Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Rallying to Save the Gulf; Investigating BP; Pricey Gubernatorial Race in California
Aired June 08, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen.
Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
One of our iReporters finds more evidence of trouble.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Covered with oil. The difference is this is black oil. This is not like the tar balls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: In California, big money is playing a big role in the race for governor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEG WHITMAN (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You know, what I'm doing is running for governor of California so I can turn this state around. And so what I need to do is, every voter I want to understand where I stand, what I want to do to turn this state around, and that's what it costs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: 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: Yes, Tony. And a little snafu here on the screen, but some of the stories that we're following, a 7- year-old missing in Oregon, and police are questioning. And also, you may not be able to fly to the International Space Station, but NASA is offering to take your picture on their next mission.
HARRIS: All right, Ines. Appreciate it.
Let's get started with our lead story.
Day 50 of the Gulf oil disaster, and BP is siphoning off more of the oil from the leak. The battle is being fought on two fronts, along the beaches and shores of the Gulf Coast, and at the bottom of the Gulf where the oil is still leaking. The government's point man on the disaster gave us all an update today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: Regarding the containment operations with the containment cap, in the last 24-hour period that was from midnight last night until midnight this night, we were able to recover 14,842 barrels. This has climbed steadily from the first day, which you'll remember -- I think the last four days we went from about 6,000 barrels, up to almost 15,000.
We continue to optimize production and make sure we can take as much oil out of that stream as we can right now. One of the four vents on the containment cap is closed at this point, and we continue to monitor it moving forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Louisiana's governor is on the front lines of the Gulf oil fight. Today, he is turning to the Saints' football team to rally support for the region.
CNN's Brian Todd is there to see how people are coping 50 days into this disaster.
And Brian, you're going to introduce us to a woman who was trying her best to maintain her business, but finally just had to throw up her hands and look for some help to earn a living from BP.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony.
We're here with Debbie Ballay. She and her husband actually built the Venice marina, what, 25 years ago or so? And sold the business years ago, but her two sons actually run charter fisher boat businesses here.
Debbie, I guess, tell us, what's happened to your sons' business since the oil spill?
DEBBIE BALLAY, VENICE, LOUISIANA, RESIDENT: Well, they probably haven't had three phone calls in the past six weeks. Their phones just totally quit ringing, except for people canceling trips.
TODD: And right now they've been essentially forced to work for BP in this Vessel of Opportunity program, right?
BALLAY: Right. That's the only thing, because they have closed all the fishing waters. So they can't even take their boats out with rod and reels on it.
TODD: And does it even begin to make up for some of the income they've lost?
BALLAY: Well, it's helping them, but it's not anything what they make normally, because this, right now, is their prime season. June, July, August is prime fishing, and unfortunately all those months we're going to be closed down. And we don't know. It may be six months, it may be three years before they get it cleaned up and reopened again. So, I really don't know where it's going to go from here.
TODD: And they've been told by BP that this job with BP is not going to last forever either, right?
BALLAY: Right. Yes, they can't guarantee them anything. They told them, I think, probably, until at least January, and from then on we don't know. It will probably be a day-by-day or a month-by-month situation.
TODD: And even just an event like this, a morale booster with the Saints coming into town and kind of touring around this area with Governor Jindal, that still means a lot to this parish that's been devastated by this spill, right?
BALLAY: Oh, it is. This is the highlight. If it wasn't for something like this, people would really be seriously down, depressed, stuff like that. But since everyone found out the Saints were coming down here, it's just been like Super Bowl Sunday all over again.
TODD: Debbie, thank you very much. Best of luck to you and your family.
BALLAY: Thank you.
TODD: Tony, it really does mean a lot. The Saints did a lot for this area after Hurricane Katrina. They've really boosted morale in the last few years.
The fact that that they're coming here means a lot to the parish. This parish has been completely devastated by this oil spill. Debbie's story is a microcosm of it.
The players are going to be touring right now a facility here that basically rehabilitates soiled wildlife. They're going to watch them cleaning birds and other things, and then they're going to come out and talk to the crowd. But a very much needed morale boost here by the New Orleans Saints.
HARRIS: Boy, we are hoping for the best for Debbie, her family, and so many others who have just been devastated by this disaster.
Brian, good to see you. Thank you, man.
