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BP's 'Top Kill' Fails; What is LMRP?; Struggling to Cope in the Gulf; Latest and Greatest Videos Online; Saving Turtles and Dolphins; James Carville Lashes Out; Police Targeted in Afghanistan; Bugles Across America; Cleanup Crews Getting Sick; Florida's Plea to Tourists
Aired May 30, 2010 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This Memorial Day weekend, hail the size of softballs falls on Oklahoma. It's one of the viral videos we'll see in the 2:00 Eastern hour of the NEWSROOM.
And should gay men be allowed to donate blood? At 4:00 Eastern, we'll look at the case for lifting the 27-year-old ban.
At 5:00 P.M. eastern, the fragile Louisiana wetlands and the latest desperate efforts to save them from oil.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico today following the failure of top kill. BP spent three days trying to plug the huge oil leak with a mud-like mixture. Officials say the tactic did - did stop the oil, but only temporarily. Now, they will go back to an earlier approach of trying to cap the leak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB DUDLEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BP: We will put a cap on the top of this well. We'll do a sophisticated operation with robots and make a clean cut across the top of a piece of equipment down there called a lower marine riser package with diamond saws, and then we will lower down over that a cap to protruse (ph) it to the surface.
We learned some things from the previous cap that we tried that created these hydrates that made it float, really, and this time we'll circulate warm sea water down around it to prevent that from happening. And our objective is to contain a majority of the oil and gas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. We continue to cover this story from all angles. Josh Levs is standing by to explain BP's latest plan, Carol Costello is in Grand Isle, Louisiana, and Dan Lothian is with the president out of Chicago.
So let's start with the administration's reaction to the latest developments. President Obama's top energy adviser Carol Browner said this is probably the biggest environmental disaster the country has ever faced. And, like other administration officials, she is voicing considerable frustration with BP Oil, including its early low ball estimates of the size of this spill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL BROWNER, WHITE HOUSE ADVISER, ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: We were pressing them. I think what the president said in his press conference is that when we look back over the last 35, 38 days, we do realize there are some places where we could have moved more aggressively. One of them was asking for all the data which we needed to do these close (ph). But it is important for people to understand, BP has a vested financial interest in downplaying the size of this.
We are on top of it. We have the best minds looking at it, and we're not just looking at a video. We're looking at satellite imagery, we're looking at what's actually being brought up through the risers into the boat that was there, and we will continue to monitor the situation.
We want to know and the American people have a right to know how much oil is spilling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Looking at it, but what can this administration do about stopping it?
CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian is traveling with the president who is vacationing in Chicago. So, Dan, the administration appears to be putting more pressure on BP and talking about wanting to hear about more data but what, if anything, can this federal government do to help get to the bottom of stopping this gushing oil?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is the key question and I think that's the reason that you're hearing this word "frustration" thrown around so often is that there's very little that this administration can do beyond keeping pressure on BP and also overseeing the operation.
You know, the administration has pointed out time and time again that technically BP is the best one to be able to handle this situation. They have the tools. They have the toys to go down and potentially get this capped down 5,000 feet. Now, what the administration is doing is providing, as the president has pointed out, as other administration officials have pointed out, providing the best minds that they have in the government to help.
You've seen Secretary Chu, who was a part of that assessment effort as they were carrying out or gearing up for the top kill operation, and throughout that operation he was, there so you'll continue to see Secretary Chu engaged and then Secretary Salazar and other administration officials will be back in the gulf again this week. Again, the focus is to keep the pressure on BP, make sure that they're getting timely and accurate information and, of course< oversee the entire operation, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: And so, Dan, one other thing. The administration really appears to be pushing that narrative that gulf residents will not be abandoned, that ultimately the region will be made whole. How is it he can make that promise?
LOTHIAN: Well, you know, it's about the only thing that this administration can be certain of at this point. I mean, they say that BP will have to pay for all of this and for the administration, on its part, is trying to rally all of the folks there who really are very frustrated and angry, in some cases.
And that's why you saw the president go to the gulf and make that assurance on Friday where he pointed out that even after the cameras are no longer rolling that the American government would still be there to make sure that everyone who has been impacted has been made whole. And you hear that same message echoed also by Secretary Salazar, who was saying that he believes that at some point this will be brought under control, that that area and the people there will be made whole as well.
But I think, you know, to some people that's a lot of comfort for them, but others are still, again, frustrated and what they'd like to hear is not the words but that final, you know, say from the government that we have this capped. They want action. Words are good, but they want to see the action, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Lothian traveling with the president there in Chicago. Appreciate that.
