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Weather & the Oil Slick; BP Exec Tours Disaster Zone; Border Shooting Cell Phone Video
Aired June 10, 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: 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.
Some beaches along the Gulf Coast carry warnings about the oil but that isn't keeping people away from the sand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were more people out here telling us stay out of the water, stay out of the water. There's one sign posted. That's not enough for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Michael Jackson died a year ago this month. Today his brother Randy joins me for his first interview since that day to talk about his efforts to keep Michael's charitable legacy alive.
And you are online right now and we are, too. Ines Ferre is following the top stories trending on the internet -- Ines.
All right. Let's do this. We can't -- we don't have you miked up, Ines. No worries.
Let's get started with our top story right now. Oozing crude claims more territory as the oil disaster in the Gulf stretches into Day 52. Oil reaches the inland waterway along coastal Alabama for the first time. That prompted the Coast Guard to close Perdido Pass, the main water access between the Gulf and the resort town of Orange Beach. Just moments ago we got an update from Admiral Thad Allen. He says he met with BP about speeding up its claims process for compensating people hurt by the oil leak.
And we are heading in to the height of vacation season but the oil threatens to put a damper on trips to the Gulf Coast. Some beachgoers in Florida are seeing signs warning about going into the water. Some say they're not worried. Others want more information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there were more people out here telling us, "Stay out of the water. Stay out of the water." There's one sign posted. That's not enough for me. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I could see a difference, then I would probably -- I wouldn't let her in the water. But it looks the same as it has every other day for the past 20, 25 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. So, concerns for folks.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sure.
HARRIS: Folks want more information.
MYERS: Sure.
HARRIS: You're our information guy, our go-to guy.
What are you seeing? Where is the oil?
MYERS: You know, even if there's a small amount of oil in the water, I don't want my 5-year-old in that water.
HARRIS: I'm with you on that. I'm totally with you.
MYERS: OK? Go swim in the pool.
HARRIS: Right.
MYERS: I love the ocean. Don't get me wrong. I'm a saltwater guy. I just love it.
HARRIS: And there are two groups of people, right? There are pool people and many times there are ocean people. But this time, the ocean people, let's go to the pool.
MYERS: I agree. You know, you just -- and if you take your kids out into the water, all you have to do is just make sure that they get washed off, they get cleaned up.
Tony, the oil is from New Orleans to Biloxi, all the way back to almost the Florida beaches. The deal, what's going on now here, is that we're going to have wind that kind of looks like this for the next couple of days. And so we are going to really pollute these areas that have been polluted before. I don't know whether that's good or bad, but a lot of these areas -- and we're going to talk about these same areas, the Chandeleur Islands, and then back out toward Biloxi, and then you have all of these areas that were hit so very hard with Katrina, like they need more problems. But that's where the oil is going to go for the next couple days.
Because of the long shore current -- the long shore current kind of snakes around, kind of does this going that way. It's kind of slackening off. There's not much current there, and with the wind blowing in this direction for a very long time, that's going to take this oil and just plow it right back into the land area.
So let's just get to a couple of details here. What's going on in Florida? No need to stop going to Florida. All the beaches in Florida are completely open.
Alabama, now, beaches are open, open, open, open, open. But, you have swimming advisories, which means you're going to see oil in the water. You're going to see tar balls near the water.
You probably don't need to be in that water, especially your kids don't need to be in that water, because, you know, Tony, you get a mouthful of water once in a while, you get slapped by a wave, whatever. You don't want that oil in your mouth. You don't want -- you know. That's just -- that goes without saying.
Now, so far, there have been no reports of any significant oil at all in the Florida beaches. And anywhere here from about Pensacola westward, this is where these advisories are going to be.
But these advisories will be day to day. They will be beach to beach. They will be from community to community and commerce -- Chamber of Commerce to Chamber of Commerce.
A lot of people making these decisions. It's not like some guy in the -- the lady in front of NOAA saying close that beach, close that beach, close that beach. There's a lot of thought in here. There's a lot of thought about whether -- and how the livelihoods of these people that live, breathe and own businesses on these beaches, if they're going to survive this season, because it's already been so fragile with the economy so bad already.
HARRIS: Well said.
MYERS: I want mom-and-pop shops to be open next year when I go there.
HARRIS: When you go there.
MYERS: You know?
HARRIS: Good stuff. Chad, appreciate it. Thank you.
