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Fears of "Double Dip" Recession; Candidate Faces Questions; Worker Fired for Good Deed

Aired June 11, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'll tell you what, it's a pretty busy Friday. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what we're working on right now.

Sex abuse in the Catholic Church. The Holy Father begs forgiveness, promises never again. But why is it that being Pope means never having to say I'm sorry.

Her sailing skills were put to the test. Now it's her survivor skills. A teen sailor in the middle of the ocean, alone but alive.

Yes, how about some Black Eyed Peas in your World Cup? South Africa, the center of the universe right now. We're going to show you what you're missing if you're interested in soccer begins and ends with your kids.

We begin with Pope Benedict XVI is begging for forgiveness. Today he told thousands of his followers gathered at the Vatican that he will never allow priests to abuse children ever again. But is this plea for forgiveness enough? Well, not for critics. Here's what the Pope said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POP BENEDICT XVI, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (Through Translator): We too insistently beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved while promising to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again.

And that in admitting men to priestly ministry and in their formation, we'll do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of their vocation.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: OK. As you just heard the Pope is asking for forgiveness, but still there are two simple words we haven't heard. I'm sorry.

CNN's Paula Newton, live in Rome.

So, Paula, why can't the Pope just say, I'm sorry for this global sex scandal?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Centuries of theology says that he can't. A very formal mea culpa was really not going to happen here, Kyra, although that's what victims' groups said that they wanted.

You know, in listening to what the Pope said, victims' groups we spokes to said look, they were gratified that at least he was speaking about it openly. And he said -- he asked for forgiveness in a way that he has done privately but not so publicly, in front of the audience of priests the way he did.

But, you know, I spoke with Barbara Doris of the survivor's network SNAP and she was quite critical. I want you to listen to this, Kyra.

She said to me, "This was not very meaningful without the reform. The words ring hollow. It's like, I slapped you, I say I'm sorry, and I continue to slap you."

Her bottom line, Kyra, not one child is any safer today because of those words. Her point is that reform -- true reform at the Vatican has not been started. What she wanted to hear was the Pope address -- say I'm sorry, do the mea culpa, which would have been historical, and then also tell priests, look, if you know of anyone who has abused children around the world, turn them in right now, whether it was in the past or going on right now.

Beyond that, they believe the Vatican has a corrupt bureaucracy. And they want that reformed. They say the Pope is a long way from doing that -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Corruption that has to be dealt with. Paula Newton, thanks.

Sixteen years old in the middle of a brutal ocean, alone but alive. Now the race is on to rescue Abby Sunderland. The California girl was trying to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world. She set off her emergency beacon in the Indian Ocean. She's OK but there was a period where no one knew for sure.

As you can see, she's right there in the middle of nowhere. It's going to take another day for a boat to even get who her.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has been with the family.

So, Ted, what do we know about Abby's situation right now?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, as you said, she is fine. Her sailboat is not fine. The mast completely toppled in this -- in the Indian Ocean. That is why she sent out those distressed signals.

The problem was -- is her family didn't know her fate. They were on the phone with her. She had a satellite phone yesterday morning. She called early. She was in very difficult weather.

She said she was having trouble with the motor. They were trying to help her get the motor back up. And they lost contact with her. Well, then, about an hour later, these distressed beacons go off, two separate ones, which she enabled.

And of course they could only imagine the worst. They were hoping for the best. Immediately, a couple of boats started to go towards Abby. But they were 40 hours away at the time. The Australian government, though, along with Qantas Airlines, sent up an Airbus passenger jet over Abby.

They were able to get low enough to get visible contact with her. They saw her. They saw that the mast was in the water and then they were able to talk to her over the radio. They then in turn called back here to California to say that Abby is alive and well.

It will be another few hours -- it will be late tonight actually -- before the first boat is expected to arrive to her in the Indian Ocean. But, as you can imagine, boy, what a sigh of relief for this family that has been on pins and needles in excess of 18 hours.

But one of the biggest questions people have who we have been following the story is, what is a 16-year-old girl doing out by herself in the middle of the Indian Ocean?

