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Fears Climb, Stocks Fall; BP Ordered to Change Chemical Plan; New Terror Threat against U.S.; China Tries to Cool Real Estate Frenzy; Gulf Fishermen Getting Sick; Tracking Fish in Oil Gusher; More Rain for Nashville; Texas to Vote on Curriculum Changes

Aired May 21, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips this morning. Here's what we're working on.

BP says the oil spill is worse than it thought so it has a new plan to stop it. No domes, no top hats, just pack the hole with mud and then cement it shut.

And the markets aren't exactly gushing this morning. The bell has not quite rung yet but it already looks like another rough day for U.S. stocks.

And a tornado caught on tape as it forms. And this is how a twister is born.

On Wall Street, a day after the stock market took a plunge there is fear that the continuing spiral of Europe's financial picture may impact the U.S. even further. If you are an average investor, you've seen about 10 percent of your stocks vanish in just the past month. And it could be another wild day when the opening bell rings at the bottom of the hour.

CNN's Christine Romans is at the New York Stock Exchange.

What are the biggest fears today?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the biggest fear is you have some sort of repeat of what happened yesterday. A 376-point decline.

Fred, it felt like those worst days of February 2009 and the futures this morning are pointing maybe 69 points lower. But they've kind of been all over the map. So it reflects that volatility we've seen. People are saying that the fear is running hot in the market.

You mentioned Europe. That's a very big key here. What's happening in Europe. But there are a lot of other things going on. And all of it is feeding on itself.

I mean take a look at some of the -- some of the issues. The crisis in Europe. The future of the euro. The economic recovery in this country and globally. Big fears about what's happening in Europe and maybe that's going to hurt European banks and American banks have exposure to European banks.

And also people are talking about Wall Street reform. You have Republicans and you have some bankers who are saying that how this big reform is actually rolled out in practice will have to be carefully watched.

And it's very -- it's increasing uncertainty in the market and some of those Republicans and bankers are saying that they're worried that there could be a choking off of much-needed credit to the economy.

Of course, supporters of Wall Street reform say that's not the case at all. So you still have that controversy over Wall Street reform.

And, remember, Fredricka, it comes against the backdrop of -- of almost 10 percent unemployment in the U.S. A housing market that is still is not healthy. You've got 1 in 10 people who have mortgages who aren't paying their bills on time.

It's a very fragile environment. And that's why you've got stocks now in a -- in a full-blown correction down at 12 percent now from their high in April -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And it really is a fragile environment because this comes on the heels of some other peaks and valleys that make people very nervous.

ROMANS: Absolutely. I mean you look at the flash crash from just a week and a half ago or something where we know that there's -- there's what's called robo-trading or flash trading or high frequency trading where computers are in charge of so much of the trading right now. And that adds to the volatility. So people are quite nervous here.

But I will say that when you look at the internals of the market, and you -- how much it's plunged so quickly -- 3.6 percent yesterday -- there are a few brave souls who are saying that the world investors are moving away from risk. But they're also pointing out that stocks have been so hammered, so many stocks are trading below what we call the 50-day moving average.

More than 90 percent of them are. But sometimes that means someone who's brave out there with capital on the sidelines might be -- might be buying into the market. But there are a lot of fundamental reasons why people are nervous. And that nervousness is really, really what's driving things right now.

WHITFIELD: All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much. We'll check back with you throughout the morning.

ROMANS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, now to that massive oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier estimates on the amount of oil were wrong. BP now admits the leak is worse than they initially thought. A pipe inserted in the broken well this week is pumping out 210,000 gals a day that.

Well, that was the original estimate for the total spewing into the gulf. The actual amount could be several times that much.

The White House is ordering BP to release all of its findings on the massive oil leak. That includes information on the cleanup, the investigation and the environmental tests.

The EPA is now telling BP to change the chemical dispersants. The government agency wants BP to choose something less toxic now.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on one alternative that is all ready to go.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of containers are just sitting here in the Houston sun. To some, it's just another example of the mismanagement of the oil spill. The containers are full of a chemical dispersant called Sea Brat 4.