All right, meantime, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the military isn't in the position to take over operations in the gulf. Earlier today on "STATE OF THE UNION", CNN's Candy Crowley asked Admiral Mike Mullen about the military's role in containing this leak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Whenever there's some big catastrophe, people want the military because they sort of see it as an efficient way to get things done.
I know that you are there helping with the dispersant, getting that out and other activities. Do you see anything further that the military could do to be helpful?
ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Well, we've worked hard since this incident was initiated and - at providing, right now, to 1,400 National Guard troops. But we're really responding to the requests. We're very much in a support role here.
You've seen Admiral Thad Allen, who I think has been terrific as the incident commander, the incident lead, specifically, and we're putting every capability that we have. We've - we brought thousands of feet of booms in terms of being able to try to contain this, but it really is not for ours to lead right now because of the - the technical challenges, quite frankly.
And, as best I've been able to understand, the technical lead for this in our country really is the industry and you can see obviously the challenges that they're going through to try to figure out how to - how to stop this thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So while the U.S. military had some deep sea capability, officials have said the military has no unique technology regarding offshore oil drilling.
So now that we know about top kill and a junk shot, it's time to learn about what the oil folks are calling LMRP. It's the latest plan of attack to stop the gulf oil gusher. So let's bring in our Josh Levs who done a little digging for us. So explain, first off, what is this LMRP?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest step in the terminology we've had to become familiar with all too quickly throughout all of this, Fred. You know, when you hear the basic idea of what officials have been trying to do, on the face of it, it sounds pretty simple. Cap it off.
Let's go to this video. This is what we're talking about, the lower marine riser package. When you look at the video that BP provides, the basic idea there is that something comes along and caps off the top of it, and that is what, obviously, you would want to see.
Now, when it comes to how this would actually happen, though, it's going to be a little more complicated. Let's watch what they've provided. This is the video - this is the animation. This is what they're hoping to achieve. This cap comes along and blocks it off where the problem is.
Now, let's come to the screen behind me because I have some images. They are going to show you how hard this is and what some of the big risks are.
The first thing they need to do is they need to remove basically something at the blowout preventer, right here. So this is from BP. Let's take a look right here. What you have in this section, this remote operated vehicles that BP is showing, right over here, and it's basically going to come along and cut what looks like this pipe. This is using this - this basically hydraulic power to cut right here the blowout preventer.
Then come over here to me with the (ph) right. After they've done that, they need to come over here and slice it off. Again, this little robot-looking thing is a remote operated vehicle. It would basically have to slice off all this before they can create a cap that you can then send the cap down on to create what looks like a stub for the cap. Basically, they get rid of that, then they get to this. I'll make it really big so we can see.
If it works, if they manage to take off the parts they want to take off, then you will have what they say they're going for. You will have ultimately this right here, all right? That's what it looked like on top. And then you'll have the cap that comes along and goes on top of it. That's the goal. That's what they're going for.
So, with that in mind, let's go back to that animation now. I want you all to see what we're talking about. It looks pretty simple. It looks pretty when we watch that video. But the trick is that they have to make sure that they are able to get off those pieces in the first place exactly as they want to in order to create that kind of stub that the cap can then fit exactly onto.
And not only that, Fred, but even if that cap goes on as they want it to, it's not designed as a 100 percent seal. It's not a 100 percent seal. What it does, they hope it will block most of it from getting through, help control the flow, bring some of that oil off.
And there's also another thing they need to do. They're going to use that tube to send down this stuff called methanol which can prevent ice crystals from growing. Ice crystals -
WHITFIELD: Right. That was the big problem in the first place in the (ph) dome.
LEVS: That's the -- it didn't work out with the dome, it didn't work out with the top hat, and the reason was you had these ice crystals that were blocking it from growing.
So, Fred, all of that - then when they talk about risks, when I talk about how hard it is, they've never done this that low. That - those are the steps they have to go through in the hopes that the cap will ultimately fit and will ultimately work. So that is where we are right now.
WHITFIELD: And then we're talking about this new cap, another week before it's actually ready, right? So then what else are they doing in the meantime?
LEVS: It's four to seven days before they can even begin the process with that. Now, they've said what they'll also do, they're working on another blowout preventer. I think we've got a little video of that. But, basically, the blowout preventer is what the problem is. They're working on another one.
It's 48 feet tall, 450 tons, this giant apparatus, and 5,000 feet underneath. So they're working on that as well.
They're also working on relief wells, and, ultimately, what you want to see are some relief wells because what those can do, if they work, is draw out a lot of that oil, reduce the pressure on where all the problem is. You're basically sending the oil somewhere else into a relief well. But that's - Fred, what we're talking about could be August. It could be months.
WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh.
All right, thanks so much. Josh Levs, appreciate that. We'll see you again later on this hour.
