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Campbell Brown

Oil Leak Finally Fixed?

Aired July 15, 2010 - 20:00   ET

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

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody.

Breaking news coming out of the Gulf tonight. For the first time in 87 days, we can finally say there is no oil flowing into the Gulf, at this moment anyway. And, yes, it is a moment we have all been waiting for. But, no, it does not mean the disaster in the Gulf is anywhere near close to over.

And right now, we are approaching a critical moment. Some time in the next hour, we do expect the first formal review by BP and by government officials. The thing everybody is watching, pressure readings in the well. That is going to tell us how well the cap appears to be holding.

We're going to give you the very latest on that coming up just ahead. We will also check in with Anderson Cooper, who has been down in New Orleans throughout most of this story.

And then a little bit later, one woman's heart-wrenching plea to President Obama. She wants the president help save her family and her neighbors in the Gulf. We will have that for you as well.

A lot to get to, but we are focusing on our number-one story. It is, of course, the good news tonight about the oil flow in the Gulf. After 87 days, and up to 200 million gallons, it was no easy job to finally stop it.

Jessica Yellin lays out just how they did it today. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The first picture is at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. This is when they close the kill line, but there was still more to go.

The next picture you see is at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. And that's when they closed the choke line, that last valve, and BP said in a tweet, at this time -- quote -- "We did -- we did it a half-turn at a time so that we slowly, slowly closed the well."

Now once that was complete, at 3:25 p.m. Eastern, that's when we saw that amazing image, no oil coming out of the well. And that is when BP began what they have been calling the integrity test. As you know, they're now measuring to make sure the pressure stays high in the well. If it drops, that basically means there is a leak some place they will need to find. And this test is expected to last at least a few more hours. It could go for as long as two days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And that again was Jessica Yellin.

This is clearly a major turning point in this very horrible story. But we have got to emphasize it is a test. What we learn now could tell us whether the disaster in the Gulf is finally nearing an end.

And listen now to what BP's Doug Suttles said today. This is right after the flow of oil into the Gulf was stopped this afternoon. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG SUTTLES, COO, GLOBAL EXPLORATION, BP: I made a comment quite some time ago that when that day happened, I would do cartwheels. They're telling me maybe soon. But it's too soon to say that, because I want to tell you that this its a test.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: As we were saying.

And CNN's Ed Lavandera is live with us from New Orleans right now with the very on what happened today.

And, Ed, we are coming up on the end of the first six-hour mark of testing of that well, scientists probably huddling as we speak to try to assess how it is going and make some decisions here. What can you tell us at this hour?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do know that, basically, we were have been kind of told to describe this next 48 hours and break them into six-hour blocks. And after each of those six-hour windows, that all these scientists would huddle together, and they have been analyzing around-the-clock the pressure and the fluctuations in the pressure, kind of measuring it, you know, hour by hour to see what kind of consistency they're getting.

The question here is whether or not they can sustain in keeping this containment cap in place working the way it is. The longer this goes, the better sign that there is no structural damage or -- to that wellbore going deep into the earth.

BROWN: So, when are we out of the woods? What happens over the next couple of days?

LAVANDERA: Well, this is what is going to happen. After 48 hours if they can go that long, then they need to make the decision about how they're going to move forward. There is a couple different ways of doing that. But, late this afternoon, Admiral Thad Allen put out a statement, saying that one of the -- the scenario, I think, and he mentioned this, this morning as well, is that it seems that the most likely scenario that we will see is that the valves will be opened again. Oil will start flowing. And then they will begin the process of hooking back up the riser pipes that will come out of four different valves in all that machinery that is there on bottom of the Gulf and bring that up to vessels on the surface of the water, essentially achieving the same thing, kind of ending the flow rate into the Gulf waters, but kind of doing it a different way.

They say they will have the vessels and the ability to collect about 80,000 barrels of oil a day. The government's flow rate estimate is up to 60,000 barrels a day. So because of that they say that they will have enough capacity to collect all of the oil and we wouldn't see any more flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.

BROWN: All right, Ed Lavandera for us.

Ed, as always, thank you. Appreciate it.

So, tonight, with no more oil flowing into the Gulf, can we finally begin to feel a little bit optimistic about all this?

I want to bring in John Hofmeister, who is former chairman of Shell Oil and the founder and chief executive of Citizens for Affordable Energy, and also historian Doug Brinkley, who has been with us from the very beginning of all this.

And, Doug, given how many times you have been on this show calling out BP, the administration for how they have handled the crisis, how are you feeling right now about all this?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: This is the first time now we can actually kind of celebrate. We all have to very cautious, but optimistic right now.

