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President Obama Creating Bipartisan Commission to Investigate Oil Leak; 158 Feared Dead in India Plane Crash; Insurgents Attack NATO Base in Southern Afghanistan; Moms Return From Iran Without Loved Ones; Newest Info on the Gulf Oil Spill Clean Up

Aired May 22, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: This hour on CNN, workers take another stab at stopping the gush of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, but many say it is too little, too late. And in order to save the wildlife, parts of the delicate wetlands may have to be torched.

Is that too drastic a fix? We'll ask Bill Nye, the Science Guy, to take a look at what can be done. He weighs in on your suggestions and more.

And one man's extremely dangerous bid to break the record 22 miles up in the stratosphere. What is he thinking?

Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us.

An impatient Gulf region is watching and waiting today as BP works out its latest plan to stop the oil gushing underwater. Here's what we know right now. This weekend, the company is preparing to try a top kill where they'll pump heavy drilling fluids into the well and try to seal it with cement. But it won't happen until early next week. Possibly on Tuesday.

Meantime, oil is washing into marshes and wetlands along the Gulf Coast. According to scientists who spoken to the associated press, it may be impossible to get rid of the mess completely. And President Obama says, he wants answers in this disaster. He is creating a bipartisan commission to investigate the oil leak and offer solutions to keep something like this from happening again.

So, the president announced a new commission in his weekly address today, and our Kate Bolduan is standing by live for us in Washington right now. So, Kate, tell us about this commission, who's on it and what will they be doing?

KATE BOLDUAN, GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Actually, Heather Don. Well, it is a seven-member commission and it is co-chaired, that's why they're calling it a bipartisan commission, a democrat and somebody who worked for the republican administration, and who both come with some good credentials when you're talking about this situation. A former democratic senator from Florida, Bob Graham, and a former -- and the former epa administrator during the first Bush administration, William Riley.

And the goal of this commission, it is straightforward, but it is a huge job. To really get at the root cause of this massive spill and also then make recommendations and figure out how to prevent this from happening ever again in the future, straightforward, but it is a huge job and they're being tasked with reporting back to the president in six months -- Don.

LEMON: Kate, so thank you very much for that. We really appreciate you joining us with that, our Kate is joining us in Washington right now.

The president also delivered, we want to say, a speech in Washington today. He spoke at West Point, but he also delivered a speech to talk about this. So, tell us about, Kate, before I let you move on, what can you tell us about the president's speech on this?

BOLDUAN: The president's speech at West Point, we're talking about, he went there today, not only to congratulate the graduating class at West Point, which was a very wonderful moment for them, as you can imagine, but also this morning, the president discussed during this speech, kind of giving an update on the state of play in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And he also outlined some of the broad principles that will be part, we're told, of the president's national security strategy, which the White House says will be released sometime next week.

This is a very big report that lays out what the president's approach is to foreign policy, laying out his priorities. And we heard some of the broad themes of that in this speech, some of them including stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, securing nuclear materials, and continuing to fight against extremism and defeat Al Qaeda and its affiliates. Listen here to a little bit from the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had more success in eliminating Al Qaeda leaders in recent months than in recent years. They will continue to recruit and plot and exploit our open society. We see that in bombs that go off in Kabul, and Karachi. We see it in attempts to blow up an airline over Detroit, or an suv in Times Square, even as these failed attacks show that pressure on networks like Al Qaeda is forcing them to rely on terrorists with less time and space to train. We see the potential duration of this struggle and Al Qaeda's gross distortions of Islam, their disrespect for human life and their attempt to prey upon fear and hatred and prejudice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: President Obama, he also emphasized during this speech the need for global cooperation, partnerships, in taking on these challenges, saying at one point the burdens of this century cannot fall on American shoulders alone. A strong statement there. He also talked about, Don, the importance of so-called soft power. Everything from the need for more civilian support in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to increasing diplomatic engagement around the world. So, President Obama really talking about how this is a complement to the country's military strength. So, of course, it was a very important kind of showing the contours of what we could be learning much more about in the coming week -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Kate, thank you very much.

