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American Morning
Van der Sloot Confesses to Murder; Parasailing Over Oil Slick: Bird's-Eye View of Black Tide; Stopping the Flow of Oil: Can James Cameron Help Solve Disaster?; Apple's New iPhone; End of the Road for Hummer; Wildlife At Risk in Florida; Oil Spill May Affect Tuesday's Primaries; Fifty Years and Out
Aired June 08, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, June 8th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us. I'm John Roberts. A lot to tell you about today, so let's get right to it. This is what's coming your way in the next 15 minutes.
Breaking news this morning, a murder confession. Peruvian authorities tell CNN the long-time suspect in Natalee Holloway's 2005 disappearance admits now to killing a young woman in his hotel room. We're live in Peru today with new details of Joran van der Sloot's confession.
CHETRY: President Obama talking tough, bluntly defending his response to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers so I know whose ass to kick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And there was action to go with these words. An about face on oil drilling and a giant loophole for big oil closed. All the new developments ahead.
ROBERTS: And he's a movie director by trade but James Cameron is also a deep sea explorer and offering his help to find a solution to the oil spill disaster in the gulf. The question is, are BP and the government agencies in charge of the cleanup even listening?
And the amFIX blog is up and running for you this morning. Join the live conversation going on right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.
CHETRY: And we start this morning with breaking news, a confession in a high profile killing. In just a few hours, 24-year- old Dutchman Joran van der Sloot will be formally charged with murder. Late last night, Peruvian authorities tell CNN that the suspect in Natalee Holloway's disappearance confess to killing a 21-year-old woman in his hotel room in Peru. This morning, we're tapping into the global resources of CNN.
Our Rafael Romo joins us now on the phone from Lima.
Rafael, just bring us up to date. What are you learning about the circumstances surrounding his confession?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (via telephone): Kiran, Peruvian officials are telling us that it was a very dramatic confession, that Joran van der Sloot was crying when he confessed to the murder and that his words were, "I didn't want to do it." The girl intruded into my private life and that's when he started crying. Apparently the way it happened is his anger exploded and he broke Stephany Flores' neck after she became a little too curious. She grabbed his laptop without his permission and found that he was involved in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. He was extremely upset and that's the moment when he lost control and started attacking the girl.
Joran van der Sloot this morning is at the criminal investigations building here in Lima. He is in a single cell where he's getting three hot meals. Later today, he is expected to appear before a judge and he will be formally charged in the murder of 21- year-old Stephany Flores. Another court date for a preliminary hearing will be set. Also today, there will be a -- what they call here a reconstruction of the crime, a reenactment if you will, where he's going to be taken back to the hotel and he will tell investigators exactly how it happened. He may get a sentence of anywhere from 15 to 35 years, according to Peruvian law. But the fact that he fled is definitely not going to help him, Kiran. So that's the latest, a very dramatic confession here in Lima, Peru.
CHETRY: And again, you said 15 to 35 years. Any chance that it would be on the lesser side because of the confession, or does that matter in Peruvian law?
ROMO: Well, I was asking a criminal attorney here in Peru and this is -- the fact that he confessed is probably going to help him a little bit. The judge will be more lenient because of the confession. But in any case there are many aggravating factors, the way she was killed was a very violent murder. The fact that he fled, all of that is going to be taken into account. So it is a very difficult to tell at this point. But it sounds like he's going to be more inclined, the judge, towards the higher end of the maximum sentence as opposed to the 15-year minimum, Kiran.
CHETRY: Very interesting. Rafael Romo for us on the phone this morning from Lima, Peru. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Critics said that it was time for the president to get angry and they got their wish.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: I was down there a month ago before most of these talking heads were even paying attention to the gulf. A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there standing in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this would be. And I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers so I know whose ass to kick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: As oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico, that is President Obama uncensored saying he wants to do more than keep his boot on their necks. In an interview with NBC, he tried to turn the perception that he has not been aggressive enough.
Well, it's now day 50 of this disaster and here are the latest developments for you. Pools of oil sitting off the Florida panhandle. To the west, waves of it are washing ashore, staining and suffocating birds and other wildlife in Louisiana this morning. The president also pulling an about face saying that he will move to quickly reopen offshore drilling in shallow waters. Many Gulf Coast residents and political officials say the president didn't think about the hundreds of people who earn paychecks on those rigs.
