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Changing How Wall Street Works; Defusing the Oil; BP to Change Chemical Plan; Storing All Your Digital Photos; Arizona's Ethnic Studies Ban; The Help Desk; Hot on the Internet
Aired May 21, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN in 60 seconds.
A BP official says oil pouring from the damaged Gulf of Mexico well could be shut off as early as next week.
The Senate passes a sweeping financial reform package, it could be signed by the president in weeks.
U.S. intelligence officials believe the Pakistani Taliban is planning an attack in the U.S. and targeting American interests overseas.
Military officials say insurgents who attacked Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan Wednesday were wearing U.S. Army-style battle fatigue uniforms.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warns that North Korea must face punishment over the alleged sinking of South Korean warship.
The woman who kidnapped Utah teen Elizabeth Smart will be sentenced today.
A deadly crash on the New Jersey Turnpike leaves thousands of drivers delayed.
One of Jupiter's main cloud belts has disappeared. Scientists don't know why, but it's being called a big event.
And rap music mogul Suge Knight is arrested on suspicion of pointing a gun at a man.
This is CNN in 60 seconds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen.
Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
BP told to use less toxic chemicals to clean up gushing oil. We talked to a man who says he's got what they need.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. You know? I think something is intentionally trying to stop us from getting our product in the water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Recovering from a major disaster. We are checking in on the people of Tennessee who still need help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very humbling, because you go to, like, really the -- down far to say, you know, I need money, give me your money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy.
You're online right now, we are, too. Ines Ferre is following the top stories trending on the Internet -- Ines.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, big on CNN.com right now, Arizona says to L.A., we could turn off your lights.
And also, popular on Google, Pac-Man. Remember him from the '80s?
I'll have more on that story later in the hour -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Ines. Appreciate it.
Let's get started with our lead story.
Hold on to your wallet and buckle your seatbelt. It is a roller- coaster ride on Wall Street today. At one point, the Dow dropped below 10,000 after plunging 376 points yesterday.
Christine Romans is at the New York Stock Exchange.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: So, the Senate passes the most sweeping financial overhaul since the 1930s. The bill must now be merged with a version passed by the House. We asked some of our correspondents to explain how Wall Street reform affects you and your finances.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam in New York.
The Wall Street reform bill means big changes for Main Street, like a new Consumer Protection Agency. Its mission? Protect Americans from unfair lending practices.
The idea is to simplify paperwork for things like mortgages and credit cards. The agency would also crack down on fees that banks and lenders charge. Critics say the legislation gives the government too much power and if the bill passes both houses of Congress, it will have a big effect on our daily lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian at the White House.
The president and his aides are pleased, obviously, with the Senate vote. Mr. Obama views Wall street reform not as a way to punish banks, but as a way to protect the broader economy and taxpayers from economic turmoil.
Mr. Obama says that the recession was caused by "a lack of responsibility and accountability from Wall Street to Main Street." His aides admit that there are still many hurdles ahead, but they believe that this is a big step in the right direction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK.
Live pictures now from almost a mile under the Gulf of Mexico. BP's busted oil well still spewing crude into the water. Boy, that's pretty dramatic stuff there.
The government is telling BP to use less toxic chemicals to disperse the oil. Plenty are available, as CNN's Ed Lavandera discovered.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of containers are just sitting here in the Houston sun. To some, it's another example of the mismanagement of the oil spill.
The containers are full of a 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, PRESIDENT, ALABASTER CORPORATION: This is SEA BRAT. It's in 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 that the stuff is just sitting here in the Houston area?
SHEFFIELD: It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. You know? I think something is intentionally stopping us from getting our product to the water.
LAVANDERA: 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 50,000 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 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?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.
NADLER: You don't know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know the individual who decided --
NADLER: I didn't ask the individual. Was it BP who decided or was it the government who decided, ,or the National Incident Command?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.
NADLER: You don't know? Could you find out for us, please?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LAVANDERA: Easier said than done. There's still no word on who's making that call while 100,000 gallons of potential help sits hundreds of miles away.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: We will talk more about those dispersants as some fishermen who are helping with the cleanup say the oil and chemicals are making them sick, but they say there is little choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got a woman with a baby in the oven and bills to do, and fishing's closed down. You're going to do whatever you have to look after your family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.
