Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

The Battle for the Gulf; Breaking Down Top Hat; May Sees Biggest Job Gain in 10 Years; Awaiting "Top Hat" Results; New Aid Ship Near Gaza; Van Der Sloot Arrested in Chile; Gaza Economy in Ruins

Aired June 04, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Kyra Phillips is on assignment in the Gulf. Here's what we're working on this morning.

A view of the oil disaster response you'll see only on CNN. Kyra goes out with the government's point man to a rig trying to cap the gusher.

And first the good news. Hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Now the bad news. Most will end next month.

And the manhunt is over. A former suspect in an Alabama teen's disappearance now must answer new questions about a killing in Peru.

First, it is day 46 of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Late last night, crews were able to place a new containment cap over the ruptured well. But BP says it could take two days before we know whether it is successfully slowing the flow of oil. Even if it does work, it will not contain all of the gushing oil.

Later this morning, President Obama leaves the White House en route to the Gulf Coast. This will be his third trip to Louisiana since the oil rig exploded at the end of April.

CNN's Kyra Phillips has been or has seen the full all-court assault on the disaster like no one else. She has been on a rig right near the source of the nightmare with the man the president is leaning on to help handle all of this.

Let's check in with Kyra right now. She is in New Orleans.

Kyra, bring us up to date.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I had a chance to actually be embedded with Admiral Thad Allen. And I'll tell you what, these past few days have been a whirlwind.

His schedule -- his life within this pressure cooker is absolutely remarkable. From the minute he wakes up at 4:30 in the morning until he goes to sleep at night, that is usually well past midnight.

I don't know how he operates on the amount of sleep that he gets. But the day that we started with him -- actually every day pretty much starts this way. His security detail knows where every coffee shop is, no matter where he is. So that's the first stop.

And that's where our trip began. And by the end of our time with him, we had first-time access, even first-time -- first live broadcast on the site of that explosion that took place 46 days ago.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: The real focus right now is to get that containment cap in place below the Discoverer Enterprise, continue drilling the two relief wells. We'll do the first one that's on the DD-3 that we're on right now.

PHILLIPS: And let's make that connection. As they are working to get that top hat right now to seal that gusher, how does this relief well -- how is it going to benefit --

ALLEN: The relief well is being drilled right below us, going down. It's starting to be angled over, and somewhere between 16,000 and 18,000 feet below the sea floor, it will intersect the well bore.

At that point, it will start pumping heavy mud in to drive the oil and the hydrocarbons down towards the reservoir to stabilize it so they can put a plug in or do what they call a bottom kill.

After that's done, there should be no pressure below the blowout preventer. That allowed them to actually remove it, cap the well, bring the blowout preventer up and do forensic analysis on it.

PHILLIPS: Explain the connection, the bottom kill here, and how that is going to make what's happening on the Discovery Enterprise successful.

ALLEN: The intention is to intercept the well bore well down below the surface near the reservoir then pump heavy mud in to counteract the pressure of the oil coming up that will allow them to basically plug or kill the well.

Once that is done, you can do things like remove the blowout preventer, bring it to the surface and try and find out what happened.

PHILLIPS: How soon do you think that could happen, Ted? Or are you just working as fast as you can?

TED STUKENBORG, TRANSOCEAN: We are working as efficiently and safely as possible.

PHILLIPS: I know you don't want to make any mistakes.

STUKENBORG: That's correct.

PHILLIPS: How has it been for you? What's it like to get up in the morning and deal with media scrutiny and have to come out here and do everything you can to make this happen? CAPTAIN NICK SCHINDLER, TRANSOCEAN: It can be frustrating at times. The thing is, we have to make sure that the crew is focused on the job. At the end of the day, we want to drill this well as efficiently as possible.

And we want to do it with no incidents. We want to do it with no injury to anybody. In fact we want everyone that comes on this rig go home in better condition than when they came on this rig.

Part of the problem is that there is a lot of outside scrutiny on what it is that we're doing out here. And I think the American population is wanting this well to be done now. They want it now. We all want it to be done now.

But we all have to understand that this is a well that killed 11 people. We have to understand that we're sitting over top of one of the world's best drilling rigs. The well that we're drilling right now killed 11 people and sunk a rig.

