Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
New Tactics for Oil Spill; Chemical Dispersants Toxicity; Tennessee Severe Weather
Aired May 15, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right, well, we've a lot going on. It's Noon Eastern on the East Coast, 11:00 a.m. in Biloxi, Mississippi. Hello, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Crews in the Gulf of Mexico are trying to new tactics today to minimize the impact of the oil spill, the Coast Guard and the EPA have authorized the use of chemical dispersants under the water. Other tactics in the works include trying to cap the leak with a small dome and inserting a tube into the leaking pipe to siphon the oil out.
Let's go live to CNN's Reynolds Wolf who's in Biloxi, Mississippi.
So, Reynolds, give me an idea how hopeful they are that these new methods might work.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't know if it's really hope or desperation, I mean, right now they're trying everything, they really and truly are to try to stop this leak, I mean, we've been talking about how much oil might be coming out, anywhere from, say, 5,000 barrels per day, some guesstimates as high as 70,000 barrels per day. So, at this point they're going to do everything they can to try to stave this off.
One of the things they're working on, Fredricka, is they're using things called ROVs a little bit of, say, Jacques Cousteau mixed up with "Star Wars." ROVs are underwater robots. The game plan, Fredricka, is to use these robots to kind of steer a six-inch underwater pipe right into the leak. The plan then is to siphon with that pipe, siphon the oil, at least 85 percent of it, up to a vessel at the very surface. At the surface, the vessel more specifically will be an oil tanker, the game plan then is to get that tanker filled and at least offloaded and bring it back to shore and then they'll remove the oil onshore.
Second game plan, still using that boat, still using a siphon, but instead of inserting it right into the crack, possibly using something different that they refer to as a containment dome or a top hat, that is going to be placed over the leak if the first option fails and that will be, again, drawing the oil to the surface.
But the other thing you were referring to a few days ago it was called the "Junk Shot," this is where it really gets weird. Almost the effect of a giant shotgun that instead of pellets would be firing pieces of rubber, parts of tires, even golf balls into the leak itself. Then they take a layer of ocean mud, put it over the crack, the leak, if you will, and then put a bit of cement layer on there, if you will, almost like if you had a cut on your arm and then just kind of putting a compress to seal off the wound, that's essentially what they would trying to do -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: I'm no engineer, but that last option seems quite impossible. If you remember the images earlier this week of showing the thrust of that oil, as well as the methane that was coming out of that leak, it would seem that trying to insert anything in that leak and then topping it off with concrete, how do you hold that stuff into place in order to lay the concrete, and oh, by the way, this is still a mile deep. Is anyone explaining how these things could work, because I know these questions have been asked.
WOLF: Oh, it's a great thing to ask, I mean, the flow rate alone of that oil and the natural gas coming out is just ridiculous. And trying to get the first option, just the tube to cover that, is going to be really, really difficult, no question about it, hence the reason for having the three undersea robots to help steer that piece of pipe into position.
Now, a second thing that we were talking about that you mentioned right off the top of the show was the oil dispersant, that chemical. You know, that's kind of a tricky thing. That was -- originally was used, it was used sparingly and with some success, then that was halted by the EPA. They wanted to check it out, they wanted to get a better understanding of if was this harmful. Well today, they are now allowing BP, both the EPA and the Coast Guard is going to allow the EPA to use it once again.
Now, what it does, as you have the oil escaping from the leak, they spray it with the chemical dispersant, the chemical dispersant then has a molecular chemical bond with the oil, and it's supposed to weigh it down, break it up and then keep it on the ocean floor. Now, that has many environmentalists up in arm because the potential hazards that could give to marine life and the environment.
Some people say it might be the lesser of two evils and they want to keep that on the bottom, the oil on the bottom. Others say you ought to have the oil on the surface so you can skim it off, you at least know where it is and then you can do something with it. But then, there are others that say that by using the chemical dispersant, you're making a bad situation even worse. So, a lot of questions, a lot of troubles with that. A lot of people scratching their heads over this one.
WHITFIELD: OK, meantime, I'm seeing all these beautiful, colorful umbrellas behind you, but no people. So people are staying away from the beach, yes.
WOLF: Well, there are some people out here, we've got CNN photo journalist Don Swan (ph), he's behind the camera.
Don, let's show people a little bit of a pan of what we've got over here. And Fredricka, in the background here, you're going to see a lot of umbrellas, you see some sea trikes over here, some ocean trikes, a few lounge chase and whatnot. The problem is, though, you've got more of this stuff than you do people and you normally have much more than that out here this time of year. But see, the problem is, we've seen this scene played out in many places up and down the Gulf Coast. This is an area where you have a lot of people showing up, not just at the beach, but also at the hotels, a lot of the restaurants, the casinos, they need more and of course the oil is keeping a lot of people away. But, all those places are open for business and they definitely need some customers.
WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right, Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much from Biloxi, Mississippi, we'll check back with you throughout the day.
So, this is quite confusing, isn't it? The use of chemical dispersants to now put under water, just as it has been under the surface of the water, but to no real avail, I mean, we're still talking about many thousands of barrels of oil that polluted the Gulf of Mexico.
So, Riki Ott is a marine toxicologist, you've seen that we've been talking with her throughout this crisis really for about three weeks now, we've had her on our shows and she's back with us now. She's joining us by phone.
Are you in -- you're in Venice, Louisiana, right?
RIKI OTT, MARINE TOXICOLOGIST: I'm in La Fete at the moment.
WHITFIELD: Oh, La Fete. OK, very good. OK, so, Riki, we had a pretty comprehensive conversation a couple weeks ago about chemical dispersants as a whole, you're not a huge fan of it, but you also talked about there are very few options to try to stop up this oil, contain the oil. So now, we're talking about BP, as well as we hear reportedly the EPA approving the use of these chemical dispersants under water. But haven't they already been used under water? Reportedly that had already been the case at least a week ago.
OTT: They were used and then NOAA stopped them out of concern that the testing, the toxicity testing was inadequate. And I pulled up the Material Safety Data Sheet on these and it say: "Accidental release measures for Correctsit 9500 is stop or reduce any leaks. Do not touch spilled material." It also says if the material does spill, it could be considered and meet the criteria of a hazardous waste. So, it also says it should not touch worker's skin, it shouldn't be breathed, if you do you should be getting medical attention.
Even though the toxicity tests that have been done have been on only for 48 hours using adult species like brine shrimp. These really bear no resemblance, this is like a paper exercise, but it's being applied for real in the gulf. And what the Material Safety Data Sheet also says is that the substance has a potential to bioaccumulate, in other words it has the potential to be passed up through the food well. And you know, we're talking about a mile of ocean and using these dispersants, and the thing is that, the temperature difference between the hot oil and the colder water is creating density gradients so that these dispersants are not necessarily going to sink, they're going to travel in the oil column. And when I hear BP say, you know, low toxicity, this is not what the Material Safety Data Sheet is necessarily showing, it's not a very realistic picture. And also, where's BP's evidence that it's not toxic for the fish eggs that are in the water column now? For the crab eggs, for the oyster larvae...
WHITFIELD: But this is a method that is getting the endorsement by the EPA.
OTT: Well, the EPA only has to require these very old tests. So we have, I think we have regulatory capture going on here where just because the EPA has approved these minimal tests, doesn't necessarily mean that it's not toxic for the environment, that it's being released into right now. Forty-eight hours in a lab is a whole lot different than what's going on in the Gulf of Alaska.
WHITFIELD: And I guess part of the argument is which is more toxic, this oil or the dispersants or both.
Josh Levs is with us, as well, here in the studio and he's got some interesting graphics to show, I know, Riki, you are unable to see them, but perhaps by best description you'll be able to respond to some of the questions that are precipitated from these graphics -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I'll tell you, Fred, you know, anytime we hear about a tricky new maneuver, I always look at the best images, and this is so new in so many ways that there's very little out there on the Internet. There is one pretty good one here from RSC.org, and you can see it behind me and basically what they are showing is that it's this effort to go way underground and basically to shoot this dispersant at the oil and try to mix it up.
And the simplest image I'm finding here is at ITOPF.com where basically what they're showing you here is this huge line of oil and if this dispersant does its job, the basic idea here, tiny little bits.
Let me ask you this, Riki, is there a tiny little amount of this oil that is safe, if this dispersant works and successfully disperses this oil, so that it's teeny, tiny little bits, is that OK or does that just extend the danger even further?
OTT: Well, two things on that, one is that this dispersant is listed as 54 percent affective and that's again, in ideal laboratory conditions. this So, at maximum, you're looking at a 50/50 chance of it actually disbursing the oil. And where is the rest of the oil going to go? I don't see any subsurface drills buoys to monitor where this plume of sort of this toxic stew is headed.
And secondly, disbursed oil dissolved in the water column is, by nature, more toxic because it's a larger surface area and it's easier to go across like the gills of like fish, and there's plenty of new papers, the latest one I have is actually 2009 with a red rock fish showing that disbursed oil is much more toxic than not disbursed oil. So, this is a tradeoff, this is a toxic hit in the water column and unfortunately, there's a lot in the water column right now, young in the year, so what effect is this going to have on the ecosystem a few year from now, maybe even later this fall... LEVS: Let me just -- I have one -- really quickly, while you're talking about it, you're talking about the surface area, and I'm going to turn on this image that we have at CNN.com that shows -- and all you need to see folks is this dark area, that's where the oil has been each day throughout this whole thing leading up to today, the possibility of it dispersing extending even further, is what Riki is talking about.