Back in 90 seconds with your "Random Moment of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Oh, this is good. Public access cable channels, right? Always good for a "Random Moment of the Day."
Watch democracy in work in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Oh, that's good. A city councilwoman gives the man in red -- you can see it here -- a finger in the face for talking over the time limit. The man claims the councilwoman was making faces at him while he was speaking.
He shows up at practically every meeting, we're told. Council members say he has always got something to complain about. Now he is complaining about -- sorry -- his bad back and threatening to sue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CECIL YOUNG, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, RESIDENT: And I'm thinking justice. I'm thinking justice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's justice?
YOUNG: Justice means an apology, taking care of my damages, whatever they may be. OK? Apologizing to the public and anything else. And I hope it will constantly increase within the moment if they --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh boy.
And now a "Random Moment" bonus. This one isn't public access TV. It is network television.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I guess we could all use some lessons like that. He-he. Ow!
HARRIS: No you did not.
WHITFIELD: Michael Jackson.
HARRIS: Did you just do that?
WHITFIELD: Tony Harris. Much more of the NEWSROOM.
Yes, why not? Everybody does.
HARRIS: Did you?
WHITFIELD: Come on. Everyone's got their Michael Jackson impersonation.
HARRIS: And it's a Friday.
WHITFIELD: He-he. Ow!
HARRIS: Fredricka taking it to the next level. Who knew?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That was good stuff.
Let's get to the break. I'm not -- let's get to the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So got to tell you, fishermen are playing a big role, as you know, in cleaning up all of that oil in the Gulf of Mexico. They're being hired by BP to lay booms to trap the oil. But now some of them say they are getting sick from the oil and the chemicals they're using.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY BURRIS, FISHERMAN: Like sniffing gasoline or something. You know? And still, my ears are popping right now. I'm still coughing up stuff. I feel real weak -- the tingling.
RIKI OTT, MARINE TOXICOLOGIST: They act like a narcotic on the brain. And at high concentrations, what we learned at Exxon Valdez from carcasses of harbor seals and sea otters, it actually, literally, fried the brain, brain lesions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. Let's talk about -- more about the dispersants being used. And BP is saying the dispersants it's using now are biodegradable.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Correct.
HARRIS: So, can you walk us through that? And I see we've got a long list here of approved --
MYERS: A lot of numbers.
HARRIS: A lot of numbers.
MYERS: But everything here EPA approved for cleaning up spills like this. Here's the one that they're using, because it was readily available in the quantity that they need. That's what they're saying. Whether it was the best or the worst, irrelevant at this point in time, but they've had 30 days to go get some others.
HARRIS: Right. Right. Right.
MYERS: Right? OK.
So here's -- this is a fish and this is a shrimp. And these are the numbers, the toxicity numbers, for those fish and those shrimp. So let's just go with the shrimp, because that's just -- we don't have time to do every single number on here.
The one above it, biodisperse, a little less toxic. A little less toxic. About the same. A little less.
But then there are some that are very toxic. And then you have to slide across. You have to slide across, all the way across the column and see, how effective is it? What's the effectiveness at a 10-1 ratio?
Ten gallons of crude, one gallon of dispersant. How great is it to disperse this stuff?
So, this one here, Finesol 52 (ph), or whatever the name of it is, is 71 percent efficient and very -- and less toxic. Let's go back to the one that they're using, 3.4, some more toxic, but only 54 percent efficient.
So, are there spin people out there saying they're using the bad stuff? Yes. Is it as bad as some of this other -- I don't know what to call it, whatever it is. But, see, this is very toxic to fish, but yet very effective, 89 percent effective.
HARRIS: And you've got to balance this.
MYERS: You have to balance it.
HARRIS: You've got a massive spill.
MYERS: You do.
HARRIS: And you've got to get on it right away.
MYERS: Yes.
HARRIS: If you're sort of playing, well, what is most effective and trying to do the balancing act, you could be losing time.
MYERS: Correct, right.
HARRIS: OK.
MYERS: Here -- I just want to cut through some of the stuff.
HARRIS: Great. MYERS: Twenty million to 40 million gallons of oil leak out of the Gulf of Mexico naturally every year. Just out of fissures in the bottom. That's how they knew there was oil here in the first place. That's how they knew why to drill here, because they were finding tar balls when nobody was drilling yet.
