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American Morning

BP CEO Testifies Before Congressional Panel; Barton Apologizes to BP; Louisiana Tourism Suffering From Negative Perceptions of Gulf Oil Spill; Inside Van der Sloot's Cell; Goodbye Free Checking; Town Builds Iron Curtain Against Oil Spill; Hearing Obsessions; Oil Spill Outrage

Aired June 18, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Friday. Glad you're with us on this day. It's June 18th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin. John Roberts off today. Lots to talk about. Let's get right to the headlines.

No bombshells, no admissions, just plenty of "I'm sorries" from BP's CEO, Tony Hayward at yesterday's Capitol Hill hearing. One lawmaker calling his answers absurd, but another apology that's getting most of the attention, an apology to BP from a Texas congressman who's now back-pedaling big-time this morning.

CHETRY: Yes, an apology on top of an apology. We'll explain that one. But meantime, New Orleans wants everyone to know, we are still open for business. They are launching a new $5 million ad campaign trying to fight all of the images of oil that they say are scaring tourists away. BP actually paid for that ad campaign.

GRIFFIN: And an exclusive at CNN. And I must tell you, that was a bizarre one. The jail cell of Joran Van Der Sloot. We were in it. You'll see where he eats, where he sleeps, plus we'll look at what comes next in the case against him in Peru and the latest on the still-ongoing search for Natalee Holloway in Aruba.

CHETRY: But first, a lot of apologies and little else. That pretty much sums up Tony Hayward's day on the hot seat on Capitol Hill. It's been 60 days since oil began spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. And BP's ceo faced off with lawmakers yesterday repeatedly saying he's sorry for the disaster.

But Hayward was careful not to admit blame, denying that BP ever put profits ahead of worker safety. He also avoided some of the tough questions like the ones about the possible existence of large underwater oil plumes in the Gulf. In fact, let's listen to a little bit about what the lawmakers actually could get out of Hayward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: We've launched an investigation. I believe we should await the results of the investigation. I'm not prepared to speculate. I can't pass judgment on those decisions. I'm not sure exactly who made the decision.

I'm afraid I can't recall that. I don't recall that either, I'm afraid. I can't answer your question in that form, I'm afraid.

I'm afraid I can't answer that question. I genuinely don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Brianna Keilar is live on Capitol Hill this morning. When you're watching it, and many of us were yesterday, you start to wonder after a while, what's the point? He's not saying anything.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, and we heard, Kiran, from Democrats and Republicans exactly that. I mean he really aggravated Democrats and Republicans. They said he was being evasive, they accused him of double speak. They said he was copping out. Just listen to one exchange between Hayward and a Republican on the committee from Texas, Michael Burgess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL BURGESS, (R) TEXAS: The difficulties that they'd had, multiple gas kicks, losing the tools down the hall, the length of time they'd been over the hole, the decisions to move quickly because we spent too much time over this well?

HAYWARD: I had no prior knowledge.

BURGESS: Who would have had that information?

HAYWARD: Certainly the drilling team in the Gulf of Mexico.

BURGESS: But you're the CEO of the company. Do you have any sort technical expert who helps you with these things who might have been there?

HAYWARD: With respect, sir, we drill hundreds of wells a year all around the world.

BURGESS: Yes, I know, that's what scares me right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now the department of justice is looking at whether criminal charges are warranted here in this big disaster. So certainly in the back of Tony Hayward's mind is this knowledge that whatever he says here under oath could get him, could get BP into some legal trouble.

But Kiran, this was so frustrating, especially for top Democrats on this committee, because they actually gave him these questions well ahead of time because they wanted to make sure that they could get as much in the way of answers as possible. CHETRY: And in the ways of Washington, you thought Tony Hayward would be the one taking all the heat yesterday, but the focus shifted because of a comment from one congressman at the hearing. Explain that.

KEILAR: That's right. A Republican congressman, Joe Barton, the top Republican on this committee -- and this was completely unforeseen. This was sort of the drama that popped out of the day, because we from the get-go in the morning were wondering what is Tony Hayward going to say. This is the culmination of all of these high- profile oil hearings. But instead this is what ended up catching a lot of attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOE BARTON, (R) TEXAS: But I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, in this case a $20 billion shakedown.

I'm only speaking for myself. I'm not speaking for anybody else, but I apologize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A lawmaker apologizing to BP for that $20 billion fund that they agreed to pay for damages. You can almost just imagine how this played out.

Democrats hit hard on this, and Republicans were very quick to shun Joe Barton's remarks here. So what ended up happening was Joe Barton later came before the committee and said he apologized if his remarks were misconstrued.

