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Controversial Oil Stopping Methods; Man Accused of Time Square Bomb Scare Had Links to Pakistani Taliban

Aired May 09, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. It is May 9th. Happy Mother's Day.

All right. Using every available resource to plug that gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. That is the focus of a news conference getting underway right now in Alabama. U.S. Coast Guard and BP officials will be talking about how local fishing vessels can also help. We'll bring more of that press conference as it becomes available.

But first the effort at sea. Big obstacles in that plan to cap the oil leak by using a submerged four-story dome. But other measures are being taken into consideration now. Let's turn to CNN's David Mattingly in Venice, Louisiana.

David, what are the obstacles and the options?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, that containment dome has been set aside for now. Sitting on the ocean floor while BP steps back to try to figure out how to get over this new hurdle that they've encountered. As they were lowering it, that dome, it filled up with a slush, a crystal-like material called hydrates. They're trying to figure out how to take care of those hydrates because it clogged up the dome and rendered it unable to funnel the oil up to the surface as planned.

Now, there's a way to take care of those crystals. But they've got two ways to go about doing that. They're trying to figure out how best to do that. If that doesn't work, there are two other things in the wings ready to be implemented here. One is to funnel a sort of solid type material into that leaking pipe to, perhaps, clog it up.

Another is to install another blowout preventer. The blowout preventer was the device that failed originally allowing this disaster to happen. So they may try to install one of those. But those are waiting in the wings. They're still trying to make this dome work. They've got a couple of ideas they hope to have ironed out in the next couple of days to see if that will work.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Mattingly, thanks so much. Of course, when that press conference gets under way out of Alabama we'll try to take that as best we can as well.

All right. Meantime, crews are also setting the spilled oil on fire and dropping chemicals into the water to try to disperse it. But those strategies aren't sitting well with everyone. Riki Ott is a marine toxicologist. You'll remember we spoke with her at great length last weekend when these efforts to stop the spill were kind of at the starting point. Well, she's back with us again.

Riki joining us now by phone from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. When last we spoke you were in the Denver area. Now you're in the Mississippi area and you are close enough to seeing this oil spill. What have been your observations when you've gone by helicopter and also by boat, correct?

RIKI OTT, MARINE TOXICOLOGIST: Boat, plane and I've actually been in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana at this point. And talking to shrimp fishermen, charter boat fishermen. Anyway -

WHITFIELD: What are they telling you?

OTT: Well, they're keeping me kind of posted on what closures are happening. We've got the shrimpers in Louisiana pretty much said the oil is going to go west. If it got caught in the near shore current, it will go west. What the officials were saying, they thought it was going to go east for a long time. The fishermen said, no, no, it's going to go west. We catch 75 percent of our shrimp on the west side of the Mississippi. Some of those zones are now getting closed down.

WHITFIELD: Have they said anything about what that shrimp looks like, if there are any kind of signs of contaminants even though they may be shrimping far west of where the congregation of the oil is? Has there been any effect?

OTT: I know that there's a - a seafood sampling program that's being put into effect. I've been out of Louisiana for a couple days now, so I don't know how far along that's come in terms of actually being implemented. I know they want to make sure - like we had in Alaska after Exxon Valdez, all these safety food checks to the market.

But I do know they've actually physically closed a couple of areas. The oil has not made landfall on the west side of the Mississippi. But I think the concern is that it's getting closer, and also there could potentially be oil in the water column. This is why dispersants are being used to try to break up the oil. The problem is that the dispersants are not 100 percent effective. In fact, 95-27, it's 63 percent effective. And that's in the lab at ideal conditions.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then about these dispersants, because I understand that while BP was initially using a dispersant that most were very familiar with. That they have now moved to reportedly another kind of dispersant. A, have you heard much about whether that is, indeed, true, and if that is the case, I know you weren't necessarily a huge fan of dispersants last we spoke last weekend. What does a new type of dispersant mean to you?

OTT: Well, they've been using two types. One correct 9527A, which they used 9527 in Alaska. And it still has a very toxic - it's a human health hazard. Fetal toxin. It kills embryos, babies in the womb. It lyses blood cells, causes blood disorders, causes kidney problems. That's in people. The effects on marine sea life are not anywhere near that studied in depth.

