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'A Positive Step' in the Gulf; Bangkok Erupting in Violence; Incumbents Face Tuesday Test; What's Behind the Big Republican Comeback; What the Future Holds for Lebron James; More Storms May be Headed to Tennessee; Ash Cloud from Iceland Closes Airports
Aired May 16, 2010 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, finally B.P. says it is making progress. Yet oil is still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Is it spin or is this a real fix? We're live.
It's time to pay attention to politics everyone because primaries are taking place on Tuesday could spell exactly what's going to happen come November -- and it doesn't look good for incumbents.
LeBron James and Jay-Z on the same team? What's up with that?
And Lenny Kravitz joins us live in a very special interview. The rocker is stepping up to help the people of the Gulf Coast.
(MUSIC)
LEMON: Hello, everyone.
It's being called a positive step forward. And after three weeks of failed attempts to cap or even reduce the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, every step towards progress counts, no matter how large or how small. B.P. says an overnight operation to siphon at least some of the oil and gas spewing into the Gulf of Mexico is working. The oil is being pumped to a ship on the surface, 5,000 feet above the seafloor.
And our David Mattingly has been covering this operation from the beginning.
David, is this spin or is this real progress?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's real progress, if you want to measure the lack of progress that we've had over the last week -- this week that went by after that containment dome failed. This is the first bit of any success they've had to stem the flow of that oil that's been spewing out of the pipe at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
What we're seeing happening today, that plan they had in place to put the insertion tube inside the pipe and siphon oil from that pipe to a containment vessel on the surface is working. But B.P. cannot tell us exactly how much oil they are collecting and taking out of the water. But we do know that they say they're seeing some success and they hope to optimize the flow of the oil through that pipe in the next couple of days. At that time, they might be able to give us a harder answer about how much of this oil they're actually able to capture.
LEMON: All right. So, David, then what's the next step? Where do we go from here?
MATTINGLY: Where we go from here is something called a mud kill. This is a process that they're going to put into place seven to 10 days from now, where they're going to pour this type of mud that they -- they call it mud but it's not the organic, garden variety mud that we know -- that we might have outside. This is actually a liquid substance that they use in the drilling process and they're going to be pumping barrel after barrel of that into -- directly into the well to seal it off.
That's their first plan to stop this flow of oil completely. If that doesn't work, then they've got the other standbys -- the junk shot that we've talked about so many times and possibly putting on another blowout preventer. But seven to 10 days from now, watch for that big move that they plan to make that may shut this oil off completely.
LEMON: All right, David, stand by. We'll be relying on you to report the progress. Thank you very much -- David Mattingly in New Orleans.
We turn now to Thailand where bullets are flying in the streets of Bangkok.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Seven people were killed today in fighting between troops and anti-government protesters bringing the death toll to 31 since Thursday. Bangkok is normally considered safe enough to attract thousands of tourists from America every year. But violence is radically changing the face of the city.
CNN's Dan Rivers join us now by phone from Bangkok where he has been since this all started.
So, Dan, remind us of what the conflict is all about and what they want.
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): This is -- this is basically a power struggle for who runs this country. And the Red Shirt protesters are loyal to the ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was kicked out in a coup in 2006. And ever since he was kicked out in a coup, there had been a series of different protests from different sides.
In recent week, it's been his supporters who have been on the streets and their protests got ever more radical and militant and violent. They've been camped out in the very heart of this city for more than six weeks. And in just the last few days, it's got, really, very dangerous here. You see a lot of bullets flying, a lot of people getting killed. And just in the last few hours, there's been a very intense gun battle in the center of Bangkok and with literally bullets whizzing past the building I'm speaking to you from, and the army now has completely surrounded these protesters and trying to get them to leave.
LEMON: And, Dan, the State Department has warned American tourists to stay out of Bangkok. How badly will that hurt tourism in that area?
RIVERS: Well, this is obviously terrible news for the Thai tourist industry. I mean, it must be said that the Thai islands where a lot of the tourists go are largely completely unaffected. This is in downtown Bangkok, in the heart of downtown Bangkok, that is basically a sort of no-go zone at the moment for anyone.
It's a big city. It's a city of 10 million people. There are large parts of the city that are safe. But just to give you an idea, this is the very heart of the city that is affected. It's like, sort of, Times Square and Broadway, you know, being completely shut off and a gun battle raging on it. That's the kind of -- that very heart, the commercial heart, the sort of iconic center of Bangkok, where all the shopping malls, all the big hotels are located.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So, Dan, how would you characterize -- how would you characterize this then? Is this -- some people say that Thailand's on the verge of a civil war.
