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Placing Blame for Oil Disaster; Oklahoma Twisters Kill Five; Help Tennessee Flood Victims; Home Grown Terrorists; Oil's Impact on the Environment; Barbara Walters Heart Surgery; Miranda Rights for Those Targeting Freedom?
Aired May 11, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: So what the heck happened out there? That's what we want to hear today when executives linked to the Gulf oil spill finally spilled their guts. They're going to get a grilling from senators on the Energy Committee. That hearing gets underway any moment. It's the first of two hearings for them today.
And we're talking about the big guns at BP, TransOcean and Halliburton. Each had a hand in the operations on the deep water horizon, not only the deep water, over the oil spill.
CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar live on Capitol Hill for us. So what are we going to hear from these witnesses exactly, Brianna? Do we know?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we do know a little bit. We've gotten some of the testimony ahead of time, Kyra. So what we're going to hear first is from kind of the expert panel, a professor who maybe can give us some expert opinion as sort of a third party. And then we're going to be hearing from the former head of the Minerals Management Service which, you know, is the organization in charge of regulating the government officials in charge of regulating this.
But what's really interesting is the second panel because you've got BP, which was leasing the rig. You got Transocean which owned the rig and you had Halliburton, which had done some work on the rig. What are we expecting? Finger-pointing. In the testimony that we've seen, the early testimony coming from these chiefs of these corporations. We see that BP is going to be saying essentially that Transocean is to blame here because their blowout preventer, a device called the blowout preventer failed to work.
Well, in the testimony coming from Transocean which owns the rig, they're expected to say they don't even understand why people are pointing to this idea of the blowout preventer because that is something that would have been used during the drilling of this well, and the well had basically been temporarily capped.
So to them it seems just ridiculous that the finger is being pointed at this and they're saying that BP is very much to blame. So I think we have an idea here, Kyra, that there will be some finger pointing and perhaps raising more questions than even may be answered.
PHILLIPS: So what remedies are they talking to about make sure that this doesn't happen again?
KEILAR: You know, one of the ones that we've heard of coming from the Obama administration off the hill is this idea of taking the Minerals Management Service, which regulates offshore oil drilling and splitting it up so that the officials who are in charge of collecting royalties, payments to the government for use of this land are separated from the people, from the officials who are in charge of regulating these rigs and regulating these companies.
At this point, we're waiting to see some of the congressional response that there have been some critics of off-shore oil drilling who have called for that, but what we understand from one source who told our Dana Bash, this is something Congress wouldn't necessarily have to sign on to, but certainly a remedy the administration is looking at.
KEILAR: All right. Brianna Keilar on the hill. We'll be listening to that testimony, checking in with you as it begins and another example of merciless ferocity and the nature of tornado alley. Fresh scars and new concerns now. Take a look at sister twisters caught on tape in southern Oklahoma.
OK. We'll bring it to you in just a sec, but storm chasers were actually, our reporters because it was just too dangerous for anyone else. They were the ones chasing those tornadoes and bringing us the video. Two people were actually killed in Oklahoma City and three just south of there in Cleveland County. Dozens more of those people were injured as well and those twisters churned across much of the metro area, ripped apart homes and tore down power lines. They knocked out the power for tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
And Oklahoma could be bracing for a round two today. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras watching the warning signs for us. Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kyra, we're worried about definitely seeing more tornadoes later on this afternoon and into the evening hours. Our first storm system has already pulled out very quickly and is way up here into the Great lakes.
But we're getting another upper level disturbance coming in from the southwest and that's going to interact with the warm air moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. So we're expecting large hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes to be developing with these thunderstorms in some of the same areas. So, yes, across parts of Oklahoma, into Kansas as well as into Missouri.
So that should start to take shape late tonight. In addition to the threat of tornadoes, we saw a lot of hail yesterday. Check out these images from our i-reporter. This is tennis ball-sized hail from Rebecca Barbado (ph) from Moore, Oklahoma. She said that tornado sirens were going off and then she heard the hail hitting the roof and a whole bunch of it, she said, all different sizes but tennis ball- sized certainly was the largest.
Our other weather story today is that that system that brought us the severe weather is bringing in more nuisance-type weather, very cold, very wet and tough for travel across much of the upper Midwest. We'll continue to track these storms.
