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American Morning
Ground Zero Islamic Center; Tim McGraw's The King Of The Road; NASA's Robot Astronaut; BP: "Static Kill" Working; Judge to Rule on Proposition 8; Virginia's Immigration Showdown
Aired August 04, 2010 - 07:59 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 to you. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Wednesday. It's August 4th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Good to have you with us this morning. Got a lot to talk about. Let's get you right to it.
Several reports out of the Middle East this morning that there was an attempt on the life of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He's OK. We're now hearing different things about the attack from his inner - inner circle. All the latest developments in just a moment.
CHETRY: And maybe the best news since the start of the gulf oil disaster 107 days ago, and a long time coming. It is working. BP announcing overnight that the static kill, an operation to permanently seal the well that's leaked 206 million gallons of oil into the gulf is so far a success. We're live on the Gulf Coast with the latest progress report.
ROBERTS: A story developing in California, where supporters of same-sex marriage are hoping that a federal judge overturns Proposition 8 in the next few hours. The measure was passed by California voters two years ago. It defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Opponents charge that the law is unconstitutional, because it creates two classes of people with separate laws for each.
CHETRY: And, of course, the AMFix blog is up and running. You can join the live conversation. Go to cnn.com/amfix.
ROBERTS: First developing this hour, several reports out of the Middle East that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad survived an apparent assassination attempt.
CHETRY: But Iran is now downplaying it. Our Reza Sayah monitoring this for us live from Islamabad, Pakistan this morning.
Reza, some conflicting information about exactly what happened. What are your sources telling you this morning?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kiran. Now they're more than downplaying it. They're flatly denying it. Initially, these reports were very dramatic, President Ahmadinejad surviving an apparent assassination attempt.
But just a few minutes ago, I got off the phone with one of his advisers and he tells CNN that this was nothing more than a firecracker and these were his words. He said this was the type of firecracker used by children. He said no one was hurt and he accused the western media of blowing this out of proportion.
We should point out that initially it was Iranian government linked news Web sites that reported this. According to these Web sites, President Ahmadinejad had just arrived in the city of Hamadan, just west of Tehran, arrived at the airport, was in a motorcade. These reports said an explosive device -- perhaps a handmade grenade -- blew up next to his motorcade, and that some people were injured.
But once again, got off the phone with the adviser of President Ahmadinejad, he says those reports are all inaccurate, and he asked everyone to calm down.
ROBERTS: Have there been any previous attempts on his life before? I'm sure, like most world leaders, he receives numerous threats.
REZA: Yes. And it's interesting, John. Just yesterday, when speaking to a gathering, he told that gathering that there is an Israeli plot to kill him. Now, he didn't say what kind of information he had, he didn't substantiate it. But that's what he said, and that's what made these developments today very dramatic.
But there haven't been any assassination attempts against them. He does have detractors, political enemies. Of course, last year, the opposition movement who still accuses him and his government of stealing the elections away from him.
There is political enemies, but that is largely a peaceful movement. There is a Sunni militant group in southwestern Iran that has targeted Iran's Revolutionary Guard. This is a militant group that accuses Iran's Shia hard-line leadership of discriminating against Sunni minorities, but no assassination attempts against the president.
ROBERTS: Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad this morning -- Reza, thanks.
Also this morning, it could be the beginning of the end of the 107-day long nightmare for people living and working along the Gulf Coast. BP announcing overnight that the "static kill" operation to seal the leaking oil well for good is working. Heavy drilling mud was pumped into the well for eight hours.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And another major sign of progress, there's a report this morning in "The New York Times" claiming that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association says the oil spill is essentially under control, that 75 percent has either evaporated, dispersed or been captured or eliminated in other ways.
The White House weighed in today's milestone and also talked about the end game a short time ago on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL BROWNER, ASST. TO THE PRESIDENT, ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE: We definitely are making progress. Oil hasn't been leaking for some time. The static kill is going well. But ultimately, it's the relief wells that we ordered drilled that will be the final kill. Probably in the next 10 to 14 days, that will be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Jim Acosta is live for us in New Orleans this morning with more on that.
So, all signs of progress moving ahead, what's the reaction down in the Gulf Coast?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's a lot of waiting and seeing at this point, because there's been a lot of skepticism throughout this entire ordeal. And you're right. About five hours ago, BP announced what they're calling a significant milestone, the mud inside that damaged well has stabilized the pressure down there.
And we wanted to check out the conditions out at the Deepwater Horizon site, so we met up with the Coast Guard Cutter Decisive, the aptly named Cutter Decisive at this critical stage of this operation, and what we found was a lot less oil and more hope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Hovering over the Deepwater Horizon site, where BP is going in for the "static kill," the Gulf of Mexico looks nothing like it did at the start of the crisis. The water is blue in almost every direction, with a few exceptions. Coast Guard chopper pilot, Lieutenant Bill Andrews, spots a few patches of oil.