Well, she is an accomplished sailor. However, Abby's mom did talk about the risks earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING." Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIANNE SUNDERLAND, ABBY'S MOTHER: We know the risks that are involved. And, you know, with technology, the choice of boat, having a meteorologist following her trip and guiding her, routing her, you minimize as many risks as you can.

And you know, you know there's always a possibility of some kind of accident like Abby had yesterday. But, again, her boat is designed to remain afloat with water tight bulk heads.

She has all the safety equipment on board if she had to abandon ship. So although you hate to think of them using it, you know that it's there and you know that they know how to use it and they can be rescued.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: And the bottom line, Kyra, is that Abby's parents are very happy to hear that she is OK. But they are, as you might imagine, very much looking forward to talking to her and eventually holding her again when she does make it all the way back here to California.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you tend to wonder where was the oversight from the very beginning? Point well made.

Ted, we'll follow up on that story. Thanks.

Day 53 for this oil disaster. And Bp's high resolution video of the leak is giving a clearer image of just how much oil is awash in the sea. Scientists now estimate that twice as much oil was gushing out than previously thought. The new figure, up to 40,000 barrels a day before the containment cap was put in place last week.

This weekend, BP will begin testing a second rig-based system to catch more oil. And right now, crews are capturing about 16,000 barrels a day. The new system could pump that up to 28,000 barrels per day.

So far, BP's containment cap has collected about three million gallons of oil. And today, a delegation of four U.S. senators will visit the heart of coastal Louisiana to assess the environmental damage.

BP has faced blistering accusations that it was ill-prepared for this disaster. And some of the most damning evidence comes from BP itself. The company's response plan talks about protecting local species like walruses and sea lions. That's right. They don't even live anywhere near the Gulf of Mexico.

And the BP blueprint said that some beaches would be protected. Those same beaches are now smeared with oil. And the plan listed a marine expert as a go-to guy if a massive leak erupted. He's been dead for years.

And it's not just BP that looks idiotic. The federal government actually signed off on the plan.

And this morning, CNN's John Roberts demanded answers from a White House insider.

John, the plan now looks like a really bad cut-and-paste job. Is there any defense for such an appalling foul-up?

JOHN ROBERTS, AMERICAN MORNING ANCHOR: You know, when we had Carol Browner on this morning, who's the president's advisor on energy and climate change, the energy czar, as she's known, she really didn't have much of a response at all.

And when you look at what that disaster plan, Kyra, as you pointed out, they thought that the species they'd have to protect, according to this plan would be walruses, sea lions and sea otters.

I had Phillippe Cousteau on earlier today who said he spent a lot of time in the Gulf of Mexico, I've never seen a walrus. We did manage to find one, though. There is a walrus and sea lions at SeaWorld in Orlando, but not out in the Gulf.

So I asked Carol Browner this morning how did this plan every get approved. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL BROWNER, ADVISER ON ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE: It's a deeply disturbing story that you referenced. I've read the same story. We have a commission that's going to be looking at all of those issues. Obviously, these disaster plans need to be updated. They need to be managed properly. A deep, deeply disturbing. We share your concern.

ROBERTS: Right. So what are you going to do about it in the future?

BROWNER: Well, the commission will be looking this -- independent commission will be looking at all of these issues and determining what we need to have in place to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again and in the worst, worst case scenario, if something were to happen, that the plans were up to date, that the plans have all things in them that would be necessary to ensure the rapid response.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You know, deeply disturbing to say the least. Something else that's deeply disturbing -- and by the way it doesn't sound like you really got an answer with regard to that horribly put together disaster plan that was rubber stamped by the government. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens with regard to that -- investigation.

But, John, also deeply disturbing what's happening to these fishermen, and even oil workers on these other rigs, because of this moratorium that the government has put out.

Any -- did you get any kind of determination or timeline from her about that and how that is impacting the economy?

ROBERTS: Well, as you know, Kyra, not too long after the disaster with the Deepwater Horizon, the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, apparently against the recommendation of some scientists who were consulted on this, put in place a six-month moratorium on deep water drilling.

