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New Documents About BP's Knowledge of Potential High Levels of Oil Leakage; Obama Administration and Afghanistan Policy; BP's $20 Billion Fund; How Fast Can Claims Be Paid; Turning Against America; Enjoying The Beach While You Can; Gulf Spill: Mayors Taking Action

Aired June 21, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thanks for joining us on the Most News in the Morning on this Monday, the 21st of June. It will be the very first day of summer, the solstice in about 29 minutes' time. I'm John Roberts. Good morning.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Your feels like it already, doesn't it?

ROBERTS: Any place is true --

CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We have a lot to talk about this hour, so let's get right to it.

First, the discovery of an internal BP document uncovered saying that worst case scenario up to 100,000 barrels of oil could be gushing into the Gulf every day. It's the highest total that we've heard yet. And what's even more disturbing to some is that this document was written by BP nearly two months ago when the oil giant was still telling Congress the numbers were much lower.

ROBERTS: The White House is just taking over the claims process for the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The president appointing Ken Feinberg to oversee BP's billions ordering him to get checks cut fast for the victims who need them the most. It's a big job. We'll ask Feinberg how he plans to do it when he joins us in about 15 minutes' time.

A terrifying tornado caught on tape in Billings, Montana. The twister ripped the roof out of the sports arena and several other businesses. This morning, police and the National Guard are still dealing with the damage. We're going to get a full look at the extreme weather just ahead.

ROBERTS: The worst case scenario for the oil spill in the Gulf just got worse. An internal BP document puts the upper limit on the amount of oil that could gush into the Gulf at 100,000 barrels, 4.2 million gallons every 24 hours.

It's been 63 days now since this disaster began and that new worst case scenario is really an old worst case scenario because it was written by BP back in may and is just being revealed now. The oil giant kept those estimates quiet offering Congress and the American people much lower numbers, sparking new acquisitions of deception. And then there is this story. BP's embattled CEO Tony Hayward spotted this weekend aboard his 52-foot yacht soaking up sun off of the coast of southern England while his company was getting hammered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ED MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Right from the beginning, BP was either lying or grossly incompetent. First they said it was only 1,000 barrels. Then they said it was 5,000 barrels. Now we're up to 100,000 barrels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: BP is calling the release of its worst case scenario document "irrelevant." But critics call it one more reason not to trust the company.

Chris Lawrence is live in New Orleans this morning. A lot of people on the Gulf coast already feel that way about BP because of the back-and-forth over filing claims with the oil giant. What are you hearing from people there about that frustration?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, just that they can't figure out exactly how this process is supposed to work. And to be fair, Kiran, to BP, they have cut more than 30,000 checks, handed out over $100 million already so far. But that still leaves thousands of people who either have not been paid or can't quite figure out how BP is figuring out what their claim is worth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: It took 40 years for Stu Scheer to build his business, running charter fishing boats in the Gulf. Now it's all falling apart, between the oil spill that shut down business and haggling with BP over his claim.

STUART SCHEER, CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN: Excuse me. You wonder how a guy my age at 260 pounds can be emotional. Sorry. But you know, it's like I told you, saltwater runs through my veins. That's all I've done and all I ever wanted to do was fish.

LAWRENCE: Stu walked into the local claims loss but BP classified large loss and his claim was moved 90 miles away. He only speaks with his adjuster by phone.

SCHEER: They wanted 2007, '08, '09 returns, all my bank statements, licenses.

LAWRENCE (on camera): So you laid out everything, all this paperwork.

SCHEER: Everything.

LAWRENCE: To the number.

SCHEER: To the penny virtually. This is what I calculated from May 9th through the end of December that I had on the books, actual books. Not projections, not people still calling me.

LAWRENCE: And when you itemized these costs for BP, you even accounted for that you wouldn't be using fuel --

SCHEER: That's right. If my boat didn't leave the dock I wouldn't have fuel, bait, rods, reels, contract labor. My gross was $168,800. Less expenses daily, boat expenses, came out to $107,982. My bookings this year amounted to gross net of $107,000 and they basically offered me $33,000.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): He turned down that offer and is now haggling to make up the difference.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Are you any more confident in the government running the claims process?

SCHEER: Again, like I said, there's always an air of optimism and the fact that the Obama administration has gotten BP to put the $20 billion in escrow and supposedly a new regime is going to come in and handle the claims, yes, there's optimism. I hope it works out, but I'm suspicious.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: We called BP and they said they do not comment on individual claims. But from what we've been able to figure out, it looks like Stu may have to take that initial offer.