And Riki, before I go, I want to ask you a simple question that might even sound dumb it's so simple, but why don't we have a way to plug this thing? We've always known, we being humanity, have always known it's possible to get a leak this far under water. Why are we left in this situation in which they're even talking about a "Junk Shot" and now this new kind of science in this dispersal; that we don't even know if it'll work. Why isn't there something in place to plug this thing?
OTT: Because these big corporations, all they care about is making a profit and for them, every environmental safety standard, every worker safety standard, every public health protection costs them, it snips away at their profits, so they do everything they can to get themselves exemptions, waivers. And you know, I mean, don't tell me they can't plug it, they just haven't put the money into figuring it because the risk of doing that is such a low event. They just haven't taken the precautions and spent the money. But once...
LEVS: Riki, thank you. As I toss in back to Fred, I am going to tell everyone, look BP has said repeatedly, over and over again, they're doing everything they possibly can, the have nothing to gain from something horrible like this happening; it's the last thing they want. But I really appreciate you helping us understand that from your views.
Fred, back to you.
OTT: You have to be careful, the people, this dispersant is being sprayed over people so we need to be mindful of affects, as well.
LEVS: Absolutely, the number of people affected, the millions of people who live on the Gulf Coast , reason, obviously, Fred, that's where a lot of the focus is, right now.
OTT: And the people working on the rigs and the fishermen.
WHITFIELD: All right, marine toxicologist, Riki Ott, thanks so much. I know you're going to be joining us again because we can't get enough of your information because you have really studied it for a long time and now you're there getting a firsthand look and you've brought us some very interesting perspectives. Thanks so much.
And Josh Levs, thanks to you, as well.
And speaking of BP, in fact there is expected to be a press conference later on today, 2:30 Eastern Time, BP along with the interior secretary, as well as, we understand, maybe the U.S. Coast Guard is going to be part of that, 2:30 Eastern Time, right here on CNN. We'll, of course, carry it live.
Blowing smoke and making air travelers fume. Transportation officials in Britain are considering closing numerous airports early next week as the volcanic eruption in Iceland, yeah, that one, it continues. If it goes on at the current levels, closures could come as early as tomorrow. It's suggested that ticketed passengers check with their air carrier before leaving home. Air travel in Europe has been under a cloud of uncertainty since the volcano's eruption and that was last month when it erupted and created a big problem.
All right, the little Dutch boy who survived last week's plane crash in Libya is now back in the Netherlands. Nine-year-old Ruben flew home on a medically equipped plane accompanied by an aunt and uncle. His legs were broken in several places, but he had no other serious injuries. The child was the only survivor out of 104 people on that Libyan plane that went down. He lost his mother, father and older brother in that disaster.
First came the flooding downpours and now the hail the size of softballs, apparently, Tennessee just can't get a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Two weeks removed from historic flooding in middle Tennessee and look at what they got pelted with yesterday. Softball- sized hail, plenty of windshields, car hoods, roofs, and buildings took quite the beating with this hailstorm, yesterday. Clarksville and sadly more severe weather is headed today to parts of Tennessee.
Meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider with us now. Poor Tennessee and Louisiana because it too is kind of in the bull's-eye of bad weather.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Fredricka, the South has just seen already a terrible severe weather season and now we're looking at more storms hitting some of the same places that just storms last weekend.
I want to talk a little bit about Louisiana. First off, here's a look at the gulf oil spill, and you can see the curvature of the heavier oil, a little bit further to the north than it was before, that's because we've seen more of a steady flow of winds from the south/southeast. That will persist through the weekend, but we are anticipating some changes with the winds coming more from the southwest later on in the week and that may be shift it a little bit more to the east. So, there's a lot happening, certainly, on that front.
And speaking of Louisiana, I don't know if you noticed in Reynolds Wolf's report, but behind him, the skies were really dark. That's because there's a lot of strong thunderstorms in the area.
Check it out, right here, across parts of Mississippi, down through the extreme southeastern Louisiana, we're seeing real-time frequent lightning strikes and heavy downpours of rain. It's been rough going. We even had reports of one person injured in the town of Lucy, which is in St. John The Baptist Perish in southern Louisiana. Still checking on that. It could have been a tornado, there was a tornado warning there, but it hasn't been confirmed.