LT. JG BILL ANDREWS, U.S. COAST GUARD: Some brown down there, some little spots of ill. Not any huge amounts like there were to begin with.
ACOSTA: We land on board the Coast Guard Cutter Decisive. First, there's a briefing on the latest conditions at the site.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is showing the well head here.
ACOSTA: Then we meet the cutter's captain, Teri Jordan, one of two women in charge of the ship. Something we're told you don't see every day in the Coast Guard.
CAPT. TERI JORDAN, U.S. COAST GUARD CUTTER DECISIVE: It seems like activity has picked up in the last 24 hours. Certainly, there's a lot of vessels out here.
ACOSTA (on camera): That's the Q4000.
(voice-over): From the bridge, we see the Q4000, the rig at the center of the static kill, pumping mud into BP's damaged well. To the left, the two relief wells that must plug the well once and for all.
(on camera): This is as close as the Cutter Decisive has been to the scene, and the crew here says this is the most consolidated they've seen these vessels in weeks, a sign that this operation has reached a critical stage.
(voice-over): Captain Jordan's crew has good reason to want a clean kill.
JORDAN: I'll tell you, a quarter of my crew is native to the Gulf Coast, and the rest of us have certainly adopted the Gulf Coast as their home. We care, because our families live in the Gulf Coast, and it really doesn't matter to us.
ACOSTA (on camera): You guys are crossing your fingers, too.
JORDAN: Absolutely, sir.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Down on the water in this small rescue boat, New Orleans' native Kevin Burns (ph) is quick to point out, the Gulf Coast can take a punch.
KEVIN BURNS, NEW ORLEANS NATIVE: I was involved in Katrina also, and, you know, we came back after Katrina. I think we'll be fine. We'll come back after this even stronger.
ACOSTA: Captain Jordan is also hopeful. After circling this site for the last two weeks, she has yet to see any of those massive pools of brown crude.
(on camera): Have you seen less oil as the days have gone on?
JORDAN: Actually, very surprisingly, we've seen very little oil from the moment we got out here until today.
ACOSTA (voice-over): But after leaving the "static kill" operation on our way back, we find signs this crisis is far from over. This long stretch of oil sheen was floating just a few miles off the shoreline.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And John and Kiran, as you mentioned earlier, a couple hours from now, the federal government is expected to release a report showing that something like 75 percent of the oil out there in the Gulf of Mexico is either evaporated or dissipated or being cleaned up during this process. And so, there is some reason for optimism out there.
However, there is a caution in that report that federal officials still don't know the long-term effects of this crisis. And with respect to the static kill, federal officials are cautioning they're not out of the woods yet. They still want to see those relief wells intercept that damaged well and pump cement and mud down into that damaged well one more time in that process to kill this thing once and for all -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: And on that NOAA report, Jim, it will be interesting to see what local officials like Billy Nungesser have to say about it, because, certainly, he's been at odds that any kind of claim that the oil hasn't been much of an impact.
Jim Acosta for us this morning in New Orleans -- Jim, thanks.
In just a few hours' time, a federal judge will decide the fate of California's law banning same-sex marriage. At the heart of the argument: is Proposition 8 unconstitutional? It's been two years since California voters passed the measure defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
CHETRY: Yes, opponents are arguing that it's created two classes of people in California with separate laws governing each, and they want Prop 8 overturned.
Dan Simon joins us live from San Francisco this morning.
And, Dan, when do we expect this ruling? And any word on which way it may go?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the ruling should come down sometime after 4:00 Eastern Time. Let me sort of tell you where I am. That is the federal courthouse behind me. That's where the trial took place all the way back in January.
Remember the name of this case, Perry versus Schwarzenegger, because it's likely that it will appear someday in every American history textbook. That's because no matter what happens in this court today, ultimately this same-sex marriage case is going to reach the United States Supreme Court, and it's Perry versus Schwarzenegger that could likely determine whether or not same-sex marriage is legal across the United States.
Let me go back and review where we -- how we got to this point. 2004, highly controversial. The city of San Francisco starts issuing same-sex marriage licenses to homosexual couples. A flood of people come to the courthouse. People start getting married in San Francisco.
The California Supreme Court, a month later, says no more same- sex marriage. It also leads to a series of lawsuits, and ultimately leads to Proposition 8.
What is Proposition 8? Well, this was a voter-led initiative that said that same-sex marriage is illegal. It defined marriage between a man and a woman. If you were living in California during that period of time in 2008, you couldn't help but turn on the television and see a flood of commercials on both sides. It was one of the costliest campaigns in the United States' history, more than $80 million spent between the two sides.
