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Gulf Gusher: Day 36; Fishermen Frustrated With Oil Cleanup Progress; President Obama & Small Business; Change of Command at U.S. Coast Guard; Drake University's Women's Basketball Coach Making a Difference for Children in Haiti
Aired May 25, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Live in Studio 7 -- am I on my mark here? -- at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Tuesday, May 25th.
The Gulf gusher flows for a 36th day. Community leaders outraged that neither BP nor the government can turn off the spigot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA: There is no plan. There is no master plan. There's nobody taking charge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Communities vow they will protect and clean the coast themselves as the oil ruins landscapes, habitats and livelihoods.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forget about giving me some money. You know, save my estuary. Save my home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Anger on display. Small businesses at risk. Fishermen feel the financial bite of the disaster.
And live from the White House this hour, the president presses Congress to act on his plan to get banks to loan to small businesses.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right here, right now, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Less than 24 hours into the latest attempt to stop the gusher of oil in the Gulf, and the stakes could not be higher for BP and the federal government. The thick brown crude making a mess of Louisiana's marshes and some beaches is front page news all along the Gulf Coast. Here's a look at some of the headlines for you.
From "The New Orleans Times-Picayune," "State officials losing patience from the feds." From "The Biloxi Sun Herald," "Department of Marine Sources samples shrimp to determine season opening in Mississippi waters."
And from the "Mobile Press Register," "BP vows $70 million to aid tourism."
BP says its latest plan to stop the leak has a 60 percent to 70 percent chance of working.
CNN's David Mattingly listened to a briefing from BP officials a short timing on preparations for the so-called top kill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are going to be spending the next 12 to 24 hours doing a lot of pressure testing. They're going to be trying a bunch of connections.
This all being done with robotic hands down there at the bottom of the ocean, something that they've never tried before. These robots, the size of small sports cars, up to the size of minivans. And they're going to be connecting the hoses, they're going to be pressure-testing all the entry points just to try and figure out how best to insert this liquid into that system that they have down there.
Again, this has never been tried before at this depth. It's never been 100 percent successful when they've tried it on land and at other depths, so there's always some risk that's involved in this. And they're learning as they go. The BP officials talking today were making the point, we're doing something in a matter of weeks that would normally take months to prepare for any kind of operation at this kind of depth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So, the procedure is expected to begin before dawn tomorrow. As David mentioned, crews will inject a thick substance known as a drilling mud into the leak. That's designed to stop the flow of oil so the well can be sealed with cement.
Their livelihoods and their way of life threatened by the oil leak. People all along the Louisiana coast are frustrated and fed up.
CNN's Rob Marciano is covering that part of the story.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Tony, we're over a month into it now, and oil is washing up into those sensitive wetlands. That is the bread and butter of this community. And residents here, and fishermen alike, are frustrated, to say the least, but they just want some action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRANDON BALLAY, CHARTER FISHING BOAT CAPTAIN: Everything down here lives and starts their whole life cycle inside of these canes. Once they're dead, they're gone. You know, you're not going to grow back.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Wetland re-grass now covered in oil makes running a fishing charter boat tough business here in Venice, Louisiana. Brandon Ballay is worried about his livelihood. But also across the Mississippi Delta, it's a way of life.
BALLAY: Now we're mad at BP because basically, you know, I guess they've dropped the ball. You know, they were supposed to catch it, they were supposed to plug it. Forget about giving me some money. You know, save my estuary, save my home.
MARCIANO: This environmental disaster has already affected generations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But here's another example. This man catches bait. For the recreational fisherman, he's out of business.
MARCIANO: Brandon's father Dave Ballay worked in oil rigs in the gulf as a young man and later built this marina in 1985. All the people here somehow depend on the oil business.
(on camera): Those oil rigs out there, I mean, that's the hand that feeds this community. How frustrating is it that they've killed part of this community?
DAVE BALLAY, FOUNDER, VENICE MARINA: It's very frustrating because almost every one of us, almost every family in Louisiana has a cousin or uncle or brother or wife that works in the oil industry. There's so many things that are related to the oil industry. So we're mad. We're mad that it happened. We're not mad at the oil industry, we're mad at that one individual or that one company that made that mistake.