The White House also agreeing now to go along with the plan to make BP pay for the entire tab for this mess, lifting the cap on their liability, which is now $75 million, a virtual drop in the bucket, which ironically is what BP's CEO once thought about this spill.
Jim Acosta is live along the Florida panhandle for us this morning. He's in Destin.
And, Jim, you managed to get a bird's-eye view of that oil slick.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We did, John. And Florida officials are breathing a little easier this morning that what happened in Louisiana, what's happening in Louisiana has not happened here yet. And we also found reason for hope. We went five miles out into the Gulf of Mexico and 30 miles down those coastline, not just to check out conditions right on the water, but from up in the air.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): As soon as tar balls starting coming ashore on the beaches of Pensacola, people on the Florida panhandle feared wave after wave of oil would wash ashore, but that didn't happen. Which is why Pensacola's mayor hopes the tide is turning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The trend looks better every day. Every one of us needs to send that message out out that, yes, Pensacola is open for business now.
ACOSTA: To get a look for ourselves, we hired Chris Hoy, a former oil boat captain to take us out on the gulf.
(on camera): If we ran across oil, you're going to know it? CAPT. CHRIS HOY, FLAMINGO PARASAIL COMPANY: Right. I mean, if we run across the sheen or whatever, I'd be able to see it and smell it.
OK.
ACOSTA: All right.
(voice-over): But we didn't just check out the conditions on the water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on to the blue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on to the blue.
ACOSTA (on camera): Got it.
(voice-over): Captain Hoy also takes tourists out for parasail rides.
(on camera): There is a point to all of this and that's to see what we can find 500 feet above the gulf. Here we go.
Looks like blue skies, blue water. All around me just incredible. Right now, I'm not seeing any bands of oil on the gulf which is good news.
(voice-over): But a few moments later, I spot what could be some light oil sheens. The only way to know for sure is to get back to the surface.
(on camera): I saw what could have been bands of oil or sheens of oil, but it's not really clear.
(voice-over): We pull into a spot that could be a light sheen.
(on camera): Do you think it's got a little bit in it?
HOY: Yes, a little bit of oil in it.
ACOSTA: I mean, this tiny, tiny little dots, they're reflecting in the sun, right?
HOY: Correct. And so you can see a little better here --
ACOSTA: Right.
HOY: But that's not from the boat for sure.
ACOSTA: Yes.
HOY: We're running gasoline in this boat. I don't smell anything.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Captain Hoy is encouraged that we only found traces of oil, not massive amounts of crude. HOY: Well, it's not here yet, so they can keep on coming on vacation.
ACOSTA: But these days vacation plans are being scrapped.
(on camera): What's it been like?
JENNA LIPSCOMB, BOAT OWNER, FLAMINGO PARASAIL COMPANY: It's -- we're significantly down. Our tourism has dropped. I would estimate 40 to 50 percent.
ACOSTA (voice-over): And the parasail boat's owner, Jenna Lipscomb, says BP isn't making her life any easier. She filed her claim with the company three weeks ago and hasn't seen a dime.
LIPSCOMB: Meanwhile, my crew isn't being paid. They have rent obligations. My mortgage is late.
ACOSTA (on camera): So you're saying this is taking too long.
LIPSCOMB: It's taking too long.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Even though we found reason to hope out on the water, Captain Hoy worries more oil is somewhere out on the horizon.
HOY: You could never be too cautious with something like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, Florida officials insist the beaches are safe to use. The water is safe to swim in. And an encouraging sign developed yesterday, John. Federal authorities reopened a previously closed stretch of 340 square miles of ocean off the Gulf of Mexico east of Destin. So the big question this morning is how long all of this is going to hold, John.
ROBERTS: Good news, but maybe temporary, Jim, because as you know all too well, consider that the oil just keeps swirling around.
Jim Acosta for us in Destin this morning. Jim, thanks.
Coming up in about five minutes' time, to the Titanic and beyond. We're going to talk with director James Cameron about deep sea exploration and his ideas to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.
CHETRY: They should listen to him. He has a lot of experience in that. We'll see if he offers any of it to these experts.
Well, meanwhile, other stories new this morning. She's been a fixture in the front row of the White House daily briefing for decades. But Monday, the seat normally occupied by Helen Thomas was empty. Thomas' sudden retirement comes on the heels of her controversial remarks about Israel that went viral on the Internet. The 89-year-old said Israel, should in her own words, "get the hell out of Palestine." Thomas later said that she regretted the comment. ROBERTS: And a huge natural gas pipeline explosion in Texas. The blast killed one person and injured at least five others. The flames so intense that they were visible from eight miles away. Officials say crews were working on an underground pipeline when it somehow ruptured.