The result of Proposition 8, it squeaks by by a narrow 52-48 margin. And then you have the lawsuit filed here in court. Proponents of Prop 8 are saying that marriage has always been defined between a man and a woman. They say that if you allow it to happen, that it weakens society that, it marginalizes the role of biological parents. And those for same-sex marriage, of course, are arguing that the Constitution protects marriage for everybody, that the Equal Protection Clause extends that right to no matter who you are, heterosexual, same-sex couples.
And, again, we're expecting this ruling to come down sometime after 4:00 Eastern Time. John and Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Dan Simon for us this morning -- thanks so much.
Well, still ahead, a blistering heat wave, and it's not going anywhere any time soon across the Midwest and the south. The heat, humidity and just the index -- what it feels like out there in the triple digits and turning deadly. At least five heat-related deaths reported since Saturday from Kansas to Mississippi.
ROBERTS: Yes. High temperature records have been broken across the region. And today, the heat index in some places will hit -- listen to this -- 120 degrees. It might not be quite that hot in Hotlanta this morning, but that's where we find our Rob Marciano outside the Piedmont Park today.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it starts fairly, pretty steamy, and you mentioned the fatalities. You know, you think about hurricanes, you think about flash floods and tornadoes -- still, heat is the number one weather-related fatality as far as statistics go. So, just be careful out there. Certainly, check on your neighbors and your pets and do all the things you need to do to survive this heat wave, because it continues across the mid and Deep South, especially.
Right now, there are advisories and warnings in 16 states -- heat warnings for 13 states. Every state and county you see there in pink, that means that the heat index could get to 105, 110 -- could get as high as 120. And that's what it feels like with heat with temperature and humidity.
You think at night, you know, cool off, maybe get a little bit of relief at night, no. That's the problem this time of year. When you get any sort of humidity, the temperatures just don't drop off very much at night -- especially near the bigger cities. Record from yesterday, anywhere from 101 to 109, and I think we'll see similar numbers today. So, hydrate.
Here at Piedmont Park, we've seen some people exercising and trying to do it before the heat of the day, and certainly for the folks who are working outside today in the heat, you know, hats off to them, and give them the room they need to do their job and try to stay cool -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Good advice. Rob Marciano for us -- thanks.
ROBERTS: Coming up next in the Most News in the Morning, that mosque and Islamic center near ground zero has a new opponent, the Anti-Defamation League. But wait a second. Isn't the Anti-Defamation League supposed to promote religious tolerance?
We'll talk to national director, Abraham Foxman, coming up next.
It's 12 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fourteen and a half minutes after the hour.
An Islamic center and mosque just a few steps from ground zero is now one step closer to reality today. New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission denying landmark status for the property in question, handing a victory to supporters of a plan that opponents call a slap in the face to America.
In a surprising move, the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that promotes religious tolerance, has come out against the Islamic center.
Joining me now to explain that position is Abraham Foxman. He's the national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Abe, good to see you. Thanks for coming on this morning.
ABRAHAM FOXMAN, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: Good morning.
ROBERTS: So, explain the position. Why are you against this?
FOXMAN: Well, we're not -- we're not actually against it. We raised the sensitivity, raised the issue about location and sensitivity. Our position basically was an appeal to the imam and his supporters -- if you want to heal, if you to reconcile, is this the best place to do it?
Should you do it in face - in the face of those who are saying to you, most of the victims, families of the victims, the responders, are saying, please don't do it here. Please don't do it in our cemetery. In the '80s, you may remember, the Caramelite nuns wanted to build a nunnery, a convent in Auschwitz, the purpose was to pray for Jewish souls to reconcile to heal. For eight years, there was major controversy. We were opposed to it. Many called us bigots, they said we were anti-Catholic, anti-Vatican, anti-Christian. So finally, Pope John Paul stood up and he said, you know what, they're right. And he moved the convent a mile outside of Auschwitz.
ROBERTS: Now, you say, Abe, you're not against the mosque, but you are against the mosque in that location. So we should just --
FOXMAN: Well, we raised the issue. We raised the sensitivity. We wanted the commission, we want the landmarks commission, we want the good people to say, you know what, yes. We're not challenging the right of the Muslim group to do -- to build a mosque. Or do they have a right to do it.
ROBERTS: You're just saying not there.
FOXMAN: Is it right.
ROBERTS: So Mayor Bloomberg takes exactly the opposite position you just made about this idea of healing and fostering greater understanding of each other. Here's what he said in his speech in governor's eyes. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights, and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked. Political controversies come and go. But our values and our traditions endure. And there is no neighborhood in this city that is off limits to God's love and mercy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So he says, it's not a slap in the face to the victims of 9/11. It honors their memory. Why is he wrong and you're right?