Even though he's got cancellations in July and August, he may have to wait until that time passes, re-file an additional claim. Even though he's got cancellations already September, October, he'll have to wait until then. His paperwork may be just beginning.

CHETRY: If he's able to showdown to the dime or penny how much he normally makes, why the huge discrepancy between what they were willing to give him and what he actually clears in a year?

LAWRENCE: Because BP, from what Stu told me, he said the BP adjuster told him we can't pay you for work that you haven't done. And so his argument was, well, how can I do the work because you can't fish now, I'm not going to do the work, this is for canceled work. I had these bookings, now people have canceled.

And so it's just a big, big, big confusing thing for him right now. But what it looks like is maybe they'll pay him for May and June, then after July and August, he has to bring that paperwork back.

He's hoping that with the new regime sort of coming in, maybe this can be streamlined, because he says, look, I've got everything on the books, I'm ready to give it to you. All I want to do is get back to the business that I've lost.

CHETRY: That's a perfect example of something that the new pay czar will be dealing with here when he comes to the man now charged with dealing with this escrow fund. Chris, thanks so much. The administration does have a new man in charge of paying out these claims. Kenneth Feinberg joins us in just 10 minutes. We'll ask him how the federal government can get checks to people who need them most before they end up losing everything.

ROBERTS: So we've got the new escrow czar coming up. We're also learning more about BP's new go-to man responsible for the long-term cleanup of the oil spill. His name is Bob Dudley. We've had him on this program several times.

He'll in charge of BP's financial obligations and restoring trust and confidence in BP. Dudley spent part of his childhood in Mississippi. Currently he is BP's managing director. He started his career at Amoco which BP bought back in 1998. Since then he's risen through the ranks but lost out to Tony Hayward when BP was looking for a CEO three years ago.

CHETRY: There are new pictures this morning of some lucky, I guess you could say, oiled brown pelicans given a second chance at survival. These were 38 birds were rescued from the Louisiana coast and were released over the weekend at the national wildlife refuge in Texas.

It was the largest number of treated birds released since the oil spill began 63 days ago. There you can see they are able to fly. Fingers still crossed they'll be able to resume life as normal. Officials say the refuge is the perfect place to relocate these birds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN MULCAHY, U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: It's pelican country. They're well known for pelicans there so we know there will be food. We know the habitat is suitable for them, and they should be quite comfortable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: According to federal officials, nearly 700 oiled birds have been rescued so far.

Tonight join Larry King for an all-star relief effort to help rebuild the Gulf coast. A special two-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event takes place at 8:00 eastern right here on CNN.

ROBERTS: Seven minutes after the hour. New this morning, incredible video to show you today of a tornado in Billings, Montana, ripping through a sports arena and throwing debris. The twister took the roof right off the building. It also damaged several businesses, including a bar and casino.

The twister first touched down around 4:30 p.m. local time yesterday. The system also brought golf ball-sized hail to the area.

CHETRY: It is the first official day of summer and it will be a hot one for plenty of people across the country. We're checking all the weather this morning with our Reynolds Wolf in the extreme weather center this morning.

(WEATHER BREAK)

ROBERTS: The White House repeating its message in Afghanistan, the countdown to withdrawal is on, but it sure doesn't look like military leaders are on the same page. Where does that leave our troops? We'll get to the bottom of this ongoing debate with our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 12 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

We're following new developments this morning about when American troops will start leaving Afghanistan.

ROBERTS: The White House says its July of 2011 deadline still stands, but top military commanders are saying something different these days. Our Barbara Starr is live at Pentagon this morning. Barbara, where is this disconnect coming from?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: Well, John, we were quite struck when we listened to the White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel talking about this over the weekend on the Sunday shows, speaking in terms quite differently than General David Petraeus. These are two of the biggest guns in town. Listen to how they both describe the same event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHM EMANUEL, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Everybody knows there is a firm date and that firm date deals with the troops that are part of the surge, the additional 30,000. What will be determined and going into that date will be the scale and scope of that reduction. There be no doubt that that's going to happen.

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, CENTCOM COMMANDER: My understanding of what July, 2011 means and how it is important again that people do realize, especially our partners, especially our comrades in arms in Afghanistan and in the region, that that is not the date when we look for the door and try to turn off the light, but rather a date at which a process begins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So what's really going on here? Well, look. Rahm Emanuel is speaking to political audience, the voters in the United States, saying that the president's promise for July 2011 withdrawal date is going to be kept. General Petreaus clearly speaking to his Afghan counterparts, saying don't worry, we're not going to pack up and just go home.

