Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
World Cup Terror Attacks Kill 64 in Uganda; BP Replaces Cap on Oil Gusher; Spain Wins World Cup; Haiti: Six Months Later; Promise of Family DNA Testing; Promise of Family DNA Testing; Polanski Extradition Decision; American Killed in Uganda; Capping the Oil Gusher
Aired July 12, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy Monday. Glad you're with us. It's 6:00 a.m. here in New York on this Monday, July 12th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Drew Griffin. John Roberts is off today. Glad to be with you, Kiran.
CHETRY: Glad you're with us as well. And we have a lot to talk about this morning.
Some breaking news, World Cup terror attacks. Bombers strike two venues in Uganda where fans were gathered to watch Sunday's World Cup final. We're getting the latest number showing at least 64 people were killed, including an American. We're live with new information on who may have been behind those attacks.
GRIFFIN: Spanish soccer fans around the world celebrating the country's first-ever World Cup championship. The game-winning goal coming in the 116th minute of the match. A live report from Madrid just ahead.
And it is day three of BP's operation to replace that containment cap on the oil gusher in the gulf. Could it work? The oil giant says it should stop the oil from leaking completely as they again work to drill two relief wells. But until it's in place, nothing is stopping that crude oil from pouring into the sea. We're going to be live in New Orleans. That's also coming up.
CHETRY: First though, we have some breaking news out of Switzerland this morning. CNN has learned that authorities there will decide whether Oscar winning filmmaker Roman Polanski will be extradited to the U.S. to face child sex charges.
Now, Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl back in 1977. And he then fled to Europe before sentencing. We are expected to learn more about this decision coming up in about two hours. And of course, we'll bring that to you live right here on the Most News in the Morning.
Meantime, the White House this morning promising that the terrorist behind the, quote, "deplorable and cowardly attacks" in Uganda will be tracked down and brought to justice. Three explosions ripped through crowds watching the World Cup final in two places. At least 64 people were killed including one American. Six Americans from a church mission were also injured.
Joining me on the phone right now is CNN national security contributor Fran Townsend. Fran was the homeland security adviser to President Bush, and she is now a member of the CIA's external advisory board.
Fran, thanks for being with us this morning.
FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: So we're talking about these crowded venues. People gathered to watch the World Cup, of course, finals. One was a restaurant there, a popular restaurant. Do we know who could have been the target of these blasts?
TOWNSEND: That's the ultimate question. And I think when you see the White House statement that you referred to, most likely what will happen especially now because there's one American killed and others injured, the White House will ask director -- FBI Director Bob Mueller to deploy a team to Kampala to work with Ugandan authorities to try and understand where the Americans merely innocent victims of this Kampala attack or were they actually the targets of it.
CHETRY: And you just -- we got some new information this morning on this from a senior Ugandan government official. This comes to us from our Zain Verjee saying that there were actually three bombs, one of them at an Ethiopian restaurant, the second at a rugby club, and that was the most severe. And they say that their first suspicion is that this could be the work of terrorists from Somalia because of forces in that country. And, of course, the suspicion, Al Shabaab, has come up as well. Tell us a little bit more about what may be going on here.
TOWNSEND: Well, you know, it's interesting. First of all, the attack itself has got all the sort of hallmarks of an Al Qaeda type attack, multiple simultaneous attacks, venues, a large crowd. And we have Al Shabaab which is not known for launching attacks outside of Somalia. They're part of one of the extremist groups in a power struggle there. But on Friday, at Friday prayer at a local mosque in Somalia, one of the commanders of Al Shabaab actually called for attacks in Uganda and Burundi. Then you see this thing happened.
Al Shabaab is a known Al Qaeda affiliate. We heard a lot about Al Qaeda affiliates in the last six or eight months. Remember Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day Detroit attempted bombing and PTP, the Pakistan Taliban claimed -- has the claim of responsibility for assisting in the Times Square attempted bombing. So we're seeing more of these affiliates act outside their usual regions. I expect we'll probably see some sort of claim of responsibility that is Al Shabaab probably in the next 24 hours. We ought to remember when we hear Al Shabaab, this is really Al Qaeda. CHETRY: And Al Shabaab is upset, if they indeed are behind this attack, because of peacekeepers that Uganda, as well as Burundi, have dispatched to Somalia in an effort to help stabilize the government there. What is Al Shabaab's goal?
TOWNSEND: Well, they're one of the groups, there are several groups struggling for overall power of Somalia. Now, there isn't -- you know, there is no sort of central government there in the way we think about it. A single entity, a power entity that controls things in Somalia. And Al Shabaab is one of the groups struggling to seize power there.