Where are those tar balls coming from? It's coming from the naturally occurring, naturally leaking oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
Let's go with 7,000 barrels a day. We know the number has been 5,000, some people say more. It's probably not less.
HARRIS: Right.
MYERS: You multiply 30 days times how much, we have already dumped nine million -- well, somebody has -- dumped nine million gallons of extra oil in the water. Where does this 20 million to 40 million go? Would you believe it gets eaten by animals, by plankton and things down below.
HARRIS: Rally? Yes. Yes. That makes sense.
MYERS: Because if you're 3,000 feet down, you're this big, you can't see sunlight. You don't get energy from the sunlight, you get energy from the oil, from the hydrocarbon in the oil. And so your job for tens of millions of years was to eat this oil.
And so, there's communities down here of things we've never seen because we'd rather go to Mars than go to the bottom of the ocean to figure out what's on our own planet than figure out what's all down there. These things are working. They are eating the oil.
Now, what happens if they eat the oil with the dispersants? That's harmful. I don't know. Let's not kill those things that naturally eat the oil, OK?
HARRIS: Good stuff. That's good. That's good. All right.
Do we have the live pictures now of the feed?
If you'd like to watch the live feed, there it is right now.
MYERS: Yes. That's disturbing, still.
HARRIS: It is. You know, you're probably going to make yourself more and more angry with each minute that you spend watching it, but it's available for you at CNN.com.
Let's take a break. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: And in Washington, the first major shake-up of president Obama's national security team. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: I'm Dan Lothian at the White House. It was no surprise in the intelligence community when Dennis Blair, director of National Intelligence, announced that he was stepping down. A source tells CNN that the White House was "just not comfortable with this guy."
Now, it comes in the wake of an important intelligence trip to Pakistan that he did not go on, and also criticism over recent intelligence failures, where the dots were not connected. Mr. Obama said that he was grateful for his leadership, and sources tell CNN that the White House has already spoken with potential replacements.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Return to Nashville. We check up on the music city's recovery two and a half weeks after the big flood.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Nashville in full recovery mode. It has been almost three weeks since record-breaking rainfall unleashed fatal floodwaters across Tennessee. More than 20 people were killed.
Dan mentioned Nashville alone estimated at more than $2 billion, with a big "B,", $2 billion.
Our Ines Ferre is following the cleanup efforts.
And I've got to tell you -- Ines is joining us from New York, by the way -- for families who have been impacted by this, this is probably a slow and painful recovery.
FERRE: It is so difficult for them, Tony. And I want to show you a family in Nashville pulling all the strength they can muster up. The husband is battling cancer, and their home was ruined during the floods. They've lost a lot of their income, and the family of five is cramped in one hotel room right now.
Take a listen.
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LEDA NAUDE, HUSBAND HAS CANCER: He's really on his last days, and I want him to be just in a place where he is going to be comfortable, where he's going to be peaceful.
It's very humbling, because you go to, like, really the down part, just that, you know, I need money, give me your money. It's, like, it's really humbling, you know, to be in a situation like this, but I guess sometimes we need to be humbled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: And this is a time when you really see the community come together, Tony. Volunteers helping people get back on their feet. These are some Baptist church volunteers helping out residents rebuild their home, fixing up the walls.
HARRIS: Yes.
FERRE: Andy Edmundson (ph) and his wife are two of the volunteers. Edmundson (ph) says he'd rather rebuild than tear out. That way you can see something emerging from the ashes -- Tony.
HARRIS: Boy.
FERRE: It's really unbelievable.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. We just have to keep following and maybe direction all of our resources to round up the resources to help those folks in Nashville.
All right. Ines, appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, we wanted to get the official word on what's being done to help the thousands of flood victims in Nashville, so last hour I talked to the city's mayor, Karl Dean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR KARL DEAN, NASHVILLE: We have obviously set up a variety of recovery programs, one of the things we're doing is We have obviously set up a variety of recovery programs. You know, one of the things we're doing is cleaning up all the debris.
We have about 100 public work trucks out there. We've done emergency contracting to bring in other trucks. We're setting up housing programs. We have recovery areas, information areas, and we're working with FEMA to get the word out about how people can get back in their homes or begin the process of getting resettled.
