him why he's so much more confident than the government even that this "top kill" operation will work and why it took so much pressure to keep the cameras on during the operation -- John.

ROBERTS: All right, Kiran. All that just ahead.

Meantime, new this morning, President Obama is sending up to 1,200 more National Guard troops to our border with Mexico. The White House also says he's going to request $500 million to beef up security there. Arizona Senator John McCain says that is simply not enough. The call for more border protection has been growing since Arizona's governor signed the state's controversial immigration law.

The Feds say 89 deaths could be tied to unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles since the year 2000. Officials are still working to verify these new allegations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 6,200 complaints alleging sudden acceleration in Toyotas over that same period.

The FDA is investigating reports of seven deaths and hundreds of serious side effects related to Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl drugs that were recalled earlier this month. The drug maker McNeil recalled 50 children's versions of the nonprescription medicines because of quality and safety concerns.

Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines now. Bonnie Schneider in the weather center in Atlanta. And how are we looking today, Bonnie?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, John, you may know this already being in New York. But it is looking hot out there. We are getting ready to hit some incredible numbers in the northeast, like 95 degrees in New York City. Wow.

Now, note, the heat will come with its consequences. Big thunderstorms rolling through the northeast corridor from Philadelphia into New Jersey and New York certainly later today. We're also tracking low pressure off the southeast coast. This almost was Alex. But really in the end this is going to bring some rain to coastal sections of the Carolinas. But keep in mind the riptides will be high all the way from northern Florida up through the Virginia Beach area.

We're also tracking severe weather in parts of the plains. We'll have a complete forecast coming up in just a bit.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to that. Bonnie, thanks so much.

Next up on the Most News in the Morning, we're going to go back live to Grand Isle, Louisiana. We're going to talk with the mayor there about the impact that the oil spill is having.

Nine minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: We have live pictures right now of the well deep below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico as BP gets ready to perform what's being called the "top kill" procedure, hoping to pump mud, large, large amounts of mud into that leaking well and then get it to stop, get the oil to stop gushing and then seal it with cement.

Again, this operation is going to be taking place today. They're doing diagnostics to make sure that everything is a go. And we will be bringing you these pictures all morning long monitoring the progress.

Meanwhile, welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. I'm here in Grand Isle, Louisiana, and the oil is visible. Right behind me, in fact, this is the Gulf of Mexico. Each day crews of people come out and literally scoop the oil off of the sand, put it into bags. This has been going on for about a week and a half now, 37 days since the explosion but about a week and a half from when the oil started actually coming ashore.

There's a lot of anger as well directed at both BP but also the federal government for the environmental disaster that threatens fishing grounds, beaches and the very lifeblood of this area. The mayor of Grand Isle, Louisiana, David Camardelle, joins us now.

Thanks for getting up with us this morning. You were telling me, and these beaches are gorgeous, they're supposed to be packed right now. Ten thousand people usually come on a Memorial Day weekend to fish and take part in tournaments. What's going on now? MAYOR DAVID CAMARDELLE, GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA: Exactly. Well, what's happened everything from just our island is shut down. You see the water in the Gulf of Mexico on bad days, the whole bays are closed.

We have oil. Every morning, it comes up on our beach. But one of the things that is really heartbreaking is our bigger shrimp seafood dock is closed. And you know, we're talking to him last night and very disgusted. And you know, knowing that he's out of business and I'm asking him, you know, to bear with us and we're going to fight this together and we're going to make sure that we get the president's attention, which we've been hollering for him to come in and make sure that he takes care of us.

CHETRY: So you got word that the president is coming. President Obama due to visit the area on Friday. What do you want to hear from him? And what do you want him to hear from you?

CAMARDELLE: Well, you know, I want the president to step in and make things happen. There's too many chiefs and not enough Indians talking about with the Coast Guard and BP. We've been frustrated the last 37 days and we're trying to get things to move, move in the right way and our people can't wait.

I had a woman call me last night, one of the fishermen's wife, called me and told me, Mr. David, when are we going to get some more money? When are we going to get some more money? You know we don't have enough to pay our bills. We don't have enough to pay our insurance. You know, the motel owners and business people --

CHETRY: Right.

CAMARDELLE: -- they've been shut down.

