Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
BP's Last Attempt to Stop Leak Fails; Economic Devastation of Gulf Coast Continues; Gulf Coast Crisis: Should the Military be in Charge of Oil Spill?; Mullen Wants Review on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; Tech Industry's Dirty Secret: Suicides Reported at Apple's China Plant; Turkey Responds To Israeli Attack; What's Happening to Wildlife?
Aired May 31, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, honoring the nation's fallen heroes. Live pictures this morning from Arlington National Cemetery this Memorial Day. Nowhere is the sacrifice of American service men and woman more evident, and today is also a great time to say thanks to those who are currently serving.
Good morning, it is Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st. I'm Jim Acosta in today for John Roberts.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans in for Kiran Chetry, and we'll say thank you.
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
ROMANS: Here are the morning's top stories, BP is moving on to plan "G." A new attempt to cap the oil eruption at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico after top kill failed miserably. There are doubts the oil company has a clue what it's doing at this point and fears that this latest attempt could actually make things worse. We're live along the Gulf Coast this morning.
ACOSTA: As America honors those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice serving our nation, we will talk live with one of the top U.S. commanders, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff about the challenges facing our young men and women on the frontlines.
ROMANS: It's a high stress jobs where dozens, maybe even hundreds of thousands of lives can be on the line. In a CNN exclusive, when the city is on edge, they have to keep their cool. Our Susan Candiotti talks with the NYPD bomb squad, including the officers who were called during the now intimate Times Square bomb scare.
ACOSTA: And wait until you see Susan on this story.
But first, all of the latest on the largest oil spill in U.S. history. There it is, still growing, 42 days and coming. BP dishing out more apologies, damage control, excuses, but still no results. The oil company says a new attempt to cap the leak will start soon after top kill did nothing to stop the relentless flow of oil into the Gulf.
Our David Mattingly is live in New Orleans. David, things still about the same as they were, what, the last 42 days, I guess?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Probably you could say that. The failure of the top kill means that BP is now moving back to a strategy to contain the oil, not stop it. The top kill was there plan to end the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico temporarily until they could drill a relief well.
But the failure of those plans means that BP is now going to a cap that they hope to put over the leaking pipe, that pipe we see where the plume of oil has been leaking constantly into the Gulf of Mexico since this disaster began.
They are now going to cut that pipe off and put a cap over it, and they hope to contain most, most of the oil that is leaking. So there will be some oil probably leaking into the Gulf of Mexico until August when they get that relief well finished. And that is something that was not making anyone happy here on the Gulf coast.
ACOSTA: Yes, it looks like the animation there looks like putting the cap back on toothpaste but it is already out of the tube. We heard that BP's CEO on how he is categorizing his company's handling of the spill. Let's listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: We've actually done quite a good job of containment in the offshore. There hasn't been a black tide. We've had small, impactful, from my personal perspective, devastating -- as far as I'm concerned, a cup of oil on the beach is a failure.
But we have done a good job of maintaining a vast majority offshore. And there's been some places where the defenses have been breached. That's tragic, but we're going to clean it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And David, it's interesting, Tony Hayward there saying that BP's done a good job. BP seems to have a lot of confidence they'll contain this spill. They've made adjustments, but how do you measure this? What is a good job in terms of containing this?
MATTINGLY: Saying that it's a good job is going to be an argument that's tough to win here in Louisiana. This state has seen dozens of miles of coastline affected by this.
What BP is talking about is that scenario that we haven't seen where massive areas of the Gulf coast have been hit by this thick oil. We have not seen that scenario. We have seen sheen coming ashore in Louisiana and in many places. We have seen patches of heavy crude also coming ashore in Louisiana.
You were seeing that the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward acknowledging that, saying that was tragic, but essentially saying it could have been a whole lot worse and we are doing, quote, "a good job" of keeping that worst-case scenario out at sea."
So a very tough argument to win with the people in Louisiana on who have been front lines of this, essentially in the cross hairs of this disaster since it began.
ACOSTA: And David, over the weekend the White House made it clear that this new procedure that they are talking about over the next 24 to 48 hours could result in 20 percent more oil spilling into the Gulf as a result of attempting that procedure. So I'm sure you'll be staying on top of it.
David Mattingly joining us live from New Orleans. Thanks, David.
ROMANS: And Jim, hundreds of people saying they can't wait until August. They are suffering now, their homes and jobs and health potentially all at risk. You can feel the anger and frustration at the biggest protest to date against BP over the weekend in New Orleans. Victims of the spill saying they are being abandoned again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: BP needs to be held accountable. America needs to stop treating Louisiana as the stepchildren of the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So if you drill, baby, drill, you'll spill, baby, spill, then you will kill, baby, kill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It needs to stop now. Now. No excuses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Some of those signs blaming the government saying regulate, baby, regulate.