CHETRY: Well, right now, we get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Jacqui Jeras in the extreme weather center. Looks like much of the Midwest and some of the south looking at another day of showers and thunderstorms.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes, it's starting that way out of the gate this morning for parts of the Midwest and really wicked weather moving across the plain states at this hour. We've got a sliver of a severe thunderstorm watch to the left just to the west of the Kansas City area. This line has a history of producing some strong gusty winds and downpours as much as two inches per hour. So we do expect to see some flooding in this area across parts of Iowa and northern Missouri. We think that complex is going to hold this cell together and push towards the Ohio Valley later on today. And on the south side of the system, just hot and sticky conditions. Heat advisory in New Orleans today, feeling like 105 to 110 degrees. Hot stuff (ph) in the summer time.
ROBERTS: Sure, but it's a dry heat.
Thanks, Jacqui.
JERAS: It's not fair.
ROBERTS: Still to come on the Most News in the Morning, we talk to James Cameron about his efforts to help cap the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. It's 11 minutes after the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 14 minutes after the hour now. BP says that it's capturing more oil from the blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, where the economic and environmental damage is certainly spreading.
CHETRY: And James Cameron is an Oscar-winning director but he also has decades of real-life experience as a deep sea explorer and has gathered a team of experts in government officials to come up with a solution. He's offering up his ideas to end the disaster.
Jason Carroll spoke with Cameron. He's in our L.A. bureau this morning. So does he think could work here, Jason?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are a couple of things here, Kiran, to go over. Basically, Cameron was not only able to come up with this task force, this team of experts, but they were also able to come up with something tangible, a report. A report that's now in the government's hand that has specific recommendations about how to handle this oil spill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CARROLL (voice-over): The world watches as oil continues spewing from BP's damaged pipe. The massive spill spreading throughout the gulf, coating marine life, choking the financial livelihood of fishermen.
JAMES CAMERON, DIRECTOR: Anybody who loves the ocean as I do has got to have -- has got to be touched, you know, heartbroken by what's happening down there.
CARROLL: Miles away, in Malibu, California, Director James Cameron watches from a unique perspective.
NEYTIRI, AVATAR CHARACTER: Fly!
JAKE SULLY, AVATAR CHARACTER: Fly.
CARROLL: While noted for creating Avatar's fantasy world -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iceberg, right ahead!
CARROLL: -- and sinking the Titanic -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.
CARROLL: -- he's also known in the real world for his deep sea exploration, his work with scientists and robotic subs documented at staggering depths.
CAMERON: We're typically two or three times as deep as that well is. You know, we've (INAUDIBLE) 5,000 feet on the way by (ph).
CARROLL: Cameron put his experience to work, convincing experts to meet at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. last week. Among those attending, oceanographers and representatives from the White House and Coast Guard.
CAMERON: I said, look, no such thing as a bad idea. Let's just get their ideas up on the white board.
CARROLL: Cameron has been quoted as criticizing BP's handling of the spill at the technology conference.
CAMERON: Those morons don't know what they're doing.
CARROLL (on camera): What happened with that?
CAMERON: Oh, it was taken out of context. I was starting a - a story in two parts. I said, where I started was, I looked at this like everybody did, like these morons don't know what they're doing. Then I went on to explain that - that when we got into it, when we the team got into it, got thoroughly prepped and, you know, dug into it layer by layer, we realized that it's much more complex.
CARROLL: Could you give me just a couple of suggestions what - what the team came up with? CAMERON: There should be a type of cap that could be installed with a valve that can throttle the flow, manage the pressure, get some mud down there and get this thing stopped way down, 13,000 feet down in the - in the formation.
CARROLL (voice-over): The conclusions detailed in a report released to several government agencies, recommendations including how to stop the oil at the source and encouraging the government to independently monitor the site instead of relying on BP's cameras.
CARROLL (on camera): What do you think is the next step?
CAMERON: Ideally for us, the next step would be that the - that the government agencies review our report and if they see any value there whatsoever, they put us in direct contact with - with BP.
CARROLL (voice-over): Cameron says he tried to meet with BP before the EPA meeting.
CARROLL (on camera): Are you disappointed that - that BP in some was said we want to handle this in our own way?