This is going to go on. Both of these men are men who do choose their words very carefully. The bottom line is some troops are going to come home. Nobody can say right now whether it's a token withdrawal or a major withdrawal.

What happens, though, if progress has not been made and there cannot be a significant withdrawal? Nobody really knows. Right now, John, Kiran, there is no plan b for Afghanistan. This is what they're going with.

CHETRY: Do you think we can expect to see more of this disconnect in language describing the war in Afghanistan?

STARR: Well, it's already happening. This week the Pentagon spokesman Jeff Morrell was compelled to say from the podium there is a "rhetorical difference," if you will, his words essentially, between Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen over Kandahar, the two men articulating very different views about whether Kandahar is central to success in the war.

That's the place where the next major offensive is going to be. Progress there is slower than expected. By any measure right now in this countdown period that we're talking about, all of the key markers are going just a little bit slower than planned in terms of violence, in terms of attacks, and in terms of the rising number of casualties amongst U.S. troops.

A lot of concern about this, a lot of caution being expressed by senior military officers, John, Kiran?

CHETRY: Certainly understandable. Barbara Starr for us this morning from the Pentagon, thanks.

ROBERTS: BP agrees to put $20 billion into an escrow account to cover the claims of those affected by the oil spill. Sounds good on paper but the devil, of course, is always in the details.

Coming up, we're going to talk to the man who is overseeing the fund, Ken Feinberg. Stay with us.

It's 15 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Across the Gulf, shrimpers, oystermen, business people, their lives on hold waiting for checks from BP for claims that they have already filed. The oil giant says it has issued more than 32,000 checks and last week agreed to a $20 billion escrow fund to compensate spill victims.

Ken Feinberg is the man charged who has been charged with overseeing the fund, making sure that people get paid. He joins me now from Houston, Texas.

Ken, it's great to see you again. We seem to visit so often in such tragic circumstances. You're meeting with BP today. What are you going to tell the company about this escrow fund and paying out these claims?

KENNETH FEINBERG, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE INDEPENDENT CLAIMS FACILITY: We've got to get the claims out quicker. We've got to get them out with more transparency so that claimants understand what the status of their claim and we've got to ease the burden on these folks in the Gulf. I was there last week. I'll be there tomorrow. We've got to accelerate the process just as the president instructed me to do.

ROBERTS: So you've got to accelerate the process but you've got thousands upon thousands of claims that you have to process. How do you make sure that you get that money out there quickly but then at the same time, avoid fraud? Because there are always people who try to take advantage of a situation like this.

FEINBERG: It's a delicate balance. On the emergency payments that have been going out that you mentioned, and I give BP credit, I give them credit. They've set up this program. They've already accelerated a process and paid out over $100 million in claims. But with the emergency payments, John, you've got to allow those payments to go out with less corroboration than you would if you're giving a lump sum payment that is the total compensation. For the emergency payments, we've got to air on the side of the plaintiff.

ROBERTS: All right. So how do you quantify who gets what? For example, we talk to and Missy (ph) and Robert Ben, who were the owners of the Edgewater in Biloxi, Mississippi last week. They say that they've got a claim, though there's been no oil on their beach. They've lost business because of the perception that the Gulf waters are fouled around where they are. And then we also talked, I don't know if you heard this morning to Stu Scheer. He's a fisherman, who painstakingly went through his last three years of income tax returns, said to BP, I'm going to lose $107,000 worth of business this year because of the oil spill and they said we'll give you $33,000.

FEINBERG: I can't speak for BP. I'm running an independent facility. But just as you point out, I'll take a look at the historical, the recent past economics of these claims and we will quantify and calculate an award or an amount and sit, if necessary, with the individual claimant, come up with an acceptable amount that will compensate fully. The president made it clear he wants full compensation. The $20 billion might not be enough. Maybe it will. Whatever it takes, these individuals and businesses must get paid.

ROBERTS: You know, in addition to the fishermen and the local businesses that have been affected because of a lack of tourism or whatever, just lack of availability of seafood, there's also the question of oil workers and the effect on them because of the moratorium. BP, in addition to the $20 billion escrow fund, is setting aside $100 million to compensate those people. Ken, do they come to you or is there a separate process for these out of work oil workers because of the moratorium?

