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Animal Health Concerns Over Oil Slick; Oil Disaster Looms for Wetlands, Fishermen; Nepal's 'Mother Teresa'
Aired April 30, 2010 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what I've got on "The Rundown."
That huge oil spill heading for the Gulf Coast is not only growing in size, it's growing in scope. The potential for an ecological disaster very real at this point, along with economic and political fallout. A live briefing happening this hour. We'll bring it to you.
Plus, it's no secret Americans have a voracious appetite for oil, and most of us contribute to that. You've been giving me a ton of feedback about this, so I want to have a "crude" conversation with you in my "XYZ."
And the smell is in the air, and the oil is on the horizon. That oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is slated to make landfall anytime now, and there are major concerns for the health of humans and animals along the coast. People are already feeling the effects.
Let's talk about the risk of oil exposure for humans. Your skin can actually be burned by exposure to crude oil. Let's say the oil has seeped into the sand and soil, and it gets on to you. Children can be exposed, you might not realized they're exposed so, be careful with bare feet in an area where oil has touched it. Oil can also get on the fur of pets, it can be transferred to people.
Right now you can smell it in the air along the Gulf Coast. And crude oil, for those of you who don't know it -- although if you live on the Gulf Coast, you're probably familiar with the smell -- it is very strong. It has health officials in Louisiana worried.
A warning is out for residents to be advised of air quality changes. Health officials have announced that people who are sensitive to changes in air quality -- think about you people who are sensitive to headaches or allergies -- you could suffer nausea, vomiting or headaches. And they do have recommendations if you have some of these symptoms.
First of all, stay indoors, ventilate your home with air-conditioning, avoid strenuous outdoor activities. Think of this is as a high pollution day.
The major concern from the oil slick is wildlife and the environment right now. We're talking about birds drowning from oil-covered feathers, animals dehydrating and starving, suffering from inflammation from infection, poisoning from ingesting the oil. Other animals higher up the food chain may be in danger when they eat these animals that are covered in oil.
I've got Dr. Sam Rivera with me from Zoo Atlanta, and a special guest. We've got Tahoe, which is a Harris hawk. And Matt, who is handling Tahoe right now.
Harris hawks -- we've got Tahoe to sort of help demonstrate what happens to these birds. Tahoe luckily has got no oil on him -- it's a him?
DR. SAM RIVERA, ZOO ATLANTA: Him, yes.
VELSHI: All right.
Sam, you're a veterinarian.
RIVERA: Yes, I am.
VELSHI: And you are very conscious of what happens. We don't think about this, but we've already had reports that there are birds now that have been found with oil on them because they don't wait on shore for the oil to wash in. They're going into the water to try and get food.
RIVERA: Right, absolutely. This also is going to have a devastating effect, particularly on birds, seabirds.
And what happens, as you know, these birds depend not only on the integrity of their plumage, of their feathers, to be able to survive. So, when the oil covers their feathers, they are going to lose the ability to regulate their temperature. They're going to get very cold. Many of them will die of hypothermia.
VELSHI: Tell me about that. Why does the oil affect their ability to regulate their temperature?
RIVERA: And as you can see -- and the reason we brought Tahoe, even though he's (INAUDIBLE) in the wild and not likely to be affected, but I wanted to show you some points about his feathers.
If you look at his plumage, these feathers are very delicate. One of the main functions of their feathers is to insulate their body and to keep them warm for them to be able to regulate their temperature. Once these feathers get covered with oil, he's not going to be able to keep the warm air within those feathers.
Seabirds that swim, when those feathers are covered, they're not going to be able to swim. They're going to sink. Many of them are going to drown.
In addition to all these external effects, there are also internal effects that happen. When they try to clean themselves, they're going to ingest a lot of that oil.
VELSHI: And that's toxic for them?
RIVERA: Absolutely. VELSHI: It's going to kill them.
RIVERA: That's going to cause a lot of damage to their internal organs.
Another factor are the fumes. Like you're saying, you can already smell it in the air. Birds are very sensitive, especially their respiratory system. When they breathe those fumes, that's going to cause a lot of damage to their lungs, to their pulmonary system.
VELSHI: So there's several ways that a bird can suffer from oil. It's not just the oil on them, although that's what we think about.
We were speaking to the Fish and Wildlife people -- service yesterday, and they were saying they've got people ready, they've got reports of birds. They're going to try -- it's very difficult. They've got to capture the birds first, which might be easier if they're waterlogged or got oil on them. But then they've got to try and clean them.
RIVERA: Exactly. And one of the things that is very critical, as you say, there are already people mobilizing to help these birds. But by the time they get to them, these birds are going to be very stressed already.