MARCIANO: Over two weeks ago, Plaquemines Parish proposed a plan to build sand barriers across 80 miles of sensitive shoreline. Meanwhile, oil has already hit some of those wetlands and still, that plan goes unapproved.
NUNGESSER: We will start laying the groundwork and protect the coastline. If they got a better plan, tell me one.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser believes the Coast Guard commander is holding up approval of his plan.
NUNGESSER: Now , et me tell you something, one man in Washington can say you can do it in six months. That's cheap talk. Show me some proof.
I'll stand toe to toe with him any day and prove him wrong. But you know what? He worked his way up through the Coast Guard, and he has the floor and the decision-making.
Shame on them. They ought to be prosecuted. And I don't care if they are in the Coast Guard, the Corps of Engineers, or BP. They let this coastline be destroyed. (END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen has told CNN that he's working with the Corps of Engineers to come to that decision. Their timeline is a bit different, six to 12 months. But they hope to reach a decision soon.
It can't come soon enough for the folks that live here, because they know that even if they cap that well tomorrow, Tony, there's still oil sloshing around the Gulf of Mexico, and that's going to make it to shore over the weeks and months to come, and they're just looking for some sort of solution both near term and long term -- Tony.
HARRIS: Absolutely. All right, Rob. Appreciate it. Thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: State and parish leaders in Louisiana say they are fed up with the finger-pointing over the oil leak. They want to dredge up walls of sand to close channels along the Gulf and keep the oil out.
The president of Plaquemines Parish made his case on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NUNGESSER: The Coast Guard, you know, has given me every reason why we can't do this dredge project. I said, "Well, give me a better plan."
You know, they keep talking about the resources of the Defense Department and everything they have at their disposal. We have got a few elected officials, the governor, some engineers and some passionate fishermen, and we put a better plan together.
Work with us. Let's come up with a better plan. Don't just tell us no or we can't do it in six months.
I don't think admiral Allen has ever done a dredge project. We've done them. The people working with them, the experts, say we can do this in six months. Who is he to say it will take at least a year or you can't do it?
And then they said $300,000 is too much. That's a third of our budget. But today BP's going to spend $500 million to study the effects? We'll save you $500 million, because you won't be able to study anything, because it will be gone, and what you've seen in those pictures --
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Go ahead.
NUNGESSER: -- is minimal compared to the damage that is coming ahead. It is just starting to get into the breeding grounds, and you will see much more death and devastation amongst the wildlife in south Louisiana in the weeks to come. And today we're doing absolutely nothing but re-deploying the same boom and doing some minimal skimming.
There is no plan. There is no master plan. There's nobody taking charge.
The president of the United States has to step up to the plate. We're begging him.
I looked him in the eye for two hours. He cares about us. I could tell, because he made the Coast Guard implement our dredge, our jack-up boats. We have them out there on the front line.
He needs to step up to the plate, put somebody in charge that will protect the wetlands, and we'll keep this oil out. We've given him several plans that will work. Either do our plan or come up with one better, but quit trading back and forth between BP and the Coast Guard. It's like a bunch of kids pointing the finger at each other.
Step up to the plate. We need leadership right now, we don't need a blame game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK.
So, frustration over the government's response to the Gulf oil leak, it is a sentiment that is growing.
Here's CNN contributor David Gergen in the NEWSROOM last hour with our Kyra Phillips, and boy, he did not hold back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GERGEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: When it comes to protecting our precious coastlines and the waters just off our shores, there's no doubt that we cannot leave our fate in the hands of a single foreign- based company. That's a national responsibility. That's what the -- that's fundamental to what the federal government is all about, why we have a government.
This company is not up to it. And so I believe that the president should take charge of this. He should have taken charge of it two or three weeks ago, but it's imperative that they take charge now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, what is the government saying? Here is the point man, Admiral Thad Allen.
ADM. THAD ALLEN, COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD: I know to work down there right now, you need remotely-operated vehicles. You need to do very technical work at 5,000 feet. You need equipment and expertise that's not generally within the federal government in terms of competency, capability or capacity.
There may be some other way to get it, but I'm the national incident commander, and right now the relationship with BP is the way I think we should move forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. So I want to hear from you. What should the government be doing to fix the problem?