And so we're not going to speed up. And we're going to do this as safe as possible. And we're not going to hurt anybody. And that's our goal.

PHILLIPS: What's the deal with the water spray that's taking place next to the Enterprise?

ALLEN: You've seen an offshore supply vessel over there with water being sprayed out of its stern. As the product is rising up, because you know there's oil coming out of the riser pipe until we get the containment cap on it right now.

They're actually putting water over the surface to reduce the volatile organic compounds that come up off the oil that produce inhalant problems for the workers out there. So this is actually a safety issue to put water over the top of the oil so the fumes basically don't come up.

PHILLIPS: Because when we were flying in, the smell was so strong. It's like fresh tar smell.

ALLEN: And one way to reduce that is just basically spray water to reduce the vapors.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And, Fredricka, something that my show team has been talking about since this explosion happened 46 days ago is what about those 11 workers that were killed? Why are we not hearing more about that? Why are we not getting more information with regard to those victims?

So I made it a priority when I had the chance for the first time to talk to these workers on the rigs to tell me about those 11 workers -- those friends, coworkers, even relatives. A number of the cousins still work on those oil rigs right now. I got a chance to talk about those individuals that died in that explosion. And as I was leaving, they gave me this magazine, this is the "Beacon" magazine, the Transocean magazine. And this is a special memorial edition to remember and honor the lives of those who were killed.

And I just want to show you. Take a moment, if you don't mind, to give you a look at the personal pictures of each one of these individuals who was killed.

This is Jason Christopher Anderson. He was a tool pusher. You can see the picture of him, his wife and also one of his children.

This is Aaron Dale Berkeen, crane operator. Over here is Donald O'Neil Clark, assistant driller.

Some of these pictures were taken by coworkers while working on the rig before that explosion happened.

Steven Ray Curtis. He was an assistant driller. Gordon Lewis Jones, drilling fluids specialist. Family picture of Roy Wyatt Kemp. You see him, his wife and his two children. He was a derrick hand.

This is Carl Dale Klepinjer, Jr. He was a floor hand. Keith Blair Manual, senior drilling fluid specialist. Dewey Allen Rivette, a driller. On the final page here, Shane Michael Roshtow, floor hand. You see the picture there of his wife and son with him. And finally, Adam T. Weiss, floor hand.

And it was just as I was leaving -- actually, when I arrived immediately, the employees started telling me about how painstaking this has been for them and extremely stressful.

And that's why I took the opportunity to ask more about these 11 coworkers that died. So when I was leaving they handed this magazine and I promised that I would lift up each one of those workers that had died in that explosion -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: It's great to get a reminder of those 11 who died on April 20th. Their lives have really been kind of upstaged by the ongoing geyser there, the gusher there, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Kyra Phillips, thanks so much. We'll check back with you momentarily.

So we have seen a lot of different approaches to smothering this underwater geyser. Top hat is the latest. Let's take a closer look at this operation.

CNN's Josh Levs is here to give us a clear understanding of how this is working.

And I kind of use that term loosely because we don't know if it's working. We just know that it may be in place.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Or how well it's working. Yes. But good morning, Fred, and good morning to all of you. I want to lay out the drama for all of you today because what we were looking at yesterday was the big question -- will the cap fit on?

Well, today, the big question is, will it work? And I want everyone to understand how big this is. It is conceivable that today, for the first time, nearly seven weeks into this crisis, we are able to tell you that a cap is on and guiding some, much, or maybe -- maybe -- even most of that oil up to a ship instead of it getting into the Gulf waters.

That's what we're looking for. And let's go to the live pictures. I know these live pictures look confusing a lot of the times. You see basically a black cloud under there. That's why I'll be here all day to talk you through them.

What we want to see is on this new cap that has now been placed, there are these vents that are designed that way for a reason. When the cap is going on, it can't be totally sealed or it won't go on.

So the vents were there. And they were opened as the cap was being lowered. Well, today, they're going to try to close off the vents to keep as much oil as possible inside the cabin, inside the pathway up to the surface.