Some of them may have gone without eating for an extended period of time. So the main goal of the wildlife biologists and the veterinarians working with these birds is to get them stable, to make sure that they're well hydrated, make sure that they at least have some sort of energy.
VELSHI: Yes.
RIVERA: The worst mistake that many people can make when trying to help these birds is, if you find an oiled bird and you try to help it right away and clean it, because of the stress -- they're not used to be handled, they're already compromised, and they can actually die from the stress of handling.
VELSHI: Wow. So, they've got to clean them and they've got to try and get them some food and hydration and deal with the respiratory system if they can. It's a lot of work, it sounds like.
RIVERA: Absolutely. They have to get them stable first.
VELSHI: Yes.
RIVERA: Sometimes it may be a day or two before they can clean them, because they have to make sure that the bird is going to be able to tolerate all this handling. Because as you know, and as I was saying about how delicate these feathers are, cleaning oil off these structures is not an easy task.
VELSHI: Sure. And that's detergent. You actually have got to do it by hand.
RIVERA: Soap. Absolutely, it has to be done by hand. The birds are going to be already very stressed. That's why they have to be able to tolerate that handling, and that's why they need to get them stable first before they clean them.
VELSHI: And all of this doesn't address the fact that whatever they're feeding on might have oil on it, or have ingested oil.
RIVERA: Absolutely. This is something that you're going to have long-term effects. It's going to be years.
As you said earlier, there are smaller animals that are going to be taking up a lot of this oil, many of which are their food of the animals on the higher food chain. So it's going to be deleterious for years to come.
VELSHI: All right. Thanks, Dr. Rivera, for coming on with Tahoe.
Thanks, Matt, for bringing Tahoe.
It's important that people understand what the consequences are of this.
RIVERA: Absolutely. Thank you.
VELSHI: All right. You can see how you can help to minimize the effects of this spill and the effect that it's going to have on the environment. We've got a lot of information on CNN.com/impact.
On "Impact Your World," you can go in there. By the way, if you do find waterlogged birds, please report that to the authorities. As Dr. Rivera says, please don't try and solve those problems yourself. You could actually make it worse by stressing those birds out, and they could die as a result.
On "Impact Your World," you're going to find a list of local organizations that are helping out in the cleanup. Again, that is CNN.com/impact.
All right. There is a major economic impact, by the way, for the Gulf Coast when this oil slick hits. And I'm not talking about the price you're going to pay for gas. There are a lot of other things. There's tourism, there's a fishing industry that are all going to be hit hard.
We're going to take you live to the coast right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: The state of Louisiana is now under a state of emergency because of the oil slick. Parts of Florida were added to that list today as well.
This could be, it could become, the biggest oil disaster in U.S. history. Take a look at this map of the projected expansion of the oil slick for this weekend. We're talking about nearly all the states along the Gulf Coast being affected in some way. Let me say that again. All the states along the Gulf Coast being affected by this oil slick in a major way.
Richard Lui is live from Dauphin Island in Alabama right now.
And, again, Richard, we're concentrating on the environment and the effect on birds and mammals. There's another effect out there, and that is these are fishing communities, in many cases, or they're commercial fishermen who are going to be devastated when the oil hits the shrimp or the fish or the oysters that they go out to catch.
RICHARD LUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, and, Ali, you were mentioning what is at stake, and it's actually right behind me. You know, the fishermen, the residents of this island of Dauphin, about 900 people, right behind me, we're talking about only an oil rig that is just about a mile offshore here.
We've got some very nice areas. But all of that area produces seafood such as shrimp and oysters. And so what we did last night is we took a look at those products and went to Mobile, Alabama, to Olensky's (ph) Oyster House. They've been there for, oh, 70-plus years. Founded by a couple in the 1930s.
And we wanted to get a sense of how important it was for folks and how the lack of oysters might affect their business. And the business owner was saying, you know, they're not sure. They're just taking it day by day.
They're talking to their suppliers, hoping that their suppliers in this area, Mississippi, Alabama, and throughout the entire Gulf Coast, continue to supply them product. But they may have to look outside the area, you know. And they get the majority of all of their oysters from this part of the country.
So, when you talk about local businesses in this space, they're sort of questioning whether they need to do something now or should just wait and see.
VELSHI: Yes. But on Dauphin Island, where you are, we're not fully recovered from the effects of Hurricane Katrina there.
LUI: No, they're not recovered. And, in fact, when we take a look at what the residents are thinking, or the local fishermen, they still can enjoy for what the short amount of time is since Hurricane Katrina, since they have recovered -- and we took a drive out on to the streets and you just see newly-built buildings. That is the indicator you're talking about there, Ali.