CHETRY: You know, and, Fran, it should be noted, it's interesting that Al Shabaab's name came up about a month and a half ago when we talk about the arrest of two New Jersey men who may have been seeking to join that group.
TOWNSEND: That's right. This has been -- viewers should recall, Kiran, over the last year we've heard again and again concerns in the Somalian-American community of Al Shabaab recruiting, and then bringing over to Somalia, American Somalis to train them to fight there. And this has been a real priority for the FBI working with the Somali-American community to try and prevent that from happening, prevent these kids from being pulled into this conflict in Somalia. And frankly, we have a homeland security interest because once they're trained and they fight, which you don't want to see, is them to take that war-like experience and bring it back here to the homeland.
CHETRY: Exactly. Good point. Fran Townsend, CNN national security contributor, thanks so much for joining us this morning with this breaking news.
TOWNSEND: Thanks.
GRIFFIN: Other big story this morning. Day 84 of BP's oil disaster in the gulf and the third day of an erupt (ph) operation that could finally stop what you're seeing there. Here is a live look, 5,000 feet under water. BP says it's putting on this new cap that's going to have a tighter seal. I should say looking at that picture, a tight seal and could stop oil from flowing all together as the company keeps drilling those two relief wells that will actually kill this well. But until the new cap is in place, as you can see, oil flows free.
Ed Lavandera is tracking it all for us from New Orleans. Ed, is the company saying that this is going good, that this is working?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we've been down this road many times over the last several months since April 20th when this oil well exploded down there in the Gulf of Mexico. So there have been a lot of failures along the way.
And BP right now, kind of tempering expectations here. So far, they're only saying that they're pleased, in their words, with the progress that is being made so far. But if this new cap system does indeed work and other -- several other containment vessels on the surface of the water that will be brought in over the course of the next couple of weeks, if all of this does work as planned, there is enough capacity to capture all of the oil that is flowing freely right now into the Gulf of Mexico.
But it's been quite a dramatic change from after that other containment cap was removed on Saturday. You could really sense just how much oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.
There is about 8,000 barrels a day that are being captured by one vessel out there with a connection into the blowout preventer, but this new containment cap will create a tighter seal. It's a several- step process, will take several days for them to be able to test it and make sure that everything is working properly. And then with the help of these other massive vessels on the surface of the water, this oil would then be piped in to those vessels and be able to be kept out of the Gulf of Mexico.
This would be a huge step. This is not the final step, of course. We must make very clear those relief wells, that work continues along the side, that would be the ultimate way of killing this well for good and that is still on schedule to happen some time in mid-August right now -- Drew.
GRIFFIN: All right. Ed, thanks a lot.
We want to tell you that we're going to have the national incident commander, retired Admiral Thad Allen, about an hour from now. He's going to give us the latest on this operation and the work that Ed was talking about to drill those two relief wells. That's 7:15 Eastern right here.
CHETRY: All right. Meantime, it is seven-and-a-half minutes past the hour. Time to get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Our Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center this Monday morning with an update for us.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. Hello, Drew. Temperatures once again in the northeast to be kind of smoking hot. Seventy-one to 72 degrees currently in New York City, and the rain that will cool things off is still a day, day and a half away. Take a look on the radar scope. It's out towards the west and temperatures will rise quickly into the 80s and top out probably in the lower 90s.
We won't see triple-digit heat but it will be uncomfortably warm. It will also be warm down across the southeast, and heat advisories are in effect for parts of southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans. And then the bull's-eye is in the center part of the country where severe thunderstorms will fire up later on today. Already starting to see some heavy thunderstorms with heavy rain in an area that has been very much soaked over the past several weeks.
Lower 90s across the south, including the northeast and only cool spot really is up there in Seattle. They've had their fair share of heat last week. And everybody has had their fair share of heat this summer. And you guys will see temps in the lower 90s again today. More details coming up in about 30 minutes.
CHETRY: Just wait until you get that electric bill.
GRIFFIN: Yes, I got mine yesterday. Oh, talk about smoking hot.
CHETRY: I don't --
GRIFFIN: Papa was smoking hot. Turn off the lights, kids.
CHETRY: I sort of unplug every nonessential appliance in the house. Chris is like, why won't the TV work? I said, oh, I shut that thing off. Rob told us to.
MARCIANO: Yes. Aluminum foil on the window. That's always a classic one.
GRIFFIN: Looks good. Homeowners like it too. The homeowners association love that.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
CHETRY: Were you watching the World Cup yesterday? Because everyone I talked to so much for no soccer fever in the U.S., they were watching it.
