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Cleanup Workers to BP: Pay Us; Flying Made More Pleasant; Hunt for Former Holloway Suspect; Buffett Defends Moody's; Calls for Military to Help With Cleanup; Trending on the Internet

Aired June 03, 2010 - 12:01   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen.

Here are some of the people behind the top stories.

Day 45 in the oil disaster, and some Gulf Coast residents helping with cleanup say they are not getting paid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm running the boat through oil. I'm running it through a foot and a half, two feet of water. I mean, I'm destroying my boat to make a living.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And an international manhunt for Joran van der Sloot. The same man who was a suspect in the death of an American woman is now being sought in the brutal killing of another young woman.

You're online right now, ,and we are, too. Ines Ferre is following the top stories trending on the Internet -- Ines.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, trending on CNN.com, are you spiritual but not religious? And also, remember that Hooters waitress that sued the company because she was told she was overweight? Well, now Hooters is telling their side of the story .

HARRIS: OK. Let's get started with our lead story.

It is something we haven't heard much in the 45 days of the Gulf oil disaster, a report of progress. The government's point man calls it a significant step forward in BP's effort to help stem the flow of oil.

Here's what Admiral Thad Allen said at briefing just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. THAD ALLEN, US COAST GUARD NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: For the first time in a couple of days I have some good news. We have just cut the riser pipe off the lower marine package.

We got the word from Houston. They had to use the shear cutters which are the ones they used to do the other riser pipe cut yesterday. As you know, the other saw that we were attempting to use was not successful in getting through the riser pipe and the internal drill pipe, so we replaced with it the shears, which don't have as clean a cut, but we do have a cut now. The next step will be to put the containment cap over what's left of the riser pipe on the lower marine riser package and start seeing if we can move gas and oil up the pipe, hopefully to start flurrying off gas and start production later on today.

We'll give you updates as we go on throughout the day, but a significant step forward at this point. The challenge now is to seat that containment cap over it.

And just to differentiate what we were trying to do with the smooth cut and what's going to happen now, we're actually going to put a very solid seal with a cap that would reduce the amount of oil that could potentially leak around the connection. This is an irregular cut. It will be a little bit more challenging to get the seal around, but we will have a containment device there, and we'll be able to capture more oil than we would otherwise. And we're going to have to see as we put the containment cap on exactly how effective it is.

We will have the option to use undersea dispersants to deal with any oil that might not been captured. It will be kind of a test in a gap (ph) phase as we move ahead, but a significant step forward.

Prior to the cut, they actually had suspended the containment cap at the end of a riser pipe that's suspended from the production vessel right over the area, so it's not like they even have to move it in. It's a matter of moving it down and seating it.

And what you've got is almost an inverted funnel that is wider than the pipe that's going to cover it. And in between there is a rubber seal around it.

I don't want to make this too simple of an analogy, but not unlike the rubber seal you find inside a garden hose. And to be able to put that over and get that seal to fit as good as it can, understanding that it's an irregular cut, and they will be doing that for the next couple of hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Pretty good explainer, huh?

President Obama is returning to the Gulf tomorrow.

Meanwhile, people along the Florida panhandle are waiting for the tide no one wants to see come in. Oil could wash up on Florida's beaches as soon as today or tomorrow. Beachgoers flocked to Pensacola yesterday to enjoy the famous white sand just in case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is depressing. I mean, it's kind of like, is this going to be the last day? Can we come out here tomorrow? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thought of it already is so depressing, I don't even know if I want to come see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Charter boat skippers who no longer have any customers have a new job -- helping BP clean up the oil. The trouble is, some of them say they have yet to be paid.

Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, look at it. You can't get that off.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in Venice, Louisiana, this 35-foot fishing boat was pulled out of the water so it could be cleaned of oil from the BP spill.

MIKE ELLIS, BOAT CAPTAIN: We still have to have our boats to make --

TUCHMAN: The boat's captain is Mike Ellis.

ELLIS: I'm running the boat through oil. I'm running it through a foot and half, two feet of water. I mean, I'm destroying my boat to make a living.

TUCHMAN: His entire adult life, his living has been to take people fishing. But there is now no fishing. Instead, he's working for BP. He's one of many people hired by the oil company so their boats can be used to help in the cleanup effort.

There's a problem.