RIVERS: Well, that's certainly what the prime minister said that there is a small clique of armed protesters who are trying to foment civil war. I don't know if it's heading that way at the moment. But certainly, last night, it felt like a civil war. There were a hell of a lot of bullets flying around here and it -- and it is getting exceptionally dangerous in the middle of town.
LEMON: Dan Rivers, stay safe. Thank you very much for your reporting.
Meantime, candidates are in the homestretch for three big primaries on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: We are going to win because the working families are the ones that win when we do win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And you need to pay attention because the voting could provide early answers for the midterm elections in the fall.
And don't just sit there, make sure you become part of the conversation. Send me a message on Twitter, on Facebook. Make sure you follow us on Twitter. Check out my blog, CNN.com/Don. I want to hear from you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is a long way to November, of course, but two days from now, we're going to get an early test of voter anger towards incumbents. Senate races in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas feature some major party showdowns.
So, let's talk about all these races, and why they're important, with our political editor Mark Preston. He is in Pennsylvania. There he is.
And our deputy political director, Mr. Paul Steinhauser, in Kentucky.
So, Mark, we will start with you. Senator Arlen Specter and his challenger, Congressman Joe Sestak, were on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley this morning. I want you to hear them now talking about the economy and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: For years, I've tried to moderate the Republican Party. And when the stimulus came up and President Obama asked me for his support -- for my support, and it looked like we were sliding into a 1929 Depression, I sided with President Obama. It wasn't my job to be saved. It was the jobs of thousands of Pennsylvanians and Americans.
REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: People who are standing around me today care about one thing, Candy. What Arlen Specter never spoke about, even when he switched parties and said it was keep to his job. It's about their job, that Washington, D.C., because of politics, actually let them lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And, Mark, I should mention that you're at National Constitution Center, the National Constitution Center, not far from Independence Hall. So, what is the story there? Is Arlen Specter in real trouble here?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: He really is in trouble, no question about that, Don. In just the past couple weeks, we've seen the polls close to -- right now, the race is a dead heat heading into Tuesday. And, in fact, after Senator Specter appeared on "STATE OF THE UNION," he made his way around Philadelphia to African-American churches to speak to this very important constituency.
We had an opportunity to talk to him afterwards, Don, and he was very adamant about the fact that the African-American vote here in Philadelphia will be a big reason for his win, if he is to win on Tuesday.
Representative Sestak appeared at the same church that Senator Specter did, Don, a short time afterwards, he made the same pitch. Don, it comes down to this, the Obama White House, President Obama has gone all in for Arlen Specter, the Republican who turned Democrat. Senator Specter effectively gave President Obama the 60th vote. So, you have the White House behind this Republican-turned- Democrat and you have Joe Sestak, the congressman here in Pennsylvania, who's challenging him in the primary, who's talking about change.
LEMON: Yes. When you start doing the church thing and showing up where people commute, at bus stops, at train stops, there's a real get out the vote campaign that's going on right now.
Paul, let's talk about Kentucky though -- two Republicans battling for the Senate nomination, an outsider and an insider. Is that a fair way of characterizing it?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I think that's a pretty fair way of characterizing it. And you're talking about this anti-incumbent mood here in the country -- there is no incumbent in this race. The current senator is retiring. Jim Bunning, a Republican.
But as you mentioned, you've got the outsider. And who is that? Rand Paul. If he sounds familiar, he is. He is the son of Ron Paul. You remember him, Republican congressman who ran for president.
Rand Paul, first-time politician here. He's an eye surgeon. He's become a real favorite of the tea party movement.
He's also been endorsed by Sarah Palin. And that has given him a lot of mojo because at one time he was pretty far behind the other major Republican candidate in this race, that's Trey Grayson.
He is the secretary of state here in Kentucky. He is considered the more mainstream Republican candidate. He is backed by Mitch McConnell, the other senator here in Kentucky and, of course, the senior Republican in the U.S. Senate.
So this kind of outsider versus insider mojo has really -- has helped Rand Paul. And if you believe the polls, he's up by about 10 points with just two days to go until the primary, Don.
LEMON: I want to mention, you talked about the tea party. I'm going to get back to Mark. But how -- you've covered the tea party a lot, Paul. So, how is this influencing these races?