Why is it sitting here and not in the ocean instead? No one really knows. Especially since BP is on record as saying it would use the stuff.

DOUG SUTTLES, COO, BP: We also have a second product now identified to use called Sea Brat 4 which we'll begin introducing into the process as well.

LAVANDERA (on camera): That's what BP said almost a week ago. But we found the Sea Brat 4 just sitting here in an industrial park outside of Houston, Texas. You're looking at it. Almost 100,000 gallons of the less toxic dispersant.

Guess who ordered it? BP did on May 4th, almost three weeks ago.

JOHN SHEFFIELD, PRES., ALABASTER CORP.: This is Sea Brat. It's in the totes ready for delivery.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): John Sheffield is president of the company that makes Sea Brat 4.

(On camera): Do you think it's weird this stuff just sitting here in the Houston area?

SHEFFIELD: It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. You know? I think something's intentionally trying to stop us from getting our product to the water.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): EPA and Coast Guard officials say there's nothing stopping BP from using Sea Brat 4. Sheffield says that by now he could be making 50 to $100,000 gallons of dispersant a day. But a BP spokesman will only say the company had to use what was readily available and stockpiled.

And it has been asked to find alternatives to the current dispersant COREXIT and that's what they're in the process of doing.

Getting a direct answer is even hard for Congress to get as they grilled BP executive Lamar McKay this week about the issue.

REP. JERROLD NADLER (D), NEW YORK: Who decided which dispersant to use? BP?

LAMAR MCKAY, CHAIRMAN AND PRES., BP AMERICA: I don't know --

NADLER: You don't know?

MCKAY: I don't know the individual who decided which --

NADLER: I didn't ask the individual. Was it BP who decided or was it the -- the government who decided or the National Incident Committee?

MCKAY: I don't know. I don't know.

NADLER: You don't know. Could you find out for us, please?

MCKAY: Yes.

LAVANDERA: Easier said than done. There is still no word on who's making that call. While 100,000 gallons of potential help sits hundreds of miles away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera joins us now live from Pasadena, Texas.

So how much of this dispersant, you know, has been used up to this point?

LAVANDERA: Well, so far according to the latest information we have more than 650,000 gallons of dispersant have been used on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. And about -- of that, about 55,000 gallons have been used under water.

Of course the great concern here is that the long-term effects -- environmental effects of this by most accounts that we've been able to hear are really unknown. People just don't know what kind of reaction any of these dispersants will have at that depth, 5,000 feet under the water in the Gulf of Mexico -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera, thanks so much. From Pasadena, Texas.

All right, the chemical combination BP has been using is among the more toxic choices. It can cause skin or eye irritation if you are exposed to it for prolonged periods. BP says it's biodegradable but there is still concern over the impact that it could have on the environment.

So coming up later on in the NEWSROOM, scientists are examining the environmental impact out in the gulf and we tag along as they follow bluefin tuna and whale sharks fighting to survive the gulf oil disaster. That's straight ahead at 9:40 Easter Time this morning.

And there's a new terror threat against the United States. A U.S. official tells CNN there is strong reason to believe the Pakistani Taliban is plotting attacks both here in the U.S. and overseas.

Let's go live now to homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, in Washington.

So, Jeanne, do we know any more specifics about these planned attacks?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Fred, officials do not know as much as they would like, what cities, for instance, may be targeted either in the homeland or overseas.

According to a U.S. official, there are multiple streams of intelligence that the Pakistani Taliban plans to attack U.S. interests. Some of the information coming from Faisal Shahzad. The suspect in the attempted Time Square bombing.

Shahzad has already been linked to the Pakistan Taliban or TTP by administration officials. And during a trip earlier this week, the source says, CIA director Leon Panetta and National Security adviser Jim Jones relayed the new terror threat information to the Pakistani government -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, and this comes right as the director of National Intelligence resigns. He was asked to resign, that is.

MESERVE: Yes, he's handing in his resignation today but it's clear the White House wanted him to go. Potential replacements have already been interviewed.

Blair has found himself at odds with the White House over the scope of his role. And indirect conflict with others in the intelligence community. Sources say he was an unhappy camper after losing a few key turf battles to CIA director, Leon Panetta.

