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American Morning

BP's New cap on Oil Well Itself Has a Leak; New Regulations for Baby Crib Designs Imminent; FDA Rules in Favor of New Restrictions on Diabetes Drug Avandia; FDA Panel Reaches Ruling on Avandia; Lifting the Travel Ban in Cuba; Shahzad "Revenge" Video; Drilling Ban Costing Jobs; Apple to Discuss iPhone 4

Aired July 15, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Thursday. It's July 15th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jim Acosta. John Roberts is off today. Here are this morning's top stories.

It seems like BP is having setback after setback. The latest problem happening overnight. There's now a leak in that new cap that BP was counting on to kill the gushing well. We're live in New Orleans with the latest on this.

CHETRY: New concerns about crib safety this morning, the feds proposing new, tougher safety standards which could eventually affect every crib in the country. The big focus, though, on getting rid of all of the drop down cribs which can pose a deadly threat to your child.

ACOSTA: And to dropped calls. Apple is planning a big announcement regarding the iPhone-4. After days of major criticism over a design flaw in the new super gadget, will Apple issue a recall?

CHETRY: And we start with our top story this morning. And that is the efforts to cap the oil leak. They've been halted at this hour. It's now day 87 of the disaster, and BP is discovering a leak in the cap it's using to try to stop the spill.

That leak has to be fixed before integrity testing can happen on the well, and then they can move forward. Those tests are critical because they'll determine whether the well can hold up under extreme pressure and if that cap can eventually stop the flow of oil.

Our David Mattingly has late breaking developments live in New Orleans. And explain where the leak is that they are concerned about this morning.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, everything started off well last night. BP was able to close that main valve, the ram they call it, and shut off the flow of oil coming out of the top of that cap. But when they did that, they were looking at the two other valves they had to close. And they found a leak in one of those valves called the "choke line." We tried to get more details from BP, but this is all we were able to get, and this is on their Web site. It says "A leak has been detected in the choke line, and it has been isolated and will be repaired."

We talked to a spokesman from BP overnight. He would not offer up any sort of timeframe. So while this is going on, while this leak is still something that they have to fix, everything has stopped. You look at the live camera down there below now. You see a cloud of oil still erupting from this cap.

That oil is being hit with dispersant. It's going up to the surface where it's being collected by a number of skimmers that have been called in to the area.

But while this is going on, everything else is put on hold. Those operations that were pumping the oil up to the surface to containment vessels, that is on hold. The drilling operations for the relief well, that is on hold.

Everything was going to be watching about how well this cap was going to perform. If they were able to shut it off successfully, they would be starting -- would have already started probably those pressure tests to determine if they would be able to cap this well.

They were going to be gathering a lot of important information but they did all of that on hold until they can repair this leak in the choke valve. Kiran?

CHETRY: David Mattingly for us, thanks so much.

Coming up in the next hour -- in the next half hour, the president's ban on offshore drilling, is it time to lift it? We'll be joined by three people who say their lives would be damaged forever if the White House won't back down.

Meantime, be sure to watch CNN tonight for an "AC 360" exclusive. Three fishermen first too arrive on the scene of the explosion. Tonight they share never before seen photos and video only with Anderson at 10:00 eastern here on CNN.

ACOSTA: And some developing news for parents -- the government is proposing sweeping new rules for cribs. That's because many of the cribs out there are not only dangerous, they could be deadly.

CHETRY: Allan Chernoff joins us with more on what the government is proposing. The biggest group of cribs you are talking about are the drop side cribs.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The drop down cribs. There's been worry about this for several years. In fact, 32 children have died as a result of this.

And so the Consumer Product Safety Commission has made this a priority. The new rules announced late yesterday would ban drop down cribs.

The idea also is to improve the quality of cribs. So they want better mattress supports, sturdier hardware, better quality wood. And by the way, that mattress support is not about an infant's back. The whole idea here is that a mattress would not suddenly tumble to one side so the infant could tragically get caught.

I mean there have been more than 150 deaths in the past few years because of faulty cribs, a big priority over at the consumer product safety commission.

And they've been working hand in hand with the industry, so the manufacturers are behind these new rules. The consumer product safety commission would vote on these proposals in December, and then six months later they would go into effect according to the plan announced yesterday.

Now one of the commissioners is concerned about that. She said, look, you have daycare centers, hotels, retailers -- everybody needs time to prepare for this. So there will be a comment period. Then we'll have the commission vote. So perhaps it will be put off, but it's almost certain these rules are going to go into effect.