Now we can see more of these live pictures here. You remember these 12 underwater cameras. You can watch them all with us and live at CNN.com. Also BP.com. Makes them all available for you.

Let's go to the video from yesterday now. I want you to see what happened yesterday because this was the money moment. What they were trying to do, it took a couple of tries. They tried to get this cap -- rather this cap that they have created. This new top.

Some are calling it a top hat. I've heard it called a top cap. BP is calling it LMRP 6, believe it or not. No one is sure what to call this thing. But it's the latest effort to contain as much oil as possible.

So this was attempt number one. And the next video is going to show you attempt number two where they were taking this cap and trying to get it on top of where that oil is gushing.

And when you see that, you might say, wait a second. If it was going on, why did all the oil start to gush? Well, think about a hose going really fast and then you stick your hand in front of it. The water is going to spray in all directions.

So when they were taking this cap and trying to put on, as it was getting over the source of a lot of that oil, it would naturally force the oil to go around it until it's on. So that's why when we see this video, that's what we're seeing there.

And then the next video here is once that cap was put on -- now when we say on, as Fred mentioned, we're using that term loosely. It's not even designed to be a 100 percent seal. It's not a 100 percent seal. What it is supposed to do while it's there is guide much of the oil upwards inside of it all the way up to a ship that's on top while also that ship is pumping down the stuff called methanol.

The methanol can break up these ice-like hydrate crystals that formed inside so you got both (INAUDIBLE) going at once. And let's go ahead and go to this animation that I have for you now.

BP -- this is the latest animation that they have made available. And they're talking us through how this works and how it doesn't work. But the basic idea is pretty simple. I think we have a video of it. If not, I can show it to you right here. But the basic idea is right here.

You have this system that's designed to lower the cap. There you go. You've got it. That's the drill ship that's on top. And what they end up showing you is -- keep in mind drill ships on the surface of the water. What they're working on is 5,000 feet underneath. That's an entire mile down.

Nothing has ever been done. All the attempts we've been seeing all these weeks, none of them have ever been tried. None of them. So BP has been trying thing after thing after thing. If we started at already A, we're pretty much up to letter V by now.

So this is what you're seeing here. This effort to go all the way under water there, place a cap on and guide that much of the water.

So, Fred, what I'm looking for all day, what we're all been looking for here in the NEWSROOM is how much of that oil is staying inside? Do they close the vents? Does it stay inside this new cap to guide up to the surface?

We're hoping for some numbers today from BP.

WHITFIELD: All right. We look forward to that. Thanks so much, Josh Levs. Appreciate that.

LEVS: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right, President Obama -- well, he's canceling his trip to Indonesia and Australia to deal with this crisis. Just last night the president sat down with CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Are you angry at BP?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I am furious at this entire situation because this is an example of where somebody didn't think through the consequences of their actions. And it is imperiling not just a handful of people. This is imperiling an entire way of life and an entire region for potentially years.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So later on this morning, President Obama leaves for the Gulf Coast. This will be his third visit to Louisiana since last April.

The president has faced growing public criticism over his handling of the catastrophe. The initial complaints were that he was too detached. On this trip, President Obama will also speak to people who have seen their lives abandoned by this disaster.

So before he goes, the president will talk about the economy. And this morning we learned the country actually gained about 431,000 jobs just last month alone but most of them were government jobs.

His remarks are about 30 minutes away. The president, that is. And we'll of course have those for you live.

So perhaps you have some summer plans that involve the beach. Do you need to be worried?

CNN meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is crunching the latest data. He will be joining us in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, some news about the economy this morning. Kind of mixed bag. The U.S. Labor Department says that employers added 431,000 jobs to their payrolls last month. That's fewer jobs than analysts were actually expecting. But it is the biggest monthly job gain in 10 years.

Also, we learned that the unemployment rate dipped in May to 9.7 percent. It was 9.9 percent in April.

So most of these new jobs were with the U.S. government and agencies like the Census Bureau. And we know Census jobs don't usually last very long. In fact, the public sector added more than nine times as many jobs as the private sector.

Let's break down some of these numbers with CNN's chief business correspondent Ali Velshi.

