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Underneath the Water: A Closer, Live Look at Oil Spill; "King James" Brings Even More Heat to Miami; Spy Trade on the Tarmac; How Much Relief Will Relief Well Bring?

Aired July 09, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Looking at our top stories right now, that spy swap between the U.S. and Russia is a done deal. A plane carrying ten Russian agents expelled from the U.S. landed in Moscow just a short time ago. It took off from Vienna earlier. Another plane carrying four people convicted of spying for the U.S. took off from Vienna bound for the west.

In Oklahoma City, firefighters waded through waist-high floodwater to rescue a man trapped in his car. The man did not need medical treatment. Heavy rains have pounded Oklahoma in recent days. Flash flood warnings are out for several counties.

And on to Boston now, a big win for gay marriage that could extend across the country. A U.S. district court judge has ruled a federal ban on gay is unconstitutional. The decision effectively gives same-sex couples in Massachusetts the same rights to federal marital benefits as heterosexual couples. The attorney general of Massachusetts is hailing the ruling as a victory for civil rights.

All right. I want to take you now to the Gulf. We have been letting you know that we're going to give you a firsthand exclusive look of the Gulf of Mexico below the surface. Our Amber Lyons, there she is right there. They're making her way out to the Gulf. And Amber, you are going to be suited up in special hazmat diving gear.

In order to descend, you will be with environmentalist Philippe Cousteau, and you will get the chance to see what to make of these plumes of oil that we have heard about from so many environmentalists that may be in the water there and exactly how the oil has changed the demographics of the Gulf of Mexico.

AMBER LYONS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Fredricka. You know, we've shown you so many pictures here on CNN of this oil spill, giving you a perspective from the top, from what we can see, from the oil floating out on the sea, from the oil on the beaches and the marshes.

Now we want to take you underneath the water and show you what is going on down there. And more than anything I'm an average scuba diver, and the first thing I thought when I saw that oil spill. Oil is gushing out of the Deepwater Horizon, it's what's going under the water? It's what's going on under there? So we are going to be getting under the water and we have a photographer down there who is going to be shooting shots of that. So we can show possibly if there is any of this dispersant crude mixture down there that so many people have been talking about.

Because of that dispersant crude mixture, there are no long-term studies to show the effects on humans or marine life. So that's the big thing out of here. No one knows how this could hurt you or if it could even hurt you at all. So what we're going to do, just to be safe, is we're going to be wearing these hazmat dive suits, and we underwent several weeks of training to learn how to dive in these.

It's a very thick rubber. And what it does - you get in this and you actually stay completely dry under water. And then you see this part of the rubber goes on your skin and it's a very tight seal so that you don't get any type of contaminated water into the suit and we got brought a couple of guests with us. They're over there on that boat. We've got Philippe Cousteau, the environmentalist.

Philippe actually was one of the first people to get in these water to go diving. He got called crazy for that but he was able to get some good shots, some shots of dispersed chunks of oil just floating in the water. So we thought we'd invite him back with us to see if anything changed in the past months since he went out and dove.

In addition to that, we have a coral scientists on that boat. His name is Scott Porter and he is local. He's been diving in the Gulf, examining and researching the corals here for the past decade, but now because of the uncertainty of how safe this water is, he says he can't even get in the water to do his research to see the effects of the possible oil dispersants on the coral because he's so scared to get in there and to do the hazmat training.

Like I said, it took us several weeks just to do that and a lot of money, and he says he just doesn't have the resources to do that. So he'll not be able to continue to do his job, but above all, we just want to make sure we give everybody a shot of what's going on under there and hopefully stay safe while doing it. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So Amber, I wonder, you know, with this special hazmat suit that you know, that you held up, and you can see the thickness of it, I wonder how this is going to impact kind of your buoyancy as you descend and if that means that you have limitations on how deep you're able to go?

LYONS: Oh, yes, Frederica, I mean, the first time I put it on, it is - like we said, it's a dry suit. So it pulls air. You have your little (INAUDIBLE) let me show you. Part of your tank, a tube goes from your tank into here, and you can add air into the suit which is good thing because it keeps you buoyant in the water. However , if you get an air bubble coming in the suit and the air bubble goes up to your head or something like that, it can make you ascend very quickly, which is, in diving, that could be one of the most dangerous things and can cause you to, you know, pop a lung or get decompression sickness. So that's something we had to do a lot of training to try to fix.