ACOSTA: Important information for parents. Thanks, Allan, so much.

Also new this morning, new evidence of the tough political climate facing President Obama. A "Time" magazine poll released this morning finds 49 percent of Americans approve of the president's performance, 45 percent disapprove.

And when it comes to overseeing America's economic recovery, 43 percent trust the Democrats, 39 percent of those polled trust Republicans. Kiran, that's almost split right down the middle.

CHETRY: It sure is. It's very tight right now.

Today the Catholic Church is releasing a new set of rules aimed at helping prevent child abuse by clergy members. Our Vatican sources says the church will basically be aiming at firming up existing practices, adding the possession of child porn to the list of most serious crimes and also declaring the abuse of any mentally retarded person to be as bad as the abuse of children.

They'll also be doubling the statute of limitations in abuse cases so they can then be prosecuted, making it a major crime. And also to ordain a woman as a priest, that is another addition to some of the new rules.

ACOSTA: We want to take you out to Idaho. About 300 firefighters are battling a wildfire near Idaho Falls. Fire officials say it's consumed about 170 square miles. They've dispatched 28 fire engines and air tankers to battle the blaze on four different fronts.

CHETRY: Right now we're seven minutes past the hour.

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ACOSTA: Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, a split verdict by the FDA over the popular diabetes drug Avandia. It looks like the drug will remain on the shelf for now, but with stiffer warnings and restrictions when it comes to prescriptions. We'll talk with a drug safety expert coming up next.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

New this morning, the fight over Arizona's controversial immigration law is now heading to a Phoenix courtroom. In fact, it's going there in just a few hours. A U.S. district court judge will be hearing arguments from both sides in a lawsuit filed by a Phoenix police officer. It's one of seven lawsuits filed by various individuals and groups.

Legendary outlaw Billy the Kid may finally get his pardon 129 years after his death? A report says that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson may make things right before leaving office. The Kid was offered a pardon by New Mexico's territorial governor back in 1881 in exchange for his cooperation. But then the governor reneged on the deal.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is recovering from heart surgery in a Virginia hospital. He says that he had a tiny pump implanted in his heart last week to help it function better and that the operation went well. The 69-year-old Cheney has had five heart attacks since 1978, the most recent one in February. Jim?

ACOSTA: Kiran, the risk of heart attack is at the heart of the argument against Avandia. An FDA panel issued a split decision on the controversial diabetes drug, vowing to keep it on the market but with greater restrictions.

Our next guest believes it's the beginning of the end for Avandia. Dr. David Graham is a food safety expert for the Food and Drug Administration. He joins us now from Washington.

And doctor, we want to be clear that you are speaking on behalf of yourself, not the FDA. So we want to get that disclaimer out of the way. But what would you say to somebody right now who is taking Avandia after this decision that was made?

DR. DAVID GRAHAM, FDA DRUG SAFETY EXPERT: Well, I think it's important to understand that the committee didn't vote to keep Avandia on the market in the sense of unrestricted use. A majority of the committee voted that Avandia should be withdrawn from the market or severely restricted in its use.

And most of the people who voted for restricting its use did so from the point of view that they were concerned there may be rare patients for whom Actos wouldn't work but Avandia might work and they wanted some way for that drug to be available for them. And so the way it's been portrayed in the media, I think is a little misleading. As far as patients are concerned, I think if you are a patient with diabetes and taking Avandia that it would be wise for you to contact your physician and discuss being switched to a safer alternative such as Actos, for example.

If you have been on Avandia for many years and feel that you are doing well with it, you are still not free from the increased risks of heart attack or heart failure that this drug confers and it would still be wise for you to talk to your physician.

ACOSTA: That's pretty close to what Glaxos Smith Kline is saying in a statement this morning. We have one from the company, the maker of Avandia. It says "We will, of course, continue to work with the FDA in the best interest of diabetes patients who face this chronic and serious disease. Patients taking Avandia should speak with their physician about their treatment and any questions they may have regarding the safety of the medicine."

I apologize. We didn't have that graphic up there, my mistake. But there were --

GRAHAM: Could I add a word on that?

ACOSTA: Sure.

GRAHAM: The advice from the company is fine. But I would take it a step further. I think that patients need to be their own advocates in this instance, and they need to say to their physicians that they are concerned about this.