So we are glad. We are celebrating that there are more jobs out there. But we're tempered by the fact that these are temporary.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is always the danger with headlines, right? When you hear we created 441,000 jobs in a month, that is the largest job gain in one month in more than 10 years. So that's fantastic.

But in an economy like ours which is not government driven, you don't want government type jobs leading the pack. And here -- like you said, nine times as many government jobs, 411,000 out of 431,000 for government jobs.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

VELSHI: The Census jobs. On the other side of that, at least it's work.

WHITFIELD: And people are working, sure.

VELSHI: So these are -- these are people who will have some work, some money to pay down some debts and to spend some money at stores. That will create demand. And when there's demand, that means storekeepers will then want to employ more people.

So generally speaking, this is a good report. It's not as good as some people had expected. But expectations are -- you know, a separate issue.

Now you also saw that the unemployment rate went down to 9.7 percent. At this point, again, that's not as important as jobs created because the unemployment rate is affected by the fact that some months there are more people looking for jobs. Some months people just sit it out and they're off the rolls.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

VELSHI: So we really want to look at how many jobs are created. In the end, I'm very happy jobs have been created but there haven't been enough real, long-term --

WHITFIELD: Permanent.

VELSHI: -- permanent, good private sector jobs created.

WHITFIELD: So any tiny glimmers of hope that maybe, you know, the next wave will be --

VELSHI: Yes.

WHITFIELD: That yes, there will be some more permanent jobs available?

VELSHI: I rather see --

WHITFIELD: I mean, that's kind of like -- you know.

VELSHI: I'd rather this is a whole --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: More than 400,000 Census jobs created than not.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

VELSHI: Four hundred thousand Census jobs created.

WHITFIELD: Right.

VELSHI: This -- like I say, these are 400,000 people --

WHITFIELD: Especially if I'm one of the people who has benefited from --

(CROSSTALK) VELSHI: Right. They get a job. And what it does is it creates a sentiment around you that said -- that says things are going better. And really, our economy is so sentiment based because it's a consumer- driven economy. It's how we all feel, right? If you feel like your job is secure, you may buy the thing that you've not been buying for some time.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

VELSHI: So that -- generally speaking, I think this is good. I think what you're going to hear a lot of today including in about 10 minutes on the stock market is a wave of disappointment from analysts and economists and experts. But really, it's the rest of us who populate the world and we're probably -- we probably should be relatively happy about this.

WHITFIELD: But not from the president. He's likely to come out and be the optimist --

VELSHI: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- about the economy.

VELSHI: He'll tell you the unemployment rate is down.

WHITFIELD: Right.

VELSHI: From 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent.

WHITFIELD: And then from there, where might the president be able to go to say, you know, hear my encouraging words for the rest of the country as it --

VELSHI: I would guess the --

WHITFIELD: As it pertains to the economy.

VELSHI: The refrain that they have been on for some time is how this is related to stimulus and the Census. So it's still the government. Until the private sector, until consumers get back in the game, the government is holding up its end, which is actually not a bad argument.

They're saying that they'd like to retire. The government would like to pull out of the economy a little bit and have consumers and small businesses take over again. We're not fully there yet. But he will probably put a good spin on this to say it's coming. And I would say this is exactly the kind of unemployment report that could be half empty or half full.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

VELSHI: Depending on how you're feeling today.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, we'll be listening to the president momentarily and you're going to stick around, too.

VELSHI: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Because we want to take a look at --

VELSHI: Want to look at that market. Yes.

WHITFIELD: That market when it opens up.

VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE). Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ali Velshi, thanks so much.

VELSHI: OK.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate that.

All right, next hour, we'll be talking with the vice president of Careerbuilder.com. He'll be telling us what jobs are hot and where they are not aside from the whole public sector.

And if you've got questions about how to get a job, send them to us. And perhaps he can answer some for you. Just go to CNN.com/fredricka.

Let's talk weather now. We're talking about storms in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes area.

Reynolds Wolf, boy, this is a broken record, isn't it, because it just seems to come in waves when we're talking about the severe weather just pounding.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. We're all still a little nervous about the hurricane season and what, you know, it could bring to this mix as we see this oil spill, whether it makes it into that flow.