He also was getting some of the blame for two recent near terror attacks. The botched effort by the underwear bomber to bring down an airliner on Christmas Day and the more recent attempt to bomb Times Square.

Among those under consideration to replace him, sources say, John Hamre, a Defense official in the Clinton administration, and General Jim Clapper, current undersecretary for intelligence in the Defense Department -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much from Washington.

All right, it's almost summer and there's new concern about the dangers lurking in public swimming pools. Considerate it a dirty little secret? We'll share in a few minutes.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Plus worried about the weather impacting your pool time today at least in the south. Lots of showers and thunderstorms out there producing torrential downpours. Did you see the windshield wiper in the background? We'll tell you what city that is coming up in your forecast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Two Atlantis astronauts are taking the last of a spacewalk mission taking place right now. Live images. Isn't this always phenomenal?

Garrett Reisman and Michael Good are putting new batteries on this space station. Yes, they need them, too. Atlantis will push off from the space station Sunday for the final time and there are just two missions left in the shuttle program.

All right, take a look at this video coming out of Missouri. You can see the tornado as it forms. The rotation, the twisting and the touchdown happening right there. This happened yesterday near Sedalla about an hour from Kansas City. As far as tornadoes go, this one they say was actually pretty weak.

It did only minor damage as you see it kind of dissipating there. But I wonder if it does kind of take shape one more time.

Jacqui Jeras, you have a better view of this. And better expertise than I do.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I think it was (INAUDIBLE) to see.

JERAS: It was pretty brief, actually. Yes, I watched the video earlier as it all rolled all the way through.

WHITFIELD: I figured you did. Yes.

JERAS: And it kind of touched down and weakened and redeveloped kind of thing. So very little damage.

WHITFIELD: That's good.

JERAS: That's the kind of video we like to see, right? Where nobody gets hurt. And there was literally like one tornado in the U.S. yesterday.

WHITFIELD: That's OK.

JERAS: We just happened to catch it on video.

WHITFIELD: No complaint.

JERAS: How about that?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: I'm glad to see the word hot.

JERAS: Hot.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we like it hot.

JERAS: You like the hot?

WHITFIELD: In the southeast.

JERAS: You're all about the hot?

WHITFIELD: Yes, the hot this time of year.

JERAS: Yes, it's -- you know, it's been really sticky and muggy in Texas, Louisiana.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: Mississippi. Nasty stuff. June is right around the corner.

WHITFIELD: It is. I can't believe it.

JERAS: Hard to believe.

WHITFIELD: Just a couple of weeks away. A week and a half or so, right?

JERAS: Mm-hmm.

WHITFIELD: OK. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: OK, well, it is indeed almost summer and there's new concern already about the dangers lurking in public swimming pools. A new CDC report says that one in every eight public pools was closed after inspections.

The report said they were closed because of dirty water or problems like missing safety equipment. Kiddy pools were said to be the yuckiest, most germs. Report is based on more than 120,000 inspections of public swimming pools in 2008.

OK, police say it's bullying taken to the extreme. A special needs student is tattooed against his will.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, a look at our top stories right now.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says if a new Defense bill has projects that are not wanted or needed when it reaches the president's desk, he'll urge Mr. Obama to veto it. Gates has been pushing to cut wasteful spending at the Pentagon. There are at least two aircraft projects he says would waste hundreds of millions of dollars.

And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton starting off her tour of Asia in Japan. But the spotlight is on North Korea right now. Clinton called evidence that the North torpedoed a South Korean warship overwhelming and that it deserves an international response.

And in Bangkok, Thailand's prime minister says order is restored after weeks of deadly anti-government protest. Police and civilian officials are patrolling the streets to prevent any flare-up. The city is under a dusk-to-dawn curfew until Sunday.

And hundreds of protesters came out for Seattle rally for immigration reform.

The group blocked the lobby of a building that houses the Federal Immigration Court. Then later, they blocked traffic on some downtown streets and marched before finally breaking up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need immigration reform now. We want President Obama and Congress to hear that loud and clear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama --

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Though police kept a watch on the protesters, they made no arrests. The protest leader believes there was a political decision behind that. The mayor's office has no comment on that.