HARRIS: Yes. The city has also suffered a lot of damage to its own facilities. How have city services been impacted by all of this?
DEAN: Well, almost every part of the city in terms of its services are up and running. We lost a couple of buildings completely that need to be totally renovated, a Head Start Center. Our juvenile court was damage severely. But city services are full on. We'll totally restore our bus service on Monday.
So, the city is up and operating, and really 95 percent of the city was not damaged by the flood. And the city is fully open for business, and we are fully engaged in the recovery process.
HARRIS: Yes. Have you been getting from you need from federal and state officials?
DEAN: I've been very pleased with the response of the federal government. President Obama, in less than 24 hours after Governor Bredesen requested that Davidson County be declared a disaster area, did so. FEMA has been incredibly cooperative. They've had feet on the ground almost immediately. They've reached out to citizens all over the county. You know, we have a lot of things we have to do, and the federal government has helped a lot, and we appreciate that. And outsiders have obviously donated.
But we kind of get that the bottom line is Nashvillians are going to have to help Nashvillians, and Nashvillians are going to have to get this done. And we've been doing it.
HARRIS: I think you're right.
DEAN: I mean, it's been -- if you went out just a few days after the storm was over, ,and you went through the affected neighborhoods, you saw houses where the drywall, the carpet, the appliances, all personal possessions that were destroyed in the flood, had been removed, and the houses were ready to be repaired. And that was done by volunteers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, man.
If you would like to -- speaking of volunteers, if you would like to find out ways to help out, you can just go to CNN.com/impact.
Digital cameras and virtual coupons. We're talking storage and savings and other techie stuff.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS (voice-over): Pictures, information, insight you won't find anywhere else. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris -- anything can happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And it does. This moment, for instance, new development in the case of two Iranian detainees being held in Iraq, and perhaps the broader implications of this.
Our Ivan Watson is on the phone with us right now.
Ivan, what do you have for us?
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, our bureau in Baghdad, Tony, has just confirmed with the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad that two Iranians who were detained years ago by U.S. military forces were handed over to the Iraqis and handed over to the Iranian Embassy, and then flown out of the country today. They go by the names of Ahmed Barzande (ph), arrested two years ago in Iraq, and Abdullah Maliki (ph), arrested seven years.
Why does this matter? Well, this same week, the mothers of three Americans who were detained along the Iraqi/Iranian border by Iranian security forces, and then accused of espionage, they spent 10 months in an Iranian prison. Their mothers were granted visas by the Iranian government and allowed to travel to Tehran, where they had an emotional meeting with their three very grownup children.
HARRIS: Yes.
WATSON: And they had been calling for their release. The Iranian president, earlier this month, he proposed a prisoner swap. Could this be the sign of something like that? It's far too early to say yet, but there is a sign of some kind of a movement between these two rival governments.
HARRIS: That's interesting.
All right. Boy -- all right, Ivan Watson for us. Ivan on the phone from Turkey.
Appreciate that. Thank you, Ivan.
Let's take a break. We're back in a moment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's see here. Let's get you to, again, the best financial website on the Internet, cnnmoney.com and our terrific Money team. If you want to get some fantastic reporting on your financial news, what all of this chaos in the markets mean to you, this is the place to go, cnnmoney.com.
Stocks stage a rally. Yes, we were down early and we've bounced back a bit. We were in triple-digit territory earlier, negatively. Now we're in positive territory. Almost triple-digit gains here. We're at plus 96 points. We'll follow these numbers throughout the day for you. And the Nasdaq is up 33 points.
You know, we love our digital cameras. We just do. But most of us have really run out of space on our memory cards at one time or another, right? So our tech expert, Katie Linendoll, is back with us to help us with that problem.
Katie, good to see you. Oh, you're with -- you took the glasses off. I love it! Good to see you, Katie.
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: Just for you. Just for you.
HARRIS: I appreciate it.
How do we make our cameras wireless? And I suppose this is the way to go so that we can take advantage of some other storage options out there.
LINENDOLL: Absolutely. Well, it is all about i-fi. And this is a new little gadget. HARRIS: I-fi.
LINENDOLL: And now you're going to be able to take photo and video and then upload immediately to Facebook or YouTube or just to your computer for better organization. And what it is, it's a little SD card, still going to hold the storage, still going to hold all those photos, but it connects wirelessly via any hot spot so you can instantly upload, again, those photos and videos to YouTube, to Facebook or just to your computer to better organize. Pretty cool.