LEVS: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, coming to terms with an environmental catastrophe, a difficult challenge for everyone, but especially the people directly affected. Hear how one hard-hit community is coping now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. The BP oil spill is understandably triggering outrage, frustration and sadness across the country, but nowhere is the crisis felt more acutely than in the communities that are directly affected along the Gulf Coast.
CNN's Carol Costello joins us live now in hard-hit Grand Isle, Louisiana. So, Carol, how are people there coping?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think they've moved beyond anger now, Fredricka. They're at a point where they don't know what to think. They're frustrated. They - they want to know what's going on but they're not getting any answers.
When they heard the top kill procedure wasn't working last night, you know, they just had this sick feeling in the pit of their stomach. They don't know what to think.
I went to a Catholic church this morning and talked to Father Mike Tran. He had a difficult sermon to give this morning, especially when it came to BP.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: When you talk about BP, how do you talk about that company, you know, during your sermon?
REV. MIKE TRAN, OUR LADY OF THE ISLE CHURCH: Well, I try not to use it, you know. It's obvious, people are going to say BP and, you know, use their name, but I try not to use it as much as I can.
COSTELLO: So you don't invoke BP's name in church?
TRAN: I try not to. Yes. So -
COSTELLO: Because you don't want to incite people any more than they already are.
TRAN: Correct. They're already upset and they're frustrated and - and I don't want to make it worse. Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Father Tran said he's trying to - to make people say more Christian things about BP, to kind of quell the anger and try to channel it into something more positive. But it's a weird dichotomy here, Fredricka, because if you think of the Gulf of Mexico, if the Gulf of Mexico were a country, it would be the 29th largest economy in the world. I'm talking about the whole Gulf of Mexico, not just the one surrounding the State of Louisiana. But most of that, most of the - most of the money generated for that economy comes from the oil industry, 53 percent.
So people know that. They know they depend on the oil industry as well, but now it's not been a very good citizen, right?
WHITFIELD: Right.
COSTELLO: So now they're in this weird place where you don't want to get rid of the oil industry but you want it to play by the rules and you're really angry about it, but, at the same time, you know you need to keep the oil industry around for the sake of your economy.
WHITFIELD: So people feel pretty helpless.
Carol Costello in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Thanks so much. We'll check back with you throughout the day. Appreciate it.
The oil spill is all serious business, but we want to make room for a little comic relief this hour as well. Josh is back with some of the top viral videos, including a rather unbelievable display of kung-fu, at least it's unbelievable to me.
LEVS: Fred, I have an answer for you.
WHITFIELD: OK. I'm (INAUDIBLE).
LEVS: I got an answer for you.
I'll let you get one little piece of what we're talking about here, and the question about this video, is it real? We've got the skeptics versus the believers.
WHITFIELD: Me, here. Skeptic.
LEVS: Versus the believers.
I have employed CNN's global resources and gotten you an answer to the question everyone is asking, is Kung-fu Bear really doing that?
The answer is right ahead.
WHITFIELD: I'm dying to hear the answer.
LEVS: Viral video rewind, along with your favorites this holiday weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look now at our top stories. BP's risky top kill operation to plug the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has failed.
Now BP says they will put a custom-built containment cap over the well head. It is similar to a previous attempt earlier this month. That didn't work. But this new cap may not be available for another week.
Meantime, more than 26,000 workers and business owners along the Gulf Coast have filed claims for lost income from this spill. BP says they have paid out $35 million so far. The four biggest industries in the Gulf of Mexico are oil, tourism, fishing, and shipping.
Sixteen deaths are being blamed on the first named storm of the season. Agatha has now been downgraded to a tropical depression. Pounding rains and high winds in Central America have caused floods and mud slides.
Oh, we always look forward to this segment with our Josh Levs, the viral video rewind. And we've got a lot of skeptics in the house. Let me just begin with that.
LEVS: In the house. And today we're rewinding to yesterday -
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: -- when I first talked to you about Kung-fu Bear, right?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: That's what we're kicking off with.
WHITFIELD: Nonbeliever.
LEVS: Nonbeliever.
WHITFIELD: But, OK. Tell me (ph).
LEVS: And I - I was definitely a skeptic at the beginning.
Let's get right to video. Everyone can see what we're talking about. This is a bear in Japan, a zoo in Hiroshima. Let's take it full. There you go. And the video shows him doing some pretty amazing things, and he's gotten this reputation, Kung-fu Bear.
This guy, Alex Graham, was - he's a Canadian guy who was visiting. He's now posted what he says just the raw, unedited video online. And you can see some of the pretty impressive things the bear does with his stick. You know, he starts doing a lot more twirls. He throws it up in the air at one point and catches it.