Kyra, yesterday was an unusual day. It was a high-risk day. We're not expecting nearly as many tornadoes today. This is what we would consider a slight risk for severe weather.
PHILLIPS: All right. We got the video back of those two sister tornadoes.
JERAS: Do we have it back? Let's talk about that.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Let's roll that if we can, and what's so - you know, why storm chasers do what they do. Well, I guess it helps us, you know, get the full view of what's taking place. But look at this, when do you ever see two tornadoes caught on tape? One in the back and one up there in the front.
JERAS: Very rare. Really, if you'll see this go, you will actually have seen at least three or four different vortices within there. It's not unusual to have more than one area of rotation and they're usually within the main, big tornado, in and with itself. It's just kind of the nature of the dynamic.
PHILLIPS: So it's not unusual to see that?
JERAS: Well, I think it's unusual to see that many.
PHILLIPS: See the two?
JERAS: But yes, seeing two vortices certainly will happen and that's a lot of the reasons sometimes where we see spotty damage, you know, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Right.
JERAS: You'll see one house just fine and you'll see the next one just obliterated next to it and sometimes it has to do with these little fingers or these little vortices, and they can develop and they can dissipate in seconds. So they don't always last quite as long as the main tornado.
PHILLIPS: Vortices. My word for the day.
JERAS: Vortices. Yes.
PHILLIPS: I'll say that 10 times and perfect the spelling. Jacqui, thank you.
JERAS: OK.
PHILLIPS: Well, a flood of another sort hitting Nashville, Tennessee, of well wishes, actually, and more. Music City's historic flood is going to cause some historic buck. So who's going to pony up? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, a curious 10-year-old Nashville girl has a flood survival story that she'll be telling for a life time. Delaney Carrigan and her best friend went outside during the storm. Her friend, well, fell into a retention ditch. Delaney tried to help and she got caught in the undertow of that current. It actually sucked here down in a debris, into a 36-foot long drain pipe. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DELANEY CARRIGAN, SUCKED INTO DRAIN PIPE: We were probably walking right here and my friend lost balance and she slipped down into the water, and I had stepped into the water a little bit to pull her out and then we fell in. The water started pulling me.
SHAUN CARRIGAN, DELANEY'S FATHER: And I heard the screaming and it was like the most guttural animalistic horrifying thing I have ever heard.
DELANEY CARRIGAN: I had a little bit of an ear out of the water for a minute, and then I was just completely under the pipe. I thought I was going to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Delaney got new glasses from her trouble, otherwise she's OK.
Ten days after Nashville's epic flood, Music City on the rebound. Here's the latest on that flood recovery. Federal aid promised to the thousands of flood victims. The secretaries from HUD and the Commerce Department toured the city yesterday. That federal help we're told includes a 90-day reprieve on home foreclosures and unemployment insurance for those who lost their jobs in the flooding. Meanwhile, volunteers and many from Nashville's music community are pitching in to help storm victims. We'll have more on that in just a moment.
And $1.5 billion and counting. That's the running flood damage estimate out of Nashville right now. That's only counting privately owned properties like homes, businesses and churches.
CNN's Martin Savidge takes us to one house of worship that exists solely in the spirit of its congregation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The faithful of the Shacklett Church of Christ gathered as they usually do. Sang and prayed as they usually do, but not in the church they usually do it in. Last Sunday, it flooded to the windows and not just the church. So did the homes of dozens of people in this small congregation. The events of the last week forced sermons across the state to be re- written.
REV. GARY ANDERSON, SHACKLETT CHURCH OF CHRIST: The first service on a mother's day that I have not preached a mother's day service.
SAVIDGE: It's caused many here to try to find meaning behind the floodwaters that flowed through the church and an elementary school, that peeled the pavement off of roadways, tore up railroad tracks and -
(on camera): ... swept away homes. The water blasting through with so much power the only thing left were the foundations.
(voice-over): Brian Stringer's house still stands, but a river ran through it. The same one that went through the Shacklett Church of Christ. Even his work helping Katrina victims couldn't prepare him for what he found at home.
BRIAN STRINGER: Until you really experience that yourself, there's no word to describe what you see.
SAVIDGE: Brian's home is directly across the street from his church, the Shacklett Church of Christ. As we stood in its now gutted remains where the pews even the floor had to go, I asked Pastor Gary Anderson if his beliefs have shaken.