But we do know that that the test they've been used to get it approved, get it listed on a schedule, only involve adult animals, adult shrimp, adult minnows. The problem with that is that we've got oyster larvae, blue crab eggs, shrimp eggs in the water column right now. And the young life forms are a lot more sensitive than adults to this toxic chemical.

WHITFIELD: OK. There are a couple things that we heard our David Mattingly talk about. Options now to try to cap this leak. Using some sort of solid material to help clog the leak and another would be installing a new blowout preventer.

Real quick, do either one of those options bode well with you as it pertains to the efforts to stop the oil leak, and how any of these things might impact the wildlife and the fishing industries?

OTT: Well, the longer this leak goes uncontrolled, the worse everything will be. And it just sort of amazes me that we've allowed this industry to proceed in the gulf. They do all these great feats of getting oil out from far, far underground, way under the ocean, you know, a mile down. And they still don't know how to clean it up or contain it once it spills.

And that just - it's kind of inexcusable to me. So everything that's going on right now is an experiment. We've never used dispersants at this rate, at this volume. This much over a sustained time. We've never tried -

WHITFIELD: Somewhat unprecedented.

OTT: Right.

WHITFIELD: Marine toxicologist Riki Ott, thank you so much for joining us again. We're going to continue to talk to you as it merits as we all try to watch, learn and listen about what's going to happen next as it pertains to this oil spill.

Again, a press conference is going to take place coming out of Alabama momentarily. When it does, we'll take that live or at least get some information from it as well. Riki Ott, thanks so much.

All right. Meantime, the man accused of trying to bomb Times Square was probably working for the Pakistani Taliban. That's the opinion of administration officials who say there is growing evidence that Faisal Shahzad was no lone wolf. They now believe the Pakistani Taliban helped to facilitate and direct Shahzad's actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: He has traveled back and forth to Pakistan a number of times over the years. He returned to the United States in February. And it's, again, looking like the TTP was responsible for this attempt. That he had worked with the TTP over the past number of months when he was in Pakistan. But, again, this is an ongoing investigation. We're trying to learn as much as we can.

Pakistani authorities have been very cooperative with us. And so we're sharing information with them. But we are determined to uncover all of the different elements of this plot and those who are responsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us now from Karachi, Pakistan. Good to see you, Nic. So first up, what is TTP?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, TTP is the Pakistani Taliban. They are the Taliban along the border with Afghanistan, north Waziristan, south Waziristan. Their leader, Baitulalh Mehsud was killed by a drone strike last year. He was replaced by a close relative, Hakimulah Mehsud (ph). He was believed killed early this year. He was seen in a video aiding and assisting the Jordanian doctor who went into a CIA camp in Afghanistan and killed several CIA operatives there late last year.

So that's the Tehrik-I-Taliban, TTP. They've got a lot of affiliates in and around the country here. However, let me just give you one piece of news that has come out of Karachi here in the last half an hour or so. At the airport here in Karachi, security officials tell us that a man, an engineer, a Pakistani engineer, was picked up trying to board a plane on a flight to Moscow. a Thai Airlines flight.

That man, this Pakistani engineer, was found wearing in his shoes some electronic circuit boards in his shoes with some batteries. And he was picked up passing through Karachi airport. So the TTP connections all over the country, particularly here in Karachi. And now we have this latest incident. Apparently security incident here in Karachi. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And talk to me now about the cooperation between the U.S. and the Pakistani officials as it pertains to the investigation involving the Times Square alleged bomber.

ROBERTSON: You know, one of the really interesting things watching this is that in the beginning, the connection to Pakistan or the potential for a connection into Pakistan was played down. We've heard and seen U.S. officials here tread very carefully. But what's getting a lot of air time here in Pakistan now, the statements by Hillary Clinton that there could be serious consequences if an attack went ahead in the United States that had ties back here back to Pakistan.

She said that while Pakistan has been providing a lot of support for the United States, they still need to do more. When that comes from the secretary of state and it's broadcast here on Pakistani TV, that's going to get a reaction. But there's a reason for that. And that is behind the scenes we're led to understand that the support in this investigation and other things as well hasn't been going as well as U.S. officials hoped for.