And while China's real estate market is booming, there is fear of a real estate bubble just like what we've experienced here in the U.S. We'll show you what China's government is doing to avoid American's costly mistake.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris on this date in 1927. He completed the first ever solo trans-Atlantic flight. Lindbergh piloted the Spirit of St. Louis from New York to France in 33 1/2 hours.

Five years later, Amelia Earhart matched Lindbergh as she's the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She made the 15 hours trek from New Finland to Northern Ireland.

All right, Lindsay Lohan has avoided arrest. She is in France and missed a court hearing yesterday in Los Angeles. The judge lifted an arrest warrant when one of Lohan's representatives posted her $100,000 bond. There will be another court hearing that's on Monday. Lohan is on probation for a drunk driving conviction. The judge thinks she actually violated the terms. Lohan claimed that she couldn't get to court yesterday because she lost her passport while in the south of France.

And rock singer and reality TV star Bret Michaels is back in the hospital. He suffered what doctors are calling a warning stroke and was diagnosed with a hole in his heart. Doctors say Michaels' condition is treatable and most likely unrelated to the brain hemorrhage that he actually suffered just last month.

All right, police say a 14-year-old special needs student was bullied into getting a tattoo on his back side. Four fellow students at Concord High School in New Hampshire are now facing charges. Police say they lured the boy into the basement of a house where they tattooed obscene words and an inappropriate image on him. The boy said the suspects told him that he wouldn't be picked on anymore if he submitted to the tattoo.

The teacher found out about the incident and called police after the students began passing around cell phone pictures of the tattoos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. JOHN THOMAS, CONCORD POLICE DEPARTMENT: The bullying has obviously come to a whole new realm that we are seeing. And this has gone to another extreme to where somebody is physically being scarred now. And it's -- it is really sad.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, the boy will now have to have a medical procedure to actually remove the tattoo. The school has suspended the students and is now looking to actually expelling them.

All right, fear spikes, the stock markets tank. We'll take you to Wall Street for the opening bell and what could be another wild day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ten cents of every dollar. That's how much the average American has lost in the stock market just this past month alone.

CNN's Christine Romans is at the New York Stock Exchange where the opening bell is about to ring -- no -- like right now.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I was about to say in a few seconds but no, it's happening now.

ROMANS: It is happening right now. You're right, Fredricka. And a lot -- a lot of people watching this opening bell on this trading day because it's been so volatile for the past few weeks. And because stocks closed down 376 points yesterday on the Dow.

That was a really rough day for stock investors. And now you have what's called an official correction. That ten cents on the dollar, that means 10 percent. The stock market is down 10 percent in the Dow, 12 percent in the S&P. That's a broader gauge of 500 stocks.

And that shows you that a lot of people have been -- have been selling stocks here.

There's the opening bell.

Futures were down 100 points when they closed just a few moments ago. So we'll see if that follows through to today. A lot of people pointing to a lot of different cross current to the market, but all together are pointing to trouble for stocks, and here are some of them. Worries about Europe and Europe's sovereign debt issues and its political will to solve those problems and begin to dig out of its debt mess. Will that hurt European banks and then hurt other banks, hurt Europe's recovery. Europe is the biggest destination for U.S. and for Chinese goods, by the way. So, a lot of people are all tied into what happens in the crisis of Europe.

And if you serve (ph) the euro near 4-year low, it makes the dollar more expensive. And as the dollar gets more expensive, that makes our products more expensive and that hurts U.S. manufacturing. Also, the economic recovery worldwide. How solid is it? Who is leading it? And what does it look like in the United States where 1 in 10 people with a mortgage are paying their bills late and 10 percent of the labor market is out of work. Still have a lot of uncertainty on the table and that's what's feeding into things here today.

It looks like the Dow is down about 70 points right now. It's very early and very, very volatile -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Christine Romans, thanks so much.

We're actually going to go to London and look at the European markets in a moment. But, first, we'll talk a little bit more about financial reform in this country. While you are sleeping, international stock markets again were taking a tumble. In fact, all the gains made so far this year in Europe have been erased. Let's look at the big picture right now. We're going to do that right now.