The president says that will stay in place pending an investigation into the safety of all of these rigs. Carol Browner did tell me that well, maybe the investigation could be done prior to six months. But they're just getting an earful from Louisiana officials, including Governor Bobby Jindal who says the White House just doesn't get it.

You've got an economic disaster with tourism. You've got the other economic disaster of the fishing grounds being closed down. And now you have potentially 100,000 people who work in the oil and gas industry who could be furloughed because of this moratorium.

I asked her what was the purpose of this moratorium and isn't it just not adding injury to insult?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWNER: We don't understand what caused this accident. It may have been human failure. It may have been technical failure. It may have been both things. And so what we need to do for the American people is get those answers so that we can ensure that drilling does go forward. But it goes forward with all of the safeguards that the experts tell us will ensure that this doesn't happen again. And as soon as we have those answers, clearly we want to make sure these people get back to work.

We do understand the economic impact of it. But we also understand there is a very, very large economic impact of an accident.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Now it's true. There's an enormous economic impact from the accident. It's also true, though, that all of these rigs were checked out by the government after the disaster on the Deepwater Horizon. They all checked out OK.

So people here along the Gulf Coast -- it's difficult sometimes to understand this from an outside perspective that everything is so intertwined here with fishing and tourism and oil and gas. People here along the Gulf Coast are saying you just -- you're strangling us economically from three different perspectives here. At least leave one thing open -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: John Roberts from New Orleans. John, great job. Thanks so much.

And it's not even summer yet and already an oppressive heat is making cleanup efforts even more miserable. We want to make a closer look at those challenges as those temps continue to climb.

Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider here with a closer look.

And, Bonnie, you probably heard Admiral Thad Allen say yesterday with the heat and then the fumes from this oil --

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

PHILLIPS: -- rising? I mean this is -- this is a tremendous health concern for workers all throughout the Gulf.

SCHNEIDER: That's right, Kyra. And a lot of them are in protective gear which only makes it more hot out there to bear.

The problem with the heat is it's not going anywhere. We are looking at heat advisories straight through Sunday night, 7:00 p.m. Sunday. And it's not just Louisiana. Coastal Mississippi where a lot of people are also on the beaches during their protective work. In Biloxi, Waveland, we are looking at hot temperatures. The numbers will take us all the way up to 95 for the temperature.

The problem is the heat index, the way your body interprets the temperature, well, in New Orleans specifically, it will feel today -- just like yesterday -- like it's up to 110 degrees. And there's a reason for that.

In New Orleans or any other city, where you tend to have the heat building along the concreted asphalt, it absorbs the radiation, heating the city hotter than the grassy areas surrounding the city. In the grassy areas the heat is released and we tend to get cooler temperatures particularly at night.

So the problem is, Kyra, we're looking at this heat day and night. And it is not going to subside for days. Again high temperatures in the low 90s. The heat index, 105 to 110.

PHILLIPS: Bonnie, thanks.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, you may be thinking about going to Arlington National Cemetery to honor a service member -- a loved one. We're going to tell you why that visit could take you a very long time and even worse, disappoint you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you may remember Amanda Knox. She is the American exchange student sentenced to 26 years in prison in Italy for killing her British roommate. Well, her Italian boyfriend was also convicted and jailed.

Meredith Kercher was found dead November, 2007 in the apartment that she shared with Knox. But there's word today that there may be new hope for that former college student accused.

Apparently, a British newspaper is reporting that Amanda Knox was convicted on claims from a former mafia gangster. He says his brother killed Kerchner (sic) during a bungled robbery.

Knox was in court today reportedly to try and appeal her conviction based on that gangster's revelation.

First a confession to murder now Joran Van Der Sloot is revealing details about another case. Police in Peru say Van Der Sloot told investigators he knows the location of Natalee Holloway's body and will finally explain everything to Aruban authorities.

Well, he was arrested twice after the Alabama teen vanished five years ago. Van Der Sloot also confessed to the killing of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in Lima, Peru. Police say Flores had seen an e-mail on Van Der Sloot's computer connected with the Holloway case and then he attacked her.