GRIFFIN: I was on the airport on the way here. Everybody was watching it where I was standing outside the bar. Nobody drinking, they're just watching it.
CHETRY: Well, Spain wins, if you didn't know. We're going to get a live report though on how they're celebrating in Madrid. What a thrill for them this morning.
Nine minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, Spain has a bright side this morning. Were you doing a dance here?
GRIFFIN: It's like a kid's show. I like that.
CHETRY: I know. I love it.
GRIFFIN: Get up and go, go, go.
CHETRY: Soccer all-stars.
Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Spain is officially king of the world today. They won soccer's World Cup for the first time. Spain's dramatic 1-0 -- that sounds funny, dramatic 1-0 -- GRIFFIN: That was a beautiful goal, I must say.
CHETRY: 1-0 victory over the Netherlands came with just four minutes of extra time left in the championship match.
GRIFFIN: Yes, and as you imagine, the goal set off wild celebrations throughout the country. CNN's Don Riddell has been taking it all in. He's live in Madrid.
Good morning, Don. And what are you -- stay up the whole night?
DON RIDDELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was an absolutely incredible night. I went to bed at about half past 2:00, 3:00 just so I could get a couple of hours sleep before the party today. And at that point, the streets were still absolutely packed. There were thousands and thousands and thousands of people out there celebrating the win, enjoying what may actually be a once in a lifetime moment. This is the first time the Spanish team have ever been world champions.
As you can tell, there's another party here. There's going to be a victory parade this evening. The Spanish team are going to come back at 7:00 local time. They're going to conduct a two-hour parade throughout the entire city and they're going to end up here at this hastily created fun (ph) park. As you can see, there's already some fans here waiting to receive their team back. Shakira is going to be playing on this big stage behind us later on tonight. And these fans are going to be partying all week. They're absolutely loving it.
GRIFFIN: What a great assignment. Beautiful sunshine, Spain and Shakira. Not bad.
RIDDELL: Got it all.
GRIFFIN: Yes. You know what --
RIDDELL: Are you guys -- are you guys familiar with Paul the octopus?
CHETRY: Yes.
RIDDELL: I've got to mention it.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Tell us because Paul got it right.
RIDDELL: This is the octopus. Well, we should all be taking him to Vegas. This guy is incredible. He predicted -- eight is the key number here, by the way. He's got eight legs. He made eight predictions during the World Cup. They all came right. Spain became the eighth world champions and they scored eight goals in this tournament to do so. Yes, so this octopus absolutely phenomenal.
GRIFFIN: All right, Don, thanks a lot. Have fun today. We'll see you later. CHETRY: I guess they put muscles or clams in each of the tanks. They were all, you know, had the team flags. And Paul the octopus got it right. He was great. You know the pokers were calling him up.
GRIFFIN: And he's a German octopus, right?
CHETRY: Yes, he is a German octopus.
GRIFFIN: Isn't that interesting?
CHETRY: We're "Minding Your Business" now. The man in charge of the $20 billion fund to help oil spill victims is now saying that the program will give people up to six months emergency funding all at once without requiring that they sign some sort of waiver promising they won't sue BP. Kenneth Feinberg also told our Candy Crowley on "STATE OF THE UNION" that he hopes to have the compensation program running by the first week of August.
GRIFFIN: You know, U.S. relief groups have reportedly raised $1.3 billion for Haiti since that earthquake exactly six months ago. A philanthropy expert says the donations are enough to provide basic necessities like food and water, but much of the money has not been spent. In addition to individual donors, international governments have pledged another $12 billion to rebuild Haiti.
The earthquake in Haiti killed nearly a quarter of a million people, leveled the capital city. Six months later, how is that recovery effort going and what kind of help is still needed? We're going to have a live report from Port-au-Prince right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Nineteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
That was actually Wyclef Jean's new song, "The Day After." It just released today and you're hearing it, actually, for the first time here on AMERICAN MORNING. Wyclef's going to be our guest at 8:00 Eastern and the new song coincides of course with a grim milestone in Haiti this morning.
It's been six months, actually, since the devastating earthquake struck, killing nearly a quarter million people, and the quake reduced much of the island nation to rubble, as we've seen in the pictures, the presidential palace even in Port-au-Prince among the ruins.
GRIFFIN: Millions of dollars have been raised, of course, to help Haiti rebuild, but a million and a half Haitians remain homeless. And a look at the presidential palace now reflects the country as a whole. This is still in ruins too.
All week long, CNN has got a big push to go back to Haiti to see what has happened, to see if anything is happening there, and CNN's Ivan Watson is live right now in Port-au-Prince.