Now, we contacted the zoo about the stuff you were saying earlier, does he really do those twirls?
WHITFIELD: Yes. But we're not seeing it right now. This is all the war, unedited stuff.
LEVS: Yes. I mean, basically what we saw before was just the best stuff, and they are saying that everything that they have seen him do is indeed what he can do. So those impressive little twirls he's got going?
WHITFIELD: Yes?
LEVS: He can really pull it off.
WHITFIELD: Really?
LEVS: Apparently he just plays with the stick lots and lots and lots, and if you were to watch him for a long time, which we're seeing here, unedited, right?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: After a while - look at that. Look at that. See that catch? It's real.
WHITFIELD: Yes. OK, that's where I draw the line right there.
LEVS: It's real.
WHITFIELD: That's where I say, no. No.
LEVS: I - I had our global resources involved. We called the zoo. Our folks in Japan called the zoo, and they said, indeed, if you watch him for a long time - look at that. Look at that little twirls he's got going.
So, you know, if you would edit together just his best stuff, which is probably - probably some of what we saw yesterday, then you would say there's no way. But when you watch him for a long time doing his thing, you realize Kung-fu Bear's got some moves.
WHITFIELD: He definitely has some moves.
All right. You know, it is impressive, but I'm just having a hard time digesting this one.
LEVS: I know.
You know, when he's been there for a long time, he gets a lot of training. He gets bored. He gets -
WHITFIELD: Well, I guess boredom sort of sets in. What else does the poor bear have to do?
LEVS: I know. And, as always, the links to this and all the other videos are at my Facebook page, JoshLevsCNN. You're seeing it on your screen.
All right, so let's go to some other fun ones, OK?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: I always have an adorable video for you. WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: You're going to love this. I did not know that sloths are cute. Did you know this?
WHITFIELD: I didn't until - let's see it now.
(CROSSTALK).
LEVS: Look at that.
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEVS: Look at this. This was taken -
WHITFIELD: Well, you know, baby anything is cute.
LEVS: Baby sloth.
WHITFIELD: Maybe that's it.
LEVS: This was taken at a sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica, sloth orphanage for baby two- and three-toed sloths whose mother have, like, somehow something bad's happened to their moms so they're orphans. And they're being taken care of at this little orphanage. Isn't that sweet?
WHITFIELD: And so the babies are just as slow as the adults.
LEVS: Yes, I guess so. Look at that.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. This is very interesting.
LEVS: An eye into the sloth world.
WHITFIELD: I don't have a better word for it.
LEVS: OK. Now, before the break, earlier in the show you mentioned people love these weather stories online, right?
WHITFIELD: It's true.
LEVS: This is some powerful weather video. This is from May 16th. Let's get to this.
This is in Oklahoma City, with this massive, massive hail storm, and that's hail.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
LEVS: And what you see as you're watching - fortunately, these people are fine. But it was just earlier this month.
Look at that. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in my life.
WHITFIELD: You know, that's huge.
I wonder - I do remember our Weather Department talking about like baseball-sized hail.
LEVS: That's right.
WHITFIELD: Is this that one?
LEVS: Yes. Softball-sized hail. Yes.
WHITFIELD: This looks like it. Yes.
LEVS: This family said they had softball-sized hail. It's huge.
I reached out to our viewers yesterday, asked for their favorite videos. Now, I never show the videos that our own viewers write to me, like, hey, I put together a fun video, until now. This is a first.
Our - our viewer, Olivia Mendez, put together this stop-motion animation video about Hershey's Kisses, and she put this music with it. Take a look at that.
WHITFIELD: What?
LEVS: She has Hershey's Kisses dancing to all these different songs.
WHITFIELD: OK, she too has way too much time on her hands.
LEVS: But watch. She's - she's like an artist.
Now we're going to hear - that was "Cotton-Eyed Joe" by Rednex. Now we've got Kesha's "Tick-Tock". And it's like the - the pop star - those (ph) little pop star.
And then the next one gets even better because it's going to be "Hot in Here" by Nelly. See what's happening? She said she used more than a thousand images of these things, and you know what? It's modern art. And (INAUDIBLE) was like, what? Check this out.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, she is an artist.
LEVS: She is an artist.
WHITFIELD: I wouldn't have dreamt that one up. Oh, funny.
LEVS: Pretty clever, huh?
And our viewers - our viewers love you, and they know you always get a relaxation video in here.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEVS: So I got one for you here.
WHITFIELD: Oh, really?
LEVS: This was sent to us by one of our viewers.
WHITFIELD: Two days in a row now.
LEVS: See?
WHITFIELD: I like.