Jim Boulden joins us now from London. So, we're just two hours into Europe's trading week, and how does it look?

JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, it's been another tough day. We thought, actually, that we could actually see maybe a normal last hour of trading, but with Wall Street opening lower, these markets in Europe are down between 6 and 8 percent just this week, wiping out all the gains for the year. We had seen a very good run-up, and as we saw the euro tumbling over the last few weeks, it really took the steam out of Europe. You know, the banks are doing badly. The commodity stocks are doing badly. It's just a malaise. It's a correction that's going on here. And interestingly though, we have actually seen the euro going up today.

WHITFIELD: So, it's going up. What might be the credit to that?

BOULDEN: Well, it depends on who you believe. Maybe it's gone down too much against the dollar. You know, fantastic for travelers coming over here $1.21 and now back up to $1.25. Maybe some people moving back into the euro. There are plenty of people who say, this is just a blip, and we will continue this long-term decline in the euro because there's not a lot going for Europe at the moment. U.S., you're getting decent results out of companies.

Let's not forget that. It's just the idea that if they cut the budget deficits here in Europe as much as they're talking about, then that slows down the economy and that means companies make less money. So, it's that malaise.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jim Boulden, thanks so much from London. Appreciate that.

China, in the meantime, has weathered the global downturn pretty well, but it may learn a lesson now from the economic troubles right here in the U.S. A red hot housing market in China is raising new fears of a bubble about to burst. As you know, that's exactly what happened here. CNN's Emily Chang has the view from Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the worst performing markets in the world. The Shanghai Index continues to tumble. Its investors panicky amidst economic uncertainty in Europe, and the Chinese government's attempt to pour cold water on a red hot real estate market.

MICHAEL PETTIS, CHINA ECONOMIC ANALYST: The way I see it is they have two tools. They got the accelerator and they got the brakes. And so, they go back and forth between stomping on one and stomping on the other.

CHANG: Officials are stomping on the brakes with new property regulations, raising mortgage rates and down payments for second home buyers, tightening lending for third home and nonlocal buyers. Beijing realtors say sales have slowed slightly in the last month. According to government figures, prices are up an average of 12.8 percent across the country, but in some cases, it's more than 30 percent.

So, this is a luxury home?

KIMBERLY TENG, REAL ESTATE AGENT: Yes.

CHANG: Four bedrooms. What would this place have sold for last year?

TENG: Last year is about 2.2 million U.S. dollars

CHANG: And this year? TENG: It's increased about $3 million.

CHANG: Same story at this modest, two-bedroom apartment, selling for almost $1 million up from just 700,000 last year.

What kind of people are buying these expensive places?

TENG: Business people and then some wealthy Chinese, mainly.

CHANG (on-camera): But developers are building flashy new apartments faster than they can be sold. Fancy commercial properties stand empty. Here on the outskirts of Beijing, entire villages have been razed to make way for re-development, and this goes on for miles.

CHANG (voice-over): After an explosion of lending last year, analysts say there is so much money moving in China, the government will have difficulty averting its fear, a big bad real estate bubble.

PETTIS: With all of this liquidity sloshing around, we are going to see bubbles. And you can perhaps prevent a bubble in one area of the market, but all you do then is push it into another area of the market.

CHANG: Even if property prices drop in Beijing and Shanghai, analysts say they could rise in second and third-tier cities and another bubble could be ready to pop.

Emily Chang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A coveted delicacy threatened by the Gulf oil gusher. Bluefin tuna prized by sushi eaters everywhere. Scientists are now trying to see if they are twin dwindling in numbers and if they're going to take another hit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now, intelligence officials believe Americans are facing a new terror threat. They say the Pakistani Taliban is a credible threat, and it is actively planning an attack. The targets could be both on U.S. soil and on American interests overseas. There will be a new leader of Washington's intelligence gathering today. Dennis Blair officially steps down as the National Intelligence Director. Blair's 16-month tenure had been riddled with public intelligence failures.