Many people along the Gulf now looking to a higher power as they lose faith in the federal government. But not all are praying for BP to go away. Ironically, the company may be the only thing they have left when this is over. Carol Costello is live in grand isle, Louisiana. Good morning. Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
BP talks about containment and no black tide coming in. The beaches are closed here and people are losing money. We talked to one small business person lost $120,000. He can't survive that much longer.
Think about it. BP has spent hundreds of millions to clean it up and reimburse fishermen and still up and running and maybe still making money. I don't know. What I do know the anger is at an all- time high here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Parishioners came to Our Lady of Grand Isle Catholic Church to ask god for the strength to deal with what might come next, a black tide that could destroy the community.
It's been difficult for Father Michael Tran to offer comfort. The level of anger is so high he fears it may spiral out of control.
COSTELLO (on camera): You don't invoke BP's name in church?
FATHER MIKE TRAN, OUR LADY OF THE ISLE CHURCH: I try not to, yes.
COSTELLO: Because you don't want to incite people any more than they already are?
TRAN: Correct. They are frustrated and I don't want to make it worse.
COSTELLO (voice-over): But that intense anger belies the complicated relationship with BP and big oil. On one hand they are ready to throw the bums out, but on the other hand they need big oil to fuel the Gulf's economy.
According to a University of Florida study, oil and gas interests account for $124 billion a year, or 53 percent of the money generated in the Gulf region. It's one of the people that Meagan's Sno Balls stand say they are mad at BP, but not the whole oil industry, even though their business has melted away because of it.
TAMMY FORET, MANAGER, MEAGAN'S SNO BALLS: You work in the oil field or you are a trawler or fishermen. That's how they live down here. That's what we live off of. And that's pretty much the way of life.
COSTELLO: A way of life that is now threatened by BP, a partner many blame for failing to take care of this beautiful place so everyone can profit from its riches. Back at Grand Isle's Catholic Church, the partner's name BP may inflame, but that doesn't mean people aren't praying for them all the same.
COSTELLO (on camera): Your feelings about BP?
LAURA FAKIER, GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: We're a community that thrives on sea food but oil as well. And so we want it straightened out and want them to play by the rules and do it right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: "Play by the rules and do it right," that's all they want. There's a real sense among some people here if President Obama continues the six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling, it will begin to affect the oil industry and people within the oil industry will start to get laid off.
That too, Christine, will affect the economy here in Louisiana.
ROMANS: Carol Costello, thanks.
One of the chemicals BP is using to clean up the oil spill is banned in other countries. So what's being done to protect us from chemicals that could harm us in this situation? Watch "Toxic America," a special investigation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.
ACOSTA: New this morning, a showdown on the waters. Israelis attack a Turkish flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. Fighting broke out as peace activists on board tried to fight off commandos with axes and knives. More than ten people were killed and dozens were hurt. There's a state of alert across Israel.
CHARLIE ROSE: It's eight minutes past the hour.
(WEATHER BREAK)
CHARLIE ROSE: Indy 500, unbelievable, ending with a horrific crash, driver Mike Conway lucky to be alive.
ACOSTA: Let's go to the videotape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A wicked crash involving two cars at least.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: He hooked wheels with another driver, crashing and landing upside-down between the third and fourth turns. We shouldn't be laughing, this was serious.
ROMANS: He wasn't seriously hurt.
ACOSTA: Right. The car completely obliterated, and amazingly his worst injury a broken leg. This is when we chime in and say the agony of defeat. Meanwhile it was Dario Franchitti first when the checkered flag was waved, his second time winning it.
ROMANS: And check out another terrifying crash.
ACOSTA: Oh, my gosh.
ROMANS: This is a semi truck that jumps the median crashing on its side into oncoming traffic. It happened last week outside of Dallas.
ACOSTA: It seems like a smaller car cut off the 18-wheeler, causing the accident. Six vehicles were involved in the crash, and amazingly no one was seriously hurt. I don't know how that was possible given that footage there, unbelievable.
Well, moving on to other things. This Memorial Day marked by milestones. There are now more troops in Afghanistan than Iraq. And so what is the U.S. strategy? An important question. We'll talk to Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Today, Memorial Day, America salutes its fallen soldiers. And while it's a day of remembrance, it's also caught up in the mix of a sharpening political debate over the issue of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the BP oil spill.
