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200,000 Plus a Day Leak; GOP's Hold on Florida at Risk?; Immigration Debate Heats Up

Aired April 29, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, guys. Good morning.

So you like shrimp, oysters, groupers, snapper? Maybe all of them on a platter? Well, imagine them swimming in oil long before they get to the kitchen. It doesn't seem too farfetched given the gulf oil spill is a lot worse than anyone thought.

Then there's that huge anger slick spilling out of Arizona. Other states calling for boycotts over the new immigration law. Heck, even the Diamondbacks are feeling the blowback. But when you punish Arizona, you stick it to some Arizonans who had nothing to do with it.

And coming up within the hour, farewell to a warrior. She didn't just live through America's civil rights struggle. Dorothy Height fought the fight.

And we begin with breaking news right now. Two coal miners in western Kentucky trapped underground after a mine ceiling collapsed late last night. A rescue operation happening now. So far no one has been able to contact the missing miners. We understand at least two others escaped.

This is happening at the Dotiki mine. It's operated by Alliance Coal Company.

We're on the story.

Now your seafood, your summer vacation at the beach. How about the offshore drilling controversy? An environmental and economic tragedy moving through the Gulf of Mexico right now.

An underwater oil leak that could devastate the entire Gulf Coast. Instead of 42,000 gallons a day the Coast Guard says it may actually be five times that, 210,000 gallons a day.

Some of the surface oil was burned off and that first test went well so more fires could be lit later today.

And just this morning a BP executive says he'll take the military up on their offer to help trying to sop up as much of that oil as possible before it hits the coast.

Now the oil is also going to make things tough on seafood fans. Fish, shrimps, oysters, all in danger now. Some shrimpers are going out right now just to try and beat the oil slick to key fishing areas. Fifteen miles from shore. That's about how far away the massive oil slick is from the Gulf Coast. And it's moving closer by the minute.

CNN's Reynolds Wolf live in Venice, Louisiana this morning.

That area will likely be the first to be mopped up by that slick, right?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Yes, we're really at the southern point of the state, very close to that oil slick. You know, and as these winds pick up this weekend and move -- push that oil closer, they're going to need everything they can to try to stop the spread of that oil.

There has been some interesting information that came out this morning. And that is -- you may have been alluding to this -- that the military is preparing for the possibility of the Coast Guard asking for assistance. And what the military is preparing to do is offering bases, offering aircraft, and at the same time, offering ships to help stop the spread of this oil, using every weapon at their disposal to stop the spread.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF (voice-over): At first glance, you would never know this warehouse contains vital weapons to combat the spreading oil slick.

CHIEF PETTY OFC. ROBERT BIRDWELL, U.S. COAST GUARD: There are staging areas set up in Venice, Louisiana all the way to Pensacola, Florida. So what's going on here in this staging area is going on likewise in different locations all around the Gulf Coast.

WOLF (on camera): Now, Robert, what is this stuff we're seeing right here?

BIRDWELL: Reynolds, what we're looking at here, these are -- these are oil skimmers. So these will be deployed into the water, into the pockets of oil. Oil sticks to the surface of this roller.

WOLF (voice-over): Skimmers, barriers, oil-absorbing booms stacked ceiling high for the effort. It's the traditional way to fight this spill. Over an estimate total of 5,000 barrels leaking from three different areas each day, other methods are being tested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We successfully completed our first (INAUDIBLE) test burn.

WOLF: Officials experimented with burning off the thicker areas of crude in a controlled fire Wednesday. And engineer are fabricating a new idea. Building this dome, they hope, will capture the leaking oil under water. Every effort in an attempt to protect the Gulf Coast.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: We think it's best to hope for the best while we prepare for the worst. I think that's the best way to approach this oil spill's potential impact on our state's coast. WOLF: And as this barrier is loaded up to be spread along parts of the Louisiana shoreline, still one sobering fact remains. Not every inch can be protected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is just simply not enough boom to cover the amount of miles of the coast line that southern Louisiana has. So what we're doing is trying to cover specific areas, key areas that will help minimize the overall impact if there is any kind of shoreline impact of the oil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: Well, certainly a tremendous mess. And again, as I mentioned, they're going to use every weapon at their disposal here to try to hold back some of this. It's a tremendous mess.

And as we speak, it continues to come out. We're talking to get about three leaks. Hard to believe of an estimate -- or really to be more exact, a guesstimate, 5,000 barrels per day coming out. About 5,000 feet down and spreading around the gulf.