It's a very, very exciting event that is taking place. Many people thought the best-case scenario was really going to be relief wells, late August, early September. If we could save a month or five weeks of oil, stop it from gushing into the Gulf, it gives us a better fighting chance to kind of reclaim that region.

But as you mentioned, Campbell, this is just the beginning of a process. We have got a lot of bad things that could continue to happen. But I think for -- tonight is the first time since the Deepwater Horizon incident that people can say today was a better day than the day before.

BROWN: It certainly was.

John, let me get your technical expertise here. Doug Suttles spoke earlier this evening and said that we have turned a corner. Listen briefly to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUTTLES: We could be very close, whether it's through this activity or through the relief wells, to the point where we feel like -- I think everyone feels like we have begun to turn a corner and an important corner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Have we? Do you agree with that?

JOHN HOFMEISTER, FORMER CEO, SHELL: I think it is an important step forward. It took a long time to engineer that new cap. That's why it didn't happen sooner, because of engineering modifications that had to take place.

But there is a clear orchestration taking place, Campbell, between the control of the flow at the top of the well, simultaneous with the positioning of the relief well activity at the base of the reservoir.

I think it is very important to keep those two things coordinated, because what we are dealing with here, we believe, is a very weak casing, a casing that has perhaps been damaged. And what you don't want is for the pressure to rise too high at the top of the well, which could do damage at the top of the well, meaning we have to move too quickly at the bottom of the well.

But both things being orchestrated I think does give some hope that we have a chance of controlling the flow. Otherwise, we probably need to just figure out how to produce the well and just...

BROWN: So, I want you to go a little deeper on this, John, because this is -- I have heard a couple people talk about this. And it's being kind of described as a little bit of a worst-case scenario in terms of what scientists are worried about. This is a very delicate moment, isn't it?

HOFMEISTER: It is a very delicate moment because this is a very high-pressure reservoir. And it has been eroding this casing.

First of all, you had the big blowout, which was this sudden surge of incredible pressure going against -- against the sides of this steel casing. It could have been damaged. It could have been weakened. Remember, steel has a breaking point. And the worry here is that the breaking point of the casing is -- nobody really knows what that is. But you don't want to break that casing or you have an uncontrolled flow that there is no way to stop, because the oil now comes up outside the casing, as well as inside the casing.

And, so, they have to be very, very delicate about every step they take.

BROWN: So -- so, let me just take it one step further if I can with you, John, before I go back to Doug. If that happens, what you just laid out, then what?

HOFMEISTER: Well, then you better count on the relief wells working or you had better figure out how you are going to implode the well.

An alternative before you get to that point though is you could decide just to plain out produce the well and just continue to try to control the flow of oil and drain the reservoir over many months and years and use that oil for productive purposes.

BROWN: Wow.

It is Doug, hardly, I guess, a moment of celebration, given that context. And let me take it even broader in the grand scheme of things, the relief wells still being dug. You just heard the scenario John laid out. Cleanup alone could take years, clearly years. How do you describe the stage we are in right now?

BRINKLEY: I think we're in midcourse of this disaster. What's really changed is the Obama administration was kind of caught off- guard. If you recall, in the first weeks, it was a BP problem. And they did their junk shot and the containment and their cap. It was all the petroleum industry's technology to try to solve the problem.

The Obama administration came in strong at one juncture. Working with the Department of Energy, President Obama brought in the best petroleum engineers and scientists and minds of the world to confront what was and is a national security problem, not a BP problem, not a company's problem, but an American problem.

And you are getting some results here. You know, if you look at the history of warfare, World War II, so many advancements in technology come at a time of crisis. President Obama addressed the nation from the Oval Office and gave kind of a wartime speech and said we are going to attack this problem.

You are seeing the fruition of our government's attacking of this problem. It's just that it takes a while. And we're keeping our fingers crossed. But as I said, this is a bit of good news. We don't have time yet, though, Campbell to look at how much damage did the dispersants do? What is the state of the Louisiana wetlands? Are people -- why isn't BP right now paying for the oil that spilled?

They're behind moneys that they're supposed to be paying the government. And the Interior Department, tomorrow, is going to be talking about that a lot. So, there are a lot of issues still on the table. But tonight we can all take at least a sigh of relief and not have to watch half of our screen right now being that oil gusher.

BROWN: Absolutely.

Doug Brinkley, as always, appreciate your time.

And, John Hofmeister, thanks, both of you, for joining us tonight. Appreciate it.

BRINKLEY: Thanks.