But then he went on to issue a written statement that was really a whole lot stronger than that. It said, "I apologize for using the term "shakedown" with regard to yesterday's actions in the White House in my opening statement this morning, and I retract my apology to BP."

Kiran, several Republican sources tell us that Republican leaders went to Barton and said you need to apologize immediately or you will lose this position as the top Republican on this very powerful committee, and shortly thereafter is when we got the apology.

CHETRY: Wow, interesting stuff. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

GRIFFIN: While all this drama was going on up on Capitol Hill, there's the people still suffering in the Gulf. Remember them? The beaches? The tourism? It's all down. Also town is tourism in New Orleans which really doesn't even really have a beach.

Chris Lawrence, you've been looking into how this city is trying to fight back and try to get people to actually come to the Crescent City.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Drew, basically telling people, look, the oil spill is here. It's not everywhere. Some of the tour companies along the coast have already seen their business practically fall off a cliff. The worry now is that this tourism bust could spread not only to New Orleans but throughout the entire gulf coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now in New Orleans there's jazz going all through this city.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, New Orleans is New Orleans.

LAWRENCE: This commercial is what Louisiana wants you to remember.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody need a cocktail?

LAWRENCE: But this is what most people see, oil-stained birds and tainted beaches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in an image and perception-driven business entirely. And all along the Gulf coast, there are real problems with that image.

LAWRENCE: Since those problems started when oil started gushing into the Gulf, BP is footing the bill to promote tourism there. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama each got $15 million from BP, and Florida got $25 million.

Tourism in Louisiana's coastal areas are already hurting, but tourism businesses in New Orleans are still thriving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't anticipate it lasting, but at least for now, we're hanging in there.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Why don't you think it is going to last?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because the oil is still coming out. Most of it hasn't hit the land. I don't feel we've even begun to feel the ramifications from it all.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): A state official says a national survey shows 26 percent of people who planned to come to Louisiana before the spill are now actively canceling their trips. And even a small drop off in tourists can wreck the area's economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only a 10 percent decline here in New Orleans would produce nearly half a billion losses over eight months, would cost probably 7,000 to 8,000 jobs.

LAWRENCE: One of New Orleans' ads poked fun at BP and proclaimed "This isn't the first time New Orleans has survived the British," a reference to the war of 1812.

But officials cut that ad because it may have been seen as anti- Britain, and the U.K. is actually the city's number one foreign customer. One of the approved ads does take aim at a target closer to home, the federal government and the six-month shutdown it imposed on deepwater drilling. The ads got a picture of the famous shrimp po- boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It talks about the moratorium. It says, thank god there's not a moratorium on this! That's who we are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: That is sort of the sense of humor here. But on a serious note, a lot of beaches from Florida here to Louisiana don't have oil on them.

And New Orleans is about as close to that spill as Philly is to Manhattan. But the officials here are so worried about this perception that just yesterday the mayor of New Orleans sent another letter to BP asking for $75 million over the next three years just for tourism promotion. Drew?

GRIFFIN: Chris, it's got to be tough on that city. They're still coming back interest Katrina. A lot of people haven't gone there since Katrina because they think the city is still a mess from the hurricane. Are people there getting weary of all this?

LAWRENCE: That's the thing you hear over and over. Everyone here was just saying, boy, we were just coming back from Katrina. The tourism numbers here in New Orleans were actually back to pre-Katrina levels before this happened.

I talked to a lot of the fishermen, the shrimpers who were saying this was going to be our best year in ten years. So there was an extreme amount of hope here in this region that it had finally turned the corner and good times were ahead. Then the oil spill happened, and now who knows what happens next.

GRIFFIN: Chris Lawrence live in New Orleans, thanks, Chris.

CHETRY: He's right. We're going to be talking to a frustrated shrimp distributor. But it was supposed to be the best year in a decade. A nice, cold winter and they were getting right ready to harvest when this happened.

A frustrating example of bureaucracy getting in the way is now over. You may remember we told you yesterday we talked to Billy Nungesser, Plaquemines Parish president, who was very angry the coast guard sidelined some Louisiana owned vacuum barges because of some safety concerns.

They were working just fine sucking up the oil along the Gulf coast at a rate he said of 4,000 gallons of crude ever 90 minutes. Yesterday all 16 vessels got the green light to go back on the water. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has said that they were his state's answer to a painfully slow response from BP.

GRIFFIN: As that frustration grows along the coast, more and more local officials there are lashing out and hard at the feds. No one's been more outspoken and exasperated at the response inn than Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana President Billy Nungesser.