So while there is cooperation, we've seen that, we've heard about it, apparently it hasn't been measuring up so well. And that's why these very public, very critical statements have been made, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Nic Robertson, thanks so much from Karachi. Appreciate that.

All right. A graduation with a little presidential support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love you back. That's why I'm here. I love you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, of course the president had even more to say than that to these college grads.

All right. Let's check in with your Jacqui Jeras momentarily. She's going to be telling us which parts of the nation could be bracing for some stormy weather this week right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Looks like that ash plume from Iceland's volcano is creating even more travel woes across Europe. Transatlantic flights from the U.S. are actually being affected as well. More flights were canceled today in Spain. Of course, we know why, by now. Again, this is a broken record, isn't, Jacqui? This volcanic ash?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. I thought we were doing good for a little while, right? And then about mid week, last week, we had another more significant eruption and that's still on- going. So when you get the ash up there about, you know, 16,000 to 20,000 feet, it starts getting to the upper level of the atmosphere. And then you have to start flying around it because (INAUDIBLE)

WHITFIELD: Here we go with wind again pushing it down. We're talking about Italy being impacted, Germany, the south of France. It's widespread. It's a mess.

JERAS: And Spain. You know, last go around Spain and Portugal, if you remember were doing pretty good. They were getting those flights down into Rome as well and over towards Turkey. But this time, so this is impacting more people.

I'm going to take you over to the magic wall and kind of show you some of the areas that are affected and where this ash cloud is at this time. There you can see it. Here's the volcano in Iceland. There you can see the trajectory that it's been taking. Winds in the upper levels a little more northerly right now. And we are expected it to be a little more light and variable in the next couple of days. But we think they're going to pick up more strongly from the north as we head towards the middle part of the week.

And here's a really cool satellite picture I just want to show you from earlier in the week. There you can see it. This is the plume of ash. All that dark brown stuff that you see there. Now, in addition to having some flight cancellations as well as some delays, because you're trying to fly around those ash clouds, we've got some problems here in the U.S., too.

So JFK looking at more than two-hour delays. This is primarily due to the runway configuration issues going on. But we do have delays because of wind. And Newark as well as La Guardia, 35 minutes. So that's not too shabby. But you're dealing with wind gusts up there about 30-plus miles per hour. San Francisco, you've got some delays around 15 minutes.

Now, the winds in the northeast are ushering in some really cold air. Take a look at this. This is frost and freeze advisories that we're dealing with in early May!

WHITFIELD: Gosh.

JERAS: I know. So this is certainly unusual. Temperatures about 10 to 20 degrees below where you should be this time of the year. And yes, we definitely want to bring in those sensitive plants tonight. Because they could get killed as a result of that. Highs tomorrow only in the 60s and 70s. We've got one other big weather maker. It doesn't look like much on the map here from the west.

But by tomorrow, Fredricka, this is going to pull into the plains. We could see a real significant severe weather outbreak. Places like Oklahoma City, Tulsa, even into Kansas City, you could see strong, violent tornadoes tomorrow. So we're going to be all over the story over the next couple of days.

WHITFIELD: Well, they are grateful for the warning, I know. All right. Thanks, Jacqui. Appreciate that.

All right. The Fit Nation challenge. It's now just weeks away. And the contenders are heading down to the wire. Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, catches up with two people preparing for the race of their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Getting ready for the challenge, Dean Hanan worked out hard. Too hard. He strained his calf.

DEAN HANAN, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: Yes. I'm nervous because I'm seven, almost eight weeks behind. And I have to gun it. I'm going to have to do a six-mile run after I do a 24-mile bike, after I do a mile swim. I feel like I can't do that now. Rehab, that chapter's done. It's time to train. It's time to get in shape. You know, like my focus is on July. GUPTA: Linda Fisher Lewis is also focused on July.

LINDA FISHER-LEWIS, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: I think a lot of people have put faith in me that I'm going to do this. And it would be hard for me to let them down.

GUPTA: When I first met Linda back in January, her biggest fear? Not the 25 mile bike ride or the six-mile run.

(on camera): Are you apprehensive about this?