WHITFIELD: How deep will you be able to go?

(CROSSTALK)

LYONS: Am I nervous about it? Yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, how deep do you expect that you all will be able to go? How much are you expecting to see?

LYONS: Well, Fredricka, we're hoping to go down to about 30 feet. Everyone we've talked to who has seen this dispersed oil in the water which is in the form of - they look almost like droplets of water, and they say that the majority of that is within the first 15 feet of the water column. So we're going to hopefully, we'll be able to go down to 30 feet and then look up and see how it's affecting the amount of light that comes down.

WHITFIELD: Well, we look forward to your reporting. Go ahead.

LYONS: Another thing, Fredricka. We're on the Mississippi River right now. We just left Venice, so we still have about an hour to go here on the Mississippi, and then from here, we're going to hit the Gulf and head out to an abandoned oil rig that has actually become an artificial coral reef, and our scientist has before video of that reef, so we're going to check that out compared to what we see today, to see the comparison there.

WHITFIELD: OK. That is fascinating. We look forward to seeing that because I think a lot of folks are curious about what do you get to see once you go below the surface. And you'll give us that first hand look live during your very special dive that's about to take place. You said within another hour or so before you get to your spot, right?

LYONS: Yes, about another hour. We're going pretty slow, and we have to stay at this speed unfortunately. I'd like to just zoom out there. I've been dying to see what's going on, but we've got about another hour. So, you know, the good thing, Fredricka, that we were planning on doing this earlier in the week, and just like clean-up crews, we have been stalled by heavy winds and rains and kind of sitting in our hotel rooms. We're journalists, we're crazy. We get really excited to do things.

And it's been really frustrating for us to go out and say, OK, are we going to do this dive today? Are we going to see what's under this water? And then it's like, no. There's six foot waves. You won't be able to dive in that. And finally today, as you can see, a very calm, there's not a lot of wind, and we hopefully are good to go.

WHITFIELD: Right. You have to wait until all the conditions are just right. All right. Amber Lyons, thanks so much. We will check back with you as you make your way to that spot and then make your descent as well.

So in the meantime, while all this is taking place while it is day 81 of the gulf oil disaster, here's a look at the latest developments. That right there, That's a U.S. Navy blimp, and it could be flying over the oil slick today, is the expectation. The airship will survey the oil, direct skimming ships and look for wildlife that may be threatened by the oil.

Meanwhile, a New Orleans federal appeals court has rejected the government's effort to restore a moratorium on deepwater drilling, and the Obama administration has sent a letter to BP demanding answers to new questions on oil containment and recovery. BP has 24 hours to respond.

Well, let's talk now about a flood of emotion, like never seen before, because of an NBA free agent. Lebron James' primetime televised event, cities across the country who had wooed King James, waited in great anticipation to hear where he was choosing to play, and then came this, the announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the defining moment for you?

LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: The defining moment, to be able to be alongside greatness raises your level. And being down there with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. And then secondly, like I keep stressing, the fact that I'll be happy in this situation, and I'm feeling real comfortable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, that wasn't the announcement. That was kind of the discussion with Robin Roberts after the big announcement. But you get it by now. He chose Miami. Fans in Cleveland and New York, well they've been showing their dismay, but another group of fans actually going berserk over the decision.

James is packing his bags. He probably packed his bags already. He is already actually in Miami, kind of getting a preview of what life is going to be like. It's been one exciting time for Lebron James. Eric Snow is with me now, a sports analyst, NBA analyst to talk about how this came to be. There were six teams courting him, of course, including Cleveland, which said we want you to stay. We know you're going to stay. We know you're going to be loyal, and he makes a decision because he says, you know what he's going for a title, a championship.

Was that a good decision to make? I mean, was that how you base this kind of huge colossal decision?

ERIC SNOW, NBA TV ANALYST: Ultimately, you base it on your best chance to win a championship. I think most people, especially like myself, being from northeaster Ohio, the same area where Lebron was from. He felt he was close enough where you were. I mean, it was your hometown team. You won 60 plus games in the past two season. Two straight MVPs. So any team was closer, they were extremely closely especially out of the teams he's choosing from.

WHITFIELD: Yes. But he said, you know what this is a business.

SNOW: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: He had said that once before, and it was, in a sense kind of reiterated again last night. This is a business, but he also wanted to make history. He said, I don't think I would be able to make history where I am. I got to go where, you know, there's great potential to win a championship. Is that fair?