WOLF: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: And affects the Atlantic and perhaps even makes it way to Europe or what.

WOLF: The worst of many components coming together.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much.

Much more of the NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Gaza activists may be headed for another confrontation with Israel. Another ship filled with desperately needed aid is headed to Gaza. It is expected to arrive there late tonight or tomorrow.

People on board the Rachel Corrie say that they are fully prepared to break the Israeli blockade but they insist they are not looking for a fight. They simply want to deliver cement, medical equipment and educational materials to the impoverished territory.

Israel vows the boat will not be allowed to break the three-year blockade of Gaza. Nine activists were killed Monday during an Israeli raid on their aid flotilla. All of them were Turkish citizens, including a 19-year-old who was also a U.S. citizen.

All right, back in this country, the opening bell is just minutes away on Wall Street. We'll get a glimpse of how those rather encouraging job numbers just might be impacting trading.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Just about an hour ago, the U.S. government said the economy added 431,000 jobs last month.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange where of course we are hearing the bell ringing there.

So what's the anticipation of how the markets will be opening in response to this jobs increase?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it's looking like investors at Wall Street not liking this report a whole lot. We've been keeping an eye on the numbers all morning, and before the report came out at 8:30, stock futures were edging lower. And as soon as that report was released, we watched futures tumble.

Sure, the economy added 431,000 jobs. It's the most in a decade, but the problem here is that almost all of those jobs are temporary census jobs, most of which will go away in a matter of weeks or months. Census hiring typically peeks in May because the workers go out, pound the pavement, knock on the doors during the summer, and that's what we're seeing. The census hired 411,000 people last month.

Now, what we really need to see here is growth in the private sector. We only added 41,000 jobs there and that's below the previous month gain, and below, what the economy really needs to maintain stable growth.

The good news here is that the jobless rate fell to 9.7 percent from 9.9 percent, but, because most of those census jobs are temporary, when they go away, we'll probably see the unemployment rate rise.

All right. Let's see how all of this is playing out on Wall Street as far as the numbers go. The Dow Industrial is down right now 109 points, Nasdaq off about 47. It could be a rough day because investors in Wall Street not seeing any really big positives in this report, at least not yet -- Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right. Alison, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

In the meantime, we are waiting for the president of the United States to comment about those job numbers and other things about the U.S. economy. Just a few minutes away, we will have the president's visit to this truck company right there in Maryland. And, we'll also carry his comments live.

In the meantime, it is day 46 of the oil disaster, but this morning, there is a glimmer of optimism. Late last night, crews were able to put that new containment cap over the ruptured well, but BP says it could take two days before we know exactly whether it was successful or now. Even if it does work, it will not contain all of the gushing oil. President Obama's trip to the Gulf Coast today will be his third to Louisiana since the oil rig exploded at the end of April.

So, the president's go-to-guy on this disaster, Admiral Thad Allen, says this is the toughest assignment of his career. CNN's Kyra Phillips has seen firsthand that he is not exaggerating. She has had an exclusive look at what the people fighting for the Gulf are dealing with every day. And she was the only journalist on a rig right near the source of that disaster. Kyra filed this report when she got back to shore.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We had unprecedented access today. We were able to go right there to the site of where that explosion happened more than 40 days ago. We actually got to land on the rig and see these workers firsthand as they are trying to stop that gushing oil right there in the gulf. Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing this entire disaster explained exactly what was happening at the moment that we were standing on this driller.

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: So, the real focus right now is to get that containment cap in place below the "Discover Enterprise" continued drilling the two relief wells. The first one is on the DD free (ph) that were on right now.

PHILLIPS: And let's make that connection, as they're working to get that top hat right to seal that gusher, how does this relief well benefit?

ALLEN: The relief well is being drilled right below us. It's going down. It's starting to be angled over and somewhere between 16,000 and 18,000 feet below the sea floor. It will intersect the wellbore. At that point, it will start pumping heavy mud and to drive the oil and the hydrocarbons down towards the reservoir to stabilize and so they can put a plug in or do what they call a bottom kill. After that is done, there should be no pressure below the blowout preventer that will allow them to actually remove and cap the well and bring the blowout preventer up and do forensic analysis on it.