Heavy rain across Texas, this is really problematic, there were some water rescues in Victoria, Texas because the water is at least a foot, according to some spotters. And the rain continues to work its way to the north.
Now St. Louis is getting moderate rain, I'm not as concerned there, but to the south in western Tennessee, Memphis, Nashville, that's right, you can see more severe weather today, as if it's not enough from what we saw over the past month. Fredricka, we are looking at more possibly thunderstorms and winds across much of the mid-south, I'm sorry to report, I wish I could say Tennessee is going to catch a break.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
SCHNEIDER: No, not this time, anyway.
WHITFIELD: No, sorry about that, Tennessee. All right, thanks so much, Bonnie, appreciate that. Check back with you.
All right, well get a load of this, an airport body scan? Yes, they are being used already in the states in some places, blamed for starting a brawl this time between two TSA workers in Miami. Our legal guys will be taking this one on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories, right now. The president pays tribute to police officers killed in the line of duty last year. During a memorial service last hour, Mr. Obama said they and their fellow law enforcement officers help the rest of us live in the president's words, "free from fear."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Whether you're a beat patrolman or a road deputy, you don't know what the next dispatch will bring. All you know is your duty to keep us safe, to keep our communities safe, to keep America safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A 47-year-old man is sentenced to death for stabbing kindergarteners last month in eastern China, but he's appealing, saying the punishment is too severe since no one died. Twenty-nine children and three teachers were hurt in the attack. The convicted man said he was angry and frustrated over a series of business and personal failures.
And technical difficulties, please standby. Astronauts aboard the space shuttle "Atlantis" are reportedly having camera issues which are hampering today's planned inspection of the ship after Friday's launch. Meanwhile, NASA is keeping a close eye on space junk that's coming dangerously close to the International Space Station, though they don't believe either issue will actually impact tomorrow morning's scheduled docking.
All right, let's talk about some really important legal issues that are on our docket. We turn to our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor and Richard Herman, a New York criminal attorney and law professor, as well.
Good to see you. But, you guys have changed places sort of, I mean, Avery...
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: We're messing with you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, I know, you're confusing me. Avery is in New York, your home plate, Richard.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTY: I'm in New York, yeah.
WHITFIELD: And Richard is kind of his second home, I say, Las Vegas.
HERMAN: Right.
FRIEDMAN: Well, actually New York thought they were going to get LeBron from Cleveland, they wind up with me.
WHITFIELD: Oh, funny. Well, funny you should bring that up, I think we'll have a little something LeBron-like for you, a little bit later. But first let's tackle Faisal Shahzad, this is the alleged bomber in Times Square event happening just a couple weeks ago. And now we're really landing on the issue of Miranda rights. His Miranda rights were delayed, Avery and Richard,
So Richard, is there ever a time where this is OK, because you know, some would say, well there's been some information that' extrapolated from him as a result of the delay of the Miranda rights. But is it really right to do that?
HERMAN: Well Fred, first of all Miranda is not in the Constitution, it's judicially created by U.S. v. Miranda. Additionally, about 25 years ago, the Supreme Court carved out an exception to Miranda, a public safety exception, which basically gave prosecutors and investigators the ability to continue to question and not read Miranda.
WHITFIELD: And this is the right to remain silent, you may have an attorney present, we're talking about that.
HERMAN: That's the basic Miranda warning, right. So here, what they say was there was a public safety exception that delayed giving Miranda rights, warnings, then ultimately, waved that public safety exception, that period expired, there was no more threat to the public, then they gave him his Miranda warnings and he waived them himself intentionally, knowingly, and he wanted to continue to talk, talk, talk. But he's never been presented yet for arraignment, he hasn't gone before a magistrate and there's no docket open for him.
(CROSSTALK)
FRIEDMAN: Which is another issue, right.
WHITFIELD: OK, which seems like a whole lot of things that are missteps as you move forward in the prosecutorial phase of this, Avery. So, are we seeing a big problem as it pertains to trying to prosecute this man?
FRIEDMAN: Well, I don't see a big problem, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: No?
FRIEDMAN: I think what we're going to see, here -- no, I really don't, because as Richard said, he was given his Miranda rights, but again, they call it "public safety." It's really future safety. What the Supreme Court said about 25 years ago, was look it, if there are other people, for example co-conspirators, which is critical in terrorism cases then you can continue the inquiry. The hot news, legally, is that there's going to be an effort for Congress to pass a law to deal with this issue, but the question is, I'm not sure how Congress can override what the Supreme Court has said in Miranda and that's going to be the tough responsibility of Congress.