SNOW: You have to respect that. You respect that decision and that's where I say I think the process is kind of turning people off, the way he went about making this announcement.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And in fact among those who was really turned off was the Cav's owner. Here's a bit of what he had to say.

We're going to put that up on a full screen. Let's see if I can turn and read it here. He says this was announced with a several-day narcissistic, self-promotional buildup culminating with a national TV special. The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hardworking loyal and driven staff over here at your hometown, Cavaliers, have not betrayed you, nor never will betray you.

I want to make one statement to you, I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before the self- titled, ouch, former king - former king - wins one. Those are some harsh words. I'd say he's a little upset.

SNOW: I think because he has fired two coaches, so he understands the process of making changes, and those are hard decisions that you have to make. So I think him being upset is more how they went about doing it.

WHITFIELD: He called the decision cowardly.

SNOW: Because I think if Lebron James is correct in what he said, he said the only team that knew when his decision was the team he was going to. I feel that the Cavaliers probably felt that the amount of time that we've been and the loyalty that we have amongst each other, if you wanted to leave, just tell us a long time ago, and we could have moved on.

WHITFIELD: So you know Lebron James. I mean, did you feel like what you saw last night was Lebron James? This was a really tough decision for him to make and that he didn't make up his mind until when he woke up yesterday morning and he checked with his mom and then he felt, this was cemented? Did that sound like the process.

SNOW: It's hard for me to believe that he just made his mind that morning. I think he probably had his mind made up and some other things (INAUDIBLE) affected his decision.

But I think that knowing him, I know that it was a tough decision because he understands the ramifications of his decision in that area, the people's livelihood, the Cavaliers selling out every game and now all of a sudden before he came there, no one went to the games and they are one of the top franchises in the NBA and you know, the downtown area of restaurants and everything is booming. So he had a great effect on the economics in that city. He understood that and that really made it tough. His family there and friends are there. So it's a tough decision.

WHITFIELD: Well, take a look at the contrast - take a look at these images of what happened in Cleveland. People were upset. They were burning jerseys. That contrasted with people in Miami who were, of course, celebrating, very excited. There you see, there were a number of people who just got out of control. They were arrested and they used Lebron James as an example for helping to ignite that kind of fury, but then in Miami, people are saying, "wow, we got this, you know, the three kings. We got this royalty, so to speak.

And you know, Bosh, Wade, James, what an incredible trio. Do you see that this going to help Miami Heat over the top?

SNOW: Yes, I mean I think you put those three and every one is saying, who else are they going to get? I mean, there are many guys in the league taking minimum contracts. So now If you're taking the minimum contract, where is the first place that you're going to call? So they're going to get some solid players around them. So right now, they jumped to the top of the Eastern Conference.

And they still have to face the big team over in the Western conference with the L.A. Lakers possibly but they definitely got to pull most of these other teams.

WHITFIELD: As a former Cav, do you feel for Cleveland?

SNOW: Yes, I do. I mean, I'm not from Cleveland, I'm from (INAUDIBLE), just south of there, but that's my hometown team. It's disappointing. It's disappointing how it all ended. I felt that they did enough to keep him there and I would have hope that he could have stayed there and brought a championship to Cleveland.

WHITFIELD: All right. It's going to be a interesting to see what kind of dialogues is going to take place next year where people just kind of are they over it, are they celebrating. Something interesting. All right. Good to see you, Eric.

SNOW: It's a pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Appreciate that. NBA analyst, Eric Snow.

All right. Smashed windows, looted stores, scuffles with police. Things got really ugly. I'm not talking in Cleveland. I'm talking Oakland, California, after a verdict came down. You will see what happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A trade on the tarmac, our spies for their spies. The swap is now officially complete. Ten Russian agents expelled from the U.S. are reported back in Moscow now. They were traded for four Russians who had been in prison for spying for the U.S.. The whole exchange happened earlier today on an airport tarmac in Vienna, Austria. One plane headed east, the other west. The whole trade happened very fast. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK GALEOTI, NYU PROFESSOR, GLOBAL AFFAIRS: Admitting for the first time that these were indeed their own spies.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Each of the 10 pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for not registering as a foreign agent and each agreed never to return to America without permission, and if they sell their stories proceeds must be turned over to the United States and several were forced to surrender cash, homes and cars as part of their plea deal.