ELLIS: I sent them an invoice and called the office four days later just to make sure. "We can't even tell you we have your invoice yet."

TUCHMAN: Mike Ellis says he's owed more than $15,000. So far he's gotten zero.

Mike Frenette is the president of the Venice Charter Boat and Guide Association and represents charter captains.

MIKE FRENETTE, PRESIDENT, VENICE CHARTER BOAT AND GUIDE ASSOC.: I'm going to turn to the contract. After the submission of the invoice, 15 days from that time, they're supposed to be compensated.

TUCHMAN: Frenette says many of his members have waited longer than 15 days and got nothing. Mike Ellis has waited more than three weeks.

ELLIS: But right now, we can't be too mad and we can't run our mouth too much, because then they could boot us out of the whole program and then we're totally stuck.

TUCHMAN: Indeed, some fishermen who haven't been paid were afraid to talk us to, because they feared getting in trouble with BP. But the man who did not want to get mad seemed to get madder as he continued to talk.

ELLIS: I think it is a combination of let's snow them and blind them with bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and put these people to work and say they're going to get paid. Yes, they will eventually pay us, sure, but at their time, not on our time.

TUCHMAN: Another charter captain who hasn't gotten paid is more forgiving.

LARRY HOOPER, CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN: It's there. It's coming. I'm confident.

TUCHMAN (on camera): You're not worried about it?

HOOPER: No, no. Shame on BP if they turn around and start playing games with the money.

TUCHMAN: Many new employees have received their first paychecks from BP. But what about the ones who should have gotten paid?

BP press officer Darren Beaudo tells CNN, "Although I am not aware of specific instances when payment has been delayed, we'd request that vessel captains get in touch with BP for remedy. They can contact me personally if they wish."

ELLIS: We did not wreck our business and ruin -- run our clientele off.

TUCHMAN: And that is what Mike Ellis says he will do.

ELLIS: They made a mistake, which is fine. A mistake, it is what it is. Now, if you make a mistake, you've got to own up to it. Be a man, own up to it.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Venice, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: The historic flood that hit Nashville last month is costing 1,743 people their jobs today. Gaylord Entertainment, which owns the Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry, says it has little choice. Its buildings won't be fully repaired until November. Gaylord said it hopes to have its employees rejoin the company then. The company says it has been providing its staff with full pay and benefits since the flood.

And we learned this sad news about a half hour ago. "Golden Girls" star Rue McClanahan died today in a New York hospital. She was 76 years old.

McClanahan played the saucy Blanche Deveraux on the sitcom, along costars Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty and Betty White. She also starred in "Maude" with Bea Arthur.

McClanahan had a mild stroke earlier this year after bypass surgery. Her manager says she apparently suffered a massive stroke overnight and went in peace.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. A tied election. How do you decide the winner? Here is a "Random Moment" that's not quite as messy as Bush v. Gore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we have a tie. And since you're the only candidates here, we're going to ask you to please call it. I'm going to just throw the coin out and let it land on the counter rather than touching it.

And your call?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I call it heads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And heads it is. And with that, Hank Harris wins the Republican primary and the chance to represent Idaho's 14th precinct.

Harris and his challenger received a whopping 35 votes a piece. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, Idaho law requires a coin toss in the event of a tied election or a civics-minded "Random Moment" of the day for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, next hour, President Obama tackles immigration reform with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. It is their first face-to-face since the governor signed the controversial immigration law giving police more powers to check for illegal residency.

The president calls the law misguided. Brewer says if the administration wants to mount a legal challenge, she has a pretty good record of winning in court.

Larry King has an exclusive interview with President Obama. From economic turmoil and battling two wars, to managing the worst oil spill in U.S. history, President Obama shares his thoughts on "LARRY KING LIVE." That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Delays, extra fees, getting bumped from your flight. No wonder so many of us get frustrated flying. But some welcome changes could be on the horizon.

Oh, really?

Where is Christine Romans? She's in New York with a preview -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Tony, have you ever been bumped? Oh, my goodness. That was up close and personal, wasn't it?

HARRIS: That really was. But you were still cute. How's that?

ROMANS: That was a kiss just for you, Tony. Just like that. That's what we do on TV for a kiss.

Look, have you ever been bumped from a flight?

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: Bumped against your will from a flight?