It is early Sunday in India this hour where the investigation is under way into the cause of a deadly plane crash in Mangalore. The air India Boeing 737 overshot the runway, crashed into a ravine and burst into flames. One hundred and fifty eight people are dead. But eight of the 166 people who were on board the plane survived. The flight took off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and it crashed in what is being described as good weather conditions early Saturday India time.

Cnn's Liz Neisloss is at the hospital. And Liz, what can you tell us about those survivors?

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, surprisingly and some would say miraculously, there were eight survivors of this crash. Two of those survivors are here at the hospital behind me. Both with amazing stories. One of them, a medical student, a woman in her 20s who was at the front of the plane when the plane broke open. She ran out and dropped down, again, the plane had landed in a ravine, she dropped again, landed in a tree. And that's where she says, rescuers found her. And officials described to me another survivor who was found just off the end of the runway, wandering around in a daze -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Liz, thank you very much for that.

We're following a developing story also out of Afghanistan at this hour. The main Nato base there comes under attack and there is word of injuries. And back in the u.s., but without their sons, the mothers of u.s. hikers being held in Iran, talk about their brief reunion with their children. And don't just sit there. Make sure you become part of our conversation here. Send me a message on twitter and Facebook or follow us on twitter or Facebook and also check out my blog, cnn.com/don. We want to hear from you. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Nato's Kandahar air base in southern Afghanistan is locked down after insurgents storm, the base's perimeter today. This is a second attack on a major military base in Afghanistan in the past week.

Cnn's Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now by phone with the very latest on this attack. Barbara, what happened?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, according to military officials, insurgents fired five rockets along the north perimeter of the base and then tried to get on to Kandahar air field. This is a major nato base in southern Afghanistan, very large, very sprawling, Don. It does come under rocket attack, not infrequently. It happens, but it is not the case that insurgents try to get on the base. And, of course, they were repelled by security forces.

According to press statement, just has come out from the military, the alarm at Kandahar is still sounding at this hour. A number of military and civilian personnel have been injured. At this hour, no fatalities. But as you say, Don, the second major coordinated and insurgent attack against a coalition military base in less than a week. The insurgents obviously pushed back by superior firepower, but still they appear to really be trying to challenge the coalition at the u.s. military presence there -- Don.

LEMON: And Barbara, has anyone taken responsibility for this attack?

STARR: Not yet. But it should be said, the obvious, of course is Kandahar, the homeland of -- the spiritual homeland of the Taliban, the Taliban quite strong in that region. General McChrystal planning over the coming weeks to really trying to step up the coalition security presence to try and challenge the Taliban. You know, he's refusing to call it a military offensive, he's just calling it security operations, if you will. So McChrystal, as the head of the coalition, sending his message to the Taliban that he's going to challenge them. The Taliban, perhaps, tonight, sending their message back to General McChrystal -- Don.

LEMON: Barbara Starr, thank you very much.

Meantime, a difficult homecoming today for the mother of three American hikers imprisoned in Iran. The women arrived in New York about three hours ago without their loved ones. While in Iran, they met with their sons and daughter. And, but please to the Iranian regime for mercy fell on deaf ears, really. Tehran seemed more interested in sending a message to Washington, to release Iranians currently in u.s. custody.

And our Susan Candiotti is covering their return for us as she joins us from New York. Susan, did the women get into the specifics of the meeting with their children?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Don. No, only in the most general sense. They stuck with statement because they said, they were so exhausted after their long journey. But what they did say was that they experienced unbridled joy after seeing all of their children for a total of just over ten hours over the course of two days in both public and private visits. Remember, up until now they had only had one phone call with their children, so they have been detained for almost ten months.