ANDERSON: These things happen for a reason. We don't understand exactly why this happens, but there's going to be good that's come out of this. We've already seen the good.
SAVIDGE: Those were the same feeling we found all week in neighborhoods like Kingston Springs or Bellevue or Bordeaux.
CAROLYN PHILLIPS, NASHVILLE RESIDENT: I'm going to be OK. We're going to be OK.
SAVIDGE (on camera): How do you know?
PHILLIPS: I've got god on my side.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Across much of Tennessee, amidst the worst flooding any have ever seen, many continue to cling to the one thing the waters couldn't pry away. Faith.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Kingston Springs, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The flood victims still need your help. If you want to help you can go to CNN's Impact Your World web site at CNN.com/impact. There you will find links to charities and also the favorite organizations of the band Widespread Panic. They're in our studio right now to raise awareness to help those in Tennessee. You're in for a special treat.
They're going to be performing live once again before we wrap this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories right now.
There we go. We're talking about at least five people that are dead in southern Oklahoma after a vicious outbreak of tornadoes. There was widespread destruction in and around the city. Tens of thousands of people don't have power right now. Weather forecasters are warning of more severe weather today.
And eyes are also on the sky in Louisiana. These are National Guard helicopters, the latest weapon in the fight against that ever- spreading oil spill. Those helos are dumping one-ton sandbags around the state's crucial wetlands right now.
Elena Kagan awakened today as a Supreme Court nominee, but does she face a political nightmare in getting confirmed? Washington insiders say probably not unless something scandalous emerges. Democrats are supporting her opposition have been pretty low key so far anyway. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: OK. All right. Well, we're talking about Impact Your World. One more time before we wrap up the hour, as you know, Widespread Panic has been here with us throughout the two hours. You've seen the devastating pictures from Tennessee. Flood victims still needing your help. These are actually photos from a photographer Angela (inaudible). She's close with the band. We asked if they had any personal pictures. She had gone around, actually and got various photos of the destruction, the people helping out and where exactly, you know, this money is going to go to directly.
You can actually go to CNN.com/impact your world. You're going to see links to the charities that we've been talking about all today, right here in front of our web page. You'll get the latest on the victims there in Tennessee, but you'll also see the various charities that this band is supporting and charities that those in Tennessee say please give to. We can use the help.
The Community Foundation is one of them. Even the mayor of Nashville is saying you can go to this web site and know exactly where you can give directly. Salvation Army of Nashville, as well, helping with the shelters there, but this is the charity that the band is so hot on and has given to through a number of charitable activism or concerts, should I say, where they've been active.
Feeding America and the offshoot to that right here, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Just go to CNN.com/impactyourworld. You'll find out about all those charities that the band supports and why they're here today. I think we're getting lots of response, guys. I think we're raising good money and raising good awareness and of course, raising awareness to your incredible music.
Let's have some fun. For those that haven't heard your music, I just want to give everybody a little insight into the band. J.B., how did you guys all come together? I mean, talk about an eclectic group.
As they laugh.
JOHN BELL, WIDESPREAD PANIC: Well, it was one by one. Our original guitarist, Michael Houser and I were school buddies and we started playing together in the dorms and then we met Dave and Todd and Mike, they were friends from junior high school. And Todd called him up out of the blue and he ran away from home and lived with us.
PHILLIPS: No. Let's get this straight. Todd was the band geek, from what I understand. He was in the marching band, and I want everyone to know there's no such thing. That's right. Marching band is cool, right, Todd?
TODD NANCE: Sure.
PHILLIPS: That's right.
NANCE: Most definitely.
PHILLIPS: And you guys are very active in raising money, "Tunes for Tots" to get instruments to low-income kids.
NANCE: All we have to do is have the time of our lives making music and it's -- it's really no skin off of us and it's an honor to be able to do something like this. I mean, come on. It's just - this is what we do and it's - we're just glad to be able to help.
PHILLIPS: Domingo from Texas, you were doing Tex-Mex as a young kid. It was your uncle who influenced you.
DOMINGO ORTIZ, WIDESPREAD PANIC: 11 years old.
PHILLIPS: All types of percussion, right.
ORTIZ: All types.
PHILLIPS: OK. And you've been able - I mean, what drew you to this group?
ORTIZ: Actually my very best friend owned a club in Athens, Georgia, and he said man, you've got to move to Athens, Georgia, hottest music scene around. So there I was in 1986 that I met up with these guys. And the rest is history for me.