PHILLIPS (on-camera): Then we also had a chance, for the first time, to talk to the workers on these rigs. They said they're frustrated. They can't even watch the news anymore. It's been a painstaking process. Here's one of them. Nick Schindler.

How is it been for you? What is it like to get up in the morning and deal with media scrutiny and have to come out here and do everything you can to make this happen?

CAPTAIN NICK SCHINDLER, TRANSOCEAN: It can be frustrating at times. The thing is we have to make sure that the crew is focused on the job. At the end of the day, we want to drill this well as efficiently as possible. We want to do it with no incidents. We want to do it with no injuries to anybody. In fact, we want to have everyone who comes on this rig go home in better condition than when they came on this rig. Part of the problem is that there is a lot of outside scrutiny on what it is that we're doing out here.

And I think the American population is wanting this well to be done. They want it now. We all want it done now. But we all have to understand that this is a well that killed 11 people. We have to understand that we're sitting over top of one of the world's best drilling rigs. The well that we're drilling right now killed 11 people and sunk a rig. And so, we're not going to speed up. We're going to do this as safe as possible. We're not going to hurt anybody. And that's our goal.

PHILLIPS: So, now it's workers like Nick Schindler who aren't giving up on this operation. Obviously, they're working 24/7 trying to stop that oil from gushing. Right now, that top hat is being lowered into the ocean, and they are waiting to see, if, indeed, it will fit and will be able to be sealed on that pipe that was cut today. A positive part in the process. The most positive to this point as the Admiral told us. So now, once again, we're just waiting to see if it finally works.

Kyra Phillips, CNN, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In the meantime, we're seeing more and more pictures of the damage this spill is actually causing. Dead or dying sea birds covered in crude oil just as you see right there. The fish and wildlife service reports more than 500 dead birds have washed up on the Gulf Coast. About 40 of them were drenched, as you see right here, in oil. More than 80 have been actually been rescued and cleaned up and likely will be returned to the wild.

So, they still don't see eye-to-eye on illegal immigration, but the governor of Arizona says something good came out of her meeting with President Obama. We'll tell you what that was in about two minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Facing off over illegal immigration, despite differences, President Obama and Arizona governor, Jan Brewer, say some progress was actually made during their White House meeting yesterday. The president says more National Guard troops will be heading to the southern border with Mexico, but Governor Brewer says she wants even more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: I would like to see construction started on a fence on the border. And I tried to get that kind of information from him today. I was not successful. I was successful in getting the promise that somebody would be out to Arizona within the next couple of weeks to speak with my staff to give us the kind of information that they have available to present to us. And so, we're looking forward to that. You know, today, I'm further ahead than I was yesterday. At least I got a promise of two weeks information, facts, that we can share with the people of Arizona, with the people of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president is still opposed to Arizona's law that allows police to check people's immigration status. He calls it misguided.

All right. It is day 46 of the Gulf oil disaster. Here's the latest now, we could know later on today how well that top hat is working. BP installed the cap over the ruptured pipe last night. The cap is designed to significantly reduce the flow of oil.

A new aid ship is expected to arrive off the Gaza coast tomorrow. Those aboard say they will offer no resistance if Israeli forces board it. Nine people were killed Monday after Israeli commandos came aboard another aid ship.

And 431,000 jobs were added to the economy last month in this country, but almost all of them were taken by temporary census workers, and those jobs end next month.

In trouble again, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway, now faces murder charges in the death of another young woman overseas. We will go live to Santiago, Chile.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More legal trouble for a young man whose name you may remember, Joran Van Der Sloot. Van Der Sloot is facing murder charges for the death of 21-year-old Stephanie Flores in Peru. Just five years ago, the now 22-year-old was suspected in the disappearance of American teenager, Natalee Holloway, and that was in Aruba. Holloway's body was never found. In addition to charges, Van Der Sloot is facing in South America, U.S. officials filed extortion and wire fraud charges against him yesterday stemming from the Holloway case.

CNN's Brian Byrnes is live in Santiago, Chile where Van Der Sloot was arrested. So, where is he right now?