I've got to tell you, we are getting more of your iReports of oil on the Gulf Coast beaches.
Mike McCugh sent us this video from Perdido Key, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE MCHUGH, CNN IREPORTER: Just a couple minutes of working on the beach, and this is what we found, flotsam covered with oil. The difference is this is black oil. This is not like the tar balls. You can see the difference -- brown and the black oil. You can see it covered all over here. It's all over the driftwood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: That is just nasty.
President Obama supports lifting the cap on damages against oil companies following a spill. The current limit is $75 million. The president is also stepping up the war of words in defending his administration's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there, standing in the rain, talking about what a potential crisis this could be. And I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talked to these folks because they potentially had the best answers so I know whose ass to kick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK.
One way the president can know whose -- well, who to go after a criminal investigation into BP's role in the disaster.
Maggie Lake talks a former U.S. attorney general who's been there, done that, and knows just what it could mean for BP.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD THORNBURGH, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Those incremental changes are just as rewarding as the big story.
Dick Thornburgh is no stranger to the big story. Now a lawyer in Washington, D.C., he served in the administration of George Bush Sr. As attorney general, he oversaw the investigation into the Exxon Valdez disaster when a tanker leaked 11 million gallons of oil into the sea in 1989.
THORNBURGH: By pursuing criminal charges in this case, the federal government is sending a strong signal that environmental crimes will not be tolerated.
LAKE: After a year of wrangling, Exxon eventually pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
THORNBURGH: I think there's a justifiable concern about reputational damage. No one likes to be branded as a felon or a criminal.
Your task is really to go where the evidence leads. You know, you don't go any further, you don't stop short. LAKE: As the environmental crisis in the Gulf deepens and political pressure mounts, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, last week, announced he, too, was conducting a criminal investigation.
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: If we find evidence of illegal behavior, we will be extremely forceful in our response.
LAKE: The Justice Department is looking into violations of some of the same laws breached in the Exxon Valdez case.
DAVID UHLMANN, ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PROFESSOR: For the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, if the oil spill affects migratory birds, which it already has, there's a crime. Under the Refuse Act, if the oil reaches U.S. waters, which it already has, there's a crime. So, both of those charges, strict liability charges, have already been proven.
LAKE: Environmentalists may be confident, but criminal charges impose a greater burden of proof on prosecutors than civil. And some firms such as big tobacco have fought all the way.
But news of the probe and uncertainty over the crisis have already shaved tens of billions of dollars off BP's market value, and some believe BP may want to move quickly to put this ugly chapter behind it.
THORNBURGH: My experience would lead me to think that there would be a tendency to want to settle these cases rather than go through a full-blown trial. Simply, that corporations are in business to do business, not conduct litigation.
UHLMANN: I don't think BP will fight these charges. The last thing BP wants is to relive what's been going on, on the Gulf, the last several weeks in a U.S. courtroom. It would be a losing fight. It would be a bad publicity hit for them.
LAKE: Something BP shareholders do not want to see happen.
Maggie Lake, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: More than $100 million spent in the race for governor of California, and this is just the primaries. Republicans with deep pockets throwing their personal cash into the contest. We're live in Burbank for that.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Our "Random Moment of the Day," a woman desperate for love.
She's got her share of dogs, right? But Audrey Scott was not interested in puppy love. The Ohio woman wanted a man, a full-on man, and she needed help. So she called 911 five times. It landed her in jail for three days.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AUDREY SCOTT, CALLED 911 FOR A HUSBAND: Get me that husband.
OPERATOR: You need to get a husband?
SCOTT: Yes.
OPERATOR: You're calling 911 to get a husband?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTI KLIMES, 911 DISPATCHER: We've heard everything but then somebody like this comes along and you're still, like, oh my gosh, she did not just ask for that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you, in fact, looking for a husband?
SCOTT: I had too much to drink. I was feeling bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Her bad feeling, our "Random Moment."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, we are watching primary elections in 12 states today. Anti-incumbent sentiment being put to the test in several crucial contests, including South Carolina, where six-term Republican Representative Bob Inglis is trying to fend off challengers who have made the race a referendum on his vote to bailout the nation's banks.
And in Arkansas, two-term Democrat Blanche Lincoln could become the third incumbent senator ousted in the primary season. Lincoln battling Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter in a runoff election.