FOXMAN: Well, that's his judgment. He's entitled to his judgment. It's not a question of rights. We're not challenging rights. We're asking, is this the right thing to do?
ROBERTS: But he says it is. So why is he wrong and you're right?
FOXMAN: Well because I believe on this issue the voices, the feelings, the emotions of the families, of the victims, of the responders. I think they take precedent, maybe over the mayors, in the same way as the pope understood that those who wanted to heal needed to give way to the feelings and the pain and the anguish of the victims.
ROBERTS: Now, you are being accused of bigotry again in this particular point, as well as the catholic nunnery you were talking about. People are saying you abandoned the basic principles of the ADL. Rabbi -- Michael Learner of the network of spiritual progressive said "the ADL is not only betraying Jewish values and American values, they unintentionally increase the tensions between Jews and Muslims at the moment when both communities recognize they need to build bridges of understanding." Rabbi Irwin Kula, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership said "The ADL should be ashamed of itself." Others critics have gone further accusing you of hypocrisy. What do you say to that?
FOXMAN: Well this issue, this controversy, has been hijacked by bigots, by people with political agendas. Look at the people you quoted don't like the things that the ADL does on 100 things. This is an opportunity for them to reach out. The fact is, this controversy has triggered bigotry. But the fact that you raise issues doesn't make you a bigot. I think it's bigoted to say that if you raise issues of sensitivity, if you raise issues of what is proper, all of a sudden you're a bigot. Why? Because bigots oppose it?
ROBERTS: You do have some support from people who hold a very similar position to you. Sarah Palin said via twitter, quote, "peace- seeking Muslims, please understand ground zero mosque is unnecessary provocation, it stabs hearts. Please reject it in the interest of healing." Newt Gingrich said, "the average American just thinks this is a political statement, it's not about religion and is clearly an aggressive act that is offensive." Sarah Palin seems to be pretty much in line, Abe, with what you're saying.
FOXMAN: No. No they're not. No, they're not. That's what I'm talking about hijacking political issues. Our position is location and sensitivity. We're not taking a position on whether this is right. In fact, we say it's not a question --
ROBERTS: Right, but she says the ground zero mosque is an unnecessary provocation that stabs hearts.
FOXMAN: Well that's the feelings of the victims and the families of the victims.
ROBERTS: Right so that's what close to -
FOXMAN: That doesn't make you a bigot. That doesn't make a bigot.
ROBERTS: You said it wasn't. What about Gingrich saying it's an aggressive and offensive act?
FOXMAN: We don't say that. He's entitled to say it. And, again, because two people or three people or four people take the same position doesn't mean that they agree in totality, nor should they be called bigots.
ROBERTS: Now the American center for law and justice is going to file a court challenge against this. Would you join that court challenge?
FOXMAN: No. We are not opposed to the mosque. We have been --
ROBERTS: But you are opposed to it where it is.
FOXMAN: Well, but that's over. You know that decision has already been made. It's been made by the community.
ROBERTS: But people are going to challenge it, and I'm wondering if you will join in that challenge.
FOXMAN: We are not going to challenge this. We are going to be back where we were, which is to fight the bigotry, to fight the prejudice. This controversy has left scars. It's not over in the sense that it will continue to be a place where we will need to contribute to understanding, to healing, to reconciliation. No, we're not continuing to fight it. We raised an issue. We believe it was a significant issue. But once the community boards ruled, we move on. And I guess now is the effort to heal on all sides. I hope -- I hope that the Imam will fulfill his words of promise that this will in fact be a center of tolerance. If it I had my way, I agreed with Tom Friedman's column today in the "New York Times." he said if he had $100 million, he would build this mosque in Saudi Arabia or in Pakistan, where you cannot build a chump church or synagogue. That's where you need to show tolerance and love and understanding. But the fact that it's now ruled to be here, no, we're not going to fight it. We're going to be there to fight bigotry.
ROBERTS: So this is over for you.
FOXMAN: Yes.
ROBERTS: Abe Foxman, the Kennedy Affirmation lead. Good of you to come in this morning.
FOXMAN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Thanks for joining us. Kiran.
CHETRY: John thanks. Well Wycliffe Gene is set to run for President of Haiti. The buzz is now growing. Could he make a difference in his home country?
We are going to talk about that. Also, you know they do this list every year. You know the highest paid actress in Hollywood. Who is top dog this year? We'll find out, 22 minutes past hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We are "Minding Your Business" today. That's a little Tim McGraw, by the way. Twenty four minutes past the hour. It may surprise you which artist was played more than any other on America's radio station over the past decade, yes, it's country music star, Tim McGraw. According to Nielsen BDS which tracks radio play, the singer got just under 8 million plays on air waves coast to coast, that puts him ahead of Asher, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Britney Spears. And I joked Asher's song, yes. Remember how much they played that thing.