Yesterday on "AMERICAN MORNING" he called for D.C. point man on the crisis coast guard Admiral Thad Allen to step down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARIS: If we're at war, we should be calling out all stops. Thad Allen just doesn't get it. I think it is time for him to retire. They left him in charge here. When Thad Allen last Saturday says he's consider bringing vessels from other parts of the world if someone would ask, but nobody asked. He's in charge. I'm asking, Thad Allen, bring it all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: After our interview with Billy Nungesser, Admiral Thad Allen responded to the criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: I've been in public service a long time and I always look forward to constructive feedback and I serve at the pleasure of the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: He also told CNN the drilling of the two relief wells is ahead of schedule. He wouldn't say whether that meant the operation to plug the well would happen ahead of schedule.

GRIFFIN: Larry King is hosting a special two-hour telethon, an all-star telethon Monday night for the people whose lives have been devastated by this spill. It starts at a special time, 8:00 p.m. eastern. Right here on CNN.

CHETRY: Also this morning, another disturbing find at Arlington national cemetery. A "Washington Post" reporter discovered dozens of grave stones abandoned in a stream. At least one headstone removed from the waterbed had a name on it.

The news follows last week's revelation that Arlington misidentified or mislabeled more than 200 veterans' graves.

Tornadoes that ripped across Minnesota are blamed for at least two deaths. The twisters touched down about 70 miles southeast of Fargo and ripped apart homes, businesses, and tore trees down. At least 20 other people were treated for injuries.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, it's 12 minutes past the hour right now.

(WEATHER BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Police in Peru say he has already confessed to one murder. There are still questions now about his link to Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba. Up next, a CNN exclusive, we'll take you inside the jail cell of Joran Van Der Sloot. It is now 13 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Aruban authorities, they want Natalee Holloway's father to put this ongoing search for his daughter on hold while police in Peru try to learn more about Holloway's disappearance.

CHETRY: Meantime, Joran van der Sloot has been arrested twice in Holloway's disappearance. He is still being held in Lima after investigators say he confessed to killing 21-year-old Stephany Flores. And a judge is going to be questioning him soon. But meantime this morning, a CNN exclusive, a firsthand look inside of his jail cell. Jean Casarez from "In Session," our sister network truTV, is in the Peruvian capital.

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Drew and Kiran, we were given exclusive access to Peru's Castro Castro prison on the outskirts of Lima. When we first entered, we were in general population. We could talk to, we can interview anyone we wanted to basically. But then we wanted to go up to one of the cell blocks on the upper level where five to six inmates are in one small cell. They declined and told us it was because of security reasons. But we were able to go where Joran van der Sloot was. We saw him as he went from his cell block area to a nearby office building. That's when they took us in right into the cell of Joran van der Sloot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: This is the cell of Joran van der Sloot. They just took him out so we could come in f here. This is where he lives day in and day out at Castro Castro. This is his clothes. Remember you saw him on television in these clothes? He still has them here.

Here are his pants. And over here, here's his bed. It's a mattress. There are all of his personal belongings. You can see a lot of books. I see religious books. I see toothpaste. I see the bible right there. I see books that are written in Dutch.

And then over here, he has his own bathroom. As we've heard, it is a hole in the ground.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: Joran van der Sloot had two visitors before we came. First, a Dutch minister who had flown from the Netherlands to visit him and as he told us, all the other Dutch prisoners here in Peru. Also, his attorney, Maximo Altez was there to visit him. Next on tap for Joran van der Sloot, he'll be face-to-face with a judge on Monday. That's when he gives his formal statement.

Kiran and Drew, back to you.

CHETRY: Jean, thanks so much.

Well, still to come on the Most News in the Morning, no more free toasters and goodbye to free checking. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business." Some more changes for the way that you do banking.

Eighteen minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty-one minutes past the hour right now. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business." Things are changing in the banking world, of course, because they're losing money and they're passing that on to you.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually --

GRIFFIN: Are they losing money or making less money?

ROMANS: They're making less money. They're starting to make money again and they're trying to figure out how to pad those profits. And one of the ways they're doing that is by maybe ending free checking.

Many of us have grown up knowing that you put money in the bank account and you withdraw it, and they do that because that's what a bank does. Well, you're going to find more and more banks will be charging you for your checking account. They'll be charging you for a variety of different reasons. If you have less than a certain minimum, if you don't write enough checks basically. If you have low activity in the account. You don't really use it. You use it as a short-term place to park money. This means you're going to get fees.

Now, the way to avoid these fees, a couple of ways. You got to maintain the preset balance. Some places this is either $500 or $5,000. And that obviously not everybody can do that. They're going to want you to use their bank credit card and debit cards, and they're going to want you to use them a certain number of times every month because they make money off of every one of those transactions.

CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: And they might really be pushing you to use more bank services. For example, say you drop below the minimum but you're going to tap one of their investment advisers. Well, then they're going to find a way to make money from you another way by trying to get you to use some of their other products and you might be able to avoid fees that way.

I want to be really clear here. You can go to bankrate.com or a number of different Web sites and find places that don't charge fees or find places that have very low minimums. So if you have a long relationship with a very big, bailed-out bank, you might be able to look at credit unions, small community banks and online banks to avoid these fees. If you're paying fees, $5, $10, $15, $25, $35 a month, you're losing money, folks. You're losing money. You're paying someone to hold your money for you, and you don't want to be in this economy in that kind of a situation. So I say run screaming from the fees. Be very careful, free checking might be ending and a lot of the banks that you've been doing business with.

CHETRY: And they have to notify you? Or is this just something --

ROMANS: They have to -- yes, they have to notify you. They have to notify you. But here's the thing. I mean, it costs -- the estimates vary but it costs anywhere from $200 to $300 a year for a bank to maintain your checking account. Well, if it's a place that you're just parking money, you're not really using it --

GRIFFIN: Right.

ROMANS: -- they don't want to lose 300 bucks. You're not worth anything to them. Right? They want the high-revenue driving bank customer. And so they're going to try to figure out how to get that customer.

You -- you don't want to be a revenue source for a bank. Right? You want to be someone who's protecting your money and growing it. So you've got to find somebody who appreciates your business and that maybe you will be able to grow that relationship with. I'm a real fan of the credit unions. Bankrate.com says 39 out of 50 of the biggest credit unions have no fees whatsoever.

CHETRY: Credit unions are great. The only problem that a lot of people find is --

ROMANS: They're non-profit. Right.

CHETRY: Well, no, I mean, they're not convenient, like you have to go to the actual credit union to get money.

ROMANS: Right.

CHETRY: They don't have ATMs all over the place.

ROMANS: My credit union does have ATM.

CHETRY: It does?

ROMANS: Yes.

CHETRY: Mine did not. I had to go to the --

ROMANS: I know. Well, I mean, and that's the thingm but it's a not for profit. I mean, they're not --

GRIFFIN: Right.

ROMANS: They're not in business to generate a bunch of money.

CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: Which means they start throwing out people who are low revenue people attacking fees on them. But all of this is because of the regulations meant to protect us. These are part of the unintended consequences. You know, it's just like the balloon. You squeeze the balloon and it --

GRIFFIN: Yes, they're going to make their money.

ROMANS: Right.

GRIFFIN: Just another way.

ROMANS: Yes, So be careful. My only advice is be careful.

CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: Sure.

CHETRY: Well, it's iron versus oil. One community's hometown defense against the spill, a place where mail is delivered by boat and they're not waiting for help from the Feds or BP. We'll take you there next.

Twenty five minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: Welcome back. The Most News in the Morning is right here. It's 27 past the hour. Top stories just minutes away. But first -- first, an "A.M. Original," something you're only going to see right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: Here's one town along the Alabama coast that's running out of time and they say that their water is their lifeblood. A river literally running through it like an artery.

GRIFFIN: If the oil gets in, it will literally be in people's backyards. So the community decided not to wait. Mary Snow live in New Orleans with their story.

Good morning, Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Drew. And you know what? People talk about the beauty in the gulf, you only need to look at Magnolia Springs, Alabama to see what they're talking about. This is a very small community. They don't trust anyone else to protect them and they've taken things into their own hands. The oil hasn't reached them but the feeling is it's only a matter of time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Jamie Hinton has a battle plan to block oil from encroaching into his community and he took us out to show us. Yes, there is containment boom but he's not trusting it.

CHIEF JAMIE HINTON, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPT.: You can see in here just a little low wave action we've got now, it's almost going over the top of it as it is.

SNOW: And that's why Hinton mobilized nine barges at the mouth of Weeks Bay. But to get that line of defense in place, Hinton had to fight and he was eager to show us why. The bay is home to an estuary and leads to the Magnolia River. Seven hundred-plus people live in Magnolia Springs where Hinton has lived his whole life and serves as the chief of the local fire department. Mail is delivered by boat and wildlife dot the landscape, but there's an underlying anxiety.

HINTON: And to think that if we can't stop the oil from getting into here, it can be lost for multiple generations.

SNOW: In early May, when CNN first visited Magnolia Springs, Hinton had already sounded the alarm and was told by some locals he was overreacting. BP had provided a single line of boom, so Hinton drew up a plan to use barges along with containment booms. BP has since provided much more boom, staff and equipment, but Hinton says he's relying on his community and not the government.