HARRIS: Absolutely.

ROMANS: So, if you are bumped from a flight right now, and you're going to land, you're going to get a flight another couple hours later, you get $400 or something. If you're going to have to wait longer than that, they have to give you $800. That's the rule.

Well, now, the Department of Transportation, Tony, considering rules that would give you much, much more money if you are involuntarily bumped. How much? Six hundred and fifty dollars if you're bumped to the next flight, which is in a couple of hours; $1,300, Tony, if you are bumped to a -- they can't get you out to your destination for several hours.

And think about that. A lot more people would be eligible for a $1,300, you know, bumping fee or a voucher because they have fewer flights. In some cases, really packed planes.

And so, the airlines, as you know, they're selling more tickets than they have seats on the plane. And so, you know, somebody's going to have to be bumped.

So, the DOT, the Department of Transportation, also looking at some other new protections and provisions for consumers including easier reservation changes if you make your reservation, change it within 24 hours; full disclosure of baggage fees when they change; refunds for delayed and lost bags; and also timely notice of flight status changes. And we're told even right down to whether peanuts -- you have to have a peanut-free zone or peanut-free flights.

I mean, they're thinking of all kinds of different things. Basically, much more consumer friendly over there. DOT is looking at really trying to make the airline experience a little more consumer-friendly -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, because this is going to be a tricky summer. You mentioned it.

On those most popular routes for the airlines, I mean, you can't find a seat. It's difficult. I guess you can, but it's very difficult to find a seat right now. We're hearing some reports that prices will be going up a bit over the summer as the airlines try to recoup from, what, 10 years of airline recession, really?

ROMANS: Yes. Yes.

And, you know, airlines don't -- this is not a money-making industry, quite frankly. I mean, they lose -- over the past 15 years, they've lost billions of dollars all together, quite frankly.

And one thing that analysts say is if you start raising those bumped fees to $1,300, what's to stop the airlines from just raising their fares? I mean, look, I can get a ticket to Chicago for $250. They bump me and can't get me out because of whatever, whatever reason for a few hours, they're going too pay me $1,300? I mean, how are you going to bear that cost?

So, we'll see. We'll see how it works.

But if you're one of those people who are frequently bumped, more money in your pocket. These rules could be in effect by the end of the year. There's a 60-day comment period for the Department of Transportation first.

HARRIS: Christine, appreciate it. Thank you. Good to see you.

A new forecast on when the oil spewing in the Gulf is expected to hit Florida. We are tracking that story for you next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. An international manhunt under way right now for the Dutchman once considered a prime suspect in the Natalee Holloway disappearance in Aruba. This time, Joran van der Sloot is wanted in connection with a killing of a woman in Peru.

Chilean police tell us a paper trail shows he crossed over from Peru into Chile and may still be in a border town.

In Session's Beth Karas, from our sister network, truTV, is all over this story.

They're going to get him, won't they?

BETH KARAS, "IN SESSION" CORRESPONDENT: I think they will get him. It's just a matter of time.

And they have to draft this international arrest warrant. You know, Peruvian authorities can't just go into Chile and pick him up. Chilean authorities will do it, and they need a warrant to do it.

HARRIS: Yes. So what do you know about the details of this? When did these two meet? And obviously, he was in his room for, what, a total of three or four hours and then he's out of there?

KARAS: Right.

HARRIS: So when did they meet?

KARAS: Well, you know, you mentioned there's a paper trail. There is. And there's also a video trail. They met in a casino, where he was reportedly playing in an international poker tournament. So they met on Saturday night. So that was May 29th.

They are seen on video talking about the casino. They both speak English.

They leave together. They are seen leaving and entering the hotel where he had a room in his name. So they enter Sunday morning a little after 5:00 a.m. Two people see them and gave statements to that, a tourist and a hotel employee.

Now, four hours after that -- that's the three or four hours you're referring to -- he leaves, she doesn't. She is found yesterday in a bloody mess, stabbed, evidence of a struggle in the room, reportedly wrapped in a blanket in a pool of blood.

HARRIS: Well, where was she found, in the room registered to him?

KARAS: Yes, registered to him.

HARRIS: Get out of here.

KARAS: And he also fled the country, it is believed, on May 31st, crossing over into Chile, or he's right near the border. That is what they believe right now. So, the flight is always consciousness of guilt.