FISHER-LEWIS: I'm very apprehensive about the Hudson.

GUPTA (voice-over): But now she says it's time. That's her biggest adversary.

FISHER-LEWIS: The race is three, four hours long. Eventually I'm going to need to be working out for three, four hours. And I'm just finding there's just not that much time in the day.

GUPTA: For both Dean and Linda apprehension and fear are slowly melting. Giving way to determination and focus.

(on camera): I'm going to see you at the finish line?

HANAN: Yes, sir.

FISHER-LEWIS: Getting to the finish line is a big deal. I could be carrying my bike or dragging a leg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. So you'll want to mark your calendar. July 18th. That's the date of the Nautica New York City triathlon and the day the Fit Nation contestants will actually get to show off all of that hard work and training. Ten weeks away now.

All right. Still to come, Haiti's devastating earthquake orphaned tens of thousands of children. In a few minutes meet an amazing American family that has been helping children in that poor country for years now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A quick check of our top stories right now. President Obama's message to college grads this Sunday. Education will allow us to fulfill our promise. The president's comments came during his speech at Virginia's historically black Hampton University.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: You're in a strong position to outcompete workers around the world. But I don't have to tell you that too many folks back home aren't as well prepared. Too many young people just like you are not as well prepared by any number of different yardsticks. African-Americans are being outperformed by their white classmates as are Hispanic Americans. Students in well off areas are outperforming students in poor, rural or urban communities no matter what skin color.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, first lady Michelle Obama was the commencement speaker yesterday at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She told the grads they must prepare to overcome hardships as they make their way into the world.

In western Russia, emergency crews are scrambling to save dozens of trapped miners and rescuers at a coal mine. At least a dozen people were killed in two explosions at that mine. Rescue workers got trapped inside when they entered the mine after the first blast. A second explosion destroyed the main air shaft. Rescue work has now been suspended until methane is pumped out.

And it's new. It's different. And you don't want to miss it. My new segment, "Face to Face with Fredricka" continues May 22nd with CNN founder Ted Turner. And we want to hear from you. If you've ever wanted to ask a question to Ted, this is your chance. Send your questions to cnn.com/fredricka or you can find me on Facebook at Fredricka Whitfield CNN. Of course, I'll get some of those questions posed to Ted Turner on this 30th anniversary of CNN.

All right. Coming up, we're going to be talking with Jacqui Jeras. We're going to be in the chat room. We're going to talk about the cops who actually thought that they were breaking up a robbery. But come to find out they were breaking up the filming of a movie.

And a town tries to clog its way into history. Lots of people, thousands of people turned out for clogging, yes, that tradition in Holland wearing those wooden clogs. Well, it's big in America, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. GABRIEL ECHEVARRIA: Sergeant Gabriel Echevarria out here in Afghanistan, Camp Bastian. I'd like to say hello to Layla (ph) (INAUDIBLE). Love you and give a shout out to everyone else out there. Love you, guys.

SSGT. JOSE NIEVES: Hi, I'm Staff Sergeant Jose Nieves, currently deployed in Afghanistan. I want to wish my wife a happy mother's day, Marcy Nieves, in San Diego. I love you, miss you and we'll see you soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. It's been almost four months since Haiti's catastrophic earthquake. It orphaned tens of thousands of children. Our Soledad O'Brien introduces us to an American missionary family whose commitment to help Haiti's orphans came years before this quake hit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ariana Manassero has dreamed of helping Haiti's orphans since she was 9 years old. She's now one of thousands of missionaries living in Haiti. Her journey started in California with a few coins.

ARIANA MANASSERO, MSSIONARY: I started putting little money in a jar. The jar just got so full. My dad started putting little coins in it. I started putting more like dollars in it.

O'BRIEN: In 2004, Ari and her parents, Bill and Suzette, visited Haiti. One year later, this family from California had relocated permanently.

Some people would say, now, how did a bunch of grown-ups follow an 8-year-old to Haiti?

BILL MANASSERO, MISSIONARY: Wasn't my plan, I'll tell you. We wanted to encourage her. We thought it was wonderful, this little 9- year-old girl had this dream to build an orphanage, a school, a church and all these things in Haiti. I never thought I'd be here with her.