CAMERON: Well, look, I - I think that what all of us who were at that meeting feel is that it would be great if we could have some direct communication with the - with the inner - the inner working group at BP.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And some other recommendations from that report, more transparency from BP's operation. Also, this idea of developing a rapid response team, that way if something like this happens in the future, there's a team of experts ready to go to assess the situation almost immediately.
Also, we should tell you that this report will be released to the public once these government agencies and hopefully BP as well has a chance to look it over.
ROBERTS: We should point out, Jason, that BP is fashioning a - a tighter fitting cap that they hope to get on in a couple of weeks.
But - but some people have said that - that what James Cameron, the director, is doing is maybe a little bit of Hollywood ego. What does he say about that?
CARROLL: Yes, he's heard about that, is this a bit of, you know, Hollywood grandstanding, ego stepping in. He - he answers that by saying this, John and Kiran, you know, if it were anyone else, maybe.
But this is a man, if you look at his background, if you look at his experience, two decades of working in the deep - working in the deep sea, developing submersibles, being down in this environment, he's well connected to this - to this group of people, the scientific community that works in these - at these depths. So, if it were anyone else, he would say, yes, maybe. But in this situation, he says he's simply trying to get in there and trying to do whatever he can to help.
ROBERTS: All right. Jason Carroll for us this morning in Los Angeles. Jason, thanks so much. Great story.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jason.
Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, Apple unveils its new iPhone. We're going to take a look at some of the cool new features, but also some of the hiccups in the presentation.
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-two minutes past the hour. That means it's time for "Minding Your Business".
Apple's CEO Steve Jobs says the new iPhone 4 is the biggest leap forward for the device since it debuted in 2007. Jobs unveiled this company's latest gadget at a tech conference in San Francisco.
One of coolest features is called FaceTime. It uses a front- facing camera and you can place video calls in one single step, but only to someone with another iPhone 4. The new version also has a 5 megapixel camera with a flash that can shoot and edit HD video.
And, also, this model has a sharper screen. It's four times better than current iPhones.
Jobs says it's years ahead of anything else on the market and he also promises that the new model's battery will last longer, enough for seven hours of talking on a 3G network or 10 hours of web surfing on a wi-fi.
One thing that hasn't changed yet is that you'll still have to get your service for your iPhone 4 from AT&T.
ROBERTS: And even if you are Steve Jobs and your little startup company is now worth more than Microsoft, you can still have problems from time to time with your wi-fi. It's just a lot worse when the entire tech world is watching. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE JOBS, CEO, APPLE (voice-over): Our networks in here are always unpredictable, so I have no idea what we're going to find. They are slow today.
You know, you could help me out. If you're on wi-fi, if you could just get off. I'd appreciate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, for some reason the local network wasn't working in the room there.
By the way, the iPhone 4 goes on sale on June the 24th. It will cost between $199 and $299, depending on the model that you buy.
Somehow, I think that was another cleverly crafted piece of Apple propaganda -
CHETRY: Really?
ROBERTS: -- just to create the hype. Well, everybody's playing the clip today, aren't they? That's all we're doing (ph).
CHETRY: I know, but that's the one that you don't want to be known for, is that you can't get connected to the internet if you buy their new product.
ROBERTS: Well, there's no such thing as bad publicity, and if everybody's running, you know, 20 seconds, 50 seconds of Steve Jobs with two iPhones there.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: People are thinking about it.
CHETRY: He probably would have been just happier showing the little face camera there.
ROBERTS: Maybe just a fortuitous accident.
CHETRY: Well, making good on a promise to be leaner and meaner, it's the end of an automobile era for General Motors. The company is pulling one of its best known brands off of the assembly line for good. That's just ahead.
It's 24 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-seven minutes after the hour and your top stories are just about three minutes away. But first an "A.M. Original", something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
After taxpayer bailout, things certainly are starting to look a little bit better for General Motors.
CHETRY: That's right. In fact, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the automaker will start airing Super Bowl ads next year after two years of not doing it. But part of its recovery means the end of the road for some pretty memorable GM brands, and that includes the biggest one of them all.
Allan Chernoff joins us now with details - the Hummer.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Right.
When we're talking biggest, not in terms of sales, but size of vehicles. And indeed, yes, it is the end of the road for the Hummer. The final ones are driving off dealer lots.
This is a welcome departure for environmentalists, who absolutely hate those massive vehicles. But for those who still drive and sell Hummers, they love them, and losing the Hummer for them is like losing a member of the family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Meet Kevin Dolloson's baby, all 393 Hummer horsepower.