WHITFIELD: And I'm wondering if this public safety argument can really be made for anybody, then, if this is opening the door to that, whether you're a terror suspect, whether you are a citizen who's violated some other law, whether you're a naturalized citizen, maybe an illegal immigrant. I mean, when does this stop? Where does this start and where does it stop?
HERMAN: There you go, Fred, showing off your juris doctorate, there, because that's absolutely, that's an issue, and you know, Avery and Fred, depending which judge gets assigned this case in the southern district, the government could very well have a very severe problem with the way they've handled this fuzzy guy. They really could because some judges may not tolerate what's going on here. He has to go before a magistrate, they have to ensure that he knows just how serious this is and if he really voluntarily waived his Miranda warnings.
WHITFIELD: OK, let's get...
FRIEDMAN: Well look, I think it's voluntary. I think it's voluntary. I think the prosecution's going to do quite well in this.
WHITFIELD: You think he knows what he's doing? OK. Let's talk about Elena Kagan, Supreme Court nominee and already starting the process of meeting and greeting, et cetera. Avery, you say this is hers to lose, why?
FRIEDMAN: Yeah, General Kagan, I think has been planning to become a Supreme Court justice from the age of about two. What's been going on here, is she's brilliant, she's smart, she builds consensus, she works with people and you know what the big, I think, event this week in support of Elena Kagan was a powerful speech given by no less than Justice Anthony Kennedy saying, forget liberal, forget conservative, look at judicial temperament, look at character, that's what it takes to be a good justice, that's what the Senate's got to look to. WHITFIELD: And some felt, Richard, they read that out of her when they learned that she was a clerk for a former, or late Justice Thurgood Marshall, but even though she had her allegiance to being his clerk, she had an allegiance to the letter of the law, and she didn't have a problem disagreeing with Thurgood Marshall on certain issues.
HERMAN: And Fred, let's face it, she was the dean of Harvard Law School, I mean, it doesn't get any higher than that in the United States of America. But the other argument, Fred, is she is not a former judge and therefore, is she really qualified to sit on the bench. Well, more than 25 percent of the Supreme Court justices were not judges in their former lives including Justice Thurgood Marshall and recently Justice William Rehnquist, so...
WHITFIELD: She'd be the first in 40 years, non-judge.
HERMAN: Yes, non-judge. So, I ...
FRIEDMAN: In 40 years, right.
HERMAN: Yes. So, I think that, you know, as Avery and I talked, you know, weeks ago when we talked about her being the frontrunner, it's going to go pretty smooth for her and I think she's going to get the nomination.
WHITFIELD: OK, all right, very good. Let's move on to these body scanners.
FRIEDMAN: By the summer, by the way. By the summer.
WHITFIELD: Oh, by the summer. Right, before the August recess.
FRIEDMAN: By the summer, Fredricka, right.
WHITFIELD: OK, very good. We shall see. Let's talk about body scanners, oh, my gosh, that rattles, you know, the cages of so many people who say oh, it's an invasion of privacy to have them, but already they are in place in some places throughout the United States. Take for example in Miami, it was there, there was a little, I don't know, melee that took place. What happened, Avery?
HERMAN: Melee.
WHITFIELD: Melee.
FRIEDMAN: Well, I love that. Rolando Negrin works for the TSA and as part of the training, you go through the body scanner. Well, one of his colleagues, Fredricka, actually started making fun of his anatomy during the test. It turned into a fracas, a melee, as you said and so, while it has nothing to do with the privacy, legal issues, it turned into a criminal issue for Mr. Negrin, beating up this other TSA guy. So, who knows? We're going to see more and more of that, I guess. I don't know.
WHITFIELD: So Richard, I guess the lesson learned here, just refrain from saying anything, commenting about what it is you see, whether you're TSA worker or not.
HERMAN: Just refrain from melees, Fred. That's what we should do.
WHITFIELD: Just refrain the melee. OK.
HERMAN: If they had this scanning device set up, you know, the guy with the underwear bomber, you know, he would have been caught. These are very expensive, they're in several airports in the United States. But if they're going to adopt this, they have to put them in every airport so people can't pick and choose where they're going to fly in and out of.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and perhaps it's that Detroit case that really has expedited the -- you know, the seriousness of getting these body scanners in place.
FRIEDMAN: That's right, that's exactly right.
WHITFIELD: OK, guys, we're going to talk to you again. We've got some really interesting stuff, everything from in Seattle, police officer who's caught on videotape, allegedly beating someone and then you know, hurling racial epithets, et cetera. And a 22-year-old in high school now facing maybe a crime, a criminal charge for saying he was a different age.