Van Der Sloot's lawyer told CNN that he plans to ask the judge to throw out his confession because he was not properly represented back when he was interrogated.

Four million of you go to honor our veterans at the nation's most sacred burial ground every year. And it shouldn't be such an emotional trial. But it is.

If you're getting ready to go find your hero, not only could it take you a very long time but when you get there, you may be very disappointed. You are basically going back to the Dewey Decimal era. Names of the fallen are not even computerized. You'll have to sift through thousands of cards to try and find your special service member.

Now if that's not enough outrage, listen to this. We've now discovered that cremated remains have been buried in the wrong gravesites and urns have been found just tossed into a pile.

CNN's Barbara Starr joins us from the Pentagon.

Barbara, it's heart-wrenching to learn about this. How could this even happen?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, it's really hard to know where to begin. This has been a seven-month investigation by the Army which oversees Arlington National Cemetery.

As you say, some of the most hallowed ground in this country for those who have fallen. They have found unmarked graves. They have found mismarked graves. They have found out-of-date records. Just about every heart-breaking thing you can think of.

Listen to what the Army secretary had to say about this late yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCHUGH, SECRETARY OF THE ARMY: As to the negative findings of the report, there is simply no excuse. And on behalf of the United States Army, on behalf of myself, I deeply apologize to the families of the honored fallen resting in that hallowed ground who may now question the care afforded to their loved ones.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Now there are over 300,000 fallen buried in Arlington. We are talking about 200 graves or so in question.

But listen to this, Kyra. No one is getting fired over this disaster. The number-one man, the superintendent, John Metzler, he will be staying on in a reduced role. He got a letter of reprimand. The number-two guy, he basically has been put on administrative leave pending further action.

And what are we talking about with these 200 graves? Well, cemetery maps where maybe or maybe not they show a grave, headstones where maybe or maybe not there is an actual grave there. All of this now being looked at.

The Army says it may never be able to resolve all of these cases. What they do want the families of those fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan to know is right now there is no evidence that any of those recent graves from those wars in Iraq or Afghanistan are affected by this.

Right now, the belief is that all of the graves under review are those who have fallen in previous wars -- Kyra. PHILLIPS: Now, Barbara, and I don't know if we know the answer to this, but you know, has the cemetery gotten the money to upgrade the system to computerize all these names and locations and to clear this up? Because this is -- this just sounds ridiculous that we'd be at this point in 2010.

STARR: Yes, doesn't it, though. They have been working on a computer system for some years, we are told. There is some effort to move towards all of that. The cemetery -- this is no excuse. This is no explanation but let me just give a little context.

To some of our viewers who may not have personally visited Arlington, it's over 150 years old. It covers many acres. It dates back to the Civil War. As you go back through the cemetery into some of the back areas, these are very old graves when records were not clearly kept and so what they have found is they've gone through some of these areas.

The maps, the headstones, all the information just doesn't match up from so many decades. Hundreds of years ago. So now they're having to go back. They believe that most of these recent graves are -- the records kept on almost all of them -- are in good shape but they're going through everything now, Kyra, trying to figure out exactly what they are dealing with.

PHILLIPS: Got it, Barbara Starr. Thanks.

The party has already started in South Africa. Take a listen.

(MUSIC)

Black Eyed Peas already getting things pumped up for the World Cup. We're going to check out what else is in store leading up to the main event.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. Fifty-three days into the Gulf oil disaster. This weekend BP tests a second rig-based system to catch more oil. Scientists now believe twice as much oil was gushing out than was thought before.

Pope Benedict XVI, today he asked for forgiveness and promised he will never allow priests to abuse children again.

Rescuers on their way to 16-year-old Abby Sunderland. She was trying to be the youngest person to sail around the world but rough seas knocked out her boat's mast and left her adrift in the Indian Ocean.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I hear the whistling coming from the control room all the way back into the weather block. Shakira is shaking things up last night at the World Cup concert in South Africa. She was just one of many performers getting people pumped up. While these celebrations underway right now in Johannesburg, 94,000 people expected to be watching. Thirty-two teams will compete for the ultimate prize for the first time on African soil.