KEVIN DOLLOSON, HUMMER OWNER: Can't stand to see my baby dirty.
CHERNOFF: Truth is Kevin's Hummer H2 is more than his baby. It is his alter ego in steel and leather.
DOLLOSON: If I was going to be reincarnated and be a vehicle, this is the vehicle I would be.
CHERNOFF: Has man ever been more in love with machine? Especially now that General Motors is ending the Hummer brand. That's part of GM's strategy to revive the company after it received the taxpayer bailout.
DOLLOSON: I'm so sad. It's going to be a sad day that, you know, when these - these vehicles are completely gone.
CHERNOFF: The new ones almost are. The larger H2 models like Kevin's went out of production last year. And last month, GM built the final Hummer H3. Only about 1,000 of them remain on dealer lots.
GM is offering incentives of as much $5,700 to move out the vehicles that once sold for more than $35,000.
Environmentalists are cheering as the gas guzzlers drive into the sunset. But dealer David Ferraez says he's losing the most athletic vehicle he's ever sold, and he sold plenty. This H3 is his last one, and it's already been claimed.
DAVID FERRAEZ, PRESIDENT, GREEN BROOK HUMMER: I've got a lot of broken hearted customers about us losing this franchise. I'm a brokenhearted dealer, too.
CHERNOFF (on camera): The Hummer is the ultimate macho vehicle, a man's man type of an SUV. But dealers say more women have bought Hummers than men.
For women, buying one of these is sort of like dating the captain of the football team. Is that an appropriate comparison?
FERRAEZ: I like that. Ladies love to drive them. They sit up high. They know they're sitting on a stud athlete here, so they feel really comfortable and confident in this vehicle.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): Dealers could be confident of a hefty profit margin selling Hummers, the starting price for an H2 last year was $63,000.
FERRAEZ: There is nothing like a Hummer and I'm going to miss Hummer.
CHERNOFF: A dealer's sadness matched only by an owner's determination to hold on to his Hummer.
KEVIN DOLLOSON, HUMMER OWNER: I'll drive this big vehicle until the wheels fall off.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Well, just in case the wheels do fall off, G.M. says dealers will still be providing service for Hummers, which itself is a very profitable business.
CHETRY: There you go. So, now, they have a special, you know, vintage car on their hands. They can hold onto it for years.
And what's the -- what's the next best thing, a monster truck?
CHERNOFF: You know, the Hummer owners say there is nothing to compare. Absolutely.
ROBERTS: What about the international CXT pickup truck? That's a real truck that looks like a pickup. There you go.
CHERNOFF: There you go. Or you have still the Humvee which is still made for the military.
ROBERTS: Yes, there you go. All right.
And we should say, by the way, too, congratulations to Allan who won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his series, his investigative reports on Gulfstream Air. So, congratulations!
CHERNOFF: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: Well done. Well done.
CHETRY: Congrats, Allan. Thanks.
Well, right now, we're half past the hour -- time for a check of our top stories this morning.
Joran van der Sloot confesses and could be formally charged on a murder of a Peruvian woman. Authorities says that van der Sloot confessed to killing the 21-year-old in his hotel room last week in Peru, reportedly telling police, quote, "I did not want to do it. The girl intruded into my private life." Van der Sloot was twice arrested but never charged in the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
ROBERTS: Seven Americans among 10 NATO casualties in Afghanistan, making Monday the deadliest day for coalition forces this year. NATO has not confirmed the location of all the attacks, but we know at least one of the Americans died when three suicide attackers assaulted a police training center in Kandahar. Another blast in southern Afghanistan killed two Australians.
CHETRY: And BP is now saying that its cap on the well at the bottom of the Gulf has collected 11,000 barrels in the past 24 hours. By government estimates, that should be the bulk of the oil erupting from the broken well. But it's still not clear what to make of the numbers.
More heavy oil is now being spotted along the southeastern Louisiana coast, and more tar balls are washing up on Florida Panhandle beaches as well.
ROBERTS: Well, the images will certainly tear your heart out. Life and death struggle for birds soaked in oil, shivering, barely breathing. But thanks to the hardworking volunteers at a Louisiana rehab center, there have been many happy endings. Dozens of creatures ready to be released back into the wild.
CHETRY: The director of the center says about 90 birds came in on Sunday alone, by far, the largest single day rescue of this disaster.
And Rob Marciano is live Pensacola Beach this morning.