HARRIS: OK. Now I want to organize my pics into files and I'm hearing a term that I'm not that familiar with. It's called geotagging. What is it and how does it help me organize my pictures here?
LINENDOLL: Yes, this is something I'm crazy about. This is geotagging. And what it does is , say, for example, you go over to Europe and you're traveling all around and you come back and two years later you're flipping through those photos and you have no idea where that photo was taken.
HARRIS: Right.
LINENDOLL: Well, geotagging can actually pinpoint on a map your exact location for every single photo. So, again, better organization, but it also tells you exactly where you were. I've got to tell you, it's awesome, too, because I was trying it out and it pinpointed every single place I was all around New York City. It's really incredible technology.
HARRIS: Look at this. So who's going to get the most out of this?
LINENDOLL: And I invented this in my mind.
HARRIS: Yes? All right.
LINENDOLL: Yes. We are going to get - OK. It is really for everybody. So for that photographer that's on a deadline that needs to get his photos to his boss immediately, but also too for those lazy people that just want to upload instantly to Facebook or for people that, you know, want to organize their photos, but how many times do we pop this little card into our computers? We don't. We're pretty lazy about that.
HARRIS: Right.
LINENDOLL: So it's giving you that access to technology. And I was saying earlier, this is something, Tony, I invented in my mind about five years ago. So I'm expecting residuals.
HARRIS: Yes, residuals to be sure.
LINENDOLL: Yes.
HARRIS: OK. Let me just sort of catch up with you here. I-fi. There are the pictures. Geotagging. Down to the neighborhood of wherever you are. Paris. It doesn't matter.
Hey, I want to pivot here just a bit to another topic quickly here. As you know, there are tons of sites offering all kinds of things that personally I'd like to buy, but I want to buy them, Katie, at a discount. How can I save money when I am shopping online?
LINENDOLL: Yes. OK. This is huge because if you're a big online shopper like I am --
HARRIS: Yes.
LINENDOLL: The key here is, if you have not used retailmenot.com, you must go on there. Never, ever check out without a promotional code. Retailmenot actually saved consumers over $52 million last year alone. And what it is, 95 percent of the coupons that are on the site that you can add to your cart when you're checking out online are uploaded by people just like you and I. And then 5 percent of the coupons, they're actually provided by manufacturers. So never, ever, ever check out online without checking retailmenot. They have over 50,000 stores. It's really an awesome tech tip.
HARRIS: So you need to get a coupon code, correct?
LINENDOLL: That is correct.
HARRIS: That's perfect. I'm just cycling through everything once again. Online coupon codes. I'm just getting really happy at the touch screen here. And there it is, retailmenot.com.
LINENDOLL: Retailmenot.
HARRIS: Katie, good to see you.
LINENDOLL: Good to see you.
HARRIS: You have a great weekend, lady. Good talking to you. See you next week.
All right, we are checking on those ethnic study classes outlawed in Arizona.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to know the nine justices, right? And who is the chief justice?
CLASS: Roberts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roberts, all right.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We were at the class. Do you think we saw the genuine class?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I have no doubt that you did not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Our Gary Tuchman sits in on one of those classes and talks with the school superintendent who led the charge to cancel them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The Texas Board of Education is expected to vote today on a new social studies curriculum that will be used to develop textbooks. The plan has set off, as you know, an intense debate over changes proposed by the conservative majority. Critics say they plan to water down issues like slavery and civil rights, a claim supporters deny.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICIA HARDY, BOARD MEMBER: There would be those who would say, you know, automatically would say the reason for the Civil War was over slavery. No, it was over states' rights.
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Come January, Arizona's public school students won't be able to take ethnic studies classes. CNN's Gary Tuchman decided to sit in on a couple of those classes to see what exactly Arizona lawmakers are banning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is it. A class described by some as subversive, and anti-American. A class legislators in Arizona voted to shut down.
CLASS: We must listen to each other and our elders with humility and love in order to hear the indigenous wisdom in our hearts.
TUCHMAN: It's an English lit class, taught from a Mexican- American perspective at Tucson High School. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has signed a bill to ban such ethnic studies classes in public schools effective January 1st.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want a plan for changes.