And so what we did is we spoke to one fisherman. And his name is Mike Wallace. He comes out here each and every day, he throws out his pole, he brings out his cooler, and what he's concerned about, though, is the next couple of days what can change.
This is what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: What does fishing mean to you?
MICHAEL WALLACE, GULF COAST FISHERMAN: It means a lot. You know, I've been doing this for a lot of years.
My grandparents taught me to fish and stuff like that. And this is what I do, you know. I love to do it, you know. And to take this from me is just like, you know, not having anything, because this is all I do. Just fish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: And that is where Mike Wallace was fishing all this morning. Right there, as you see there on that corner, he caught 80 to 100 fish, he says, each and every day.
And, in fact, when I was talking to him, Ali, he actually caught one in the 10 minutes I was there. And right over his shoulder is what could be one of the older rigs here off the coast of Alabama. And I would say Mike Wallace is also one of the most prolific fishermen that are also here in this area.
So, you get a sense of what fishing means to the people that come down to this area. That is what is at risk.
VELSHI: Is that a drilling platform off the coast there that we're looking at?
LUI: You're now looking off the west side of this coast of Dauphin Island, and that rig -- has been called one of the oldest, if not the first, off the coast of Alabama. And this is a very popular place for folks to come on down and walk on the boardwalk here, Ali, as well as to go fishing.
We've seen maybe 10 or 20 fishermen come through. And, you know, they're talking about, will I be able to take my son out fishing? "I've been taught by my grandparents, by my parents," as you just heard from Mike Wallace, and that's sort of the discussion that's happening out here.
VELSHI: You know, just -- by the way, those shots and where you are, you can see the rough surf there. That's what Chad was talking about, that say that the booms that have been put out there to contain the oil, this is going to affect them. This is going to make it a little bit tougher because of that rough surf.
That's why they can't continue those fires to burn off the oil. These waves, that's going to complicate things a little bit.
LUI: Well, you know, Ali, but they're still moving ahead. There was another boom deployment right here to the east of where I'm standing, and we were down there taking a look at the booms.
They're still deploying them. They had groups of 20. This environmental firm is bringing out big trucks to make sure they continue to deploy those booms and get ready.
And so, you still some see activity here. And the fishermen themselves -- you know, I was talking to two that were launching the boat right over here, and they're saying, you know, it's choppy out here. You can see the water, as you were mentioning, Ali. And even though it's choppy, they're saying, I want to get out there because I know what may change in the short future.
VELSHI: Yes. All right, Richard. We'll keep checking in with you. Thanks very much.
Richard Lui, Dauphin Island, Alabama.
We'll be right back in a minute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE, ACTRESS: Hi. I'm Holly Robinson Peete. And we can make an impact on families affected by autism.
About 10 years ago, our son R.J. was diagnosed with autism. As soon as you're told your child has autism, you're also told you need to immerse them immediately in intervention to help them sort of cope.
The scary thing is, a lot of families just cannot afford to do that. With the HollyRod Foundation, we try to alleviate some of the financial strain of families affected by autism. Join the movement, impact your world, at CNN.com/impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Hundreds of thousands of young girls, some only 6 years old, are deceived, trapped and then sold as sex slaves. It happens all the time in Nepal, but this week's CNN Hero has made it her life's mission to stop this exploitation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANURADHA KOIRALA, CNN HERO: In the West, America, Europe, if someone comes and says, "I want to make your child a prostitute," they would give them one slap or shoot them. But here, families, they are tricked all the time.
Girls are brought from the villages by people who can lure them and tell them that they're getting a nice job.
The border between India and Nepal is the conduit point of trafficking. Once they are here, there is no way to escape.
I am Anuradha Koirala. And it is my strong hope to stop every Nepali girl from being trafficked.
When we go to the border at this point, we are intercepting call girls to find girls for this. After the rescue, the girl is taken to (INAUDIBLE).
We started this -- rape survivors, trafficking survivors. We take everybody.
Oh, good girl.
The girls who come back from brothels, they are totally psychologically broken. We give them whatever work they want to do, whatever training they want.
One day we will really stop it. The trafficking will end. These are all convicted. There is always a small scar that, yes, one day I was trafficked, but today I'm something new in my life.
They are my strength.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: What a great story. The woman, called Nepal's "Mother Teresa," has rescued and helped rehabilitate -- get this -- more than 12,000 girls.
To nominate someone you think is changing the world, go to CNN.com/heroes.
All right. Chad is checking the wind speed and the waves off the Gulf Coast as that oil slick nears the shore.