STEINHAUSER: You know, on the Republican side, the tea party movement has all the energy and enthusiasm right now. And we've seen them have some successes and some defeats so far in this primary season. But it was just about a week ago that Senator Bob Bennett of Utah was outed in his bid for re-election, partially because the tea party movement, national and locally, targeted him.
And if Rand Paul wins here in Kentucky, the tea party movement will say that they were one of the reasons for his victory and they will put that as another notch on their belt, Don. LEMON: You care to add anything, Mark, to this tea party thing?
PRESTON: Well you know, Senator Specter actually addressed that today. He himself acknowledged that the tea party is a very powerful movement, Don. I'll tell you, if Rand Paul -- as Paul is saying -- wins in Kentucky on Tuesday, that is going to be a big boost to the tea party.
But let's not forget the tea party is a very decentralized organization. If they're able to get a big win on Tuesday, that could help them coalesce behind the whole idea of the tea party movement. But until they get a very big win, Don, it will be interesting to see how they head into the midterm elections.
LEMON: Hey, Mark, you know, I don't want to leave out Arkansas because Blanche Lincoln is the incumbent facing a challenger from the left. What does this mean for Democrats there?
PRESTON: Just another headache right now for establishment Democrats in Arkansas, Don. The fact is, they have a centrist Democrat who is getting a hard challenge from her left, Bill Halter, the lieutenant governor. He is being supported by the unions and by the likes of MoveOn.org.
Blanche Lincoln is running on the idea that she has the experience and that she is the chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, a very important slot certainly for a state like Arkansas.
What we expect to happen on Tuesday, Don is that there will be no winner on Tuesday, that in fact that Blanche Lincoln will not be able to get the 51-plus percent she needs to move on in dispense of the primary. And in fact, it will turn into a runoff in June.
The liberals, Don, think that if it moves to a runoff, they'll have a better shot of knocking her off.
LEMON: Mark Preston and Paul Steinhauser -- thank you both.
There's a new twist to the story of a teacher who went way too far with a student.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Dramatic video. A teacher busted on camera, hitting, kicking --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Now, the teacher behind these disturbing pictures speaking out.
Plus, a guy who made a cartoon out of the Prophet Muhammad still paying for it. I'll tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: This just in to CNN. We've been telling you about the volcanic activity coming from that volcano in Iceland and what it might do to air travel, especially in Europe. We're just getting this in to CNN: Heathrow Airport shut down 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. -- 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.
It is 11:00 p.m. in London now and in the U.K. So do the math, 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. local time in London is when it's going to be shut down. So, pay close attention to that. We'll talk to our meteorologist in just a moment to find out if there's any more danger when it comes to air travel and air traffic being delayed. This has caused some huge problems.
Stay tuned to CNN. We'll update.
Meantime, I want to tell you about some of our top stories.
A possible court appearance this week for the three Pakistani men detained in New England over the failed Times Square bombing. Investigators are looking for links between them and Faisal Shahzad, the man who allegedly tried to carry out the attack. Shahzad lived in Connecticut where fellow Pakistani-Americans are now coming forward in cooperation with the FBI.
And as our Susan Candiotti explains, they want everyone to know Shahzad does not represent them or their feelings for America.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Convenience store owner Naeem Khalid is among a group of Pakistani- Americans in Connecticut who took it personally when accused terrorist Faisal Shahzad allegedly tried to blow up a car in Times Square.
NAEEM KHALID, BUSINESSMAN: The first thing came out of my mouth, hopefully, this is not another idiot or somebody from Pakistan.
CANDIOTTI: But it was. Like them, the suspect is a Pakistani- American who also lived in Connecticut, a new citizen who law enforcement sources say became radicalized despite living what appeared to be the American Dream.
KHALID: I don't know why they feel this is somewhat a threat to them because this lifestyle is a heavenly lifestyle.
CANDIOTTI: Naeem Khalid is fighting back. He's joining about 100 fellow Pakistani-Americans in Connecticut who answered a call from a local physician to start a new grassroots effort to help police identify potential troublemakers.
SAUD ANWAR, AMERICAN MUSLIM PEACE INITIATIVE: The tragic event on May 1st has been a rude awakening for us as a community. No tragedy should go by without learning from it.
CANDIOTTI: Dr. Saud Anwar is president of a Pakistani-American advocacy group and founder of the American Muslim Peace Initiative. His audience included businessmen, homemakers and students.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will fight this to the end.