PHILLIPS: So do you guys like Jojo being compared to the Grateful Dead. Because I hear that so much even when "60 Minutes" profiled you guys, right. They said "this is the Grateful Dead of 2010."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know about that. We're a great band and we're honored to be compared to them.
PHILLIPS: Dave, you know, what drew you to the band? What was it that convinced you, OK, this is it. I love this music. I love these guys and hey, we're totally involved.
DAVE SCHOOLS, WIDESPREAD PANIC: Well, I actually dropped out of journalism school.
PHILLIPS: Did you really?
SCHOOLS: At the University of Georgia.
PHILLIPS: Hey, I can use some writers and producers on this team. We need some support, if you're interested.
SCHOOLS: You know I just - I met J.B. through a mutual friend and it seemed like it would be a good fit musically and it just rolled down the hill like a snowball. It got bigger and faster and we picked up more folks and we just - we're still rolling, you know? That's why I feel lucky. You know, 25 years later we're still able to - like Todd said, play music and it's the greatest thing in the world.
PHILLIPS: And make a difference.
Now, you notice I haven't been picking on Jimmy. Because I understand the only time Jimmy will talk it's fishing, motorcycles and cereal because that's all he eats. I knew I could get you to laugh.
You don't have laryngitis. But I do want you to give a shout out about the music, Jimmy. I mean, and let our viewers know. You know, what is it about music and musicians that gets people to want to give especially when it comes to disasters, natural disasters that affect, you know, our country?
JIMMY HERRING: Well, you know, J.B. really said it all when he said music is the universal language, and it just crosses over all barriers, you know? It can touch people that don't even speak the same language you speak, and it moves people, and it moves people to do great things, you know? It's all powerful.
PHILLIPS: Not bad for the shyest guy in the group, huh, guys? Well, I tell you what and it's pretty - I've been to the concerts, and I see everybody from little babies running around up to, you know, people in their 80s. I mean, you guys touch the hearts of all age groups and it's so great to have you guys here and appreciate you pitching in.
All your southern roots coming to the surface here. You're giving back. Let's have one more final hoorah, shall we say? Let's go for as much as a full song as we can. Let's raise some more money and we'll bring up the Impact Your World site and ask everyone to pitch in. Sound good? Thanks guys for you being here. Yes, I appreciate you all very much.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's a scary question. The failed bombing in Times Square makes it even scarier. Are terror groups recruiting American citizens to kill the U.S. or to kill us, rather? That answer, yes, and without a doubt.
CNN's Nic Robertson spend a year unraveling just such a case. A middle-class New Yorker who conspired to kill Americans.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): This is Penn Station in the heart of New York. At peak rush more than 60,000 people churn through here every hour -- 60,000 every hour.
For al Qaeda, Penn Station and the potential for a mass killing is a prized but daunting target. But then it seemed they got lucky.
That's when this man, a young American who grew up only 50 miles from here, made his way to Pakistan to offer his help. He is Bryant Neal Vinas, and this is how a quiet, studious middle-class kid suddenly transformed into a dangerous enemy of the state. MITCH SILBER, NYPD: Bryant Neal Vinas is almost a poster child for the process, the unremarkable nature of the people who might go through this process, and the danger that presents.
ROBERTSON (on camera): I've spent the better part of a year here in the U.S. and in Europe, unraveling how and why Bryant Neal Vinas went from Catholic to Muslim, from U.S. Army recruit to jihadist, from Long Island to Lahore.
(voice-over): Bryant grew up on this street in a middle-class neighborhood on Long Island. His parents are Latino immigrants. Neither would go on camera with CNN, but a neighbor, Rita Desroches, says, as a boy, Bryant was like part of her family.
RITA DESROCHES, NEIGHBOR: Very sweet little guy. He could come here any time, and he was welcome to be here.
ROBERTSON: Rita's son, Carvin, knew him best.
CARVIN DESROCHES, CHILDHOOD FRIEND: When we were younger, we used to go in the pool a lot. He was respectful. He would make sure that he wouldn't break any sort of rules in the house.
ROBERTSON (on camera): There was nothing remarkable about Bryant's early childhood. His teachers remember him as being a good student, quiet and shy. He loved baseball and swimming. On Sundays, he was an altar boy. His father, devoutly Catholic.
But when he was 14 years old, it all came crashing down.