HARRIS: Consciousness of guilt. Explain that. That's when -- explain that as a legal term.

KARAS: Well, that is an instruction that jurors will get --

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

KARAS: -- in trials. Prosecutors will ask for it. I've asked for it myself. And the jury is entitled to consider one's flight as evidence that they're running from something because they did something.

HARRIS: Well, this is interesting. So we've got a video trail. We've got a paper trail. You see these two on camera together.

You see where I'm going here. You have -- she is found in the room registered to him.

KARAS: And he's fled.

HARRIS: And he's gone.

KARAS: Correct. It doesn't look good for him.

HARRIS: No.

KARAS: Now, the system is not the American system, where it's proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But there's a jury of three that would hear this. And if he's, in fact, charged -- and I do think that given what we know about the case -- and I used to investigate cases -- this man will be charged with murder.

HARRIS: Is there evidence that she put up much of a fight?

KARAS: That is what the authorities are saying in Peru.

HARRIS: So he could be in a mess as well.

KARAS: Well, he may have some injuries on him, as well. Good point. Yes.

HARRIS: OK. Beth, thank you.

KARAS: My pleasure. Any time.

HARRIS: All right. And I know you're following this story. We'll have you back up here as we get more information on this.

KARAS: Thank you.

HARRIS: Thanks, Beth.

Let's get over to Josh Levs now.

And Josh, can you give us an update on what's happening in the Gulf right now?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

HARRIS: We've got the clean cut. It's not a perfect cut, it's an imperfect cut. But we're trying to lower this containment dome over this wellhead at this point, right?

LEVS: That's the idea, yes. We keep getting these dramatic pictures, so I wanted to just pop in and talk to you about them.

What you're seeing are these remote operated vehicles under water. And you might be wondering, why are these hydraulic saws still making cuts?

Well, what we heard earlier from Admiral Thad Allen, from the authorities on the scene, is that the main cut -- I'm calling it the money cut -- the main cut that needed to be made for their latest efforts to take place, he said that was done successfully. Even still, there's work to be done.

You have a cap that's steadily being lowered all the way down -- keep in mind, 5,000 feet down, none of this has ever been done before -- and these robots, these remote-operated vehicles, need operate down there and some other places around where the main cut was in order to get everything ready, and hopefully ideally ready for the cap to fit. So, we're following all of these different cameras, and it's actually really helpful imagery.

What you're seeing on the left are those hydraulic shears. What you're seeing on the right, I believe, is -- yes, it's a similar idea. You're seeing hydraulic shears at work. And keep in mind, the main robot that everyone was excited about yesterday that operated with that diamond wire cutter system, as you know, it failed. It got clogged. Basically, it got caught inside that pipe.

And what you want to see now is this container that's steadily being lowered, this containment device that's steadily being lowered to ultimately fit on there. It's not a 100 percent steel. It's not designed that way.

And people are calling it different things. Some people are calling it a new top hat. Some people are calling it the lower marine riser cap two.

Either way, what it basically is, a similar device to what we've seen in the past, is this big, basically white device that they're hoping will seal that area enough that it will limit, big time, how much oil seeps into the Gulf. It will bring the oil back up to the ship on top and it will pump down the stuff called methanol, which is designed to break up those ice crystals in the hopes that it works. So, every time you see that imagery today, Tony, that's what they're doing. They're preparing it for the latest effort of surgery 5,000 feet below.

HARRIS: Well, you mentioned when we see the imagery. Will we actually be able to -- you know we've got this live stream. I think it's still up.

LEVS: Oh yes.

HARRIS: Will we actually see the capping as it's happening? Will we see this live?

LEVS: We are hoping to. We're hoping to be able to see it live as it happens.

And again, I'll remind all our viewer, there have been lots of times they said something, they hope it would cap it, it didn't work. We don't know if this one will either. But we're going to watch, and we are hoping to see it today, yes.

HARRIS: Yes. I mean, that's going to be intriguing.

I mean, I would like to actually see the effort to cap. And I know it's not going to be a perfect fit, and the rubber seal is going to do the best it can. And we'll see the oil spewing from around it. But it's going to be pretty amazing to see the actual capping of this thing.