And unless the physician can give them a really clear reason why Avandia is better, and, remember, the advisory committee had no such evidence and believed these drugs are equivalent but that Avandia increases heart attack risks, the patient should insist on being switched to a safer alternative.

ACOSTA: And what should people think of this mixed response coming from this advisory panel? I mean it was not a unanimous feeling. It wasn't even close to being a unanimous feeling as to whether or not this should be on the market.

GRAHAM: Right. Well, you have to understand the way these advisory committees work and how they're formed. Most of the people who are members of this advisory committee were also voted three years ago to keep it on the market. So you could say that many members of the advisory committee already came in with their minds made up and the fact that so many of the members of the committee voted for it to be withdrawn represents a substantial shift in the opinion of people who came in with perhaps their minds made up.

Another thing to recognize is that restricted distribution means that the drug would not be widely available. The way the law is written regarding how FDA can go about making a drug restricted, FDA has to be able to identify what patients the drug would still have greater benefits than risks for, and then limit the use of the drug to those patients.

As the committee discussed, there's no way to identify who, if anyone, would be at increased benefit compared to the risks of Avandia. And so I think even though the committee voted for the restricted distribution, at least 10 members of the committee voted that way, I don't think they fully appreciated the fact that in terms of implementation that won't be easily done.

ACOSTA: And, doctor, what does this say about the FDA's ability to police these products and protect the public?

GRAHAM: Well, I think that we have a repeat of what happened with Vioxx back in 2004. With that drug, FDA preferred to represent the interest of industry rather than protecting patients from harm and allowed Vioxx to remain on the market, long after we knew that it increased heart attack risks. With Avandia, it was very clear in 2007 that Avandia increased heart attack risks. And understand --

ACOSTA: And you raised questions about the company's own report on this drug, correct?

GRAHAM: That's true.

ACOSTA: You said it wasn't credible.

GRAHAM: Well, that's true. And the studies that they presented, I think the committee concluded, weren't credible either. The problem is that FDA approved this drug. The people who approved Avandia are the people who are deciding whether or not Avandia should remain on the market. And it was the same people who approved Vioxx and who left Vioxx on the market. Many of those same people are involved with Avandia.

There's a systematic problem at FDA, which is that the people who approve drugs are the ones who decide if they stay or go. And that really needs to be changed. The people who are experts in post- marketing safety who recognize how drugs operate in populations, they are the ones who should be making those decisions; the people who aren't biased in favor of the drug. But if they're biased at all, it's biased in favor of patient safety.

ACOSTA: Well, Dr. Graham, thanks for that important message and keeping an eye on what happens at the FDA. We appreciate your time this morning. Thanks for being with us.

GRAHAM: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Kiran?

CHETRY: Jim, thanks so much.

Well, still ahead, it appears the so-called Times Square bomber made a video before the failed plot outlining why he wanted to do it calling it a, quote, "revenge attack." More on what Faisal Shahzad had to say and where this video came from, still ahead.

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CHETRY: Twenty-one minutes past the hour. We're "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Apple no longer keeping quiet after stinging critiques found that holding the new iPhone 4 in a certain way because of the wrap around antenna can actually affect signal strength. The company will hold a press conference about the issue tomorrow. The topic is about the new iPhone. That's pretty much all they're saying.

Coming up in 30 minutes, though, we're going to get some insight on how likely it is the company would actually issue a recall. What some of the other ideas may be for helping fix this. Not only the phone but making sure their image doesn't lose any shine as well.

ACOSTA: And how iPhone groupies will probably not give up their iPhones even if they are recalled. Right?

CHETRY: Yes.

ACOSTA: They'll just hang on to them and put duct tape on them.

CHETRY: Or I guess there's the cover.

ACOSTA: Or the cover as you said.

CHETRY: Most people say if you get the cover, it's fine. But the question is, you know, it was so hyped and everybody wanted it.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: And everybody had to run out and get it.

ACOSTA: Exactly.

CHETRY: And if there is a design flaw, what does that say about the company?

ACOSTA: Yes. Right, right.

Well, cash-strapped Oakland, California is considering new fees on taxpayers to keep its police force intact. The city is a budget crisis and contract negotiations with the police union. They broke off this week. And Oakland's mayor wants to raise enough new revenue to hire 80 laid off officers. That would be a good thing. And prevent 122 more cops from losing their jobs. The police union is demanding no layoffs for three years.