And the Gulf oil spill is under the microscope this hour on Capitol Hill. House lawmakers are being briefed on the vast environmental impact of the disaster. In just a few minutes, we'll actually look at an alarming development. More fishermen say they are getting sick and they're blaming it on the oil.

And we want to tell you a little bit about the five U.S. soldiers who were killed in that bombing in Kabul on Tuesday. Colonel John McHugh was from West Caldwell, New Jersey. McHugh is being remembered as an upbeat guy, somebody who never got angry or ever got down. He was a soccer goalie at West Point graduating from the service academy in 1986. He had arrived in Afghanistan just days before being killed.

Specialist Joshua Tomlinson of Dubberly, Louisiana was, quote/unquote, "always smiling." That coming from a former teacher. Tomlinson joined the army just four years ago. Before being deployed to Afghanistan, he was based in Germany. His widow is there. Tomlinson is expected to get a posthumous promotion to sergeant.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Belkofer was a high school wrestler in Perrysburg, Ohio. His mom says he would gone (INAUDIBLE) in just about everything did. Belkofer was in the army for nearly 18 years. He had served two previous tours in Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Staff Sergeant Richard Tieman was from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He grew up at an army base all over. He really was an army brat, and he followed in his father's foot step. He was coming up on his ten- year anniversary in the service. And he had gotten married on a recent leave.

And Lieutenant Colonel Paul Bartz was a career officer who called Waterloo, Wisconsin, home. He was in Afghanistan to conduct training. Bartz leaves behind a wife and a son.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Fishermen are playing a big part in the cleanup of that oil spill in the Gulf. BP is hiring them to lay booms to trap the oil and keep it from reaching beaches, but some of those fishermen now say that they are actually getting sick. They say they are feeling the effects of the oil and the chemical dispersants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY BURRIS, FISHERMAN: Sniffing gasoline or something. And still, the majors (ph) are popping right now. I'm still coughing up stuff. I feel real weak. Tingling.

RIKI OTT, MARINE TOXICOLOGIST: They act like a narcotic on the brain. At high concentrations, what we learned on "Exxon Valdez" from carcasses of harwal seals and sea otters, it actually, literally fried the brain, brain lesion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, that is frightening. Louisiana congressman, Charlie Melancon is asking the White House to set up temporary health care centers now along the Gulf Coast to help sick fishermen.

So from fishermen to fish, the Gulf oil disaster could have an effect for years to come. Scientists are trying to get a handle on the impact, but it certainly isn't easy. CNN's Rob Marciano is live in now Gulfport, Mississippi this morning. So, Rob, you've been talking to scientists about how the fish are fairing and what are they telling you? ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They're worried about the fish offshore. We've been talking so much about the wildlife on shore and the oil coming on shore, but in many spots like here and coast of Mississippi, the oil hasn't gotten here, and they certainly hope that it never will. But out there in the open ocean, you better believe this oil slick is affecting all sorts of fish from the biggest fish in the ocean to ones you can barely see.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Oh, wow! This is cool. What exactly am I looking at here?

DR. ERIC HAUFMYER (ph), BIOLOGIST: Right now, you're looking at some largely (ph) of bluefin tuna, basically bluefin tuna babies.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Dr. Eric Haufmyer(ph) is a biologist at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab. He has a team of scientists currently exploring Gulf waters near the oil slick.

HAUFMYER: They've been out there for about four or five days, and it's plan full day trip.

MARCIANO: Right now, their research vessel is near the southern edge of the spill. Biologist Jim Franks reports from the ship via satellite.

JIM FRANKS, BIOLOGIST: Loop current temperature today was 86 degrees. It's ultimately warm.

MARCIANO: Turns out that loop current getting all the press lately does more than just move warm water and potentially oil toward Florida. The current is a breeding ground for lots of marine life including rare bluefin tuna.

HAUFMYER: They've got lots of nutrients into loop current, so it becomes a signature for these animals to swum around.

MARCIANO: The gulf is only one of two known bluefin spawning grounds; the other is in the Mediterranean. Haufmyer says bluefin tuna sushi popularity, especially in Asia, has driven down the population 82 percent.