Good morning, Ivan. I guess the first thing I have to ask is has anything changed, based on your observations?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Drew, good morning.
Why don't we just take a look behind me here at this camp behind me. Six months ago, this was pretty much a camp consisting of sticks and sheets and towels that people used, thousands of people used to create temporary shelters. And now there are more than 10,000 people living here and they have used tarps, plastic tarps that have been distributed by aid organizations and also scavenged for scrap metal and scrap wood to try to make more permanent shelters.
And the camp is just starting to wake up right now. It's a little after 5:00 in the morning here. I have to say, when you walk around this city six months afterwards, it often feels like very little has changed since the day we first arrived here the morning after the earthquake.
Drew, take a look at this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON (voice-over): On January 12th, 2010, the earth shook Port-au-Prince. More than 220,000 people were killed, more than 300,000 injured. The city and large stretches of surrounding countryside were devastated.
Six months later, not much appears to have changed. It still looks like a bomb just dropped on this city.
WATSON (on camera): When you walk around Port-au-Prince, it often looks like the earthquake just happened yesterday. The government has barely begun the clean-up process. Roads in the center of the city are still blocked by debris and some experts predict, at the current rate of removal, it could take up to 20 years to remove all the rubble from that terrible earthquake.
IMOGEN WALL, U.N. HUMANITARIAN SPOKESWOMAN: We have moved 250,000 cubic meters of rubble, which sounds like a lot until you realize it's 20 million cubic meters of rubble here.
WATSON (voice-over): United Nations estimates 1.5 million people currently live in camps. That's roughly one in nine Haitians homeless.
WATSON (on camera): Can we expect things to continue looking like this six months from now when we come back?
WALL: In some places, yes. Realistically. With that -- with the numbers that we are coping with here and with what we know it takes to do long-term reconstruction well, it will take time to get 1.5 million people back into the kind of long-term living arrangements that they want and need.
WATSON (voice-over): Most Haitians are left fending for themselves. In this impoverished hilltop slum, they live side by side with the rubble of their neighbors' homes. On Saturday, locals made a terrible discovery here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN HAITIAN)
WATSON (on camera): So this is a neighbor of this young woman, Ajnal (ph), who was pregnant in her 20s, who disappeared in the earthquake in her house, and they found some of her body parts today, six months later, and that kind of thing is happening still all over this city.
WATSON (voice-over): The Haitian government says it can't tackle debris clean-up or the resettlement of homeless right now because it faces more immediate threats.
JEAN-MAX BELLERIVE, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER: The real priority of the government is to protect the population from the next hurricane season, and most of our efforts is -- are going -- is going right now in that direction.
WATSON: Many Haitians are now taking matters into their own hands. Jean Jacques Jerome (ph) is building a new house to replace the one that was destroyed in the earthquake.
JEAN JACQUES JEROME (ph), HAITI EARTHQUAKE VICTIM (through translator): I couldn't afford new construction material, he says, so I scavenged parts from the street, from junk piles and from rubble."
WATSON: From the rubble of a devastated city, a new generation of makeshift housing is going up, which will likely be even more vulnerable to the floods and killer storms that plague this country.
If it sometimes feels like Haitians are resigned to their fate, it's perhaps because the presidential palace is still in ruins. Even the most powerful people in this country have barely begun picking up the pieces six months after the earthquake.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Ivan, the government minister that you interviewed there said that much of what the government is doing is preparing the population for the hurricane season? Exactly what is that?
WATSON: Well, the hurricane season is rapidly approaching. Haiti's had a terrible history of fatalities as a result of these storms, in recent years, in fact. So what he says is they've been preparing other parts of the island that are traditionally hit by these hurricanes to prepare for this, saying that they can't face a double catastrophe, a hurricane with large numbers of fatalities on top of the current catastrophe which this place has barely begun recovering from.
But as you can see behind me, if the storm hits Port-au-Prince, these makeshift shelters are not going to be good protection from winds and rain.
GRIFFIN: Yes, that's what -- that's exactly what I was speaking to, people in tents don't seem to be prepared for a hurricane season. Ivan Watson, you'll be there all week as we continue to look at this six months later. Unbelievable. Thank you.
CHETRY: It really is, and a lot of that international aid that was pledged by many of the countries, it hasn't come in yet.
GRIFFIN: Right.
CHETRY: And -- and so that's --
GRIFFIN: Why?
CHETRY: Yes. Another big question.