LEVS: Our viewers always pull through. But - this is our viewer Roch Lariviere, I believe. He wrote on my Facebook page how about this for Fred's relaxation amazement? Let's listen to it.
This is from sandfantasy.com. It's from artist, Ilana Yahav on music by Georges Chatelain. Pretty impressive stuff, right?
WHITFIELD: That is. Wow. Beautiful artistry there.
LEVS: Beautiful.
WHITFIELD: Now a sea horse.
LEVS: Isn't it awesome?
WHITFIELD: Oh, it's taking me to the beach, since I couldn't get to the beach this weekend, I'm going to the beach via the web.
LEVS: You know, there it is. There's the beach. There she is. Wow.
WHITFIELD: I like it.
LEVS: Now, I always end up by bringing the energy level up a little bit. Because, you know, I don't want you all to fall asleep. We got a lot of news ahead.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
LEVS: And you're always making the relevant comment, where do these people have time? The ultimate video -
WHITFIELD: That's really because I have no time for anything, and I'm just envious.
LEVS: Well, we work too much. You know, we have kids. You know what that's like.
So the ultimate "check out how much time someone has" video, look at this. Then again I want this. I really want to come over and play it. Look at that. The ultimate Formula One video game.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that's fun. I would love that because I love driving.
LEVS: Really?
WHITFIELD: Yes, I do.
LEVS: Wow.
WHITFIELD: And - and I would love yes. I'd love to get on the track.
LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) -
WHITFIELD: This could take me there.
LEVS: -- from his home. I'd probably get a little dizzy, but I'd do that. I love it.
WHITFIELD: Maybe you don't get dizzy if you just really focus on the screen, but if you start to pay attention to what's going on in your periphery, you're going to be in trouble.
LEVS: You're in trouble.
WHITFIELD: You better have a little bag or something nearby.
LEVS: Oh, yes.
WHITFIELD: But I could dig that one.
LEVS: You know, I'm going to go to -
WHITFIELD: Until I could really get out on the racetrack.
LEVS: You know, (INAUDIBLE). I'm doing one more.
Let's go to this. This - this is really impressive. The slack line jumping guy. I've never seen anything like this. Watch him jump. Watch him jump.
He's basically on a little tightrope, and he has this thing called Catalystic Productions. Look at that. Look at that. He's landed on it. The dude landed on it.
I love that people can show off their unique skills online and millions of people watch it. Look at that. Look at that. He's landing.
WHITFIELD: That's beautiful.
LEVS: I want to do that, too.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Give him a job. Cirque du Soleil, sign him up.
LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) I want everyone to see. I'm going to go - as soon as we're off the air, I'll go post all the videos, facebook.com/JoshLevsCNN, the Facebook address in the middle of your screen is where everything is.
See Fred, holiday weekend, double dose of viral video rewind. WHITFIELD: I love it. So, you know, we want to go back, check again, get in the car, race, race, race and then a little relaxation afterwards. My combo.
LEVS: See (INAUDIBLE). She's got it all set.
WHITFIELD: I like it.
LEVS: I want to go do that string jumping.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Josh. We'll see you again later on throughout the day.
LEVS: Yes, that's right.
WHITFIELD: Much more in the NEWSROOM after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, BP says its top kill plan didn't work, but they have another tactic. They'd like to try to plug that leaking well head in the gulf. It involves putting a custom built containment cap into place and that could take four to seven days.
And along the coast, marine life experts are doing their best to save sea turtles and other creatures affected by the oil, but as our Reynolds Wolf explains they are not able to save them all.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We bring it in. Immediately we take oil samples and this guy was really gunked up with oil pretty bad.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This rescue turtle is a Kemp Ridley one of the smallest sea turtles in the world. It is also on the endangered species list.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This guy had some oil in his mouth so it was actually swabbed out. We were getting the oil. The veterinarian staff was removing the oil from his mouth.
WOLF: This turtle and two others were rescued and brought to the Audubon Nature Institute here in New Orleans for rehabilitation and long-term monitoring.
MICHELLE KELLY, AUDUBON NATURE INSTITUTE: Once exposed to the oil, it starts to compromise their important systems -- respiratory, digestive, kidneys, so it can set them up for a secondary infection such as pneumonia.
WOLF: And it's not just reptiles threatened by the oil. State biologist, Mike Brainerd, worries about marine mammals he sees just off the Mississippi coast.
(on camera): Where exactly are we headed specifically?
MIKE BRAINERD, MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES: We're going to our station three, which is in the Biloxi channel.
WOLF: I see.
(voice-over): Dolphins often follow Brainerd's shrimp troller as we saw firsthand.
BRAINERD: The other day when we were out, we had dolphins following our troller and there's like four of them, one of them was a little baby and it made me think, man, I hope that oil doesn't get here.