HINTON: They're going to handle it like they did Katrina. It happened in the Valdez spill.

SNOW: The town of Magnolia Springs had to get government approval to line up the barges. Hinton says he was ready to do it even if it meant going to jail. That didn't happen. Magnolia Springs now has government money to keep those barges out here for four months. At the first sight of oil, they'll move the last barge in place.

HINTON: The barge with the crane is getting diagonally placed between there and this barge. And that seals the gap.

SNOW (on camera): How confident are you you're going to block this oil?

HINTON: I'm very confident that we're going to block this stuff on top of the water.

SNOW: How about below? You talk about those plumes.

HINTON: Scares me to death.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And you hear Jamie Hinton there saying he's so worried about those underwater plumes. They're trying to use containment booms under the water. It's very difficult to do that, though. And you know, volunteers are patrolling the waters every day, even sending divers underwater to see if there's any trace of oil and they're testing it. But they're resolve, they're saying they will fight this. Drew and Kiran.

CHETRY: And the question is, as you said it scares him because even if they do find it under water, what are they going to do? I mean, what can they do?

SNOW: Yes, absolutely. They say though the best defense though is putting those barges in place and they're really worried about those containment booms because of the waves. They felt they wouldn't going to be all that effective. So they feel that this plan that they have in place is the absolute best thing that they can do.

CHETRY: All right. Mary Snow for us this morning in New Orleans, thanks.

GRIFFIN: 30 minutes past the hour. This morning's top stories. At least two people have died in Minnesota after a vicious outbreak of tornadoes. Widespread destruction. This happened 70 miles southeast of Fargo where homes were destroyed. The roof ripped off of a local high school. People are telling us that 20 people were injured. Today Minnesota's Governor Tim Pawlenty plans to visit some of those hardest hit areas.

CHETRY: Well, convicted killer Ronnie Lee Gardner executed overnight by firing squad in Utah. His death carried out hours after the Supreme Court denied a last-minute appeal. It was the first such execution in 14 years and only the third time that a firing squad has been used since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty back in 1976.

Gardner was convicted of murdering an attorney in 1985 during an attempted court house escape.

GRIFFIN: And a sweet repeat for the Los Angeles Lakers. They came from behind to beat Boston, 83-79 in game seven of the NBA championship and win their second straight title. It's the fifth championship for Lakers star player Kobe Bryant. Outside the Staples Center, business as usual. Fans running amuck, breaking bottles, street lights and lighting at least one car on fire. The police arrested a dozen people.

CHETRY: They won, come on.

Well, there's one thing that Congress does very well these days and that is schedule hearings. Lots and lots of hearings.

GRIFFIN: Dealing with an environmental disaster, order a hearing. If that doesn't accomplish anything, call another one.

CHETRY: Carol Costello joins us live from the nation's capital with a gut check. And you know, a lot of people have been asking this, Carol, what is the point?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Such a good question. If you're wondering, by the way, just how many hearings there have been, I've been keeping track so you don't have to. 33 and counting. And it's only been two months. So we wondered. Are 33 hearings helping? Hurting? Do they matter at all? A gut check this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): It was perhaps the mother of all hearings so far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the most important hearings that this Congress will ever have. COSTELLO: The man many consider BP's top villain, Tony Hayward, on the hot seat, alone, and silent for more than an hour while lawmakers let him have it.

REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: Mr. Hayward, I'm sure you will get your life back and with a golden parachute back to England.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to know whether you're distraught.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you're insulting our intelligence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it true that it is just all about profit?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is unconscionable.

COSTELLO: It isn't the first hearing in which a BP executive has been, as Congressman Bart Stupak described it --

STUPAK: Fairly sliced and diced.

COSTELLO: On Tuesday, with BP America CEO Lamar McKay's turn.

REP. JOSEPH CAO (R), LOUISIANA: Mr. Stern asked Mr. Mckay to resign. Well, in the Asian culture we do things differently. During the samurai days, we just give you a knife and ask you to commit hara-kiri.

COSTELLO: As in suicide. It's the sort of thing you heard after Katrina. There were 24 hearings in the months after the hurricane. In the two months after the BP disaster, there have been 33.

LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: A big piece of the congressional hearing process is about attracting attention. Getting congressmen and senators on television, especially in an election year.

COSTELLO: But, it can backfire. Pure politics is why one lawmakers apologized to BP at a hearing held to figure out why oil is still spewing into the gulf.

REP. JOE BARTON (R), TEXAS: I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown.

COSTELLO: Republican Congressmen Barton is talking about BP's $20 billion escrow account for jobless claims, orchestrated by the White House. Barton is from oil-rich Texas and feels the Obama administration should be on the hot seat, too. He later retracted his BP apology.