BROWN: And, folks, don't go anywhere. This could be an important hour, as we hope to learn if the cap will keep holding. It has been nearly five hours since oil last emptied into the Gulf. Anderson Cooper is going to join me live from New Orleans coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We are keeping a very close eye on the live BP spill camera, as you can see for the first time in 87 days, oil no longer flowing into the Gulf, certainly very good news. But it's important to remember that even if the cap does continue working, people in this region will have an overwhelming catastrophe on their hands for a very, very long time.

And I want to go to my colleague Anderson Cooper, who has been on the ground in New Orleans through much of all of this.

And, Anderson, obviously, the development today very welcome news. But people down there have good reason to be still very uncertain about the future. And I know you talked to a lot of people locally. What are they telling you?

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Well, number one, today, I think a lot of people obviously are relieved to see those images, as we all are.

I think a lot of people here are concerned, though, that the attention now -- that people around the country and around the world are going to kind of tune out. They're going to say, well, look, the oil has stopped flowing, therefore, the problem is over, and not pay attention, not continue to hold BP accountable.

That is a huge concern of people I have talked to today. Over the last couple weeks, we have talked to a lot of fishermen, oyster farmers, shrimpers, about their long-term concerns about the dispersants that were used and about exactly where the oil is still. Remember, there is still more than two months' worth of oil still out there coming ashore, popping up in different areas.

I talked to an oysterman recently on the water about his concerns for what is underneath the water. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Mitch worries this disaster could not only wipe out the current crop of oysters, but the next generation, as well.

MITCH JURCICH, GULF FISHERMAN: We now oil will impact oysters if it gets on the oysters. But most of the time, the oil would be on top of the water, and if it doesn't come in direct contact with the oysters, the oysters have a good chance of survival.

But when it's dispersed in the way it's being dispersed, and it winds up throughout the water column where the oysters can ingest it, and that's the big question mark. Will it have an impact? Yes. To what extent? We don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: That, of course, is a concern Mitch Jurcich and other oyster farmers have. We reached out to him to get his reaction to the stopping of the oil pouring out. He said, look, it's a new beginning. At least we know at this point -- and qualified statement -- but for now, no oil is pouring out and that is certainly a good thing.

He is also very concerned about the impression that people have around the country that somehow the Gulf seafood has been tainted. And there is no evidence of that at this point. The seafood that is still available is edible. I'm eating it every single day. So are all of us here. So, there's still a lot of concern, obviously some good news today, but a long road still to go, Campbell.

BROWN: And, Anderson, even if the cap holds, the oil stops for good, you are hinting at this, the long-term damage to the region is going to be a major issues for years, possibly irreversible damage that has been done here.

Talk to us a little bit about the scope of the cleanup ahead, what needs to be done, and whether people are really able to think that far ahead at this stage.

COOPER: Well, I think the bottom line is we don't know what the full scope of all of this is. There is a lot of fear. There is a lot of concern. But we are kind of in unchartered territory here. We have never seen dispersants used in this quantity, used underneath the water as they have been. That's the first time that's occurred.

We don't know what exactly that means. A lot of the oil we haven't seen on the surface, perhaps because of these undersea dispersants that have been used. But that oil is still out there. Will it just be churned up and disappear, where microbes are growing? Will the microbes attack the oil underneath the water and deal with it naturally? It is possible.

But there are still so many questions that remain unanswered. And that leads to a lot of concern and a lot of fear about what lies ahead.

BROWN: Anderson Cooper for us tonight -- Anderson, as always, thank you.

We are going to stay on the story throughout the hour. Plus, you will hear one woman's emotional plea to President Obama. She says there is something that he could be doing right now to try to make things better for families on the Gulf.

Plus, we will look at how the latest news is playing politically for the president. It's a story that has overshadowed his agenda for months now. James Carville and Ed Rollins are both going to be here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The halting of the oil spill for however long is much- needed good news for residents along the Gulf, but it is nowhere close to making things right again for the victims of the disaster who have lost their jobs, their way of life and in many cases their faith in our government.

Today, on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," we heard a really emotional plea from the wife of one oil worker to President Obama. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERRI FOYTLIN, GULF COAST RESIDENT: I put my faith in you, sir, when I voted for you. I believed in you. I believed that you cared about me and my family. Well, now I have six children, sir, that I don't know if I'm going to get to college. And I don't think that my children are less important than anybody else in this country. That's the way democracy is supposed to be.

Now next Wednesday, on July 21, I'm going to speak in Lafayette, Louisiana. And I'm going to bring all my people with me, and I am asking you, sir, as a patriot and as an honorable person to come and hear our stories. And hear the pain that we are in. We are crying out to you. Louisiana is crying out to you. We need your help.

