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American Morning

Al Qaeda Message Warns of New Attacks; Fed Suing Arizona; Florida: We're Open for Business

Aired June 21, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin the hour with the warning to all Americans from al Qaeda. The terrorist organization releasing a 24-minute message taunting President Obama, claiming that new attacks are coming and promising they will be deadlier than ever.

Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon for us to break it all down. And, Barbara, this comes from Adam Gadahn, an American speaking out launching more threats against the United States.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John.

Adam Gadahn, known as the al Qaeda's spokesman, English-speaking. This 24-minute video offers a lot of vile comments, some directly aimed at President Obama. Let me read you just one quote from him.

He says on this video, quote, I -- of the president, he says, "I know of that as you slither snakelike into the second year of your reign as a purported president of change, you are fighting, your hand full, with running the affairs of a declining and besieged empire, and in the process of proving yourself to be nothing more than another treacherous, bloodthirsty and narrow-minded American war president."

That from Adam Gadahn, the al Qaeda spokesman. The video posted on Islamic Web sites over the weekend. CNN could not independently verify the video, but by all accounts, it is him.

This is another al Qaeda video. The U.S. government, you know, has offered $1 million reward for the capture of Adam Gadahn. They have yet to find him -- John.

ROBERTS: So, is this video being taken seriously? Or is it just being seen as another propaganda video?

STARR: Well, you know, it's a good question to explore. Another day, another al Qaeda video, that's kind of the initial brush with all of this. The al Qaeda -- the U.S. believes -- are putting out these videos largely as recruiting tools to try and appeal to the people around the world to join their movement. But that's not to say that they are not taking these videos very seriously in Washington.

You know, we have seen in the last months, the attempted Christmas day bombing by the single Nigerian-alleged terrorist. We've seen the Times Square bombing by someone who became radicalized after living in the United States. So, all of these videos may be seen as just recruiting tools, but to some extent, they may also be successful. And therein lies the danger and why the U.S. continues to look for these people and take these videos so seriously, John.

ROBERTS: They only have to get lucky once. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon --

STARR: Indeed.

ROBERTS: -- Barbara, thanks so much.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, BP has another P.R. disaster on its hands this morning. The CEO of BP, the executive who famously said he'd like his life back, was spotted relaxing on his 52-foot yacht this weekend off the coast of England. Now, at the same time, an internal BP document was surfacing with the most troubling, worst- case scenario for the oil spill to date. The scenario with potential 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day gushing into the Gulf, leaving lawmakers questioning what BP knew and when they knew it, since this document was written by the company back in May.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, we may not be seeing much more of BP's lightning rod CEO, especially after the sighting of him on his yacht over the weekend. Bob Dudley, the company's managing director, who spent part of his childhood in Mississippi, he's been named BP's new point person for the ongoing disaster. He'll be reporting still to Hayward.

Hayward created that uproar when he said that the impact of the oil spill would be modest and he said he'd like his life back, and then, now, spotted on a yachting getaway this weekend. So, how does such an accomplished executive continue to commit so many P.R. blunders? We're going to be speaking with crisis management guru, David Margulies, coming up in the next half hour.

ROBERTS: Well, developing right now, hundreds of people told to get out their homes in Flagstaff, Arizona. In the air and on the ground, firefighters are attacking the second wildfire to threaten the town in days. Officials say the fast-moving flames broke out on the north side of town, scorching seven square miles within hours. So far, the fire has stayed behind the containment line just 500 yards from several homes.

CHETRY: A new video this morning showing a terrifying tornado -- it was in Billings, Montana -- that ripped through a sports arena, tossing debris. The twister took the roof right off the building and damaged several businesses, including a bar and a casino. There you see the debris just flying through the air as people capture some of these pictures from the safety (INAUDIBLE) inside their cars. The system also brought golf ball-sized hail to the area.

Reynolds Wolf is in the extreme weather center.