STUPAK: You cut corners to save money and time.

COSTELLO: Still, there are those who insist these hearings do matter. Lee Hamilton who served as vice chair of the 9/11 Commission told me "the process is messy and imprecise, but it's important lawmakers put witnesses on the spot. They are doing their job."

And lawmakers did do that, although their star witness continued to maintain that safety is number one, and he didn't really address those specific examples of when BP allegedly ignored safety for profit.

TONY HAYWARD, BP CEO: I can't possibly know. I don't recall the time. It is impossible for me to answer that question. I'm afraid I can't recall that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's clear to me that you don't want to answer our questions.

COSTELLO: Maybe he and BP will respond differently at the next congressional hearing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Of course, it might not be a good idea to answer those kinds of questions, Drew and Kiran, when you're facing criminal charges because you know that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating charges against BP in a criminal case.

Also ponder this -- lawmakers can't take immediate action. It takes a while to pass a law. There are now 34 bills in the House and Senate, many drawn up thanks to information coming out of all those hearings. But we want to know what you think this morning. Have we had enough congressional hearings? Do you think they're helping? Are you finding anything out that's useful to you?

You can post your comments on my blog, cnn.com/amfix. CNN.com/amfix.

GRIFFIN: Carol, all the attention, you know, for the last day now has been on these hearings which have produced, if you ask me, nothing to help the people in the gulf. I just -- it just takes away so much of the attention from the people who are really suffering.

COSTELLO: As Lee Hamilton told me though, this is what lawmakers are supposed to do. They're supposed to sit down with these important witnesses, put them on the hot seat, try to get answers from them. Then they can figure out what kind of legislation to draw up later. He says they're very useful.

GRIFFIN: Well --

CHETRY: All right.

GRIFFIN: I guess.

CHETRY: 33 and counting. Carol Costello, thank you.

GRIFFIN: Well, the testimony of Hayward is angering gulf residents. Nola shrimper king Dean Blanchard is up live next to tell us what he thinks about all these congressional hearings going on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CHETRY: And sometimes you feel like people are not listening to you.

GRIFFIN: No.

CHETRY: 40 minutes past the hour. Well, it was a festival of apologies from BP's CEO Tony Hayward to Texas Congressman Joe Barton. And our next guest says that the House hearing was a sorry spectacle.

GRIFFIN: Dean Blanchard is one of the largest seafood distributors in the gulf. He's joining us now live from New Orleans. I just wonder what your reaction was to that whole show yesterday on Capitol Hill, Dean.

DEAN BLANCHARD, PRESIDENT, DEAN BLANCHARD SEAFOOD INC.: Oh, it reminds me when I was a kid watching the mafia hearings. The only thing he didn't do was take the fifth amendment.

CHETRY: Yes. And what about what Congressman Joe Barton did yesterday of Texas? He apologized to BP, calling the fact that they had to pay out this $20 billion escrow account a tragedy.

BLANCHARD: Well, I believe that Representative Barton will probably be retiring soon to spend more time with his family and become a lobbyist for BP.

GRIFFIN: Let's get to your business now. You're still suffering. You can't get your boats out there, right? And are you getting any compensation from BP? Are you staying whole?

BLANCHARD: Yes, Drew. I got $75,000 yesterday and that pretty much covers one average day during the season.

GRIFFIN: So nothing for the other 58 days or so. What happens now --

BLANCHARD: And counting.

GRIFFIN: Yes, and counting is right. And no end in sight. I guess the only thing now really, Dean, you can hope for is that they somehow stop that oil and clean it up so you can get back to work. But that has got to look like, from your perspective, months, maybe even -- I hate to say it -- a year away.

BLANCHARD: It might be if those two relief wells don't hit, you know, no telling what we're looking at. But you're right, until they stop it, it's hard to make a decision what to do with your life, Drew. It's real confusing.

A lot of uncertainty in this situation and it's a lot different than most of the other disasters we go through. In the hurricane, when it's over, it's over.

CHETRY: Right.

BLANCHARD: This thing isn't over yet.

CHETRY: Yes, and just -- so people get a clear understanding of what you would normally be making, you said that during the shrimping season, you guys prepare for it all year but you're pulling maybe $1.5 million a month. Right?

BLANCHARD: I believe I would have pocketed over $1.5 million for the month of May. That would have been with about three weeks of work there, Kiran.

CHETRY: And so, do you --I know you file your claim and this is happening, but do you think that BP is going to give you that amount?

BLANCHARD: Well, what BP got to figure out, it's not just the money we lost. We got 28 years of building relationships with customers that our customers had to go and deal with other people. So there is a lot of factors involved in this.