Afterwards, I would like to take you on a tour. I don't want any politicians to go with us. I don't want no press there, no cameras, no BP personnel. And I will let you meet the people that this is affecting, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And that woman is Cherri Foytlin. And we wanted to talk with her a little bit more. She's good enough to join me tonight from New Orleans.

Cherri, welcome to you. I do want to start by...

FOYTLIN: Thank you.

BROWN: ... by getting your reaction to today's big news that at least the flow of oil into the Gulf has stopped. What does that mean to you and the rest of the families down there?

FOYTLIN: I think that that is great. I am happy that it finally happened after 84 days and 11 deaths and millions of animals murdered and God only knows how many more people affected.

But the truth of the matter is, it's not over. It's not over until there is not one drop of oil in my Gulf. That's what I want, not one drop of oil. And they can take the dispersants -- I don't want to say where they can take them.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: You -- a lot of people have had heard you, have heard your message. Do you -- do you expect to hear from the White House? Do you expect to hear from the president?

FOYTLIN: If he is an honorable man, he will call me. I put my faith in him. I gave him the only thing a poor person has. And that is a vote. And I expect to be answered.

If he doesn't do that, then we will know and we can all grieve, because America is dead. The America that John Adams dreamed up, when he said that noblemen were just as important as the small man, when he said we deserve clean air, we deserve clothes on our back, it's gone.

BROWN: So, Cherri, I know your husband lost a lot of income because of the spill. Do you blame that on the spill Itself or, as a lot of people do right now, because you are hearing a lot of folks talk about it, the moratorium on new deepwater drilling and the effect that that has had on the industry that is the lifeblood to a lot of people in Louisiana?

FOYTLIN: Well the president told me, and everybody else, to call BP. He said they set aside $20 million for us. I have called them 10 times. I have talked to our governor, and he has called them.

The Workforce Commission of Louisiana has called them. The social services of Louisiana has called them. Nick Gautreaux, our state senator, has called them for me. And I have yet to hear from BP.

What I have heard is they're not going to pay on the smaller oil services, which is where my husband works. I have heard that the people that work on the actual rigs are going to get one payment of $5,000. Well, to date, I have lost $16,000.

All I'm asking for is to be heard. When he puts us down, because he is about to pull the plug on all my people. In my -- in my town of Rayne, we lost -- 142 people lost their electricity because they couldn't pay it. That's 10 percent of my population. And this is the beginning.

When he puts us down, I want him to look me in the eye. If he can look me in the eye and still pull the trigger, then I guess it is all right.

BROWN: So, Cherri, let me ask you to be specific. What would you like to see him do, honestly?

FOYTLIN: Honestly, I want him to come listen to us. I want him to really understand how this is affecting us. And I want, more than anything, my children to know I fought with everything I had, every single thing I had, not to lose, not one more time.

And then I want to take him to the good people in the Gulf, because I have been there and I have talked to them. And they're my friends. And I want him to get the chance to talk to them to what BP is doing to us.

I want him to understand. I want him to show faith in us. I want to be able to show faith in him again and in the government again. This is what the government is for. They're supposed to take care of us. And they're letting us down, not just the oil workers -- the fishermen, the crabbers, the oystermen, the shrimpers, all the people of South Louisiana and Alabama and Mississippi and Florida and Texas, four million people strong, crying out.

And what do we get? We get lies. We get commissions. We get meetings. We get hearings. Well, for God's sake, Jesus did not hold a commission about the lepers. He went out and helped them. That's what I'm asking him to do. If he says he is a Christian, then stand up and act like a Christian, and come help us.

BROWN: Cherri, I really appreciate you coming on. I know your emotion speaks to what a lot of people are feeling and a lot of people are going through down there right now. And we really...

FOYTLIN: I am just fighting for survival.

BROWN: I hear you.

FOYTLIN: I'm fighting for survival for my state and for my people. And there's a whole bunch of us. And we are in a lot, a lot of trouble. I do not think that the country understands this. If they did, they wouldn't let it happen, not my country.

BROWN: Cherri, we really appreciate you coming on and talking with us about this tonight. Thank you for being with us.

FOYTLIN: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: Wish you the best of luck, too. We will see what happens.

Cherri Foytlin joining us tonight from Louisiana, really appreciate it.

And we are going to keep you fully informed on the latest developments in the Gulf of Mexico. We will be following this throughout the hour.