Sadly, one person who won't be there, former South African president, Nelson Mandela. His great-granddaughter was tragically killed in a car accident leaving last night's kick off concert.

Zenani Mandela had just turned 13 on Wednesday. Police say the driver of the car that she was in was drunk.

Nelson Mandela was not in the car. He says that he's devastated. And of course, it wouldn't be appropriate to attend opening celebrations.

World Cup opening ceremonies are underway right now. And the hype is building as you can see from right there at the beginning with Shakira in the opening concert. It's all happening at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

And CNN's Robyn Curnow joins us from Soweto to get a feel for what the mood is like now -- Robyn.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. Well, as you can hear, the party has started here in South Africa already. There is a whole lot of local musicians that have been playing here. And that hum, that buzzing you might be able to hear over my shoulder is the sound of a vuvuzela.

Now that is an African horn. It looks like this. We've got our own CNN brand vuvuzela and this is what it sounds like. Hold on.

Ninety thousand of those are going to be played and absolutely going crazy inside one of the soccer stadiums today. It's around the corner from me here in Soweto. And the kick off will be in 30 minutes. And I'm sure in that stadium, the -- the mood is absolutely as excited as this. South Africans flag waving their flags. And it's just a wonderful, wonderful experience.

PHILLIPS: Robyn, and I know Robyn is having a hard time hearing us. I'd love to ask her a couple of questions but she's right there in the middle of it all. We'll be following the World Cup with Robyn Curnow of course. And we have some special guests coming up in the later hour, too.

Atlanta, Georgia's female soccer team going to be here to show us some moves.

All right, let's talk debt and the Gross Domestic Product, shall we? I know. Don't glaze over just yet. Why our ballooning deficit is creating problems for getting you a job. That's how we're going to talk about this. You're going to want to listen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Opening bell just about to ring on Wall Street. We saw a huge gain yesterday. The Dow surged more than 270 points, but today, stocks will definitely be under pressure because of a weak retail report. Sales fell 1.2 percent last month. That doesn't sound huge, but it's the biggest drop in eight months. It's a problem, because consumer spending is what really drives the recovery, as you know. And investors, well, they're very concerned about the economy, especially after last week's jobs report.

Right now, Dow Industrials, it looks like down 83 points. So, we're tracking the numbers. Opening of bell just about to ring. Also, next hour, at the White House, President Obama is going to meet with small business owners in the Oval Office. The president is highlighting his proposals to help small businesses grow and hire more workers.

A Mexican family has laid to rest their 15-year-old son. The U.S. border agent shot and killed him last week or this week, rather. And the teen's family says there's no excuse, but American officials say he had a past that wasn't exactly innocent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We don't have to tell you the recent fluctuations in our market combined with Europe's debt crisis mean that we're in uncertain economic times. Our country's debt is growing at a dramatic rate, now, topping more than $13 trillion. This chart shows our debt in red. And to the nation's Gross Domestic Product in green. You can see that the debt is more than 3.5 times our GDP, which has some economists saying we could be primed for what's called a double dip recession.

Jeff Rosensweg is a finance professor at Emery University, and maybe we should start with the double dip recession and explain what that means. It sounds like I should panic.

PROF. JEFF ROSENSWEG, FINANCE, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Sounds like you should go to the ice-cream store.

PHILLIPS: Yes, that would be a lot easier.

ROSENSWEG: That wouldn't cost as much. We were cruising along with a lot of nice growth, and then, we fell down into a recession, meaning the economy went down and receded down to be 2008, the first half of 2009. But then we've been growing for almost the last year. People really don't feel it. So, a lot of pain in the job market, but we've been growing.

But now, as we see all this trouble in Europe, et cetera, we see the stock market reflecting some of that panic, there's a lot of fear we might go down again. So, it's a little bit like a "W." We went down, we're coming up, and will we go down into a double dip, another recession, another falling down the beach (ph).