CHETRY: Yes. And on top of that, the fishermen, you said they're paying tons of money for these boats. $20,000 to $25,000 a month, you know, to the bank to keep these boats. And they haven't gotten any claims paid yet, have they?

BLANCHARD: No. That's why we tried working on today, to get a little relief for some of them boats. It's a sad situation. As you know, you was down there. It's a very sad situation.

GRIFFIN: All right. Dean Blanchard live from New Orleans this morning, and really I think what we're witnessing is a slow bleed out of the fishing industry, just slowly dying out there in the gulf.

CHETRY: Yes and I mean, as Dean said he took us out on his boat. I mean, literally he -- they don't know if they're going to be able to recover. They may have to actually just leave that area. And it is some of the richest shrimping in the country.

Well, still ahead, we're talking about some severe weather that's been taking place, storms lingering in the northeast. Travel delays on tap. Reynolds Wolf is going to be breaking it down for us, coming up. 44 minutes after the hour.

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GRIFFIN: And a hot look at Hotlanta. Atlanta, Georgia, sunny, 74. It's going to be really sunny, 93 later on today.

CHETRY: You know, you should see -- I mean, not only can you play the vuvuzela but you're really good at impersonation as well.

GRIFFIN: That's right. Hey --

CHETRY: Let's check in with Reynolds Wolf. You know what Reynolds Wolf's nickname is? Can I tell him?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Bring it. Bring it on.

CHETRY: He likes to be called Bronco.

WOLF: Bronco. That's right. I haven't heard that in a long -- yes. That's -- that takes a couple of drinks to explain that one. Let's -- let's save that for another time.

Let's go right to the weather cast -- Am I blushing a little bit? I think so. All right, let's blush a little bit on this weather.

It was a rude awakening for people in Chicago this morning, (INAUDIBLE) an intense line of storms that came through. Nothing severe, but still pretty loud, to say the very least. What we can anticipate is as this line of storms comes through it's going to weaken a little bit but may strengthen once again in places like Detroit by the afternoon.

So a good chance of severe weather in parts of the Ohio Valley. But, if you'll notice, that chance of severe weather could extend back into the western half of the Great Lakes and even into portions of the Corn Belt, back into portions of, say, Iowa, even into Missouri, maybe even along parts of I-70 in the "Show-Me" state.

Now, not only are we dealing with severe storms, but along parts of the Gulf Coast we're talking about some severe heat. High temperatures mixed in with the high humidity. That's going to be a big difference maker for many people that are working along the coast, trying to clean up that oil. A tall order for them with those temperatures soaring up into the 90s in many locations, including New Orleans and back over to Houston and Dallas, a string of 90s, but with the high humidity, wow, it's going to feel much warmer than that.

Also, in terms of delays, you can expect some backups a few places, mainly up towards the Great Lakes, perhaps in Chicago due to this chance of thunderstorms. Also St. Louis, anywhere for a half- hour to a full hour delay. And in Orlando and Miami, the sea breeze thunderstorms might cause a few delays out on the runway anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.

That is the latest. Let's send it back to you guys in the NEWSROOM. No --no nicknames for you guys that I can think of.

GRIFFIN: No. No, thanks, Bronco.

WOLF: None whatsoever. (INAUDIBLE).

CHETRY: Thanks, Reynolds.

WOLF: See you guys.

GRIFFIN: This morning's top stories just minutes away, including the tarring and feathering of BP's Tony Hayward. The face of this disaster goes face to face with Congress.

Apologies? Anger? No solutions. Is all the talk getting cheap?

CHETRY: And at half past the hour, it's Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, and he may have your ticket to Hogwarts.

GRIFFIN: But coming up next, female Viagra. Fact or fiction? The FDA trying to figure that one out today. Is it really a miracle pill for the opposite sex? Opposite of me (ph).

Those stories and more at the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Our "A.M. Playlist" had a hiccup. There's no way that's Justin Timberlake unless he's vastly changed.

GRIFFIN: I wouldn't know that either way. You could have fooled me.

Time for your "A.M. House Call", stories about your health.

For years now the search has been on for a drug that could help women frustrated with their sex lives. The FDA has been checking out a pill that many hope could be the ever-elusive female Viagra.

CHETRY: Yes, but there were two studies and officials say that the results are, quote, "not compelling". So now, today, an FDA panel is set to vote on this little pink pill.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live at the FDA headquarters in Maryland this morning. And so the verdict doesn't really look promising for this so-called female Viagra. What's the deal?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the deal is is that they're still considering whether this pill ought to go on the market. It's called Flibanserin, and in about five minutes a panel of experts convened by the FDA will be in the room behind me considering whether this pill ought to be allowed on the market.