CHETRY: New numbers show the foreclosure rate could finally be on its way down from the peak. Online marketer RealtyTrac says foreclosure filings during the first half of 2010 are down five percent from the last half of 2009. They also found that there's more than 1.6 million foreclosure filings since January.

ACOSTA: And here's a staggering number. The airlines raked in nearly $8 billion. That's with a "b" over the last two years by charging you baggage and reservation fees. You know those fees that we all complain about. That has a lot of air travelers feeling they're flying blind. That's why the House is holding hearings this week on Capitol Hill. Witnesses are pleading with lawmakers to require airlines to implement clear uniform pricing guidelines so passengers know exactly what they're getting and what's not included with the price of a ticket because it can be extremely difficult to figure that out.

CHETRY: And frustrating.

ACOSTA: Airline to airline.

CHETRY: Yes, very different.

ACOSTA: It's different.

CHETRY: Well, still ahead, it looks as if Congress could be on the verge of lifting a decades-old travel ban to Cuba. Meanwhile, it could mean good news for the U.S. economy. Some critics are saying now is not the time. More on that debate still ahead.

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CHETRY: Twenty-six minutes past the hour. Your top stories just four minutes away. First though, an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.

For as long as many Americans can remember, Cuba has been off limits. A ban on travel as well as a trade embargo have served to isolate Havana from the U.S. But there are signs of change in Cuba and it could give the American economy a boost. Our Jill Dougherty is following that for us live from Washington.

Good morning, Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, Jim and Kiran, you know, Cuba is releasing more political prisoners. It's a pretty big deal. And part of its promise to free 52 of them. Critics of Cuba are skeptical, but others say things are changing on that island and that U.S. policy should change with it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY (voice-over): Havana, Cuba, just 90 miles from American shores. Two and a half million tourists from around the world flocked to the island last year, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization. But not Americans. A U.S. travel ban makes Cuba a forbidden destination. Now, Congress is on the verge of ending that ban and the trade embargo it's part of in a new push backed by American business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do we have an embargo to Cuba? We have to ask ourselves, after 50 years of a failed policy.

DOUGHERTY: The U.S. imposed a trade embargo after Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Last year, President Obama allowed Cuban Americans with family in Cuba to travel and send money there. Now a potential game changer. Cuba has informed the Catholic Church that it will free 52 political prisoners.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We think that's a positive sign. It's something that is overdue but nevertheless, very welcome.

DOUGHERTY: Before the revolution, the United States, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, accounted for nearly 70 percent of Cuba's international trade. Now it's a fraction of that. A paltry $400 million. The embargo the chamber claims has boomeranged.

MYRON BRILLIANT, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: It's propped up a Castro regime. It hasn't achieved any of the objectives it sought to achieve. And by not having trade with Cuba, the rest of the world has said, look, America is an idiot. We're moving forward with Cuba.

DOUGHERTY: The chamber, citing a study by Texas A&M University, estimates that ending the embargo could mean more than a billion dollars to the U.S., plus create almost 6,000 new American jobs. It's just the opposite, claims an embargo supporter.

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: Sitting on the beaches of Varadero and having a Cuba Libre (ph), which is an oxymoron, is not going to liberate the people of Cuba. It hasn't for several million of European and Latin American and Canadian visitors. If anything, the regime has become more oppressive.

DOUGHERTY: But could more trade and American tourists on the streets of Havana help to advance democracy in Cuba? A coalition of trade and human rights group says yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're watching a lot of change in Cuba in terms of human rights, in terms of political prisoners, in terms of economic reforms. And I think that we're realizing that, you know, after 50 years of being on the sidelines, that it's time to be engaged. So there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to be part of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGHERTY: So why the push for change? Cuba policy always has a red flag politically in the United States. But public opinion surveys show that Cuban Americans are beginning to be more supportive of trade with Cuba. But it's also about the U.S. economy. Supporters of ending the embargo say America needs more jobs and trade, every job that it can get, in fact -- Kiran, Jim.

CHETRY: It's interesting to see if the political timing will change any of this, the environment we're in right now. Jill Dougherty for us, thanks so much.

DOUGHERTY: Thanks.

CHETRY: Well, we're crossing the half hour right now. Time to take a look at the top stories. And we are continuing to cover what's been going on with BP's containment cap. It was supposed to finally be the answer to stopping the oil leak. Well, now it has its own leak. It was discovered early this morning.