Send us your thoughts, comments to CNN.com/Tony. You want to vent? There you go. Vent to me, or you can give me a call at 1-877- 742-5760. And let's get the phone lines going.
We will be airing your comments throughout the next two hours.
So, a Texas company that makes those booms used to block the oil has doubled its staff since the disaster in the Gulf. The owner expects to hire even more staff before it is all over. The booms, as you know, play an essential part in protecting the coastline, but they are just one part of the solution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is like a Band-Aid, collects certain patches, and then you can skim it. But it is not the ultimate solution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Be sure to tune in tonight to "AC 360." Anderson Cooper travels to the Gulf Coast. CNN, 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Small business owners getting some face time this morning with President Obama. We will take you live to the Rose Garden of the White House.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. New this morning, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is backing a compromised plan to move ahead now on the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Congress could take its first votes on Thursday. Both Gates and the White House wanted lawmakers to wait until a Pentagon review of the policy is complete in December, but congressional Democrats made clear they were going ahead anyway. The compromise allows Congress to vote, but repeal of the law won't be final until the review is in and certified by the president and the Pentagon. The Clinton-era policy allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military if they don't reveal their homosexuality.
Emotional testimony as Congress holds hearings on last month's deadly mine explosion in West Virginia. The blast killed 29 miners, the worst U.S. coal mining disaster in 40 years. The victims' families and colleagues appeared before a Senate committee accusing the mining company, Massey Energy, of safety violations. They're pressing for tougher inspections.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDDIE COOK, UNCLE OF MINE EXPLOSION VICTIM: I think MSHA did a great job, seriously. But I think you need a little bit more power. You know? You need to give these people some more power to where, if they see something wrong, OK, we're going to shut this down right now, and we're going to shut it down and you get it fixed.
ALICE PETERS, MOTHER-IN-LAW OF MINE EXPLOSION VICTIM: My daughter Gina (ph) has been very upset. She will not go out unless I'm with her, even to the grocery store or the beauty salon. She will not go out unless I am with her, and then she cries the entire time.
CLAY MULLINS, BROTHER OF MINE EXPLOSION VICTIM: I place a lot of fault with Massey on the way that they run their mine. Also, I put a lot of thought with MSHA for a mine having this many ventilation problems and not being shut down and being corrected. They might have corrected it at the time, but apparently that correction didn't work or we wouldn't be here today.
This is my brother. I don't have him no more. I worked with all these guys at these mines, all of except about four of them I knew.
This is my other family of brothers that I lost. And as a committee, I would hope that you all would pass some laws that protects all these miners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Among other things, Massey Energy is accused of warning workers, warning them when safety inspectors arrive. The company denies putting profits ahead of safety.
Let's take that live shot against, the Rose Garden at the White House. Small business owners getting some face time this morning with President Obama.
We will take you live to the White House in just a couple of minutes.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you to the White House Rose Garden now and President Obama.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle. Please give them a big round of applause.
Stand up, guys, so everybody can see you.
(APPLAUSE)
On the stage with me, we've got some -- the reason we're here, people who have helped live out the American dream and created jobs. And we are extraordinarily proud of them.
We've got Trapper Clark (ph) and Thomas Sternavent (ph) right over here. We've got Charles Reid (ph) right down here. And we've got Tamara Marquez-Nugent (ph). These are the outstanding winners of this award, and you're going to be hearing more about them.
I also want to introduce somebody who I'm very proud of who is doing just a great job as our SBA administrator, Karen Mills. Please give her a round of applause.
(APPLAUSE)
And we've got some wonderful members of Congress who are here. I love them all dearly. And we're going to talk about the role Congress can play in doing the work that needs to be done right now.
Now, this is the beginning of National Small Business Week, which every president has recognized since John F. Kennedy started the tradition in 1963. With us are some of the most successful, most hardworking entrepreneurs from across America.
Each of you has distinguished yourselves as the Small Business Owner of the Year in your state or your region. Later today, a national winner will be announced. But all of you should be extremely proud of what you've accomplished this year. I know that I'm extremely proud of what you've accomplished.
Being a successful small businessperson isn't just about collecting a profit or outperforming your competition, it's about contributing to the success of this country's economy. It's about contributing to your country's continued growth and prosperity. And it's about securing your piece of the American dream and helping your employees and your suppliers and all of the people you work with secure their piece of the American dream.