Just a tremendous mess. And as Rob has been saying all morning long, with those winds coming out of the south pushing everything towards the Louisiana coast, it's a bad situation.

PHILLIPS: Well, and that led a lot of us wondering, OK, in other parts of the world, there are these automatic shutoff valves, Reynolds. You know, can you give us any background to why we don't have one here and could this trigger talk of rigs having these? Is that even an issue right now?

WOLF: Well, I believe this one was actually equipped with something called a blow-out preventer which again is kind of self-explanatory. It's to prevent exactly what's happened in the Gulf of Mexico.

But you know it's kind of like the Titanic being the unsinkable ship. These things are not supposed to break. And obviously, some thing did break. And that certainly going to cause again a lot of head scratching, no doubt, as time continues. As people go back in time to take a look at this.

Years from now they're going to look at this situation and wonder what happened and how they can learn from this and prevent other situations. But, again, kind of a surprise to say the very least.

PHILLIPS: Yes. I'm sure we're talking more about preventive maintenance as time moves on.

Final question, reality check. We know that shrimpers, other anglers out there concern about the seafood, what do we know right now? And have you seen workers out there trying to do anything to spare their areas?

WOLF: Well, to be completely honest with you, I mean, there's really not a whole lot they can do. As far as what we see with the -- at the estuaries, which are just to my immediate south here. We've got a wildlife preserve, the Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

But right now it seems that the animals aren't being affected too badly just yet. There was a pod of five whales exactly seeing, something very close to this area where we have the oil. And they seemed to be unaffected by it.

But when you think about -- as you mentioned towards the top of the show, the -- of course, the oysters, you think about the shrimp, you think about the sports fishermen, I mean, you've got issues for people who are trying to come here. But at the same time the people who make their living every single day from the ocean, from the gulf, it's going to be -- it is a very difficult endeavor for them. Certainly damaging to them.

But even more, when you think about the people who happen to come to these beaches for vacation -- maybe not in Louisiana where you have the brackish water and a lot of the silt from the Mississippi River. But then when you go a little farther to the east on the Alabama coastline, certainly parts of the Florida panhandle, they refer to that area as the Emerald Coast.

We have very clear water, pristine beaches. There's no question that this can be catastrophic for many of those people under (INAUDIBLE).

PHILLIPS: Well, obviously, it's not stopping the boats from taking off behind you.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: So it's good. Reynolds Wolf, appreciate it you so much.

All right, there is one other thing that I really want to make a point now. We need to remember about this story. There are 11 rig workers that are still missing right now. And their families are devastated.

Witnesses say that those 11 were on the deck when the oil rig exploded last week. And we're going to continue to follow that part of the story and remember those 11 workers.

Well, you know all that anger that's been boiling up at protests and tea party rallies? Well, today we could see some of it gain a foothold in Florida. Governor Charlie Crist is expected to abandon his Senate bid as a Republican and continue the race as an independent.

So what's at stake here?

Taking a closer look with our chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley.

So Candy, is this all tea party doing? We've watched the momentum build. We've watched the influence that it has. What's your take?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly there is a part of this that is fueled by tea party support for Marco Rubio who is the Republican who sort of came out of nowhere and is now leading Governor Charlie Crist in this Republican primary for the Senate seat.

So that certainly is part of it. I can tell that the Rubio people don't totally say, OK, this is all about the tea party. They certainly he has shown up at tea party events. But other things have gone on here. And that is, when Governor Crist first started looking at the idea of running, bipartisanship was all the rage.

The president was in place. It looked as though people were really going to come together. And so people were looking around for moderate Republicans, that is, those who can win. And he won in 2006 here in Florida. So he was a bright and shining star. A lot of the party establishment got behind him.

And then the terrain began to shift. And as the terrain began to shift, a lot of his critics say he began to lean more left than right. And so Republicans got angrier and angrier at the governor. And you had this kind of perfect storm, if I can use that, that had Republicans looking at Crist saying, he's really has strayed a lot from what we believe in.

And then, what happened? Charlie Crist, who used to be leading this by so much, this primary race, is now behind more than 20 points. So what we expect today is that he will announce that he's going to run as a nonaffiliated candidate for the U.S. Senate seat.

PHILLIPS: So I'm curious. Aren't donors going to be upset?