FEINBERG: Separate process. I've got enough challenges with this independent claims facility. That $100 million is a separate moratorium agreement between the administration and BP. It is not on my watch. And -- but I'm sure that $100 million will be dispensed fairly quickly. ROBERTS: Now some people may be looking at this saying, OK, if I go to Ken Feinberg and I'm looking for a settlement, do I give up my right to sue BP because, as we know, there are probably going to be tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against this company?

FEINBERG: As with the 9/11 fund, you'll recall the emergency payments that are going out under my watch do not require that any claimant give up any of his or her rights to litigate or go forward in court. You can take these emergency payments, pocket them, and if you ultimately want to litigate, go ahead. I think that is very unwise.

I will urge these claimants, don't go to court, litigate fees. You don't know if you'll win. You pay your lawyer 30 or 40 percent in a contingency fee. As with 9/11, come into this program, the emergency payments are without any condition. And then ultimately, if you receive an award and you're willing to give up your right to sue, it's purely voluntary. And I would urge claimants to do just that.

ROBERTS: All right. Now you said at the beginning of this, Ken, that you are an independent entity who is going to be looking into this. But the point has been made by some critics of the administration how can Ken Feinberg be independent because he's also on the White House payroll as the executive compensation czar. So what do you say to that?

FEINBERG: I'm not on the payroll. I'm doing the White House pay czar role pro bono without compensation. And in terms of this facility, who else is going to pay for this program but BP? Not the federal government. You can't ask the people in the Gulf to pay for this. You can't ask the federal or state governments to pay for this. I mean, if the critics have a better idea as to how to go about doing this, I don't think anybody will ultimately question the independence of this program.

ROBERTS: Ken Feinberg, you got a lot of work to do. Thanks for taking time out of your busy day. We really appreciate it. We'll let you get back to it because we know how desperately so many folks need that money. Thanks for joining us.

FEINBERG: Thank you.

ROBERTS: In less than 20 minutes time, we're going to be talking to New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu about the $20 billion escrow fund and why marriage from across the country are heading to the Gulf Coast today. So stay tuned for that.

CHETRY: Meantime later today, the suspected Times Square bomber will be facing arrangement in a New York court while fellow Pakistani- Americans face a painful reality. Their kids being radicalized and they don't know how to stop it. An "A.M. Original" you don't want to miss just ahead.

It's 24 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- seven minutes past the hour now. Our top stories just minutes away. But first an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only here on AMERICAN MORNING.

The suspected Times Square bomber faces arraignment in a New York courtroom today. Faisal Shahzad will be asked to enter a plea to 10 weapons and terror charges. At the same time, many of his fellow Pakistani Americans are still struggling to understand why he and their own children are turning against America. Deb Feyerick has more.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, parents have a tough challenge shielding their kids from negative influences, keeping the moms (ph) straight narrow. But when those children are marginalized because of their dual identities, whether it be nationality or religion, the challenge is even greater.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): The night of the attempted Times Square bombing the question everyone had was, who did it? When news broke of the arrest of Faisal Shahzad, a Connecticut man from a prominent Pakistani family, it underscored this mom's fears.

DR. YUSRA ANIS ANWAR, PAKISTANI-AMERICAN MOTHER: There was this shock that, you know, overcame me. There was this sinking feeling in my stomach that this is another Muslim and he's of Pakistani heritage.

FEYERICK: Raising teenage boys is challenging enough. But for Yusra Anis Anwar and her husband who are both doctors in Connecticut, the thought anyone in their upscale educated community could be radicalized to the extent of committing a terrorist act is alarming.

Y. ANWAR: We need to find out what is causing this so we can better manage this and prevent this from happening to our own children.

FEYERICK: Hartford's Pakistani-American community recently held a deradicalization conference with cult expert Michael Langone.

(on camera): People are thinking maybe radicalization has some cult-like elements to it. How do you see it?

MICHAEL LANGONE, PH.D., INT'L CULTIC STUDIES ASSOCIATION: A radicalization is a form of conversion, like religious conversion. And I think normal conversions we have an inner generated conversion. It comes -- it emerges from the person. In cultic conversions and I suspect in terrorist radicalization, there is someone who wants to use this person as an object, has to change him, has to get him to become compliant, to become a deployable agent.

DR. SAUD ANWAR, PAKISTANI-AMERICAN FATHER: There are some people who are right outside of the norms of the fate who are in a cult-like mindset.