CHETRY: And the frustration seems to be that these people want to work. I mean, they're able to do much more than just what their livelihood is which is the fishing, which is the shrimping. They want to get out there and help. When you say there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians, you were talking about a three and a half week delay to get boats out, week-long delays to get fishing boats move to switch to lane boom. Why all of those delays?

CAMARDELLE: Well, you know, for instance, I had to drive from Grand Isle to an hour and a half to the command post of BP in (INAUDIBLE), Louisiana, which is an hour and a half. We had to leave our church and parish and fishermen and -- and go over there and ask for permission and there's about 30 of them in a room.

And then when you leave there you get all the green lights and there's good people in there. But they have to go higher up to get permission and it just -- it takes three to four days before you get any feedback.

And yesterday I met with them again and it looked like it got a little better, but it's still -- it's still not right. We need the commander in chief to come in and push things. So, you know, when you go back to our basic -- you know, we don't want a free check from the government. Our people want to get out in the waters and get up in the morning, make a living and come back home and enjoy their families. But we don't -- we're on standby now.

You know, just looking at the Gulf of Mexico and -- and looking at the back bays, you know, and working and watching, expecting 10,000 people, you know, I'm heartbroken and it's very emotional for me because I was born and raised here. And knowing that --

CHETRY: You're a commercial fisherman yourself.

CAMARDELLE: Exactly. You know, my family did it all. And then, you know, depended on tourism. And -- and we also depended on oil. You know, there was a time when we went to work in oil fields.

So we're all like one family, but it takes too long for the government to come in and -- and push things and that's what we're asking the president, to come in and -- and push things. Enough's enough and we --

CHETRY: What are the biggest priorities that aren't getting done right now, besides getting the locals back to work, helping any way they can with the cleanup? What about preventing more of the oil washing ashore?

CAMARDELLE: I'm glad you asked that. I think there's -- we're putting apprises (ph) together. We have four main passes to block estuaries on the back side of Grand Isle, Barataria estuaries. And we need to block the full passes.

We need -- we need to put barges there. We need to put rock. The booms that they come up with doesn't work.

CHETRY: No. If there's a -- the current takes some of the oil under, and then of course if there's rough weather it takes it over.

CAMARDELLE: Right.

CHETRY: But the other question is the dispersants. How concerned are you that there's a -- a much bigger problem that lies underneath, that nobody knows the scope of yet?

CAMARDELLE: Exactly. Like Billy Nungesser, you know, my brother from, you know, the Plaquemine Parish and Saint Bernard with Craig Taffaro, you know, we're just worried about that.

You know, just looking with the blankets that came over our beach in the last couple of days, you know, the kids on -- and the atmosphere. You know, there was rumors over some here which they're going to evacuate us if the smell gets too strong.

You know, we got fishermen -- a few fishermen they hired (ph) only 20 percent and the other 80 percent sitting at the dock. Our shrimp dock is closed. Our business is closed. I mean, they're open, but, I mean, they have nobody there. It's like a ghost town. CHETRY: It is. It is very eerie as we were driving through as well and to know how busy this area is this time of year and how rich it is for all the people that want to come enjoy it and to see beach closed, beach closed, beach closed -- sign after sign. It's heartbreaking.

CAMARDELLE: And, you know, one of the passes, we got apprised a few minutes ago. We could put barges across. It's 2,100 foot long.

CHETRY: Right.

CAMARDELLE: We have four passes, four deep passes. You put barges across with tugboats, we could spend about probably $130,000 a day, you know, and that's just one of the passes.

But, you know what? If we -- if we can get the attention, get the money, you know, or build the sand berm that we're trying to put across to protect us -- you know, a dredge is going to cost you $130,000 a day, and I don't believe too much sand for deep passes. I think we need to come in and -- and block it with some barges.

You know, we could put barges across the full passes, and you know what? We still could save the shrimping industry and the fishing industry and --

CHETRY: Well, hopefully the president's going to be out here on Friday. He's going to hear some of your concerns and there's going to be more action. I know that there's -- you know, the country is concerned for all of you for sure and we wish you the best of luck.

CAMARDELLE: Thank you so much.

CHETRY: Thanks so much for coming out with us this morning. This is the mayor of Grand Isle, David Camardelle.

Coming up on Most News in the Morning, we're going to be talking about BP, a major corporation, but what kind of an impact will this spill have to its bottom line?

Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's coming up now to 22 minutes after the hour and our Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business" this morning.

You know, we talked about the -- the various impacts of this oil spill on -- on the environment, on people's livelihoods, the economy. What about the company itself?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This oil spill in the gulf, John, devastating in so many different ways, but not devastating for the balance sheet of -- of BP, and we've been digging into the numbers and it's actually quite stunning here.

When you look at the cost per day, according to the company, up till about May 10th, the cost per day of everything that it's doing in the gulf, the technology, the engineering, the payouts to -- to people who have lost wages, is about $16 million. The profits per day of this company in the first quarter, John, were $66 million. So just its profits can -- can mop up that excess of those oil costs easily.

And how much money does this company have in the bank? A lot. $7 billion of cash sitting in the bank, and when you look at the cash flow of this company, it's -- it's much, much more than that, more than $20 billion. What that tells you is that the balance sheet, the cash that this company is being driven with, the coming in and out of this company's coffers, is simply huge, underscoring the addiction to U.S. -- to oil in this country and just how important this -- this industry is for the economy.

It's stunning. One analyst I heard today say that this is a -- this is a devastating situation for the gulf but that BP will be able to absorb all of these costs, even in the worst case scenario cost. They made $14 billion last year. If it costs $14 billion to -- ultimately for the entire cleanup, that would just mean that they didn't make a profit for -- for one year.

ROBERTS: Right. But still, not making a profit for one year, a company that big, it's going to affect the bottom line. And what a lot of people are wondering about too is will it have to reduce its dividends.

ROMANS: And so far a lot of analysts are saying they don't think it will, that it'll try to defend it dividend because it wants to protect its shareholders who've already lost 26 percent of the value of their investment. So now, the payoff for that hit they've taken in the market would be try to save the dividend.

This is a very cash rich company, John. It's got a lot of money at its disposal, and when you look at costs of $16 million a day, that's -- that is -- I mean, I hate to use it's a drop in the bucket for what this company is -- is making on oil.

ROBERTS: You know, we have very deep pockets but there's also a lot of deep water with a lot of oil in it as well.

ROMANS: That's true.

ROBERTS: And, you know, the -- the absolute, complete cost of all of this may not be tolled for decades.

ROMANS: That's right.

ROBERTS: So we'll have to see.

All right, thanks. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Next up on the Most News in the Morning, Kiran back live from Grand Isle, Louisiana. She spoke with the head of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife about the impact that the spill is going to have on the region. Stay with us. We'll have that for you. It's 25 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning, live here in Grand Isle, Louisiana. And you're hooking at live pictures deep below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico as British Petroleum, BP, prepares to plug the leaking oil well.

Welcome back. Yet again, we're here and right before sunrise. And you can see behind me the Gulf of Mexico. Far out in a distance you can actually see oil rigs -- oil rigs still continuing to drill in this area, the site of so much devastation after that explosion 37 days ago.

But the strange thing is if you take a look around the docks and the beaches, you still see practically nothing. That is in itself a tragedy. Besides the news crews -- this is an area that is usually bustling with tourism this time of year. I mean, we're a few days out from Memorial Day weekend.

The -- the recreational fishing business is really the lifeblood for the unofficial kickoff of the summer but the beaches are bare, big signs saying beach closed. They're turning black in many cases, and the traps are empty. The -- the shrimping industry at a complete stand still now.

I had a chance to walk around yesterday when we arrived here with Myron Fischer. He's the director of Louisiana's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Research Laboratory here on Grand Isle. He's somebody who's watched these shores from day one and he says that BP's top kill plan, even if it works, will be too late.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: When we ride through Grand Isle today, on our way down here, I saw sign after sign that said beach closed, beach closed, beach closed, and clearly this is an area where you get a ton of people, thousands of people out here to fish.

MYRON FISCHER, LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES: Sure.

CHETRY: What is it supposed to look like in Grand Isle right now, the weekend before Memorial Day weekend?

FISCHER: I mean, it was supposed to be packed with tourists, packed with recreational fishermen, and our commercial shrimp season's supposed to be open. Well, those three things that's not going to happen. So local economy is beat up from the commercial fishery viewpoint and it's beat up from the recreational viewpoint.