As for popular red-haired dazzler Anna Chapman, who may be the only spy with her own Facebook page, her attorneys says the harsh conditions she faced in jail had a lot to do with her guilty plea.

ROBERT BAUM, ANNA CHAPMAN'S ATTORNEY: She never met personally with any official of the Russian federation, she never passed information. She never received any money. It is not alleged that she engaged in any crime of money laundering. She's glad to be released from jail, but she is unhappy that it probably has destroyed her business and that she has to return to Moscow.

CANDIOTTI: Meantime, the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev has pardoned four men convicted in jail for allegedly spying for the U.S.. They're part of an arranged swap to make the case go away.

GALEOTTI: What it shows is that both Moscow and Washington want to deal with it as quickly as possible so they can move on with improving relations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: And senior administration officials say it was the U.S. that drove the terms of this spy swap deal. In court, we learned that members of the Russian consulate here in New York looked over the terms of the plea deal before the defendants agreed to it. That's what they testified to in court and if any of them ever attempt to come back to the U.S., well, they first would have to get the permission from the highest levels of the U.S. government. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Susan Candiotti, thanks so much. Joining us from New York. All right. It's after 7:00 a.m., Oakland, California, and people are going to get a better look now at how much damage was done overnight. Trouble began after a jury found a former transit cop guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

Some people smashed windows, looting businesses, setting trash on fire and scuffling with police. As many as 100 people were arrested. Officials think agitators were more interested in anarchy than justice.

All right. That followed more peaceful protests earlier in the day where protesters said the cop, Johannes Mehserle deserved a murder conviction, not the involuntary manslaughter that jurors actually handed down. Mehserle, who's wife was shot and killed Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man last year on an Oakland train platform. Mehserle argued that he meant to draw and fire his taser, not his gun.

Grant's family is saying that the verdict just simply was not just.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANDA JOHNSON, OSCAR GRANT'S MOTHER: My son was murdered, and the law has not held the officer accountable the way that he should have been held accountable.

CEPHUS JOHNSON, OSCAR GRANT'S UNCLE: And we as a family has been slapped in the face by the system that has denied us the right to true justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The conviction usually carries a maximum four years sentence. He faces between two and four actually.

So the rain-swollen Rio Grande River has risen to nearly 30 feet above flood stage now and that has led to evacuation of homes in parts of Laredo, Texas. The city's civic center is open but as a shelter. Two bridges linking Mexico and the U.S. are now closed.

Let's check in our Rob Marciano about this flooding in Texas because everything is big in Texas, and when there's flooding, it is grand.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. Now they have had now two tropical systems in the past less than two weeks really. Hurricane Alex dumped a tremendous amount of rain across parts of Texas, and now this tropical depression which we'll get to in a second. It is all kind of linked in with all these rain that's making its way across the northeast.

This time of year, everything kind of moves slow. All these rain that mad3e its' way across the northeast. This time of year, everything moves kind of slow. Jet stream slows down and weakens, so typically, the northern part of cold fronts moving a little bit faster and the southern kind of drag behind and that's what we're seeing in this particular area.

Down across the south, in the mid Atlantic, we're seeing a few thunderstorms that are trying to get through the Myrtle Beach area, but once they do, we will probably going to see similar numbers to what we saw yesterday. Check out these record highs across Virginia, Danville, 102, Savannah, Georgia 101. Charlotte, North Caroline seeing 100 and (INAUDIBLE) seeing 95 degrees. Seattle just seeing 95, and the northwest getting into the act as well as far as the record high temperatures.

Excessive heat watches are posted for parts of Charleston and southeast Georgia. With the humidity, it's going to feel like 105 and 110, in some cases hotter than that. Two to four inches of more rain expected across parts of the Rio Grande. So those troubles continue.

I don't think that river is going to crest until probably the weekend down around Laredo, and here you see everything kind of spinning around, what's left of the tropical depression, which right now is about there. So slowly spinning it's way through Mexico. Until it gets out of here, we're going to deal with more in rain. So yes, everything is bigger in Texas, and unfortunately the rain is for the last 10 days.

WHITFIELD: Yes, unfortunately in that case, right? All right. Thanks so much, Rob Marciano. Appreciate that.

OK. So it's been almost three months now since the oil started gushing in the Gulf of Mexico and we're still waiting for a solution to stop the spill. The next possible fix, relief wells. So if they can prevent such a disaster, why not have they been required, if companies want to drill in the first place?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The first relief well being drilled to stop the oil gusher could be complete in seven to 10 days. These wells are the best hope of stopping the Gulf oil leak. So why not require them to be drilled at the same time as all exploratory wells?