CANDIOTTI: Yet, it's hard to overcome the built-in distrust some Pakistani-Americans may feel towards authorities when casting suspicion on someone in their own community.
KIMBERLY MERTZ, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI: We need them to feel comfortable to reach out to the FBI, the local police, when they see those first indicators, if you will.
CANDIOTTI: Indicators, Dr. Anwar says, like looking for anyone who may show signs of becoming radicalized.
ANWAR: We are free to have our own political ideologies. But if somebody starts to suggest in an indirect or direct manner that they are going to start to become more violent at some point, those are some signs that we need to look at.
CANDIOTTI: Law enforcement sources say Shahzad told investigators he felt America had demonized Islam.
KHALID: If you don't like America or western society, please stay where you at. Don't come here.
CANDIOTTI: Back at his convenience store, Naeem Khalid says he hopes others will join him.
KHALID: Some may call me a snitch. But my strong belief, it's better to be safe than sorry.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): And blunt what some call an embarrassment to the Pakistani-American community.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The news -- at least 22 people were killed and 60 wounded today as Islamic insurgents traded mortar fire with government forces in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The militants who are demanding a stricter form of Islamic law began to battle by shelling a parliament building. Most of the casualties were civilians. And the number of casualties is suspected to rise there.
Police in Detroit are expressing "profound sorrow" -- that's a quote -- after a 7-year-old girl was accidentally shot and killed during a raid early this morning. Aiyana Jones died after police, looking for a murder suspect, stormed the home on the city's east side. According to police, one of the officers had a physical confrontation with an occupant of the house and the officer's gun discharged. An investigation is underway.
That Houston teacher caught on cell phone video beating one of her students has apologized. Sherri Lynn Davis attacked a 13-year-old charter school student last month after the boy apparently made fun of another student. Davis was fired this week and now faces a civil lawsuit from the boy's mother. No criminal charges have been filed yet.
Here's the science teacher's mea culpa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERRI LYNN DAVIS, FORMER TEACHER: I am without excuse for my actions, because I know this has been a painful situation and incident that I truly regret. If I could go back again, I would do things much, much differently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It has been a rough week for the Swedish artist who drew the head of the Prophet Muhammad on a dog. First, police arrested this man after he allegedly head-butted the cartoonist Lars Vilks during a university lecture. Now, police have arrested two other men and charged them with attempting to firebomb the cartoonist's home Friday evening.
Keeping college cost down, but the quality of education up -- that is the goal of many schools across country.
But our Tom Foreman found one university that's definitely meeting that challenge in today's "Building Up America."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anyone who has driven a child to college recently knows just how daunting the cost can be. Take a look at some of the most expensive schools in this country. Each one has a total price tag well over $50,000 annually. But that's not the way it has to be. And right now, I'm driving to a school where it's very different.
(voice-over): The University of Virginia consistently appears near the top of those lists of the best values of college education.
(on camera): You can spend a whole lot more for an education.
PORTIA HENRY, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA STUDENT: Exactly.
FOREMAN: But do you think you'd get a much better education?
HENRY: No, no. I feel like the University of Virginia is a wonderful intersection. So --
FOREMAN: Intersection of what?
HENRY: Between cost and value. I get the best of both worlds.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And directing traffic at that intersection is chief operating officer, Leonard Sandridge. LEONARD SANDRIDGE, COO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: We budget carefully. We know what we can afford. We know that we can't be everything to everyone.
FOREMAN: They can, however, demand accountability from everyone. Each office here from those providing food services to student entertainment, is held strictly responsible for its spending. If they run over, they must make up the difference on their own. No passing the buck to students.
JOSH MITCHELL, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA STUDENT: I think, you know that saying that you're getting the most bang for your buck is definitely applicable here.
FOREMAN: That is why this school is at or near the top of all those value lists -- helping students build up their future on terms they can afford.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Charlottesville, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Take a look now at thin credible video. A plane crashes into a house. We'll tell you the fate of the passengers and the family inside.
And it took more than 70 years, but one woman proves it's never too late to earn your college degree.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's talk more politics right now. And flash back to inauguration day, President Barack Obama sworn in. The Democrats assume big majorities in the House and the Senate. Pundits are writing political obituaries for the Republican Party. A lot has changed, since then, to say the least. The president's approval rating has fallen. Republicans have regained their footing and they're counting on big gains in the November election.