O'BRIEN: Bill and Suzette Manassero founded the Lighthouse Orphanage. You started with all boys.

SUZETTE MANASSERO, MISSIONARY: All boys. 12.

O'BRIEN: When did you start the girls' orphanage?

S. MANASSERO: That started December 2006.

O'BRIEN: They were consumed by a desire to help the children. Haiti has among the highest rates of infant mortality, child sex trafficking, and child slavery in the world.

B. MANASSERO: Ari's dream more than anything else is that these kids, our kids at this orphanage, are going to be the ones out there handing out that cup of water. You know, 50 kids going out there doing that, influencing others to influence others, you know, can make a difference in a country.

O'BRIEN: But the faith that had secured them for years was about to be tested. When a powerful earthquake strikes Haiti.

B. MANASSERO: So right now we do not think it's safe to be here. We're trying to get extra security. So until we do, we have a plan. And you really don't have a choice of what to do. We are going to tell you guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This weekend, CNN's Soledad O'Brien introduces you to Haiti's orphans. The people who came to their rescue and the children in all these photos in worldwide appeals for charity. Watch "Rescued" tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. All right. Amid all the pomp and circumstance, a new reality will soon set in for graduates. Paying back those student loans. But what happens when you can't pay? You'll meet one woman who has the ear of lawmakers already.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I think now is a good time to be in the "Chat Room." Jacqui Jeras here with me on the sofa.

JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. New digs.

WHITFIELD: A little therapy now on some fun, interesting stories that happened across the country. Beginning with one of your favorite towns, Pella, Iowa, where they're breaking records.

JERAS: Can I tell you I love this town, cutest little town. They have a tulip festival every year which I've been to. It's the 75 anniversary. They wanted to try to break the world record for the most people doing a wooden clog dance. They had 2,500 people lining the streets. I need to check the population of Pella, but this may very well have been the entire town.

WHITFIELD: Do a lot of people migrate into the town for the festivals?

JERAS: Yes. Absolutely. People come from all over this.

WHITFIELD: The first time I ever saw clogging in person I was actually living in Charleston, South Carolina. I just moved there. A lot of people clog. They were young people kind of performing on the streets. You know how you see in New Orleans young people performing music. Instead they were performing with wooden clogs. Who knew it was so popular in the U.S. of A.

JERAS: They're very proud of their heritage, Dutch-based community. They've gotten the wooden windmill and they have these wonderful Dutch pastries. Got to get you one of those.

WHITFIELD: It used to be the record was 475?

JERAS: So they blew it away. They had to do it five minutes and they did it for six minutes just to be safe.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk now about a grizzly situation taking place in California. Oh, this bear -- look at all the people that turned out to see what happens when you tranquilize a bear that's in a tree. It was in the neighborhood in Oxnard, California, presumably looking from food because that's what they do after hibernation.

Look how gentle they were with this grizzly bear, as they lowered it. You know, oftentimes when they tranquilize animals and before they put them into a vehicle they cover their eyes? With like blinders so that when they do wake up --

JERAS: So it doesn't scare them. WHITFIELD: Exactly. I don't see the blinders on this puppy.

JERAS: They shot it with a tranquilizer. They got three of them in there and the thing still managed to climb a tree 25 feet high and fell asleep when it was in the tree. I guess it was dangling. Arms were dangling, head was dangling down. It was really dangerous. We've seen some of those bear things happen before where they've fallen out of the tree. I guess it was OK.

WHITFIELD: A lot of times when you have a fall, from the bear's point of view, they're OK.

Speaking of OK, this could have been a really nasty situation. At the filming of a movie in Long Island, Ii understand, here they are filming a movie. Looks like a hold-up in a convenience store. Even the convenience store operator, the real operator, was in on the filming of this movie. But guess what? The movie makers for got to tell cops.

JERAS: They didn't tell anybody.

WHITFIELD: The police.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So the legitimate police did come. Thought there was a real robbery taking place. And that woman right there, I understand she actually is a real detective.

JERAS: Oh, wow.

WHITFIELD: Yes. The police department didn't even know about it. So the movie maker kind of apologized. Oops. I guess we forgot to let everybody know with permits and all that.