Patricia Wu is in New York with more on that question. So, Patricia, you know, lots of people say that valuable time has been wasted.

PATRICIA WU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Fred. That is the argument. If you drill both at the same time you'd be ready if something goes wrong. Let's show you exactly what we are talking about when we talk about relief wells. They are drilled down deep to intersect the leaking well and heavy liquid even concrete is pumped in to bring the leaking well under control.

New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg is an advocate of requiring relief and exploratory wells be drilled at the same time. He's even introduced a bill requiring just that. The administration's point man on the disaster Admiral Thad Allen has said the president's commission on this bill should take a look at the idea, but there are strong objections from the industry.

First, cost is an issue. The American Petroleum Institute says relief wells can cost $150 million, and that is a huge added expense and it could put a major crimp on deep water drilling. Second, their safety. A relief well can blow out, just like an exploratory well. Opponents say we are requiring them with double your risk of an accident like the one we're seeing in the Gulf right now.

As one professor of petroleum engineering told us, do you require a relief well for the relief well? Where does it end, Fred?

WHITFIELD: And so you have wonder, is a relief well kind of a sure bet?

WU: Well, another expert we spoke to said yes. But the tricky part is when will it work. He tells us it's like hitting a target the size of a dinner plate while drilling through a mile of rock.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

WU: If you miss you have to, exactly, keep trying to hit that target. That's nearly 18,000 feet below the water service. For example, a relief will stopped a blowout, 150 miles off Australia's coast last year. There you see some video from that. It took almost a whole month and five tries to finally hit the right spot.

Well, in case this doesn't work or it just takes too long, other options are being considered in the Gulf. One possibility, sucking the oil through undersea pipelines to nearby platforms. So Fred, at least we know there is planning beyond the relief well just in case.

WHITFIELD: OK. Patricia Wu, thanks so much. Joining us from New York.

WU: Sure.

WHITFIELD: And this, a CNN exclusive that you simply don't want to miss, a live underwater view of the damage caused by the BP oil disaster. That's CNN's Amber Lyons right there suiting up in a special hazmat diver's suit. She will be descending into the Gulf of Mexico. They are in transit right now. They're on a boat, making their way from the mouth of the Mississippi and into the Gulf of Mexico. She is not alone. She's with environmentalist Philippe Cousteau, and they will descend and also give us a live view of the water below the surface and what effects it might have on marine life, et cetera. All of that straight ahead.

And here's a question for you. If a child cuts school, they may get detention. What do you think happens to a parent who may skip a school meeting? Well, guess what. In Detroit, there's a proposal that is being drafted. It could mean that a parent facing jail time. We are dissecting that with some extroverts coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So, here's a possible scenario. Skip a parent/teacher conference, end up in the slammer. Detroit parents could end up spending three days in jail for missing a pair of meetings at their kid's school under a new Wayne County proposal set to go before the county commissioners next month. The prosecutor who is actually pushing the plan says moms, dads, guardians, they all need to be responsible for their kids' education.

And Detroit public schools are fighting an uphill battle, by the way. Its students performed the worst in the nation last school year on standardized math and reading tests. Its graduation rate is 58 percent, and the average student reportedly misses 46 school days a year -- more than a month of missed school a year. So, could this proposal get parents involved and actually help turn things around for students in the Detroit area?

CNN education contributor Steve Perry is joining us now from Hartford, Connecticut. Good to see you. And Charles Saylors is president of the national PTA, joining us from Charlotte, North Carolina. Good to see you as well.

All right, so Mr. Saylors, let me begin with you. You're a father of four. You've had kids in the school system. Do you think it's as cut and dry as parents needing to take responsibility for their children's actions, and thereby that will keep them from being truant? That will mean that they are no longer getting involved in crime, and it begins with a parent attending a parent/teacher conference meeting?

CHARLES SAYLORS, NATIONAL PTA PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, a parent being engaged in the child's educational experience in their life -- yes, is a great first start. But is it the answer to everything? I don't think so. It's something that parents need to get engaged in and be participants in their child's education. But I see this proposal in Detroit as just a bad signal in the wrong direction.