And you will recall that the Iranian government has charged the three with crossing the border without permission into Iran. The mothers maintain that it was simply an accident. Now, we do know this, that the two young men, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer have been staying together. They have been detained together in the prison. However, Sarah Shourd has been by herself and her mother says, that has been particularly difficult. They said, it was very hard as we said to get on the plane and come home without them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY HICKEY, SHANE BAUER'S MOTHER: We are all so very disappointed that when we went to the airport to return from Iran, Shane, Sarah and Joss had to go back be in to prison. The pain we felt at having to leave Tehran without our children is almost more than we can bear. Shane, Sarah and Josh have done nothing to deserve their continued detention and the lack of movement in their case troubles us greatly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now the mothers did not meet with any Iranian officials. Authorities over there said this was meant to be a humanitarian visit, and nothing more. There is also a question of whether there might be some sort of a prisoner swap. Iran announced that the Americans had released two Iranians from Iraq, just very recently. The state department said, it released no one except into the hands of the Iraqis. And they left it at that. They deny they are planning any kind of prisoner swap. We'll have to see what develops along those lines -- Don.

LEMON: Susan Candiotti. Susan, thank you very much.

If you have ever seen -- been up close enough to see a tornado form, it is pretty captivating. We're taking a look at how it happens, and why some storm clouds produce tornadoes while others do not.

And a struggling and hungry Americans fight to stay healthy, one gardener comes up with a plan to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY OPPENHEIMER, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: Just one day, I had two shopping bags, 40 pounds more vegetables than I could use. I had given stuff away, nobody wanted more. My wife wouldn't let me bring anymore in the house and I didn't want it wasted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Our cnn hero of the week when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Want to check our top stories right now. This weekend, bp is preparing for its next attempt to stop the oil gushing in the gulf. Company officials will try a top kill where they'll pump heavy drilling fluids into the well and try to seal it with cement. But it won't happen until early next week, possibly on Tuesday.

A scare in West Virginia earlier today. Investigators say, a man died after a pipe bomb he made, blew up outside a bar. The West Virginia State Police bomb squad diffused two other pipe bombs found nearby. No one else was hurt. Police say, the dead man is not a terrorist and the explosion is linked to a domestic dispute.

The father and son suspected of killing two West Memphis police officers may have ties to an extremist anti-government movement. Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center say, the suspects belonged to the so-called Sovereign Citizen Group. The group believes that the u.s. government is illegitimate. Jerry Kane and his son Joseph were killed in a shootout with police on Thursday. We turn now here to the weather in the United States. And Jacqui, I'm hearing about some pretty severe stuff going on in the Midwest.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We are watching for the threat of severe weather across the upper Midwest as well as into the Carolinas. I've got some amazing pictures that I want to show you, Don. This is from a tornado that was captured on video earlier this week. This is in Missouri, and as we take a look at that video, you can see the rotation here. It is a very sporadic tornado. It tries to develop and then, it weakens and tries to develop again. And you can see some of the environmental air, the surrounding air getting sucked in with in this updraft.

Now, there is this huge effort that is going on under way right now and it is called vortex2, and maybe you remember us talking about vortex1 last year. Basically, there are more than a hundred scientists with 40 different vehicles including ten Dopplers on wheels and they are roaming all across the plains, trying to capture video like this one. And also trying to figure out why a tornado would develop into a strong system or why it would just be a weak tornado. You can see the whole big base of this tornado. You can see how this whole wall cloud as we call it is rotating? And then, we just get this one little finger out of it and that's where we see some of that rotation. So, they're undergoing this huge effort to try and figure some of that out, so that we can learn more about tornadoes.