MYERS: Take care, dude.
HARRIS: Remembering the 11 who died. President Obama meets next hour with families of the workers killed in the Gulf oil rig explosion.
The White House says the president will express his condolences and discuss ways to improve the safety of deepwater drilling. The families say they will ask the president to support amendments to the Death on the High Seas Act. The changes would provide better benefits for relatives of those killed at sea.
Just a short time ago, I talked with the brother of Gordon Jones, one of the workers killed in the rig explosion. Chris Jones says BP has not reached out to his family since the death of his brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS JONES, BROTHER KILLED IN RIG EXPLOSION: We're not asking them to call us and say we're at fault and it's our responsibility, like they've done with the oil spill. All we're wanting them to do is to reach out and say, you know, we're sorry that your brother is dead. And they haven't done that.
They've actually made every effort to avoid that. I mean, at the hearing two weeks ago, in front of the House Judiciary Committee, there was a BP representative, Daryl Willis (ph), who sat 10 feet away from us for seven hours. He never even looked at us.
HARRIS: Chris, how angry -- I know there are a lot of emotions that you're feeling right now. You're feeling the deep sadness that comes with the loss of a loved one. In your case, a brother, for goodness sakes.
But what are you feelings toward BP? I know it's probably a little complicated, but what are your feelings?
JONES: Well, as an attorney, I know that it's likely going to take a very long time, if ever, for us to find out what really happened. I'm not real thrilled with BP's response to everything.
You know, they're spending millions of dollars on daily advertisements. I was walking the Hill yesterday, and in a political newspaper that goes to all the senators' offices, you know, they've taken out a full-page ad telling people they're going to pay all legitimate claims.
Well, I don't know how many people in D.C. are making claims for the oil spill damage. You know, it's those kind of decisions that I'm not real thrilled about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes.
A BP executive takes an aerial tour of the oil disaster zone and gets a close-up view of efforts to contain the leak.
CNN's John Roberts went along.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOUG SUTTLES, COO, BP: Yes, that's the drill ship Enterprise, so that's the vessel that's right over the top of the well. And that's the vessel that's taking the production from the cap assembly up to the surface. And what you can see, that flare is the gas that's with the oil that's being burned off.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He has flown over the scene many times, but for BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles, this was his first opportunity to actually touch down on the rigs attempting to kill his runaway well. SUTTLES: You're actually looking at something that's never been done before. In fact, we would never have even thought of having this equipment this close together working like this.
ROBERTS: We land on the Development Driller 3, the DD-3, a brand-new rig, seeking the first kill well deep beneath the ocean floor. Immediately, we see a stark reminder of how we got to this point.
(on camera): As you arrive on the Development Driller 3, you're met by this sign. It's a safety sign, days without lost time injury, days without major events. And you come over here, the number is 52. Fifty-two days since the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank.
(voice-over): But we also get our very first ship board look at the first piece of good news since this disaster unfolded.
DOUG SUTTLES, COO, BP: First of all, you can kind of see down here the water. Now, as I can tell you and I was out here right in the days right after it started, this would have been brown oil. So even though it's horrible to look at, it looks a lot better than what it looked like these first few days. And part of it is what's happening right there, which is -- that's sitting right on top of the well. And of course, it was about yesterday, we got 15,000 barrels of oil up through there, and if that hadn't been there, there would have been oil in the sea.
ROBERTS: It's clear that the catastrophe aboard the Deepwater Horizon has had a profound effect on this drilling crew. Brian West shows me one of his remarkable ROVs that serve as the technician's hands and eyes in the crushing depths of the ocean.
(on camera): What can we put on these arms?
BRIAN WEST, TECHNICIAN: Anything you can think of. We put shears, cutters, grinders.
ROBERTS (voice-over): But look on the side of the submarine, and there it is again, Horizon 11.
WEST: The industry is changing because of this event. It's never going to be the same.
ROBERTS (on camera): How do you think it's going to change the industry?
WEST: There will be a lot of safety changes, I'm sure. A lot of procedural changes. Everybody is going to look at drilling these wells and doing these operations totally different.
ROBERTS (voice-over): One difference? There is now an ROV in the water 24/7, keeping careful watch over the relief well's blowout presenter.
James Lusk is the ROV's pilot. A native of Slidell, just north of New Orleans, he takes his professional assignment personally. JAMES LUSK, ROV PILOT: We all live by the coast. Good to see you. I hope to stop it, sir?