WHITFIELD: And Steve, do you agree with that? Is it a bad signal to have this proposal? Again, it is still being worked out, but the prosecutor in Wayne County says, "Here's a premise." They want to make sure that a parent signs up for at least one parent/teacher conference a year. If they miss that, they have 14 days to make a makeup, and if they don't, then law enforcement is coming after them to put them in jail.

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: This is absolutely absurd. It's actually embarrassing that this is what the county comes up with as a solution.

The problem is not that the parents are so disengaged. In many cases, one of the reasons why parents and children are so disengaged is because the offerings, the academic offerings that they have. One of the reasons why children miss school is because the schools they go to are so disengaging.

In addition to that, who are we going to send to prison? So, you have a single mother. So, we're going to send her to prison. What about the father? Are we going to find him somewhere in the country and send him to prison, as well? In addition to that, what if a grandmother is raising the children? Are we going to find the two parents of the children and send them to prison?

It's an absolutely absurd notion. And I think that while I can appreciate where is coming from, last night we had a parent meeting because we began school last week. And 50 percent of the parents came. It was a very important meeting. I don't think they should go to prison for that. Maybe someone fall down and chip a tooth and have a bad day, but not necessarily go to prison.

WHITFIELD: We are hearing from people on our blog who this story, this idea caught their attention. And Leah writes in, saying this, "I think this is a wonderful idea." She says, "I am a teacher and can say honestly from experience that the parents who do not show up or seem to care about the parent/teacher conferences have the children who struggle in school the most."

So, Charles Saylors, does she have a point there? That if a parent is not engaged, then certainly that sends a message to the child about how important their education is?

SAYLORS: Well, you're correct in the fact that it does send a very negative message. But let's look at it like this. When I was in school, dad worked, mom didn't. My mother had time to volunteer. Today, you have parents that work two jobs each in some cases. They simply don't have the time.

What we've got to do is find creative ways to get parents engaged to get them interested. I'm a firm believer if a parent comes in the door one time, volunteers in that school, does something positive in that school just one time, they'll come back. So, it's incumbent on the PTAs, it's incumbent on the school districts across the country to come up with some creative solutions to get the parents in the door that first time.

You know, there's a piece of legislation right now in Congress, HR-5211 that is called The Family and Education Engagement Act. And essentially, what this piece of legislation does is give the school districts and the schools resources to come up with those best practices.

WHITFIELD: So, Steve, how do you see this -- what is a better solution? This is an attempt by Wayne County, but it has been tried before. In some jurisdictions, in Texas, in (INAUDIBLE) Lincoln, Kentucky, but by way of fine. This one would be jail time.

What should counties, jurisdictions, school districts be thinking about? How do you create an incentive to get parents and kids involved in their schools to ultimately help increase the grades or the attendance, cut down on crime?

PERRY: Well, first of all, I will tell you, this is the holy grail in education, to be able to find ways to engage parents. Mr. Saylor is correct. Parents are working. In many cases, we have the meetings in the middle of the school day.

If the meeting is so important, so important that we would potentially send a parent to prision, why not go to the parents' house? If we want to meet them so badly -- by training, I'm a social worker. So, I understand that those houses are not such scary places. If it means that much for the school to meet that parent, get in the car and go to their house.

Otherwise, they have to continue to understand there is not a direct one-to-one relationship. There are parents in my school sometimes too much, whose children act a fool. It doesn't simply mean if you come to school your child isn't going to act ignorant. The truth is that when you have children and parents and school working together, you often -- and I say often, often -- get a better result, but it is not a guarantee. It's not a guarentee.

WHITFIELD: Steve Perry, Charles Saylors, thanks so much, gentlemen. Of course, e will try to get a follow-up when we find out if this proposal is indeed drafted and what happens from there. We understand they are still working on it, and we could see something of a proposal as early as next month.

SAYLORS: Thank you for having us.

PERRY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We appreciate it.

All right. A big salute coming to the way of the 2010 military spouse of the year. She's joining us live in a few minutes to tell us how she is building support for families with loved ones in uniform.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

Arrest and anger in downtown Oakland, California, following a controversial court verdict. A former police officer who was white was convicted of a lesser involuntary manslaughter charge in the videotaped shooting death of an unarmed black man at a B.A.R.T station last year. Hundreds of people protested and dozens were arrested when some of the demonstrators turned violent.

And China can keep Googling. The search engine says it will keep operating there after renewing a license with the Chinese government. This ends a long-time standoff over censorship.