The two Republican candidates for governor of California, my goodness, have spent $100 million of their own money.
CNN National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin looks at the pricey campaigns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Meg Whitman is formidable. Former eBay CEO, self-made billionaire, she's invested $70 million of her own fortune in her campaign to be California's governor.
WHITMAN: We can make the Golden State golden again. YELLIN: Add in spending by her chief rival, state insurance commissioner Steve Poizner, and the avalanche of cash tops $100 million. That's a new record for spending in a state primary. So, what does that look like?
NARRATOR: Do you like Arnold?
NARRATOR: Steve Poizner says California's heading over a cliff. Guess who was driving when it happened?
YELLIN: It's not all attack ads. They have debated what to do about the state's $19 billion budget deficit, 12.6 percent unemployment and approximately 2.6 million illegal immigrants.
In these closing days, second-place Poizner has tried to put Whitman on the defensive over immigration.
STEVE POIZNER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm the one who supports the Arizona immigration law.
YELLIN: She has stepped up her get-tough language, but refused to embrace the controversial Arizona law --
WHITMAN: My plan in California, I think, is better suited for California.
YELLIN: -- no doubt with an eye on the state's Latino general election voters.
One issue that won't die for Whitman, why is she spending all that money?
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Rich enough to rule!
YELLIN: She's been dogged by union-backed protesters calling her, "Queen Meg" trying to buy democracy.
(on camera): And that kind of money could have hired more than 700 police officers, more than 750 teachers. Does that bother you?
WHITMAN: Well, you know, what I'm doing is running for governor of California so I can turn this state around. And so what I need to do is, every voter, I want to understand where I stand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin joining us now from a polling station in Burbank, California.
Jessica, good to see you.
So, Meg Whitman isn't the only well-financed executive running for office in California. We know that former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina is running for Senate.
How is that race shaping up? YELLIN: That's right. Fiorina has put in $5.5 million of her own money into her race, and she is polling well ahead of the field. She's expected to win today, but here's what's interesting, Tony.
Republicans had been very hopeful that they could defeat Barbara Boxer, who has been a Democratic senator from the state for 18 years. While polls show Fiorina winning the primary, they say she would lose to Barbara Boxer at this stage, whereas one of the more moderate Republicans in this race, polls show he would have beaten Barbara Boxer.
Now, I asked Fiorina about all this. She is confident that she can take on the longtime Democratic incumbent.
It's going to be a very, very tough race. Fiorina has positioned herself as a "true conservative" and a "true political outsider," not in favor of abortion rights, in favor of offshore drilling, very opposed to any more gun control laws. All those position quite out of step with many California voters, so it is going to be a ferocious race and another very expensive one. California is going to be a state to watch.
HARRIS: Yes, ,I think you're absolutely right about that. Jessica, good to see you. Thank you.
And stay with the best political team on television throughout the evening for election results from today's primaries.
President Obama, today, returned his focus to health care. Just last hour, the president visited a senior center in Wheaton, Maryland. You saw it here live. The president's town hall meeting was aimed at helping seniors avoid scams and fraud, and in reassuring them about the future of their coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Eligibility won't change. Medicare will continue to cover your costs the way it always has.
If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. In fact, we're taking steps to increase the number of primary care physicians so that seniors get the care that they need. And I'm committed to reforming the way in which we compensate doctors under Medicare, because right now it doesn't make any sense. I don't think some of you may be aware of the fact where we have got this patchwork systems where Medicare doctors each year have to see if they're going to get reimbursed properly or not, and we've got to change that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: No cameras in the courtroom during the Rod Blagojevich trial. No problem. The former governor has a plan to get all of us into the courtroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Checking top stories now.
Fifty days and still counting. BP says it has collected close to two million gallons of oil in the last four days. The president is backing plans to lift the cap on damages oil companies must pay following a spill. It is currently set at $75 million.
Opening statements today in the federal trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Blagojevich is taking to Twitter to proclaim his innocence. He is asking followers on the site to join in the campaign to clear his name.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he doesn't expect the economy to fall back into a recession, but investors remain jittery over the global outlook, especially the European debt crisis and the plunging euro.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: The evidence appears to be really piling up against Joran van der Sloot. He is the longtime suspect, as you know, in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, now accused of murder in Peru. A look at the case against him, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, within the hour we may see Joran van der Sloot heading back to a hotel in Lima, Peru, this time in handcuffs. Police say he has confessed to killing a 21-year-old woman in the room where he was staying, and they want to reconstruct the crime.