LEVS: Right. And what you're seeing right now actually is -- we were talking about the top of it, how they had to make a cut. You can see oil gushing out right there.

HARRIS: All right, Josh. Appreciate it.

(WEATHER REPORT) HARRIS: The oil gushing and spreading in the Gulf has a lot of people talking about deepwater drilling. Should it be stopped and reviewed as the president wants? We will examine the concerns coming back in just a moment.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, after it became clear how devastating the situation in the Gulf was, President Obama declared a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf. Now Louisiana's governor is asking the president to reconsider.

Governor Bobby Jindal's letter reads in part, "I am writing to express my grave concerns regarding the severe economic impact of a six-month or longer suspension of activity at 33 previously permitted deepwater drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, including and in particular the 22 deepwater drilling rigs in operation off the Louisiana coast." In that letter, Governor Jindal also talks about the thousands of jobs he fears would be lost from a moratorium.

No doubt oil is a big part of Louisiana's economy, but the governor is also very angry about all of the devastation from this oil disaster.

Let's see if we can clear some of this up a bit. And here to help us are Josh Levs and Ines Ferre.

Ines, let's talk to you first.

What exactly does this moratorium mean?

FERRE: OK. Well, first, it's a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling. And what's considered deepwater? Well, depths greater than 500 feet.

And this is expected to affect some 33 exploratory rigs. So, companies that have permits for exploratory drilling but they haven't started yet won't be able to start drilling. And also, in cases where drilling is already under way, well, they'll have to halt operations and then close the well, Tony.

Also, there won't be any processing of new applications for permits for six months. And, now, what it won't affect, though, are approximately 590 deepwater-producing wells that are operating right now. So, deepwater production continues, but new deepwater drilling does not.

HARRIS: I got you. All right.

Now, let's get back to Governor Jindal's letter to the president.

Josh, you've been fact-checking the letter. Just break it down for us.

LEVS: Yes. I know that there's a particular figure that you wanted to look into here, and that's about jobs and the economy, because he does say something pretty big in terms of the numbers. I'll talk to you a little bit about that here.

One thing he says in this is that the impact of this moratorium could lead to 3,000 to 6,000 jobs lost over two to three weeks. Then he goes on to say it could be a lot more if it's extended over time.

So I looked into that. And the place where he refers to is the Louisiana Department of Economic Development. Haven't heard directly from them, but I can tell you that these figures are in keeping with some reporting that I'm seeing.

I want to show you something about what the economic impact of this can be. And we'll keep in mind, there are a lot of people who also say there are benefits to doing the moratorium if it, you know, resolves some long-term problems.

But look at this. We're seeing nola.com, "The Times-Picayune, was talking about this. They are saying that the drilling moratorium could ultimately cost, Tony, $17.5 million in lost commerce. And the reason is - well, it's several fold. What you have are a lot of people --

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Per day?

LEVS: Per day.

HARRIS: Hey, yes.

LEVS: Per day. Per day, yes, I'm glad you had - I didn't mean to leave that out, per day.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: And the reason is, you have all these workers who are out there. But even just using the floating devices in the first place that require going out there, you're talking $500,000 a day could ultimately - sometimes are spent just on those. So right there you get millions and millions and millions of dollars.

And then, on top of that, you have all the people who are working. And then you have all these ancillary businesses that are designed to help the people who are doing the offshore drilling efforts. So when you put all of that together, you are talking about a massive piece of the economy in that region. $17.5 million total according to this, which they also looks at the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. So, all in all, we are talking about a huge business.

Now, also keep in mind, Tony, big oil is big business.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

LEVS: You and I have talked about this. The profits on BP and the tens of millions of dollars every quarter -- billions of dollars, rather. They make billions and billions of dollars every quarter. So it's not shocking when you look at it from that perspective. But the fact is, the moratorium does cost the region for sure and ultimately you have to weigh all those benefits and negatives and figure out what's safest and best moving forward.

HARRIS: You got to do it.

LEVS: Yes.

HARRIS: And it's clear, you've got to do it safely as well.

All right, Josh, good stuff. Thank you.

LEVS: Thanks.

HARRIS: Ines, thank you.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett called to testify before Congress and he talks to our Poppy Harlow. That's straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right, want to get you to cnnmoney.com now. I've got to tell you, we've got a bit of a sell-off going on, on Wall Street. We'll get to that in just a moment. But you can see the lead story here, "why U.S. debt matters to you." It's the lead story at cnnmoney.com. You really need to take a look at that.