So, is that area going to get a break today as we usher in the first day of summer?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks like they might get a little bit of a respite, but we're going to see that focus of severe weather now move into parts of the Corn Belt, back in to, say, the western Great Lakes, maybe even the Ohio Valley. But it has been basically four days in a row where we've seen some rough weather around that part of the nation.

What we're also seeing in the last four days has been, well, intense heat. We haven't seen it. We felt it. Today, it's going to be more of the same, rising to 95 degrees in Houston, 93 in New Orleans, 90 in Tampa, 95 in Atlanta, and 100 in Dallas.

Keep in mind, though, that we have a heat advisory in effect along the Gulf Coast. What that means to you is that with the high humidity, it's going to feel like it's anywhere from 100 to 110 degrees, if not warmer in a few spots -- Kansas City with 95, 79 in Minneapolis, New York with 89, and San Francisco with 64.

Keep in mind, though, again, the chance for storms will be out and about again today. That area of low pressure interacts with that Gulf moisture and daytime heating could bring a chance for storms back through parts of the central and northern plains, and, of course, as I mentioned, the western half of the Great Lakes and into the Ohio Valleys.

We'll have more coming up. Plus, we're going to take a peek at your travel weather. That is all just moments away.

Back to you.

ROBERTS: All right. Looking forward to it. Reynolds, thanks so much.

WOLF: You bet.

ROBERTS: So, we have all seen the sun, of course -- felt its warmth as well. Now, we're getting a chance to hear our closest star.

(VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Yes, that is the sound of the magnetic field that's created in the our sun's utter atmosphere.

CHETRY: I think we just heard that one.

ROBERTS: Yes. That sounds like "2001: A Space Odyssey."

The visible vibrations were recorded by scientists at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., and then amped up so that our human ears could hear these eerie sounds.

CHETRY: Maybe a new sample on a new song soon to come out. Pretty cool.

ROBERTS: They just as long they don't put it through one of those, what --

CHETRY: Auto tunes? Auto tune the song.

Well, vowing to fight, the Obama administration says that it's going to challenge Arizona's new immigration law. Arizona's governor, Jan Brewer, though, says their state is not going to back down. We'll have more on the legal challenge and how likely it is that the federal government will be successful in trying to overturn this law.

It's six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Nine and a half minutes now after the hour.

And the developing story this morning: Joran van der Sloot now says he was tricked into confessing to the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores. Van der Sloot told the Dutch newspaper that Peruvian police promised to transfer him to the Netherlands if he signed some papers. He remains the chief suspect in Flores' killing and in the disappearance in 2005 of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. Anita van der Sloot's told reporters her son, quote, "is sick in his head."

CHETRY: Well, the Obama administration is turning its legal team on Arizona's controversial immigration law. An official telling CNN, the Justice Department is looking over the case now. The announcement first came from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while she was giving an interview in Ecuador.

Arizona's governor, Jan Brewer, was not too happy after she heard what Secretary Clinton had to say.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: President Obama has spoken out against the law because he thinks that the federal government should be determining immigration policy, and the Justice Department under his direction will be bringing a lawsuit against the act.

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: That is just totally outrageous that the people of Arizona would have to get this information vis-a- vis a blog from the president of our country, from Hillary Clinton in Ecuador, that they are going to sue us without coming straight to the state of Arizona and notifying me personally. It's outrageous and it's unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

CHETRY: Well, here to talk more about it this morning is Jonathan Turley, professor at George Washington University Law School.

Thanks for being with us this morning.

JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Thank you.

CHETRY: And as we saw there just in those two clips, the Arizona law has become so politicized, racially charged, understandably so that critics alleged that there's racial profiling taking place. Do we have a clear understanding of what this law does and does not allow when it comes to local police checking immigration status?

TURLEY: Well, the most controversial aspect of the law is called the reasonable suspicion provision, which allows Arizona officers to stop on a reasonable suspicion. These are lawful stops that they have to justify.

But if they have reasonable suspicion that someone is an illegal alien, they can ask for their identification and they can hold them, they can arrest them if they cannot establish ultimately that they're here legally. It's a law that's based on the idea of enforcing a federal mandate, of enforcing the federal law. And that's the argument of Arizona, that all they're doing is enforcing existing law rather than circumventing it or undermining it.