ROBERTS: Yes, so when you think Tim McGraw, think that. McGraw's co star from "The Blind Side" by the way is the new queen of Hollywood. Between June of last year and July of this year, Oscar winner Sandra Bullock earned $56 million, according to "Forbes" magazine, more than any other actress. Take that, Angelina, much of that coming from "The Blindside" which earned $310 million at the box office. It earned her an academy award. Finishing off the top five, Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Sarah Jessica Parker. Angelina didn't make the top five. She will with the next movie cycle though with that movie, "Salt."
CHETRY: But she has the most kids, though. She wins one cut. Go Sandra Bullock, what a sweetheart. Well he is getting into it, and he wants to win it, Wycliffe Gene has decided he's going to throw his hat in the ring to run for the president of Haiti. The hip hop star was born in Haiti. And he has been center stage in the earthquake relief efforts, raising millions of dollars through his Yale Haiti Foundation. And Haiti's presidential election by the way is going to be held November 28th.
ROBERTS: And Wycliffe Gene is expected to formally announce his candidacy not in Port-Au-Prince, but exclusively on LARRY KING LIVE tomorrow night, 9:00 eastern time right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Don't we look forward to hearing from him. Also, Gulf oil. As more fishing waters are reopening, why are some fishermen not heading back out with their boats? CNN's Ed Lavandera takes a look at a big dilemma going on in the Gulf coast right now, 26 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: "Top Stories," just a couple minutes away. But first, an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING. How about this for proof that the future is now? NASA's newest astronaut is a robot, and not just a robot, but a robot with its own twitter account.
CHETRY: There you go and apparently his own iPhone. Well the space agency is planning on second Robonaut 2 or R2 for short, up to join the crew of the international space station. It's going to happen in November. NASA is hoping it will take over some of the routine tasks on board. But first, our John Zarrella got a chance to meet R2 in this CNN exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Say hello to Robonaut.
(on camera): Nice to meet you. How is it going?
(voice-over): R2, as this humanoid is called, is considered cutting edge artificial intelligence. There is nothing more sophisticated with arm, hand, and wrist movement almost human.
NIC RADFORD, FOBONAUT DEPUTY PROJECT MANAGER: I can interrupt the motion of the robot, I can hold it if I don't like something.
ZARELLA: R2 is also a bit of a ham.
RADFORD: What you're really looking at is probably the most advanced upper body in the entire world.
ZARELLA: When the next shuttle flies, R2 will be hitching a ride to the space station and waiting, literally with a hand extended when astronaut Katie Coalman and her crew mates get there in December.
KATIE COALMAN, ASTRONAUT: That was -
ZARELLA (on camera): I was going to call you Jim. GM Jim. Oh Jim.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You might see Sheila or Sara.
ZARRELLA: Before Robo-naut was boxed up, Coleman and her crewmates stopped by for a preflight demonstration. They'll be among the first to work with it. After it's tested out in zero gravity, R2 will pick up routine, mundane tasks, like replacing screws and moving things, freeing astronauts for more important work.
PAOLO NESPOLI, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ASTRONAUT: Sometimes I feel that we are in space and we're just changing a bolt or changing a light or flipping a switch.
ZARRELLA: Eventually, R2 will work in the human unfriendly environment outside the station.
CADY COLEMAN, NASA ASTRONAUT: Going outside in a space suit can be cool, but it's also more dangerous than staying inside your spacecraft. So it would be great to send a robot out to do certain, simple tasks.
ZARRELLA: Right now, that would be impossible. R2 doesn't have a lower body yet, just a pedestal. Eventually, he'll get a -- pardon the pun -- leg up, but just one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you've ever seen astronauts when they work in space, oftentimes the need to be able to stand on two legs really just doesn't have a place.
ZARRELLA: What R2 does have, a heck of a grip.
ZARRELLA (on camera): All right, Robo-naut, yep, it's a pleasure to meet you. I know you don't say much, but I do enough talking for the both of us.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): As for a dress, Coleman thinks pretty in pink.
COLEMAN: I was here before, and I had a feel for what kind of colors the robot would like. And I'm pretty sure --
ZARRELLA: Just stay away from the matching shoes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Robo-naut is a joint venture between NASA and general motors. Because gm picked up most of the cost, NASA won't devolve the price tag. But one day we may see Robo-naut's descendents behind the wheel, and you won't be able to call them crash test dummies. John, Kiran?
ROBERTS: John Zarrella this morning. It's pretty eerie the way the hand closes like that. So realistic.
We're passed the half hour now. It's time for this morning's top stories. So far, so good -- BP announcing overnight that the static kill operation is working. They're watching the well very closely to make sure nothing goes wrong. Heavy drilling mud was pumped into the well for eight hours yesterday.