Admiral Mike Mullen is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He joins us live from the Pentagon this morning.
Admiral, a good Memorial Day to you. Thanks for being with us.
ADM. MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Good morning, Jim. Good to be with you.
ACOSTA: And I wanted to start first with the BP oil spill. And I guess over the weekend you heard that the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Colin Powell, spoke on ABC's this week about what the military could potentially bring to the spill down in the Gulf. He obviously talked about the organizational capacity.
But isn't it true, Admiral, that the military also has some assets that are capable of cleaning up spills? The Coast Guard has ships that can literally suck the oil out of the ocean and separate that oil and put some of that oil, I guess on a ship and take it out of there. I guess what is your sense as to what the military's capacity is there, and is it possible that the military could take the command role?
MULLEN: Well, I think General Powell certainly was correct from a command and control standpoint and communication standpoint. We also have National Guards that could be called up in larger numbers. And in fact, we've got many, many Coast Guard ships that are out and other ships that are skimming the oil off the surface as we speak.
We participated in this since the incident occurred and we provided thousands, tens of thousands of feet of boom and we really are focused on giving support to the lead agency, which in this case is the Department of Homeland Security. And while there is a discussion right now, certainly as you indicated about what the military might be able to do. Any change in how we would do this would really be up to the president.
There are some limits in terms of skills that we have in order to do this. We've looked at the technical side of this. It's an enormously difficult challenge technically. The oil industry really has the technical expertise to go after this, and they lead specifically in areas that might be able to succeed in capping off this leak.
ACOSTA: So, this is under discussion, but it's up to the president to decide. I'm just curious, sir. Admiral, if this spill continues until August, don't you think it's fair to say that a lot of Americans may wish that the military had taken charge from the beginning?
MULLEN: Well, again, that's really for the president to decide. And from a technical standpoint, we looked inside the military right when this incident occurred and it really is the oil industry that has the technical capability. We have -- we have small mini submersible vehicles, but they don't -- they don't have the kind of capability that the industry has itself.
ACOSTA: The industry is ahead of the military in this respect is what you're saying?
MULLEN: Say again, sorry.
ACOSTA: The industry is ahead of the military in this respect is what you're saying from a technical aspect?
MULLEN: From a technical standpoint, absolutely.
ACOSTA: And let me ask you --
MULLEN: And we want to do all we can.
ACOSTA: OK. And let me ask you because you also spoke about the issue of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" over the weekend. You were asked about this action that was taken by the House late Friday to pass its version of the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And you had said that you wished that perhaps that the military had completed its review first before the Congress and president go ahead and act. But couldn't the military adapt and accelerate its plans if the president and the Congress decide to go ahead without this review being completed?
MULLEN: Well, when I testified in February, one of the things I pointed out was the importance of this review, which won't be complete until December of this year. And the reason that's important is because the views of those that would affect the most are men and women in uniform, as well as their families, need to be incorporated into any implementation. My preference would have been to see the legislation wait. That said, the language that's in the legislation, I'm comfortable with. And in particular it gives me the ability to certify that we're ready for implementation when the time comes, along with Secretary Defense Gates and the president.
ACOSTA: Yes.
Well, Admiral, we would like to talk to you further about, especially what's happening in Afghanistan right now on this Memorial Day. And just very quickly, is this country doing everything it can for the families of fallen soldiers? Just very quickly.
MULLEN: Well, this is a special day. I would ask Americans throughout the country to reach out and to assist in meeting the needs of these great young people that have sacrificed so much. Those in uniform and their families, they are the best I have ever seen.
ACOSTA: Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appreciate your time this morning, sir. And happy Memorial Day.
MULLEN: Thank you, Jim.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: All right. A lot of us love those Apple gadgets.
ACOSTA: Yes, absolutely.
ROMANS: But an iPad, an iPhone, they're not worth dying for.
ACOSTA: No.
ROMANS: So why are so many suicides being reported at the Chinese factory where they're made? What are the conditions there? What's Apple saying about this? It's got this squeaky clean image but there seems to be something happening at the huge campus where these things are made. We're "Minding Your Business."
It's 21 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Well, Dave Matthews Band there. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
More than a million Americans snatched up iPads when they first came out. I did not but I want one. Now, the iPad is hitting stores around the world this weekend. In Germany, lines snaked around corners and down the streets people were taking tickets to get in. OK, this is out of hand.
And check out this line in Italy. People there waiting so long that drinks were served. Reports say over 900,000 Europeans already preordered their tablets but many decided camping out in line was worth it. My goodness. Arrivederci to the iPad there.