WOLF: The oil hasn't yet drifted into the Mississippi waters, but 25 mammals have been found dead in the gulf including this oil coated dolphin. The exact cause of the deaths has yet to be determined. Over 220 turtles have been found dead making this one, one of the fortunate survivors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, that's Reynolds Wolf reporting. It is unclear, at this point however, where the rehabilitated sea creatures will actually be released since no one can speculate on when the oil leak in the gulf will be plugged. No one knows when their natural habitat will be safe again.
So we're keeping in touch with environmentalists who are worried about the impact of the oil leak on Alabama's Mobile Bay.
Joining us now on the phone again is Casi Callaway, Executive Director of Mobile Baykeeper.
We spoke with you many weeks back when it didn't seem that the threat of oil was as close as it is right now. Give me an idea, are you seeing any evidence of animals that are coming to your shores that have been impacted by the oil?
CASI CALLAWAY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MOBILE BAYKEEPER (via telephone): We have seen animals all along the shore line, not oil per se, but we're finding dead animals and we're finding them in larger quantities than we should at this time of the year. Frankly we don't know if they are impacted because of oil or what, but we just know they are more dying than should be at this time of the year.
WHITFIELD: So what if anything can you do in terms of any preventative measure as we all watch publicly how this kind of amoeba like big glob of oil is encroaching upon shore lines and as it is moving in the Gulf of Mexico? What if anything can you do to protect the animals?
CALLAWAY: Well, frankly, that's our biggest concern because it's both animals that you can see and animals that you don't see. It's the grass beds and the shrimp harvest season, the larvae, the little bitty ones on the bottom that are base of life in the food chain.
Being able to protect ourselves from oil coming ashore the way we thought would be to boom off the area. Put out the big booms along the sea coast so that you could capture the oil behind it.
WHITFIELD: Are you finding booms to be effective at all though?
CALLAWAY: Well, no because the oil is dispersed throughout the water column. It's from the bottom all the way to the top and we don't have any way. What we're hearing reports of this weekend are you don't see the oil on the shore, but when you get back from your condo your feet are covered and that is not anything that we've ever experienced along our gulf coast.
WHITFIELD: Feet are covered meaning volunteers who have been part of the effort to try to look to see what kind of damage has been caused looking for animals, people who are involved in that manner?
CALLAWAY: Actually it's my friends and co-workers who are vacationing this weekend. It's Memorial Day weekend. It's supposed to be the kickoff of our season and unfortunately it is potentially nearing the end of the season for us. We hope not. The beaches are open, but more oil is coming onshore but it's coming up in a much more quiet, non-visible way. It doesn't look like the slick in Louisiana right now.
WHITFIELD: So you're telling me people who are just beaching it this holiday weekend, people who put out their sun chairs, wading in the water, they are coming out of the water with oil on them?
CALLAWAY: No. They're walking through the sand, they're having oil on their feet. So it's mixing in. There have been reports of tastes and smells, but they're not seeing a sheen on the waterways yet. It's hard to tell. We don't know all the sampling. We don't know all the information.
Kind of -- Mobile Baykeeper's biggest charge and press right now is we want to know what the water quality samples are coming up showing. We want it made public. We weren't aware of their sampling and we want more information about that and frankly, we just don't have it. All we're getting is anecdotal evidence.
WHITFIELD: So you're a private organization trying to take on this huge task of getting some sort of samples of the water, the sand, et cetera and then what do you do with that information?
CALLAWAY: Well, as soon as we have it, we make it public. We've got a web site, savethegulf.mobilebaykeeper.org and another one, Save Our Gulf, to our parent organization, Water Keeper Alliance. Those web sites are chalk full of every detail that we get. We make it as public as quickly as we can.
WHITFIELD: This is also turtle or tortoise nesting season and people have become very conditioned along the gulf coast of any of these beaches to be careful and mindful of turtles that are nesting and to respect that area.
What have you seen in terms of turtles who have been coming to the shore line to lay their eggs or even the hatching of any eggs? CALLAWAY: Well, I haven't followed that very closely yet, but there are a lot of folks who are and I can tell you anything we find out we're going to make public as quickly as we can. You know, I don't know details, but I just know there are a team of people who spent every summer of their lives watching those turtles for as long as they can remember and it's something we want to make sure we'll get to do for ages to come.
WHITFIELD: Casi Callaway, Executive Director of the Mobile Baykeeper.
Thanks so much for your time and appreciate you coming back with us.
CALLAWAY: Thanks for having me.