CHETRY: And from the Midwest to the southeast, another day of dangerously hot temperatures. The heat index across multiple states is expected to hit triple digits, in some places as high as 120.
At least five people have died from the record-breaking heat over the past several days. We're going to get more on how to protect yourself and when we can expect these heat wave to end with Rob Marciano in 15 minutes.
ROBERTS: And still developing this half hour, several reports out of the Middle East that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad survived an assassination attempt. Someone threw a grenade or some kind of homemade explosive device at his convoy. Several people were hurt. Iran now downplaying the incident, though, saying it was just a fire cracker.
CHETRY: With static kill and early success in the Gulf of Mexico and the oil apparently disappearing at a surprising rate, we would expect that more fishing boats may be back out on the water.
ROBERTS: But for a lot of different reasons that just is not happening. Ed Lavandera joins us live from New Orleans this morning with their dilemma. And Ed, what exactly is their dilemma?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Kiran, you can blame it on anxiety and apprehension and just really lack of confidence on behalf of thousands of fishermen along the Gulf coast who are just not sure what's going to happen. And many of those who have gotten jobs with BP in the meantime are left asking themselves to fish or not to fish.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They needed it in that boat.
LAVANDERA: It's a Cajun tradition, a priest blesses the fishing fleet. But this year there is not enough holy water to go around to make fisherman's troubles go away.
REV. JOHN ARNONE, ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH: That's the biggest challenge is not knowing if they're going to get back out to do what they have done all their life, live on the water.
LAVANDERA: Slowly more and more fishing waters along the Gulf coast have reopened, 70 percent of Louisiana's fishing zones are open, but getting the fishermen back on the water is the hard part. Guidroz and thousands of other fishermen face the same dilemma. He has trapped crabs for 13 years and he would love to go back, but his BP job is a steady and better paycheck for now. Crab fishing can be shut down any day.
WARREN GUIDROZ, CRAB FISHERMAN: Our big thing is working with BP right now, until all of this changes and everything is cleaned up, until then I'm not going back crabbing, because I'm not going back out there, you see, and then they close it, because I was out there.
LAVANDERA: Everywhere you go here on the island, you'll still see boats sitting idle. And this is the place where you can come and meet hundreds of people who make their living catching crabs. This is what they use to catch them.
LAVANDERA (on camera): But they have been sitting here so long that in many places it's given spiders time to spin their Webs on these traps. And, of course, as long as these traps are sitting here on shore, they're not catching any crabs.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): And even if Warren Guidroz returns to crabbing tomorrow, he's not convinced what he's catching is safe to eat.
GUIDROZ: I don't know if they would chance it or not.
LAVANDERA: Would you eat it?
GUIDROZ: Would I eat it?
LAVANDERA: Yes.
GUIDROZ: No. Not if I didn't know for sure. No. Not if I didn't know for sure.
LAVANDERA: Federal and state officials stress it's all completely safe. No oil or chemicals have been found in the tested seafood. The battle is on to restore the image and confidence in the Gulf coast seafood industry and bring the fishermen back.
UWELL SMITH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LOUISIANA SEAFOOD BOARD: We need to rebuild the consumer confidence at the national level. People in south Louisiana and along the coast, they understand, they're tuned into the messes, they know the seafood is being tested at these unprecedented levels. But it's going to take us some time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And so we heard that repeatedly yesterday from many fishermen who say I got this job with BP already, I can hold on to it as long as I can, because they're just not confident that if -- that these fishing waters are going to remain open. They feel that can change on any given day, that oil can move and that sort of thing and infect the waters that they normally fish in.
And so that's why they're apprehensive and nervous about going back this early.
ROBERTS: Any idea how long the BP jobs are going to last with the well capped, and the oil, according to NOAA, already gone?
LAVANDERA: Exactly. And that's the problem. They know these jobs won't last forever, but they want to hold on to them as long as they can. The clean-up process will take months and months, obviously and will continue to last. So that's why they kind of feel like they're in this situation where they want to hold on to it as long as they can before they go back, that they've got a sure thing in their back pocket right now.
CHETRY: Ed Lavandera for us, thanks.
And Carol Browner speaking for the White House now, saying she would eat the seafood, but there are a lot of people in the Gulf who worry there is not going to be a demand for the seafood if they do go on the water.
ROBERTS: If it's certified clean, there are a lot of restaurants in New Orleans that want it. They're at risk of running out of seafood.
Ed, thanks.
CHETRY: In the meantime, is Virginia actually the next Arizona when it comes to enforcing immigration? Virginia wades into the illegal immigration battle. We're going to be speaking with the attorney general coming up next.
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CHETRY: It's 40 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
The Obama administration took Arizona to court, as you probably know, to block the most controversial provisions of its new immigration law. Well, now another state may be in the crosshairs. Virginia's attorney general yesterday issued a legal opinion that essentially authorizes police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop for any reason.