CHETRY: The other question too is, I mean, just today the latest, I guess, estimates were that 20 percent of the -- of the fishing and shrimping industry has been shut down here. Twenty percent, is that -- is that what you think? FISCHER: Probably 20 percent of the area, but it's some of the richest areas. The oyster area east of the river is the state's richest oyster area. The Barataria basin that we're sitting on is the richest estuarine area in the gulf.

CHETRY: So even though it may -- it may look like, oh, it's only 20 percent, the bottom line is that's one -- some of the richest --

FISCHER: Oh, this is -- this is the areas.

CHETRY: -- richest areas.

FISCHER: The Plaquemines oyster areas and the Barataria estuarine area produce our shrimp and oysters.

CHETRY: As you're seeing things develop and unfold, and as you're getting these updates, what are your biggest concerns right now when it comes to the fisheries and the fishing industry?

FISCHER: Well, beyond a doubt, our largest concern is Louisiana's commercial fishery and we have a proud recreational fishery. And it's the future of it.

We -- the dispersants are unknown. We don't know what they're going to do to future generations of the fish. We don't know what it's going to do to breeding stock. We don't know what it's going to do to the larva. We don't know what it's going to so when those fish come in to estuarine areas to live and grow.

So, it's an unknown and there's no track record because there haven't been spills like this before. But we've scared.

CHETRY: I can imagine why you're scared. I mean, this is day 36 and they are talking about 6 million gallons of oil. What happens if this top kill effort that they are going to attempt this week doesn't work?

FISCHER: Day 36 and it's still coming. So, oil just hit our beaches three or four days ago. So, it took 30-something, 32 days for the oil to get here. So, when they stop it, I would assume the oil is going to continue coming for quite some time. We're looking at the oceanographic charts where the currents are, where the oil sits in the currents, that's what's very spooky for Louisiana for this area coast. We see a lot of oil offshore on the satellite imagery that is headed this way.

So, I think it's just the beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: You know, and, John, that's a very interesting thing that a lot of locals and a lot of local wildlife experts have talked about, is this delay. They know that it's coming and they know that it's on its way. But it hasn't shown up in large quantities in some areas.

He said, "Look, if this explosion happened 37 days ago and this is the oil we're seeing now, what's it going to be like in a month?" And that's why there are so many concerns and they are not necessarily putting so much of their hope on this top kill operation today. They feel that a lot of the damage may already be done. They just don't know to what extent.

ROBERTS: Yes. Even if they close off the flow of oil today, there's so much of it in the Gulf. No wonder they are so worried.

We're crossing the half hour now. That means it's time for this morning's top stories.

We're waiting for B.P.'s top kill operation to get underway. The oil giant will be attempting to inject about 25 tons of heavy mud into the spewing well at the bottom of the Gulf in order to try to seal it up.

There's new information about pressure spikes and leaks in the well that were apparently ignored by B.P. in the hour leading up to this catastrophe last month. We'll tell you more about that -- coming up.

Fishermen hired by B.P. to clean up the Gulf oil spill are reportedly getting sick after prolonged contact with oil and dispersant. "The L.A. Times" says some of the workers report severe headaches, dizziness, nausea, and difficulty breathing. One Louisiana congressman is asking federal health officials to set up mobile health clinics to treat them and he wants B.P. to pay for it all.

And President Obama is going to head to the Gulf Coast on Friday to see the spill firsthand. The White House says the president will travel from Chicago, where the first family will be sending the Memorial Day weekend. It's the president's second trip to the region since this crisis started, now, 37 days ago.

Let's go back to Grand Isle with Kiran.

Hi, Kiran.

CHETRY: Hey, John.

You know, later today, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are going to be looking into whether the feds could have prevented this spill. The hearing could end up being a report card on the crisis for government officials and also the president.

Our Jim Acosta has been tracking that side of the story from Washington this morning. He joins live now.

And, Jim, you know -- I mean, just from this vantage point, just so much anger and so much uncertainly. And they feel that the federal government, you know, has just delayed and delayed and delayed and actually, in some cases, made things worse for the locals.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That's why members of Congress are getting on top of this, Kiran, before it gets out of control -- or even more out of control. A House committee is holding a hearing today on whether the federal agency overseeing the oil industry is broken. But part of that hearing will also look at how the Obama administration is handling the oil spill. Some Democrats are running out of patience.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): What do you do when you have thousands of barrels of oil spewing into the Gulf and countless federal and state agencies scrambling to get a handle on the crisis? How about putting one person in charge?

SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: It's now time for the president to put the military in charge. Why the military? Somebody that has a command structure that can coordinate things among many different agencies, or if he decided to go with a civilian, somebody like General Colin Powell.

ACOSTA: Florida Democratic senator, Bill Nelson, is pushing the idea because he says all of B.P.'s failed attempts to seal the leak --

KEN SALAZAR, INTERIOR SECRETARY: We will keep our boot on their neck until the job gets done.

ACOSTA: -- are making the White House look weak at a critical time.

(on camera): Does it look like we're just fumbling around down there, do you think?

NELSON: The perception is that we're fumbling around. I am sure that B.P. wants to get this plugged as much as anybody, but it hadn't worked.

ACOSTA (voice-over): West Virginia Democratic Congressman Nick Rahall says the president needs to show a more "take charge attitude."

(on camera): Do you think it's been enough so far? I mean, would you have liked to have seen --

REP. NICK RAHALL (D), WEST VIRGINIA: I'd like to see more. Yes.

ACOSTA: Not enough so far?

RAHALL: Not enough so far. Yes, I'd like to see more.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out there is some frustration there.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Rahall is conducting hearings on a new scandal over at the federal agency in charge of regulating offshore drilling, the Minerals Management Service. In an inspector general's report charged that during the Bush administration, MMS inspectors had accepted gifts from the oil industry, and at least one inspector may have used drugs on the job. The report follows a separate probe conducted in late 2008 that found MMS regulators were having sex with oil industry officials.

A culture of corruption Interior Secretary Ken Salazar vowed to clean it up.

SALAZAR: It will be clear we will no longer tolerate those types of lapses at any level of government, from political appointees or career employees.

ACOSTA: What Congressman Rahall wants to know is whether that behavior continued right into the Obama administration.

RAHALL: We now have to find out whether continued ethical lapses occurred after those reforms were implemented.

ACOSTA (on camera): Whether they even listened to the secretary in the first place?

RAHALL: Exactly. That's what we have to dig in to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has put out a statement saying he has asked the inspector general inside that department to determine whether that misconduct is still going on at MMS today and part of the hearing will be looking at that.

And, Kiran, as you know, the interior secretary has talked about breaking up the MMS. But there are some in Congress who are concerned that even breaking it up won't solve the problem.

CHETRY: Yes. Still a lot of unanswered questions for sure on all of those fronts and the situation is still unfolding.

Jim Acosta in Washington for us this morning -- thanks.

And still to come on the Most News in the Morning: there's a push on to boycott B.P. and it continues to grow. But will it really have an impact on the oil giant? Allan Chernoff has a look at that story -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Looking at the live picture this morning from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. That's the broken up end of that damaged riser pipe there with a combination of oil and natural gas pouring out of it.

And we expect that later on this morning, B.P. is going to start that top kill process in which they are going to pump heavy drilling mud down into the actual drill hole in an attempt to choke off the flow of oil. They've been running diagnostic tests for the last few hours in preparation for this. They said that they want to wait until it's light out before they begin the procedure. A little bit risky because if things don't go according to plan, they could actually increase the flow of oil by damaging that blowout preventer.

It certainly is B.P.'s best hope for sealing off the Gulf oil leak at this moment, but the oil giant only gives that procedure a 60 percent to 70 percent chance at success.

Meantime, anger is growing, along with the amount of oil in the Gulf of Mexico and American consumers are taking action against B.P. for polluting the Gulf.

Our Allan Chernoff is here this morning with that part of the story.

They're talking about plans of a boycott here?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The boycott is under way. How widespread it is, well, that's debatable. But we know there are tens of thousands of Americans who are pledging to boycott B.P. They're disgusted with what's happening in the Gulf. But it's not so easy to get people to change their habits.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (voice-over): "Boycott B.P." is the rallying cry for those fed up with the mess in the Gulf. More than 100,000 people have joined Boycott B.P.'s Facebook page, including Patricia Jarozynski.

PATRICIA JAROZYNSKI, MOTORIST: I won't buy their gas anymore. You know, I won't patronize a company that's destroying our planet.