And this will now have to be fixed before they integrity testing on the actual well can go forward. Those tests have been suspended and they're critical to determining whether or not the well can hold up under the extreme pressure and whether or not the cap can stem the flow of oil.

ACOSTA: And developing news for parents of young children. The federal government is proposing new sweeping standards for cribs. The new rules, which the Consumer Product Safety Commission will vote on ban the sale of drop-down cribs. They also mandate better mattress support, sturdier hardware and better quality wood for crib construction.

CHETRY: And Argentina now, the first Latin American country legalizing same sex marriage. Lawmakers there passing a bill early this morning after 14 hours of debate in the country's Senate. It already passed the lower chamber in Argentina's Congress. Along with marriage, the bill gives same-sex couples the right to adopt children.

ACOSTA: And we want to get a quick check on this morning's weather headlines. Pretty hot down in the south and southwest, Rob. Lots of rain on the East Coast. Actually, we've been needing the rain over on the mid-Atlantic side of things. It's been almost like a drought down there. I can only speak from personal experience. My lawn has just been dying. We finally got some rain. So not so bad.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. We try to spread it around just a little bit.

ACOSTA: Yes.

MARCIANO: As a matter of fact, that's been the main point the past few days. Guys is that the summertime thunderstorms have been quite prevalent especially across the southeast. Really, I don't know, two-third, three quarters of the country. And some of the numbers that have been rolling in are fairly impressive. 4.22 inches of rain in Wilmington, North Carolina. 3.5. Tomahawk, Wisconsin, which also had a number of tornado reports. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. So a lot of folks getting into the act.

Speaking of getting into the act, I want to show you this video coming in to us from Pennsylvania. Swift water rescue there just below some railroad tracks. Rivers there swollen after seeing several inches of rain in and around the --near the Cherry Hill area. And that is just moving quickly. So they had to pluck this guy out of that area and move him up towards the trellis and get him out to safety. That is a scary, scary thought right there.

Might see some more of that action in some spots today as the cold front pushes off towards the east and trails back behind the area. We could see some severe thunderstorms from the western great lakes back through the nation's midsection. That will begin to break some of the heat across the heartland. But it will do it very, very slowly. Here's some thunderstorms that are rolling through the Michigan area into Milwaukee and then getting over to Grand Rapids. Heat index is 105 to 115 across the Ohio, Oklahoma City, in through Tulsa. Little Rock, no slouch either. It will be hot there for the next two days. And some of this heat will stretch back through the desert southwest, southern California and eventually will be pushed off towards the north and east. So 90, 95 degrees will be quite commonplace, I think, today and tomorrow from D.C., stretching up towards the New York City area. Might see travel delays, too, because of low clouds in Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

Jim, Kiran, back up to you.

ACOSTA: All right. Thanks, Rob. Appreciate it.

On this morning's security watch, chilling new evidence that confessed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was trained by the Taliban and was ready to die for the cause. A videotape reportedly shows Shahzad before the Times Square event calling it a revenge attack "on behalf of all Muslims and Arabs who had died as martyrs," he says.

CNN's Reza Sayah is following developments live from Islamabad. This is chilling stuff, Reza.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. A glimpse inside Faisal Shahzad's mind before he tried to bomb New York's Times Square. It's a piece of evidence that shows that perhaps there was a significant link between Faisal Shahzad and the Pakistani Taliban.

Before violent jihadists carry out attacks, often times they like to put together videotape messages. This is what we have here in videotape message. You see Shahzad wearing a turban, sitting next to an AK-47, reading from the Koran. In his message, he talks about the importance of jihad and he says this is revenge for all Muslim fighters, including former Pakistani Taliban leader Betula (ph) Massoud and the former head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. Here's some of what Shahzad said in his video message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAISAL SHAHZAD, TIMES SQUARE BOMBER SUSPECT (through translator): This attack on the United States will also be a revenge attack from all -- for all the Mujahadin and the majaharin (ph) and the weak and oppressed people of Muslims.

For example, Betula Hamid Shahid (ph) as well as the Abu (INAUDIBLE) and all the Muslim Arab that have been martyred. I will take revenge on their behalf (INAUDIBLE) and I really wish that the hearts of the Muslim will be pleased with this attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: A couple of things to point out in this videotaped message. On the top right-hand corner, you see a logo that reads Umar Media. This is the same logo that Pakistani Taliban uses when they release videotaped messages. It's not clear exactly when and where this videotape was shot. It looks like Faisal Shahzad is cut out and they are using a different background with the scene of Times Square to the left of Faisal Shahzad. Yes, even the Pakistani Taliban, Jim have access to high-tech editing these days.