What's behind their comeback? We turn to Reihan Salam, he is the New America Foundation and a policy adviser at E-21. And he writes about the GOP's political comeback in a new column for "The Daily Beast." He joins me now.
Thank you very much for joining me. How did the GOP --
REIHAN SALAM, NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION, POLCY ADVISOR FOR E-21 & COLUMNIST, THE DAILY BEAST: Thanks for having me.
LEMON: -- do this?
SALAM: Some of this is just natural. When you look at inauguration day, President Obama had an approval rating of 70 percent. Naturally, that was going to come down. Republicans were at a very low ebb. Given that about a third of country identifies as conservative, it was natural they would have something of a resurgence.
The thing is, they've probably gone beyond, beyond that kind of natural returning to where they'd be under perfectly normal circumstances. And I think part of that is just the anger, confusion and a lot of the anti-incumbent sentiment that's been there for several years now. and it's not just -- Republicans are capitalizing on it rather than Democrats.
LEMON: Here's my question to you. Is this any different, when we talk about the president's approval rating, any party or any president in office? is it different from Reagan, is it different from Bush, is it different from Clinton? Is the Democratic Party in a different place now than it was in any of those administrations? Or the Republican Party for that matter?
SALAM: Well, think you make a good point. Any president is going to have a natural period of some kind of reckoning, some kind of decline of their approval ratings. People get disillusioned. The thing is, President Obama has tried to do a lot of things on a lot of different fronts. It was inevitable he was going to alienate some voters. A lot of conservative activists have capitalized on this mood pretty effectively. Keep in mind, the left could have capitalized on this mood of discontent with Obama. Folks in the center of the Republican Party could have capitalized on it. But it was conservative grassroots activists who seem to have really connected with this critically important group of working class white voter, the voters who tend to swing from election to election and the voters who tend to turn out during midterm elections.
LEMON: It sounds like you're saying it doesn't matter if it's Republican or Democrat, it's just who is able to shape the message better in this particular instance, right?
SALAM: Yes, I think that's absolutely right.
(CROSSTALK)
SALAM: Of course, there are some objective things going on too.
LEMON: Let me ask you this. Is this real or perceived, when we say the resurgence of the Republican Party, because everyone counted them out when Obama was inaugurated. Everybody said, oh, this is the end of the Republican Party. Is this real or is just that conservatives have the loudest voice right now?
SALAM: Here's the thing, Don. If you go back to 2004, after President Bush won reelection, lots of liberals were despairing and wondering, does this mean Karl Rove has won and there's a permanent Republican majority? The truth is we have, right now, very evenly balanced, roughly 50/50 politics. We've had that since at least 1994 when the Republicans demonstrated they could actually win Congress. Ever since then --
LEMON: Does this have anything to do with the tea party?
(CROSSTALK) SALAM: -- have gotten a lot more ferocious.
LEMON: You write that the tea party might make the process more inclusive?
SALAM: I do think it has.
LEMON: Does it have anything to do with the tea party?
SALAM: I think it does have something to do with the tea party. and here's how. If you go back to the inauguration of President Obama, there were Republicans like Eric Canter who thought this president is very popular, we have to get on his good side, we have attack Pelosi and Reid, but not the president himself. But then, the activist base actually moved ahead of the politicians, and the politicians had to scramble to catch up. They detected there was a level of anger. And the politician really just followed rather than led the way towards a more oppositional, more strident message.
LEMON: Yes, I really enjoyed this. Thank you very much. Interesting conversation.
Reihan Salam, thank you.
SALAM: Thanks for having me, Don.
LEMON: Coming up here on CNN, how did a 22-year-old lead a high school basketball team to the state playoffs? Good question, right? Yes, I said a 22-year-old.
Plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How important are these little animals, the little shrimp, to the people who live here?
MIKE BRAINARD, BIOLOGIST, MISSISSIPPI DEPT OF MARINE SERVICES: It's very important. It's a big part of our culture here. Biloxi used to be coupled the shrimp capital of the U.S.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has Mississippi fishermen wondering if the fishing season can start soon. We rented a boat and we found some answers for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It has been nearly a month since an oil rig exploded and caused what could be the country's worst environmental disaster of the 21st century. For many, the only thing left to do is laugh. So cue the crew and cast of "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We've come together to assure you we have many other ideas. Ideas formulated by our top scientist using state of the art technology. The first plan is called dolphins with mops.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: That's where we round up a bunch of dolphins and scotch tape mops to their fins.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Our next plan is called the Schweppes offensive. That's where we fight the oil spill head-on with a bunch of club soda.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Club soda gets everything out.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Now, you might ask, how could that possibly work?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Another idea we have, the oil whisperer.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We would hire someone like the dog whisper but for oil.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: And he would go up to the oil and say, bad oil. Stop it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, you know, it's a good laugh for some about that oil spill. Good laugh for some.