(LAUGHTER)

CROWLEY: I would think some of them will be. And I think that's part of the calculation here. We do know that the governor has said that he would meet with some of his donors today. He has met with some of them throughout the week and probably even before that as he sort of measured this decision of his.

So, listen, yes. I mean if you -- if you give money to a candidate with an R behind him, it may be that you no longer want that money to be spent on that candidate. That you would go with the Republican candidate, which at this point will be Marco Rubio, assuming that Governor Crist does what we think he will do.

So, yes, I think that that really can be difficult for Crist. It is -- it's a very expensive state. You have to have a lot of money to run. But I will also say that when we -- there was a three-way poll between Rubio, between Kendrick Meek who is the Democratic candidate, and Governor Crist, and Governor Crist came slightly on top at about 32 percentage points to Rubio's 30.

So there is good reason in the polling for Crist to do this. Whether he can sustain that, whether he has the money to sustain that, as a lot of Democratic and Republican money pour into this state, is really the big question mark.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, thanks so much.

Another target of public anger is Wall Street. Just last night Senate debate officially got under way on financial reforms. Republicans dropped their three-day filibuster that had paralyzed that measure. And President Obama has said that the overhaul would end bailouts, make banks accountable to customers and make complex Wall Street deals more transparent to the public.

Republicans have said that they agree with a lot of the goals but have to work out smaller details for a compromise measure that they can support.

President Barack Obama says he hopes to sign a bill very soon.

Lawsuits, petitions and protests, and don't forget the boycott, all part of the fallout over the controversial Arizona immigration law. For the third time in a week, President Obama weighed in -- from Air Force One this time -- and admitting that reform may not come any time soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to do more in the context of a comprehensive plan that maintains our status as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

And these kind of shortcuts, I think, will end up polarizing the situation instead of solving the problem.

We've gone through a very tough year. And I've been working Congress pretty hard. So I know there may not be an appetite immediately to dive into another controversial issue.

There is still work that has to be done on energy. Midterms are coming up. So I don't want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn't solve the problem. I want us to get together, get the best ideas on both sides, work this through and when it is ready to go, let's move.

But I think we need to start a process at least to open up a smarter, better discussion than the one that is raging right now.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN's Casey Wian live in Phoenix this morning with more.

Casey, what's the mood?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the mood here is very divided. To get a sense of the story that's going to be happening here in Arizona if this new controversial law goes into effect, we spent most of day on patrol with one of the people who will be in charge of enforcing this tough new crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Much of what the law would require, he is already doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN (voice-over): Sheriff's deputy Mark Miller approaches a pickup abandoned near a Pinal County road.

DEP. MARK MILLER, PINAL COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This would be your typical vehicle, stolen truck, 4 by 4, heavy duty.

WIAN: It's clearly been used by illegal immigrant smugglers -- backpacks, flashlights, food.

MILLER: I've seen upwards of 40 -- 30 to 40 people in a vehicle this size.

WIAN: The bed is rigged so dozens can hold on for a wild ride.

We take one as well joining a pursuit of two vehicles spotted entering a highway from a desert road frequented by smugglers, a clue that makes deputies suspicious. A dark pickup closely matches one description. We follow.

MILLER: This vehicle is OK, though. I've had actually contact with him before.

WIAN: A cloud of dust in the desert turns out to be a tractor. As the sun sets on Pinal County, which has become a gateway to Phoenix for smugglers, deputies have made several busts. But for Miller, no such luck.

A pickup with no license plate light is cleared. Another driving without lights also checks out. But twice a day on average, Pinal County sheriff's deputies are involved in high-speed pursuits with smugglers more than 100 miles north of the border.

And they rely on reasonable suspicion to determine who they stop. The same legal standards opponents of Arizona's new law cracking down on illegal immigrant say could lead to racial profiling. A charge that infuriates Miller's boss.

SHERIFF PAUL BABEU, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA: This whole issue got turned now on to law enforcement where it's already a very difficult job, very dangerous. Arizona is always one of the top states in America with assaults against police officers and officer-involved shootings and now that it's put on us, it's presumed that we are racially profiling.

And that's the last thing that our deputies, our officers here in Arizona would do.

WIAN: Instead, he says it's actions and circumstances like this one we encounter later that raise suspicion.