CHETRY: Right. And the interesting thing, what you said right there about this question, reasonable suspicion -- Jan Brewer, the governor, said, I want to clarify, I think people don't understand, that not only does the officer have to have a reasonable suspicion that a person is engaging in criminal conduct but also an alien, and also in the country illegally.

That seems, at least on paper, like a high bar. Is a lot of the concern how this is going to be enforced and how you can really prove it?

TURLEY: That's right. I mean, I've been a critic of that provision -- a lot of people have -- because it seems to be an invitation for racial profiling. And, obviously, the state officials are saying that they're not going to allow that to happen, but it's hard to see how you have reasonable suspicion that someone is here illegally without crossing that line in many cases into racial profiling and discrimination.

But that's the type of thing that is usually challenged in what's called an as-applied challenge, that as you wait to see how they're doing it and you show a court, look, they're doing it wrong. They're doing it by using race.

What's fascinating here is that the federal government seems to be under a lot of pressure to move fast, and they're going to do what would have to be a facial challenge, to say, there's no way you could enforce this provision without engaging in that type of misconduct.

CHETRY: Right. So -- is there a precedent for this? I mean, while extremely rare, the federal government is suing a state government?

TURLEY: As you note, it's exceptionally rare. Usually, the government will become what's called an amicus or an amicus curiae, which is a friend of the court. They'll wait for someone else to sue and they'll come in and say, judge, this is the view of the federal government. There's no shortage of people challenging this law. So, it's very rare to see the federal government directly sue a state like this.

And I think it reflects the pressure that's on the Obama administration. They want to be seen as being out in front. They would like to take down this law or at least be seen as the leading challenger of the law.

CHETRY: Right. And as you put it, it's going to be a tricky case for them because technically, Arizona's claim is that all they're doing is enforcing a federal law that already exists. So, how will the federal government argue it?

TURLEY: That's exactly right. You know, the problem is going -- the main challenge to this law is going to be preemption, federal preemption, saying, this is an area occupied by federal law. But the federal law doesn't say that the state cannot help the feds, cannot engage in what's called concurrent jurisdiction.

And the Obama administration may be biting off a bit more than they can chew. When they go into court, a judge is going to ask them, why is more enforcement of your laws in conflict with your policies. That's a very difficult question. This is where politics and the law do converge. I'm not too sure they want that question asked in court, but it certainly will be asked by that judge.

CHETRY: Do you find it interesting that Secretary Clinton, I guess, publicly talked about this for the first time? I think it was the first week of June. It's just cropped up now. But it was an interview that she gave in Ecuador.

That's something that Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, said, wait a minute, why was she telling this to other countries? Why not notify us?

Is that just sort of political talking point or is that something that could be problematic?

TURLEY: Well, I have to say, it is deeply embarrassing to Eric Holder. I mean this is considered not the type of thing that is normal and viewed as appropriate. It is the attorney general that announces federal lawsuits. And for the secretary of state to do that, it is just a fantastically embarrassing moment for Eric Holder.

But having said that, I think that the Arizona legal team has always expected this challenge. And, you know, it will be very interesting to see how this tracks because it is not as easy as people have suggested. If you don't wait to see how it is enforced - and the Arizona people have been very clever. They have not enforced the law that much and that has kept these cases as examples for being used in court.

So there are some that may view this as a bit premature. When Hillary Clinton came out and said we are going to do it, it may have actually accelerate that schedule, which is not going to be good for the Justice Department.

CHETRY: Interesting stuff, Jonanthan Turley law professor of George Washington University.

For years the White House has been pressuring China to change its currency, but now change is coming. How much and what does it mean to you? Details are coming right up. It is 16 minutes after the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes after the hour. What do you bust, "Toy Story 3" to infinity and beyond, previous Pixar hit the Disney animated sequel pulled not only debut number one, it pulled in $109 million in U.S. ticket sales. And the best start for a film from Pixar ever topping "The Incredibles" at more than $70 million.