But for the people on the gulf coast, they are keeping close track on this and they know how it's affecting wildlife can be some serious business. Recently, Mississippi decided to check up on its shrimp. And the little creatures mean big business to that state.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf shows us what state biologists found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: I'm coming to you from Biloxi, Mississippi. We're about to get on board this vessel and we're about to head out to sea.
This is Mike Brainard.
Mike, what is today's mission?
BRAINARD: We're going to go out to the Mississippi Sound and do some testing on the shrimp to see what the average size is. and this will be used to get ready to open up our shrimp season.
WOLF: Good deal. Let's get to it. OK. We're about to speed up a little bit. Hold on.
Where exactly are we headed specifically?
BRAINARD: We're going to station three, which is in the Biloxi channel.
WOLF: Has the oil spill been a huge concern for you?
BRAINARD: It's definitely a concern. But as of right now, we've been very fortunate and the oil hasn't got into our water. We're just going ahead and planning like it's going to be a regular shrimp season and hoping we will have shrimp season, so. And, of course, we've got planes up there, monitor every day to see where the oil is and how far from our shores.
WOLF: How important are these little animals, little shrimp, to the people that live here?
BRAINARD: I mean, it's very important. It's a big part of our culture. Biloxi used to be called the shrimp capital of the U.S.
WOLF: We're now at a shrimp bed just off Deer Island, Mississippi. Biologist Bill Richardson lowers his net and raises his hopes for a good sample.
Richardson says conditions are perfect for shrimp to grow but worries any oil in these waters could put the season in jeopardy.
BILL RICHARDSON, BIOLOGIST: It's kind of like a garden out there for them to grow.
WOLF: Pristine conditions make pristine shrimp?
RICHARDSON: Yes, yes, exactly.
WOLF: How does this guy look, pretty healthy?
RICHARDSON: Yes, all he needs is some batter on him.
WOLF: How does this guy look, pretty healthy?
RICHARDSON: Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we need is some batter on it.
WOLF: Fishermen aren't the only ones who closely follow the work of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These dudes want to eat him too.
WOLF: Dolphins know an easy meal when they see one.
RICHARDSON: Here you go.
WOLF: The Mississippi shrimping season could be a few weeks away. Opening day depends on the sample these biologists take bag to headquarters and the efforts of other agencies working to keep the other from spreading.
RICHARDSON: We've got brown shrimp and white shrimp. We'll take them back to the lab and measure and weigh them.
WOLF: Bill, do you like what you see?
RICHARDSON: Oh, yes, definitely. This looks very good. I hope the oil stays away so our fishermen can get involved in some of this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Some breaking news to tell you about. London's Heathrow Airport will be closed tonight, thanks to another cloud of ash from the volcano in Iceland. The plume grounded planes across parts of Europe earlier this week and disrupted travel for an estimated 10 million passengers in April. Scientists warn the eruptions could last another year. Heathrow Airport, closed for a time now.
Some other top stories I want to tell you about. A single engine Piper plane crash landed this morning into a Florida backyard. Witnesses say the aircraft, which took off from Clearwater Air Park, began wobbling, flew into some power lines, grazed the roof of a house and split into two before hitting the ground. Amazingly, none of the three people in the plane or the six in the house at the time was seriously injured.
You're never too old to learn. Just ask 94-year-old Hazel Soraz (ph), the California great-grandmother graduated from high school in 1932, but never found time to get that college degree. That was until yesterday, when Hazel finally earned her diploma from Mills College in Oakland. Congratulations to Hazel. Never too young, never too old.
A 22-year-old man who posed as a high school student and a basketball star in west Texas now faces a sexual assault charge. The man surrounded to police after a 16-year-old girl reported she had sex with him last summer when she thought he was 15 years old. The man posed as a sophomore and helped lead his high school to the state basketball playoffs, despite graduating from a Florida high school three years ago.
Pro basketball's most valuable player is out of the playoffs. But what does the future now hold for Lebron James?
Are more storms headed for rain-soaked Tennessee? We've got the latest for you on the severe weather.