ROBERTS (on camera): For all the containment domes, the siphon pipe, the top kill operation, the top cap, what you see behind me on the Discover Enterprise is probably as good as it's going to get until the month of August because the last best chance to kill that well, to stop the oil from coming up from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico rests here with 189 people onboard the DD-3. And to a person, they say, they are committed to make sure the job gets done.
(voice-over): In the driller shack where cameras have not been allowed until now, a highly skilled crew guides a drill down 13,000 feet. They have 5,000 left to go. Their target -- a hole smaller than a dinner plate. A seemingly impossible shot, yet toolpusher Ted Stukenborg says it's a point of pride to hit it on the first try.
TED STUKENBORG, TOOLPUSHER: It weighs on my mind. I know it weighs on a lot of people's minds that this is something we have got to do right. We've got to do it safe, and we've got to do it the first time.
ROBERTS: The work, long hours in the searing heat, for the most part, has been pretty thankless. Few people are saying anything good about the oil industry at the moment. But they press on in extreme conditions to extreme depths.
STUKENBORG: I think a lot of people don't understand, they don't know. And if they understood, if they knew, they probably wouldn't be as hard on us, I think.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: CNN's John Roberts reporting.
Cell phone video sheds light on the shooting death of a Mexican teen by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. A live report straight ahead.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You're going to love this -- really. In today's "Random Moment," solid proof that some things are just meant to be.
Check out this photo, a young girl and her brothers on a visit to Disney World 20 years ago. And there behind them, a young boy and his father.
The two families didn't know each other. They lived thousands of miles apart.
Now fast forward two decades, and here they are again as husband and wife and parents. When Alex and Donna Voutisinas were about to get married, they were going through old family photos and a wedding video. That's when they discovered the shocking picture. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX VOUTISINAS, HUSBAND: They wanted baby pictures of us for our wedding video, and when she pulled that out I was looking at her and her brothers, and then right away I saw the guy in the background looked exactly like my dad. I said, "Wait a second."
DONNA VOUTISINAS, WIFE: I would have never noticed the background. I've seen the pictures throughout the years, and of course I'm just looking at me and my brothers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Brought together by fate. After hearing that story, who can argue with that?
That's our "Random Moment." Come on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We'll be talking to Soledad O'Brien about her special in just a couple of minutes.
Attorney General Eric Holder calls the shooting death of a 14- year-old Mexican boy by a U.S. Border Patrol agent extremely regrettable. His comments coming just a short time ago.
Monday's incident was captured on cell phone video. CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve first brought you this story yesterday. She has an update now from Washington.
And Jeanne, what does this new video show us?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, let's take a look at it again.
What you see is a group of people trying to get into the United States -- apparently, they're Mexicans -- illegally. A Border Patrol officer shows up on a bicycle. They turn back towards the Mexican side and are moving in that direction.
There you see the Border Patrol officer has collared one of them. He appears to be holding up something. We take that to be his gun.
Then there's an edit. After the edit, you do hear a shot or -- one shot or more fired. And you do there see a body on the ground. But we don't know what happened during that period of time that's edited out.
We don't know if rocks were being thrown there. We don't know exactly which shot it was that hit the young man, what he was doing at the time it was fired.
The attorney general was asked about this video this morning, and asked whether the Justice Department will be looking at whether the Border Patrol agent used excessive force in this instance. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, I've only seen a bit of the tape. I've not seen it in its entirety. But that would be something that will obviously be examined as the investigation goes on.
I won't say that will be a critical piece of the investigation, because we don't know what the dimensions of the investigation will be, but that will certainly be a part of what the investigators will look at. The FBI has the lead on the investigation now, and they're the ones who are conducting it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Customs and Border Protection had no comment on the video because this is an ongoing investigation. We do know that there are other cameras in the area, and we know that investigators are looking at what those cameras might hold, whether they have any more specific illustrations of what happened Monday night -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Jeanne, it may be too early to know the answer to this question, but that won't stop me from asking it anyway. Is this incident going to hurt U.S./Mexico cooperation on other issues?
MESERVE: Well, that is a question. The Mexicans are livid, but there was a press conference just a short time ago to announce the results of a bilateral drug investigation called Operation -- excuse me -- Project Deliverance. It resulted in 2,200 arrests, including the arrest of alleged leader of a major heroin trafficking organization.