FEYERICK (voice-over): For these parents, fear from their kids comes from other areas, too.

TAHA ANWAR, PAKISTANI-AMERICAN TEEN: We have gone through enough. So much pain, so much sadness.

FEYERICK: Thirteen-year-old Taha Anwar, who sent President Obama this poem he wrote about the Iraq war, says he has been bullied at school and called a terrorist. Then on a recent family trip to Egypt, he was stopped by TSA and searched.

T. ANWAR: The guy asked me my ethnicity first. I said American. And he said, no, before that. And so, my dad said from Pakistan. So -- so then he immediately took me and my dad aside.

Y. ANWAR: We have to make sure that they aren't being harassed. We have to make sure that they are comfortable with who they are so that they aren't -- that they become immune to anyone who is attempting to radicalize children who are feeling marginalized or alienated.

FEYERICK: Yusra Anis Anwar keeps the lines of communication open with her boys and insists she approves English translations of Islamic text they might read.

Y. ANWAR: Our challenge is to tell them this is wrong and that they have to research anything that they hear that really does not promote love of all creatures and tolerance and justice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Cult experts say young people are drawn to extremist groups for the following reasons, revenge seeking, status seeking and in some cases, thrill seeking. The key is to monitor any changes in behavior especially withdrawal and intervene as soon as possible.

John, Kiran.

ROBERTS: Deb Feyerick this morning. Deb, thanks.

Crossing the half-hour, it's time for this morning's top stories now. A group of oil service companies headed to court in New Orleans today demanding an end to the president's six-month ban on oil drilling in the gulf. They claim that there is no proof that drilling is a threat to the environment and they say the ban is bringing them to their knees.

CHETRY: Well, Chicago's subway system back on track this morning but a fire broke out on the red line yesterday near the Clark Street Station. 19 people had to be taken to the hospital because of inhaling smoke an other respiratory problems. Five listed still in serious conditions.

Fire officials say that railway ties in a tunnel caught fire apparently from sparks from passing trains.

ROBERTS: And this sports arena in Billings, Montana is without a roof this morning. A twister ripped through the town tearing up businesses throwing debris around and snapping trees and power lines. The storm's winds topped 100 miles an hour. The system also dumped golf ball sized hail in the area.

CHETRY: Well, Florida has a lot at stake from the economic standpoint when it comes to the oil spoil. Tourism is a $60 billion industry for the state.

ROBERTS: And for residents there, worried would be an understatement. Our David Mattingly live in Oskaloosa Island, Florida for us this morning. David, business is down all across the gulf. What about there in Oskaloosa Island?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, tourism is the economic engine for this part of the panhandle and for communities all across the panhandle. Everywhere tourists spend their money is hurting right now, and every time oil comes ashore in whatever form, that pain grows even worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Blue water, sugar-white sand. A perfect picture from the Florida panhandle - except for those BP crews picking up tar balls.

(on camera): As you were watching these guys, what was going through your mind?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That they're on top of it. That's what I'm thinking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they're trying to get it before it gets here.

MATTINGLY: No second thoughts about the vacation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at this point. Not yet.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Vacationers I talked to are making day- to-day decisions, go to the beach if the oil stays away, go home if it doesn't. So far, the tar balls seem manageable.

(on camera): They're literally cleaning up tar balls just a few feet away from where you're sitting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And it's very sad.

MATTINGLY: But you're not worried about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, not right now. We're not stepping in it or anything.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): But these pieces of the BP spill are killing business. Down 30 percent to 40 percent across the panhandle, worse around the beaches where the tar balls hit. The official strategy - clean it up, and fast.

(voice-over): This is what this is all about, right? Making sure people can still come to a clean beach?

COMM. JOHN JANNAZO, OSKALOOSA COUNTY, FL.: Exactly. And we're cleaning up. We had some oil a couple days ago and we picked it up just like that. It's gone.

MATTINGLY: But the oil threat isn't so easily forgotten. Everywhere I go there's worry, a feeling of "enjoy it while you can."

(on camera): This is one of the biggest party areas in all the panhandle, this area is called Crab Island. It is not really an island, it is a sandbar just outside of Destin. Literally hundreds of boats gather here every day to enjoy the water and the sun.

Are you worried this might be one of your last weekends out here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Just like BP chief Tony Hayward who spent time on his yacht back home in the UK, people here can't resist the water when it comes to relaxing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is he parking his boat at?