What's always distinguished us as a nation is a belief that it's a place where anybody with a good idea and a willingness to work can succeed. It's the belief that has brought millions of people to our shores and carried us through even the toughest economic times. It's how --
HARRIS: All right. There you go. The president making comments now, as we suggested he would, about small businesses and trying to create a fund to get some lending going to small businesses.
We wanted to take this because we thought the president might make some comments about the ongoing situation in the Gulf, but he's true to his word and he's talking about small businesses, which is fine. But we will continue to monitor these remarks, and if he makes some comments about the ongoing situation in the Gulf, we'll turn those around for you.
Entrepreneurs pitch what they hope will be the next big thing. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With Gift Cab (ph), they're available. It's 24/7. It's automatic. You walk up to the cab, you're done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what if I told you that just by drinking wine you could uplift and educate while reducing poverty and inequality?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Investors listen for who has the right stuff in this new economy. And these are just college students. Man. It is the first in our "Next Big Thing" series, tomorrow at noon Eastern Time.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: The oil keeps gushing, fish and birds dying, and patience is running thin. A look at the losses piling up in the Gulf of Mexico.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's see here, 36 days and still spewing oil. Where are the live pictures, oh, boy, from 5,000 feet underwater, from BP.
Josh Levs is with us now. And Josh, the reality is that that oil is starting to coat essentially everything in sight, right?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, man. I can't believe we're still talking about this, all these weeks later. It's astounding what we're seeing and the lack of solutions and the struggles people are facing.
I've talked to you about this before, Tony, the fact that it's such a massive industry, fishing in the Gulf. It not only employs so many people there, but it also affects the entire nation's economy. And what we saw yesterday -- late yesterday -- was an announcement from the government, this right here, that a disaster has been declared. The government, the Commerce Department saying it's time to declare a disaster for that actual industry of fishing.
Let me talk to you a little bit of what's coming up here, then we're going to be hearing from our Stephanie Elam later about payoffs. But, look at this, this declaration means that the government is making available $15 million in supplemental funding; $5 million in economic development assistance, unemployment coverage and economic injury disaster loans, which is on top of everything else more money that can become available to people affected by this.
Take a look here. Every time they ever talk about any kind of assistance or the needs, you still hear this again, "The Administration expects that BP and any other responsible parties will cover the full costs of economic damages to and restoration of these fisheries." This is what comes up all of the time. BP's going to pay. BP's going to pay. Let me show you the scope of the industry we're talking about. I'm focusing on these three states because it's in these three states that the disaster areas have been declared: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Commercial fishing alone in Louisiana was rated at $2.1 billion in sales in the last full year the government looked at. Mississippi, another $205 million. Alabama, another $492 million there, and that's just commercial fishing.
Keep in mind what goes on with recreational fishing in the Gulf in general. Recreational fishing is huge and people travel to the Gulf in order to take part in that. Look at these figures here. In the Gulf in general, $2.2 billion were spent on trips in one year; $14 billion spent on equipment for recreational fishing in the Gulf. This is the industry that's getting tackled right now so heavily and so devastated and, Tony, we're already in this tough economy.
Then take what's happening in that little section of America, that swathe of America, with tens of millions of people. And think about the ripple effects on the entire nation's economy, with things costing more and with more people being out of work and with more people struggling and the way it pull down the nation's economy. This is what we're talking about. It is a disaster.
HARRIS: Yes. I'm looking at the numbers of the Dow. The Dow numbers are going down, down, down, as well.
LEVS: They've got other concerns, too.
HARRIS: Hey, I'm wondering -- other concerns, exactly.
How many jobs are we talking about potentially impacted by what's going on in the Gulf right now?
LEVS: I'll just tell you, and there's so many ways to slice this.
When you look at Louisiana alone, 47,000 jobs. That's just -- let me get away from the other numbers so you're not seeing two sets of numbers at once. 47,000 job alone for commercial fishing in Louisiana. And you know what, right now we're just talking about Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama.
But let's think, what if the declaration of disaster also extends to Texas, to Florida? You have the entire region. You have more than 100,000 jobs in Florida that can be affected by this. Another 50,000 over in Texas. And more and more and more what you're seeing are jobs in danger.