Last hour, I talked with "In Session" legal contributor Midwin Charles from our sister network, truTV, about these developments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIDWIN Charles, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION": There is video surveillance of Joran van der Sloot with this young woman coming in and out of hotels, where they met at the casino, the timing of it, and the fact that he fled, which is really one of the most damaging pieces of evidence against him.
HARRIS: That's an idea of consciousness of guilt?
CHARLES: It is. It's consciousness of guilt, and it's one of the things that they could have used against him had he gone to trial.
Now, Peru, being incredibly different from the United States with their legal procedures, the trial could have lasted for years, because their processes are entirely different. But it certainly shows consciousness of guilt.
HARRIS: Do the developments in this case open Van der Sloot up for prosecution on the Natalee Holloway case? What do you think here?
CHARLES: Well, I'm almost certain that the Aruban police will probably reopen the missing persons file and take another look at it. I'm sure that they may try to even try to question Joran and find out if he could shed some light on her disappearance.
As you do know, he's been indicted in some extortion charges here, where he's been trying to extort money from some family members of Natalee Holloway in Alabama. He's received about $15,000 thus far. So, the U.S. Marshals and the plane ticket for the United States will be waiting for him after he serves his sentence in Peru.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. And also last hour, we saw Natalee Holloway's mother officially open a center in her daughter's memory. The Natalee Holloway Resource Center is designed to help families of missing people and give advice to students about traveling safely.
Fifty days, and oil still gushing in the Gulf. No solution yet from BP to stop the gusher, right? But we are showcasing your best ideas. Your best ideas.
Our Josh Levs will show you the Web sites to use. That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Fifty days and still gushing. BP hasn't found a way to end the oil disaster in the Gulf. Far from it. Until something actually works, CNN will introduce ideas every day from scientists, inventors and even viewers like you. Here's a pretty clever one using hay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as getting it out of the water. This is - I ran it on all kinds of (INAUDIBLE) these last few days. This right here is about as green and as about as simple as it gets. This is just in a few minutes. Now pay no attention to what's around the edge. There ain't no (INAUDIBLE) edges, so this is (INAUDIBLE) come around, flop around in the waves. I missed a little hay right there. Look what's attached to it. With a quarter of a pound of dry hay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: How about that, huh? Darryl Carpenter joining me live from Destin, Florida.
Darryl, good to see you.
It looks like you've got something cooking there. How did you come up with this idea of using hay to sop up some of this oil?
DARRYL CARPENTER, V.P., CW ROBERTS CONTRACTING: We're a major road construction company in Florida, CW Roberts, and we use a lot of hay in our business on the roadsides for mulch. And we were thinking of ways to help with the oil spill and I called our subcontractor Otis Goodson, of Goodson Contracting, and talked to him about maybe putting some water in a bucket and pouring some oil in it and we got plenty of hay, let's see what it will do. So he did it, calls me up and says, you aren't going to believe it. He said it just soaked all the hay up - all the oil up.
HARRIS: Now how large a scale have you actually tested this cleanup technique on? How large a scale?
CARPENTER: We've done it in a little small pond in our office yard is as big as we've done it.
HARRIS: OK.
CARPENTER: We'd like to get out on the ocean and try it out there, but we haven't had a chance yet.
HARRIS: OK. Well, that's my next question. Would you use this just along the coast line or potentially could you use this technique farther out on the ocean?
CARPENTER: We think it would work farther out. The fresher the oil, we think the hay would absorb it better. We'd like to be right on top of the spill doing it. We want the oil as far away from the beach as we can possibly get it.
HARRIS: That makes all the sense in the world. Can you get enough hay to make a significant impact here?
CARPENTER: We think so. We've had calls from all over the country with hay. Had calls as far away as California. A guy called me said he had 65,000 acres of hay in California ready to come this way. So we don't think the hay is a problem.