We're going to talk about that, Avery, Richard, in a few minutes. And then, we've got a little fun surprise, a little Lebron-like fun surprise, But it's not a surprise, is it, if I've already mentioned that. All right? Just for you, Avery. All right, coming up.
FRIEDMAN: Uh-oh.
WHITFIELD: It's not an uh-oh, it's an oh yes, that's cute.
All right, well, are your kids hooked on cell phones and technology, probably, what kid isn't these days? Some advice for parents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, shocking numbers for you. Teenagers send 1,500 texts a month on average. That's insane. One in three text while driving. That is scary. Well, this week I talked with tech expert Katie Linendoll in New York. She says there is a gadget out there for parents that will stop texting and driving teens cold.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: But the cool part about it is there's really an array of options out there available and depending on what your phone is, what it's compatible with. So, for example, you can't just block texts, you can also block out parameters. So for example, if you don't want them in school texting, you want them focused, you block out a no phone zone, which is kind of cool. But then, what I love is you can also utilize this GPS technology in the cell phone. You can even pinpoint their exact location at any time.
WHITFIELD: Oh, you're spying on them.
LINENDOLL: So, say for example, they're like, hey, I'm -- what's that?
WHITFIELD: You're spying on them.
LINENDOLL: I know, you're totally spying on them, but it's brilliant because it's putting the control back in the parents' hands, because they're so worried about their kids texting while driving, but they felt powerless. So, this really gives them an opportunity to go ahead and install these very easy applications, you know, give them the control right back.
WHITFIELD: OK, so that brings us to where do you find them because I know a lot of parents are intrigued by this, textecution.com is one and another is txtblocker.com.
LINENDOLL: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Give me a little bit more about them.
LINENDOLL: Yes, and I love the txtblocker because what these do is -- again, they all have different options, but txtblocker for example, after you go over a certain-mile-per-hour, it's going to say, hey, you can't text it while you're driving, it's going to disable that function. But also, it can be as crafty as if they go over a certain mile-per-hour, say they're going 70-miles-per-hour, it will actually send the parent a text that says your kid's speeding.
And then, even further, it can pinpoint their location. So, say for example, they're like oh, I'm going to study biology at school. You find them at the Taco Bell, they're busted. So, what it does is it really brings out the fun police in every parent, but it's again, a great way to really monitor your child in this digital age.
WHITFIELD: OK, say you've got a text, your kid has got to text, you got to text back, there are some alternatives, drivesafely is another. Explain how this works.
LINENDOLL: Yes, this one's a little different because again here, we don't want to put the blame all on teens. We have all texted while we're driving. So, this one's cool because you can get a family plan which is awesome. And what it does is it actually speaks to you, the text, so instead of disabling your texting while driving, it will just give you voice activation. And without picking up your phone, you can actually respond by your voice as well. So, it's a different kind of approach there.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then, say, you know what, there is absolutely zero tolerance, you're saying no, I don't want you to be able to text at all, period. What in the world is this?
LINENDOLL: Yes.
WHITFIELD: I don't even know to pronounce it. Getizup, getizup, OK. LINENDOLL: Getizup, this is what I call the no holds barred -- yes, it's a no holds barred solution. And what it does is it -- distracted drivers is just not good. So, it cuts out everything. As soon as it -- your GPS on your phone knows that you're going over say 10 miles per hour, it's going to disable everything. Of course, you'll still have that access to 911, and set up phone calls about three in advance if you need to use them for emergency purposes.
But it's going to block your phone, it's going to block your texts. And what's really smart what they did, Getizup actually will not reactivate your texting until after a few minutes when you stop driving, so no red light cheating which is very popular.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, Katie Linendoll, did you learn something out there, parents? That's pretty important stuff.
OK, well, this young man, 22-years-old, posing as a 16-year-old. Is that a crime? Our legal guys Avery and Richard are back. There they are.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.
Have you heard about feticide by vehicle? It is what a once pregnant woman is now charged with. Our legal guys are back. Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor and Richard Herman in New York, criminal defense attorney and law professor as well.
All right, gentlemen, this is a really tough situation. This pregnant woman allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase just outside of Atlanta. She wrecks her car and her unborn child is killed and now, she's facing a criminal charge, Richard.
HERMAN: Yes, don't mess with Georgia in feticide. She's looking at 15 years, if they prosecute her on this one, Fred. They're waiting for the toxicology reports to come out and the autopsy of the fetus and I believe if there is any sign of a trace of alcohol, she's going to get prosecuted under that statute.
WHITFIELD: So apparently, she was going 86 miles-per-hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone.
HERMAN: But she was fleeing, she was fleeing police. I mean, she was evading, you know, a lawful stop and she just took off and didn't care and she's pregnant. She crashed into other people and as a result of the impact, she lost the baby.