As you can see -- we're going to put the pictures back up -- at least for this moment, no oil gushing from the well, but it is only a test. We could know more a little bit later in the hour.

Plus, will good news from the Gulf translate into a lift for the Obama administration now? James Carville, Ed Rollins are here to talk about the politics of all this -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Tonight, President Obama is reacting with cautious optimism to the news that oil is no longer flowing into the Gulf. Take a listen to what he said earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Sir, are you encouraged that the oil has stopped flowing in the Gulf?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it is a positive sign. We are still in the testing phase. I will have more to say about it tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: All right, a very cautious note of optimism there. It is good news today. But the nearly three-month-old disaster has been called by many, many people President Obama's Katrina. So, how does he get past this? Does this really have the same political ramifications?

We talked about that with CNN political contributor James Carville and CNN senior political analyst Ed Rollins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: James Carville, Ed Rollins, welcome to both of you.

James, let me start with you and the big news of the day, which is, of course, no more oil leaking in the Gulf. Talk to me, though, about the politics of this, about the political toll that it has taken on the president.

JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's taken some toll on the president, but the response has gotten better, actually, here in the last 45 days or so.

And, you know, it's good news that they got this thing shut. The initial response, I think, was lacking. But, it -- it -- it got better. And, you know, it is shut, and we can be thankful for that. Hopefully, it stays shut.

BROWN: And, Ed, again to the politics of it, though, people, you look at the polling on this, do think that this has been a huge problem for the administration in terms of how it has been handled.

To James' point, is this a turning point for him, as well as...

ED ROLLINS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, the problem is, it was a cumulative type thing. If unemployment was at four percent, you know, maybe he could have handled this. It's a combination of things that aren't necessarily his own fault. But I think the country now, basically has made a judgment, not a permanent judgment, but a judgment this administration wasn't in there early enough, didn't do all the things they can do. And perception sometimes becomes reality. And unfortunately with four months to go, this president's approval numbers have dropped dramatically and that's going to have an impact on his party.

BROWN: And, James, they are at about, and this according to "Washington Post"/ABC News poll, an all time low. Fifty percent, his overall approval rating. But you look at what he accomplished, his first 18 months in office.

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Right.

BROWN: Health care reform, them getting the financial regulatory reform bill done just now. And these are big deal changes. And yet, it's not resonating with voters for some reason. Where is the disconnect?

CARVILLE: Well, first of all, if historians could vote, he'd do fine. The disconnect is this 9.5 percent unemployment. And I think this administration gets a lot of things done. I think they'd do a better job of driving the narrative home. But, you know, the reality is, is that, you have a financial crisis like this. It takes a while for the economy to come back, and that's what's going on here now.

BROWN: Ed, before the financial reform bill passed, the number was I think 44 percent of voters who approved of his handling of that issue in particular. Do you think the new regulations will win a point?

ROLLINS: Well, it's confusing. The country still doesn't approve of the health care bill. They've won't know whether it's good, bad or indifferent. But right today in all public opinion polls, the majority of the country doesn't like it. You go to any doctor, any hospital, they'll tell you it's not a good bill for the country. Equally as important, the money that's being spent, the deficits are gigantic. This is a 2,500-page bill. 3,500 regulations are going to come out of this bill. Nobody knows what this does.

The banks aren't happy about it, which may be a good sign. But business people are saying this is not going to help us get basically get back in the game again. And I think everything is the economy right now. And so the president has got to, not going to come back, if ever, until the economy is booming. I think what happened to him is that the country -- he could not quite live up to the expectations people had of him as a leader. And right today, that's the number taking him down.

CARVILLE: I thought that the AMA endorsed it. I thought the AMA endorsed it, the hospital associations, even the Catholic hospitals --

ROLLINS: Those are -- you know, that's -- that's constituent groups. You go to your doctor.

CARVILLE: Again, as I say, any number of doctors have tremendous support.

BROWN: Let me ask you, finally, both, just talk to me a little bit about his relationship with Congress. Because he, his inner circle also fairly unpopular with some members of Congress right now. We know Nancy Pelosi was furious when Press Secretary Robert Gibbs conceded it was possible Republicans could win the House in November. What does the administration need to do, James, to try to mend that rift, to try to convince some pretty frantic Democrats that the president has their back?

CARVILLE: You know what? Yes. You know what, when you're not doing well in the polls, everybody gets mad at everybody. I actually, I love the speaker. She's one of my favorite people in the world. I should think Gibbs, did strategically a smart thing. You've got to remind people that, you know, when you vote, you're not sending a message. You're sending a Republican to Washington. And for whatever the Democrats problem is on the economy, their eight points ahead of the Republicans. And I think Gibbs did something smart. You got to remind people exactly that you're voting Republican. And Republicans are no more popular today than they were on election day. So I think -- I think the speaker, who, I love, I think, I side with Mr. Gibbs in this fight.