MILLER: One of our deputies observed a vehicle that was speeding in this residential area. The deputy observed that there were numerous subjects inside that small sedan, at which point the driver fled on foot and we were able to apprehend the nine or 10 illegal immigrants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any duct missiles?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No?

MILLER: They were packed inside the vehicle, two in the front seat, four in the back seat and then three in the trunk. This is pretty indicative of what we see on a day-to-day basis in regards to human smuggling.

WIAN: The Border Patrol picks up the suspects.

(On camera): But a little more than half a day and in just one of Pinal County's three sectors, sheriff's deputies have so far seized more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana and apprehended more than 50 illegal immigrants.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Now back here in Phoenix, opponents of this law later today are planning to file suit to try to block it in court. Supporters of the law say they're misrepresenting it, and Kyra, they say that this law gives police no authority to racially profile anyone. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: We'll be following the debate and the law. No doubt. Casey, thanks so much.

Phoenix is really at the center of the storm. The capital, Arizona's biggest city, and that's where protesters are hanging out. So what's the mayor's take on the new law? He hates it but what's he going to do about it? We're going to talk to him in about 20 minutes.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. A beautiful day east of the Mississippi. A dramatic warm-up but that beautiful day is going to bring onshore winds to the Gulf of Mexico. That means that oil slick is likely going to be on the move.

We'll talk more about it when weather comes up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live pictures now. Beautiful day in Washington, D.C. at the National Cathedral. All day today, we are going to be celebrating the life of the godmother of the civil rights area.

This is the funeral of Dorothy Height. Everyone from the president to Maya Angelou to Camille Crosby and many other special people in Dorothy Height's life will be there at this funeral. And we'll bring you all the highlights of this celebration throughout the day.

Rob Marciano, let's celebrate some good weather.

MARCIANO: Yes. Finally.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right.

PHILLIPS: More from CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOROTHY HEIGHT, CIVIL RIGHTS ICON: When people asked me how it felt working with all of those men, I always say, fine, but I say that also because we had our own little civil rights sisterhood of those who got together and we kept things moving. And we kept each other posted and pushed forward.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Indeed she did. Civil rights icon, Dorothy Height, a true crusader for racial justice in women's rights. And the godmother of a history-making movement.

We'll remember her life today. President Obama will deliver the eulogy at Height's funeral. The celebration of her life is already getting under way. It's right here at the Washington National Cathedral.

And what a life it was. Height was on the front lines of the civil rights movement, marching and planning with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. And for more than four deck decades, she led the National Council of Negro Women on the forefront of change for gender and voting rights.

Then in 1994 Height was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 2004, the Congressional Gold Medal.

As you know, Dorothy died last week. She was 98 years old but her legacy will definitely live on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's been a roller coaster ride for investors this week thanks to a new round of worries about debt problem in Greece and other European countries. But strong corporate earnings reports have stocks poised for a higher start today.

Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange hopefully with some good news.

Hey, Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, well, the good news is that Snoopy is doing the opening bell. I think that's pretty great.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. There's your headline right there. That's taking us back a few years.

TAYLOR: I love Snoopy. Anyway --

(LAUGHTER)

TAYLOR: Kyra, corporate report cards have been getting an A-plus so far this week on Wall Street. This morning we've had Bristol-Myers, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, Viacom and Etna, they've all topped expectations. Exxon Mobil says it made $6.3 billion in the first quarter, that's nearly a 40 percent jump from a year ago, but still, the results from a little bit shy of expectations. Let's take a look at where Exxon shares are right now. They are off about 1.25 percent, although, the market, overall has traded higher so far this morning.

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to buy struggling Smart phone maker Palm for more than $1 billion. Palm phones have been losing market share, by the way. And some analysts even said that the company's stock was essentially worthless. Right now, Palm shares are up, get this, 24 percent this morning in just about a minute's worth of trade. We also had a drop in weekly jobless claims this morning that gave a major boost to the averages so far. The Dow right now is up about 38 points, that's the third of 1percent. The Nasdaq is two thirds of 1 percent -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Felicia, thanks so much.

TAYLOR: Sure.

PHILLIPS: And it's no surprise to his attorney, but army prosecutors want the death penalty for Major Nidal Hasan. Hasan's accused of killing 13 people at Ft. Hood, Texas last year. Prosecutors filed the first formal notice of their intent yesterday. Hasan's lawyer tells CNN, the army has been pursuing death from the get-go.