WHITFIELD: Yes, Avery, this is tough. How common is this offense used? I mean, feticide, I've actually never heard of it before, but I'm not the lawyer, you guys are.
FRIEDMAN: Yes. Well, surprisingly, Fredricka, 38 states have a feticide law and it is become very, very common. The prosecution of feticide cases, however, is fairly rare. But I think the case also presents, if you think about it more deeply, the question of when is a fetus a fetus? Is a fetus at the moment of conception? Is a fetus, like in this case involving Jessica Bruce, I think she was six months pregnant.
I think there's some serious constitutional issues here. It's a legitimate area of inquiry to protect those people who were going to be hurt, but is one of the tests -- for example, is the fetus viable? There are a lot of issues I think that the defense team probably will raise in the case, but feticide is something that's been on the books and the surprise here is that it looks like Georgia officials will be going after this individual.
WHITFIELD: Wow, in this case, feticide by vehicle.
All right, let's move on to Seattle. Let's take a look at some images here ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... caught by an amateur photographer. This video, which shows a police officer allegedly beating a man and then hurling racial epithets as it pertains to his Mexican descent.
Let's listen, and then, you tell me where this is going. Sort of in the background, you can see that the stomping taking place, you can't necessarily hear it. But what we're talking about now is yes, internal investigation, maybe even the Justice Department would be looking into this, because this leans toward the whole hate crime, is that why, Avery?
FRIEDMAN: Yes. This is a very, very important case, Fredricka. It involves Chandy Cobain (ph), who is a police officer for 15 years in Seattle. And what you really couldn't hear on the hit -- on that tape there was the racial remarks being made.
The issue here on the question of the Department of Justice is it a department-wide problem in terms of racism, motivation by race or are we dealing with an individual? That is will it be a criminal case, will it be a civil case? And that's what this first part of the investigation, that's where the case is going.
WHITFIELD: Richard?
HERMAN: I can answer that, Fred. It's definitely going to be a civil case, shades of Rodney King, maybe $5 million per strike. I mean, the other officers standing there had 10 years on the force. This is just -- you know, with video, you can't cross-examine a video, Fred. And we see it and the video is graphic, it's uncalled for and on top of everything else, you know, they had the wrong people, so they let him go. I mean ...
WHITFIELD: So, what -- would the Justice Department, as it were to pursue this, would it actually seek some sort of damages for this man?
FRIEDMAN: Yes, in the civil section of the Civil Rights Division, the answer is yes, the answer is yes.
WHITFIELD: OK.
FRIEDMAN: They do have that power, although what we don't know is will there be a criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice.
WHITFIELD: Yes, oh got you.
FRIEDMAN: Against Mr. Cobain.
WHITFIELD: OK, let's move on to Texas now, 22-year-old playing basketball for the school's team, oopsie.
FRIEDMAN: Boy oh boy.
WHITFIELD: I'm actually 16, not 22 is how the story goes. So now what, you know, Richard, are we talking about charges? Is this fraud? Or is it just kind of like, well darn, let's be understanding? I don't know, where does it go?
HERMAN: I don't know, Fred. Don't mess with Texas at high school sports.
WHITFIELD: Do not mess with Texas.
HERMAN: High school sports ...
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: "Friday Night Lights," you know, I mean this is ...
WHITFIELD: True. Oh that's right, that was the same high school.
HERMAN: That's it. That's right.
FRIEDMAN: It's in Odessa, Texas, right.
HERMAN: I mean ,the guy comes in, he's 6'6, he's supposed to be 16- years-old. The basketball coach looks at him and said wow, that's great. Do you have any ID or anything? He gives some kind of fake Haitian passport and the coach says why don't you live with me, you have no place to live. The next thing you know, they're going to, you know, state championships.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HERMAN: I don't know.
WHITFIELD: It turns out he's a naturalized citizen from Haiti.
HERMAN: Yes. I don't think anything ...
FRIEDMAN: I actually think there ...
HERMAN: I don't think there's going to be any criminal charges here, Fred. WHITFIELD: Oh OK.
HERMAN: I don't think so.
FRIEDMAN: I don't agree with that at all. Actually, I don't agree with that at all. You know, everybody in Odessa, Texas thinks this guy is Jerry Joseph. His name is Gurdwick Mortemayor (ph) and he's 22-years-old from Haiti. No. 1, he was charged with a crime for failing to comply with a lawful order. Now, they found who he is, Fredricka, and now he's going to be facing forgery questions and misrepresentation to government officials.