JERAS: Can you imagine being one of the spectators? Walking by and witnessing this? I'd be calling 911.

WHITFIELD: The only thing I don't know is what that movie is. When it finally hits the screen or something to be able to look at it and say, oh, I know the back story on this?

All right, Jacqui thanks so much. We'll see you again. Much more to talk about, weather, some crazy stuff to be expected in the mid- section, right?

JERAS: Absolutely. Severe weather outbreak tomorrow in the Plains. We've got oil spill weather to talk about next hour. We've got volcanic ash interrupting the airlines again.

WHITFIELD: Still a problem. Crazy stuff. Thanks, Jacqui, appreciate that.

A look at some other top stories right now. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder weighs in on the Arizona immigration debate. He said today that the Justice Department just might sue to block the state's tough new law. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I understand the frustration of people in Arizona, but the concern I have about the law that they have passed is that I think it has the possibility of leading to a racial profiling. And putting a wedge between law enforcement and the community that would, in fact, be profiled.

One of the things that we are thinking about is the possibility of filing a lawsuit. But we're considering all of our options at this point. Whether or not it is something that we could file a lawsuit based on federal preemption grounds, whether we think that the law as enacted could violate federal Civil Rights statutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the military must cut down wasteful spending. In a weekend speech in Kansas, Gates said in this era of economic strain, the Pentagon is going to have to tighten its belt like everyone else. He ordered the military to find savings of 2 to 3 percent, at least $10 billion, in the Pentagon's roughly $550 billion budget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The Department of Defense cannot go to America's elected representatives and ask for increases every year. Until we have done everything possible to make every dollar count. Unless there is real reform in the way the Department of Defense does its business and spends taxpayer dollars.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, federal officials have joined the investigation of a New York City ferry crash. At least 36 people were treated for minor injuries after the boat crashed into the Staten Island terminal. The National Transportation Safety Board does not usually look into all marine accidents, but it sent several investigators to New York in this case because the same ferryboat was involved in a crash back in 2003. That killed 11 people and injured 42.

Of course, 'tis the season it is graduation time for thousands of college students this month. They'll be focusing on a job, full time, perhaps, and also beginning to pay back those student loans. But what happens when you can't pay back those loans? Congress will, in fact, may come to the rescue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. So you're told to go to college, get a good education so that you can find a good job. But did anyone warn you about the debt that you can easily accumulate when taking out student loans? Consider this for a moment. Look at these numbers. The average cost of attending a four-year instate public university is around $15,000. Head to a private school and it will likely cost you some $36,000. The average student aid such as grants not including loans is around $5,400 and $14,000, respectively. It may surprise you. Take a look at that number right there.

That in 2008 two-thirds of students graduated with debt averaging about $23,000. Many are having problems repaying their student loans. Look at the interest level there, 7.2 percent. You're talking about student loans default rate. That's how many people likely have a very difficult time paying back all that money. As many students prepare to leave college behind, it won't be long before their loans are actually due. So what should they do if they run into problems when it's time to repay? And can they depend on Congress for help?

I want to bring in Valisha Cooks. She has testified on Capitol Hill last month about the burden that she is facing trying to repay her loans. They were mostly private student loans. I'm also joined by Chris Markowski, the man known as the watch dog on Wall Street. Thanks to both of you for joining us, appreciate it.

CHRIS MARKOWSKI, WATCHDOGONWALLSTREET.COM: Good afternoon.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Valisha give me an idea. What did you testify, what did you tell leaders on Capitol Hill to really hit home the message of how hard it is to pay back those crazy loans?

Valisha can be can you hear me? We're going to try to work out the audio problems on that because clearly we have them. Chris, how about for you? Wait a minute. This is really sad, is it not? We're talking about students who go to college. They think they're doing the right thing. Then they get saddled with huge debt before they even find a job. Where's the help?

MARKOWSKI: I was there, too.

WHITFIELD: How long did it take you?

MARKOWSKI: It took a long time, probably about 10, 12 years before I got it paid off. We're watching all these congressional hearings in regards to banks giving loans to people for homes that they shouldn't have. I've got a novel concept. Why don't we just eliminate student loans all together?