ROLLINS: There's a lot of -- a lot of Democrats have walked the line. It's not a national election. It's an election district by district, Senate seat by Senate seat. And the bottom line is a lot of these people who walked the line are in trouble. And they don't think the White House has understood the price that they have paid. And will find out in November.

BROWN: Some have suggested though the Republican takeover actually might be good in a sense for Obama in that he is sort of forced to work with Senate Republicans.

ROLLINS: If he is willing to do that as Bill Clinton was. He may not be willing to do that.

BROWN: We'll leave it there. James Carville, Ed Rollins, thank you both of you gentlemen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So after nearly three months, the oil spill is plugged at least for now. But how long will it last? We're going to have the latest coming up. Also ahead, faith, finance and fraud. How two moneymen used faith, God and the radio to take $190 million from over a thousand people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: The Vatican announces new rules aimed at stopping child abuse. First though, Joe Johns here with other stories tonight to tell us about.

Hey, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Campbell. Tonight as we've been reporting, oiled stopped flowing into the gulf for the first time in nearly three months. But no one celebrating just yet. As part of a test, BP measures pressure in the ruptured well, to see how it's holding. BP cautions the oil cut off may not go beyond 48 hours. Valves will open after that to resume siphoning oil to ships on the surface.

Investigators in Utah today said they found evidence a state database was breached to create a list of illegal immigrants. The list includes social security numbers, birth dates, the names of children and the due dates of pregnant women. News media and law enforcement agencies started receiving the personal information this week. The anonymous mailing demands that those on the list be deported.

Releasing private records in Utah is a crime. And finally, an amazing discovery at the World Trade Center site is the remains of a ship dating back to the 1700s. Archaeologists believe the ship's hull was probably used to fill in land to extend Lower Manhattan. The vessel remained undiscovered when the original World Trade Center was built. Certainly makes you wonder what else is down there.

BROWN: No kidding. Joe Johns, thank you, Joe. Appreciate it.

Take a look now at live video that is of a well that is not gushing oil. But for how long? We're going to keep you updated on what's going on. Plus, new Vatican rules for sexually abusive priests. Critics charge they are too vague and much too late. And a huge fraud scheme based on faith. A judge is about to send this man to prison for bilking Christian investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY DINGMAN, COOK'S OFFICE MANAGER, LOST LIFE SAVINGS: I did it because I thought it was safe. Little did I know it's all gone. Everything is gone. I've lost everything. And now, I will be 62 in July.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Today, the Catholic Church announced new rules aimed at stopping the sexual abuse of children by priests. But critics say it is too little, too late. The United Nations commissioner for human rights said today that the Catholic Church must not sweep abuse by priests under the carpet. CNN's Atika Shubert reports from Rome now. Take a listen.

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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, these are the new revisions to church law. And really, there's nothing new in here. It really just puts into law, Catholic Church law, of course, what has already been established as Vatican norms on fighting abuse.

Here's some of the main points. The pope now has the authority to defrock a priest without a formal Vatican trial. Also the statute of limitations on abuse cases is extended from 10 to 20 years. Now, it also explicitly makes the possession of child pornography a grave offense. And it makes it clear that the abuse of a mentally disabled adult is as serious an offense as the abuse of a minor.

Now, for many people, those last two points really go without saying. But, this is the first time it's actually been codified and put into law. So this is really about clearing a way that Vatican bureaucracy. Making sure that bishops around the world know that this is binding law and that those who break the law can and should be punished. Here's what the Vatican's chief prosecutor, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, had to say about it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONSIGNOR CHARLES SCICLUNA, VATICAN CHIEF PROSECUTOR: It is very important to have a clear norm, especially if it's talking about crime. Every person has the right to know what the law says. And this is a very important point here to make it clear to everybody.

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SHUBERT: Now, the Vatican may think this is a big step. But victims of church abuse are not happy. In fact, the support network for those abused by priests have already released a statement. Here's they said.

"History has shown that church abuse policies are rarely followed. But even if these new guidelines are obeyed, their impact on the ongoing crisis is likely to be insignificant. Defrocking a predator, by definition, is too late."

Now what they want is a complete overhaul and reform. But frankly, the Vatican is a massive often secretive bureaucracy that's been operating the same way for hundreds of years. So reform and change is a slow process.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Rome.