We're going to get members of our Money team on, we haven't done it in a while, to talk about the cuts that are going to be necessary, maybe the possible tax increases that will be necessary to offset the huge U.S. debt. We need to do that.

But let's get you to the big board here, New York Stock Exchange. Better than three hours into the trading day now. We are selling pretty steeply. We were flat at the top of the hour, but now we're selling off, down 64 points. On the Nasdaq, that's pretty flat. It's down three.

You know, credit rating agencies have come under fire for missing the housing bubble and stamping mortgage products with their highest ratings. Moody's rating agency took the spotlight this week when its CEO was called to testify before a congressionally mandated panel looking into the crisis, along with legendary investor Warren Buffett. Let's get to cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow. She's joining us now.

Poppy, whenever you two get together, there a great conversation to be had. So share some of what came out of your talk with Warren Buffett.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes. Well, we tried, Tony, but this is, you know, very interesting. I sat through about two and a half hours of testimony watching Warren Buffett testify in front of all of these lawmakers yesterday and the focus was the rating agencies and it was Moody's specifically.

So, folks, first, why do you care about these? Well, when we had the housing crisis, all of those home loan, they were all bundled up into what are called mortgage-backed securities. The bank sold those to people. And in order to sell them, they were rated. They were stamped with a golden AAA rating, a lot of them, by the major rating agencies, including Moody's.

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

HARLOW: Warren Buffett, you see him right there, is the biggest individual shareholder in Moody's. So a lot of folks are asking, what should Warren Buffett have done in the middle of this? What should Moody's and the other rating agencies have done in the middle of this to warn people about the housing crisis? Did they see it coming? Didn't they?

One thing we know is it was disastrous. I spoke with Warren Buffett about that in our interview. I want to play a little part of that. Take a listen.

HARRIS: Terrific.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: I mean you've said this is disastrous, how the rating agencies and many others, you said, including yourself, missed the housing crisis. Can you chalk it all up to a mistake, Warren?

WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: When a bubble really gets going - when the Internet bubble was under way, you know, get out of the way because it was going to run right over you and you had companies sells for tens of billions of dollars that were valueless. So when people think they smell easy money and they've seen rising prices sort of justify it in the past and your neighbor who's got 20 points less of IQ than you is getting rich because he's doing these things, it gets very tempting to go along with the crowd.

I think that Moody's generally - I think they were way off on the real estate bubble and I think that Congress was, and I think Freddie and Fannie were and I think the media was and you just go up and down the line. Three hundred million Americans thought house prices couldn't really collapse and we were all wrong. And I think they were no better than the rest of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So, as you see there, he said, yes, sure, the rating agencies missed it, but so did the rest of us. And he's right about that. But he also told me, Tony, when it comes to pointing fingers, you have to be very, very careful because there were a lot of mistakes made in this crisis. He did say, the only way to change the rating agency model is through governmental action and, Tony, there is a big change to the rating agencies in that Wall Street reform bill that is, right now, being reconciled with the House and could hit the president's desk in a few weeks, Tony. But, the first time we've really heard him speak out on that.

HARRIS: Poppy, I'm going to push back because you know this is true because you have reported on it, not everyone was wrong on this. There were a lot of people who saw --

HARLOW: No. HARRIS: Right? You know there were a lot of people -

HARLOW: Yes, you're right.

HARRIS: Who talked to you, who talked to me, who saw this as a bubble and said, this is way out of whack here. So not everyone was wrong and not everyone missed this. I'm wondering if Warren Buffett talked to you about the broader economy and maybe even financial reform.

HARLOW: Sure. He did. He did. And you got to ask Warren Buffett, because he's called the Oracle of Omaha for a reason.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

HARLOW: He sees a lot of these economic trends, not the housing bubble, but a lot of them. And I said to him, how much does the European debt crisis worry you? How are we doing in our domestic economy? Because as you know, Tony, the stock market's been all over the place. He actually said he thinks Europe is dangerous right now but the U.S. is doing a lot better than people give them credit for.