WHITFIELD: Huh.

MARKOWSKI: If we eliminated student --yes follow me here. If we had no student loans, then colleges and universities would have to price their product accordingly. They'd have to price it so what people could afford. The reason why we've got such high prices with colleges and universities and it's so inflationary, is because they keep handing out money. Get the government out of this. You get the loan business out of it. The prices will drop.

WHITFIELD: So wait a minute, so you're blaming because there are loans being made available, grants, et cetera, that gives institutions an excuse to jack up the rates --

MARKOWSKI: Absolutely. WHITFIELD: So we're looking at institutions that are $15,000 if you're in state, we are talking about some private universities $39,000, $50,000 a year. And the problem is because there's too much help being offered to people?

MARKOWSKI: Absolutely. It's textbook inflation. That's exactly what happens with the Federal Reserve prints too much money. The price of things is going to go up. If the government all of a sudden got upset because Starbucks coffee was too expensive, let's say it was $10 a cup, and they started subsidizing the coffee at $5 a cup, what are they going to do? Starbucks is going to raise their price. It's going to be $15 a cup. That's exactly what happens with colleges and universities.

WHITFIELD: OK, so Chris let's say that's being put under consideration. That's not helping you, Valisha. Right now. You're a single mom. You are saddled with $90,000 in student loans debt; you have filed for bankruptcy protection. But that hasn't helped. So what is it that you told lawmakers that need to happen right now that would directly impact you?

VALISHA COOKS, BURRANED BY STUDENT LOAN DEBT: Well, basically, what I proposed is that there just needs to be some type of options for us. With my federal loans I was able to get an income based repayment plan which was pretty reasonable for me. With about $30,000 worth of debt, the payments are about $124 a month. But with my private education loans, the payments were $600 or $700 a month. So that along with personal debt, it was just no way for me to manage.

WHITFIELD: So do you feel like it's an impossibility to even see that debt being zero one day?

COOKS: Of course. Because when I originally borrowed the loan, it was only $36,000. And now in just three short years it's gone up to $53,000. So there's just -- it doesn't seem to be an end.

WHITFIELD: Where's the hope? Did you feel any real compassion when you were on Capitol Hill? Did you feel like some reasonable change really is in your sight?

COOKS: Well, I would hope so. I felt that I was really listened to, and I felt that before they had an idea that if they passed this law, that somehow people would come out in drones to take advantage of the situation. And I was there basically to give a face to the average person that goes to college and incurs this type of burden. It's not so much that we're looking to go to school to get rich and live wealthy off of student loans, because that's just not the reality. The reality is that we borrow the money to go to school and I only took the amount that I needed to go. And then now it's just an impossible situation. All I did was try to better my life and educate myself.

WHITFIELD: And so you heard Chris's proposal. He was saying, you know what, if you take the loans, the grants out of the equation, then that would reduce the incentive that a lot of colleges have to jack up their rates. You think you buy that? COOKS: Maybe in theory. But in actuality, how many people would afford to go to college? Is that a reality that they'd price accordingly?

WHITFIELD: OK. So Chris, let me bring you back in. In March President Obama signed new legislation that ends the subsidies paid to private lenders. Now the education department wants to provide all federal loans. Is this a compromise in your view?

MARKOWSKI: Well, it is and it isn't. All right. Are you getting the private part out of it? I feel bad for the young lady's situation. I don't know what interest rates that she was having to pay that she has such an increase in her principal in such a short period of time. That's crazy.

Also part of this legislation that they're putting forward, the taxpayer is going to also pay a huge burden in regards to the fact that there's certain scenarios where if you're getting into public service, the taxpayer is going to be able to have to basically have to pay off people's loans. I'm not too thrilled with all of that. But to explain once again, because I don't think she understands, when we're saying in theory, in theory the prices are going to have to go down. They have no choice.

Because if a college and university has to fill seats, they have to obviously fill those seats, they're going to obviously have to put bodies in those seats; they're going to have to price it accordingly. When the government steps in and starts giving loans and pushing people into these places --

WHITFIELD: Chris, I wonder, you know, when you say they have to because they want to fill the seats, aren't we also seeing across the country universities, whether they be private, but particularly the public ones who are making such significant cuts in large part because they don't have the budget anymore, and so it means there are fewer teachers, there are -- there is a smaller or shrinking student body.