Plus, the latest on that volcanic ash and the airport closures.
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LEMON: Can we go to outer space right now? Because the shuttle has docked with the international space station and the two crews shared hugs and handshakes. Officials decided there would be no last- minute need to dodge some floating space junk. The "Atlantis" crew delivered fresh batteries and other equipment. This is the last time "Atlantis" is scheduled to visit the outpost. NASA has just two shuttle missions remaining.
Let's turn to Karen Maginnis.
Karen, we saw the space shuttle take off on Friday. It's always a spectacular sight.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Isn't it. It's going to end soon.
LEMON: Yes. They're not affected by all this volcanic ash, right? No?
MAGINNIS: No.
LEMON: But Heathrow and other problem airports?
MAGINNIS: Heathrow, Gaitwig, closing in just about one hour and 15 minutes. They are allegedly going to be closed for about six hours. However, the ash continues to spew all across the United Kingdom and into Ireland. Dublin and Belfast have been closed, Manchester, also Presswick has been closed as well.
What we have is an area of low pressure situated just between Iceland and the United Kingdom and Ireland. What's happening is that's drawing that ash down across this region and, yes, even into the southern U.K. May make it all the way down towards the coastal sections of France. This is the airspace that will be affected, at least in the short term.
Then what we're looking at is perhaps a scenario where the wind starts to shift more towards Scandinavia and more towards the Netherlands in the next 72 to 96 hours. So we're going to see a big change. However, it does look like this airspace is going to be affected, as I mentioned, at least in the short term. They're saying six hours. I would guess that it would probably be a little bit longer than that.
Then our other big story is -- are the big storms that have been found today across the central United States in the southeast. Here's Oklahoma City.
We've got spectacular video. Take a look at this. This is from a CNN affiliate in Tulsa and in Oklahoma City, KWTV affiliate. And it looks like a wall cloud, but now it looks like there is a funnel that is starting to develop, as you take a look at this. About an hour and a half ago to two hours ago. They're saying baseball-sized hail, Don. Then the lesser known hens-egg-sized hail. But they're saying hail damage, some damage everywhere. We don't have any reports of injuries or fatalities. We don't have any particulars, as if that were a tornado at all. But it certainly appeared to be that way, at least the formation of it. LEMON: That video helps. You guys actually studied that video.
MAGINNIS: Yes, it is spectacular, especially somebody who has the nerve to be in a car driving along or in a helicopter. We see it all the time.
LEMON: Nerves are something else.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you, Karen. We'll see you in just a bit.
All right, from weather now to sports. This is very interesting. Everybody's talking about it last night. Went out for drinks, in the "NEWSROOM" today. Pro basketball's most valuable player, out of the playoffs, will he be out of Cleveland soon as well?
Our sports business analyst, Rick Harrow, join us now from West Palm Beach.
Rick, a lot of speculation about the future of Lebron James after his Cavaliers were blown out by the Boston Celtics. So what would be the impact of the Cavaliers franchise and the city of Cleveland if Lebron actually does leave?
RICK HARROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Horrific. Rock-an- Roll Hall of Fame, Jimmy Hendrix, everybody, we blogged about this on your site today, by the way. The bottom line of all of it is there's a four-story mural in the entrance of Cleveland. Not about any of the political heroes or the rock-and-roll heroes, but Lebron James and Nike. The franchise was worth about $200 million, when Lebron came into the league seven years ago. It's over $450 million now. It will only go up if he keeps there. But nobody knows what's going to happen, Don, until July 1 or after. This is a huge summer of uncertainty for the city of Cleveland.
LEMON: OK, so listen, everyone is saying the odds are on going to Chicago. But a lot of people are saying he could end up in New Jersey. One, because of his friend, Jay-Z, right, because of this wealthy Russian, what have you. What are the odds on that? Explain that to our viewers, Jay-Z, Lebron, on the same team?
HARROW: Let me give you some perspective on it. The NBA salary cap allows the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign him for one more year, net about $30 million more than any other team in this derby. So if he wants more money, he stays in Cleveland. If he wants to win a championship, a lot depends on what players they put around him. The Nets, the Knicks, the Bulls, the Heat, the Clippers -- anybody you can mention is in that derby, and he can't talk to anybody officially because he's not really a free agent until July 1.