Stick around. We'll give you the latest update and his forecast for the area when we get back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
VELSHI: Think about this -- 10 wildlife sanctuaries are in the likely path of the oil from that sunken gulf (sic). Moments from now we expect to hear the status of the spill and the efforts to contain it from senior state and federal officials in Louisiana. Their news conference is coming up live after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Let me give you a check of the top stories we're following right now other than the oil spill.
China's kindergartens and preschools are under increased security after three violent attacks on schoolchildren in as many days. Just today, ,a farmer wounded five students with a hammer before burning himself to death. State media is labeling these copycat attacks a month after a former doctor murdered eight children in a school in eastern China. He was executed on Wednesday.
Weekend protests are scheduled in at least 20 states as backlash broadens over Arizona's tough new immigration law allowing police to demand proof of residency. But Governor Jan Brewer is defending the measure, saying it will help keep criminals out of the country. A new Gallup poll says nearly four in 10 Americans oppose the bill, three in 10 oppose it.
In coastal Louisiana, rescue crews have reportedly cleaned the first bird found coated with oil in the Gulf of Mexico. This comes as President Obama says no new leases for offshore drilling will be approved unless the rigs have new safeguards. The goal is to stop a repeat of the explosion that unleashed the massive oil spill now approaching the Gulf Coast.
Now, think about this -- 10 wildlife sanctuaries are in the likely path of the oil from that sunken Gulf rig. Moments from now, we expect to hear the status of the spill and the efforts to contain it from senior federal officials in Louisiana. We're expecting to hear from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson; Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano; Interior Secretary Ken Salazar; and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Their live news conference after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: OK. We're going to have an updated status on the spill and the efforts to contain it from senior state and federal officials in Louisiana. Their news conference is coming up. We're going to take you to that as soon as it happens. We'll get the latest on what's going on with the National Guard, what's going on with the cleanup, who's in charge, who's paying for it, and how far is it from shore.
But, first, we want to check in with Chad who's got some updates on wind speed and waves and the conditions out there.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, just because people want to know where this is going to be and when, we'll give you an idea of how the winds are going to change, because right now they're coming in from the southeast. Later on tonight, they're going to go in from the south and then eventually to the southwest.
So, the way they're coming in today, blowing into the southern bayou. Here's New Orleans, way up there, 70 miles away, not going to hit New Orleans. But back here, into the bays and the bayous down here of the Mississippi Delta, down where the Mississippi River dumps into the Gulf of Mexico.
Then tomorrow up in here into St. Bernard Parish and then up toward Bay Saint Louis and as the wind shifts due south in Mobile, I think the biggest place that could be hit with the biggest amount of damage per square foot, it would be Dauphin Island. It would be right out there. It sticks out there right there in the middle.
Let me get you to Dauphin Island, because you know what? Because we had our guy out there -- Dauphin Island, right there. So, here's a big strip of sand all the way down here, houses here. Houses have been hit pretty hard by Katrina and a couple other ones including Ivan. But then also Dauphin Island.
So, if you move a little bit farther, you take the ferry over here, all of a sudden, you get Jimmy Buffett's place here. You get over to the left, you get to Pascagoula. Here you get the Pensacola and all of these pristine white beaches. Here's Orange Beach right here. Could you imagine what Orange Beach would look like with a bunch of oil dumped on it?
Now, that said, by Tuesday, the wind is shifts offshore and may push the oil slick back into the middle of the Gulf of Mexico which would be good, because the longer it sits there and floats, the more it evaporates, the more it turns into a tar ball rather than a big glob of mayonnaise that's hard to clean up. Remember, this is light, sweet crude.
You talk about this in your business, Ali, all the time.
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: This is not heavy sour. Heavy sour is black and it's gross and it stinks and it's ugly.
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: And that's what crashed in the Exxon Valdez. That came out, they couldn't light it on fire. And it was -- it was very toxic.
VELSHI: Very sulfurous, it's the sour part.
MYERS: Correct.
VELSHI: It's heavy. It's just harder to get off of everything.
MYERS: Right. And the light sweet will actually wash off the shore a little bit better. Now, obviously, not water soluble, but it's better, and it's easier to clean up and it would be easier to clean up those birds.
I remember just sickening pictures of the Exxon Valdez when those birds were there and they're all covered in black and they were trying to clean and try to wipe them off. This won't be black oil like that.
VELSHI: Yes.
MYERS: It may be brown, but it doesn't -- it won't appear to be as hard to get off these animals and these birds. But, you know, anybody -- we're going to lose -- we're going to lose millions and millions of animals.