So, is it all just talk? The judge wants prosecutors to show that nine members of a Michigan militia were a real threat. The groups accused of plotting the overthrow of the government. The judge says she'll decide soon whether to release the nine on bond. Do that, prosecutors say, and the public is in danger. A lawyer for one dependent says the group's disgust with the government is only as bad as the rant on Rush Limbaugh's show.

Now just south the U.S. border, the brutality ramps up even more. Police in Juarez, Mexico say a gunman stormed into a bar yesterday morning and dragged eight people into the parking lot and then they shot and killed each and every one of them. This city across the border from El Paso, Texas has been plagued by deadly battles between rival drug gangs. More than 800 people have been killed already this year.

That bloodshed has chased away all but the hardiest tourists. And a CNN I-reporter is apparently among those ranks. He has visited for several times and says that he knew it was only a matter of time before he witnessed the violence that makes it the murder capital of Mexico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM O'CONNELL, IREPORT: We saw the locals running. So we started running around the corner of the building. Now, we will wait to see if there is any more going on there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The shooting happened in broad daylight just outside a funeral home where a service was being held. And to further underscore that no place is safe in Juarez, there was a shootout in front of an elementary school. Three people were killed as panic students and teachers scrambled for cover.

A major stuck with a law that he doesn't like. That's the case in Phoenix. The mayor there planning to challenge the immigration law, and we're going to talk to him why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A massive oil slick now on the gulf coast doorstep just around 15 miles from hitting fragile wetlands and tourist beaches. The oil is already covering important fishing areas. Shrimpers are out there right now trying to get what they can before it's too late.

He was a rising star in the Republican Party, but now, it appears that Florida governor, Charlie Crist is abandoning the GOP. Later today, he is expected to announce that he'll continue his Senate bid as an independent. Crist appeared on track to lose the GOP domination. His Republican opponent, Marco Rubio, has energized conservatives with calls for smaller government.

A lawsuit on the way in Arizona looking to put a hold on a controversial new immigration law, the first of many expected challenges to the law requiring police to check citizenship. There are also more protests planned today. In Chicago, demonstrators are taking aim as the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team in town to face the Cubs. Of course, David Letterman delves into the nuances of that law and gives Arizona pretty sweep kick in the worldwide pants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: How many of you folks are here for the show just because you are hiding from the Arizona police? How many of you? OK, that's what I thought. As I understand it, the new immigration law in Arizona, if somebody looks like they don't belong here, you can run them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Putting some oomph into the immigration debate, Grammy winning singer, Shakira coming to Phoenix. Would she be stopped on the street under that new law? Maybe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Shakira heading to Arizona to shake things up over the immigration law. She is opposed to it and going to Phoenix today to meet with city leaders who are fighting SB 1070. Shakira and the Mayor Phil Gordon plan to hold a news conference later. The mayor of Phoenix will join me live in just a few minutes to talk about how he plans to work against the bill. Shakira will tell us all about it tonight on Anderson Cooper 360, so tune in, 10 p.m. Eastern.

Using the economy as a weapon for change, there's a call for boycotts against Arizona. It's aimed at state leaders, but business owners say that already struggling families will be the collateral damage in this immigration battle. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We urge people, doing business, with Arizona sanctioning (ph) the sanction.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arizona businesses are in a state of anxiety as call force a national boycott begins to echo outside its border.

DENNIS HERRERA, SAN FRANCISCO CITY ATTORNEY: The only way to spur folks to appreciate how draconian this law is there to be a tangible price to pay.

JANICE HAHN, L.A. CITY COUNCIL WOMAN: We can boycott Arizona. We can say that Los Angeles will not do business with Arizona. We're looking at all of our contracts.

GUTIERREZ: Officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles are calling for all city departments to end their contracts with Arizona-based companies and stop doing business in the state. The American Immigration Lawyers Association has already canceled its fall conference there and the National Minority Suppliers among other groups may pull out too. And just as major league baseball is planning to hold its all-star game in Arizona next year, there is a move to boycott the Phoenix home games of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

GUTIERREZ (on-camera): The calls for a national boycott are starting to go viral on social networking sites like Tweeter, Facebook, and YouTube.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Arizona governor Jan brewer signed the law and says border security is a priority.

GOV. JAN BREWER, (R) ARIZONA: When I go about meeting with businesses that coming to Arizona that are trying to locate here our businesses that are here, they, too, are concerned. They want to know that we have a safe and secure environment.