WHITFIELD: James Carville, well, he has some strong opinions about the gulf oil spill. You're used to hearing him talk strongly about politics. Now it's the oil spill, the Democratic strategist and CNN contributor is a resident of Louisiana and last week he slammed the Obama administration for its response to the disaster and he stressed the urgency of the situation. Again, this morning, to our Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Candy, I tell you, I think you're a smart woman, Candy. I think you're a smart woman, but I don't think you have to come down here and see what they've done to our wetlands. We lose the size of Manhattan every day.
What has the country done about this? You have to go see the canals built in our wetlands, the $165 billion they've taken away from us. You can see the levees they built. You don't think they'd do that anywhere else. They -- the country feels like it is entitled to abuse this state and forget about us and we're sick of it.
And I want you to come down. I think you're a good person. I think you're a smart person. I want to get you and show you what's happened to us. What they have done to us and you know good and well.
We had - on a rival network, somebody says if this thing hits Pensacola Beach that's going to be a real tragedy. They don't produce anything off Pensacola Beach. We have the highest quality seafood area in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Carville has said it is ultimately the responsibility of the federal government to protect American interests and not BP or any other company he says.
His mission, honoring America's fallen heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A secretary of veterans affairs was on TV and said there are no buglers, and I said, I'll find them for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP
WHITFIELD: One man's plan to make sure every American war veteran gets the recognition that they deserve for answering the call to serve.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories. BP is back to trying to contain the gulf oil spill after its so-called top kill method to plug the gusher failed. BP is trying to cap the leak now with a custom built containment device. It won't be ready for another four to seven days however.
Another deadly day of attacks in Afghanistan. Six Afghan policemen were killed and two others wounded Sunday in a road side mine explosion. The Taliban claimed responsibility for a separate suicide bombing that killed nine policemen and wounded 23 others in Khost Province.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he would have preferred if the Congress waited before considering legislation to repeal the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, but Admiral Mike Mullens says he is satisfied with the compromise letting the military complete the review before the repeal actually takes effect.
Friday's House vote is a step toward repealing the ban, which bars gays from serving openly in the military. The full Senate is not expected to vote for months now.
When Congress decreed that every veteran had the right to hear "taps" at their funeral even if it was on a CD player, that didn't sit well with one retired marine so he set up bugles across America, hoping to take it a step further. Here is CNN's Christi Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tom Day is on a mission to give all veterans the honor of having a live bugler at their funeral. In 2000, he founded "Bugles across America," a site that connects families to horn players.
TOM DAY, BUGLES ACROSS AMERICA: In the late '90s, Congress passed a law that every veteran could have a military burial. A secretary of Veterans Affairs was on TV and said, there are no buglers, and I said, I'll find them for you.
PAUL: Ten years later, "Bugles across America" has more than 7,400 volunteers playing at military funerals in every state and even other countries.
DAY: They basically joined because they want to say "thank you" to the veterans that served.
PAUL: A thank you spelled out in the 24 notes of "taps." (END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, for those of you who didn't notice it is Memorial Day holiday weekend. Jacqui Jeras is here to give you an idea if you're getting a slow start on that holiday weekend, you still want to know what to look forward to weather wise, traffic wise, all that good stuff. How are you going to get there and what happens once you do?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So much is going on, it's like wait a minute. We got a holiday right?
WHITFIELD: That's right.
JERAS: Yes, a lot of people want to get out there to the beaches and that kind of thing and we've got a couple of problem areas and you certainly - I know I still want to get to the pool. But, you know, you mostly have to do it early in the day because a lot of the thunderstorms are popping up in the afternoon hours.
Let's show you what's going on in the radar picture here. We've got this area of low pressure, which has been in the mid levels of the atmosphere. It's over northern Mississippi right now. What it's doing is pulling in all of this moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. We get the heating in the day time, the out skirt instability and lift in the atmosphere and we get those thunderstorms developing especially late in the day.
That's been bringing choppy waters here into the Gulf of Mexico. It has been ruining some beach plans for a few people. The good thing is this hasn't been all day. You are getting some breaks in between, but be aware of those forms because there are some risks with them along with damaging winds, maybe even hail down there along the gulf coast.
Our other weather system across the upper Midwest and that's just bringing in some light rain showers. No big deal across the upper Midwest, but we will be watching parts of the plains states here tomorrow. So this is for your Memorial Day what we're expecting.
The cold front starts to advance eastward so showers and thunderstorms are going to be a little more widespread. Up and down the east coast and the gulf coast for tomorrow. So be aware of that. Barbecues earlier in the day. Go for the lunch as opposed to the afternoon and we've got wet weather approaching the west coast as well.
Temperatures pretty thick everywhere. I don't think we've got a lot to complain about really hot in the southwest, but more like the 80s across most of the east.
WHITFIELD: Boy, so you get ready for the summer.