TUCHMAN: State school chief, Tom Horne, led the effort to kill these classes.
TOM HORNE, ARIZONA SUPT. OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION: We don't divide kids up by race.
TUCHMAN: But the man who has been running the ethnic studies classes at high schools in Tucson says banning the program is actually racist.
SEAN ARCE, DIRECTOR OF MEXICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES: These are racist laws. These are exclusionary laws. These laws are actually anti-American.
TUCHMAN: So what's really going on in these classes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody? Ooh. Whoo!
TUCHMAN: On the day we were at the English lit class, they played a rap song called "Brown-Skinned Lady."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's talking more like, don't be ashamed if you're dark skin, you know, just because like the media portrays more like light skin is, like, you know, the thing or whatever.
TUCHMAN: In another classroom, a class called American Government and Social Justice is also taught through the ethnic studies lens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to be a good human being.
TUCHMAN: The mostly Latino students were learning about who the liberal and who the conservative justices are on the U.S. Supreme Court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to know the nine justices, right? And who is the chief justice?
CLASS: Roberts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roberts, all right.
TUCHMAN: This day's classes seem tame, not subversive. Latino students say the program makes them proud and motivates and inspires them.
ALFONSO CHAVEZ, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: It helps you understand what we -- the positive benefits that we provide for our country.
TUCHMAN: Former high school students, like this college senior, have glowing reviews about these classes.
MICHELLE RASCON, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA SENIOR: I don't think I would have gone to college had I not taken them.
TUCHMAN: The superintendent thinks the class was sanitized for us.
TUCHMAN (on camera): We were at the class. Do you think we saw the genuine class?
HORNE: No, I have no doubt that you did not.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): And that's why Horne says he's never visited them. But he says, though interviews, he has evidence these teachers promote resentment towards the U.S. government.
TUCHMAN (on camera): I mean how does that make you feel that you're talking about you students and your state and your teachers in your state like that?
HORNE: Well, these teachers are definitely not representative of teachers in our state. This is a small group of radical teachers, anti-capitalist, anti-western civilization, anti-free enterprise, teach the kids that boundaries are -- the boundaries are artificial.
TUCHMAN: Can I say you paint - can I say you paint with a very broad brush. Are you comfortable doing that?
HORNE: It's -- well, it's a small group of people that I'm talking about. So I would say it's a narrow brush. Maybe a finely honed pencil.
TUCHMAN: Might you be creating revolutionaries?
ARCE: No. No. We are creating literate, engaged youth who are emerging out of this program that have an obligation to their community, to the state and to this great nation.
TUCHMAN: Under the new law, if any school district in the state of Arizona continues to have this type of class, the state has the right to cut 10 percent of that district's funding. So, what is the Tucson school district going to do? For now, absolutely nothing.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The school says the courses will be taught again beginning this fall. And then, says the school board member --
ADELITA GRIJALVA, TUCSON SCHOOL BOARD: I believe we should go to court if it comes to that point that they're withholding money.
TUCHMAN: But Tucson school officials won't say what they'll do if they lose in court.
HORNE: When you talk about withholding 10 percent of the funds, that's a very powerful motivator.
TUCHMAN: The superintendent is playing hardball. He'd like to see the program gone today. He'll settle for January 1st, no matter what the people in this classroom think.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all have a good day. Do the right thing!
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, it sounds absolutely astonishing. A geneticist says he's created a synthetic cell. The first species on the planet, he says, with a computer for a parent. We're back in a moment. Think about that for a second.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Huh. All right, let's do this. Let's get you caught up on our top stories right now.
Diffusing the oil. Let's start here in the Gulf. BP has been ordered to use a less toxic, more efficient dispersant on the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. Company officials say about 5,000 barrels a day is being siphoned from the damaged well, but it is still spewing oil and globs of it are reaching the Louisiana coastline.
Let's get out - let's close this and get out to California right now. Lance Armstrong crashed during a race yesterday. Great. It took eight stitches to close the gash under his left eye. He is also denying allegations from another former Tour de France champion, Floyd Landis, who says Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs as he did.
And we've got one more story here. Let me bring you that here. Bang. All right, artificial life. Scientists say they produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA. A synthetic cell that could lead to fuels and producing vaccines faster.