In addition, there was $154 million in U.S. currency seized, more than 1,000 pounds of meth, 2.5 tons of cocaine, 1,410 pounds of heroin, 69 tons of marijuana, and 501 weapons. And U.S. officials point to that and say this is a mutual benefit. We're certainly hoping and thinking that the cooperation is going to continue -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Jeanne Meserve in Washington for us.
Jeanne, good to see you. Thank you.
We should also tell you we are following the Joran van der Sloot case on several fronts. What's going on in Peru, as well as the extradition case against him by U.S. authorities?
Ines Ferre is back with the very latest.
And that includes a new statement from the accused -- new attorney.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He's got a new attorney, and the attorney spoke to CNN. And he says that he's going to try to suppress the confession that Van der Sloot gave. Maximo Altez told us that he found several violations to the due process. Altez said that while Van der Sloot was questioned and during his confession, Tony, he said that he had a public defense lawyer present, but Van der Sloot hadn't agreed to him. And he calls the public defense attorney a buddy of the cops.
And yesterday, Peruvian authorities said that the reenactment that they were going to do with Van der Sloot in the room where Flores was killed may not happen now, because they may have enough evidence to formally charge him.
HARRIS: OK. I want to turn here, make a quick pivot to the extortion case. And we raised a lot of questions yesterday about the timing of all of this, and videotapes, and what's on the videotape, and whether or not Van der Sloot could have been arrested by authorities.
FERRE: Right. A lot of questions that people had about this extortion case, where Van der Sloot allegedly tried to extort some $250,000 from Natalee Holloway's mom in exchange for information on Holloway's disappearance.
Now, this is what the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office says. They said that, "Despite having been in motion for several weeks at the time of Ms. Flores' death, it" -- the investigation -- "was not sufficiently developed to bring charges prior to the time Van der Sloot left Aruba. They also said that the work outside that they do outside the U.S. is complex.
Now, what we do know about what happened with this investigation is, from authorities, we know that a rep for Natalee Holloway's mom met with Van der Sloot in Aruba in May. Van der Sloot was given some $25,000, some of it in cash. And we're told by a private investigative firm that claims that they were brought into the operation before the FBI took over, that there was actually a videotape, and that he counted the money twice, that there's --
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: And there's some incriminating statements from him on this videotape as well.
FERRE: According to this firm, yes.
HARRIS: I want to see this videotape. Well, everyone does.
Ines, appreciate it. Thank you.
Up next, Anderson Cooper shows us some of the creative ways people are battling the massive oil disaster in the Gulf.
We're back in a moment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: A CNN oil alert.
On day 52 of the disaster in the Gulf, President Obama meets next hour with the families of the 11 workers killed in the oil rig explosion. A short time ago, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen gave us an update. He says he met with BP about speeding up its claims process by people hurt by the oil leak.
And now a new concern in Alabama. Some inland areas just off the coast are seeing oil for the first time.
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: You know, folks are coming up with all kinds of ingenious new ways to clean up the oil in the Gulf.
CNN's Anderson Cooper joined Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for an up-close look at a vacuum that separates the thick muck from the water.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): On East Grand Terre Island, a simple and seemingly successful experiment in cleaning up crude -- a rudimentary vacuum which sucks up oil on the surface of water and sends it to a container on a nearby barge. You would think dozens of vacuums like this have been deployed all over Louisiana for weeks, but they haven't. In fact, there are only a handful being used, and they've only been running for a couple days.
(on camera): When you see this, what do you think?
BOBBY JINDAL (R), GOVERNOR LOUISIANA: This is exactly how we need to be fighting this oil.
COOPER (voice-over): Governor Bobby Jindal and local officials are so fed up waiting for BP to clean up oil, that they've gone ahead and they're testing a few of these vacuums with the help of the National Guard.
JINDAL: We know we've got to use more aggressive, more creative solutions. This is why, and I'm not --
COOPER (on camera): You call this Cajun ingenuity.
JINDAL: Absolutely. This is south Louisiana Cajun ingenuity. You know, the same people that brought you the Higgins boats are now bringing you -- the same people who brought you the New Orleans Saints, the LSU Tigers, are now bringing you this. It's a vacuum truck on the back of a barge.