And talk about a tale of two cities. Joy in Miami. Despair in Cleveland. All over this man right here, basketball superstar LeBron James and his announcement that he will take his talents to the Miami Heat. The Cleveland Cavaliers owner calls it the exit of LeBron James "a cowardly betrayal."

And maybe LeBron will get his first championship with the Miami Heat next year. At least, that's what he's hoping, right? So, we should ask that German octopus if it would indeed happen, given that he's in the business of predictions. It has actually picked the World cup winners so far and has decided who will actually win the final on Sunday. Take a closer look before the end of hour -- at least, we will.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: They're called the force behind the armed forces. I'm talking about military spouses. It's a tough job supporting our men and women in uniform on the battlefield and on the home front.

And one Air Force veteran is making her mark as the 2010 military spouse of the year. There she is. Lori Bell is also there live and in color there joining us from Columbia, South Carolina. Congratulations, Lori.

LORI BELL, 2010 MILITARY SPOUSE OF THE YEAR: Thank you, Fredricka. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So, you're the military spouse of the year. There were hundreds of people who were nominated, and you stood out in large part because you actually have set up your own networks for military families, especially put into place when their loved ones are abroad, right?

BELL: Yes. I was so inspired to do that because my husband and I, we were stationed in Alaska at Elmendorf Air Force Base, and there was such a need for connection. Many times, spouses feel isolated, and that's one of the things that we talk about in "Military Spouse Magazine" is the isolation of deployment, and sometimes you get so wrapped up in your own issues, you forget there is a whole community and support network just waiting to connect with you. So, I was inspired to create the National Association of Military Moms and Spouses from that.

WHITFIELD: So, was your inspiration in large part because you are an Air Force veteran yourself. Ten years as an Air Force veteran, so you know firsthand what it is, that isolation you talked about? You lived it.

BELL: I did. And it's quite different, though, the isolation as a woman in uniform, and you're serving and you're also mom. So, it's a different kind of challenge. So, when I became a spouse as in my husband is serving and I'm supporting him, it was a different challenge. So, I realized there were so many moms and women just like me who needed that kind of support system.

WHITFIELD: And your family -- you have two children, Amira and Kenyan II. Your husband, Kenyan, actually, is the one who helped nominate you, right? And he actually had some beautiful words about you, saying you actually make him stronger.

What was that like to hear that, a, he was the one that nominated you, and you know how he feels about you, but it's another thing to see it in the written word, right?

BELL: It is, and he's always been the type of man -- I say that everybody needs a Kenyan, and I feel just that way about him. He gets the sweet from him mom and the stubborn from his dad, and it's a perfect combination for us.

WHITFIELD: Aww, that's sweet. Well, Lori Bell, congratulations. Fantastic. Clearly, you're an inspiration to so many people and you've thought about so many other moms and spouses and taken your personal experience to help them as well. Congratulations.

BELL: Yes. Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: We'll have much more of the NEWSROOM after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: U.S. tax dollars hard a work in Pakistan, building roads and paving the way for new relationships. CNN's Nic Robertson reports on a program to win over a region once controlled by the Taliban.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Road crews at work where just last year the Pakistani Taliban planted IEDs. They are building 100 kilometers, 60 miles, of new highway through Pakistan's tribal badlands towards Afghanistan.

(on camera): This is U.S. tax dollars at work. The United States is paying for this road-building. It is a quick-impact project. $25 million from the U.S. for this road and another one like it.

(voice-over): There's no fanfare, no U.S. flags, just American money being spent quietly. Pakistan's army is using the funds in an effort to win over south Waziristan's tribes, following its offensive against the Taliban last year.

MAJOR FARRUKH MAJID, PAKISTAN ARMY: We have made them understand this is for their benefit, that were are constructing and we're coming here up over here for their benefit.

ROBERTSON (on camera): When the main army operation began against the Taliban last October, as many as 120,000 people from this area, close to a quarter of the population fled their homes. Now, the pressure is on to get the reconstruction going and get them back home.

(voice-over): A girl's college where none has been built before, from the same fund used to build the road, both quick-start projects, accepted by the tribes here.

This tribal leader explains we'll accept help from whoever offers it. The United States, too, so long as it's done through a trusted partner and doesn't change our culture. Pakistan has lost 2,000 troops fighting the Taliban in these border regions in the past year, often because the tribesmen sided with the militants.

Now, commanders say, say the U.S.-funded counterterrorism strategy is working, and the tribes are switching sides.