ACOSTA: Yes. And it's another clear sign that the threat of home-grown terrorism in the United States is very real.

Reza Sayah in Islamabad. Thanks, Reza. Appreciate it.

CHETRY: Well, still ahead, the legal wrangling continues over whether or not the drilling ban, the six-month moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, makes sense right now. Real people are hurting. In some cases, entire livelihoods are being lost. But others are arguing that until safety can be assured, they can't go back in those waters. We're going to be talking to two oil rig workers who are feeling that pain, ahead.

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CHETRY: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour right now. The Obama administration is not backing down when it comes to a temporary ban on deepwater drilling in the gulf. Earlier this week, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar ordered a new ban to replace earlier ones that were struck down in court. But even the president's own oil spill panel is expressing doubts about the need to suspend drilling after hearing days of testimony from people who are suffering because of it.

Cherri Foytlin is one of those who testified. She joins us from New Orleans this morning, along with her husband, Forest. He's an offshore field technician who fears that his job is in jeopardy. Welcome to both of you.

And also with us this morning is Tommy Webb, a furloughed oil rig worker who joins us from Nursery, Texas this morning. Thanks to all of you for being with us.

And Tommy, let me start with you. A 32-year veteran of offshore drilling. As this happened you were furloughed from your job on June 17th because your rig basically couldn't get a permit. All of it stemming from the moratorium on offshore drilling. How are you getting by right now?

TOMMY WEBB, FURLOUGHED OIL RIG WORKER: Everything so far is good, you know. We have -- my wife is still working and, you know, we're just getting started in this. Since I got furloughed on the 17th.

CHETRY: What did you hear from your supervisors about when this could change and when you guys might be able to get back to work? Are they waiting out the six-month period?

WEBB: Well, from -- yes, ma'am. Right now what they are talking about is everybody is under the impression that the drilling moratorium was lifted for shallow water drillers. But between the new regulators and the regulations, and people not understanding what's required, we're not get anything permits to drill. And we have more and more rigs shutting down.

CHETRY: And Forest, let me ask you about this, you are still working right now, but you were transferred onshore which means that you took a big pay cut. You were used to making far more money than you're getting now. And you have concerns about how you are getting by. What's the situation right now with your company and your job?

FOREST FOYTLIN, FEARS LOSING OIL RIG JOB: The situation with my company and my job is that it's all up in the air. Like the gentleman said we still have a few wells, but if you can't get permits for them, no one can go back to work. And there are so many offshore companies out there that even the jobs we're getting, they're not paying enough. We're not making enough money off of those.

CHETRY: And Cherri, you testified at the oil spill commission hearing. You said that, you know, it was so ironic that it was July 4th, independence day, the day that your family ended up becoming completely dependent on needing to sign up for food stamps, Medicaid, because of the tough financial situation you have been put in because of this moratorium. Do you feel that your emotional testimony, what you had to say was heard?

CHERRI FOYTLIN, WIFE OF OIL RIG WORKER: Well, I hope so. I tried connect with each person on the commission. The most important thing for our situation was we had just bought a house. Now four years ago, when the Bush administration was in and all we had, the bank problems and everything, we lost our house in Oklahoma.

So we came all the way down here to where my husband was born and we made a whole new life for ourselves in three years. We had just bought a house. We emptied out our savings to -- we have six children -- to take care of our kids. And then this thing hit three days after we signed the final papers on the house.

CHETRY: So the worst timing possible.

CHERRI FOYTLIN: So it's been devastating.

CHETRY: I can't even imagine the struggle you guys are under.

CHERRI FOYTLIN: It's been absolutely devastating.

CHETRY: And so do you think that they're going to change this? I mean, do you think that they're going to lift this moratorium?

CHERRI FOYTLIN: Well, what I would like to do is right now, I'd like to ask President Barack Obama if you can see me, if you can hear me, or if you get this tape, my blood has been on this earth in this country for centuries. We have people that came on boats over here, both in chains and as free people.

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 21st, 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'd 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. And you can bring your security but you won't need it because the people that I show you to have hearts full of love for this country and for this state and there is no room for hate in them.