Twenty-five minutes past the hour right now, and still ahead, an accused serial killer known as the Grim Sleeper. Well, he was arrested last week after more than two decades on the loose in California. We'll take you inside the high-tech crime lab for a look at how authorities finally caught their man.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Cutting-edge technology helped police in Los Angeles hunt down the Grim Sleeper, an accused serial killer. The technology looks for a family resemblance, a potential relative's DNA to provide a link. It worked and now it could help crack dozens of other cold cases.
Thelma Gutierrez gives us an exclusive look inside the lab that cracked this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind these doors at the Department of Justice Crime Lab in Richmond, California, forensic investigators solved a landmark cold case that could change the way police investigations are conducted. We went inside for an exclusive look at the new DNA technology that led detectives to an elusive killer dubbed the Grim Sleeper.
It was the 1980s. A serial killer was terrorizing South Los Angeles. Most of his victims were young African-American women. Some had been shot with the same .25 caliber firearm. Some had been strangled, some sexually assaulted, their bodies dumped in alleys.
Over the years, Los Angeles Police would follow numerous leads that went nowhere. In 1988, after eight murders and an attack on the potential ninth victim who got away, the killing stopped. Then, nearly 15 years later, the Grim Sleeper would strike again.
Who was he? Where was he hiding? Police would have to wait another two decades to find the answers.
KEN KONZAK, CRIMINALIST: We have about 1 1/2 million samples stored in the laboratory. GUTIERREZ: A critical piece of the puzzle would be found here in the third largest DNA repository in the world. California has been collecting DNA from convicted felons since 2004.
Police had the serial killer's DNA from the crime scenes. Was it possible it was here as well?
JILL SPRIGGS, CHIEF, L.A. BUREAU OF FORENSIC SERVICES: We are on the cutting edge of this technology.
GUTIERREZ: Jill Spriggs, who heads the lab, says forensic scientists recently developed a powerful investigative weapon called the Familial DNA Search Program -- a computer software that can find similarities between crime scene DNA and the DNA of a convicted felon. If a killer's DNA is not in the database, maybe a relative's is in that.
STEVE MYERS, CRIMINALIST: It is only convicted defenders that we're comparing to, not arrestees in California.
GUTIERREZ: Two years ago, detectives ran the killer's DNA, searching for a link -- but no match. Then a major break -- last year, criminal has entered the DNA of a man recently convicted of a felony weapons charge. His name was Christopher Franklin.
Months later, detectives ran the Grim Sleeper's killer's DNA again, for the second time, hoping for a match to a family member. They got it. Detectives zeroed in on Christopher Franklin's father, 57-year-old Lonnie David Franklin, who lived in south Los Angeles, within walking distance to one of the victims, 18-year-old Alicia Monique Alexander.
At one time, the man described as a polite neighbor even worked as a garage attendant for Los Angeles police. Detectives were confident they found their man, but before they could close in, they would need a sample of his DNA. With Franklin under surveillance, they picked up a piece of uneaten pizza crust along with some eating utensils. Police sent it all to the lab. Soon after, they say, they had a match between Franklin and the DNA found on victims.
JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think, going forward, this is going to be a very important investigative tool for police everywhere where we have a serious crime where we have, you know, no further leads.
GUTIERREZ: As city leaders and Los Angeles police announce what they believe will be the end of the Grim Sleeper's reign of terror, the victims' families cheered.
(APPLAUSE)
GUTIERREZ: But it was a bittersweet moment for the brothers of 18-year-old Alicia Monique Alexander, who carried her frayed picture for 22 years.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Amazing. Power of DNA --
GRIFFIN: Yes.
CHETRY: -- DNA testing.
Well, today is decision today for Oscar winning director Roman Polanski. CNN has learned that in just over an hour, Swiss authorities will announce whether or not Polanski will be extradited to the U.S. to face child sex charges.
GRIFFIN: Talk about an old case. He pleaded guilty to sex with a 13-year-old back in 1977, but fled to Europe before sentencing.
Let's bring in our Atika Shubert. She is live in London.
Atika, what are we learning about this?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically we only know that a decision is going to be handed down by the Swiss justice minister in just over an hour. Now that doesn't mean that he's going to be put on a plane right away, he still has the possibility of appealing again to the top criminal court in Switzerland. So, this is a pretty long and drawn-out process. And Polanski and his lawyers have made very clear, they are going to fight the extradition request every step of the way.
CHETRY: And, Atika, another question that many had. And he lived so many years without any -- out in the open. I mean, people knew where he was. And then a decision to actually take him in was very controversial at the time. Any sense on how the Swiss justice minister may rule?