BRIAN BYRNES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Joran Van Der Sloot is in the air right now. Just about 30 minutes ago, he took off in a small Cessna 310 plain accompanied by three Interpol officials from the Chilean police force. They are in the air right now and expected to make the five-hour trip to the northern Chilean town of Arica, and then, they will across the border into Peru by car where that be met by officials from Peru. They are expected to charge Joran Van Der Sloot in the death of Stephanie Flores, who was found earlier this week in a Lima hotel.

And, of course, Van Der Sloot was taken yesterday here in Santiago on a road between Santiago and the Coastal City of the Vina del Mar. He went in by his own admission, did not get handcuffed, did not put up a fight at all, was questioned overnight, and then just 30 minutes ago, on the plane to Peru where he will face those charges for murder -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: What's our understanding of the evidence that investigators have now to connect Van Der Sloot with the death of Flores?

BYRNES: Officials in Peru are saying that they have videotape evidence from the hotel where Van Der Sloot and Ms. Flores were staying in Lima. They say they have video of the two of them together on the Sunday morning which was the last time they were seen together and the last time that she was seen alive. So, we have not seen that video yet, but they say it is very incriminating evidence against Van Der Sloot in this murder case.

So, we'll have to wait and see when they decide to release that. Of course, the family members of Stephanie Flores are very happy to know that Van Der Sloot is on his way to Peru right now where he will face case charges in this murder -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, he's going to be facing chares there. In the meantime, U.S. officials also want to charge him with extortion and wire fraud that apparently he wanted to exchange some information about Natalee Holloway, the young girl he was suspected of killing five years ago, in exchange for money. Do you know more about the details of that investigation?

BYRNES: Well, I do know yesterday, officials in the state of Alabama did put the arrest warrant out on these wire fraud and extortion charges against Van Der Sloot. And I do believe some officials there said the timing was simply coincidental that they had been working on this particular charge against him for several weeks.

Of course, the family members of Stephany Flores are very happy to know that Van Der Sloot is on his way to Peru right now where he will face charges in this murder -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So he's going to be facing charges there, in the meantime, U.S. officials also want to charge him with extortion and wire fraud that apparently he wanted to exchange some information about Natalee Holloway, the young girl he suspecting -- he was suspected of killing five years ago, in exchange for money.

Do you know more about the details of that investigation?

BYRNES: Well, I do know yesterday officials in the State of Alabama did put the arrest warrant out on these wire fraud and extortion charges against Van Der Sloot. And I do believe some officials there said that the timing was simply coincidental but they had been working on this particular charge against him for several weeks.

So the fact that he has now an arrest warrant for him in the State of Alabama, he's wanted on murder charges in Peru, of course he's a very wanted man right now. The Peruvian officials will have him a few hours from now. They are going to make the first charges against him for the murder.

But of course, we imagine the U.S. officials will continue to go after Van Der Sloot for the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba five years ago -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Brian Byrnes thanks so much from Santiago, Chile. I appreciate that.

All right, in the meantime, back in this country we are monitoring President Obama's remarks on the job numbers that we learned up earlier today. Right now, his press is just underway; he's actually at a commercial truck dealership in Hyattsville, Maryland.

We'll try to monitor his comment as he talks about the dipping unemployment rate now, 9.7 percent back from 9.9 percent. And likely, he is very optimistic about the fact that the jobs that were created in the past months have been very good.

However, those jobs were mostly temporary. We'll have much more in the NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're keeping a close eye on your money and your market. You see right there the DOW is down about 185, now 184 points, that despite the fact that the unemployment rate has dipped from 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent.

We heard that this morning along with the largest jobs creation numbers in ten years, the President of the United States right now talking about that outside Maryland. We'll continue to monitor his remarks and keep a close watch on the markets as well.

Meantime, an Ohio couple is being accused of conspiring to provide money to a Middle East terrorist group. The two were arrested yesterday in Toledo. Federal officials say they were plotting to send up to $1 million to Hezbollah by hiding it in a car and then shipping the vehicle to Lebanon.