HARRIS: Well, Darryl, you know, Bill Nye, the science guy, has weighed in on your idea. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL NYE, "THE SCIENCE GUY": As you may know, I used to work very briefly at a company that skimmed oil slicks. So I'm going to take a look at some of the i-Report videos and look at the ideas that all of you've had to help these engineers solve this problem to seal this leak on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
CARPENTER: We think, first of all, that you could actually disperse it all on the spill that's out there now. It will soak up the oil there now. If you've got skimmers to come along and skim up the hay or you could use the shrimp boats out there with their nets to pick it back up or something along that line. Oil, if it washes up on the shore, it's going to be just like seaweed. When you take conventional beach cleaning equipment and you just pick it up.
NYE: They're suggesting hay. Hay might work pretty well too. And oil just sticks to that material. Just sticks to it. If you can get that stuff out there and that's what when I worked in -- on oil slick skimming boats, that's what we used. And so hay might work. It's just, once again, you need a lot of hay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Hey, Darryl, boy you got to feel pretty good. Bill Nye says it's a good idea.
CARPENTER: Yes, sir, we think it will work. We just like to go out there and try it.
HARRIS: Have you spoken to BP about your idea?
CARPENTER: We have submitted, through the BP submittal process, and we just got a generic response from it. We've got a lot of other products too that we think will work very well. Some fiber products that absorb oil very well. I think you saw that in the video also.
HARRIS: Can you get enough of hay - can you get enough hay to make a significant dent in the problem here do you think?
CARPENTER: Yes, sir. Between the hay and other products, we can make a significant dent in the problem.
HARRIS: Well, Darryl, good luck with this. I think - well, we know the White House is watching and perhaps BP is as well and maybe we can get the word out and get you the hay you need and get you to helping the situation. But thanks for your time today.
CARPENTER: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.
HARRIS: Yes, my pleasure. Darryl Carpenter. He's got a good idea. Bill Nye "The Science Guy" thinks it's a good idea. So let's get it going. Let's get it in the system. Let's get it working.
So where do you go if you've got a pretty good gut feeling about an idea that you think just might end this crisis. There's Josh Levs. And he's got some pointers for you.
Good to see you, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good to see you too.
Yes, there's a new website you should know about. Actually a couple of them, including one right here at CNN. But I'm going to start off with this one that you should know, deepwaterhorizonresponse.com. And this is organized by authorities. It says right here, official site of the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command.
And what they're doing now is giving you an easy way to submit your suggestions. And they say they're going to look at all of them. There's a suggestions button right at the top of the page. Just click on it. It will get you there.
Also, it brings you over to this form. It's got more information. It's called Alternative Technology Response Form. It allows you to fill this out, get in all your ideas this way.
Now, take a look here. BP's main site, bp.com, has had a phone number for you all along and ways you can write in through this website. And they say that over time they are looking at the thousands and thousands of ideas that get submitted there. Now, the one you should know about from us has just gone up, ireport.com/fixit. And we're getting a lot of responses here, Tony. A lot of people sending in their ideas. There's one video we got that I want to show you right now by a man in Loganville, Georgia, whose two children are showcasing his idea. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATHAN WEBB (ph): Good morning. My name is Nathan Webb and I'm a fifth grader.
MILEY WEBB (ph): And my name is Miley Webb and I am a fourth grader. We are here to demonstrate the buoyancy plug. We believe this is the best way to plug the oil leak in the Gulf.
N. WEBB: Here we demonstrate the blowout protector with the oil gushing out. By using a buoyancy plug, we are able to apply sufficient force to plug the leak. The downward force is created by using air filled buoyant containers below the surface of the water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right, you can see more of that right now at ireport.com/fixit.
HARRIS: I love it.
LEVS: You know, I love this. And whether these ideas work or not, do you know right now so many kids around this country are getting some serious science lessons.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
LEVS: So all those links are up for you. I'm going to actually, when I'm off the air here, I'll go post them. You can show my graphic. I'm going to post them for you on my FaceBook page, JoshLevsCNN. I will tweet them out, JoshLevsCNN. And I'll get them up at the blog too, cnn.com/josh. Or the world's most important website, cnn.com/tony. We'll have all those links for you in just a couple of minutes.
HARRIS: I love those babies coming up with ideas.
LEVS: That's great.