ROMANS: I know, but listen, let me tell you.
ACOSTA: Don't laugh.
ROMANS: It's because some of the stuff is -- I mean, these are gadgets that you can attain, that you can afford them. And there's a lot of interesting things that you can do with them to make your life a little easier too.
You know, Apple with its squeaky clean hip image, but behind the scenes, are demand for these products, like the iPhone, this one, is seriously affecting lives in China. That's where they're made. Hundreds of thousands of workers subjected to long hours, cramped conditions turning out millions of these things. For example, in 2009, Apple sold 25 million iPhones. That's one iPhone sold every 1.26 seconds. It took the iPad just 28 days to sell a million of those. All of that helping Apple become the world's biggest technology brand, worth about $234 billion.
Microsoft, which was the king, now worth about $226 billion. Now we're able to get our hands on these relatively inexpensive products because they come from China. They are manufactured by contract manufacturers across the world, most specifically just north of Hong Kong where workers live, eat and sleep inside huge factory compounds.
The Foxconn complex which makes the iPhone occupies less than one square mile. It's home to more than 400,000 workers. Employees live eight to a room and spend most of their time on the assembly line. It is an entire civilization geared to making these little things, and they do it all for less than $300 a month. Tough conditions in pay and it's led to, many critics say, a rash of suicides. Ten suicides in the last five months with two other attempts. The company says it treats its employees well, adding there were personal reasons for those suicides. But it also recently announced a 20 percent raise in pay.
Foxconn, the manufacturer, also installed nets to catch anyone who might leap out of the window of a dormitory. Apple known for being socially conscious has launched its own investigation. Apple says it is working with Foxconn's senior management. Apple is convinced the company is taking this matter seriously.
But, Jim, it's something to think about when you look at the stuff.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ROMANS: I mean, things are made far across the world.
ACOSTA: Right.
ROMANS: There's a reason why you can afford it.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ROMANS: There's a reason why it's $99 at Wal-Mart.
ACOSTA: Yes. You know, everybody makes a big deal, Apple is the king of the tech world these days and we're all so proud of the fact that these amazing devices are put together in the United -- or not put together in the United States but invented in the United States, but they're not made here.
ROMANS: The brains of the engineers are in Cupertino, California.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ROMANS: And the wide, wide web of how, you know -- pardon I guess the technology pun --
ACOSTA: Right.
ROMANS: -- but how it all comes together. This is about as globalized as you can get in terms of an instrument.
ACOSTA: Wow.
ROMANS: It's interesting that with a squeaky, clean, green image of Apple, they're working very hard to say, we are investigating, we're monitoring this, and we expect the highest standards from places that make our products.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. Thanks, Christine.
And they're the finest of New York City's finest. Call them when lives are on the line when the threat is real. Ahead, a CNN exclusive. You're going to watch this. You will meet the NYPD bomb quad, including the team that was called in with the Times Square bomb plot. Our Susan Candiotti has that coming up.
Twenty-six minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: All right, it is 29 minutes after the hour. It is -- that means it's time for this morning's top stories. A lot to tell you about.
A jet heading to Mexico was denied entry in the U.S. airspace. A passenger on board arrested for an outstanding warrant. U.S. officials say the flight was diverted yesterday to Montreal. All of the passengers -- can you believe this, Christine -- had to be re- screened.
ROMANS: A day of remembrance in Arlington, Virginia. The cemetery opens to the public in about one hour. Several services on this Memorial Day including the wreath-laying ceremony on the Tomb of the Unknowns.
ACOSTA: And tensions boiling over this morning after an Israeli attack on an Armada aid headed to Gaza that ended in deadly violence. More than 10 people were killed and dozens injured. Atia Abawi is live in Jerusalem with breaking news.
Atia, Turkish officials are basically calling for an all hands- on-deck response to this morning's attack. This is potentially a destabilizing act that's happened in your part of the world, isn't that right?
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Jim, this is very big deal, a six-ship flotilla carrying humanitarian aid as well as activists on their way to the Palestinian territory of Gaza was stopped in a pre-dawn raid by Israeli forces. The Free Gaza Movement says the commandos jumped on board from helicopters and attacked unarmed civilians, and killed 10 people at least.
But when you talk to the Israeli forces they say that they did go to stop this flotilla of ships but that they were attacked first with knives and gunfire and they had to respond. So far confirmed 10 people dead, 10 activists dead, seven Israeli soldiers injured, two with serious injuries.