So, I do think he's going to be charged, I think he's heading back to Port-au-Prince, to be honest with you. I think he's in a world of trouble.
WHITFIELD: Ouch, oh man, this is so sad. OK, well, you know what, Richard, you're in Vegas and avery, you are in New York. We know Avery ...
HERMAN: He's in my seat in New York up there.
WHITFIELD: ... yes, that's right. We know, Avery, that you're probably really missing Cleveland, so since you can't be in Cleveland, we decided to bring a little bit of Cleveland to you.
FRIEDMAN: Oh no no.
WHITFIELD: Does everybody have their lighter, you know? The lighter, let's go to concert a little bit. Instead of "We Are the World," how about "We Are Lebron." Here we go.
HERMAN: Got to come to the Knicks.
WHITFIELD: I love it.
FRIEDMAN: Oh boy. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry about this.
WHITFIELD: Hey Avery, you're swaying back and forth, so am I. I like it, I think it's sweet.
(LAUGHTER)
HERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) personality.
FRIEDMAN: It was Tuesday night, what are you going to do? It was quick hit, I don't know that we're going to hold on to him. We'll see what happens. He's not coming here to New York, though, not coming here.
HERMAN: He's got to come to the Knicks, Dwyane Wade and him.
FRIEDMAN: It's not going to happen, Richard. It's not going to happen. He's in northeast Ohio.
WHITFIELD: He may not want to go anywhere now after hearing that sweet song. You among the Ohio governor, Ted Strickland singing, Senator Sherrod Brown, that is touching.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: I'm feeling a little of the clempt. How about you, Richard?
FRIEDMAN: From the heart.
HERMAN: And on key, Avery, on key.
WHITFIELD: LeBron, you may want to stay in Cleveland. That was quite the effort.
FRIEDMAN: I think he's staying. I think he's going to stay there.
WHITFIELD: And who knew, Avery, you can sing. I'm impressed.
HERMAN: I'm going to Cleveland next week, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Not really. It was the governor that you heard. It was the senator, I think.
WHITFIELD: I love it. All right, thanks for being a good sport on that. That was lots of fun. Avery, Richard, good to see you all.
HERMAN: OK, Fred, be well.
FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you. Take care, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, take care.
OK, you heard about this billboard, right? Mr. President, I need a freakin' job, period. That is the message right here. We talked to one of the people behind it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's a problem for way too many Americans, no job. And one man finally decided to do something about it. He created a grassroots organization to give a voice to the 15 million unemployed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need a freakin' job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need a freakin' job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, I need a freakin' job.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need a freakin' job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, that website and an interstate billboard saying, "Dear Mr. President, I need a freakin' job" are part of a media campaign called the INAFJ project. And earlier this week, I spoke with one of the people behind it, Jeff Baker. His small business actually collapsed in the middle of the banking downfall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: This collective message really came out of frustration, though, didn't it? Give me an idea how difficult it has been for so many people to get a job there in Buffalo and why that precipitated this message.
JEFF BAKER, SPONSORED BILLBOARD: Well, it's unbelievable, as we were developing the concept and really, it took about six months to put it all together and develop the website. I had the opportunity to work with a number of really great college students from Buffalo State College and that's what dawned on us immediately was you know, it's not that long ago we were all graduating from college ourselves.
And you go to school, you do all the right things, you get good grades, you continue your education only then to face graduation with educational debt and be frightened to death. So, the college students were a real inspiration for the entire project.
WHITFIELD: So, it's catchy, it's clever, it's you know, in your face. How effective do you think this is going to be as a tool to help people land a job?
BAKER: I think it's going to be really good in terms of it -- the job situation is a very hard thing to, you know, kind of disagree with. So, we were very -- we were very careful not to draw partisan lines in really attempting to create an issue that I think all Americans can safely say, oh certain the employment situation needs to improve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, still unclear whether the president actually saw that billboard when he was in Buffalo earlier this week. Of course, the folks who created it hope that he did.
All right, a programming note. Join us at 2:00 Eastern time today for the latest special from the award winning "In Focus" photo journalist team, "A Sign of the Times" jobs in focus. And we'll be right back with more in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's new, it's different, and you don't want to miss it. My new segment, Face to Face with Fredricka starts May 22nd and it'll begin with CNN founder Ted Turner. These are going to be discussions with fabulous, interesting people who are making significant impacts on the world.
Well, you can ask him a question directly if you'd like. So, send your questions to Ted that I will then convey to Ted Turner. Send the questions to CNN.com/fredricka and you will get your questions to Ted Turner, the founder of CNN answered on this 30th anniversary of the founding of CNN.
All right, "YOUR MONEY" meantime begins right now.