HAUFMYER: The problem we have is that they are tremendously overfished.

MARCIANO: Another concern for Haufmyer's team is whale sharks, the largest fish on the planet. They can grow up to 60 feet long and they also live in the Gulf of Mexico.

HAUFMYER: The oil spill is in prime essential whale shark habitat, from our less team (ph) habitat, and we're about in prime whale shark season.

MARCIANO (on camera): So this is bad timing. HAUFMYER: Very bad timing.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Aquatic toxicologist, Dr. Joe Griffitt has been studying the oil and the dispersants closely.

DR. JOE GRIFFITT, AQUATIC TOXICOLOGIST: We have a saying in toxicology you know, the dose makes the poison, anything is toxic in high enough concentrations if there are long enough exposure periods.

MARCIANO: The lab here is full of last year's samples. Biologists wonder if this year's larvae would come back as healthy.

(on camera): I would think that a little guy like this even it gets into a little bit of sheen that's not going to make it either.

HAUFMYER: It's not and most of these were collected in the top 10 meters of the water columns so most of these larvae are at or near the surface of the water.

MARCIANO: So what does that make you think about when -- when you start to hear about sheen getting into the loop current where these guys are?

HAUFMYER: It's -- it's not going to be good. I mean, it could have tremendous impact on bluefin as well as other species.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: You know the cards are stacked against those little tiny larvae. About one percent, two percent, at most three percent of them actually make it and contribute to the population. So any sort of oil will certainly affect them.

As far as the whale sharks are concerned, they -- they are considered an indicator species. If their numbers go down in the Gulf of Mexico, well, that's an indication that the overall health of the ecosystem here is not good.

So we'll just have to wait and see on that front. You know, Fredricka, we've been using in the Gulfport, in the Mississippi coastline; it's kind of a home base here to launch our wild life reports. But I just -- I do want to tell that the beaches here have not seen any oil or at least any concrete forms of oil and they are beautiful.

So there is not much in the way of tourism here, possibly because of the message that may be misconstrued. But it's a gorgeous day here on the Mississippi coastline and you certainly want to come down here and help the Chamber of Commerce.

But as far as what's going on out to sea, we just have to wait and see there Fredricka. Generally, if a fish goes through oil and then gets out of it, they think, two, three, four, five days and they flush the system. But the larger fish, they are not sure about that. And they are very worried of course.

WHITFIELD: Of course. All right, Rob Marciano thanks so much in Gulfport, Mississippi.

All right. Well, next hour, we're going to be talking to a marine expert who actually worked on the largest oil spill in history. And he says this disaster could be even worse in so many ways.

Students questioning the separation of church and state; that soon could be required curriculum in Texas. The heated debate over conservative changes in the classrooms, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. A look at some of the flood cleanup going on in Nashville right now; this video takes you inside the Opry Mills Mall. The Cumberland River flooded the entire place, all 1.2 million square feet of it. Crews are trying to dry the place out with dehumidifiers, that is, and they're ripping out drywall, carpets, wood, floor, tiles just like they did in a whole lot of houses there, anything that came into contact with that water.

The flood even damaged the mall's electrical system. So everything is running on generator power right now. The flood earlier this month did barely $2 billion in damage to the city; very sizeable. Nashville could get some storm, however, today, and I know they are fatigued of rain, Jacqui.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: It's almost been a month since that heavy rain came down.

JERAS: Well, it's pretty extraordinary. It feels like it was just a couple of weeks ago.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: And I guess because, you know, it took so much time for the water to recede.

WHITFIELD: Exactly.

JERAS: The cleanup and of course people are still cleaning up.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely.

JERAS: Cumberland River, a big river.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: Going to get more rain over it in the next couple of days but we don't expect much more than maybe an inch or two, we think with these thunderstorms as they roll on through.

Nashville is doing OK at this hour you get a little of development down to your south, but the real rain has been right here along northern parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. We've just had torrential downpours. And now we've got some new development down here south of the Atlanta metro area; ground stop at Hartsville, Jackson Airport as a result of that. And this big cluster of thunderstorms that's now moving through Birmingham up towards Huntsville, this is going to head across north Georgia, too. So you're going to get another inch or two on top of what you already have so certainly not some good news there. It's going to be a real stormy day for you here across much of the Deep South.