MATTINGLY (on camera): Why do you want to know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because he's probably in some really clean water.

MATTINGLY: What would you like to say to Tony Hayward?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love it here and we want it to stay clean and he needs to get down here and make sure it stays this way so that we can bring our families.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): But as the BP spill creeps eastward across the panhandle, questions grow, not just about the future of this tourist season, but the seasons that follow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Local officials doing the best they can to keep up with whatever comes ashore. This is what the enemy looks like so far, these tar balls. They're washing ashore in different places, kind of sporadic right now. They've come up on the beach, they melt, they create a mess. But then they come through and clean them up with shovels and rakes and brooms hoping to clean the beach up for the next wave of tourists to come in.

John, Kiran.

CHETRY: Wow, what a surreal scene. As you said, people enjoying the beach, and then just a couple of feet away people are trying to clean up the tar balls. Hopefully, it stays clean. Still don't know, of course.

David Mattingly, thanks so much.

Well, a show of solidarity. Mayors in New Orleans today, gulf coast mayors, will be touring the BP oil disaster waters, meeting with fishermen and coming up, we're going to be speaking with Mayor Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans about how the city is faring. Day 63 of this spill.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

mo

CHETRY: 38 minutes past the hour.

After 63 days now of watching Washington and BP manage the oil spill, lot of the mayors in the region are saying they're not going to wait around any longer, they're taking action on their own.

And this morning more than a dozen mayors of gulf states will be meeting in New Orleans to assess the damages and also renewing their calls for the federal government to work more closely with the local communities. New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu is hosting that delegation and he joins me now live from New Orleans.

Mayor, thanks for being with us this morning.

MITCH LANDRIEU, NEW ORLEANS MAYOR: Good morning.

CHETRY: So as we said, we're at day 63 right now. What's the latest assessment of how your city is faring? Of course, tourism bringing in so many vital dollars to your city and tourism taking a hit because of the oil spill.

LANDRIEU: Well, really it is a tale of two cities. Everything's fine on the streets of the city of New Orleans. The seafood is safe and available, the tourism market is up and running. However, you know, our tourism industry relies on what happens in the lower coast and so we stand in solidarity with those folks.

That's why we're going down there today again to look at what it is that they do - the livelihood of the tourism industry in New Orleans and the economic impact in New Orleans is going to be much, much worse if we don't fix the problem on the water.

You know, capping that well is by far the most important thing, capturing the oil, cleaning up the coast and then sending a message to the rest of the nation that the city of New Orleans is alive and well and open but we have to stand on shoulders of those folks on the shore and that's where we're going to see today.

CHETRY: And as I understand, you guys also passed unanimously the get Savoys (ph) vote. It was part of a resolution last week calling for stepped up federal efforts, getting the federal government more involved, getting communication working better between local leaders like yourself and the federal government. What do you think is lacking the most when it comes to that collaboration?

LANDRIEU: Well, any time there is a major catastrophe of this nature, you have to have clear command and control, clear coordination and clear communication from the federal government all the way down to the local. It's the folks on the ground that can see it. They can touch it. They can feel it. And you have to always try to find a way to keep those lines of communication open.

That's why these mayors are coming here today from around the country. I want them to see it. I want them to be out in the water and I want them to touch the oil and I want them to understand. Because these are the folks that are on the front lines. We're going to continue to break down those doors to make sure the lines of communication open up.

CHETRY: What about in terms of the situation with BP? The latest word coming out is that they gave an internal assessment, an internal document showing that worst case scenario, 100,000 barrels of oil a day could be gushing out from that well. This is something that was kept from the public until it came to light now. Does that concern you?

LANDRIEU: Well, of course it does. That's an amazing number. It upsets me but it doesn't surprise me. Everyone of the estimates from the beginning until now has been either off the mark or miscommunicated. Here's the essential issue - they do not know how to cap that well and there is more oil rather than less coming out.

That's why we have to redouble our efforts to make sure that it doesn't get on the shore and when it does, we need to clean it up right away. The catastrophic nature of this event I still believe is not fully known to us, it is really huge. We need to get about making sure that hole is capped, that you capture the oil, that you clean it up and then we begin really to work on, making sure that everybody gets the compensation that they need right away.

And then we can think about long-term issues and the implications of what it is that happened.