CHETRY: Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business" this morning, 20 minutes past the hour.

Did you see it yet?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No but last year was the first year in seven that we spent more money going to the movies than actually renting DVDs and stuff at home. And I think that's a real -- those kind of movies have tapped something into the consumer. They want something entertaining but also escapist. That's a new trend.

CHETRY: I wonder if 3D had anything to do with that as well.

ROMANS: Definitely.

CHETRY: Because the movies are just not the same if you sat home.

ROMANS: Absolutely, people are tired of the recession, too. You know, they want to get out and spend $15 and actually have an experience. I actually think that's a recession trend.

CHETRY: And that was just for the hot dog.

ROMANS: Exactly. And the parking.

ROBERTS: From that let's talk about Chinese currency.

ROMANS: Shall we, yes, oh yes, complicated segway. Look, the Chinese over the weekend said they are going to be more flexible with their currency. Why do we care about this? Because you have been hearing us talk for years about how the Chinese keep their currency pegged to the U.S. dollar. What does that mean? Well other currencies when they go up or down compared with the dollar, that changes how expensive or cheap our exports are. And that either helps or hurts American factory workers who is make the products we are exporting around the world. Chinese currency is right stuck with ours. So if we have -- it hurts our - it basically hurts our manufacturing, and some say we have lost $2.4 million American manufacturing jobs because China's exports are cheaper.

So now China has said that it will allow some flexibility in their currency, and that means the currency could go slightly higher. It means made in China is more expensive, it could, it could help U.S. manufacturing jobs and bring some relief for manufacturing - but it also could mean higher prices for the things we import and maybe even higher U.S. interest rates.

Now, all that, of course, depend on if the Chinese follow through and if they actually do it and if they do it in a way that we actually notice. Because many People who are cynics are trying to encourage, note that the Chinese, exactly one week before the g-20 meeting, have taken off the table all the thing that all our allies have been screaming about for the past few years.

ROBERTS: So in terms of letting the currency float by how much per year?

ROMANS: They won't say. They say they are just promising flexibility. Some analysts tell me maybe 3 or 4 percent a year appreciation over the next ten years.

ROBERTS: And it is undervalued by how much now?

ROMANS: Twenty-five to 40 percent.

ROBERTS: It takes some time to get back up.

ROMANS: It takes some time just to get to even. And there's again, a lot of political feelings - about a week before the g-20.

CHETRY: So were they thinking of taking it off the table?

ROMANS: Last year -

CHETRY: Literally?

ROMANS: They basically take it off the table for the g-20. And they are probably going to get yelled at, if you can get yelled at a g-20 meeting, but you know, in the complicated language of the community. They would now take it off the table and many people are hoping that they are serious, that they will allow some flexibility. It could help their domestic economy cool a little bit, which is what they want. They want a nice soft landing from all this hypergrowth they have had.

ROBERTS: We are looking forward to getting all those manufacturing jobs back.

ROMANS: Yes all those millions of them -- they should be back tomorrow.

ROBERTS: All right, thanks, Christine, "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Well there's so much pain in the Gulf of Mexico because of the oil spill and damage to fishing and tourism. CNN is stepping in to help. We have a two-hour telethon coming up tonight on LARRY KING LIVE. Kyra Phillips is in New Orleans this morning, she's going to give us a preview coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty five minutes past the hour right now. "Top Stories" just five minutes away.

First though an "A.M. Original" something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING. The suspected Time Square bomber faces arraignment in a New York courtroom later today. Faisal Shahzad will be asked to enter a plea to ten weapons and terror charges. At the same time, many of his Pakistani Americans are struggling to understand why he and their own children, in some cases, are turning against America.

Deb Feyerick has more.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): The night of the attempted time 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 family, it underscored this mom's fears.