GUTIERREZ: But Nan and Dick Walden say the new law will do nothing to protect the border. They own one of the largest pecan farms in the world near the border.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think it's a disaster for our state.

GUTIERREZ: And the Walden say a boycott will devastate Arizona businesses already struggling in a bad economy.

DICK WALDEN, PECAN FARMER: It can mean that people won't buy my pecans just like they didn't buy grapes and that would destroy our business and that would destroy their incomes of 250 families.

GUTIERREZ: The Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association is also worried.

DEBBIE JOHNSON, ARIZONA HOTEL AND LODGING ASSOCIATION: Don't make tourism the collateral damage of a political issue. It's very important to understand that the harm that you're going to do is not on the legislature or the governor, it's going to be on the employee's families for tourism.

GUTIERREZ: The fear is jobs and revenues will be lost in a boycott over Arizona's tough new immigration law, a law that still faces legal challenges before going into effect.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: That first lawsuit challenging the new law is expected to be filed in just a few hours. Others will follow, of course. Then, there's those boycotts threatening Arizona businesses that Thelma just talked about. The controversial law is a bit of a loser for Phoenix mayor, Phil Gordon. He's joining us now live.

Mayor, you hate this law, but you're stuck with it for now. How does that make you feel?

MAYOR PHIL GORDON, PHOENIX: Just very disappointed, very craigslist (ph) that, you know, our state leaders, so-called state leaders have allowed our state to be split at a time when we're suffering economically now to have our state not be threatened with boycotts, but actually, they are occurring as you've heard and accelerating, hurting everyone so much more. A law that doesn't do anything to secure the border, in fact, actually makes it less safe by now requiring limited resources, our officers, to do immigration inspection work, as opposed to the real issues, which is, number one, get comprehensive immigration reform.

If we truly want to stop this flow, instead of rewarding the smugglers as we've always allowed smuggling to be the beneficiary, whether it's people or drugs or anything, we should get comprehensive reform, a package that allows legal migration.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about that. Let's talk about a comprehensive package for reform. Give me some specifics. If you had a chance to change the language within the law, what would you do with your experience and your knowledge?

GORDON: Absolutely. First and foremost, our immigration policy for quotas is broken. If you have to wait 15, 20 years to come into this country legally to either work or to apply for citizenship, it's not a system. It encourages people coming in to work to both feed themselves and the demand that is here. There aren't a lot of Americans waiting to pick grapes or lettuce in 115-degree weather in Texas or Arizona.

Secondly, we need to have a work guest program for the 12 million plus or whatever the number is, whoever wants to estimate it, people here that have been here for generations that have come here when they were young babies and do a thorough background check, make sure there is a system with the electronics today to report and pay taxes and people then will go back and forth legally as opposed to knowing that if they report now, they can never come back into the U.S.

I just met a young wife yesterday who married someone that he didn't even know he was undocumented because he came here to this country when he was a baby and now is being deported and they won't be together for at least 10, 12 years if she wants to remain in this country as America citizen.

PHILLIPS: So, let me ask you another question, I mean, your chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Immigration Reform Task Force and so your dealing with mayors all across the country, mayors that have issues with regard to immigration. Have you learned anything from any of these other mayors that you have witnessed, hey, this works, this is what should bring to Arizona? Does anything stand out, something that they're doing that you're not doing?

GORDON: Well, again let me -- that's a good pointed -- emphasize that the Conference of Mayors did pass the five-point plan that I put forward over two years ago. And we've been lobbying Congress to do something and to do these points.

And they are broad points so that the debate on the fine points could occur, not the rhetoric that people don't want this solved that are elected officials because it helps them but hurts the state.

Secondly, while the problem is, unfortunately, Phoenix is the largest city in the United States, is the closest to the border that has the proximity and is dealing with it the most. In fact our officers are at the border, under cover, going after drug syndicates and smuggling syndicates.

But what we have learned is exactly what I pointed out and what we're lobbying for is, one, let's get a workable immigration border. Let's get a quota system for work permits. Let -- where there are jobs that aren't fulfilled. And then let's secure the border with -- which is what I've been testifying for -- with more agents, more money for not only the Border Patrol by ATF, DEA, Phoenix police, Department of Public Safety.

This law doesn't accomplish that. In fact it doesn't do anything towards that. And in fact, the law doesn't even apply to the state. It just mandates local governments. And we're 120 miles from the border.