Right now, we're hearing two of out the six ships have made its way to an Israeli port called Ashdad (ph) where the activists will be processed and given a chance to actually be deported back to their home countries or be detained here in Israel. Jim. ACOSTA: And so what happens next, Atia? What happens next to this? I mean, obviously that's what everybody -- I mean we've seen these tensions escalate before. It's one act that sort of comes from nowhere and then we go right back to where we were a couple of summers ago.
ABAWI: Absolutely, we're waiting to hear what's going to happen next. We're hearing from the Israeli government. We're also hearing from the Palestinian government. Israel says that this wasn't an act of humanitarian aid, this was an act of radical activism and they say many of these people have ties to terrorist organizations.
But of course, the free Gaza movement and the activists on board say that it is not the case. What they are trying to do is bring humanitarian aid straight to Gaza rather than going through Israeli authorities. We're hearing from the Palestinian government who obviously condemn this action.
But we're also hearing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime minister, who is I Canada is getting up to date information. He is expected to go to the U.S. and meet with President Obama on an already scheduled event. But we are hearing rumors that he may have to cut that trip short and come back to Israel and deal with the situation. We're just trying to see right how this will escalate further.
Hearing protests in Turkey right now because many of these ships were from Turkey as well. So it's not going well right now, especially in the international community, especially in Turkey.
ACOSTA: Atia Abawi, very important to mention that Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff was just over in Israeli working very hard to get Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit the White House and meet with the president again after the last visit didn't go well. So we'll have you stay on top of that for us on your end of things.
Atia Abawi, live in Jerusalem for us this morning. Thanks a lot.
ROMANS: All right, Jim. Now to the health hazards that people are facing in the Gulf. Already nine people cleaning up the oil have become so sick they had to go to hospital. Some are blaming the chemical dispersants used to break up the oil, but the CEO of BP says the problem stems from something else.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: I'm sure they are genuinely ill, but whether it has anything to do with dispersants or whether it was food poisoning or some other reason for them being ill, you know, food poisoning is a big issue when you have a concentration of this number of people in temporary camps, temporary accommodation, it's something we have to be very, very mindful of. It's one of the big issues of keeping the army operating. You know, Army march when they (inaudible).
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. What are the symptoms, Elizabeth, did the workers complained of and are they the same symptoms you get from something like food poisoning?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, the workers are experiencing a variety of symptoms, but here are some of the big ones, shortness of breath, terrible headaches, dizziness and irritated nose and nose bleeds.
And so I ran these symptoms by Dr. Michael Osterhom (ph). He is one of the nation's foremost experts on food-borne illness. He's a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. And he says, "Elizabeth, this does not sound like food-borne illness to me." He said "I don't know what's making these men sick but it sounds much more respiratory, doesn't sound like it's coming from the food." Christine.
ROMANS: Do we know if the oil or the dispersants or some combination of them are indeed harmful?
COHEN: You know, here's what we do know. The environmental protection, this is what they have to say about oil. They say oil can give off toxic vapors. Now, as far as these dispersants go, we took a look at the label of the dispersants from the company that actually makes it. And what they say very clearly is avoid breathing the vapor. It's very clear that they say try not to breathe it in.
Now, a temporary restraining order was filed just yesterday from the sole worker who is still in the hospital. And that restraining order requests that masks be used. The restraining order says BP should be restrained from spraying these dispersants until the give the workers masks. BP says the workers don't need masks that their monitoring shows that the air quality is just fine.
ROMANS: It's almost like juggling flaming chain saws, that at some point trying to keep it all in the area because some say that all of those dispersants from the beginning are what have kept so much more oil off of the coast where you would be touching oil or seeing more oil and oil vapors there.
But we've seen these pictures of the workers wearing the protective gear. But I see a lot of people not wearing masks. You know, it looks like they are trying to protect their feet, their arms and hands, but not necessarily what they are breathing in.
COHEN: That's right. BP was very clear about this. They said we gave protective gear for the workers' bodies. We gave them steel toe shoes and we gave them Tybex (ph) suits, which are these paper suits they are supposed to wear but they have said over and over again, we're monitoring the air quality and it looks fine. It is not dangerous. They do not need masks.
Just yesterday BP said if a worker wants to wear a mask, they can. If they know how to do it safely. But I'll tell you, I talked to some fishermen who say that they have wanted to wear masks, that they brought in their own masks and that BP has told them, "do not wear those masks, you'll lose your job." BP denies that they ever said this.
ROMANS: We'll talk to you again soon. Either one of those chemicals that BP is using is banned in other countries. So if they're too dangerous abroad, why are we using them here. Get the answers. Live "Toxic America," a two-night special investigation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Jim.