Both suspects are dual citizens of the U.S. and Lebanon. The Feds say the money was to come from an FBI informant who claimed to work for an anonymous donor. The U.S. government lists Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Israel may be headed for another confrontation on the high seas. Just four days after its deadly raid on an aid flotilla, a second aid ship, the MV Rachel Corrie is expected to reach the waters of Gaza tomorrow, onboard, 550 tons of cement, medical equipment, educational materials and toys.

A U.N. official aboard the ship says the flotilla won't stop unless Israel makes them. Israel vows the boat will not be allowed to break the three-year blockade of Gaza.

Nine activists were killed Monday after Israeli commandos attacked their aid flotilla and all of them -- all those who are killed were Turkish citizens including a 19-year-old who was also a U.S. citizen.

Israel is rejecting international calls to end that blockade. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it is needed for national security and to prevent any benefit to Hamas which rules Gaza. But Hamas won't recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce earlier violence or accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinian authority.

Caught in the middle of the fight, 1.5 million people, all Gazans; 70 percent of them are living below the poverty line and they are largely dependent on humanitarian aid.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Gaza's Shati refugee camp a handout is the only hand they get. The United Nations is distributing the regular food rations; a bag of flour, some rice, sugar and cooking oil. Life in Gaza, says Rahma has come to a virtual standstill.

"There is no work," she tells me. "The workers can't go to Israel. There is nothing for anyone to do."

WEDEMAN: But pick up their food and go home. Men who should be working wait their turn. Unemployment in Gaza is close to 50 percent.

(on camera): The signs of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza are no more apparent than here. According to the United Nations, 80 percent of the population of Gaza is dependent on food aid.

(voice-over): The three-year-old Israeli blockade imposed after Hamas took over Gaza has devastated the economy. The people of Gaza says economist Sami Abdel Shafi have become hostages of a failed policy.

SAMI ABDEL SHAFI, ECONOMIST: You can't pull the plug on a nation, put it in a prison and then force it to become a nation of beggars and then provide it with food.

WEDEMAN: During the Israeli invasion last year the Israeli army bulldozed Muhammad Dardona's house. He built a new home next to the ruins of the old, but he's lucky. He has a job. His salary doesn't go far, however. "Everyone has an unemployed brother or father," he says. "You give a bit here, a bit there and after a few days nothing's left."

Faisa is trying to raise her six children, but she has diabetes, lost her job three months ago and her husband has left her. She feeds her family with U.N. rations, charity and food bought on credit.

"I get credit from the green grocer and from other stores," she says. "My whole life is credit, credit."

Escape from Gaza is, for most, not an option. Egypt, which is hostile to the Hamas-led government has temporarily opened the border for people with special permission. Permission Fauziah doesn't have.

Her husband suffered a stroke and is in an Egyptian hospital. She wants to see him, but has been unable to cross since the morning.

"It would be the first time I ever leave," she says. In Gaza, false hope is better than no hope at all says the U.N.'s Adnan Abu Hasna.

ADNAN ABU HASNA, U.N. REFUGEE WORKS AGENCY: Sometimes people they are telling us. We need someone to lie to us, to tell us a big lie that after ten years you will have a good life. You will have a state. You will have, you know, you will have a job. No one can promise the people. Actually, in Gaza there is no tomorrow.

WEDEMAN: And the substitute for hope here is a sack of flour.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: it's a busy day in the NEWSROOM here. Here's what we're working on for the next hour. Let's begin with all-platform journalist Patrick Oppmann.

PATRICK OPPMAN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST: I'm on Pensacola Beach, Florida, where we're seeing hundreds of small bits of oil and tar balls wash up on this beautiful sand here behind me. I'll tell you in the next hour how it's affecting beach goers. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we have just gotten some new information from BP about this latest containment system. What is happening with that oil and that gasoline? I'm Josh Levs, I'm going to tell you all about that at the top of the hour.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange where we're watching the market tumble because of the latest jobs report. I have also got details on a new pricing plan from AT&T that will affect millions of people and could set the standard for the industry. Fredericka, I'll have all that in the next hour.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, everyone.

Plus next hour, exclusive access: taking you to the front lines of the fight to stop the gushing oil in the gulf.

Kyra Phillips went on the rig with the government's man in charge to get an up-close look at what exactly is getting done. She is live with more of her tour with U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)