This isn't a silver bullet, but what we're saying is, this, in combination with the sand dredging, which is another Louisiana idea, in combination with booming only the critical passes, in combination with using dredges and rocks in the main passes, all of those together give you true multiple lines of defense. COOPER (voice-over): So far, the Coast Guard has only authorized the limited use of these vacuums. They can only suck up a few thousand gallons of oil a day. But with larger equipment, and more of it, state officials insist the vacuums could be a big help.
(on camera): Without something to actually suck up this oil, what you're left with essentially are these booms that prevents the oil from spreading further into the marshes. You can see the oil basically congeals here on these thick globs. But in order to actually get rid of this oil, they come in with absorbent pads. That's the method they are using now, but it's a pretty slow method and pretty ineffective.
(voice-over): To pressure BP to start using the vacuums, Governor Jindal brought a group of reporters out today to demonstrate how they work, a photo op to be sure but the governor is willing to try just about anything to get BP's attention.
(on camera): So, Governor, what's your message to BP today?
JINDAL: My bottom line message is we're showing that it works. Let's scale this up quickly, let's not wait. Don't wait for this oil to hit the coastline.
The plans they've got are not enough. This idea that they're just going to come out with absorbent pads or they're going to eventually send shallow water skimmers is not enough or that they're just going to leave the oil here is not enough.
They've got to fight this oil before it comes on our coastline. My message is this is a war and the way we win this war is to throw everything we've got to keep this oil out of the wetlands.
COOPER: How frustrating is it that, you know, 50 plus days into this, it's coming down to you coming out here with the National Guard and kind of jerry-rigging the system?
JINDAL: You know at the end of the day, we said all along, we're not waiting for others to come rescue us. We've got to protect our coast. The people that live down here, that work down here, and know what's at stake, this is our way of life.
And look, it is frustrating, as we get whole day after day there'll be more skimmers tomorrow and more boom tomorrow. We say enough is enough. We're not waiting for all that.
COOPER (voice-over): He may not want to wait any longer but to vacuum this oil on a larger scale, he does have to get further approval from the Coast Guard and somehow convince BP to pick up the tab.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, Grand Terre Island, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And tonight at 10:00 Eastern, a special edition of "ANDERSON COOPER 360," "The Gulf Oil Catastrophe," the cause, response and the toll on the environment, economy, and the people. When and how will the recovery begin? Live from the Gulf tonight at 10:00 Eastern Time.
Randy Jackson in the house, the baby brother of the Jackson clan, live, next, in the CNN NEWSROOM. Find out what he is doing to carry on the mission of his beloved brother Michael. And as the anniversary of his death approaches, his thoughts about his brother, next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Healing the world, it was the late Michael Jackson's mission, and it has been taken up by Randy Jackson and the rest of the Jackson siblings.
Recently, Randy Jackson donated $60,000 in the hopes of saving 11-year-old Treasure Dearsaw's life. Treasure has a rare condition called vascular malformation, a lesion on her tongue that has become a life-threatening condition.
Here is Randy meeting Treasure for the first time after announcing the gift.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY JACKSON, MUSICIAN: She's so wonderful. She's so cute. And I'll do whatever I can to see that smile on her face again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you first notice this lesion on her tongue?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was 5.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five years old?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Five years old. And it was a discoloration on her tongue.
So I contacted children's hospital. We talked to Dr. Crockett (ph) on the phone. And we came down.
We did the MRI, and Dr. Crockett (ph) pretty much gave me the option of removing her tongue. He said, "I can't do anything else for you."
If I could save my little girl's tongue and give her the gift of speech and, you know, prolong her life, then, you know, that's what I have to fight to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's what we hope we can provide here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Terrific stuff.
Randy Jackson is here.
And, Randy, good to see you.
JACKSON: Good to see you.
HARRIS: You know, we're going to talk about a number of topics in our time together. We'll do this segment and then one other with you.
We are certainly going to talk -- but hang on just a second.
Is that tape of the president that we're going to take in just a moment?
OK.
I'm getting an indication that we may have to break away, but we're going to come back.
JACKSON: OK.
HARRIS: President Obama is meeting with Senate leaders to talk about steps forward with regard to BP. So we'll talk about that as soon. As the tape comes up, we will take it. It's here now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'm going to be relatively brief in summarizing.
Obviously, at the top of our list was our continued response to the crisis in the Gulf and what's happening with the oil spill. We gave them an update on all the measures that are being taken, the single largest national response in the United States history to an environmental disaster. But we had a frank conversation about the fact that the laws that have been in place have not been adequate for a crisis of this magnitude.