PHILLIPS: So, what does that mean for us? OK. You've explained the double dip. We're talking $13 trillion. I mean, that is just -- that number is unimaginable. What does that mean to you, to me, to everybody in the studio? ROSENSWEG: Yes. Everyone is worried about it because it's such a big number. And it means that take yourself, take myself, it's over $42,000 of government debt, just federal government debt per person in the U.S. So, let's say someone there has a family of four. It's $170,000 of debt per family of four.

PHILLIPS: This is the same type of problem that we saw in Greece.

ROSENSWEG: Yes.

PHILLIPS: We saw those protests.

ROSENSWEG: That's right.

PHILLIPS: We saw people getting violent. We saw the thousands and thousands of people fill the streets. I mean, you remember these pictures. We followed this for days. You know, are we headed down this road?

ROSENSWEG: We could be headed down that road. The thing is we're not there yet. The difference with the U.S. is we have, by far, the world's biggest economy. So, yes, we do have the biggest debt, $13 trillion. But, as a ratio of our income, you know, our GDP, our total production, our debt is less than to Greece or Italy, not that those are countries I like to compare to, but, in other words, if we can get a handle on our problem even over the next three, four years, we will be okay. It's really your debt compared to your income that makes the difference. We're in a great economy.

PHILLIPS: So, give me an analogy that put that in perspective for you.

ROSENSWEG: Yes. Let's say you have a mortgage that's $100,000, that's your debt, but let's say your income is $50,000. You're OK. But let's say in this bad economy, they cut you to halftime and you only get half that salary, all of a sudden, that debt, you can't handle it. So, it's really your debt compared to that income. So, what we need to do is grow our incomes. We already got the $13 trillion debt. It's there. The mortgage is there, for instance (ph). We got to do everything we can as a nation to grow the income.

PHILLIPS: What else can we do?

ROSENSWEG: We really have no choice. You know, people say, Kyra, why don't we pay off the debt. We're not going to pay off $13 trillion. We can't go to families and say, give us $170,000 extra tax. We don't have it. We don't have it on our savings accounts.

PHILLIPS: Our taxes are already going up.

ROSENSWEG: Exactly.

PHILLIPS: And we're paying for two wars. We're paying for corruption on Wall Street. I mean, now, we got an oil disaster that we're paying for. I mean, how can we even think about paying down a debt?

ROSENSWEG: No, we really can't. What we need to do is grow the other half of equation, grow incomes, create jobs. You know, we have 15 million people unemployed, but we have 25 million people that are either unemployed or underemployed. People, like I said, that are part time and need a full-time job. People gave out looking for jobs, 25 million. So, you know, some people say, we got to get rid of this deficit. We got to raise taxes.

That's the last thing we should do. If anything, we need to subsidize and cut taxes in order to create incentives for green energy, for insulating people's home so we wouldn't be dependent so much on foreign oil which often comes in from our enemies, on offshore drilling. We need to do anything we can to create jobs. Now, I've been complaining for 20 years about the government deficits and the debt, but right now, I want to say, it is jobs, jobs, jobs.

Twenty-five million people are out there. I know that as a professor. People are hurting. If we can create income, we can handle the debt. We don't need to pay off the debt. We just have to get it under control over even a three or four-year horizon. But right now, we have 25 million people that are hurting. And if they're not working, they're not paying tax, and we're going to remain having a huge deficit.

PHILLIPS: You mentioned offshore drilling. That's very controversial right now. That's going to be something we're going to be talking a lot about.

ROSENSWEG: We will talk about that another day, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's a whole another segment. Thank you so much. Appreciate your time. All right.

Fallouts from this week's election primaries, the allegations are so serious that Democratic leaders are asking one South Carolina winner to drop out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Earlier this week, several key states held primaries. But one South Carolina race is gaining all the attention right now. It's raising allegations that a winning candidate was planted by Republicans.

We're talking about Alvin Greene, the political novice ran no ads on TV or radio yet he stunned Democrats by winning the party's nomination for the U.S. Senate. Now, Democrats are asking him to withdraw. He says, no way. And that's about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your campaign like? Did you have a lot of campaign meetings?

ALVIN GREENE (D), SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE: I had quite -- I had just a few meetings, not many.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have campaign rallies?