You had a chance to go out with the marine biologist to take a look at the wildlife now at risk there. What is -- what has it been like out there trying to get an assessment on just how many birds are ill and how many can be saved?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you look at Florida, you look at Louisiana, and you see there are stark differences. As you mentioned, in Louisiana, just on Sunday alone, the most number of oiled birds that they had brought in to that rescue center, so things are certainly accelerating there.
And just a couple of days ago here on the beach, I found a dead oiled pelican. So, that is certainly a warn sign of things to come. They have rescued a few oiled birds here, but the differences are huge, especially when you talk about trying to protect and save wildlife here in the state.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: So, there is where you saw the loggerhead?
TOM MACKENZIE, U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE: Yes.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Fish and wildlife expert Tom Mackenzie knows the northern Gulf Coast.
(on camera): So, it's a whole different animal here in Florida compared to Louisiana, isn't it?
MACKENZIE: Obviously, you're seeing the beautiful white sandy beaches and you've got different species with the terns and some of these nesting sandwich terns.
MARCIANO (voice-over): The birds crisscross over their young, nesting right along the shore. These narrow sand dune islands are vital, a natural haven and birthing ground for sea bird life in the Gulf of Mexico.
(on camera): What is the worst case scenario in your head?
MACKENZIE: You'll get a full blown oil slick right here. And with the thick, gooey tarry stuff that you see in Louisiana.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Booms and skimmers stand ready at the inlet to protect the bay and its estuaries from any approaching oil. Just beyond those booms, other floating nurseries are completely exposed.
(on camera): These seaweed is called sargassum.
Look at these critters we found in the seaweed, baby shrimp, baby crab, just a mile from Pensacola Beach where all of those tar balls have been rolling ashore.
(voice-over): The seaweed also rolls ashore onto this beach.
DR. RICHARD SNYDER, BIOLOGIST, UNIV. OF WEST FLA.: When this stuff is floating out there, it's really a lot of -- sometimes the only structure that's out there. So, it's a nursery habitat as well as just a feeding area for a lot of fish.
MARCIANO: Dr. Richard Snyder and other scientists from the University of Western Florida are taking water samples in the surf zone and soil samples near shore. They'll be chemically analyzed to determine if the oil we can't see has infiltrated Pensacola Beach.
SYNDER: We expect most is dispersed and sunk to the bottom, and what we see floating on the surface is only a small part of it.
MARCIANO: A small part of a big spill, dispersed or not, the toxic stuff can be easily consumed by the fish, making an easy meal for some of these majestic birds.
MACKENZIE: It just tears your heart out. That you want to reach out and help the bird get out. Our people do that. Can we get there in time? That's the tough question.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: You know, the Gulf Islands National Seashore on either side is just absolutely spectacular viewing for wildlife. The birds are just amazing and you see the food chain and order of business in action for sure and you know any sort o of oil that's out there, any sort of dispersed oil that's out there, is getting into that food chain. And you just wonder what's going to happen down the road.
As far as for a media preparedness goes, they have -- they are on kind of trigger mode there in the inlet, the bays and the inlet. So, skimmers, those booms, are ready to go, just when that oil gets in, they'll shut down that inlet and hopefully keep the bays -- the oil out of the more sensitive areas here in Florida.
But, so far, so good. There have been tar balls rolling onshore, markedly less yesterday than we have in previous days, but we know the oil is out there and it is certainly getting into the wildlife -- Kiran, John.
CHETRY: Sad sight to see for sure. Rob Marciano for us -- thanks so much.
Thirty-seven minutes past the hour.
Coming up on the Most News in the Morning: There are key elections in states across the country today. We're going to take a look at how the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico could impact some of these important races. It's still ahead.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty minutes past the hour right now.
As most of the nation is focused on the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, voters in a dozens states go to the polls today. It's another round of Super Tuesday primaries.
But there's so much national attention right now focused on the oil spill. So, how big of an impact could it be in these elections at the state level?
Well, joining us from Washington, A.B. Stoddard, associate editor and columnist at "The Hill." And also from Arlington, Virginia, this morning, Alex Burns, deputy political editor at "Politico."
Welcome to both of you. Thanks for being with us.
A.B. STODDARD, THE HILL: Thank you.
CHETRY: We know that the president has been doing his best to show that he's in control of the situation amid some criticism from both sides that he wasn't showing enough concern or outrage. So, let's listen to what he said to NBC's Matt Lauer yesterday.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A month ago, I was meeting with fishermen, standing in the rain, talking about what a potential crisis this could be. And I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answer so I know whose ass to kick.