ACOSTA: And now Christine, an AMERICAN MORNING exclusive, something you won't see anywhere else. New York's Police force is made of about 34,500 men and women all putting their lives on the line to protect one of the busiest cities in the world.
A select few make up the city's bomb squad. And our Susan Candiotti has been given unprecedented access to talk with them, including those who were first called in during the Times Square bomb scare.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): That's Ray. That's Pat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's me.
CANDIOTTI: That's you.
(voice-over): A month after it happened, the video is still riveting of that now unforgettable night in Times Square.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There we go. This is us trying to get the gun lock into our contact vehicle. It's extremely heavy. At that point we didn't know how much explosives was actually in there.
CANDIOTTI: This is the NYPD bomb squad, these technicians spend at least 10 hours painstakingly picking apart a bungled bomb maker's handy work. A team that included veteran bomb tech, Raymond Clair, Detective Patrick Lascala, Sgt. John Ryan and Detective Greg Abate (ph).
They have heard some loud popping and bangs inside the vehicle. They have seen some smoke coming from the vehicle. And that's basically all we had to go on at that point.
CANDIOTTI: Detective Lascala operated the robot that quickly moved in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can (inaudible) different weapons off of it. And we drill off the windows off the vehicle and we got a good look inside.
CANDIOTTI: Protected by a bomb suit, Detective Clair was the first who stuck his hands inside of suspect Faisal Shahzad's SUV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went around the driver's side and I removed the windbreaker. And then I could see more -- there was definitely a gas container, two gas containers, and I could see wires and what I believed to be a clock. I notified John, the sergeant, that I believe that we had a bomb in the truck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He really didn't stand back and say, holy cow, this is a bomb, it could blow up any second.
CANDIOTTI: After 13 years as a bomb tech, Detective Clair admitted his eyes opened wider.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was the first time that I went down to the vehicle and saw box and wires and gas and propane and I identified it as a bomb. Had to look twice.
CANDIOTTI: The won't talk about the accused Times Square bomber, but there's an underlying determination to stop anyone who wants to do harm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people are bad people, they've come to my city to try to harm innocent people and I'm going to stop them.
CANDIOTTI: Stopping them is what the bomb squad lives and breathes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get juice up every time that call comes. I always get juiced up and ready to go.
CANDIOTTI: Tomorrow a more normal day, on call and on the run. Do you think those bomb suits are easy to move around in? Think twice.
(on camera): I don't see how you possibly breath here.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Talk about a tease, Susan in a bomb squad suit.
ROMANS: Would you let Susan diffuse your bomb? I'm not sure. I'd rather report on the bomb diffusion.
ACOSTA: She knows all about the hurt locker and then some.
Tomorrow part two of Susan's report, we follow the officers who responded in Times Square for a day to see the job up close and personal. It's a day in the life of an NYPD bomb squad team, tomorrow. Right here on the most news in the morning. Looking forward to that.
ROMANS: Very cool.
All right. Beaches left empty across the Gulf throughout the holiday weekend as the oil keeps flowing. Boat captains, fishermen, local businesses, all left waiting for an end to thus crisis. We're talking live with the president of the Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. That's up next. It's 20 minutes to the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROMANS: Day 42 of the oil spill in the Gulf and BP's top kill plan a failure. And the next plan on deck could actually increase the flow while trying to contain the spill. It could still be weeks, even months before the oil stops flowing completely.
And who knows how long before the mess is cleaned up and what still has to come ashore. I'm joined now by Charlotte Randolph, the president of Lafourche Parish in Louisiana. Thank you so much for joining us.
This is just such a slow motion crash watching here. 42 days. I mean, the very beginning we were told that this massive oil rig just disappeared into the ocean and that it didn't look as though it was leaking and suddenly now, 42 days later, we realize this is a humanitarian and environmental disaster.
Tell me, you walked with the president this weekend. You talked to him. You were with him while he was surveying this damage. What did you tell him?
CHARLOTTE RANDOLPH, LAFOURCHE, LOUISIANA PARISH PRESIDENT: Well, good morning, Christine.
First, let me acknowledge this Memorial Day. I think it's important that we acknowledge all the people who have died for our country. We had a good talk on Friday. He was very gracious to come to the Gulf coast and we had the opportunity to discuss some issues that are on my mind and the minds of many people here.
We prepare for the worst-case scenario when it comes to disasters. So long-term with this, we've always been looking toward the relief wells providing some relief in this situation, hoping that the short term, this top kill and other issues and other projects will work. But we always prepare for the long term.