VELSHI: Yes. And as the folks from Zoo Atlanta were saying, part of it is just the stress that you go and try and clean a bird that's not used to -- you know, you capture it, you try and clean it.
MYERS: Right.
VELSHI: Who knows what they ingested. So, yes, lots -- there's going to be a lot of damage.
All right. Chad, we'll keep checking in with you. Thanks very much. In a minute, we're going to go to Brian Todd. He has just gotten off a helicopter in Venice, Louisiana, where he has gone over to look at the oil spill and what it looks like, and to a wildlife refuge, to see how much danger there is. We'll be visiting with him as soon as we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Checking out some of our top stories here at CNN.
The White House is ordering an investigation in to the accident that created the huge oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. It's not going to allow any new leases for offshore drilling until there are new safeguards. The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank after an explosion 10 days ago and that caused oil to leak from the ocean floor.
Weekend protests are scheduled in the last 20 -- at least 20 states as the backlash broadens against Arizona's tough new immigration law allowing police to demand proof of residency. But Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, is defending the measure. She says it will help keep criminals out of the country. A new Gallup poll says nearly four in 10 Americans support the bill, three in 10 oppose it.
And the FBI has reportedly launched a criminal investigation into Massey Energy. That's the owner of a West Virginia mine where an explosion killed 29 miners earlier this month. The federal law enforcement official tells the "Associated Press" that the feds are looking for evidence of criminal negligence. Authorities have interviewed nearly two dozen current and former Massey employees.
All right. Brian Todd is in Venice, Louisiana. He has just deplaned from a helicopter where he got a firsthand look at that oil spill.
Brian, tell us what you saw.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ali, we flew over some wildlife refuges in this area, along the barrier coast of Louisiana, around the southern tip, and then up the coast a little bit. We saw a lot of boom along the coastline, but a lot of it was breached, too, because the tide is coming in, a lot of whitecaps are kind of washing over the booms and sometimes breaking them apart. So, a lot of the coastline is still exposed.
We flew over the Breton Island Wildlife Refuge where there are thousands of pelicans and seagulls nesting and gathering there. No signs of oil there yet, but we're told that it's creeping closer.
We did see in other areas slivers of oil kind of coming into inlets right by land. So, the oil is starting to breach this area, Ali.
VELSHI: Did you see any activity out there? We are trying -- and we're waiting for this briefing from just north of New Orleans in a few moments. Bobby Jindal, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, and the EPA director, who are going to tell us what's happening and what's been deployed. Did you see evidence of people or efforts being deployed to contain this oil spill?
TODD: We see it all over this area in Plaquemines Parish. As a matter of fact, part of our story today is just how the parish leaders are mobilizing fishermen to get out there and lay some of the boom. We have seen it offshore as well. There are frantic efforts all along this coastline, local officials employing contractors, fishermen, anybody they can get their hands on and training them quickly on cleanup efforts and getting them out on their boats.
This is a frantic effort but some of the leaders are frustrated they didn't get the go-ahead to do this earlier, that the feds were maybe not here a little earlier. We've seen the debate all throughout the last couple of days. So, that is playing in to this as well, but there's a frantic effort right now to get teams of fishermen and others just all along this coastline essentially to lay boom.
VELSHI: The surf -- I was talking to Richard Lui, who is off the coast of Alabama, a little earlier. Chad's been talking about this. The surf looks a little rough. That complicates the laying of the boom. It complicates the fact that waves can push the oil over the boom. It means they can't light that -- those oil slicks on fire, the ones that are thicker and more contained.
Is it looking like it's getting rougher?
TODD: It is clearly getting rougher. We see it even here inland a little bit. We saw it clearly offshore where there were whitecaps all over the place. The tide is getting much rougher.
It's coming in. It's pushing a lot of the boom right up on shore. It's breaching some of it. It's washing over it. So, that is going to be a huge factor here.
And the wind is blowing from the southeast toward the northwest -- again, not good news for the people trying to contain this. Not good news for those trying to put more and more boom along the coastline because that complicates it, that's just getting the tide closer in and blowing the oil right toward the coastline, and that hasn't changed in the last couple days.
VELSHI: All right, Brian, we'll keep in touch with you on those developments. We're following this very closely here on CNN. Brian Todd in Venice, Louisiana.
Ed Henry, this is -- that's a little early, but it's usually the time every day that we talk to our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry. What is he -- why is he in an elevator?
Wait a second, that's CNN in Washington.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's a new bureau. You were here this week because of the Goldman hearings.
VELSHI: Yes. HENRY: Look at the --
VELSHI: The only reason I recognize it is because of that thing that you're looking at right now. What is that?