The Oil Pollution Act was passed at a time when people didn't envision drilling four miles under the sea for oil. And so it's going to be important that, based on facts, based on experts, based on a thorough examination of what went wrong here and where things have gone right, but also where things have gone wrong, that we update the laws to make sure that the people in the Gulf, the fishermen, the hotel owners, families who are dependent for their livelihoods in the Gulf, that they are all made whole and that we are in a much better position to respond to any such crisis in the future. So that was a prominent part of the discussion. I was pleased to see bipartisan agreement that we have to deal with that in an aggressive, forward- leaning way.
Even as we deal with that crisis, we've still got an economy that's on the mend, but there are a lot of people out there who are still out of work. There are a lot of families who are still struggling to pay the bills. And so a major part of our discussion was, how could we continue to build on the progress that's been made in the economy and, in particular, how can we make sure that that has an impact on job growth and the day-to-day improvements that people are seeing in their own lives? A couple of things that we discussed was passing the package of tax extenders and unemployment insurance and so forth that is important to give families confidence that they're going to be able to get back on their feet, but also give businesses confidence in terms of what their tax structure is going to look like going forward.
A prominent area that we want to see movement on hopefully in this work period is on small businesses. They are the primary drivers of jobs in our economy. We are still seeing problems for small businesses when it comes to being able to obtain loans to expand or hire new people or just maintain their inventories. And so we've got a package of measures that's been worked on by - on a bipartisan basis that would help in terms of capitalizing small firms that would eliminate capital gains taxes for start-ups and small businesses. Those measures need to be put in place. We need to get that done because the work of repairing this economy is not complete.
We think that it is important during this work period to finish the financial regulatory bill. The financial markets, I think, deserve certainty. But, more importantly, in my mind, consumers and the American people deserve to know that there is a regulatory framework that is in place that protects consumers, investors, ordinary folks, and assures taxpayers that they never again are put in a position where they've got to bail out somebody because of their irresponsible acts. And we also think that it's important to complete a supplemental -- a package that ensures that our young men and women who are in uniform fighting in Afghanistan get all the support that they need.
So we're going to have a busy agenda going forward. There are some immediate things that we have to deal with. There are also some medium and long-term issues that we discussed that have to be dealt with. One that was prominent was the issue of how we deal with debt and deficits. And there were actually some very constructive conversations around the table about ways that we could start making significant progress, not necessarily even waiting for the financial commission on some steps.
For example, I've already called for a three-year freeze on discretionary spending. There was good conversation among the leadership in terms of how we adhere to that number. And there were some other creative suggestions, both from Republican and Democrats about further progress that we could make on that front.
In that same category of thinking about the next generation, I want to close by just talking about my personal belief that we have to move on an energy agenda that is forward looking, that creates jobs, that assures that we are leaders in solar and wind and biodiesel, that recognizes that we are going to be reliant on fossil fuels for many years to come, that we are going to still be using oil, we're still going to be using other fossil fuels, but that we have to start planning now and putting the infrastructure in place now, putting the research and development in place now so that we end up being leaders in our energy future. I'm actually going to have a group of CEOs this afternoon to come in from a wide range of different industries, people from Bill Gates of Microsoft to the former chairman of Dupont, who have come up with a series of recommendations about how we need to move much more aggressively on the energy agenda. And although obviously our immediate task is to deal with a crisis that is affecting millions of people down in the Gulf, we can't keep our eye off the importance of having an energy policy that meets the needs of the next generation and ensures that the United States is the leader when it comes to energy policy. We are not yet that leader. And that's what I want us to be.
And so I very much appreciate all the leaders here today who have been very constructive in wanting to explore how we can move that forward. All right?
Thank you very much, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: There you go, President Obama meeting with congressional leaders right now to give them an update on the government's response to the oil disaster in the Gulf. And as you heard earlier in the hour from Admiral Thad Allen, a big push right now is to get BP to settle claims more quickly so that BP can get checks into the hands of people who are so impacted by the disaster in the Gulf.
When we come back, I'll be talking with Michael Jackson's brother, Randy, about continuing his brother's legacy of charitable giving and how that fits into the family's humanitarian mission. That and more in just a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Healing the world. It was the late Michael Jackson's mission and it has been taken up by Randy Jackson and the rest of the Jackson siblings. Recently Randy Jackson donated $60,000 in the hopes of saving 11-year-old Treasure Deersaw's (ph) life. Randy Jackson is here.