There is only about a 70 percent false alarm rate, Don. So, you get a tornado warning only about 30 percent of the time, is there an actual tornado on the ground. We're trying to improve that as scientists. One other thing I want to talk about is the potential for some tropical activity. Believe it or not, got this little swirl out here into the Atlantic. And it does have a slight potential of becoming our first named storm in the next couple of days. Could it impact the u.s.? Maybe so. Early next week as it gets a little closer up towards the u.s. coastline. We'll have to wait and see. We don't think it's going to really develop into anything for at least two days at this time. And we'll probably be more of a heavy rainmaker and a little bit of a wind event than being a real significant storm. But, you know, it is getting to be that time of the year.

LEMON: I know. And we are watching it. Thank you, Jacqui Jeras.

You know, millions of hungry Americans rely on food pantries to feed their families. But this can mean a not so healthy diet of canned and processed foods. This week's cnn hero saw the need for fresh produce and came up with a way to help the pantries provide it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIMER: Pancake mix and syrup. The system we have in America, you donate canned goods or dried goods to a food bank. Fresh produce is almost never available. In 2007, I had a very prolific season, and I ended up with 40 pounds more vegetables than I could use. Wow, that's good. So, I take it to a pantry. As I left, this woman said, now we can have some fresh produce. I remember thinking, they have canned stuff only all the time. Horse radish. I had an idea about how to not waste food. We're having an ample harvest and the very least we can do is give it to people who need it. They'll be enjoying this tomorrow at the pantry.

Ampleharvest.org enables people who grow food in home gardens to easily find a local food pantry to donate their excess produce to.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It's a nice big one. We didn't know what doors to knock on. But now that Gary has got this wonderful program, there is some rhubarb, taking it to one of the pantries really is a good way to share with ample harvest. So much of this is boxed, it is canned, it is not fresh.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Perfect. Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: You're very welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Really, we do appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Now we're getting the fresh items.

OPPENHEIMER: The country is loaded with gardeners who have more food than they can possibly use. Ampleharvest.org gives them the ability to easily get that food to somebody who genuinely really needs it. You're not only doing good, you're feeling great about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, so far nearly 2,000 food pantries have registered on ampleharvest.org. And to nominate someone you think is changing the world, go to cnn.com/heroes.

The Louisiana coastline now getting thick oil from that rig explosion one month ago. Today, a congressman let the people of his district talk directly to him, the coast guard and even bp. We'll talk to him about the concerns they had, next.

And a senate candidate creating a big name for himself because of what he said. Who backs him and even because of his name. What's up with Rand Paul?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, for weeks now, oil has been ruining their businesses. Now people in Louisiana can see how it is doing the same to their beaches. They got a chance to vent today at a town hall where they also got answers about the response efforts. I want to bring in now Congressman Charlie Melancon from -- he's held a town hall today. Thank you for joining us by phone. I know that you're very busy today. So, more than a month after this disaster began, what are the people in your district saying about this?

REP. CHARLIE MELANCON (D), LOUISIANA (by phone): Well, they're very frustrated, scared, feeling of helplessness, I guess, because as discussed today, you can't physically go out there and just shut it down yourself. So and, of course, a lot of the unknown about what bp will be responsible for and after Katrina went through similar situations around with people, misinformation that was out there, and erroneous information, and then just lack of information. So, that's what we're trying to accomplish today.

LEMON: And I think, there is frustration, you can say, I'm sure it's going to start to turn into anger soon if it hasn't already, so...

MELANCON: It has for some.

LEMON: For people -- go ahead, finish your thought.

MELANCON: It has turned into anger in some areas and some people. Some people are close to that beyond concern with also some of the post traumatic stress, if you would, particularly in the New Orleans region. Those parishes, because of Katrina, they thought they had been through the worst and now all of a sudden, this may be worse than Katrina in terms of not everyone, but for elements of the community.

LEMON: They're hearing different things from everyone and know one is really telling them what's really going on. I'm sure that's how they feel. And that can be very frustrating. You can see how it can turn to anger. Listen, I want to talk about some of that because people vented today. You had a whole lot of people, a whole lot of officials at the town hall today, you had the coast guard, you had EPA, you had state wildlife, what did they tell the people there?