HENRY: "JOHN KING, USA," he's that way. "SITUATION ROOM" is this way. Let's try to -- we're going to crash Wolf's office in a minute. I want to -- I think they're doing a rundown meeting right now. So, we don't want to go in right now. But you see, we're basically in "THE SITUATION ROOM." It's a total redo.
VELSHI: It's like a spaceship in there.
HENRY: It's like a space -- it's like "Star Trek." And David Bohrman, our bureau chief.
This is really cool, recycled CNN beta tape. We're all digital now. But you have these frosting the windows basically throughout the entire office.
Watch your back there, Ken.
And so, I want to show our viewers where you were just a couple days ago, Ali --
VELSHI: Yes.
HENRY: -- because you were hanging at the desk of Ida Chaffin (ph), our deputy bureau chief, and I don't know what your apartment looks like. But, you know, she's pretty neat. She likes to keep things clean. And apparently, the other day you were sitting at this desk. Am I right?
VELSHI: Yes, correct. That's exactly where I was sitting.
HENRY: There are some used creamers here. There are some potato chips. I heard you were at McDonald's as well for a late night dinner.
VELSHI: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: In the neighborhood, it was all that was open really late.
HENRY: And one of -- there was a stapler here. Do you happen to know where it is?
VELSHI: I need to -- I didn't take the stapler. I didn't touch it.
HENRY: Well, you know, this weekend is big because it's the White House correspondents' dinner.
VELSHI: That's right.
HENRY: And, you know, around here in Washington, everyone calls it the nerd prom because it's sort like of us nerdy Washington folks like to have this big party. Nobody quite understands it, I guess, around the country sometimes, but the president's trying to have some fun with it.
We put together some fun tape of some previous dinners. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Jay Leno's here.
(CHEERING)
CLINTON: Now, no matter how mean he is to me, I just love this guy.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: Because together -- together, we give hope to gray-haired chunky baby boomers everywhere.
(LAUGHTER)
LAURA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY: I am married to the president of the United States and here's our typical evening -- 9:00, Mr. Excitement here is sound asleep.
(LAUGHTER)
L. BUSH: And I'm watching "Desperate Housewives."
(LAUGHTER)
L. BUSH: Ladies and gentlemen, I am a desperate housewife.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: As you know, I always look forward to these dinners.
STEVE BRIDGES, COMEDIAN: It's just a bunch of media types -- Hollywood liberals, Democrats like Joe Biden. How come I can't have dinner with the 36 percent of the people who like me?
(LAUGHTER)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATS: During the second 100 days we will design, build, and open a library dedicated to my first 100 days.
(LAUGHTER)
WANDA SYKES, COMEDIAN: You guys have been very favorable towards the president. You know, it's funny to me that they've never caught you smoking, but they somehow always catch you with your shirt off.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HENRY: Now, somebody who's been there for all the dinners and many more is going to be there Saturday night, Wolf Blitzer from "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Wolf, what's your favorite White House correspondents' dinner memory?
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": I've been going for at least20 years, maybe more. And they sort of blur over the years. You know that, right?
HENRY: Yes, I do know that.
BLITZER: I'm sure that, you know, one dinner starts falling into another dinner. I laugh all the time at all these jokes, you know, because I'm just a sucker when it comes to the comedians. It was pretty good in his day when he was there. You know, he was -- George W. Bush, as you know --
HENRY: Yes, we just played some of it.
BLITZER: -- he's very funny. I mean, I always enjoyed him doing that kind of stuff.
HENRY: I want to check out one thing I heard from one of your staff members. A couple years ago, you had to be -- it was explained to you who Donatella Versace is.
BLITZER: No.
HENRY: You don't know who she was.
BLITZER: Whoever told you --
HENRY: Is that a lie?
BLITZER: That's a lie.
HENRY: It's not true. He's a fashion guy.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: I know who she is.
HENRY: OK. Now, you also had Ben Roethlisberger.
(CROSSTALK)
HENRY: He was your guest a few years ago.
BLITZER: Yes, a lovely guy.
HENRY: Did you guys go out partying afterward?
BLITZER: No, I did meet him earlier. We went over together. And, you know --
HENRY: And I met him. He was a good guy.
BLITZER: A big quarterback. Very nice. HENRY: He was tame that night.
BLITZER: Yes. It was nice, he was very well-behaved and everything was very good.
HENRY: So, Wolf will be there at the nerd prom once again. We call it the nerd prom in Washington, Ali.
VELSHI: And, you know, Wolf and I --
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: -- a big actress is going to be at my table.
HENRY: Oh, wait, hold on, he's go a big actress.
VELSHI: Who's that?
BLITZER: Ashley Judd.