Joining us from Richmond, Virginia this morning is Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Thanks for being with us this morning.
First of all, explain the scenario of how your state law would work or how your opinion would be applied in a routine police stop.
KEN CUCCINELLI, (R) VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Any legitimate police stop, and that can be for traffic, can be criminal invitation, law enforcement is allowed to ask about other subjects. And our opinion addressed the fact that they can ask about illegal immigration, immigration status, along with anything else.
So as long, again, as there is already a legitimate criminal stop or a traffic stop for some other reason, what they can also do is arrest for criminal violations of immigration law, but not, under my advice, for civil violations, unless their locality is one of the few in Virginia that has a 287G agreement with ICE, so they have essentially have locally trained immigration officers as part of their police force.
CHETRY: So if someone is stopped and asked about their citizenship in your state, must they then present documentation? CUCCINELLI: Well, the first response is simply whether or not they have to answer the questions. There's not a requirement because a police officer is asking that you have documentation.
However, it is a requirement under our federal immigration law that those who are not citizens carry evidence, meaning their papers, indicating their legal status. So if someone is not a citizen, they should have papers indicating their legal status. If they do not, they're violating federal law. And that is a criminal violation.
And if the law enforcement officer can determine that on the spot, can arrest for it.
CHETRY: So basically, let's say you're on a student visa, you don't have your paperwork with you, your visa with you when you get pulled over, you can be taken to jail in Virginia for not having that?
CUCCINELLI: I don't want to get too detailed because a student visa is pretty specific. But I'm speaking more generally of people who come in under -- to be here legally. But I would expect that, yes, like a green card, something along those lines.
Again, citizens don't have to worry about this, because there's no legality to having any papers if you're a citizen in this country. But those who are here visiting do have that obligation. And law enforcement then has certain opportunities to arrest if they are violating those laws.
CHETRY: So there's been a lot of focus and controversy in Arizona, and many people understand that as a border state, Arizona has had to deal with violence at the border and has a large illegal immigration problem. Arguably Virginia is not in the same boat. So what prompted you to make this move?
CUCCINELLI: Well, I don't think anybody is in the same boat as border states, though it is a significant problem for us in Virginia.
As attorney general in Virginia, I'm obligated to issue formal opinions when I'm requested by legislators, and I had a legislator ask me specifically about whether or not our law enforcement may inquire about immigration status. That was the particular inquiry.
And so when I get a question like that, I'm obligated to answer it in accordance with what the law is now. And we publish those opinions. And that's what came out in the last few days.
CHETRY: How do you ensure that racial profiling doesn't take place? How do you ensure that Latino immigrants in your state don't feel targeted?
CUCCINELLI: Well, first of all, being in Virginia, I can tell you that given our race history, we're very sensitive to not allowing for racial profiling, not allowing the kind of abuse of the legal process as happened in the '40s, '50s, '60s and we had to work our way out of, frankly, through the '70s and on. That is a great sensitivity for us in Virginia. The way we avoid it is we apply the same rules to everybody. And law enforcement is expected to do that, as well. And again, here you get into the big difference between Virginia and Arizona, where they're required -- their law enforcement was required to make these inquiries. In Virginia, under my opinion, they have the authority to do that, but are not required to do so.
CHETRY: Right.
CUCCINELLI: And I think what you'll find is a lot of local governments will create policies for their police and their sheriffs as to how that is implemented.
CHETRY: Well, there are some who don't agree with it. Prince William County Chief Charlie Dean criticized it, saying it costs taxpayers by sapping police resources and leads to allegations of racism and potentially harms community relations. What do you say to that type of criticism?
CUCCINELLI: Well, I don't think he is criticizing the opinion. He's criticizing the potential policy where local governments may instruct their -- their police to utilize the discretion they have under the opinion we have issued to start asking the questions and to end up detaining more people.
And I will tell you, that hits the bottleneck in the system, which is always the federal government. They are essentially in charge of our determination of whether someone is here legally or not.
And if they refuse to undertake that, we're stuck. There is nothing we can do as a state. And if we determine someone is here illegally, and the federal government won't come pick them up, all -- our options are to hold them until the Feds come, which is very expensive, or to let them go.
And just in Prince William County where Chief Dean is the chief of police, this past weekend we had a -- illegal alien have his third DUI in five years, and kill in a head-on accident a nun and two others are in intensive care right there in Chief Dean's county where I live now.
So this is a serious problem. It threatens the safety of Virginians, and I know the problem is similar across the country. We're just taking gradual steps to address it as aggressively as we can.