Now, it's one of two drugs that are in the pipeline designed to help women who are unhappy with their sex lives.

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COHEN: When a man has a sexual problem, he can go to the pharmacy and get some help.

All right, tell me, how many drugs do you have for men with sex problems?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Currently, three prescription medications -- Viagra, Levitra and Cialis.

COHEN: And how many drugs do you have for women with sexual problems?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Currently no prescription medications.

COHEN (voice-over): It's been 12 years since Viagra came on the market, and still there's no similar drug for women.

COHEN (on camera): Sheryl Kingsberg. You're an expert on female sexual health. This just seems unfair.

SHERYL KINGSBERG, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY: Well, you're right. It does seem unfair.

COHEN: Will we at some point see the demise of this double standard for men and women?

KINGSBERG: There are two potential treatment options right on the cusp of being available for women.

COHEN: Let's meet the contenders. The first one is BioSante Pharmaceuticals in Chicago.

All right, so Stephen Simes. You're the CEO of BioSante Pharmaceuticals. And here's your product, LibiGel. And now, just for the sake of demonstration -- there's no drug in here.

STEPHEN SIMES, CEO, BIOSANTE PHARMACEUTICALS: That's correct.

COHEN: Just a gel.

So tell me how a woman can use it. So lay it on me.

SIMES: So it would be a pea -- we call it a pea-sized amount of gel.

COHEN: And she just rubs it in.

SIMES: Then you just rub it into your arm. And that's the does for 24 hours.

COHEN: That's it? Once a day.

SIMES: Once a day.

COHEN: So in the real drug, there's testosterone?

SIMES: Right.

COHEN: And that does what to women's sex drive?

SIMES: So it increases desire to have sex and then subsequently it increases the number of events. But we're not looking to make women wild. It's just to restore the testosterone they used to have.

COHEN: Stop number two on our tour of female sexual dysfunction is the New York area where another pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has developed a drug. This time it's a pill. And I'm here with Michael Sand, who's in charge of the clinical research.

Now the drug is called Flibanserin. And tell me, in studies, what has it done for women who've taken it?

MICHAEL SAND, HEAD OF CLINICAL RESEARCH, BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM: About half of the women noticed significant benefit on their desire, on their satisfying sexual activity and a decrease in their distress.

COHEN: So there are chemicals in the brain that deal with how sexy you feel. And what does your drug do with those chemicals?

SAND: We think that Flibanserin is altering the brain chemicals in a way that restores that balance to what women had before they lost their desire.

COHEN: The company that comes up with the female Viagra, they have a lot to gain, don't they?

KINGSBERG: I think the company has a lot to gain, but women have more to gain.

COHEN: Maybe some women who are having problems, they don't need a drug. They just need a different guy.

KINGSBERG: Some women, I think will do very well with the testosterone treatment. Some will do well with Flibanserin and some really will do well with a new partner. It's not fair to say only one treatment for one problem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Now, the gel that I showed you, that's not going to be on the market for several years, so once it gets approve. However the pill, that's the one being debated behind me today. If this panel gives it its -- gives it its stamp of approval, it could be on the market by the end of the year.

GRIFFIN: Elizabeth, if the FDA has already said this is -- the results are not compelling, that to me says, it wouldn't work. Why would they go ahead and approve it? Will they approve it just because it's -- it is safe, it's not going to harm you?

COHEN: Well, let's take a look at what they mean by not compelling, because there's some very specific results to look at here. When women who had sexual problem did not take Flibanserin, they reported having 2.8 sexually satisfying events. You know, I know this is very sort of cut and dry, you know, very scientific -- 2.8 sexually-satisfying events per month.

When they took Flibanserin, they had 4.5 sexually-satisfying events per month. Now, as you can see, that's not a huge difference. Some people might argue, hey, even just 0.01 sexually-satisfying events per month, more, well, that's, you know, why not? That's a good thing.

And other people would say, well, that's really not much of a difference. Plus, this pill sometimes made people -- made women dizzy, nauseous and tired, although they did eventually feel better once they kept going with the drug. So it's all a matter of this is enough of an advantage for women and are the disadvantages a problem. That's -- that's what they're debating behind me today.

GRIFFIN: And will they make a decision today?

COHEN: They will. Now, this is a subcommittee. This is not the full FDA. So these experts say to the FDA we think you should let it go the market or we think you shouldn't. The FDA usually listens to this panel of experts.

GRIFFIN: All right. Elizabeth Cohen.

CHETRY: Thanks, Elizabeth.

We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories in just two minutes.

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