DR. YUSRA ANIS ANWAR, PAKISTANI-AMERICAN MOTHER: It was this shock that overcame me. It was a sinking feeling in my stomach that this is another Muslim and he's a 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 that anyone in their upscale educated community could be radicalized to the extent of committing a terrorist act is alarming.

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 de-radicalization conference with cult expert, Michael Langone.

FEYERICK (on camera): People are thinking, maybe radicalization has cult-like elements to it. How do you see it? MICHAEL LANGONE, PH.D., INTERNATIONAL CULTIC STUDIES ASSOCIATION: A radicalization is a form of convergence, like religious conversion. And I think normal conversions we have an inner generated conversion, it comes, it emerges from the person. In Celtic 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 liable agent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are some people who are right outside of the norms of the faith who are in the cult-like mindsets.

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

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

FEYERICK: Thirteen-year-old Taha Anwar who sent President Obama this poem he wrote about the Iraqi War says he's 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. Then he said, no, before that. And so my dad said from Pakistan, so then he immediately took me and my dad aside.

Y. ANWAR: We have to make sure that they are not being a harassed. We have to make sure that they are comfortable with who they are so that they are not - 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 approve English translation of Islamic text they might read.

Y. ANWAR: Our challenge is to tell them that 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 expert 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 for us this morning, Deb, thanks. Coming up in a half hour, that means it is time for this morning's "Top Stories." Al Qaeda is U.S. borne folksmen threatening more attacks against America promising they will be deadlier than ever. The terror group releasing a new 24 minutes message even taunting President Obama for not being so popular anymore.

CHETRY: Chicago's subway system is back on track this morning after a fire broke out on the redline yesterday near the Clark Street station, 19 people were taken on to the hospital. Five seriously injured many of them suffering smoke inhalation and respiratory problems. Fire officials say that the railroad ties in a tunnel caught fire apparently by sparks from passing trains.

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

CHETRY: You have seen the heartbreaking images from the oil spill and have heard the complaints, now it is your chance to help out if you would like. Tonight you can join Larry King for an all-star effort to rebuild the coast.

ROBERTS: The special two-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event takes place at 8:00 eastern here on CNN. And Kyra Phillips is live this morning from New Orleans with a preview. Good morning, Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys, and just like on cue, the train is coming there. So bear with me if it gets loud here.

This is what is so amazing about Larry King and the staff on his show. Listen to the lineup of people they have participating in the show tonight -- Cameron Diaz, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Alyssa Milano, Randy Jackson. I could go on and on with the list. They are working the phone banks.

Why are we doing this? When we think of disasters that strike our country, we think about natural disasters, hurricanes and earthquakes, and people respond immediately wanting to help.

But this is a manmade disaster. Many times we think, whoever caused that manmade disaster is the one to help to provide money, going to fix the problem. We know BP said, look, we are going to provide money, and resources to fix the problem. I am going to hold everyone accountable so the American people get what they need and the gulf coast can recover from this.

But folks here can't wait. We have seen the economic situation here. The locals, fishermen, tonight everyone has a chance to give back and participate with the phone banks. You can text and donate. You'll be able to go online and donate. CNN.com/impactyourworld@CNN.com. You can get involved via twitter and Facebook as well.

John and Kiran, Exxon Valdez, look how long it took them to recover. We are talking two decades later, and litigation has lingered. And many people never got money because they passed on. And I just talked to a fishermen who said they are getting the herring back.

So bottom line is we want people to have the opportunity to give and to help those in the Gulf coast so we don't hear stories like we are still hearing in regard to Exxon Valdez.

ROBERTS: We are seeing the medium impact now. You are going to be down on Grand Isle during this week. You will talk about a lot of things on this, and a question people have is on seafood. Is it safe?

PHILLIPS: It is true. We all know how much seafood we get from the Gulf course. That's what I have been hearing for weeks on end. How do I know if I can eat the ship or the oysters?

We have one of the best known chefs here, Mila, and she has a biology major. She is not just the owner of a restaurant and chef, but we'll talk about the NOAA scientists going out to conduct the sniff tests. That is what they are doing with the seafood coming in. We'll explain how that works.