(voice-over): Bryant's world shattered by his father leaving his mother. His mother talked about it off camera with CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: There were tears and temper tantrums. Bryant started quarrelling with his sister, being disrespectful towards his mother. He refused to accept his parents' separation. ROBERTSON: Soon, Bryant left his mother's home. The boy was adrift. He stayed with the Desroches a few weeks until he went to live with his father. It was about that time Bryant made a new best friend, Alex Acevado.
(on camera): Where did you meet him?
ALEX ACEVADO, FRIEND: I met him in high school, Longwood High School. From there we just hanged out. Every single time, we clicked it, you know, like regular buddies.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Although they were best buddies, they were different. Alex liked partying, Bryant was clean cut.
ACEVADO: Never had a beer with him. Nothing. He was a straight edge.
He was passionate about school. He did his homework on time. He liked school. He liked going to school. He wanted to finish school and go to college.
ROBERTSON (on camera): He sounds like a regular, middle-class kid.
ACEVADO: Oh, yes, he is. He's just dedicated. He's very dedicated. And he's focused, very focused. To me he's very goal oriented.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Bryant was 18 on September 11, 2001 -- 9/11. The terrorist act inspired one of Bryant's friends to join the Marines, another one joined the Army, and two joined the Coast Guard; Bryant wanted in, too.
(on camera): What was he talking to you about, what he wanted to do with his life?
ACEVADO: He just said he wanted to go into the military you know, and just come out and just live happy.
ROBERTSON: And join the Army.
ACEVADO: And join the Army.
ROBERTSON: Did he say why he wanted to join the Army?
ACEVADO: No, not at all. He just felt proud. He wanted to just join the Army.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In March 2002, Bryant enlists. According to military records CNN obtained, he signed up for the infantry but after three weeks is discharged. Bryant's family says he was discharged due to his asthma.
ACEVADO: He said it was too difficult on him.
ROBERTSON (on camera): Boot camp. ACEVADO: Yes. Too difficult, he said.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Bryant was 19, aimless, alienated from his parents.
ACEVADO: So the relationship between him and his family was just -- they just crumbled. They shattered in pieces. And he started a new life with his friends.
ROBERTSON: Bryant was drawn to Alex's brother Victor, an aspiring pro boxer and a new convert to Islam.
ACEVADO: He asked, "What is the Koran?" And my brother explained to him what it was, and he handed him the Koran.
ROBERTSON (on camera): And how long did it take him to read it?
ACEVADO: Not long. Because he took every minute, every second reading that book.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's as if he's been searching for a new identity, and now it's taking shape. But it would soon jag wildly in another direction.
Of course, no one could have guessed Bryant's journey would lead him to Afghanistan and a plan to help al Qaeda strike back home in New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Nic Robertson joining us live from Karachi, Pakistan.
Nic, are there any similarities between the American al Qaeda case and what we know about the Times Square bomb suspect?
ROBERTSON: Kyra, it is quite amazing, there are lots.
We told the story of Bryant Neal Vinas because we thought by telling one person's story, we could tell the story of the homegrown radicalization threat that's happening.
The similarities are they're both fairly well educated, they're both middle class. They both have an inquisitive nature and they both want to do well and prosper in life and they both go through this sort of life-changing experience. For Bryant, it's his family falling apart and his parents separating and for Shahzad it's where his house goes into foreclosure where he appears to separate from his wife. So they have that experience in common.
Of course, the other common thread that we see happening here, both of them, when they want to get into this fight against the United States, both come here to Pakistan and hook up with militants to get the training that sends them, in Shahzad's case, back to the United States -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Nic Robertson, great reporting. Top stories in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
At least five people are dead in Oklahoma of a several tornadoes skipped across the state. Homes destroyed, tractor trailers tossed and power lines brought down. There could be more severe weather in the area today.
BP's got the go-ahead to use oil-dispensing chemicals near the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Execs from the company face a grilling on Capitol Hill today.
And the three young American hikers detained in Iran will be allowed visitors, their moms. The hikers are accused of spying, they've been locked up since July.
She usually talks about the news of the day on "The View," but Barbara Walters is making news herself. We'll tell you about her surgery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Finger pointing and suit grilling on Capitol Hill -- executives from BP, TransOcean and Halliburton testifying on what went wrong in the Gulf. Why did that oil rig explode? We're still waiting for answers.