JERAS: Yes. WHITFIELD: Maybe it's a little taste of what it's going to be like. Let's head way, way south now. Let's talk about Guatemala and the problems that they're dealing with.
JERAS: Yes, wow.
WHITFIELD: In a very big way.
JERAS: I know, it's so incredible, Fredricka. You know, we had our first named tropical system of the season yesterday. Agatha. Look at the damage that this thing has caused.
WHITFIELD: My goodness.
JERAS: Amazing. There have been reports of rain over 16 inches in a 24-hour period so a lot of flooding. There have been a number of deaths. A lot of people had to be evacuated. There you can see just the power of all of this water.
Now, the storm itself has really weakened and is not even a tropical depression anymore, it's just an area of low pressure. There you can see the showers and thunderstorms over Guatemala and Honduras so this is no longer an organized tropical system. This is just heavy rain and this is a very mountainous region so as it slowly moves up toward the north and east, we think it will continue to fall apart.
You know, there's been some speculation and a lot of questions by a lot of people as to whether or not this could get into the Caribbean or maybe into the Gulf of Mexico and a few of the computer models have been doing that, but we think it is really unlikely that it's going to hold itself together and become more organized.
So we're not really watching anything across the U.S., but we're keeping an eye on it because reminder, you know, June 1, Tuesday, the Atlantic hurricane season begins.
WHITFIELD: That's true and anything could turn out there and make its way.
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
JERAS: Sure.
WHITFIELD: All right, Florida has a message for the nation. We are open for business, but in the wake of the oil spill, will visitors come?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Fishermen forced to abandon their boats in the gulf are now working on cleanup crews for BP, but some say they're suffering the consequences.
Several workers have been hospitalized and they blame the chemical dispersants used to break up the oil for making them sick. The EPA also says evaporating oil can give off toxic vapors. The head of Louisiana's Shrimpers Association has some harsh words for BP.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINT GUIDRY, LOUISIANA SHRIMP ASSOCIATION: On any job in this country that I've been on if I had nine accidents in 36-day period, I wouldn't be on the job very long and probably if I had 11 killed to go along with that I'd be behind bars. That's where these people need to be.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): The clothing and gear used by the cleanup workers is expected to actually be tested for contaminants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Florida's panhandle hasn't been hit by any muck from the oil spill just yet, but getting that message out is proving difficult despite a major ad campaign.
Check out what our John Zarrella found on the beaches.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, just look at this, white sand beaches, rolling waves, surf boards and sandals. This is what Florida's beaches look like. Not bad, right?
But getting that message out, that's another story. The state is spending millions, much of it money from BP, for slick commercials that basically say, there's no slick here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The weather is beautiful. The beaches are clear and the fish are biting. The sunshine state is open for business.
ZARRELLA: Tourist business is good this long Memorial Day weekend, but hotel and restaurant owners are worried big time about the rest of the summer because of, well, talk like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to preserve some of this white sand we got before this oil makes it not white no more. I'm going to save it.
ZARRELLA: Florida's panhandle communities from Pensacola to Panama City are having the toughest time convincing perspective tourists --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not in any danger of anything right now.
ZARRELLA: Get it? There is no oil here. Just look at the sign. In St. Petersburg to get the message out, tourism officials wined and dined journalists and travel agents from Europe to Latin America.
There hasn't been a drop of BP oil found on Key West beaches, but for some reason tourists aren't getting it. Michael Burge, people call him Duck, owns a charter boat company. Business he says is down 30 percent. It's so bad Burge says he's not sure how long he can keep his bank account open.
MICHAEL "DUCK" BURGE, KEY WEST TIKI CHARTERS INC.: Very frustrated. I mean, you know, I'm a full grown man, but I tell you what, it emotionally bothers me when I get up in the morning and I'm wondering, how can I go out and make money today?
ZARRELLA: Burge has filed a class action suit holding BP, Transocean, and Halliburton responsible for his losses. But how much of this is just the lousy economy? In Cocoa Beach on Florida's east coast, the sign out in front of King Reynolds reads "no oil here." In fact, summer bookings are solid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our booking was good for the month of July. They're really busy.
ZARRELLA: Occupancy at Kings Properties, which usually runs 60 percent this time of year is running 70 percent to 80 percent.
VINCENT KEENAN, KING RENTALS: Sadly at the expense of the West Coast. It looks like we're going to have a great summer here in Cocoa Beach.
ZARRELLA: A great summer is exactly what's on every state tourism officials bucket list.
John Zarrella, CNN, Cocoa Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And join me again right back here at 4:00 Eastern Time for the latest on the Gulf oil spill and other news. Meantime it's time now for "YOUR MONEY."