CHETRY: And it's not just helping people out there. This is an opportunity for people tonight to feel like they want to do something to help those people out. Kyra, thank you so much. And again, it's a special two-hour live Larry King event taking place at 8:00 p.m. There are plenty of people to talk to when you call on the phone.

ROBERTS: The list is too long to mention, but a great one.

BP's chief Tony Hayward is under fire after the trip he took on Saturday. Is he tone-deaf to what's happening on in the Gulf? We'll ask a PR rep after the break. It's 35 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's 38 minutes after the hour. Just when you thought a BP's embattled CEO Tony Hayward couldn't make Americans any angrier than they are, he did. He was spotted enjoying the water aboard his 52-foot yacht Bob off the coast of England. Hayward has become a lightning rod for bad PR with one questionable comment after another. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: I have seen the environmental impact of this and it is likely to be very modest.

Food poisoning is not an issue when you have this many people in temporary camps and accommodations, it is something to be very mindful of.

We are sorry for the massive disruption it has caused to their lives. You know, there's no one who wants this is thing over more than I do. I would like my life back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Joining us live is David Margulies. He's a crisis prevention and management expert. David, let me start by asking you a question that I got asked so many times, does Tony Hayward just not get it? Is he tone deaf? DAVID MARGULIES, PRESIDENT, MARGULIES COMM. GROUP: Well, I think he's tired. One of the big mistakes BP made and many companies do is they put one person in charge of everything. You can't be the spokesman and deal with the board of directors and the lawyers, the man is stretched thin. He's exhausted.

If you are an airline pilot, you can only work so many hours before you have to rest. There's no rule like that for CEOs, and so I think if he were rested and really thought about that, had the time to think about that, he probably wouldn't have said those things.

But when you are stressed, you are tired, you are under pressure, you are constantly doing interviews, something you say is going to go wrong. Of course, when you have enemies, they will look for anything to use against you.

So I think it is more the idea of him being extremely tired. And also, there's not a devil's advocate in the economy. That's the role we play outside as consultants to say, boss, this is not a good idea. This is how the rest of the world would view that.

ROBERTS: Being pictured on a yacht off the isle of white may not be the photograph you want the world to see. We saw him with the collar flipped up, the cap pulled down low and sunglasses on. For all intents and purposes, it looked like he was a person trying to go incognito.

I spent a day with Dough Suttles, the chief operating officer of the company the week before last, and he told me that they are not used to living in the limelight. This is a company that typically operates in the background and doesn't attract a lot of PR, not as much as other companies do, and they are not used to handling it.

Do you buy that argument?

MARGULIES: Absolutely. They are not. They are used to be surrounded by people who salute and say that's a great idea, boss. There's a whole book somebody wrote about CEOs who make disastrous decisions because nobody in the organization will speak up to say it is a bad idea, or because they fired those people because they didn't want to hear somebody contradict them.

It is important to have someone play a role in the most negative enemy and to respect that person's advice when they say, yes, you own a yacht, you have been gone for two months, but that's going to look bad in the media.

If you haven't been in the media, you don't know how the press or the general public is going to take something, so you get people who really don't deal with the general public every day and kind of live in the rarefied atmosphere of private jets and chauffer cars. They really don't understand how something will play out two an average person at the 7/11.

ROBERTS: So BP has decided that Bob Dudley, the managing director of the company, an American, will take over daily operations and be will become the public face of BP during this crisis while Tony Hayward goes to wherever he hangs out and runs the company. Is that a wise move?

MARGULIES: That's a wise move, but the other thing they have to do is appoint several people to be their spokesperson. You can't work in the 24/7 news cycle being a spokesperson and also run the operation, deal with the president, deal with the government.

You really need some dedicated spokespeople, more experts who really know the subject, but they can deal with the press. To use the analogy, if you were told to do your program, run CNN all day and then do Larry King's program. If you did that for months, you would be exhausted.

And you can't deal with the press in a 24/7 news cycle is more than a full time job. You need somebody dedicated to that most of the time.