MELANCON: Well, basically each agency -- I gave each agency an opportunity to talk about the things that they were responsible for. Wildlife and fisheries, about the open and closings of the different seasons and the different sectors of the coastline for an oysters or shrimp or fish or for whatever it was. We had the epa folks that were there to talk about, of course, there were lot of questions about the dispersants and whether they're doing more harm than good.

We had the BP people that were there to clarify what they were doing as far as the claims to those people that are out of work or hurting, being hurt by this, and how that is being handled, where it is being handled. The SBA was there.

DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: But, Congressman?

MELANCON: Yes?

LEMON: Here's my question. You're telling us what they addressed. But what did they say? Did they answer these people's specific questions?

MELANCON: Yes, they did.

LEMON: Because I'm sure people had some specific questions about, OK, I have this oil, you know, right in my backyard. This is where I usually earn my living, when you going to stop it, why is it taking so long? What did they say to people?

MELANCON: Well, the only answer anybody could give on why is it taking so long or when is it going to occur is the good lord himself, who knows when he's going to let that happen, or when these guys will achieve that. From a standpoint of what we're trying to do, they talked about, right now, it is attempting to keep the oil dispersed in the Gulf of Mexico in the deeper waters away from the coastline, away from the shore, away from the marshes and estuaries. That's the primary attempt of what they're trying to do at this point in time in time. As we --

LEMON: They're trying to -- you said they're trying to -- they're trying to keep it away. They're trying to keep more of it away because it's already reached that area. We've already seen dead animals. We've already heard that possibly, through the Associated Press, they may have to burn some of the wetlands area there or overflow the areas so that it can float away. That's going to cause huge problems, especially in this recycling or recovery year when it comes to the oysters and the fish and all of that.

MELANCON: You know, you just gave a perfect example of not total correct information about what's there. Yes, there is going to be -- if it continues to get into the marshland, and right now, it is in a small sector of the marshland, at the mouth of Southwest Pass. It is not a major intrusion into the areas that we're really concerned about. Cleaning the beaches are a lot easier. It is not good for Grand Isle to have it on their beaches because it hurts their economy. I just flew over. There aren't a lot of people on the beaches. I see a lot of camps where there aren't cars at, the isles and stuff. It tells me they're suffering because of the oil on the beach.

And I'm not saying it is a good scenario. But what I'm saying is, what the -- And I liken it to, say, a treatment for cancer. The chemo and the radiation sometimes are more detrimental to the patient. The cure sometimes is worse than the actual disease that you have. But in the end, if we clean it up, we can hopefully get the other things cleaned up too, which are lesser problems. If oil wasn't a problem, we wouldn't be worried about it. Dispersant may be a problem. There is (ph) questions about the best dispersants. Hopefully, they're addressing all those.

LEMON: Congressman --

MELANCON: The main thing is to keep the oil out of the marshes and the wetlands as much as we can.

LEMON: I want to understand what you said there. there is incorrect information about it reaching the wetlands. How is that incorrect?

MELANCON: We burn marshes every year in the spring after the freezes. So burning marshes is not a new process.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: I understand that, but the question is that whether or not burning the marshes, is it necessary at this point? Would you have to burn marshes as much as you're burning --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Hang on, let me finish. Would you have to burn marshes as much as you're burning them now if it were not for the oil? I get your point where you're saying that maybe burning it or maybe doing whatever, you may just want to let it go, because of the dispersants and the burning may cause more of a problem. But I want to understand what is incorrect about the information that the A.P. is reporting about burning and torching the wetlands and flooding it?

MELANCON: Well, you're getting into speculation of what's going to occur possibly in the future, of how you're going to do it. We haven't gotten to that. At this point, you have a small amount of land that has oil on it. and god help us if that's all that happens, this is going -- this will be a victory from keeping it from getting into the estuaries and the inland marshes. What I saw out there, in volumes of oil around the site, and what I've seen in the marsh area and in the beach area, so far it is a small amount. I couldn't tell you what that amount is, but a very small amount.