SHUBERT: Well, no. There's no sense of that at the moment. What we do know is that Polanski's lawyers have repeatedly appeal to the Swiss justice authorities there, saying that he has already served his time in the United States, saying that this is a politically motivated case at this point. They feel that the judge in the initial ruling was biased against Polanski.
They put in all of these appeals. So far, the justice ministry has kept quiet and today is decision time. And that's why everyone's watching.
GRIFFIN: And, of course, the Los Angeles district attorney says, if you got complaints, come back to court, Roman Polanski, where you were supposed to be sentenced in the first place and fight it out there, but not from overseas.
It's going to be an interesting day ahead. Thank you, Atika. We'll be following this story.
CHETRY: You know, today's another dubious anniversary. Six months since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, we're going to check back in with aid workers who have been there for months, trying to help had the people. Are things getting better? What has changed and what still needs to be done?
Thirty-four minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Welcome back. Thirty-seven minutes after the hour.
We're going to get a quick -- a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. I did not say "chick" --
CHETRY: No.
GRIFFIN: -- because the guy is going to do it, not the chick, Rob Marciano.
CHETRY: It's Monday morning, though. You know what I mean? It's hard to talk this early.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, one hour into it, Drew, and I'm already on the phone with H.R. and the (INAUDIBLE).
GRIFFIN: Yes, you will. You know, I have an open line to them, so it's no big deal.
MARCIANO: You and I both have a big folder.
Good morning, guys.
Seventy-three in New York, 74 in D.C. So, starting this off relatively warm and it will be another, well, relatively warm day. That's what it were called, any other summer or start of the summer, we'd call this hot, but because we've already seen triple-digit heat across the Northeast, we'll just call it warm.
Hot, with an excessive heat across parts of the southeast and we're seeing some thunderstorms that could become severe later on today across parts of the plains. And this is not good news for these folks, they've already seen tremendous amount of rainfall over the past few weeks.
This is kind of a precursor to that action. Memphis, back to Nashville, and some of these thunderstorms will get into the Atlanta area so that will spell some delays. New York or New Orleans to Biloxi, heat advisories in effect, these heat indices up and over 105 degrees. So, that's not good news for people who are trying to kill up the oil spill there.
And across parts of the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia, also heat advisories there. So, dangerous heat expected in those spots.
As mentioned, Atlanta and Detroit might see some delays. Los Angeles and San Francisco some delays because of low clouds but it will also be noticeably cooler out there.
I should mention, with the high temperature of 90, 91 and 91 in D.C. and New York City today, there is an air quality alert. So, just take it easy if you're working outside and try to stay away from the back ends of some buses. That's always good advice.
Drew and Kiran, back up to you.
GRIFFIN: Thanks, Rob. Thanks a lot.
MARCIANO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, we're talking about Haiti six months later since the devastating earthquake. A million and a half people still homeless. A lot of work remains. But why has there been so many delays. We're going to be talking with two people who have been there working for months to try to help the people.
It's 39 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GRIFFIN: Welcome back. The music of Wyclef Jean is getting us into this next segment.
It's been exactly six months since the devastating earthquake practically leveled Haiti. More than 220,000 people killed and today, right now, 1.5 million Haitians are still homeless.
CHETRY: Yes, there was billions of dollars pledged in the wake of this disaster to help rebuild Haiti. But the capital, regardless, still looks like a bomb fell on it.
In fact, take a look. This is the presidential palace. You're going to see it on the left. That was immediately after the earthquake.
And on the right, what the presidential palace looks like now. You're going to see it in just a moment here -- as soon as we get the video. There it is. On the left, the devastation immediately after and now, it's still in ruins.
Joining us this morning from Port-au-Prince to talk about what's working and what's not: Julie Schindall, international media officer for Oxfam, a very, very large and important charity that's been doing great there; and Cat Jones, the emergency protection coordinator with the International Rescue Committee.
Thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.
Julie, let me start with you. We've been talking about what's working. I know you've been there for four months now. You guys have about 700 workers on the ground.
Give us just an estimation, six months out, of what has been accomplished so far.
JULIE SCHINDALL, INTERNATIONAL MEDIA OFFICER, OXFAM: I think for Oxfam, in particular, what has been accomplished is emergency relief particularly for water and sanitation. We are most engaged in this kind of work. That means latrines. That means potable water, showers, and public health education -- which is huge.
We have had no major outbreak of waterborne disease here in Haiti since the quake, despite the fact there are those hundreds of thousands of people living outside in a very rainy climate. And I think that has gone very well for us so far here since the quake, particularly at Oxfam.