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BROWN: Let me bring right now Lisa Miller, who's religion editor with "Newsweek" and also the author of "Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife."

And, Lisa, just give me your take on what happened and what you make of all this?

LISA MILLER, "NEWSWEEK": Well, actually, I think there's some good points in these new rules. I mean, extending the statute of limitations, that's a good thing. Emphasizing child pornography, that's a good thing. The Vatican really botched the messaging of this by combining these new rules with this, these other rules about female ordination and making that a crime and betraying --

BROWN: OK, stop right there.

MILLER: OK.

BROWN: Let me explain that to other people.

MILLER: OK.

BROWN: Because Atika didn't mention that part. It's getting a lot of attention. One of the rules makes it a grave crime against the church to even attempt to ordain a female priest.

MILLER: Right. So if I were --

BROWN: A lot of people are reacting strongly.

MILLER: Right. So if I were an American PR company, I would suggest to the Vatican that they come out strongly and say these are our new rules or revised rules about sex abuse, and some of them are really pretty good. I mean, they're not a massive overhaul like the victims' groups want, but they're pretty good. But instead, they lump it together with making women's ordination a crime and a lot of American Catholics want women's ordination. A lot of western Catholics want women's ordination. And all of a sudden everybody is mad at the Vatican again, because they seem to be equating women's ordination with the abuse of children. And that makes everybody mad and confused.

Why not do one thing, you know, say what the punishments are, the new punishments are for abusing children? And then, like, let's not pretend, Benedict is ever going to want to ordain women because he's not. Address that later in a separate document. Like, it was just a total PR botch job I think.

BROWN: But is it just, much larger problem of the Vatican being out of touch?

MILLER: Totally. I mean, the Vatican is a pre-modern organization. And they don't -- if they would say they're not a popularity contest, they're doing what they believe is right.

BROWN: It's fascinating stuff. Lisa, thank you for coming on sharing your insight. Appreciate it, Lisa Miller.

And take a look right now. We have the live video feed of the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico to show you the oil, as we've been telling you, has finally stopped gushing. But this only a test right now. Whatever happens next? We are going to continue to bring the latest.

Also coming up right there, a heartland swindle. Hundreds of Christian investors lose their life savings to a faith-based fraud, when we come back.

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BROWN: No surprise that Americans don't trust Wall Street these days. The past few years have stripped their confidence right away. That's one of the reasons hundreds of Minnesota residents chose to invest their life savings with a pair of local moneymen -- men who appealed to their faith in God. Making their pitch on Christian radio. But it was all a lie. A massive Ponzi scheme that has left many victims with nothing. And here's Poppy Harlow's special investigation into their betrayal.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: This is a story about huge financial fraud. Feds say Trevor Cook took in $190 million. It's about trust, it's about faith, and it's about the people that abused them. A lot of people that invested with them were bible believing Christians. They didn't want Wall Street. They didn't want Washington. They trusted people here at home.

MUSIC: Once upon a time in Minneapolis --

MIKE PATTERSON, FOLLOWED KILEY'S RADIO SHOW: He went after a targeted group of people. Because almost everybody I talked to that was caught up in this that I heard about has the same --

HARLOW: They're all like you.

PATTERSON: Very similar. A lot of them are similar. Their faith in the Lord is what they're all about.

HARLOW: Were Christians targeted in the sense? Were faith-based people targeted in this fraud?

B. TODD JONES, U.S. ATTORNEY, MINNEAPOLIS: I think any good fraudster is going to leverage whatever means they can to get that trust connection there.

MARY DINGMAN, COOK'S OFFICE MANAGER, LOST LIFE SAVINGS: I did it because I thought it was safe. Little did I know it's all gone. Everything is gone. I've lost everything. And now, I will be 62 in July.

KYLE GARMAN, INVESTOR: I can't even explain the feeling. My stomach, I felt like I was going to throw up. So, yes, I don't know. It was just -- it's been rough. Really rough.

HARLOW: You know what, some of these conservative Christians really feared was this. It was Wall Street, it was the big banks taking big risks with their life savings.

Pat Kiley and Trevor Cook were completely different. They were Midwesterners, fellow Christians, who offered safety and honesty above all else.

TREVOR COOK, ACCUSED OF FRAUD: There is no risk. OK. Riskless transactions.

HARLOW (voice-over): Cook ran the operation telling investors he had a system to cash in on moves in the foreign currency market. And he made it all look legitimate, starting with a place called "the castle."

(on camera): All right, so this is the Van Dusen mansion. It's one of those classic old homes in Minneapolis. But Trevor Cook bought this and then he transformed it to look like a cutting edge trading operation with computer screens, flashing currencies from around the world.