They're going to be doing -- going for the kill shot, I understand, on Tuesday. I would think that if the Richter scale is hooked up, you will hear -- it will be a vibration coming from south Louisiana, equal to what happened at the Super Bowl when the Saints won it. So we're just praying that they shut that well down. Then that gives us the ability to focus on dispersing the oil, taking the oil out, booming the oil, burning the oil, and doing whatever we can to keep it out of those marshes and those wetlands. So --

LEMON: To keep more of it out of those marshes and wetlands.

MELANCON: To keep --

LEMON: And I want to get that straight. To keep more of it out of the marshes and wetlands.

MELANCON: To keep any of it out, if we can.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Yes, to keep any. All right, I got you. I think I have your point.

MELANCON: We don't like any of it.

LEMON: OK. Just want to make sure because it sounds like you're saying it is not that bad, and I don't want the viewers to think that's --

MELANCON: Right now, what is being affected as far as wetland area is a small area right at the mouth of the river?

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Congressman, I think we all get that. I think we all get that. It is not completely overflowing with oil, but the concern is that it could be if this keeps gushing and there is not a fix. That's the point we're trying to get across here.

MELANCON: That's correct. That's correct. LEMON: Thank you very much, Congressman. And keep us updated on your efforts.

MELANCON: Thank you, Don. Appreciate it.

LEMON: We appreciate it.

So listen, the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is now a month old. So do you have a fix? Do you see a fix for this problem? Some of you submitted ideas. Bill Nye, the science guy, will check them out for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time now to talk a little politics. CNN's political producer, Peter Hamby, joins me now from Washington.

Peter, why don't we start in Kentucky where Rand Paul is definitely living up to his outsider reputation?

(LAUGHTER)

He stormed a victory in Tuesday's Republican Senate primary as a tea party favorite, upsetting the candidate backed by party leaders. Then Paul, he quickly got himself into hot water with comments about the 1964 Civil Rights Act, right, Peter?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Right.

LEMON: And even defended oil company, B.P. So what is going on? What's up with Rand Paul?

HAMBY: Well, this is exactly what Democrats wanted with Ron Paul as the Republican nominee in Kentucky. They realize -- and I talked to national Democrats before primary day earlier this week, and they realize that he has a potent message with his small government -- you know, anti-government spending message. But they are absolutely thrilled that the race is being focused on sort of these attendant libertarian views. Ron Paul -- Rand Paul -- excuse me -- is definitely an outsider candidate and they're thrilled to focus on these other issues, aside from issues with government spending.

LEMON: Yes. There is going to be a lot of "Ron-Paul, I-mean-Rand- Paul" moments, right?

(LAUGHTER)

HAMBY: There are.

LEMON: We're so used to saying Ron Paul. So you said this is what Kentucky voters wanted? I mean, is this what the voters there wanted, and Republicans? They're not surprised or worried about his comments at all?

HAMBY: Washington Republicans, establishment Republicans and the establishment in Kentucky, they're very worried about this. They had a rally today, earlier today, in Frankfurt, Kentucky, the state capital, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who basically pulls the levers of Kentucky politics. He's an institution in Kentucky politics. They had Rand Paul, the man he beat, Trey Grayson, and Mitch McConnell and they had a rally together to show that, you know, we're together. Still, you know, they're worried that Rand Paul can't stay on message. So they're going to try very hard to kind of refine his campaign because it was kind of a bare-bones grassroots operation. And now it is the big time.

LEMON: Peter, let's go to New York now and -- because attorney general Andrew Cuomo there, the son of the former governor, said today he's going to run for governor. He's well known. Lots of money. He seems to be ahead in early polling here. Not a surprise that he's going to run. People have been talking about it for a while. Is he a shoe-in? That's the question.