CHETRY: I understand; that's certainly a tragedy. Others would say, though, that it's not just illegal immigrants who drive drunk and unfortunately kill and injure people, that U.S. citizens do it as well --
CUCCINELLI: Unfortunately, ICE had this person in their custody and they let him go. And they knew he was deportable.
CHETRY: All right, well, your state could prove to be a test case as we watch Arizona as well. Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's attorney general. Thanks for your time this morning.
CUCCINELLI: Thank you for having me.
CHETRY: John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: There's one word to describe the weather today. Hot and you can keep repeating it, hot, hot, hot, hot.
Rob Marciano is live in Piedmont Park where it's going to be hot today, with your forecast. Look at all that red across the middle of the country. And look at some of those temperatures.
Forty-seven minutes after the hour.
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ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm coming to you live from the heart of Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia where they're out there getting their exercise on before the sun really starts to bake down.
The temperatures approaching about 80 degrees right now, and we'll get up into the mid 90s.
Good morning, again, I'm Rob Marciano. Dangerous heat continues across the south -- the mid south, much of the central part of the country, as a matter of fact. In a lot of spots it already feels like close if not 90 degrees when you couple in the humidity.
It feels like 86 in Shreveport; it feels like 90 in Little Rock, where it hasn't been this hot in over 11 years; 86 degrees, is what it feels like in Houston.
Look at these records from yesterday: 101 in Tuscaloosa; 107 in Little Rock; 101 in Joplin; and 109 degrees in Wichita these temperatures measured in the shade, and again don't include humidity. So when you couple in the humidity, it certainly it feels a lot worse than that.
We do have humidity in the form of showers and thunderstorms rolling through Chicago land right now, some of these had some gusty winds and heavy rain. But the watches have been discontinued, but that's the only cool spot you're going to see.
We're looking at temperatures -- well, less in the way of rain across areas that have the heat, so just grin and bear it. As temperatures sky rocket later on today and the next couple of days, as a matter of fact.
That's a quick check on weather. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.
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CHETRY: It's time now for your "AM House Call" at 54 minutes past the hour; stories about your health. And this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is answering your questions. ROBERTS: He joins us now live from Atlanta. Sanjay, you're ready to go here?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm ready. Good morning.
ROBERTS: All right.
First question is an e-mail that comes from Lynn in Florida who asks, "My husband recently had his second episode of transient global amnesia. His tests are normal but he's had ringing in his ears, dizziness and headaches since then. Are these related?"
First question I have is, "what's transient global amnesia?
GUPTA: Yes, this is fascinating thing that sometimes happens to the brain where someone literally for -- for usually a period of just a few hours loses their memory and they lose their ability to sort of know where they are, how they got there, they can usually remember their own name and maybe the names of close relatives. But it's a pretty profound thing that happens.
And it usually happens to people over the age of 50 and people who are migraine sufferers. As far as what causes it, they think if after some sort of strenuous activity, what happens is blood is sort of diverted away to different parts of the body and away from the brain and that's what causes it.
So a tough workout, swimming in cold water, sex, for example, all those things can do it. And the good news, it's usually pretty short- lived. But I've seen a couple cases of this and it is -- it is a pretty profound thing to see.
The only thing I would say to you, Lynn is that -- what's a little bit concerning here is the -- is the ringing in the ears sort of lasting after the episode. Usually you have the episode and everything gets better. Given that, there is something sort of lingering on, and I would probably get another checkup in a probably about a month or so.
CHETRY: That's amazing.
All right, well let's ask another question. This one is from Deb in Brookline. She wants to know, "Can emergency lights actually trigger an epileptic seizure?"
GUPTA: Right. You know -- so it's interesting, with epilepsy, you have this sort of these -- there bursts of electrical activity in the brain. And it can be caused for all sorts of reasons and there are different types of seizures: general seizures that affect the body; partial seizures that may just affect one part of the body; petite mal seizures where simply you have staring spells.
But in about 25 percent of cases of what is called primary seizures, seizures that are coming from the brain only. Yes, you can have what's known as photo sensitivity. So bright lights, flashing lights, even something repetitive like tapping, for example, can induce a seizure, some sort of repetitive thing like that.
So emergency lights could potentially do that and people who have primary epilepsy need to be aware of these types of things and just try and avoid those types of situations as much as possible. It can be challenging, but simply to avert your gaze from the emergency light or simply try and avoid it all together is probably the best advice.
ROBERTS: Sanjay Gupta this morning answering your questions; doc great to see you. Thanks so much.
GUPTA: Any time, guys. You got it.
ROBERTS: All right. Fifty-seven minutes now after the hour.
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CHETRY: Well, that's going to do it for us today. Thanks for being with us. We hope to see you back here tomorrow.
Meantime, you can continue the conversation on today's stories by heading to our blog, CNN.com/amfix.
ROBERTS: The news continues here on CNN with Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM".
Good morning Kyra.