GREENE: Nothing formal, just informal rallies -- just informal meetings, rather.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I know CNN's chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley has some thoughts on this. First of all, Candy, who is this guy?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, according to those who have looked into his background -- Washington Post and others -- he is, indeed, a veteran. He did leave sooner than his time was up under circumstances no one quite knows, apparently, the military doesn't tell you. He is a little fuzzy on it.

Nonetheless, he won some medals while he was in the service. He graduated from college in the early 2000s. So -- but we also know he's unemployed and what sparked some of this controversy is, not only is he a political novice. But you've got to come up with $10,000 for the filing fee and he's unemployed. And he has like $100 plus in his campaign chest. So where did the $10,000 come from.

And I think that's what has led to some of those suspecting that Republicans are somehow behind this and planted a candidate in there.

PHILLIPS: So let's expand on that a little bit. What do you think? I mean, could this be a GOP setup? I know, we kind of have to laugh because I've never known --

CROWLEY: Yes, I've never known a -- the party, either Democratic or Republican, to be all that organized to be able to pull off something like this. I don't discount that someone might have said, hey, I've got an idea why don't we pay the filing fee and see if we can get this guy to win.

But I just -- it doesn't seem -- it takes a little too much pre- thought I think for one of the parties to have kind of set this up.

And the other thing is, in order -- remember that there were -- we looked it up, over two million registered voters in 2008 in South Carolina. This gentleman -- Mr. Greene, got a little over 100,000 for his win. So that's not -- it didn't take a huge number of voters to give him this win.

And in order for Republicans to have done this and planted him there and voted for him, you would have to go in and say I want the Democratic ballot, which you can do in South Carolina. You can ask for either ballot. It's open primary.

But they had a very hot governor's race going on, on the Republican side. So it just -- it doesn't -- something is funky here. But I'm not sure I think the Republicans were up to this kind of shenanigan -- PHILLIPS: OK, then explore this funk with me. OK, what could be the other explanations to how he won? Give me a funk 101, Candy, would you please?

CROWLEY: Oh yes, I mean, I think -- here are some explanations down there. He's -- Greene's name was the one on top. And you know --

PHILLIPS: OK.

CROWLEY: Sometimes people go into these elections and they have a name that they want to vote for -- for governor, but they haven't really paid that much attention to the senate race and they go, yes this guy.

PHILLIPS: Yes, oh, that's easy. First name on the list -- boom, check it.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: Yes, first name on the list -- boom. Second -- second idea maybe that in fact maybe there was this sort of boom among people say wouldn't this be cool? Let's try and elect this guy and there was some sort of a secret kind of e-mail thing going on out there.

But, you know, I'm at a loss, but it's -- remember, this is the year of an anti-incumbent. If you want an anti-incumbent, this guy is it.

So --

PHILLIPS: You know what, Candy? It's like South -- South Carolina is like the gift that keeps on giving.

CROWLEY: It really is. It really is, they had a great governor's race, they had the whole Mark Sanford-Argentinean mistress thing going on. So this last year and last year have been good for us. I don't think South Carolinians are that thrilled by all of this, but nonetheless, they are -- they are fun to watch politically.

PHILLIPS: So I'll tell you what I would like to watch is you interviewing Alvin Greene this Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION".

CROWLEY: I'll see what I can do.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley.

CROWLEY: In the meantime, we'll have Alabama Governor Riley to talk about the oil leak.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, that - that'll suffice for now.

And I know it'll be good.

CROWLEY: OK.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley thanks so much. We'll see you Sunday.

CROWLEY: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, think about it, we live in a stressed-out world right now: wars, terrorism, unemployment, debt, foreclosures and epic oil disaster. Good deeds mean so much more in times like this. When was the last time that you stopped and did something nice for someone without expecting anything in return?

OK. Keep all of that in mind as you watch this story from Crystal Garrett of CTV in Canada and then let's talk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CRYSTAL GARRETT, CTV CANADA (voice-over): Heidi Heise says life has been turned upside down since she was displaced from her Dartmouth apartment building last week. She says her unit was not damaged by the fire so she gave it up for another tenant in need, but her generous nature may have cost her, her job at a nearby sandwich shop.