GRIFFIN: Cat, that's the good news. Behind you seems to be the bad news, which is all these displaced people still living in tents and not a whole lot of progress in rebuilding.
CAT JONES, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Right. I mean, we still have a lot of rubble on the ground. And what we are most concerned with, with the hurricane season coming on, is finding a safe and sustainable place for people to live in the next few months. There's still a lot of people are still living in the plastic sheeting (INAUDIBLE) that's not going to survive the hurricane season and there's also a lot of people who need to be moved somewhere outside of Port-au-Prince.
GRIFFIN: So, what is happening to that regard? What is the movement there -- or what, should I say, are the road blocks?
JONES: One of the biggest challenges we think is just finding land and finding a place where people can actually go and stay for the next couple of months. Land is mostly private-owned. The government has a great amount of difficulty trying to annex part of the land. We aren't sure whether people are waiting to take compensation. And also to find land that's going to be safe from flooding (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: And, Julie, I understand, another big problem is that it's nearly impossible to identify who owns much of the land. There aren't a lot of records. Everyone agrees that this is one of the biggest challenges right now.
So, what is the government -- I know weakened by this disaster -- doing to try to help fix the problem and get permanent housing for the many that are still living in these tent cities?
SCHINDALL: Yes. Well, it is the government that ultimately does have the responsibility as the sovereign state to designate land for people who have no place to go. And, yes, most of the land is owned by very few people and there's no real good titling system in this country. The government has declared eminent domain on a few sites in this country, most mainly the resettlement camp at Corail Cesselesse.
But we are urging them to do more of that and to really do that urgently as we are in hurricane season, and there are still these people, hundreds of thousands of them who have no place to go, and they need to have a place to go especially as they're so vulnerable to these storms.
GRIFFIN: What about relief supplies? I've been reading several stories about relief supplies being held up at the port, that some of the aid groups are being charged fabulous amounts renting dock space, waiting for that stuff to be released, at the same time, customs is not releasing it. Is there still a bottle neck in the ports?
SCHINDALL,: Yes, this is still a problem. We are working with the authorities to try to clear this up, but yes, we can say that it is a problem particularly for us in terms of vehicles.
CHETRY: The other very scary thing is unprotected children. And you have the prime minister himself telling the BBC that the government is not going to be able to provide for all of these children that are now unprotected in some cases. How are they trying to ensure that child slavery, people having to give up their children with no formal adoption process or in fact in some cases given to strangers is getting taken care of?
JONES: I mean, there's a big effort to be made by the humanitarian community (INAUDIBLE) in the areas where people are most displaced. The children were able to go to family-safe places to play during the daytime. There's also a lot of work particularly from family unification (ph). They were making sure that before children are put up for adoption, every effort is made to find their family members first. We have been new paramedics to transfer families, 50 families, so far (ph). Per children previously to be orphaned (ph) that actually had family members giving other part food (ph) on Haiti.
GRIFFIN: Let me ask you this -- you know, this might be politically you don't want to answer this, but let me ask it anyway. Are the government officials there in Haiti as passionate about helping Haitians as you two are?
JONES: I would say yes. I say that there is a lot of commitment between dedicated officials particularly from the mayor's office. But I think that there's a huge problem of resources and to a certain extent capacity.
SCHINDALL: If I can just add, we've been working extensively with the local water and sanitation authority. And this is a really hands-on department that really is useful to people, and they've been doing a tremendous job. So, I think that we can get some confidence from that.
CHETRY: Just give us a sense in terms of countries that are able to rebuild in the wake of disasters. I understand that this is very devastating and that people liken it to the tsunami and say, look, two years out from the tsunami, they still haven't been able to rebuild in Fande Atcha (ph). But how quickly, theoretically, could this move along?
JONES: I think that's a very big question to answer. There was some large contractors at the moment who are offering to replace -- or take away about 10 percent of the rubble. They can estimate they can do that in about three months but at the cost of over $120 million which gives you the sort of extent of the scale of rubble we are talking about. If that was able to be done in three months, that means it would be a big step forward, but there are people also talking about needing about 1,000 trucks every day for the next couple of years to get all this rubble removed. So, it's not going to happen overnight.
CHETRY: I know you guys are working tirelessly. Julie Schindall as well as Cat Jones, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
JONES: Thank you.
CHETRY: Tonight on CNN, "LARRY KING LIVE," a special. He takes a look at rebuilding efforts six months after the quake. It's tonight, 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
And also coming up in just about two hours, Anderson Cooper is back in Haiti. He covered the story extensively when the quake first happened, and he is going to be joining us live with more about what he's seeing right now.