(on camera): Commanders here tell us, though, they've defeated the Taliban in this area, but everywhere we go, we have a big military escort and there are soldiers standing guard at the side of the road. It gives the impression the area is not 100 percent secure yet --

(voice-over): -- an impression local residents share.

ABDUL KHALIQ, WANA RESIDENT: The impression (INAUDIBLE) to the public and people supporting the government. ROBERTSON: Just last month, there was a drone attack on a house barely a few miles from here. Several foreign militants were reportedly killed.

But the Pakistani army is gaining ground. The changes its making, the colleges for women, paved roads where they've never been before are changing life in communities like these for good. By stealth, U.S. tax dollars are helping to turn the tide in the remote mountains of a far off land.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Wana, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. A CNN exclusive coming your way. You don't want to miss it. A live underwater view of the damage caused by the BP oil disaster. Right there, CNN's Amber Lyon is suiting up in special hazmat gear, and she's diving into the Gulf of Mexico with environmentalist Philippe Cousteau. She will be joining us with an update later earlier morning (sic) on their journey and what they're likely to see once they descend.

Amber and her team are making their way to the Gulf right now as we speak. They are actually coming out of the Mississippi and making their way into the Gulf as they travel to their final destination. And of course, she will be joining us live throughout the day here on CNN. They are planning to actually dive off an abandoned oil rig that is now a coral reef. You'll see that all happening in this exclusive report coming your way right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Perhaps you have heard about Paul the octopus by now. He's 9 for 9 picking World Cup games this year. He makes his predictions right there in his tank in Germany. In fact, he has actually received death threats from fans whose teams he didn't actually pick, saying we're going to make you into some calamari.

Today, Paul chose Spain to beat the Netherlands in the Sunday finale. And he doesn't have a backbone, but he's got some kind of psychic brain. CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's an octopus who doesn't realize his goal is to predict World Cup winners.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Call the oracle octopus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The psychic sea creature.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tentacle oracle (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The psychic (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mystic mollusk has gotten famous. MOOS: Paul lives at the Sea Life Aquarium in Germany where they lowered two boxes labeled with the flags of competing teams. Each box contains mussels, one of Paul's favorite foods.

He picked the winner like six times in a row.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a very sensitive octopus.

MOOS: Faced with a choice between Germany, his current home and Spain, Paul to top Germany then slinked over to Spain and later strattle (ph) the two before making his final pick by opening a box with the Spanish flag. Paul's less lucky relatives were on sale at New York's fairway market.

Octopus, $3.99 a pound, Paul's worth a heck of a lot more than that.

Some who were buying octopus were skeptical.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This thing must be fixed. I don't believe that there's some genius octopus.

MOOS: Paul isn't the first animal prognosticator. "Princess" the camel picked winning football teams by selecting one of two graham crackers from her owners' labeled palms while "Chippy" the pundit chimp was pinned against human pundits deciding between Rudy and Hillary for U.S. Senate. But Chippy never made it big like Paul who has his own website. Don't tell any of my of my handlers that I can type and his own twitter account.

MOOS (on-camera): PETA has even gotten to the act demanding that Paul be set free. They're saying an octopus is not a prop that should be used for entertainment.

MOOS (voice-over): After correctly predicting Germany's loss to Spain, the psychic octopus has even received death threats. Put the thing on the menu. I ate your mother.

OLIVER WALECIAK, SEA LIFE AQUARIUM: We take a little bit more care about the octopus than before because there are quite a lot of visitors who want to kill and to eat him.

MOOS: Prime Minister of Spain joked about sending Paul a protective team. And after Spain beat Germany, Spanish celebrity Chef Jose Andres took octopus off the menu. But a jokester on YouTube made Paul the target of a Hitler assassination plot.

Roasted one fan with eight tentacles, I'd love to see him do a penalty kick.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, that poor octopus! You know, all kidding aside -- did I misspeak earlier? Did I say calamari? That's really a squid thing, isn't it?

I'm going to ask my culinary buddy, Don Lemon, who's up next. It would be squid that's calamari, not octopus, right?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I think show. It doesn't really say on the menu, but yes.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I have a feeling it's squid, so sorry, Paul. You would not be made calamari!

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Don Lemon, you're up next.

LEMON: Fred, you're the best. You're so cute. Always good to see you. Have a great day, Fredericka!

WHITFIELD: Thank you.