I am asking you to restore the American people, the Louisiana people and my personal faith in you, sir. I am asking the people of Louisiana and America to please stand up. This blood of the earth is on all of our hands, and it will take all of us to clean this up. We are hurting down here. We need you. I am asking you, Mr. Barack Obama, to restore my faith in you and I am telling the American people, if one man can't restore the faith of one person, how could he ever hold the hope of millions. Ever? That's what I have to say.

CHETRY: Wow, Cherri. It was well articulated. Passionate. What goes through your mind when you hear that, Forest, when you hear what your wife is saying and how desperate she feels about this situation?

F. FOYTLIN: We all feel desperate. I mean, I'm scared. I'm scared for myself, my children. And it's not just me. I have many friends that are in the oil field. We -- we're all suffering. We're all worried about our children. I just happen to have the most of them out of all my friends.

But, I mean, we do. We need our jobs. We need our jobs.

C. FOYTLIN: We need people to hear us.

F. FOYTLIN: We need our fisheries back.

C. FOYTLIN: We need the American people to hear us. We need the people of Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico to get up on your feet and walk to the beach. We need you to clean this mess up. We need the dispersants to stop. We need food vouchers. We need economy help.

That's fine if you don't want us to drill. Build us a solar plant. I'll put him to work in the solar plant next week. I'll put him to work tomorrow. But there's nothing here for us. We have to pay our bills. You guys don't understand how important this is, not just to my family, to all of us.

CHETRY: And, you know, I think that people are hearing you. I think that there, you know, has been a lot of -- rightfully so -- debate about this moratorium. I don't know whether or not it's going to change fast enough for you guys.

But Tommy, I do want to ask you about this because one of the issues about the moratorium and one of the reasons why the White House and the administration continues to stand by it is that they said they don't want to see a repeat of what happened on the Deepwater Horizon, 11 people losing their lives, others injured and a virtual shutdown of -- of vital industry.

Do you think that the safety concerns that the moratorium -- that the reason behind the moratorium are -- are behind is just as important?

WEBB: No, ma'am. Basically, you know, that there was a tragedy that those 11 people lost their lives, but, you know, you don't need to shut down the whole industry just because of that happening. We have safety standards in place and that was a -- that was a one time incident, you know, over a number of years we worked safely.

But if something doesn't happen very soon, presently, we are almost 40 percent idle rigs that aren't working, and probably by the end of August or a little later, we'll be up almost to 80 percent of the no rigs working. And that's -- you're talking thousands and thousands of people that are going to be knocked out of jobs, and that trickles all the way into land, all the way down to your waitress at a -- at a restaurant.

So --

CHETRY: Right.

WEBB: You know, it's a -- it's a heck of an impact.

CHETRY: It sure is. Tommy Webb as well as Forest and Cherri Foytlin with your impassioned comments this morning. I'm sure that people will hear you. Thank you for sharing your story today, and we all wish you luck.

Well, we're going to take a quick break. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.

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CHETRY: Fifty minutes past the hour right now.

Apple hoping to quiet the serious static over complaints that its new iPhone 4 loses reception when you touch the antenna on the lower left-hand side.

ACOSTA: The company will hold a press conference tomorrow, but in true Apple fashion, little else is known. So what can we expect?

CNN.com Technology writer, John Sutter, joins us now live from Atlanta. And, John, this is -- this is a big shocker to see a product as successful as the iPhone have these sorts of problems. What do you expect to hear from Apple tomorrow? I mean, do -- do we really think they're going to issue a recall?

JOHN SUTTER, CNN.COM TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Well, I think the -- the recall is still really up for debate. You have a lot of analysts saying that a recall is unlikely just because it would be so expensive. It could cost about $1 billion, maybe, to recall all these phones that they have sold.

But -- but I think you're right. This is, you know, very shocking to people who follow Apple closely. The iPhone sort of, you know, redefined what a phone can do. It's basically a computer in your pocket and Apple has pushed forward, you know, further and further in this area, and this is one of the first slipups for them in the phone market.

CHETRY: Besides losing it, right --

SUTTER: So a recall will be one possibility --

CHETRY: -- besides leaving it in a bar that time when it was still a prototype. But, John --

SUTTER: You're right.

CHETRY: -- I kind of wonder what's going on behind the scenes at Apple, because, as you said, they pride themselves in just, I mean, having quality products, having the newest, sleekest, most incredible design. I mean, is somebody getting kicked up and down the block in Cupertino this morning?