GRIFFIN: This morning's top stories just minutes away, including an ugly end to a tournament celebrating the beautiful game. There've been three bombings killing at least 64 people as they watched the World Cup final in Uganda. A live report from there coming up.
Plus, day 84 of this oil spill. BP drilling two relief wells to recap its broken well as crude keeps gushing. It could be the final option there to stop the leak. At 7:15 eastern, National Incident Commander Thad Allen will be here joining us live.
CHETRY: Also a CNN exclusive, what is all of that oil and the half million gallons of dispersant doing under the Gulf's surface? We're going to take you into the deep, so you can see for yourself. Those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour. It's now 50 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Shakira's already warming up in Spain, giving a big concert there. They're going to be celebrating for days. Why not? Their national soccer team just won the World Cup for the first time.
CHETRY: Yes, the hit's still lying in this victory (ph). Spain's 1-0 win over the Netherlands came with just four minutes of extra time remaining. And our resident soccer guru was soaking up every minute of it. Our Richard Roth, he's here to take on --
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: You had a little trouble saying my name there. It's like that the tournament is over. That's how a lot of soccer fans were feeling now. It's over. Some people are probably glad it's over.
CHETRY: That's your headline, it's over?
ROTH: Yes, that really is because we have to wait four years. I'll be back. This was, I mean, a pretty good tournament. There should have been more goals scored. And for the final, it was not the greatest game as I'm sure you heard some people say, other than me. It was not the greatest advertisement for soccer, football.
CHETRY: You're saying that it wasn't that exciting. There wasn't a lot of --
ROTH: Yes, I mean, the Dutch went for the win, and they didn't care if they won ugly, and there were a lot of yellow cards, a record for a final. One player was thrown off. They went for the Spanish legs. I mean, they went to hold back a Spanish onslaught. And I'd rather they lost 4-2 in a more entertaining game. But, congratulations, even the Dutch coach is congratulating Spanish for being the better team.
GRIFFIN: I thought there was a lot of acting going on out there. The old pitch. Everybody they got touched went down in grinding pain and then suddenly was up 10 seconds later.
ROTH: I know. If you watch there national - the club teams, you're not going to see this. If you watch the British soccer leagues every weekend, the fans with a hoot those players off the pitch. That is a big problem, and they refused to move on that. The national global soccer organizers, they should be doing something about this.
CHETRY: You're saying faking injuries, faking it worse than it is so that they can --.
ROTH: Calling more diving penalties, and it's really a bad problem, and it turns off a lot of American sports fans.
CHETRY: What do you think about the fact that an octopus, "Paul", actually predicted this thing right?
ROTH: I want to know how is it determine where those boxes are and how do they position the octopus so that it's an equal chance for each box?
CHETRY: There it is. I mean, they're side by side. They have the flags of each thing. There's yummy, yummy treats like mussels and clams and both.
ROTH: But where does the octopus start before he selects? I mean, when you walk into a restaurant many times, you know, you can sit on the certain side of a restaurant closer to the door, and he went unbeaten. He was the only -- he and Spain went unbeaten this tournament. "Paul," the psychic octopus. The Dutch should have gone for his legs, all eight of them.
GRIFFIN: the psychic octopus.
ROTH: I heard somebody warned that octopus to beware of Dutch zoo visitors.
GRIFFIN: Kyra looked it up. They only live three years.
ROTH: He will not be around for the next world cup? CHETRY: If he doesn't mate because they apparently die quickly after mating. I'm sorry. They're also the smartest of the invertebrates, but that's for another day. We're not octopus, we're talking Spain.
ROTH: I didn't know you were such an expert on that. I know you knew the (INAUDIBLE), but I didn't know you knew the octopus well.
CHETRY: I still played around the house. You see, you wore orange just to --
ROTH: Because I was thought (ph) I wasn't thinking.
GRIFFIN: All right. Richard, thank you so much for all your World Cup soccer.
ROTH: No deal. See you later.
CHETRY: See you in four years.
GRIFFIN: All right. Here's an interesting sports story. Commander-in-chief, the other is the commander on the court, yes. One day, the two could go head-to-head.
CHETRY: That's right. On Sunday's "Meet the Press," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that if President Obama had the opportunity to play against Lebron James, he would take it. Gibbs also said he believes that the president could hold his own against the 6'8" now Miami Heat powerhouse.
GRIFFIN: Good advice, but I don't think that's a good idea.
CHETRY: Politically, that's a hot potato. I don't know how well that would go over in Cleveland, New York, New Jersey.
GRIFFIN: Top stories coming your way in two minutes. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