VELSHI: No kidding.
HENRY: Ashley Judd, you know her?
VELSHI: I do know Ashley Judd. I don't know her personally. I mean, I know her the same way you know her, I think.
BLITZER: That's pretty cool.
VELSHI: Wolf is another -- he's another tie guy like me. He likes good ties.
HENRY: Wolf is a nice tie. That's a nice tie. His wife picks them out.
VELSHI: That's right. And she's very, very skilled of that.
BLITZER: I know Versace. What are you talking about?
HENRY: He knows Versace. OK, I think Wolf's mad about the Versace. I'm going to have to talk to the source who --
VELSHI: I got to see him. He gave me a nice tour Wolf -- gave me a nice tour of the "sit room" place.
HENRY: What are you wearing on Saturday? What you will be wearing?
BLITZER: I'm wearing a black tie tuxedo, the Armani.
HENRY: Armani, he's wearing Armani on Saturday, Wolf Blitzer. You heard it here first.
BLITZER: With the bow tie.
VELSHI: It's unbelievable you two. Well, you guys have a good time.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: The rest of us will watch it, Ed, on TV, because we got special coverage of it.
HENRY: Please watch it on CNN. Don Lemon is going to have special coverage. Take a look at it. We're going to have Kate Bolduan on the red carpet maybe with Wolf.
BLITZER: I'll be there.
VELSHI: All right. Well, you, guys, have a fantastic time. I'll be thinking of you and I hope you take a moment or two to think of me. And I happen to know why these all blur together, as Wolf said. In fact, I think it will be blurry after a couple hours. You have a fantastic time.
HENRY: You, too. And thanks to Wolf for letting us crash his office here.
VELSHI: Absolutely. It's always fun to be in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We were just in "THE SITUATION ROOM" for a moment.
All right. We are continuing our coverage of a major, major story. There are 10 wildlife sanctuaries in the likely path of the oil from the sunken rig. Moments from now, we expect to hear the status of that spill and the efforts to contain it.
We're going to go to Louisiana for a press conference. You can see it in the bottom right of your screen. Louisiana governor, Bobby Jindal, is going to be there. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is going to be there. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will be there, EPA administrator, Lisa Jackson. We're going to find out exactly what the administration and government plans to do about this spill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: We're about to head to Robert, Louisiana, just north of New Orleans for a news conference with state and federal officials in charge of the fight to hold back an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. We expect to hear from Governor Bobby Jindal, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and several others.
While they are getting set up -- we're watching it, it's at the bottom right of the screen -- I want to talk to a guy for better or worse will always be associated with the words Louisiana and disaster. He's our CNN contributor and retired Army lieutenant general, Russel Honore. The general joins me by phone from Lake Charles.
General, thanks for joining us.
RUSSEL HONORE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): Good afternoon, Ali.
VELSHI: We sound like we're getting ready, the state of Louisiana, is getting ready to deploy National Guard. They've asked for assistance from the Department of Defense. There are some planes that are heading over there to spread dispersant. Tell me at this point what authorities can do now that they know that we are on the brink of an environmental disaster.
HONORE: Well, what they can do under the national significance, which is the level of response that the president has announced, is deploy all means possible to help respond. But, Ali, hopefully, as a result of this news conference, the president's cabinet will go back and tell him, he needs to declare this a national disaster immediately because we need to empower the states and all agencies in the government to respond to what will, in years, one of the biggest natural disasters on the coast of the United States in some of the most fragile waters and terrain inside the United States. We need this declared now, a federal disaster with a proclamation from the president now, and don't wait.
VELSHI: General Honore, what does that mean? What difference would it make if the president did that?
HONORE: It empowers the governor to use -- request all funds from the Stafford Act. It also empowers the governor to request federal assistance, federal troops, federal assets, with the known fact that the state will be reimbursed in the event those resources are used. It also empowers the government -- governors to reach in to the private sector to get contractors and hire people to get the work that will be done that's needed to recover those very fragile areas, over.
VELSHI: Russel, what's changed since you when you were helping out in the -- after Katrina where you had walked in after there had been a delayed response, some communication problems? Are we in a better place right now? Do you think everybody's trying to coordinate this better than we were in Katrina?
HONORE: Absolutely. The Northern Command has deployed a forward headquarters in Roberts, led by Brigadier General John Basilica. You might remember him from Katrina.
VELSHI: Yes.
HONORE: He's a Katrina veteran. He's in charge of that command post, and they are setting up next to Admiral Landry, and they will lead the Army effort.
General Landreneau from the National Guard, who was putting National Guard troops there. And the United States 1st Air Force which responded to Katrina is controlling the airplanes that will do the spraying, and naval fleet forces command are providing the forces.