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CHETRY: A.B., what do you think of those comments, was it, you know, it's good for him to get out and curse about it or did it come off as a little bit contrived?
STODDARD: I thought it was quite defensive. It's very rare that you find President Obama in a defensive posture. I mean, he's sometimes cool and detached, but he's really defensive. I thought it was kind of interesting that he was trying to make a point about how he was down there before people noticed it was a problem and he saying it was a problem and he's getting tough and kicking butt.
I think that he's really struggling and his team is really struggling with the perception of what they've done. Though they might have had a good substantive response and put the full resources of federal government on the job soon enough, it doesn't seem like they did to people down there and the people watching across the nation. And so, they find themselves in a real public relations pickle right now.
CHETRY: Alex, what about the criticism, though, of the president himself and his own reactions? I mean, is that fair?
ALEX BURNS, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR, POLITICO: You know, it was just last week that the president's spokesman, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was out there saying to the press corps, look, if jumping up and down and pounding on the table was going to solve the problem, that's what the president would be doing. But that's not going to solve the problem.
A week later, it looks like the White House has decided to try jumping up and down and pounding on the table a little bit. The criticism out there that the president is just a little bit too clinical, a little too removed from the situation, does seem like it sunk in over there.
CHETRY: And it's just interesting that there is a couple critics who said, it almost seem like an episode -- it's something that you would read in the daily "Onion," in "The Onion," and where people are asking Robert Gibbs, did he show rage? And how did he show it? Was he clenching his jaw? Was he angry?
But you're right. I mean, there have been a lot of calls about the way that the president has handled it by his own demeanor, which is interesting.
But, A.B., I want to ask you about this: "The Washington Post" polling showing 69 percent of people think that the government is actually not doing a good job handling the spill. So, when you take a look at these races today, will any of this have an impact? Will any of this trickle down on the candidates based on how people view the federal government and White House handling the spill?
STODDARD: Well, what you see is panic actually on both parties, about the oil spill, knowing it's still going to be a huge debate come the elections in November. And you see Republicans and Democrats alike, really spooked by this.
Democrats are accusing Republicans, of course, for being too cozy with industry taking too much money from big oil and obviously opposing regulations for decades that perhaps could have prevented this kind of thing. Republicans, of course, ready to accuse Democrats and President Obama of not minding the store, of not cleaning up Minerals Management Service that polices the industry and is supposed to enforce the testing safety regulations that they really did not.
And, so, both sides really at this point don't know just how this is going to affect the political parties.
CHETRY: Right.
STODDARD: But they are preparing for the worst and blaming each other, of course.
CHETRY: And, Alex, it seems interesting because there was this anti-incumbent fervor, of course, that we were talking about before the oil spill happened. Now, it appears -- I mean, you can look at it both ways. But in some ways, as an incumbent, you seem to perhaps have an advantage, you can look like you're out there doing something, calling for investigations, going to assess the scene.
On the flip side, as A.B. alluded to, you can also look like you sat around and let -- you know, got cozy with big oil and let these regulations not really do what they were meant to do. So, which way do you think it might break in the state races?
BURNS: Well, you know, it varies state to state. I would add to what A.B. just said, that it's not just Democrats going after Republicans for being cozy with big oil, you have Democrats going after Democrats for being cozy to big oil. And Arkansas Senate primary, you have Bill Halter, primary challenger to Blanche Lincoln from the left. One of the groups supporting him, the League of Conservation Voters has run ads calling her "Big Oil Blanche." You know, that's an attack that we've heard before directed at Lincoln, but it's only more salient as a result of the spill.
On the other hand --
CHETRY: No, I was going to say -- and, Alex, just quickly, has it taken the wind out of the tea party sails, though? I mean, you talk about a party, you know, a movement sort of built on -- we don't need big government. And now, you have people on both sides saying, where's the federal government here, we need the get them into action, we need more help from the federal government?
BURNS: I think you do see folks on both sides of the aisle. At least, the major candidates out there recognizing that there are more risks associated with doing things like chanting drill, baby drill, and then they're used to be Carly Theorina, the Republican front run representative out in California has been (INAUDIBLE) for opponent of offshore drilling. Folks behind her campaign are starting to wonder if that's going to will play well in the general election.
CHETRY: A.B. Stoddard as well as Alex Burns, thanks for your insight and input this morning. We appreciate it.