Randy, look, tell me why you took on this cause. Why you decided you wanted to help little Treasure. And get beyond, look, I'm driving back home and I stop and I see this story and I'm moved. Tell me why you took this gesture, because a lot of people saw the story, and how this fits into this family's humanitarian mission.
JACKSON: Well, first, let me thank you for allowing me to be here and it's a pleasure meeting you.
HARRIS: Well, it's good to talk to you, man.
JACKSON: It's good to talk to you.
When I saw her story on the news, it penetrated my heart when she said to her mom that she was afraid she was going to die. And there's a -- she has a paper pinned up on her wall in her room that says "still alive." And I said, I have to do what I can to help this little girl.
Something that we've always done, something, of course, that my brother did all of his career and something that we stand for, just continuing what we do.
HARRIS: Yes. Will you be moving forward with more efforts like this? Will the family continue to pick up this torch and run with it?
JACKSON: Yes. We've spent a lot of our careers giving back. We've had a lot of success. God has been good to us. But I think there's another calling. And I've been discussing this with my brothers to get more involved with philanthropic charitable work.
HARRIS: Here's the amazing thing. You decide you want to help Treasure, which in essence is helping her doctors save her life.
JACKSON: That's right.
HARRIS: Dr. Conrad Murray, in essence, when you cut through all of it, is charged with not doing enough to protect and even save your brother's life. So where do things stand in the investigation? What do you think of how the investigation is progressing at this point?
JACKSON: Well, let me say that I have a great deal of faith in our judicial system, as well as the LAPD. And, of course, the deputy D.A. (ph). I just think that -- I wish they would have taken Murray's license away. I wish that. But there's a lot of unanswered questions around Murray. I think he's changed his story a lot of times and now he's talking about maybe my brother did it himself, which turns my stomach. But I think this goes beyond Murray even. I think Murray has a part in it, but I don't think he was acting alone.
HARRIS: You don't think he was acting alone?
JACKSON: No. No, I don't.
HARRIS: You care to elaborate on that?
JACKSON: Without saying too much, I started to question some of the people who were around my brother. And when you look at the environment around my brother leading up to his death, there's a lot of strange coincidences. He was very afraid for his life. He was threatened that his children would be taken away from him. He was threatened that his assets would be taken from him. He was threatened that they would take his home if he didn't do what was asked of him by the powers that be. Let's just say that.
HARRIS: I certainly want to explore that a bit more, but let's isolate one moment in that. What do you believe was Conrad Murray's role in Michael's death?
JACKSON: There are a lot of things that aren't quite clear about whether he -- what he did, because he changes his story constantly. Now he's saying -- at one time he said my brother did it to himself. And I thought that was crazy. Now he's saying that maybe he did a little bit and he wasn't the only one. Somebody else did this to him. I think Murray does play a part in it. I think he does know more. I don't think he's telling the full truth. I think that will come out in the investigation.
HARRIS: OK. Do you think he should be facing an enhanced charge beyond involuntary manslaughter?
JACKSON: Absolutely.
HARRIS: What would be -- what would be appropriate in your mind?
JACKSON: Well, first of all, just because the -- even the fact that they allow him to continue practicing. I mean, he's accused of --
HARRIS: Involuntary manslaughter.
JACKSON: Involuntary manslaughter with Propofol and to all allow him to continue with his practice I think is really not OK. And as the investigation unfolds, there will be more that will come out.
HARRIS: OK. Second degree murder, would that feel more appropriate to you?
JACKSON: First degree murder would be appropriate, yes.
HARRIS: You also have some questions in your mind about the heavily contested will, Michael Jackson's will, don't you?
JACKSON: Yes. Yes. I question the authenticity of the will and my family questions the authenticity of the will. I can't speak to in-depth about it, but let me go back -
HARRIS: Sure.
JACKSON: When my brother passed, we were all shocked, torn, just beside ourselves. It was a difficult time for my family. Before we could even begin to grieve, everything was sort of rushed on us. There was these lawyers and accountants pushing these papers on us of people showing up, faces that I knew that my brother didn't care for, people he wouldn't even let in his home pushing these documents, one of which was his will. And I don't think the will was even complete.