There's also a separate hearing going on in Louisiana right now. It's part of the Coast Guard's investigation into the rig explosion that killed 11 people. The Coast Guard looking into inspections and rig maintenance.
BP is going start shooting chemicals around the water around that leak to break up the oil. The EPA said that's fine it, gave its approval yesterday.
Three hundred and fifty million dollars, that's how much BP says it's spent so far on the response. Nearly 4 million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf.
Now, we've seen some of the oil washing union shore, but the environmental catastrophe hasn't happened yet. Just wait, it's coming. People are preparing for the worst and in some pretty fragile areas even more so.
CNN's Rob Marciano takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. LOUIS SKRMETTA, SHIP ISLAND EXCURSIONS: OK, folks, we have some dolphins coming up. If you look a little bit to your right -
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I saw another one! ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): West Chip Island is the destination, part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and home to more than 300 types of birds.
Captain Louis Skrmetta's family runs this tour company for the National Park Service. The oil spill now threatens his protected paradise just 10 miles offshore.
SKRMETTA: They can't get this thing capped off, this is going to be a catastrophe for our natural resources in this region.
Katrina is long in our past. That's nothing compared to what's out there.
MARCIANO: The scenery here has definitely changed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The main thing they want to know, is the oil here?
MARCIANO: Not yet, so the beach tours continue.
SKRMETTA: And we're just going to go this direction down the beach and see what we find.
MARCIANO: Only minutes later, the site of a motionless cormorant (ph) brings more uncertainty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not sure that that's an oil casualty.
MARCIANO: Rangers believe the death was natural.
Meanwhile back on the mainland, life begins anew.
(on camera): As common as traffic is along Highway 90 are birds, lots of them. Between this road and the Gulf of Mexico lies this nesting area of least terns. This is the time of year where they lay their eggs and nests. And like most parents, they are pretty protective.
(voice-over): Speckled gray eggs dot the landscape, as hundreds of mommies and daddy swirl above the sand.
ALISON SHARPE, WILDLIFE CARE AND RESCUE CENTER: They migrate from many, many miles away.
MARCIANO: Alison Sharpe rescues injured animals and says birds don't have an anti-oil instinct.
SHARPE: They will probably still die, they are looking for fish. They are out there trying to survive and I don't think that they are really looking at oil. They are looking at, you know, what could potentially be their only meal for that day.
MARCIANO: So far, just one oil pelican has been rescued and released back into the wild.
SHARPE: You may not see this directly right now but there is going to be an impact.
MARCIANO (on camera): Not even the tip of iceberg yet?
SHARPE: No, it's going to be like, almost in a sense like a domino effect.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano joining us live now from Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
So, Rob, what does that wild life expert mean by the domino effect?
MARCIANO: Basically, if you remove one link from the food chain, then it begins to collapse around it. They're hoping that doesn't happen, but it certainly is a possibility.
The good news here is that there's only been two oiled birds that have been captured, rehabilitated and then released into the wild. It's good that we haven't seen more than that. There are teams of field crews and helicopter crews that are scouring the landscape for oiled animals and they haven't seen many yet. Again, good news.
But remember, the bulk of what we've seen is sheen, and these animals are just not smart enough to distinguish between a water and sheen. If they see a bird or a fish from the air, they're going to go after it. So down the road, the longer-term effects, you know, we just don't know what's going to happen. Certainly they test the food coming out of the gulf on a daily basis and when that red flag goes up, it will go up. But it hasn't yet and that's the big fear is about the long-term effects.
More immediate term, it's all out on the Gulf affecting the fish. Whether or not that slick gets to shoreline, that's up for speculation, how much gets here, but the longer-term effects are going to be the big issue -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We're going to be having long-term reporting as well. Thanks, Rob.
They do a lot of dishing about celebrities on "The View," but one of their own took time in the show to talk about a personal health matter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ABC "THE VIEW")
BARBARA WALTERS, JOURNALIST: Later this week I'm going to have surgery to replace one faulty heart valve. Now, lots of people have done this and I have known of this condition for a while now and my doctors and I have decided that this is the best time to do the surgery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining me now to talk about the procedure.
What do you know?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that it's a very common procedure. So it's open-heart surgery, which is risky and it's a big deal, but it is done all of the time. So let's take a look at what doctors actually will do during the surgery that we hear Barbara Walters is about to have.