CHERNOFF: B.P.'s environmental catastrophe has Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, calling its first boycott against an energy company.

TYSON SLOCUM, DIRECTOR, PUBLIC CITIZEN: The boycott sends a clear message that we as American consumers are not going to tolerate corporate illegal activity.

CHERNOFF: There are more than 11,000 B.P. stations in the U.S. selling over 42 million gallons of gas per day. But B.P. doesn't own the stations. Independent franchisees are the owner.

(on camera): The truth is, boycotting B.P. isn't as easy as many activist may think. B.P. is one of the biggest companies in the planet with so many different businesses. So, even if you're not buying B.P. gasoline, you may be putting its Castrol motor oil into your vehicle. And that soda you're drinking today, well, the aluminum can, the aluminum may have come from ARCO Aluminum. And the road that you're driving on could have been paved with B.P. asphalt.

(voice-over): B.P. says it's working to make amends.

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, B.P.: I think this is clearly a major reputational issue for B.P. There's no doubt about it. And we are doing everything in our power to respond in the right way.

CHERNOFF: A gas distributor on Florida's gulf coast says business is down this week for B.P. stations by nearly a third. Many B.P. stations owners elsewhere tell CNN, business is just fine.

RAJ SINGH, B.P. FRANCHISEE: Business is excellent here. We do around 12,000 gallons every day.

CHERNOFF: And B.P., which generated sales of $241 billion last year, says it has felt no impact from a boycott effort.

Motorist Lisa Patterson says she favors a boycott, but her local B.P. is convenient.

LISA PATTERSON, MOTORIST: It's the closest station to my house. I'm extremely disappointed with B.P. and I think they're doing nearly enough.

CHERNOFF: Sentiments shared Eric Peterson.

ERIC PETERSON, MOTORIST: When I actually pulled up, I thought, oh, God, B.P., you know? But honestly, is this oil company any worse than any of them?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: It's one thing to be angry with B.P. about the oil spill, quite another to actually boycott. And among those who actually are boycotting, some say if they can't make a dent in B.P. sales, at least they can enjoy a moral victory by buying their gas elsewhere.

ROBERTS: You know, if you want to boycott a company like that, it's very difficult because of the ubiquitous nature of the products that it produces, as you alluded to.

CHERNOFF: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: And not only that, do we really know where the gasoline that's at a gas station comes from?

CHERNOFF: The truth is that very often what happen, the gas distributors who actually truck the stuff over to the gas stations, well, if they don't have enough B.P. gas, they'll take it from another company. And so, sometimes, that B.P. gas will be used at other gas stations. And distributors tell me that B.P. is going to be able to sell this stuff. Even if the boycott were to be widespread, they say said B.P. could easily sell that gasoline elsewhere.

ROBERTS: All right. Allan Chernoff this morning with that -- Allan, thanks so much.

Our coverage of the efforts to plug the leaking well in the Gulf continue in just a moment.

Also ahead, Bonnie Schneider in for Rob -- not Rob Schneider, he's an actor -- in for Rob Marciano this morning. She's going to have this morning's travel forecast right after the break.

Forty-four and a half minutes after the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Forty-seven minutes after the hour. We got a live picture from the ocean floor that broke an end of the riser pipe with natural gas and oil spewing out. As we anticipate, BP is going to start that so-called top kill operation to try to choke off the flow of oil, and we'll keep on monitoring that for you. We got the live pictures, and Kiran Chetry is in Grand Isle, Louisiana this morning where she's talking to officials about the environmental impact of things.

Word yet of another pipeline spill, another mess partly on BP's hands drastically cutting supply out of Alaska this morning. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline which is own by BP and other major oil firms was shut down during the spill yesterday. The pipeline operator says a power outage triggered a valve to open. Several thousand barrels of crude overflowed into a containment area. The state says some workers had to be evacuated, but no one was hurt, and at this point, the environmental impact does appear to be minimum.

Let's get a quick check on this morning's weather headlines. Our Bonnie Schneider is in the Weather Center in Atlanta for us today. What are we looking at, Bonnie?