HAMBY: Well, yes, he's the front-runner. New York is a Democratic state. He's got quite the name. He's been plotting this for about a year.

But one thing, if you note today, when he entered the race, he's going to try to run as above politics campaign. He bashed the past two Democratic governors, you know, scandal-prone Eliot Spitzer, and David Paterson. He bashed the Democratic assembly in Albany. He knows that even though New York is a Democratic state, he's going to try to run as an outsider. Republicans are kind of split at the moment. Rick Lazio and Steve Lever, the two candidates, they have to figure out who is going to run against Cuomo. He's the favorite at the moment.

LEMON: All right. Peter, you'll be back at 7:00. You said Eliot Spitzer, as Oprah would say, that's a whole other show.

HAMBY: That's true.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: OK, thank you. We'll see you at 7:00 p.m. tonight.

HAMBY: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Just imagine being 23 miles above the surface of the earth, then plunging straight down at 690 mile an hour. We'll introduce you it a man who plans to do that this summer. Why is the question?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: What we're going to tell you about right here has to be the mother of all parachute jumps. CNN's Brian Todd introduces us to a man who plans to jump from the edge of outer space, falling faster than the speed of sound.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's a 41-year-old Austrian sky diver who works for Red Bull, but with NASA's future so uncertain, Felix Baumgartner may just represent the next frontier of flight exploration. Later this year, this guy is going to try to jump out of a capsule at the edge of space, for what's basically a record- shattering skydive.

(on camera): My first question is a two-parter, are you nuts and why the hell are you doing this?

(LAUGHTER)

FELIX BAUMGARTNER, SKY DIVER: First of all, I'm not nuts. It is human nature. Records are meant to be broken and I'm a very competitive person, I like the challenge, and to me there is nothing more challenging than work on the Red Bull Stratos Project.

TODD (voice-over): The Red Bull Stratos Project will test the limits of the human body. He'll try to break some unheard of records, the longest and highest free fall ever, 120,000 feet above sea level. That's more than 22 miles. And he'll try to make the fastest ever free fall.

BAUMGARTNER: When you step off, within the first 30 seconds, you accelerate so fast that you're going to break the speed of sound, which is more than 690 miles an hour.

TODD: That's something no one has ever done outside a plane or spacecraft. He's already base jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro.

The man who's record Fearless Felix is trying to break is a consultant on this project, Joe Kittinger, who jumped from 102,000 feet 50 years ago.

(on camera): You're the only one who has every come close to being where he's going to go. What is it like up there?

COL. JOE KITTINGER: 1960 STRATOSPHERE JUMPER: It is distant.

TODD: I'd say so.

KITTINGER: And it is very hostile. It is not meant for man without the proper protection.

TODD: What is it about that that feels so hostile? Is it the pressure, the speed? What is it?

KITTINGER: The lack of pressure. And you know that right outside of you is a vacuum of space. And without the protection of that pressure suit, you cannot live. And that's an interesting thought that you have.

TODD (voice-over): Like Kittinger, Baumgartner will be taken to the stratosphere in a capsule, pulled by a helium balloon. Then he steps off. The only thing protecting him, what he calls the next-generation pressure suit, and three parachutes.

(on camera): Are you afraid of dying on this mission?

BAUMGARTNER: Of course, I'm afraid of dying because I worked so hard to reach that level, you know. And I'm living a good life. And I think the most important thing I'm doing is to come back alive.

TODD: The ultimate scientific goal, to advance human knowledge enough so that space tourists will be able to exist outside their vehicles if those spacecraft break down.

(on camera): How does Felix Baumgartner top this? He probably won't. He says this is going to be his last jump and then he's going go back to being a helicopter pilot. May be a bit of a letdown.

Brian Todd, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Wow.

Well, turning to a higher power to lose weight. The Fit Body and Soul Program takes aim at churchgoers and has experienced a lot of success. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has our "Fit Nation" report today.