But what it really matters about is jobs, right? So I asked him his company, Berkshire Hathaway. He said to me, quote, "we're hiring every week." And they operate huge railroads, housing companies, insurance companies. And they're hiring every week. So he's seeing a lot of the growth come back that many of us may not be seeing, that many experts argue may not be there. He is seeing that.

On financial reform, I asked him, should it be pushed through Congress and to the president's desk right now or should we wait for some of the findings from these panels, like the one he testified in front of yesterday. He said that's a moot point. You've got the political momentum, you've got the public angry now, you have to push it through now. So a lot of his insight.

You can see a lot more of that interview here on cnnmoney.com.

HARRIS: Terrific. Good stuff, Poppy. Good, good, good, good stuff. All right, thank you. Good to see you.

A man invests a chunk of his savings in a homemade invention inspired by his baseball playing son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to feel in your heart the passion for the invention that you've come up with. It doesn't matter how simple it is, as long as it fixes the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: How a little Georgia red clay and a feed stack took his son's game to a whole new level. It is the second story in our "Next Big Thing" series. Watch "Pitching Baseball" tomorrow at noon Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A CNN oil alert on this 45th day of a disaster in the Gulf. BP used giant shears to cut through the gushing well's main pipe. The new top cap is being moved into place right now and they'll try to attach it this afternoon. The White House says President Obama will be back in the Gulf tomorrow.

In other top stories, jury selection begin in Chicago in the corruption trial of ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. The former reality star is charged with racketeering and fraud on allegations he tried to sell the Senate seat vacate by Barack Obama.

This should keep the Maytag repairman pretty busy. The company is recalling 1.7 million dishwashers because of a fire hazard. Check cnn.com for a complete list.

Serenading another man's wife with a love ballad can get you a fat lip. But in this case, the songman was safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL MCCARTNEY: The next song we'd like to do is a song I have been itching to do at the White House. I hope the president will forgive me.

MCCARTNEY (singing): Michelle, my bell, these are words that grow together well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Yes, Paul McCartney sang the Beatle's Grammy-winning hit "Michelle" for the first lady last night. McCartney was at the White House to accept the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Song. You can look for the concert on PBS in July.

New calls for the military to help fight the growing oil threat on the Gulf Coast. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins me with whether that's a winning strategy.

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HARRIS: Forty-five days and counting since the oil began gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama heads back to the region tomorrow to assess the latest efforts to combat the disaster. He is facing growing calls for the U.S. military to join the battle, including a formal request from Senator Ben Nelson of Florida.

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SEN. BEN NELSON (D), FLORIDA: You've got to have a lot of skimmers. You've got to have a lot of booms out there rounding up the oil and burning it. You've got to employ a flotilla of ships. The Department of Defense is unique in its command and control capability, its ability to bring assets that others don't have.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Let's bring in our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

Barbara, great to see you.

How realistic is this idea of sending in the military?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Tony, you listen to Senator Nelson. He's been talking about this for days. Colin Powell's been talking about it. It's that nagging question that just never seems to go away in this situation.

But the answer doesn't really change. The Pentagon says Thad Allen, the four-star Coast Guard admiral, is the military commander of this situation. He is the most experienced. And that the U.S. military at the Pentagon has no expertise in offshore oil drilling or cleaning up this type of mess.

Still the question, public confidence. Do people want to see U.S. military uniforms out there because they don't believe that BP or this effort is really under control and really working. The National Guard would still be the major force out there. In fact, Defense Secretary Gates has already -- let's look at some numbers, Tony. He's already approved nearly 18,000 National Guard, authorized them to be called into action if they are need. But in the state of Louisiana, here's a good example of bureaucracy maybe not so much at work, they have 6,000 authorized. They only have 1,100 on duty helping with the berms, helping with the sandbagging.

Why aren't they having more?

HARRIS: Yes.

STARR: Well, this is the bureaucracy, you know. The Coast Guard has to approve it because the federal government's going to pay for it. The governor has to have jobs for them to actually do. And I got to be honest with you, we keep asking these questions and nobody seems to get off dead center about this bureaucratic mess, are there really jobs for the National Guard to do? Why aren't there National Guard troops, more of them, out on that front line trying to fight the oil.

Tony.

HARRIS: Well, are there more jobs for them to do? I mean, if you've got 6,000 and you're using 1,000, are there 5,000 more jobs?