HARRIS: Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Take a look at this. Flames shooting into the air. You'll see it in a second here. Wow, look at that. The fire so hot, crews couldn't get anywhere near it. A gas pipeline explodes in Texas. Boy. These pictures and the rest of the story coming up for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: We're into day 50 of the Gulf oil disaster. And as you know, this is a battle that's being waged on two fronts. Let's get this going here. Almost a mile under water, BP is siphoning off more of the oil from its ruptured well, but it still has to completely cap it, right? And more people are being hired to help clean up all of the oil that is now washing up on the beaches.
Let me close this down and get you to Texas as we check -- double click that. Triple click that, Tony. Let's roll the video as we check other top stories now. One person was killed and at least five others injured when a natural gas pipeline exploded in east Texas. We'll try it again here. A crew was working on the line when it ruptured. The flames were so hot, fire crews could only get as close as 600 yards.
And the government has set up a new health care task force. It's known as HEAT. President Obama says the broad-fighting unit will crack down on people taking advantage of senior citizens.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Do we have the pictures up right now? Great. We've got an aerial view of one of the federal court buildings in downtown Atlanta right now. And we're getting reports - let me attribute this to one of our local stations here in Atlanta, WSB. Parts of Ivan Allen Drive in downtown Atlanta closed. The reason why? We're getting reports that a grenade has been found inside the Atlanta Federal Building.
Let me see if there's more information I can share with you. Atlanta Police Spokesman Otis Redmond is reporting that officers received a report of a grenade at a federal building. This is the 700 block of West Peachtree Street downtown Atlanta. And we understand the building has been evacuated.
All the information that we have right now you can see there is a bit of a perimeter that has been set up. And it is clear that that building has been evacuated.
Let's do this. Let's keep an eye on that situation. Police and fire on the scene. We will keep an eye on this situation and get you additional updates. Not too far from the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. We will probably hustle someone up and over there shortly. As we get more information, we'll certainly update this story for you.
Let's see, can we get the feed? OK. We're going to try to get the local feed here up so that we can share with you the reporting from our local affiliate WSB. I think we have the line up. Let's listen in.
OK. All right. OK, it happens. They just went away. Let's get some more information, take a quick break and we'll update this story in just a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Want to give you the latest information that we have here. (INAUDIBLE), take that picture full, please.
We're following developments at one of the federal buildings in downtown Atlanta. Not very far from the CNN Center. One of the federal buildings that has been evacuated right now and at this point this is the only building that we are aware of that's been evacuated. I should point that out.
Police are reporting that a grenade was found at this particular federal building. And you're probably more familiar, if you're familiar with downtown Atlanta, with the Sam Nunn Federal Courthouse building. This is not the building. This is a different federal building in downtown Atlanta. Just off of Ivan Allen Drive in downtown.
And the building has been evacuated. You see a couple of fire trucks on hand. You see some vehicles in the immediate proximity of the building. And you can imagine that police are on the scene as well.
We can tell you that the building has been evacuated. I would imagine that a tactical squad is on the scene. The bomb squad would be on the scene to deal with that situation. And the report coming from Atlanta Police Spokesman Otis Redmond is that officers received a report -- just to clarify that, did we lose - oh, that's the sinkhole in Atlanta. Did we lose the live? We lost the live signal? OK.
So we just lost the live signal from WSB's helicopter flying over the federal court building that has been evacuated. We'll try to get that back up in just a couple of minutes. And, guys, let me know if we've - OK, we're got - we're going to turn around some tape of the scene right now. But again, police spokesman, APD Spokesman Otis Redmond, reporting that officers received a report of a grenade at the federal building in the 700 block of West Peachtree Street. There are a million Peachtree Streets in Atlanta. But we should tell you that West Peachtree is major street here in downtown Atlanta.
Again, the building has been evacuated. You can see fire trucks on the scene. Police there as well. We would imagine a tactical team, the bomb squad there as well dealing with this situation.
And let's do this. We're trying to round up any additional information. Trying to get to Spokesman Redmond to get the very latest on this.
But that's what we have at this point. This building has been evacuated. We'll continue to follow developments here and bring you the latest information as we get it. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. A quick break and we're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Right now we are continuing to follow developments here. We've got a suspicious package in downtown Atlanta at a federal building. It looks like our local station is going to weather coverage right now. You can see their helicopter shot right now. This is WSB in Atlanta. One of our CNN affiliates covering this story right now. We've got a suspicious package. The earlier information had been that police here in Atlanta had received reports of a grenade in that particular building. Now it's being termed again as a suspicious package. We can tell you that if you're wondering, you know, what offices, what federal offices are in that building, Joe, you just mentioned the IRS is in that building? OK. And, again, I have to attribute all of this to our local affiliate, WSB, reporting that one of the offices housed in that federal building, one of the offices is the IRS.