I was at the Staples Center preparing for the memorial and I was talking to my sisters on the phone, Janet, La Toya and me, and they were telling me what's goes on. I was - I was shocked. It was almost like there was this big plan in place that we didn't know about. And there was a plan, but what they were pushing on us was very sloppy.
My brother - I can say this much, my brother, he took pride in being a father. He loved his children. He would never misspelled his own children's name, nor would he allow the misspelling of his children's name to appear on document so important to their lives. That's one of the things I will say that's wrong with their wills, because there are many other things that will come out in the investigation.
HARRIS: OK. Let's take a quick break and come back with more with Randy Jackson. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: My special guest in the CNN NEWSROOM this hour, Michael Jackson's baby brother, Randy. His first interview since the tragedy almost a year ago.
When you think of your brother these days, in the days since his death, where do your thoughts take you?
JACKSON: I try to remember my brother -- let me tell you who my brother was. He was a great artist, great performer, dedicated to his career. Maybe the best that's ever stepped on the stage. A warrior at setting goals and accomplishing them. But more important, he was a great parent, a great son, a fun-loving jokester, crazy brother, hardheaded but fun. A man that dedicated his life in doing his part to improve the life of others. That's who he was.
HARRIS: How will the family mark the anniversary in just a couple of weeks?
JACKSON: It's a difficult month for me, a difficult month for my family. It's still in the planning stages, but we are going to have a memorial at Forest Lawn. I want to thank Forest Lawn. They've been wonderful. And thank the city of Glendale. We're going to have a memorial at Forest Lawn. We're expecting a large turnout of friends and fans. So I want to make it so that everybody can pay their respects. There will be a gathering afterward. Right now the fans can go beyond the gates of Forest Lawn and place their flowers. And so that will be a gift from them. I think the family is going to get together in the early part of the day, maybe the fans in the latter part of the day. And afterward we'll have kind of a small, intimate gathering.
HARRIS: What is -- what's next? I know it's kind of a cliche question, but I need to ask it because the family goes on. So what's next for this family? Individually and collectively, what's next?
JACKSON: You know, when you lose a brother or a son, it's something that no one, of course, you never expect that. And there's a grieving period. I know I -- for a year I've not wanted to do anything. But now I think that we've been talking and now we're going to continue with what he would want us to do, as well as just what we've always done. My brothers, we're going to get involved with my philanthropic charity work. We're forming a foundation that's yet to be named. There are some organizations out there but we - but that's not us. We have yet to name this. We have taken on some help from WME, Lance Klein, Ari Emanuel and Danielle Sutton, my brother.
HARRIS: Right, that's William Morris Endeavor.
JACKSON: Right.
HARRIS: OK. So that -- will the family come together - I've got to ask this for everyone at home watching us -- will the family come together and perform again in a tour? JACKSON: Of course. That's -- that's -- that's in our blood. That is what God wants us to do. That is -- God has been good to this family and that is what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to continue with God's work. So that's what we're going to do.
HARRIS: Randy, thanks for your time.
JACKSON: Thank you.
HARRIS: It's good to see you.
JACKSON: It's good to see you too.
HARRIS: And let's talk again soon.
JACKSON: You got it, man.
HARRIS: All right. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Again, let me get you to the best financial news website on the web. It is cnnmoney.com. And we've got a big rally for stocks today. "Stocks rally, fueled by the euro." And here's the story here, stocks surge as concerns about Europe's debt crisis ease. The Dow gains more than 200 points. Nasdaq -- OK, both jumping. But we're off those session highs right now. We're still in positive territory big time. The Dow up 175 points. We will continue to follow this for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's get over here and get you caught up on our top stories right now.
A CNN oil alert on this the 52nd day of the disaster in the Gulf. Oil moves into an inland waterway along the Alabama coast, prompting the Coast Guard to close a main access route to fishermen and boaters. Next hour, President Obama meets with families of the 11 workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
In other top stories right now, on the Texas-Mexico border, a new video casts doubt on a U.S. border control agent's claim that he shot and killed the teen boy after being surrounded by rock throwing illegal immigrants. The incident happened Monday night.
And in central Texas, at least one person is dead after heavy rains triggered flash flooding along the Guadalupe River. The governor has called up a state search for rescue operations. There is more rain in the forecast.
We're back in a moment. You're back in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Just enough time to say CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Don Lemon, in for Ali Velshi.