But to be fair, I've talked to you about this before with wildfires, it's also true that in any disaster, and here too, there are also jobs created, there are people needed to help in the disaster recovery efforts. So there is some work that's being added while all that's coming out.
HARRIS: Can't imagine it's a one to one, though. LEVS: Oh, no. Not even close. It's a disaster.
HARRIS: OK. All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, thousands of individuals and small businesses are demanding money from BP. Stephanie Elam is in New York with details.
Stephanie, I guess the question for you is, have any checks gone out yet?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OH, yes, Tony. Checks have gone out. We know at this point that 23,000 workers have filed claims with BP for lost income. Nine thousand of them have been paid out. So that's a total so far of $27.8 million.
Most of the money has gone to small businesses along the Gulf Coast. You think about the fishermen, the shrimpers, and the charter boat captains out there who are being impacted. And the individual payment, it actually may vary based on the size of a company.
A small charter boat company owner that CNN Money had a chance to speak with says he got $5,000 from BP weeks ago, but he says his company can make up to $50,000 in a good fishing month. Other claims are taking longer, especially if the company is asking for a larger amount of money. That's not too much of a surprise, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. Before we let you go here, give us a sense of what's going on with the markets. I guess we were down at some point 230 or so points.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
HARRIS: Next hour we will hear directly from a woman who runs a commercial fishing business. Her name is Glenda Parre (ph) and she'll tell us how she's being affected by the oil.
And then I will speak with Louisiana Representative Joseph Cao. He's very concerned with the fishing industry and the Gulf lifestyle. It's at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Let's get you caught up on top stories right now.
BP tried skimmers, booms and chemicals. Tomorrow the oil company will pump heavy mud into the ruptured well to plug it up, then cap it with cement. It's called "top kill." It has worked above ground, but it has not been tested thousands of feet underwater.
We've got to put this on your radar. Former Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick is headed back to prison. He was sentenced last hour to a maximum of five years for violating his probation when Kilpatrick asked the judge to show him compassion. The judge replied, quote, "That ship has sailed." And it'll be the Flyers versus the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final. Philadelphia advanced for the win over the Montreal Canadiens last night. Chicago won the west last week. They face off at Game One. That's Saturday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So a change of command this hour at the U.S. Coast Guard. Admiral Thad Allen is retiring as Commandant, but he remains President Obama's point person for the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Our Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve, with us now from Washington.
Jeanne, I've got to tell you, he is going to remain as the president's point man, but I'm curious as to why this change of command is happening now and what does it might mean for the Coast Guard?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a four-year appointment and the four years had run its course. So it was time for Thad Allen to leave. The expectation had been that he'd fade into the background until his retirement becomes official. But, as you've just said, he's the Incident Commander for the Gulf Coast. He is going to be a busy man for the next couple of months as the federal government tries to get this under control.
HARRIS: And Jeanne, a lot of criticism now over the government's response to the disaster. Some calling for the government, as you know, and you've heard it as well as I have, to take over. How has he -- Thad Allen -- responded to the call?
MESERVE: Well, it was interesting. Yesterday, at the White House he was asked about it and he said, listen, we could tell BP to step away but then what? Who's going to take charge of this?
Thad Allen is a guy who's regarded by those who know him very well as a straight shooter, someone who speaks truth to power. People who I've spoken to this morning feel that's what was happening yesterday. He knows what the capabilities of the U.S. government are and what they are not. And he, I think, was trying to give a little reality check to the situation, to those who say let's get BP off the job.
This is a guy who has had a tremendously high profile since Hurricane Katrina. You'll remember he stepped in there and won accolades for helping lead the federal response there. The Coast Guard alone rescued something like 33,000 people off rooftops. When much of the rest of the government was paralyzed, the Coast Guard was not. That ensured his appointment to become head of the Coast Guard.
And he is a well-known face to the public. So when this current crisis, he was a logical person for the administration to turn to, to say, hey, bring us your expertise. You know the region, you know the issues, you know government capabilities. Come in here and do it again, please.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. He is the man, literally, on the hot seat.
All right. Our Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve for us.
Jeanne, good to see you. Thank you.