CHETRY: But we're 63 days out now. What is your assessment of how the federal government has handled this? Have they done enough? Have they been tough enough on BP? And have they done all they can to make sure that local municipalities, local cities are getting what they need to fight the spill

LANDRIEU: Well, any time you have something like this, the nature of it is catastrophic. It always takes a little while. We saw this after Katrina and Rita. It is never good enough, it's never fast enough. I believe the federal government turned a corner last week. I think they're finally getting boots on the ground. It is going to be much, much harder than people expect though.

I think everybody always wants a quick fix. There is no quick fix here. I think people need to kind of get focused on that fact. I look at the estimated that are coming from the amount of oil that's gushing out of that well. I'm watching everything not work. I think until those relief wells are built we're not going to see that oil stop flowing which is why we have to redouble our efforts.

We really have to continue to load up and do everything that we possibly can. Every day somebody's learning something new about the mistake that they made yesterday. Instead of focusing on the blame game which we always do, it takes us a huge amount of time, let's just stay focused on communicating more clearly, getting command and control and getting out there and putting everything on it.

CHETRY: Meantime, when you talk about day-to-day problems and being patient, a lot of people that are not right now are the people whose livelihoods were affected, who are no longer collecting a paycheck because of all of this. And about 10 minutes ago we had a chance to speak to Kenneth Feinberg. He's going to be administrating the new independent claims facility in charge of the BP escrow fund. And here's what he said that I thought was interesting. You can to accelerate the process as the president instructed him do and he wanted to also say that if they're giving out these lump sum payments, that they want to err on the side of the plaintiff and they want to make sure that these individuals and businesses are getting paid.

Now, we've heard anecdotally from many that that has not been the case right now with BP handling the claims process. What do you think about Feinberg and the new move to have an independent fund and an independent administrator of that fund taking this over?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, nobody down here should be patient about anything. Everybody should be as aggressive as we possibly can to get everything done as quickly as we can. I think the claims process hasn't worked well.

I think creating that fund was a good step forward. I think Mr. Feinberg knows what he's doing. He has an extensive amount of experience. Again if he doesn't make the same mistake that other folks have made of not talking to the locals about how to get this done. This is not our first rodeo.

And so the faster the better, you always should err on the side of the people that were hurt. These people, the livelihood of people in Louisiana have just been devastated like this. This is not the first time we've been hurt. This is on the backs of the same individuals that were hurt during Katrina and Rita as well.

So you can't do much and you can't do it too fast. I agree with Mr. Feinberg, you should do it much more quickly than they've done it and you always err on the side of individuals that have gotten hurt and people's livelihoods are at stake and it's really hard right now for them.

CHETRY: Mayor Mitch Landrieu, mayor of New Orleans, thanks for spending some time talking with us this morning.

LANDRIEU: Great. Thanks for having me this morning. CHETRY: Sure. Well, tonight Larry King is going to be on an hour early, 8:00 to 10:00 tonight. He's having an all-star relief effort to help rebuild the coast. It's a two-hour "Larry King" special event, live tonight, 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

ROBERTS: Well, the Midwest and the Northeast had a stormy start to summer and lots of heat in the South where you'd expect it. Reynolds Wolf has got the full forecast coming right up for you.

Forty-five minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: "Sweet Home Alabama"? What about sweet home Chicago, where it's 69 degrees, cloudy right now. Scattered thunderstorms, a high of 84 later on today.

CHETRY: I can see how you can confuse the two from time to time.

Our Reynolds Wolf is keeping track, actually, because it's been so hot everywhere. You know what? Probably feels the same.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, my, gosh, it has been crazy. Although I'll tell you, in Chicago, though, what they've been dealing with more than anything else is just some rough weather. They had some strong straight-line winds this weekend, nearly a quarter of a million people without power. That power is being restored in many places as we speak.

But more storms forming mainly to the Southwest of Chicago at this time, some of these fairly strong, not severe as of yet, but that may come later on today. Also, Omaha, splash of that showers in some parts, stronger storms just in the Southwest of that region.

Now, much of the Northern Plains, Northern Rockies may be dealing with some strong thunderstorms and, with that, you can also anticipate some delays in places like Indianapolis, back into Chicago, perhaps even the Twin Cities, even into Lincoln, Nebraska before all is said and done.

And something else is going to be moving quite a bit. If you're not moving travel-wise your thermometer will be going up. In fact, Dallas, Houston, up into the 90s and 100s. High humidity is going to be a big difference maker, making it feel much warmer. And Atlanta and Raleigh may - mainly mid-90s. Easy for me to say.