ROMANS: Now you disagree with the president on a couple of things, you disagree with him on some of the moratorium on some of the drilling there in the Gulf. I mean, you're seeing such an economic impact, you disagree with him on some of the things he's doing with the oil industry?
RANDOLPH: That's correct. We've had a happy co-existence here since oil was first discovered with fishing and the oil industry. We are facing a catastrophe with our fishing industry and we're seeing the economic impact that the oil is having on the tourism in the area.
My concern is that the president talked about a suspension of drilling in deep water here in south Louisiana, that will be the economic blow that will kill us. And I know many people across the country are wondering how we can defend the oil industry while oil is washing up on our beaches. But for many, many years this hasn't happened and we feel that this reaction is perhaps too strong, that some of these rigs will take advantage of their contracts and clauses in their contracts and perhaps move to other countries to explore for oil and gas. And then sell it back to the United States at a higher price. We will lose our economy here, and Americans will feel it.
ROMANS: Yes. And you'll lose some of those jobs. That's what you must be concerned about.
The president -- you said the president -- you had a frank sharing of views, your point of view, his point of view much different. So tell me -- tell me about how -- how that went and what he said.
RANDOLPH: He knew that I was going to address it because this is the heart of oil and gas industry. He's concerned that Americans are seeing the images on television and seeing the environmental aspect of this and -- and knowing that they empathize with us that our wetlands are being threatened, that our seafood is being threatened by the oil that's coming ashore. He -- he understands all the issues that surround this, but he feels that most Americans are more concerned about the ecological and environmental damage that's happening right now.
I implored him to reconsider to -- he assured me he would send in an economic team to assess this. But, at the same time, we disagreed on -- on suspending or not suspending the -- the drilling in the Gulf.
ROMANS: You know, and Charlotte Randolph, there's one thing that, you know, we're coming up on what our weather, you know, our weather team and Rob Marciano say could be a brisk hurricane season, just at a time when we're -- we're trying to come to grips with what kind of impact this is going to have on you.
You -- I mean, look, you -- you are -- you are used to Mother Nature throwing you a curveball. This is a manmade disaster that could come just before Mother Nature rears her ugly head again. Are you concerned at all about what -- what's in store for you over the next few months when you put those two things together?
RANDOLPH: We are -- we are always concerned about hurricane season and here we've weathered four hurricanes where Katrina was the -- the most notorious. We actually were more decimated by Gustav and Ike two years ago.
ROMANS: Right.
RANDOLPH: So we're -- we're certainly aware of what hurricanes can do. We don't know what they can do when oil is mixed in. But we are prepared and we feel that -- that whatever happens, we'll address it.
But we're more concerned about the economic disaster right now.
ROMANS: Right. RANDOLPH: When -- when there was a coal mine explosion, we were very concerned about the people who died there, and, not to compare tragedies, but we didn't shut down the -- the mining industry at that time to discover what went wrong.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks so much for your point of view, Charlotte Randolph, president of LaFourche Parish there in Louisiana who got a chance to speak to the president. Like most people don't get a chance to walk with the president and tell him exactly what they think --
ACOSTA: That's right.
ROMANS: -- and -- and disagree with him publicly.
ACOSTA: That's right. Well, he needs to hear all sides, not just the folks telling him what he wants to hear.
ROMANS: Sure.
ACOSTA: So hat's off to her.
It is 7:47. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in Atlanta for us this morning. Looks like a pretty nice Memorial Day, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, especially for folks who live on the East Coast. It will be warmer than average and not bad a day to be outside.
It is the beginning of hurricane season tomorrow, but for the Atlantic basin (ph) two weeks ago we started the Eastern Pacific basin, and, sure enough, Agatha, our first tropical storm in that basin, slammed into Central America. Here's some of the pictures coming out of El Salvador, just devastating amounts of rain.
The wind was not the issue. But in some cases over a foot and a half of rainfall, so you better believe the flash flooding, water rescues. Ninety-nine fatalities, unfortunately, with this and still people missing, 140 landslides and counting. And there you see the roadways obviously torn up as well.
Here's what's left over, still kind of brewing over Central America, so more in the way of heavy rains expected today. Some of this energy may get into the Western Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico. Likely, that doesn't happen, but just to let you know, in June, this is -- these are the favored areas of seeing tropical development, so clearly not what folks along the Mississippi coastline want to hear or the Mississippi delta want to hear. We'll talk about that in the coming days.