STARR: What's the deal? Yes. Yes, what is the deal?

HARRIS: Yes.

STARR: Because, you know, here at the Pentagon, you ask that and they say, look, if Governor Jindal wants them, he's got to find something for them to do in order for the federal government to pay for it. Governor Jindal, the governors, they could all put their entire National Guard force out there if their state budgets allowed them to pay for it. But if they want Washington to pay for it, then you have to have something for them to do. HARRIS: Oh my.

STARR: And right now the Pentagon says they're approving every request they get and they're just not seeing the requests coming in. But we're going to stay on this and figure out what this mess is really all about.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, that's -- that's shedding some light there, Barbara. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Everybody, you know, makes mistakes. Everyone. But this one ruined a perfectly good night for a major leaguer. Have you seen this story? Today calls for Major League Baseball to give a pitcher his perfect game.

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HARRIS: It's time to check out what's hot on the Internet. We know that, look, there's a lot of traffic on the Internet. A lot of people take their lunch breaks, right, and they go and they log on and they find out what's hot, what's going on, what's trending.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

HARRIS: So we figured if you're online, we should be online, too. Ines Ferre is here.

FERRE: And even not during their lunch break, whenever.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. But this is like a high volume traffic time of the day for folks, particularly, you know, east of the Mississippi. So we're going to start out and we're going to talk baseball because this story is unbelievable.

FERRE: It's unbelievable and it's what's the top search on Google.

HARRIS: Yes.

FERRE: It's on cnn.com.

HARRIS: Because dude was perfect.

FERRE: Yes. Check that out. This is Armando Galarraga and he's - there's -

HARRIS: It's a bang-bang play.

FERRE: It's a bad call. And the - an instant replay would have definitely shown this, as you can see.

HARRIS: But hang on. Hang on. In the umpire's defense, and everyone is screaming at the television set right now, what do you mean in the umpire's defense? He got it wrong. He robbed the guy of his perfect game. It was a close -- it looked at the moment, in real time, like a bang-bang play. A close play. But he got it wrong.

FERRE: Yes, he got it wrong. And there's no instant replay in this.

HARRIS: Clearly got it wrong.

FERRE: So - and look at this. And everybody is all angry about this. This is -- he could have had a perfect game.

HARRIS: Leland is giving him the business! The manager for Detroit. Could have had a perfect game. And there you go.

FERRE: And the umpire says, yep, it was my fault and he apologized.

HARRIS: Yes.

FERRE: OK. The next one is Hooters. Remember that lawsuit that Casey Smith had filed. She's 20 years old and she said, look, I was given a gym membership to actually lose weight.

HARRIS: The case of the chunky waitress who wasn't - who isn't chunky at all.

FERRE: Right.

HARRIS: Right, right. Come on.

FERRE: Who looks great. But, anyhow, so there's also even another lawsuit from a Hooters employee. So now Hooters has come out and said, look, we have a right to defend our image and this is what they're saying about this lawsuit. Listen to this.

HARRIS: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCNEIL, VP OF MARKETING, HOOTERS: In her own words, the plaintiff in this lawsuit has made our case for us. She's told everybody that will listen that she's 5'8", 132 pounds. So certainly by any standard, she would not be classified as being overweight.

We've taken no action against this employee. We didn't terminate her. We didn't suspend her. We didn't take any action against her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: Now, Smith says that those outfits come in small, extra small and extra, extra small.

HARRIS: The only thing anyone is going to remember from this is that I called her chunky. And I didn't call her chunky.

FERRE: No, no, no, no.

HARRIS: The chunky waitress who is not chunky. All right, Ines, sorry, they're screaming at us. We've got to go.

FERRE: OK.

HARRIS: Take care. See you tomorrow.

All right. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Progress and protests on day 45 of the oil disaster in the Gulf and some interesting pictures here. BP has been able to cut the damaged pipe and is moving the cap into position. But as the oil gushes, the outrage certainly grows. More protests are planned like the one in New Orleans this past weekend. A grass roots campaign called "Seize BP" is calling for a week of demonstrations. Yes, that's the protest there. And more to come in 50 cities, you see the map there, beginning today.

OK, we've got to go. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with the man, Ali Velshi.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Have yourself a good afternoon, Tony. Thanks so much.