All right. Answers to your debt and credit questions right now -- let me close that out -- coming from our "Help Desk." Here's Stephanie Elam.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Ryan Mack is the president of Optimum Capital Management, and Donna Rosato, she's a senior writer with "Money" magazine.
All right, thanks for being here with us today, guys.
Our first question comes from Sylvia. And she writes in, "I've wanted to fix my credit for about four years now. I've considered third-party debt consolidation companies and filing for bankruptcy. Is there anything I can do to bring my credit back up without consulting a third party."
A lot of people have this question, Donna.
DONNA ROSATO, SR. WRITER, "MONEY": Oh, yes, and good for Sylvia for tackling her situation. A lot of people, when they hear about these third-party debt consolidation companies think, oh, this is an easy answer. You know, they promise you that they're going to help you reduce your debt and, you know, reduce the payments. But, in reality, they charge hefty -- these debt consolidation companies are a big business. They charge you hefty fees for things that you could pretty much do yourself.
If you are struggling, like Sylvia is, with debt, she should call her lenders and see if she can negotiate a lower interest rate, maybe easier payments. But if she's really struggling and wants advice, I'd recommend contacting the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, nfcc.org. It's a nonprofit, community-based organization that provides free counseling for people. You can do it over the phone. You can find someone in person. They've been vetted. These are not the people who are going to charge you something and get you into a worse position that you were. We all need some help with our debt, and I think that if she calls nfcc.org, she could find some good advice.
ELAM: Yes, so explore her options first.
All right, let's go to our next question which comes from Sonny in Pennsylvania and she writes in, "if I ask for a rate reduction on my credit card, will it affect my credit score?"
What do you think, Ryan?
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Absolutely not and you need to be asking as frequently as possible and as much as possible. Another misconception is if individuals go to annualcreditreport.com and print out their credit score that your FICO score will actually get lower by checking your score. Sometimes credit card companies will try to solicit you for business and that will state - they will have to pull up your score to see if you're eligible for the car (ph) to try to solicit you for business, but that won't lower your score either.
It's when you call in. Ten percent of your FICO score is additional credit inquires. So when you're on the plane and they're asking you to fill out for their application for their new credit card to get some frequent flyer miles, if you fill out that application, your score is actually going to decrease by as much as five to six, maybe 10 points because you just filled out a new credit card application without getting the proper research. So I'd advise individuals to go to bankrate.com and make sure they're researching their credit card, because every time you fill out the application and get a new credit card, that's when your score goes down, not when you check it, not when you check your score and not when somebody else checks your score without your knowledge.
ELAM: It is a good thing to go ahead and get your rate cut.
MACK: Absolutely, as much as possible.
ELAM: All right. Good information today, guys, thanks so much.
"The Help Desk" is all about getting answers to your questions, so send us an e-mail to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com or log on to cnn.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions. You can also pick up the latest issue of "Money" magazine. It's on newsstands now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Time to take a look at what's hot on the Internet. You're there. We are, too. It's our moment to talk about what's hot. Ines Ferre joining us with a bit of a breakdown.
All right, Ines, get us started here.
FERRE: All right. Listen to this. A woman from Canada, she's suing Rogers Wireless for $600,000.
HARRIS: I love this.
FERRE: Because her cell phone company bundled her bill with her husband's.
HARRIS: Yes.
FERRE: He found out she was having an affair. He left her. She's out of a job. She blames the cell phone company. And Rogers says it's not responsible for the affair or the break-up. They're saying, it's not our fault.
HARRIS: And she's blaming the cell phone provider.
FERRE: Unbelievable.
HARRIS: I love it. That is so rich.
OK, Ines, this is actually one of those video games that I'm pretty good at here. Forget about the Xbox games. But this one I can actually play.
FERRE: Oh, yes? OK. Yes, Pac-Man. Pac-Man turns 30 today.
HARRIS: Because it's old school.
FERRE: Chomp, chomp. The classic arcade video game, it was released actually 30 years ago in Japan. It spawned hundreds of products, a cartoon, a breakfast cereal, a hit song. And, guess what, Tony, actually, if you go to the Google page, you can actually play Pac-Man on the Google page.
HARRIS: I did not know that.
FERRE: You can play hours and hours away.
HARRIS: Oh my goodness.