PHILLIPS: And I know you are pulling out all the stops now bringing in Shakira, which obviously has grabbed a lot of headlines. And we're going to follow that when you hold your news conference today, Mayor.

GORDON: And I think she'll help us because there'll also be an initiative that will enjoin this or prevent it from going into effect until the courts can deal with it. Either the constitutionality or how this law is to be applied so as to ensure civil rights for Americans.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. Mayor Phil Gordon, appreciate your time.

GORDON: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: South of the border, they're outraged over Arizona's immigration law. What Mexico is saying and what it could be doing coming up in the next hour.

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PHILLIPS: And live pictures once again from our affiliate in Washington, D.C. WJLA. But you know what? I'll tell you what. Do you want to listen in for a little bit here? This is the funeral for the -- our godmother of civil rights Dorothy Heights. Let's listen in for a moment here at the National Cathedral.

We'll continue to follow this special farewell to Dorothy Height. Quick break. We'll be back with more.

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PHILLIPS: Three words for our Sandra Bullock. You go, girl. Who needs a monster garage when you can have this cute little nursery for this little guy?

Sandra adopted her son earlier this year, but hasn't really talked about it until now. Louis Bardot Bullock was born in New Orleans. He's named after Louis Armstrong, of course. How cool is that?

Sandra will be a single parent. She's already filed for divorce from that guy that she was married to for five years.

You don't need that schmuck, Sandra.

All right, many children in Russia who have no parents are waiting to be adopted and for some time it will be a long, lonely wait.

U.S. and Russian authorities are meeting today to see if they can strike a deal to allow U.S. couples to adopt Russian children.

You might remember adoptions were frozen earlier this month when an American mother sent her adopted son back to Russia.

High-level meetings are planned for next month. Meanwhile, CNN's Ivan Watson visited an orphanage in Moscow and found out there's a shortage of Russian parents even willing to adopt.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are some of the residents of Children's Home Number 59, swinging their way through a costume performance for visitors to this orphanage. Most of the kids who live here are so-called social orphans. Children who have been separated from their parents to protect them from threats like parental alcoholism, child abuse and neglect.

DARYA TARANENKO, CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: Most of them have too much experience in their life.

WATSON: There are more than 700,000 children living in state institutions like this across Russia. The United Nations says more than 80 percent of them have at least one living parent.

Administrators here avoid telling the youngest kids that they've been abandoned or that their parents are in prison. Instead, children are told their mothers and fathers are away on business trips.

(On camera): This is my little friend Maksim. He's 3 years old and he stands a better chance than almost any other child at this orphanage of getting adopted. The simple reason being he's one of the youngest kids here. The oldest go up to the age of 18.

And the administrators here say that one of the problems is that Russian families are not really interested in adopting children that aren't infants.

TARANENKO: You know, Russians are usually looking for babies, Russian-looking, I mean, blonds with blue eyes and healthy.

WATSON (voice-over): For some reason international adoption agencies don't come to Children's Home Number 59, and due to the bad publicity from the latest U.S.-Russian adoption scandal, psychologist Darya Taranenko fears foreign adoptions across the country may slow to a halt.

(On camera): And you think international adoption is a good idea for some of the older children?

TARANENKO: For sure. For sure. And you know, I'm so angry for this dialect (INAUDIBLE) revision that we should abandon this thing because Americans and Europeans take children of all ages with different diseases, as I said, and they're not like our Russians.

WATSON (voice-over): The Russian government offers older orphans free housing if they reach the age of 18 without finding a foster home. As for the younger kids --

"I'm going to be taken to a home soon," this little boy tells me. "Where I can wear my costume and dance."

It is a child's heartfelt dream, but one that probably will not come true.

There have only been four successful adoptions from Children's Home Number 59 in the last 10 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Farewell to a warrior. She didn't just live through America's civil rights struggle. Dorothy Height fought it. President of the United States, his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama just arriving, sitting next to -- as you can see -- the Vice President Joe Biden. Also Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

President Obama will deliver the eulogy, we are told. You know he calls Height the godmother of the civil rights movement. I don't think anybody will argue with that.

You know for decades she was a powerful figure in Washington and she fought for racial equality, women's rights. She died just last week at the age of 98 and we'll be paying special tribute to Dorothy Height all out -- throughout the morning.