SCHNEIDER: Good morning, John. We are looking at the heat across much of the northeast but not enough to heat this storm up. And I'm talking about the area of low pressure we've been tracking near the Carolinas. Now, it is bringing some winds and rain to the region. We're definitely that, but we're not seeing that looks like anything in terms of heavy rain at this time. So, here's a look at some of the downpours coming through most of the Carolinas including the outer banks through Charleston. But looking off to the west, we have much more damaging conditions with really powerful thunderstorms rolling through Wichita, Kansas.

Second day in a row for that and also some very strong storms also into Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. Looking at the country as a whole. Here's that low pressure area but check out what is ahead today for the northeast. Hot temperatures soaring into the mid-90s to New York City, but then, really powerful thunderstorms will roll on through and that will change everything. We're going to be seeing the heat build and then eventually cooling down as we go through the rest of the week. So, it will be hot today, but it won't last.

Let's take a look at some of the travel delays that are anticipated. Naturally, we are looking at it through the New York area in the afternoon, also Boston for thunderstorms. You can see also delays into Florida, Chicago, and out west as well. Not too bad, though. Just watch out for the storms later on this afternoon. They will be severe.

ROBERTS: Right. Looking forward to the heat in New York City today. Nothing like a sweltering hot New York. Bonnie, thanks. We'll check back with you in just a little while.

And right now, let's re-join Kiran who's along the Gulf shore this morning. Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: Good morning, John. Yes, and we're going to have the top stories just a couple of minutes away. More live from the Gulf Coast. Its ground zero this catastrophe. This is supposed to be the prime recreational fishing season as well as the commercial fish and shrimp season. No one is doing any of that. No one except for, of course, members of the media visiting this area, paralyzed by this oil leak.

At 7:15 Eastern, BP CEO will be here to answer questions about this morning's efforts to plug the leak. Again, a live look underground at the gushing oil well. It's a risky and untested move, but it may be the only option they have left.

Also, at 50 minutes after the hour, several hundred serious effects of Children's Tylenol and other over-the-counter medications for children. You may have noticed your shelves empty when it comes to buying liquid medication like Tylenol and Motrin for your kids. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us why what you're giving your kids may be so dangerous. We're going to get those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Again, live pictures this morning from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, the end of that oil riser. As gas and oil continue to spew out, anticipating that BP is going to start their so-called top kill operation pumping tons and tons and tons of heavy mud down into the drill hole sometime a little later on this morning.

Right now, though, we want to tell you about a new initiative from CNN.com. It's called home and away. The site honors U.S. and coalition troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan by looking back on these gallant warriors lives. Today, we're remembering Lance Corporal Dennis James Veater through the eyes of his sister and father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD VEATER, FATHER, LANCE CPL. DENNIS VEATER: My name is Donald Veater. I'm Dennis Veater's father. Dennis died the 9th of March 2007 in Al Anbar Province in Iraq in IED explosion, and this is his story.

Dennis always joked around. He said never took anything extremely seriously. I mean, we went out to Hawaii, and it was lousy weather and he gets out there and he holds his shorts up like a sumo wrestler and goes into the sumo wrestler act. Because everybody was just a little depressed it was gloomy, he had a way of starting things off.

KAREN VEATER WALKER, SISTER, LANCE CPL. DENNIS VEATER: My brother would just come in the room and break out into some silly song that he made up or some silly dance. Dennis loved to be the center of attention. Loved it. I mean, that's really how he shines. He was a kid at heart. You know, probably, when he's 40 years old, he would have probably acted the exact same way. Serious when he needed to be but always throwing a little slashes of excitement in there. Just a cupid as I see (ph).

WALKER: My kids didn't get to meet Dennis. And I think a lot about how Am I going to share with my children who he is. The best way I know to do it is I share with them in a song. You know, and it's kind of a silly song. He made it up when he was very young, maybe 4 or 5 years old and called fluffy pillow.

UNIDENTIFIED KID: So fluffy I can squeeze you tonight, squeeze you tonight.

WALKER: His philosophy, Dennis' mantra was don't let it bother you. You know, if I would be upset about something, he would say to me, what's the problem? Like, is this really going to affect your life in the long run? Let it go. It's not a big deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: CNN.com has put together an extraordinary presentation honoring our heroes of war. An exceptional interactive experience. You can check it out by visiting CNN.com/homeandaway, and you can pay tribute to those who gave their lives for your freedom. Three minutes now to the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)