The northern tier of the system, though, much lighter rain showers. In fact, it may be a quarter of an inch, half of an inch at most but it's certainly impacting your day, needing your umbrella taking a swell on the roadways.

North of Milwaukee now heading up towards Green Bay, Grand Rapids, Detroit getting in on this. And Cleveland, you haven't seen much more than sprinkles, but we'll watch for some heavy rain to be pushing in for, say, mid-morning.

Here are those delays we're talking about. It's not really raining in Chicago, but you have the low clouds so delays about 15 minutes. Fifteen-minute ground delays in Atlanta in addition to the ground stop. Thirty minutes for you at Teterboro and Washington Dulles has some departure delays around 30 minutes.

Here's the big picture for today then and this is showing you -- actually, this is Sunday and can we get through back? I don't know if it will go back for you. But of course, you know, it's Friday. Everybody wants to know the weekend, don't you?

Absolutely.

Rain's going to move back into the northeast which, by the way, has been absolutely fantastic today. The other weather headline I want to hit, we're going to talk a little bit more about this next hour, Fredricka, is the strong winds across parts of the west. We have wind advisories and we've even got a fire that's been burning in southern California. We'll show you the pictures and talk about that next hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sounds good, thanks so much. Of course, it sounds bad, but it sounds good that you're going to bring it to us. You know what I mean.

JERAS: I know what you mean.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqui, appreciate it.

All right. Students questioning the separation of church and state; that soon could be required curriculum in Texas. A heated debate conservative changes in the classroom straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: A showdown in the Lone Star State over history and how it's taught. Here's CNN's national correspondent Gary Tuchman. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The people on the Texas Board of Education are not professional historians. But that doesn't stop them from controversial and confident pronouncements.

PATRICIA HARDY (R), TEXAS BOARD OF EDUCATION: There would be those who would say, you know, automatically say the reason for the Civil War was over slavery. No. It was over states' rights.

TUCHMAN: Most of the board members are conservative. And they're on the verge of changing social studies teaching standards in Texas.

For example, students will soon be discussing whether the separation of church and state is a legitimate historical concept. That's the kind of debate board member Don McLeroy wants to see.

(on camera): Is there such a thing as a separation of church and state?

DON MCLEROY (R), TEXAS BOARD OF EDUCATION: There is such a thing as the First Amendment. And the First Amendment's been interpreted lately by judges in a different way.

TUCHMAN: No state-sponsored religion, but what do you think about the phrase "separation of church and state"?

MCLEROY: It's really been abused. It's swung way out of kilter is my personal view.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): People pushing for the new curriculum say it will dwell more on the positive in America and less on the negative. Biblical values will be highlighted more. Free enterprise will be emphasized; the term "capitalism," which sometimes has negative connotations, not so much.

And yes, when it comes to the Civil War, discussions about states' rights.

(on camera): The board does this review every decade. The initial recommendations come from educators and historians. All agree the recommendations have never been changed this much.

(voice-over): And that has left many in the public who have come out to these hearings disenchanted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your actions have produced a series of curriculum standards which undermine the importance of multiculturalism and respect for alternative viewpoints; foundations upon which America's society and democracy have been built. Our siblings should learn that America is not just a Christian nation.

TUCHMAN: But many Texans are very pleased.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to thank you for the work you do for the children of Texas and for the children in the other 49 states. You are a truly unique group of elected servants of the great state of Texas.

TUCHMAN: More than 200 Texans went on a list to testify about their feelings. The testimony went late into the night on Wednesday, finally ending just before the stroke of midnight after 14 hours. Some of the comments went beyond the scope of the debate and were quite derogatory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need to tell you that Islam is coming, and Islam brings death. So I say repent, America. Repent.

TUCHMAN: The one Muslim member of the board told the man not only was what he was saying irrelevant, but it was also hateful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it was very insulting to our population and everybody that we represent.

TUCHMAN: But not one other board member, Republican or Democrat, complained about it.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Austin, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)