I've got to tell you, many of you are sharing your ideas on how to clean up the oil spill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you get an oil spill. As you can see, it 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. Bill Nye, "The Science Guy" looks at your iReports and whether the ideas will actually work.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: I got to tell you this is going to be one of me -- I think it's going to be one of your favorite stories of the day. We're talking about rebuilding Haiti here. How do you help a child with an adult size problem? Maybe more than one. How do you help that child be just a kid?
Drake University's Women's Basketball Coach is up to the task. She went to Haiti with some basketballs and a whistle. The story now from Eric Hanson of CNN affiliate KCCI.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIC HANSON, KCCI REPORTER (voice-over): When your whole world is shaken before age 12, escapes are simple and rare, especially for girls. You see, boys near the epicenter of Haiti's earthquake don't let a flat basketball derail a good time. But girls, their green pigtails stay on the sidelines. Until a Division I women's coach shows up.
AMY STEPHENS, DRAVE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL COACHARRIS: I might be just as nervous as they are.
HANSON: And convinces 40 young Haitians to trade their green dresses for Bulldog blue.
STEPHENS: Put your arms out in front and if they can touch someone, they're too close.
HANSON: Even though not one of them can understand a word she's saying.
STEPHENS: One, two, three. Oh.
HANSON: Or why in the first 15 minutes of a basketball camp, baskets aren't being shot.
STEPHENS: We're making the number eight around our legs.
HANSON: Once ball handling became comedic --
STEPHENS: A little different pace.
HANSON: -- the coach used a precision, decided she might as well turn them loose --
STEPHENS: All right. Lay-ups. We're doing right-handed lay- ups.
HANSON: -- on the baskets they have been eyeing.
STEPHENS: Yes! Almost!
HANSON: Air balls, there are plenty. Until baskets started flying. And when they did, sixth grade girls became sixth grade girls.
STEPHENS: That's the beauty of that age group. It doesn't matter if they're Haitians or Americans., When you get excited and you high five, all of a sudden it really breaks down barriers.
ISSAC FILS, HAITIAN COACHARRIS: They're so happy about playing. They play, so they feel very, very happy, you know? So they enjoy themselves.
HANSON: Suddenly, the boys were the jealous ones.
SANDY HATFIELD CLUBB, DRAKE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: This is a group of girls who they said don't play basketball.
HANSON: And the girls burdened with adult-sized problems, discover it's OK to play.
CLUBB: Their joy, their excitement. To watch them playing. They're playing just likes fifth and sixth graders play. It's hard to believe, especially when you look behind them and they're living in these tents and there's rubble from the earthquake. It's overwhelming.
FILS: So when they play, they forget about all that happened the awful earthquake that happened in Haiti. That sport is very, very, very good for them, to let them forget some things like the earthquake. You know, it's a good thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: You tell me you don't love that story. I dare you.
As you can see, there's still a lot of help needed in Haiti. If you'd like to help, you can logon to our web site and go to CNN.com/impact. There you will find a number of agencies, organizations working to impact your world.
Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
The battle over the chemical used t battle the Gulf Coast oil slick. The government tells BP to use a less toxic dispersant. So why is the company still using the same one?
And locked up for 35 years for a crime he didn't commit. Now a man finally free is making up for stolen time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. We are getting iReports from a lot of you about how the clean up of the oil spill in the Gulf is going.
We asked Bill Nye, "The Science Guy" to evaluate some of your ideas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": As you may know, I used to work very briefly at a company that skimmed oil slicks. I'm going to take a look at some of the iReport videos and look at the ideas that all of you've had to help these engineers to solve this problem, to seal this leak at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
Let's take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, you can actually disperse it on the spill that's out there now. It'll soak in the oil there now. You've got skimmers to come along and skim it up the (INAUDIBLE), or you could use the shrimp boats out there with the nets to take (INAUDIBLE), or something along that like. Or if it washed up on shore it's going to be like seaweed. You can take additional beach cleaning equipment and just pick it up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our media will absorb the oil. I'm not giving any of our secrets on our media. We'll 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, yes. There's a really good stuff, polyurethane. And to a limited extent, polypropylene. These are things 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. 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. 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 physics; people who've studied chemistry' people who've 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.
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