FERRE: Yes, today you can do it. Uh-huh. It's such a cool game.
HARRIS: No, that's not happening today. It's a Friday. It's the weekend.
All right, one more here. How about this, a little charity and spring cleaning all rolled up into one? And we're also keeping up with the Kardashians' closet. Explain that for us, Ines.
FERRE: Yes, you know you're keeping up with them. The reality star, Khloe Kardashian, opens her closet for a good cause. Khloe's on this video that we're about to show you. She and her husband L.A. Lakers star Lamar Odom are auctioning their clothes on eBay for a charity he started in 2004 called Kathy's Kids Foundation. And the foundation helps underprivileged kids and cancer research. And the auction runs through May 23rd. So you can buy her clothes! I like -- I like the earrings. HARRIS: I'm looking at some of the stuff from Lamar, but he's -- he's a tall dude. He's 6'10", 6'11". But, all right, for charity, we love it.
Ines, good to see you. Have a great weekend and we'll see you next week.
FERRE: You too. Bye-bye.
HARRIS: All right, take care.
I've got to tell you, it has been a year since a boy was forced to take cancer treatments. Perhaps you remember this story. We will check in on him and on the family's new medical crisis.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The lyrics of the song is "everybody's working for the weekend."
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HARRIS: We're almost there.
MYERS: Almost.
HARRIS: Homestretch.
MYERS: You are. You're closer than I am. You're two minutes away, dude.
HARRIS: Weekend weather, sir.
MYERS: All right. A couple of things going on across the weekend weather. There's going to be some windy and dry conditions out west. There may be some fire danger. Don't be making fires when you see red flag warnings and all that kind of stuff. That's pretty self- explanatory, right?
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: There could be severe weather just like we've had all week long here in the Plains today and then for tomorrow and then so on and so on. In fact, we even have some showers into parts of Atlanta, into Birmingham. Ad there we go, Gadsden, Alabama, had showers earlier in Atlanta and they have moved away. More coming through.
HARRIS: Yes, another line.
MYERS: This says bad things for a getaway Friday in the Atlanta- Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It's never a good day when it rains in Atlanta. And that's not a song, but we should make that one. We can make some lyrics for that.
HARRIS: Oh, yes. MYERS: Right now ground delays in Atlanta, only 35 minutes, but I bet they will get to be two hours when we start to see those storms come in.
HARRIS: You think so?
MYERS: Planes have to fly around them. They have to separate themselves a little bit more. Can't get as many planes on the ground as they would like, so therefore everything kind of slows down.
LaGuardia at 45 minutes and right now only 50 minutes at Chicago. Everybody else doing just fine for the getaway Friday.
HARRIS: Hey, we've got time. What happened in April?
MYERS: A little bit difficult to see, but I'm going to help you out.
HARRIS: OK.
MYERS: OK. I'm going to draw the United States.
HARRIS: Sure. Sure.
MYERS: Draw Canada. I'm going to draw Mexico and South America.
HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE).
MYERS: You got this?
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. (INAUDIBLE).
MYERS: (INAUDIBLE). And I'll draw Ali. And then you see the rest. Every red dot that we see is separated by a little bit that was above or below normal temperature in April. Satellite-based. Looking down. Was it hot. Was it not. Not weather. It was because some exhaust pipe was blowing on some thermometer somewhere. Look at all the red dots compared to only blue dots in parts of Russia and the USSR, whatever they used to be, and in the Pacific. Now, the hottest April overall ever on record.
HARRIS: How about that?
MYERS: Was this April. So there you go.
HARRIS: Mark, you want to swing around and get Ali so we can (INAUDIBLE).
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: No, no, don't - don't go. I'm enjoying this conversation.
HARRIS: Are you, Ali?
VELSHI: I'm having a good time.
MYERS: Come on, Ali (INAUDIBLE). VELSHI: The only extra thing I can ask is if you could stay a few more minutes, Chad, I'm going to Atlantic City this weekend. I didn't tell you, so I haven't got a weather report for Atlantic City yet. You -
HARRIS: Sir?
VELSHI: Have a fantastic weekend.
HARRIS: You as well.
VELSHI: Great to see you. Tony Harris starting his weekend up --
MYERS: (INAUDIBLE) go to Atlantic City -
VELSHI: Yes, Chad's going to mess up my weekend I bet you.