And here's something deceiving, Washington, D.C. expected to rise to about 92, but how about the tidal plights (ph)? It is going to have that breeze coming in and by late afternoon it's going to feel like it's burning 103, so enjoy that. Other side of the coin, out in Billings, 82 degrees; Seattle with 64; 64 in San Francisco; and 72 in Los Angeles.

Out West we may be dealing with a few delays later on today, mainly due to low clouds and some fog. Thunderstorms may keep you delayed for a bit in places like Chicago, Minneapolis, and in Kansas City. Denver, morning fog and some low clouds, about a 15- to a 30- minute wait and less than 15-minute wait for Seattle with the low clouds.

That is the latest in the forecast. Enjoy the first day of summer. It is going to be a steamy one at that. Back to you.

ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks so much.

WOLF: You bet.

ROBERTS: And they'll be hoisting a few pints today in Northern Ireland, celebrating their native sons' improbable victory at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Graeme McDowell becoming the first European in 40 years to capture America's National Golf Championship, finished the even par yesterday.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson tied for fourth. That was the best finish among the Americans.

CHETRY: And a true New York Yankees fan she is, but the envelope-pushing Lady Gaga maybe went a little bit to far after Friday night's game against the Mets. The singer apparently talked her way past security and into the team clubhouse. She was wearing what you see there, basically a Yankees jersey unbuttoned to reveal her bra, and a bikini bottom.

At first, it was reported that she was banned from the stadium, but then the organization says it's not true. It's just that visitors shouldn't be in the clubhouse after a loss. So everything would have been fine if they had won.

ROBERTS: The - the height of baseball fashion there, I think you could say.

This morning's top stories just minutes away now, including a new threat and a new target from al Qaeda, the terror group telling President Obama they are ready to even the score in the war on terror.

CHETRY: Also, the federal government is suing the state. The controversy coming out of Arizona's new immigration law and an angry governor's message to the president.

ROBERTS: Also ahead, solar symphony. Did you know that the sun actually makes music? Some heavenly sounds from the hottest music artist out there, literally.

Those stories and more coming your way at the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Fifty-five minutes past the hour now. Welcome back to the Most News in the morning. Time for you "A.M. House Call", stories about your health.

The high-stakes, fast-paced environment of an E.R. has doctors over-testing patients to stave off medical malpractice suits. This comes from new statistics showing that emergency room physicians are among the top 10 most likely to be sued. Experts say that extra tests for simple aches and pains can lead to unnecessary costs and possible side effects for needless drugs and excessive radiation.

ROBERTS: Fructose - very often from high fructose corn syrups, sweetens the sodas, candies, processed foods that your kids eat, and according to a new study it could cause their fat cells to multiply more quickly.

Health experts caution that the research came from laboratory tests and not from testing humans, but pediatricians say that childhood obesity, a growing epidemic, the main message is too much sugar of any kind can lead to weight gain and health problems.

CHETRY: And no big shock here, but a study shows kids are more likely to eat cartoon labeled sugary snacks than healthy ones. Researchers say it really goes to show the power of advertising that influence young children, toys characters and celebrity-covered foods targeting kids grew almost 80 percent from 2006 to 2008, but only 18 percent of those met nutritional standards. Many of those products came from manufacturers who pledge to limit the marketing.

ROBERTS: She didn't want that brand of cereal, you could tell. That, no way (ph).

Top stories coming your way right after the break. Stay with us. Four minutes now until the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Good morning to you. It is Monday, June 21st, officially the first day of summer. I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks for being with us.

ROBERTS: Yes. We're just - it's about a half hour old now. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us this morning.

Lots to talk about today so let's get right to it.

Al Qaeda taunting America in a new message declaring more attacks are coming. Warning that they will be deadlier than ever and it's time to even the score. The terrorist group also taking shots at President Obama. Details just ahead.

CHETRY: BP's lightning rod CEO causing another uproar this morning. Tony Hayward, the chief executive, who angered millions of Americans, when he said he'd like his life back, apparently meant what he said.

As oil continues gushing in the gulf, he was spotted this weekend relaxing on his 52-foot yacht in the crystal clear waters off of England's southern coast.

ROBERTS: Plus, the feds plan on taking Arizona to court over its controversial immigration law. An official tells CNN the Justice Department is prepping the case, but Arizona's governor says that someone in Washington should have pick up the phone and tell her. We're breaking down the debate, coming up.

CHETRY: And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Head to cnn.com/amfix.