COOK: Our technology can move billions and billions of dollars and would crack the milliseconds actually last year. HARLOW (voice-over): Cook talked a good game, but it was just an illusion. Behind his high tech office and glossy brochures were a host of shell companies that sounded like global powerhouses. But were nothing of the sort.

COOK: There's two rules. You know, the first one, is don't lose your clients' money. And the second rule is don't lose your clients' money.

HARLOW: But they did, pretty much all of it.

GARMAN: People who are not invested in this have agreed they invested in it because they thought it was safe. Because they thought it was an alternative to what was out there. And what was out there at the time was crumbling.

HARLOW: Pat Kiley was Cook's business partner. He peddled their scheme on his show, "Follow the Money," broadcast over hundreds of Christian radio stations.

VOICE OF PAT KILEY: I said Our Father. I can't believe the only senior economist and senior analyst in the United States that also uses a good book.

HARLOW: We met one of Kylie's former employees. She didn't want to be identified, but she told us how he worked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was using the bible for marketing. He found out if somebody was a pastor, a minister or something. Before the end of that sales call, he was quoting the bible.

MUSIC: I live life like the captain of a sinking ship.

HARLOW: The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Cook and Kiley of operating a Ponzi scheme.

VOICE OF KILEY: All of our clients' funds are held in private segregated account and is liquid to you, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

HARLOW: But it wasn't. They pooled the money in shell companies using new accounts to pay out $51 million to investors that didn't get stiffed. And they lost nearly $50 million through their so-called risk-free trading program all the while, giving investors phony statements showing solid gains.

MUSIC: I promise it's going to be large.

HARLOW: The scheme lasted at least three years. And by the time the government caught up with them, over $100 million had disappeared.

(on camera): Luxury cars, BMW, Lexus, $670,000 cash, a collection of expensive watches and Faberge eggs.

(voice-over): Cook pled guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of tax evasion. And it seems he spent plenty of his investors' money in ways that were decidedly unchristian.

(on camera): He says they were what? Still up there. Hookers? Yes?

DINGMAN: They would call up ladies of the evening, they're prostitutes, or whatever you want to call them and have them come in.

HARLOW: This was another side of Trevor Cook, the heavy drinking, frequenting strip clubs and even several arrests. One for assaulting an escort at this Minnesota hotel.

One of the biggest questions that came to our mind doing the story, reporting on it is who is watching, who is responsible, who are the regulators?

Wouldn't it make sense to have enforcers on the ground in Minnesota that become part of the community, get to know the local businesses, watch out for things like this?

MERRI JO GILLETTE, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, SECURITIES & EXCHANGE COMM: Well, I think in theory, it would be great if we had people every place. The reality is that the SECRETARY has not even 1,000 people in its enforcement division to cover the entire country. Nobody is going to protect you from these folks except yourself.

HARLOW (voice-over): So we left Chicago and headed back to the victims.

PATTERSON: God doesn't stop things from happening in the world. They can take your money but they can't take who you are.

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BROWN: And Poppy Harlow is with me right now. And, Poppy, what happens next for Cook and Kiley?

HARLOW: Well, let's talk about Pat Kiley, the Christian radio show host. He -- we've called him many, many times. He won't answer the phone. His lawyer told us he had no idea what was going on. He said Pat Kiley never expected there was anything wrong with these investments. He continued to believe he was doing good for all his clients. We will see. There's a criminal investigation into him and civil charges.

As for Trevor Cook, he cut a plea deal, Campbell, a max 25 years in prison is what he could get. He'll be sentence in a week from Monday, July 26th. The investors are furious that he has a plea deal. The most he could get is 25 years. They've lost everything. They're pushing to get that sentence moved until some of the money is recovered. So far, they've literally just found pennies on the dollar for all these people.

BROWN: Wow, what a tough situation. Poppy Harlow, Poppy, a great story. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

HARLOW: You're welcome. BROWN: And for more of Poppy Harlow's investigation of this faith-based fraud including more video and interviews, go to CNNmoney.com/video.

"LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes. But up next, we're going to check back on the latest news from the gulf, where the BP oil leak has been plugged for the first time in 87 days.

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BROWN: A quick final update on tonight's breaking news. As you can see here, oil has stopped flowing into the gulf at least for now. The containment cap is working, but BP is urging caution saying they are still doing tests which will likely run through Saturday. The plan is to review the data every six hours. Stay with CNN for the very latest on the story as it continues to develop.

That is it for now. Thanks for joining us, everybody.

"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.