(FIT NATION)

LEMON: That oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, now a month old. Do you have a solution to fix the problem? Some of you have submitted ideas, and Bill Nye, The Science Guy, will check them out for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So over the past few weeks, CNN viewers have been submitting their own solutions to clean up the gulf oil spill on CNN's iReports. We received so many suggestion, we invited Bill Nye, The Science Guy, to take a look at them and tell us if any of them would work.

I want you to check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY: As you may know, I used to work very briefly at a company that skimmed oil slicks, so I'm going to look at some of the iReport videos and look at the ideas you've had to help these engineers solve this problem, to seal this leak on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Let's take a look.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You slide this in place on the hole's stopper going up the pressure, which will plug that gap. You then drill several fastening bolts to fasten it in place. At this stage, basically, all you need do is either tap into the pipe through the dam and pump in the golf balls, the rubber, the crack (ph), that will flow down and block.

NYE: As soon as somebody says drill through here, you're really in trouble. The stuff is unbelievably hard and it's broken. It's brittle. I mean, when you start to drill through it, it will just crack and you'll have this crack propagate up and down the pipe. And the leak will actually get even more difficult to deal with.

And just consider that the idea of drilling a relief well is coming in from the side. You have to drill through solid rock. But wait, there's more. You have to drill through this very hard drill casing, this special alloy steel casing. And for that, the engineers are allowing three weeks.

(LAUGHTER)

So all you got to do is drill a hole. Not so easy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you can see, this is simulating an oil spill in the water. And you just sprinkle some sand on it. As you can see, immediately the sand is absorbing the oil and bringing the oil down to the bottom, which make the top very clear.

NYE: Yes, yes, this is great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't take the sane for it to absorb.

NYE: So here's the problem. At lot of people don't want tar on the bottom of the ocean either. And the amount of sand involved, when you have an oil spill that's 10 nautical miles by 20 nautical miles, ends up to be a very large amount of sand. So this way, they're using a lot of -- or they're trying a lot of dispersants, which is sort of a dishwashing liquid and it mixes with the oil even when it's rough.

So -- what his demonstration is fine, but just taking the oil to the bottom of the ocean isn't a complete solution. It's OK. But it's a huge amount of sand. It's a moving ocean. And this is another idea that has limited effect. Meanwhile, the oil is still coming out of the pipe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got two scenarios here. We think, first of all, you can actually disperse this on the spill that's out there now. You soak up the oil that's out there now. You've got skimmers coming along and skim up the hay or use the shrimp boats with their nets, something along that line. Or if it washes up on shore, it's going to be just like seaweed, and you can take traditional beach cleaning equipment and just pick it up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our medium will absorb the oil. I'm not giving away the secrets on our medium. We will set it on top of the water. This is real time. And you can already see where -- look at all the oil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at all the clean water.

NYE: Air filters might work very well. Yes, there's a really good stuff, polyurethane, and to a limited extent, polypropylen, kind of like Tupperware, but a little bit different, and hay. They're suggesting hay. Hay might work pretty well too. And oil just sticks to that material. Just sticks to it. If you can get that stuff out there and that's what -- when I worked on oil slick skimming boats, that's what we used. And so hay might work. It's just. Once again, you need a lot of hay, a lot of human hair, a lot of any type of absorbent.

(MUSIC)

NYE: People have this thing like, why don't "they" do something about that? Well, the people working on these problems are engineers. These are people who nominally can do calculus, people who are very good at physic, who studied chemistry, people who have gone -- dedicated their lives to learning about nature, to learning about science, to learning about the process by which we understand the world. And so, I hope that along with all the concern, we do get respect for how complicated it is to provide everyone with all this energy that we all use all the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Good stuff. Thanks, Bill.

And thanks iReporters.

I'm Don Lemon in Los Angeles. I'll see you back here in one hour. "This Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer begins right now.