MARKOWSKI: When I watch an SEC football game and I see 100,000 people in those seats, it makes me say, hmm, where's that money going? Harvard University's endowment is close to $30 billion. The interest on that money alone could pay for every student's tuition at that entire school.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MARKOWSKI: Those are just the facts.

WHITFIELD: Chris, right now before I let you guys go, if there's another student out there or graduate just like Valisha who says I'm struggling to pay back my debt, what is the window of opportunity for any of them right now to either get out of debt or try to expedite the payment of this debt so they can feel free and concentrate on all those wonderful benefits they got from going to college and now move on with improving their lives?

MARKOWSKI: Well, College University is an unbelievable benefit. I always recommend to people to try especially in an undergraduate route, try to go the least expensive as possible. If you have to go part time, go part time. Knock off the smaller loans first. You don't have to go the private university route.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Markowski, the man known as the Watchdog on Wall Street. That's a great title. Valisha Cooks thanks so much to both of you for joining us. Hopefully we helped out a lot of people who are feeling just like you, Valisha. Just kind of crunched right now with just way to much college debt.

COOKS: Thank you very having me.

MARKOWSKI: Pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Something else you do not want to miss. A report released this week claiming that chemicals in our food and water put our kids' health at risk. And that cancers from environmental toxins are, quote, grossly underestimated. Not everyone agrees with the findings, however. Next hour, two doctors debate this very issue.

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WHITFIELD: OK. A story we're going to be watching closely in the days ahead. President Barack Obama is expected to announce his choice to become the next Supreme Court nominee in just a few days. He seems to be focusing on a handful of candidates. We understand the president has personally meet with solicitor general Elena Kagan, Federal Appeals Court judges Diane Wood, Merick Gardener and Sidney Thomas. CNN's Kate Bolduan shows us one example involving the debate over gun control.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Emily Haas, three years ago.

EMILY HAAS: I don't remember hearing him come in. He obviously came in and just started firing.

BOLDUAN: Speaking just days after being shot twice in the Virginia Tech massacre. Struck down with other students in her classroom.

E. HAAS: I had my eyes closed, so I didn't see anything. I didn't see him ever.

BOLDUAN: I the aftermath, Emily and her mother became champions for stricter gun control laws. Joining the fight to support Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban. A landmark 2008 Supreme Court case. They were on the losing side of a close 5-4 ruling.

LORI HAAS, GUN CONTROL ADVOCATE: But for one vote, the decision could have gone the other way.

BOLDUAN: Haas knows firsthand what's at stake with a high court vacancy. A justice who could cast the deciding vote.

L. HAAS: If laws had been in place that would prevent criminals and prevent domestic abusers, terrorists and others from getting guns, there would be many, many, many lives staved. I know it. I've witnessed the pain that happens. And I've witnessed what happens when someone who shouldn't have a gun gets a gun.

BOLDUAN: And the reality? That real world impact means a fierce political battle ahead over whomever the president picks. Conservative groups are preparing a frontal assault on the likely less leaning nominee.

CARRIE SEVERINO, JUDICIAL CRISIS NETWORK: I think people are worried that the President is going to appoint someone who will just be a reliable liberal vote, and in particular who will be ready to rubber stamp all of his policies.

BOLDUAN: But liberal groups seem concerned, as well. They fear the nominee might not be liberal enough on issues like executive power.

VINCENT WARREN, CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS: It's going to be a challenge for the Obama administration to appoint someone, frankly, that we think will do the right thing. The difficulty is that we will likely see judges that will be appointed as a question of political compromise.

BOLDUAN: One thing both side agree on -- the stakes -- both political and personal couldn't be higher.

L. HAAS: We know what happens. We've see it, we live it. We live it every single day.

BOLDUAN: Government sources tell CNN top Obama aides have been getting an earful from liberal activists who want to ensure a strong voice from the left is chosen, not a so-called compromise choice that could get a smoother Senate confirmation. A confirmation the White House hopes wraps up by the August recess.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, at the Supreme Court.

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