BURNS: Thank you.
CHETRY: And stay with CNN tonight for complete primary coverage from the best political team in television starting with "Larry King Live," 9:00 eastern at midnight, a special live hour of reaction and analysis as well as up-to-the minute primary results.
ROBERTS: Jacqui Jeras in for Rob Marciano this morning. She got this morning's travel forecast right after the break. Stay with us. Forty-six minutes now after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check on this morning's weather headlines. Jacqui Jeras is in the Weather Center in Atlanta for us. And Toto and Dorothy, better watch out this morning.
JERAS: Well, we don't think they'll be a big twister, John, but we do have some pretty nasty weather going across parts of the Midwest at this hour. Heavy rain and thunderstorms especially moving across Missouri and Kansas at this hour, and then just a moderate showers but enough to slow you down this morning from Minneapolis, to Milwaukee, and into Chicago. The area we're most concerned about is this line of thunderstorms. While the severe thunderstorm watch has been dropped, we do think that you could see some very heavy downpours along with some strong gusty winds.
It could cause a little bit of damage. You know, we'll see small tree branches and that type of thing. Kansas city, you're probably about an hour and a half or so before those storms rumble on through. The rain, it's going to be extremely heavy and the ground already saturated here. So, flood watches are in effect from Des Moines stretching down over towards the quad cities, two to four inches on top of what you already have. So, if you're trying to travel today, yes, you're going to have some problems in the Midwest at those airports, Chicago, O'Hare, as well as Midway and Minneapolis, expect delays.
New York, Metros in Boston, due to some winds and expecting delays in Houston because of thunderstorms, and Los Angeles and San Francisco due to the low clouds. Big storms across the nation's midsection. We got that zonal flow thing we were talking about last week, still going on but some big changes on the way later in the week. Our weather pattern will change, and it will become much hotter across the southeast and cooler across parts of the west. So, get ready for that -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Jacqui, thanks so much. We'll see you again soon.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jacqui.
JERAS: OK.
ROBERTS: This morning's top stories just minutes away including looking for an ass to kick, not my words. President Obama talking tough as BP does more damage control in PR. We'll have the latest efforts to save beaches from the oil live along the Florida panhandle today.
CHETRY: Forty minutes after, the prime spot front-row, center, in the White House briefing room, it's now empty. Helen Thomas, the Dean of the Press Corps retiring after comments about Israel that many found offensive. She broke so many barriers for women and women journalists. How will she be remembered now?
ROBERTS: And at 55 minutes after the hour, we already got our hands on the new iPhone. Dan Simon gets some face time with the most talked about gadget on the planet. Those stories and more coming your way beginning at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: Coming up now five minutes till the top of the hour. And right now, we would like to show you a new initiative from CNN.com. It's called "Home and Away," and it's tribute to our fallen warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. and coalition forces. On this interactive map, you can learn where these brave men and women grew up and where their lives were cut short. This particular case, the map of Afghanistan here on the right.
The dots represent where the U.S. and coalition casualties and over here on the map, the United States, their hometowns, and we got the same facility for Iraq as well. And you can see the casualties build here in Iraq, the hometowns tragically fill in here in the United States. This morning, we want to introduce you to Lance Corporal Matthew Kenneth Serio, Providence, Rhode Island, age 21. He was a Company C 1st Battalion of the 5th marines killed by hostile fire in Fallujah in Iraq on April 5, 2004, just 21 years old.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What to say about Matthew? When he was young, Matt loved to climb. Actually, he probably climbed and got into more things before he even learned how to walk. Liked to keep busy. He didn't like to be hanging around and kind of things he could get himself into. Good and bad. That would probably cause some of the problem and blame his brothers for it because he had that little innocent look on his face.
When he had that look, you really couldn't do anything to him. You know, there he is again, there's that look, and OK, now what, Matt, what are we doing now? We always took a vacation, every summer. It didn't matter whatever, but we always went somewhere. We just, you know, would go. We just take off and go. Where we were, they all had a good time. Matt liked the outdoors. He enjoyed everything about it. And he could make friends anywhere. He's had all kinds -- he had all groups of friends.
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ROBERTS: Memories of Lance Corporal Matthew Kenneth Serio from his mom, Sharon, this morning. You can learn more about the brave men and women who have paid the ultimate price for America in Iraq and Afghanistan, just log on to CNN.com/homeandaway.
You're top stories are coming up next. Stay with us.
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