I can guarantee you, every one of those cities I just mentioned thinks that they are one player away from signing Lebron James. You see all the articles and all the conversations about all the media all over the country. And the bottom line is nobody knows where he's going to go, probably not even Lebron James right now. LEMON: Must be nice to be Lebron right now.
Is that your kid I hear in the background?
HARROW: No, I'm in an airport. Frankly, they just heard my answer and everybody started crying instantaneously.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Like little boys. No.
(LAUGHTER)
All right, Rick.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Where you flying off to? Where are you going?
HARROW: I'm going to New York. I'm going to see if I can add five bucks to the Lebron -- I'm going to try out for the Knicks and the Nets and see if I can bring Lebron with me.
LEMON: Yes, right. Stop drinking in the airport. I know it's free.
(LAUGHTER)
Thank you very much. We'll see you next week.
HARROW: See you next week.
LEMON: Safe travels to you.
Ahead, Canadian hockey fans take to the streets after a big win. Makes you wonder what would happen if they'd lost.
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LEMON: Today, the First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at the graduation ceremony at George Washington University in D.C. One of the first things she did, offer congratulations, not for their degrees, but for their determination. Along with faculty and administrators, they completed 100,000 hours of community service, a challenge the first lady posed to them last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I am a woman of my word, so congratulations on this remarkable achievement. Thank you for the incredible contributions that you've made to the lives of so many people. But I will say that, if I had known that you'd complete more than 3,300 hours on the first day of the challenge -- (LAUGHTER) -- I probably would have picked a higher number. (LAUGHTER). (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We spoke to two George Washington graduates about how meaningful it was to earn their commencement speaker.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHAKIR CANON-MOYE, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It's a very insurmountable task when you think about 100,000 hours. But when it was broken down to ten hours per person, per undergraduate student, I know how much the commitment to service the G.W. students have, I knew we were going to reach that task. And the fact that we finished it a month out is not surprising to me.
LEMON: What does your sweatshirt say, the George Washington? Is that what it says?
CANNON-MOYE: Yes, sir.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Got you. You don't to call me sir. Even though I'm probably could be your dad. Wow. What a shame.
(LAUGHTER)
Anyway, so, Jamie, how many hours did you do? And how long did it take you?
JAMIE BRIGHT, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I did about 175 hours during the school year. I've been doing them since September and up through May 1st, and even a little few after the official challenge ended. So lots of different service project, everything from weekly volunteering to some of the bigger service events, organized by the Office of Community Service.
LEMON: So Shakir talked about -- how many students again? How many people involved?
CANNON-MOYE: Upwards of 4,100.
BRIGHT: More than --
LEMON: Yes, go ahead, Jamie.
BRIGHT: I was going to say, same number as Shakir. More than 4,100 people participated. That included students, faculty, staff members and even our board of trustees members.
CANNON-MOYE: I think it was a great impact. Because I know that it wasn't just limited to the D.C. A lot of the service was done in the schools, but we also alternative winter breaks that went to Peru, went to outside of the country. And we helped a lot of people in our quest to secure Michelle Obama as our commencement speaker.
LEMON: Look how cute these kids are. (LAUGHTER)
Oh, my gosh, they're just -- and what is that experience like, Shakira, working with those students? You probably get more out of it than they do.
CANNON-MOYE: That's what my view on service was. If was, you think you give so much by helping people, but at end of the day, they help you grow. I volunteered in the local in D.C. schools. At the end of the day, I learned about the D.C. community. I never would have learned the words go, go, or learned about the urban community in D.C. if it wasn't for my experience of volunteering. So I think I got more out of it than I gave to it in the mentoring and tutoring that I gave to the students.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Every weekend, we bring you interesting news items you might have missed during the week. More suicides in the U.S. are now occurring in a younger age group. At least that's what a study from the Centers for Disease Control is showing. People 45 to 55 years old now have the highest rate. It has typically been persons over the age of 70. Researchers say loss of jobs and financial problems may be the reason for the suicides. The study looked at deaths in 2007 when the economy started to go bad.
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LEMON: And this is what it looks like when Montreal's hockey team wins. Looks like when the Sixers win in Philly too. The Canadians knocked the defending Stanley Cup champions out of the playoffs Wednesday night Pittsburgh. So back home in Montreal, jubilant fans hit the streets to celebrate. Police joined them. By the time it was all over, 41 people had been arrested. Two police officers had been injured. Makes you wonder what would have happened if Montreal had lost or what could happen if they go on to win the Stanley Cup. Interesting stuff.
The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