ROBERTS: Just ask Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, about that. David Margulies, thank you so much for dropping by.

MARGULIES: Thanks, John.

CHETRY: Still ahead, Midwest and northeast dealing with the stormy start to the summer, and in the south, dangerous heat. Our Reynolds Wolf is tracking all of that coming up. It's 43 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Wow, beautiful shot this morning of New York City right now, the sun is glowing on the Hudson River. Let me check and see if we can figure out what it's going to be like today. Monday, New York -- 89 for the high, probably 90 degrees, wow; right now we're looking at 74 degrees. So it's going to a scorcher on the first day of summer here in the Big Apple.

ROBERTS: If you think it's going to be hot here in New York, nothing compared to how it will be in Hotlanta (ph); that's where our Reynolds Wolf is this morning. He's in the weather center with a look at the temperatures across the country. We've got triple digits there in a couple places, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Yes we were seeing the triple digits pop up in spots like Phoenix, which is certainly not out of the norm and certainly in Dallas you have 100. But we're -- if you look towards the Gulf of Mexico from Houston back to New Orleans and even into Tampa -- highs in the 90s. So that's kind of deceiving because when you have that high humidity, it's going to feel much warmer than that.

And not just along the Gulf Coast, but also in a few other spots, mainly up in parts of the central plains of Wichita to Oklahoma City and back into St. Louis and even in the (INAUDIBLE) that's right along the Mississippi River. We have a heat advisory that's in effect where it's going to feel like it's anywhere from 100 to 115 degrees. So it's going to be a rough time, no question.

We should see in some places like Chicago where it will be kind of muggy. Things might cool off fairly quickly there. Also, in Kansas City when we have a chance of scattered showers and storms which may form. It looks like it might be a pretty stormy day there across parts of the Central Plains, where in Omaha we're seeing a few storms are up at this time.

Nothing severe right now, but into the afternoon as the atmosphere continues to destabilize, we might have some rough things there but when I say rough we're talking about severe thunderstorms and possibly large hail and damaging winds. Maybe even a tornado. And that would be day number four of possible tornadoes across the parts of the north Central Plains.

Even parts of the -- I'd say parts of the western Great Lakes into the Ohio Valley, by late afternoon things could get rocking so we certainly will keep you advised.

With the chance of rough weather in places like Chicago, check it out delays are certainly a possibility, anywhere from a half hour to a full hour. In Denver, 15 to 30-minute wait due to the morning fog and low clouds. Low clouds maybe an issue for you in Los Angeles; and from San Francisco to Seattle, about a 15-minute delay or less.

So all things is considered, it's not bad at all. Let's send it back to you guys.

CHETRY: As long as the AC keeps working we're fine. Thanks Reynolds.

WOLF: It's on today. You bet.

CHETRY: Well, we all know that kids shouldn't be eating a lot of junk food, but there are actually certain sugars that may cause fat cells in your children to multiply even faster. We have an "AM House Call" for you coming up.

Forty-eight minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Fifty-one minutes past the hour. Time for your "AM House Call" right now, stories about your health. In the high-stakes, fast-paced environment of an E.R. has doctors at some times over- testing patients to stave off medical malpractice suits.

A new statistic showed 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 then lead to unnecessary costs and also possible side effects from needless drugs and excessive radiation.

ROBERTS: Here's one that was something of a stunner. Kidding, fructose a component of high fructose corn syrup sweetens the soda, candy and processed foods that your kids eat, and according to a new study it could cause their fat cells to multiply more quickly. Health experts say that the research came from laboratory tests on fat cells that we're taken from kids but not actually on human. Pediatrician say though, with childhood obesity a growing epidemic, the main message is too much sugar of any kind can lead to weight gain and health problems.

CHETRY: Well, also no big shot here, but a study shows that kids are more likely to eat cartoon-labeled sugary snacks than healthy ones. Researchers say that it really goes to show that power of advertising can influence young children and also toys, characters, celebrity-covered -- covered foods targeting kids grew almost 80 percent in just two years from 2006 to 2008. But only 18 percent actually met nutritional standards.