Chances are she's having her aortic valve replaced, and that's the last place the blood goes when it goes through your heart. And what you see there is a plastic valve. So she will get a plastic valve like this one.
And the reason why is that sometimes when you hit her age, which is 80, it's just plain old wear and tear. The flaps on the valve where the blood goes through, they just calcify and they stop working properly.
Now, I think it's important to note that a lot of times when people hear that someone needs some kind of heart surgery or is having heart problems, they sometimes think, oh, did the person not exercise? Did they not eat right? That's not at all the case here. This is simply a matter of wear and tear. When someone gets to be 80, sometimes those valves just don't function the way they should.
PHILLIPS: They start to give out.
COHEN: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: How long it will it likely take her to recover?
COHEN: She'll be in the hospital for about five to ten days and then she'll probably be out of commission for about six to ten weeks. And I've been told by cardiologists that people usually do cardiac rehab after heart valve surgery. So that means she'll be degree basically exercises and whatnot to get herself back up to speed.
PHILLIPS: OK, we'll follow the progress. We need to be positive.
COHEN: Right.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Elizabeth.
Miranda rights for terror suspects. It's the law right now, but what do you think? Should they have the right to remain silent?
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PHILLIPS: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.
Miranda rights, designed to protect your Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer self-incriminating questions. If you're an American citizen, you've got them. Congratulations, well done. If you're a terrorist, you don't deserve them.
Why? Think about the environment that we're living in since 9/11. We're talking about terrorist mentality. The mentality of a shoebomber, an underwear bomber, and now a bumbling wannabe SUV bomber. They don't play by the rules of war. They have no rules at all, just destruction by any means.
You know, I respect the law and due process and the idea of innocent until proven guilty, but it's mindboggling to me that an American citizen who would have the same rights as some dirtbag who comes into the country to kill us. If we try to play fair with these people, give them Miranda rights and so on, we're affording them the privileges that they would take away from everyone if they ran the world.
If America is so corrupt and immoral, why duck under our Constitution? You expect rights like an American, then maybe you ought to stop trying to blow us up. And it's why I'm glad that the attorney general has decided it's time to loosen the Miranda rule when it comes to interrogating these radicals.
Faisal Shahzad, I would like to tell you what you could do right now, but I can't say it on TV so I'll remain silent.
That's what I think, here's what you think. You can read some of the comments on our blog on CNN.com/Kyra.
This came from Rick, "If they are United States citizens then they should be read their Miranda rights. But they should also be brought up by charges of treason, punishable by death."
David Brown says, "I believe that if you try to kill American citizens en masse in the name of the enemy that we are at war with and this is proven beyond any doubt that you should be treated like any enemy captured on the battlefield swiftly, executed. I agree with what you said, as long as you deal with the non-American citizens, but this last Times Square character is an American citizen. It's not right for us to take away rights from an American citizen."
Charles Valentine says, "Yes, they should. An accused terrorist is not the same thing as an actual terrorist until convicted. Things like Miranda rights is what makes America great."
Thanks for weighing in. Send me your comments everyday on my blog at CNN.com/Kyra.
You've had your say, now make way for Jay and Dave, punishing our terror suspect with barbed punchlines.
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JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": U.S. investigators are trying to understand how the Times Square bomber, this Faisal Shahzad guy, he took numerous trips back and forward to Pakistan even though the guy's name was on the no-fly list. You know what I think happened? I think the government confused the no-fly list with the don't ask, don't tell list. They got confused.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": I thought this was nice, though. Faisal Shahzad gave his mother flowers and candy in a smoking SUV. By the way the Pakistani Taliban is claiming responsibility for that last joke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, tornados in Oklahoma and the amazing stories of survival. We'll take you to the scene of a demolished truck stop. The people inside survived by hiding in a walk-in cooler. You'll hear their incredible story straight ahead.
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PHILLIPS: That's a wrap for NEWSROOM this hour. Big thanks to Widespread Panic for helping us raise money and support for the Tennessee flood victims. Good guys and a good cause, and we impacted your world.
NEWSROOM continues now with another good guy -- take that back -- great guy, Tony Harris.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That was terrific. You don't mind if we run chunks of that performance in our program over the next couple of hours?
PHILLIPS: Please, please. All of the Widespread Panic possible.
HARRIS: It is done. Have a great day, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Tony.