SUTTER: Well, they're catching a lot of heat for how they've handled this antenna issue. People are calling it "Antennagate" like right after the phone went on sale --

ACOSTA: Oh, man.

SUTTER: -- you know, consumers started complaining about --

ACOSTA: It's always that and there's --

(CROSSTALK)

SUTTER: Always. Yes. That's never a good thing.

So, you know, the complaints are rolling in right away. The sort of biggest hit was "Consumer Reports" just really recently did a sort of thorough test of the phone and -- and confirmed what they said is a problem with the antenna. They called it a design flaw.

You know, Steve Jobs was really excited about this new antenna. It's sort of a metal ring around the phone. It's a new type of engineering, and he was really touting that, you know, when he released the phone. And so, for this, like, design-minded company to have a design flaw, you know, in one of their flagship products is -- is a pretty big deal.

(CROSSTALK) ACOSTA: -- from -- from "Consumer Reports". I mean, they're -- they're really the bible for a lot of people out there when it comes to buying all sorts of consumer products. How surprised were you to see "Consumer Reports" take such a tough stance with this product?

SUTTER: I was a bit surprised. I mean, I think a lot of people were waiting for a very thorough, verifiable test of the phone, so that's why it's gotten so much news. And -- and I think a lot of people found it, you know, amusing or a little bit shocking that they suggested that you could put duct tape on the lower left corner of the iPhone --

ACOSTA: Yes. Exactly.

SUTTER: -- and that that would solve the connection problem.

So, you know, there are other bloggers suggesting that you should wear oven mitts when you hold the phone.

ACOSTA: Oh, boy.

SUTTER: Steve Jobs, in an e-mail, said that you just shouldn't hold the phone, you know, that way, if you're getting --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Just don't make a phone call. That'll solve the problem.

SUTTER: So they're definitely in a P.R. -- yes. Absolutely.

CHETRY: Right, and so -- and so, short of a recall, for -- two quick questions. First of all, someone said they should just include the case that sort of solves this problem, but some have argued that it was kind of arrogant for Apple to just say, well, buy the case and it solves the problem, saying, you know, you just spent however many hundreds on this product. Spend a little bit more so it actually works.

Secondly, if they do go down that route and offer it free, is that the end of it? Are they going to fix this for the next generations that come out?

SUTTER: There -- there's a lot of speculation that they could put sort of a coating on the metal ring around the phone, on the antenna, that would -- that would fix this for -- for future rollouts, like you mentioned. There is a lot of talk about the so-called bumper, which is a case for the iPhone. They run about $30. Apple does sell them, so there are some people that are very skeptical of that.

They could give those out for free. There are a number of petitions online, calling for them to do that. That would be a much cheaper option. There are some analysts saying it would cost them about $1 a pop, so $1 for each one of these cases to give those out to consumers for free. But, like you mentioned, if you have a $300 phone, you know, you expect it to be able to make calls and sort of saying that you need to put duct tape on it or you need to buy a case for it is -- you know, it's a hit to Apple's image, I think.

ACOSTA: Yes. And something tells me, John, they don't have an app for this. But we'll find out tomorrow what their big solution is.

John Sutter, thanks for your time this morning. Appreciate it.

CHETRY: You know, the flip side is --

SUTTER: Thank you.

CHETRY: -- you don't see anyone making a run to the store, turning in these things, right?

ACOSTA: I don't think so.

CHETRY: And I love how it cost $30, but for Apple, it's only a buck to actually give them out.

ACOSTA: Exactly. And something tells me they'll still be popular.

All right, 54 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.

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ACOSTA: All right. This tops morning -- this morning's top stories just minutes away, including day 87. Another problem 5,000 feet underwater in the Gulf. There's a leak in BP'S new cap. So do they know how to fix it?

Our David Mattingly is live in New Orleans with the very latest.

CHETRY: Plus, there the silent victims of the gulf crisis -- animals, not the oil-covered birds or turtles, but dogs and cats, members of the family now in shelters because their out of work owners can't afford to keep them.

ACOSTA: And the fight between the Tea Party Movement and the NAACP heats up, claims of racism now coming from both sides. We'll talk live with one Tea Party member, who used to be a chapter president for the NAACP.

Those stories and more at the top of the hour. We're back in just two minutes.

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