Meanwhile, 80s across much of the still beautiful beaches across parts of the panhandle of Florida, Mississippi and Alabama; 60s and 70s right up to about parts of the Carolinas. We do run into a little bit of rainfall across the Ohio River Valley, Chicago chance of some showers today with a high of 77 degrees. But look at D.C., 91; 85 degrees, a gorgeous day in New York City for Memorial Day services or a trip to the beach. It will be 95, meanwhile, if you're celebrating Memorial Day in Las Vegas.
Jim, Christine, back to you.
ACOSTA: I was doing my coffee run right before the show and it is absolutely magnificent outside in New York and I hope it's that way for everybody across the country. But, as you say, it's really nice here today in the northeast.
MARCIANO: Enjoy it, guys.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.
ACOSTA: Thanks, Rob. Appreciate it.
This morning's top stories just minutes away, including on the heels of yet another failure, BP promising to try again soon, but the plan may risk making the oil spill an even bigger catastrophe, if you can believe that. We are live along the Gulf.
ROMANS: And close to a decade now in Afghanistan, now over 1,000 dead and on the brink of another intense battle. Is the military rethinking its strategy there again?
We're live at the Pentagon.
ACOSTA: And on this Memorial Day, we remember the husbands and fathers who never came home. A woman who has dedicated her life to helping her -- other war widows or fellow war widows. That is coming up at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
It's being called the worst environmental disaster this country has ever seen. Since the oil spill started, wildlife officials have watched helplessly as marine life is caught in the middle, hundreds of dead turtles, fish, birds and more than two dozen dolphins have washed ashore on the Gulf Coast.
Reynolds Wolf has been watching all of this and following experts as they try desperately to stave off more damage in an already shaky ecosystem. Good morning, Reynolds.
You went to the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans this weekend. What did you see there?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we saw three amazing turtles. There are two Kemp's ridley turtles. They are endangered, beautiful animals. They're a greenish color with a little bit of a tinge of white. Beautiful. Just remarkable animals. They are federally protected. And the other was a loggerhead, a somewhat larger turtle. But they've all been cleaned. They're all doing well. Hoping to see, again, and continue this -- this great path of recovery and then, possibly, they'll be re-released back in the wild.
ACOSTA: And we've heard that scientists are concerned about the impact these giant underwater plumes could have on marine life. What are you hearing from the people you've spoken with?
WOLF: Oh, essentially the same thing. I mean, you have to remember, when it comes to these turtles and it comes to some of the other animals, like the brown pelican, these are not surface feeders. These animals actually dive within the -- the Gulf to -- to find their prey, to grab it, to eat it, and if they have to dive into some of these plumes, obviously they're going to be eating contaminated food.
Contaminated food makes, of course, sick animals. Sick animals, of course, tend to die. So it kind of has a cumulative effect, to say the very least.
One of the big problems that we also this time of the year, that when it comes -- not the turtles but the brown pelicans. The brown pelicans, it's their nesting season. So you have a lot of females that have clutches of eggs. The eggs are hatching and it's imperative for them to build a -- to safely hunt, to get fish, to bring it back and of course to -- to help feed the young, and with this oil sick and of course with the plumes underwater, it makes matters very difficult.
ACOSTA: And -- and Reynolds, we're talking about in the next 24 to 48 hours, a new procedure being used to try to cap that oil spill and the White House is saying 20 percent more oil could leak out of this catastrophe as a result and that this could go on until August. And so what -- I mean, what do those wildlife experts think when they hear all of that?
WOLF: Well, it -- it certainly isn't -- isn't good at all. And you have too remember too that, unfortunately -- pardon me -- the oil slick is at the mercy of the waves and the wind. And, of course, with -- many of the animals, especially some of the brown pelicans that you have near the -- the Chandelier Islands, not far from the Louisiana coast, a lot of the currents, it began -- you see the spread, that this oil continue to spread out and some of the currents pick it up and pass it along to some of these environmentally sensitive areas.
It's not just the grasses but of course the animals that we've been talking about that are going to be affected by it. Also, the -- the primary food source for the dolphins, for the turtles, for the -- the birds. It -- it all has a chain effect, a chain reaction, if you will, and the entire length of that chain, everything is negative in terms of relation to the oil.
ACOSTA: Exactly. We're all linked. That's -- that's the message.
Reynolds Wolf live in New Orleans for us this morning.
WOLF: Absolutely. ACOSTA: Thanks so much, Reynolds. Appreciate it.
And one of the chemicals BP is using -- did you know this? We did know this, but it bears repeating, it is banned in other countries. So if they're too dangerous abroad, why on earth are we using them here?
Get the answers. Watch "TOXIC AMERICA", a two-night special investigation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That is Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 P.M. Eastern.
ROMANS: Top stories are coming your way in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