ROBERTS: So it's all in the marketing.

Well, we'll get the latest installment in our "Building Up America" series. And we go to a place today that could really use the help.

Tom Foreman is covering Florida locals fighting to keep their businesses afloat.

Stay with us, it's seven minutes now to the top of the hour.

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ROBERTS: Well, today is the first official day of summer. It's about 90 minutes old at this point, but across the Gulf Coast beaches sit empty. And people who depend on tourism dollars are wondering how they're going to make ends meet.

CHETRY: In Florida most of the state's beaches are still untouched by the oil. Businesses are banding together to try to get the word out, "We're still open for business."

Our Tom foreman joins us live now from Pensacola Beach, Florida with today's "Building Up America" report. Hi there, Tom.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, how are you doing, Kiran and John? I often say that you guys ought to be here. You really ought to be here now because you're absolutely right. By and large, there's no sign of oil anywhere near the beaches. And this is the time of the year when normally the beaches are absolutely filled with tourists. Right now, they are largely empty.

So they are actually a great vacation destination. The problem for folks here is getting that word out.

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FOREMAN: On Pensacola's still beautiful beach, locals are waiting and watching for the oil that largely has not arrived. That's the good news. The bad -- They are waiting for visitors who are not here either; chased away in the height of the tourist season by the mere fear of oil. EILENE BEARD, CO-OWNER, SCUBA SHACK: Typically on the weekend, I have a lot of rentals.

FOREMAN: At Eilene Beard's Scuba Shack, a day like this should see all of her wetsuits, fins and air tanks in the water.

BEARD: On the weekend, it is not unusual for us to have a $5,000 day. And yesterday I took in $150. So as you can see, it is dead.

FOREMAN: An analysis by the University of Central Florida says the disaster may cost almost $200,000 jobs and $11 billion in business a year. But on this part of the Gulf, folks are fighting back through an aggressive combination of local, state and national efforts to keep local businesses afloat.

The lines have been long at this mobile command post set up by the state's Small Business Development Center to offer bridge loans to businesses in trouble.

LEW ATTARDO, FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: It is to help them make their payments, keep people on the payroll if they can to do other things, so our initial reaction is, "Look, let's get you some loan money so that you can keep your lights on."

Down at Mike Pinzone's fishing pier, other help is coming through, too. The local government has modified the due date for his beach front lease payments. BP has come through with a little money and most importantly, he says, locals are coming out to help ease the 60 percent decline in his business.

MIKE PINZONE, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: Our state doesn't have the money to handle this. There's no way.

FOREMAN: But it seems to me that that makes it all the more important that everybody here pull together and help each other the best they can.

PINZONE: Absolutely. And they -- and I feel that they have. And I feel that they are.

FOREMAN: Mike has had to cut hours for his workers and abandon plans for an expansion this year, but so far he says he has not had to lay anyone off. He's praying week by week he can keep that up until the fear of oil goes away and his customers come back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Everybody here know that is the oil may eventually arrive, but right now they are hoping that message can spread beyond their own community to many, many others to say for the moment, come on down, the water is fine, because they really need them here to build up their part of America -- John, Kiran.

ROBERTS: Fingers crossed that people will get the message. Tom Foreman for us in Pensacola Beach -- thanks Tom. Tonight, be sure to join "LARRY KING LIVE" for an all-star relief effort to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. Among the many special guests: Cameron Diaz, Faith Hill, Robert Redford, with performances by Sting and Herbie Hancock. Special 2-hour live "LARRY KING" starts at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

CHETRY: It's going to be a great one. Hopefully you'll be watching.

Meantime continue the conversation on today's stories, go to our blog, cnn.com/amfix. That's going to do it for us. Hope you enjoy your official start to summer today. And we'll see you right back here tomorrow.

ROBERTS: You bet.

The news continues now with CNN's Kyra Phillips in New Orleans in the "CNN NEWSROOM".