HEIDI HEISE, FORMER RESTAURANT WORKER: Because their host, their apartment that they were living in went up in flames and they had no money, no food, no nothing. And I let them stay at my place and they come to thank me and I gave them a sub. I felt sorry for them I tried to help them up.

GARRETT: Heise says when she reported for work at this Subway restaurant she got some unexpected bad news.

HEISE: They just said before you start work we would like to let you know that we're letting you go. And I said well, for what reason and they were like went over the cameras and she knew on the weekend I gave a free sub.

GARRETT: Heise says she gave away two 6-inch subs which is the equivalent of one free foot long sub she says every employee is entitled to per shift, but it must be recorded as a staff lunch.

HEISE: Because of all of the stuff that was going on -- it totally slipped my mind to even write it down, and yes I just forgot to write it down and they fired me for it.

GARRETT: Todd White was one of two people who received a free sandwich. He says he feels terrible that Heise lost her job.

TODD WHITE, LOST APARTMENT IN FIRE: No, she doesn't deserve it. We just went to thank her for letting us to stay at her place.

GARRETT: And she just offered a sandwich.

WHITE: She just offered a sandwich to us because we never had nothing to eat.

GARRETT (on camera): We made several attempts to get a hold of the Subway management today to get their side of the story, but no one had yet returned our calls. HEISE: I worked double shifts when they ask me to. I did everything that they wanted me to and I guess this is the thanks that I get for helping them out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Subway Corporate tells CNN the decision to fire Heidi was up to the franchise owner. I sure hope that franchise owner will change his or her mind. And you know what -- even though this story bears out the cliche that no good deed goes unpunished, don't let it discourage you from practicing the gold rule and paying it forward.

Please, stop for a moment, look around. What can you do to make someone's life just a little bit better today, tomorrow, this weekend?

Go to my blog, CNN.com/Kyra. Tell me about something nice that a stranger did for you. Do you have a story that you can share with me because I would love to hear it.

We have a lot going on in the CNN NEWSROOM this morning. Let's start with Ed Lavandera. He's live in New Orleans -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra and coming up in a little bit we'll be talking about the new estimates on the flow rate coming from that oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse it keeps getting worse. Kyra, we'll be back.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. We are tracking extreme heat in Louisiana and in Mississippi. Plus what beaches are open along the Gulf Coast? I'll tell you coming up.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys. And still ahead, a look at the devastating toll the Gulf Coast oil spill is having on fishermen and just how long it will last. In the next hour, hear from the man who supervised the Exxon Valdez spill for the U.S. Navy and now works as a fishing industry consultant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. You're living on the edge, all right, if you go to the World Cup: the fans, the excitement, the competition; millions of people all around the world anxiously waiting for today's kickoff of the World Cup in South Africa. Our Zain Verjee is in London. So, Zain, tell me what it's like where you are. I know you're having fun. Go ahead, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra. For the next month when I say football, this is what I mean, OK? One billion people around the world will be following what is known as the beautiful game, and boy, are we having fun here.

Some of them are out there excited that moments away on the big screen they are going to be able to watch the kickoff match in South Africa between Mexico and Bafana-Bafana that's the name of the local team. Everyone is so excited.

All month people are going to be in pubs, try and skip work, watch at work, be at home. It's a huge event. They're going to follow players carefully, follow each and every move. My team, Bafana-Bafana today Kyra -- and they'll teach you a little bit of Zulu for the day, (INAUDIBLE) bafana which means "Go, boys" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, Zain, I know we're having trouble connecting. Can you hear me OK?

No, she can't -- OK, we lost her, but I'll bet you can hear these gals in the background here. Come on, girls show me some moves, pick up those balls. There we go. Give me some action. Michelle, Megan, Kyra -- here we go. We have the Atlanta Silverbacks here in-house. We're going to talk a little World Cup predictions, show us some moves, tell us what those boys need to be doing starting today and through the weekend and the next month.