So here's where we stand right now. I'm not even sure of exactly when this happened, but the Atlanta Police Department, Otis Redmond is the public information officer for APD, reporting that APD received a report of a suspicious package first termed a grenade and later, and now being called a suspicious package in the federal building in downtown Atlanta. This is not the Sam Nunn Federal Courthouse structure, but another federal building in downtown Atlanta.
Shortly after that report came in, the building was evacuated. And you can see that the fire department is on the scene. That building looks to be all quiet. No indications that there were any problems at all with the evacuation.
A wider view of the building right now. You can imagine that a perimeter has been set up around the building. We understand that a tactical squad and the tactical team, I understand, is on the scene as well. And we've been able to confirm now that the IRS is housed in that building.
And Otis Redmond is on the phone with us. Spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department.
Otis, great to talk to you. If you would, fill in some gaps here. When did Atlanta Police get the call reporting a suspicious package?
OTIS REDMOND, ATLANTA POLICE (via telephone): We actually got the call into us about 11:55, 11:45, 11:55.
HARRIS: And if you would, tell us how your office moved on that report?
REDMOND: Well, actually, what we're doing right now, our Atlanta Police SWAT team and the (INAUDIBLE) SWAT team, the bomb squad, are here right now and our guys are suiting up to go in and take a look at this package.
The package was discovered by some of the West Peachtree building personnel. The security that works on the x-ray machines. The mail - the package did go through the x-ray machine. The individual who was on the x-ray machine noticed that something in it looked out of place, (INAUDIBLE) his suspicion of it, and that's where we are right now. We're actually trying to determine, to get a detained description of what that item, object is that's inside the machine right now.
HARRIS: OK. If you would, give us an idea of the resources that you've deployed here. We're seeing in the wide shot from WSB's helicopter that you've got firefighters and fire trucks on scene as well. If you would, give us an idea of the resources you've deployed to handle this situation in downtown Atlanta.
REDMOND: Well, right now, of course, we have the Atlanta Police Department. We have the Marta (ph) Transit Police Department here, who have a canine and a bomb squad also assisting. We have the Federal Police Department, Federal Protective Service. We have a Homeland Security and we also have the Atlanta Fire Department also. And I'm sure - I have not - I can't confirm but I have seen a couple of FBI personnel walk by also. So I'm sure they're here somewhere in the crowd.
HARRIS: Well, Otis, I got to tell you, it looks like you -- if this happened shortly after 11:00, it looks like you guys did a really good job of evacuating that building. What is the next step now? Do you send in the bomb squad, the tech team, to take a look at this? And how long before they're suited up and in the building?
REDMOND: Well, yes, sir, that's - like I just said earlier before, we are actually in the process right now of getting our bomb techs prepared to go in the building. They are actually putting on their protective equipment. They're going to be equipped with their cameras, the bomb tools and that's what we're waiting on right now, for them to go in and actually get a more detailed description and relay that to us here at the command center.
HARRIS: Just to give us an idea of how efficiently you were able to evacuate that building, how many floors -- we can't really tell -- how many floors are there?
REDMOND: No, I really can't tell. The fire department normally would probably handle that. That would probably be some more information - you'd probably get more detailed information as far as t hat. But I'm sure that their - that their building management has some type of emergency contingent plan in effect to evacuate the building. I'm looking at the building now. If I had to give a rough estimate, I would probably say it's about 17 or 18 stories.
HARRIS: That's good. Hey, Otis, and, again, we're speaking with Otis Redmond. He is the spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department on the scene of the suspicious package in one of the federal buildings in downtown Atlanta.
Otis, one more quick question for you here. The initial reports indicated that the suspicious package was a grenade. Can you confirm that for us?
REDMOND: No, sir, we cannot confirm that. We have heard that. But like I said before, until we can get in and get our people inside to actually look at the package and give us a detailed description of it, right now we are addressing it as a suspicious package at this time.
HARRIS: OK. Otis, let's leave it there. We appreciate it.