It's a lot tighter, well-organized response. The question now is: when we will get that declaration so the governors are empowered to do what they can to protect their shoreline?
VELSHI: General Honore, stay right there. We're going to take a break. We'll be right back with you to continue this discussion on what the government needs to do to fix the situation.
Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: All right. He's a CNN contributor; he's a retired army lieutenant general, Russel Honore. The general joins me, again, by phone from Lake Charles. You will remember him -- he is synonymous with Katrina and the federal effort to try and deal with the disaster there.
General Honore, it is difficult to compare this situation with that. But from a response perspective, it does need to be treated as a disaster or a catastrophe because that allows us to do what we need to do now and not be dealing with cleanup later.
HONORE (via telephone): That is correct. You know the government in Washington, generally, the theme from within the government, we've got BP will pay for the recovery. That is OK. That is the proclamation.
But the fact right now, the federal government is going to need to respond to that and then recover the money later from BP. If we start worrying about that, we will not get the assets we need down there to help the people along the coastline of Louisiana and Mississippi. You help prevent and respond to that oil that might reach shore, and then how we're going to mitigate the effects of all those people who rely on the fishing industry for their livelihoods and get them involved in the cleanup as well as to offset the income and the tremendous loss of wildlife that's going to be lost as a result of this.
So, we need everything we've got thrown at this to try and minimize the damage, the effect on animals and -- and people in that fragile community.
VELSHI: General Honore, one of the things we like about you is that you represent what we think of when we think we need the military. You go in. You assess the situation. And then you deploy what's necessary.
Your assessment -- I know it's from afar, I know you haven't been directly involved in this -- but your assessment: can we contain this, or is it going to be really bad?
HONORE: This is a worst kind of disaster because it's manmade. There's nothing like it. We haven't seen anything. The source of the oil is way underwater.
I think we'll figure it out. It's going to take time. But when we get the United States military and all those great engineers we have in the Navy working along with the Coast Guard and the company themselves who are responsible for this disaster -- the thing that bothers me now, Ali, is: how many more of those rigs that set out along our coast that the shutoff valve doesn't work?
VELSHI: Yes.
HONORE: We need -- all those need to be checked to prevent this from happening again. But I'm sure they'll figure it out. The military is good at figuring out this stuff, along with the Coast Guard. It's going to take time, but we would expect a lot worse situation before it gets better, and long-term damage that goes way beyond anything that we've seen from a hurricane.
VELSHI: All right, Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore, always good to have you on. It makes us feel just a little safer who see things the way you do, who are ready to take charge of the situation. We'll keep depending on you to make sense of this for us over the course of the next few days. Thanks for being with us, again, General.
HONORE: God bless the people.
VELSHI: All right. We have talked and heard a lot about oil this hour. Boy, and I've been on the computer watching everything you're saying about it. I want to talk about this on a more personal level with you. My "XYZ" is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Time now for the "XYZ" of it.
As we've been reporting all afternoon and will continue to report, crude oil is heading toward the Gulf Coast from the oil rig that sunk last week. It's hard to know how much oil is in the gulf and how much will reach shore. We know that fish and birds and sea mammals and wetlands are in danger, and some people are warning of an ecological and environmental disaster that could rival the Exxon Valdez.
The conversation on my Facebook page has been passionate. Most of you concerned about the pollution and the effect on the environment. Some of you are questioning the safety of offshore drilling. Many of you are calling for a greater, faster push to alternatives.
The Obama administration has already called a temporary halt for plans to expand offshore drilling, and many of you are downright furious at the oil companies. Someone called for a boycott of BP, the company leasing the oil rig that started all of this.
I think it's time to consider that oil companies don't drill oil for fun. The Department of Interior doesn't lease out offshore drilling space because it likes the sight of thousands of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. All of this happens because the human race has an unquenchable thirst for oil.
If this accident makes you take a stand on drilling, if the sight of birds covered in oil makes you crave a greener way to create energy and if the thought of 11 men killed by the explosion that precipitated this makes you want a safer way to run our cars and trucks and factories, then some good will have come of this. But don't kid yourself into thinking that the world is somehow going to be a better place before we start finding real alternatives for crude oil.
Keep your comments and ideas coming. You know how I feel about alternative energy and I'll keep doing the same, but before any of us point fingers at oil companies or pro-drilling advocates, take a good hard look at your own behavior. How much oil do you use? What kind of car do you drive? If you don't want oil spills, you don't want damaged wildlife, take a look in the mirror and start making changes.
Time now for "RICK'S LIST."
