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BP Facing Deadline Today; Arkansas Flood Search; Military Offensive Against the Taliban; Cleaning up the Gulf

Aired June 13, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: BP faces a deadline to come up with a better plan for the oil spill as the Obama administration faces mounting criticism.

And two days after that deadly flash flood, the desperate search continues in Arkansas.

And the mother of a U.S. terror suspect says he's just a, "stupid kid."

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news unfolds live this Sunday, June 13th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The Gulf oil disaster tops President Barack Obama's agenda this week. Tomorrow he heads back to the Gulf region. His fourth visit since the oil disaster began 55 days ago. The president visits Mississippi, Alabama and Florida over the next two days. Tuesday night he goes on television to update the nation on how the U.S. government is responding to this growing environmental catastrophe. CNN plans to carry his address live at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

The following day President Obama meets with BP chairman Karl Henric-Svanberg at the White House. Today Republicans are blasting him, the president, for not doing this sooner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: He could have picked up the phone and called the CEO of BP sooner than 50 days. I'm glad he's meeting with the chairman of BP next week. I think the fact that he never spoke to the CEO of British Petroleum for the first 50 days of this incident is emblematic of the kind of detached style of leadership that we're seeing here. Look, in this business about the president looking for somebody's a-s-s to kick this week, you know, as "The New York Times" said this morning, I think everybody in America knew on day two whose a-s-s ought to be kicked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So over the past 55 days we've seen a lot of anger and frustration aimed at both BP and the U.S. government. And lately more criticism of President Obama's handling of the oil disaster. Our Samantha Hayes is in Washington following more of that. Mr. Pence is not alone. SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, he's not. And the president has been defending his response to the oil spill. And this week the White House shifts into high gear. President Barack Obama will address the nation Tuesday night. He'll meet with oil executives on Wednesday. And he's starting off Monday with a trip to the Gulf region, his fourth since the spill.

Now just today the Obama administration outlined its plan for compensation of oil spill victims by forcing BP to set aside a large pool of money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID AXELROD, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: We're going to use all the legal authority that we have. We believe that it's ultimately in their interest as well. Given the level of public outrage out there. But, yes, the president will use every legal device at his disposal to make sure this money is escrowed and that there's an independent administrator so that claims are not slow, people can get the relief they need in a timely fashion. And that we don't create more victims from this terrible disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: Axelrod pledged to hold BP accountable in every appropriate way going forward, calling the spill an ongoing crisis like an epidemic. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And Samantha, how much is the Obama administration demanding from BP?

HAYES: Fred, apparently Senate Democrats have already been on the case. And in a letter to BP dated Thursday, June 10th, they requested BP, calling on BP to immediately establish a special account of $20 billion administered by an independent trustee to be used for payment of economic damages and clean-up costs.

So democrats have asked BP to respond to that letter by Friday, June 18th. As for whether BP can foot the bill for this, well, David Axelrod, at least, says, that today, they believe that BP is profitable and will be able to pay for the claims.

WHITFIELD: Samantha Hayes in Washington, thanks so much.

All right. BP says it will indeed respond to a government deadline by tonight. The company has been told that it must offer more solutions to clean up the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama's point man on the crisis, U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says a major concern right now is keeping oil from reaching the shoreline even further.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: What we're finding out is, we're getting to a point where we need to fight this war between the shore and the offshore well where the oil is starting maybe 50 miles off the coast rather than trying to capture around the well head, we've got to get out skimmers further offshore and protect this with minimizing the amount of oil that comes ashore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Chris Lawrence is actually in New Orleans. So Chris, what's the latest from your vantage point?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you right away the big problem with what Admiral Thad Allen just described, one of the challenges is, a lot of times what we've seen here is yes, you've got these skimming crews out there but there in this area anticipating the oil. The oil is constantly moving. It ends up going in a different area. Very hard to keep ahead of it, so to speak.

Here's what's new. I know that a lot of times the story can bleed over and you think it's the same every day. Well, it's not. Here's what's new today. They are installing the first pieces, starting construction on the first of what should eventually be six sand berms that are hoping to keep the oil outside of those natural barrier islands. That construction is starting this weekend.

Also, BP is installing the initial first pieces of what eventually will be a conduit. Sort of a pipe that leads to a piece just below the surface that multiple ships can then connect and disconnect from, hauling away and containing a lot more of the oil. The problem with that is that is still weeks if not possibly next month away.

So what about right now? The deadline that BP has to come up with this new plan. We don't have all the details yet. Still waiting for that. Could get it in the next few hours. But it may involve some hints of what they've already talked about.

To take you back a little bit to that top kill procedure where they tried to pump the mud down to stop up the well. Well, that didn't work. They're bringing that ship back and they're sort of going to reverse it. And this time the pipes will suck out some of the oil directly from that well. BP estimates that that could take out more than 400,000 gallons of oil every day.

They say they're already containing about more than 600,000 gallons of oil. Add it together, you're talking about a million gallons a day. The problem here is that the scientists are still working on getting accurate count of how much oil is coming out. So you hear that number, a million gallons a day potentially contained, but if about a million is coming out, then that's great news. If it's on the high end as some have suggested, more closer to two million, then that leaves a very, very big problem.

That's why the government is now sending its own sensors down into the water to hopefully get a more accurate count of exactly what is going on under water.

WHITFIELD: And when is that supposed to happen? LAWRENCE: The sensors are going to go down starting, I think, today. And, you know, it may take a while for them to get some of their information. They're going to be gauging pressure. Which is just one of the ways that you look at the problem, in addition to the high definition video and the satellite images and things like that, to try to get some sort of better gauge. Because when you look at that, you know, anywhere from 800,000 to 1.8 million, that's a pretty big, you know, number. You want to narrow that down a lot more to get an accurate count.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Lawrence, thanks so much from New Orleans. Appreciate that.

All right. In this disturbing discovery on a beach in Panama City, Florida, what does that look like to you? Well, some now say that it's a large oil container with BP markings right on it and that it washed ashore yesterday, leaking a small amount of oil.

Well, CNN iReporter Ben Walley snapped this shot off the tank. It's unclear if the container originated from the Deep Water Horizon drilling rig which exploded April 20th. Officials say it will be taken to Louisiana as part of the spill investigation. No comment yet from BP.

On to Arkansas now where search crews are still looking for campers who may have been swept to their death in a flash flood. These are the latest pictures showing search crews today as they comb through heavy brush and debris. Three people are confirmed missing now. The death toll from Friday's flash flooding stands at 18. Funeral services, by the way, for a seven-year-old Texarkana girl and her grandmother are set for Tuesday. Officials will hold a briefing next hour. Of course, we'll try to get as much information from that briefing as we can.

All right. The mother of a suspected terrorist is now speaking out. Why she's calling her son a "chicken."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. The U.S. World Cup team gets a point against England setting them up for success, perhaps. We'll take you live to South Africa for one more look at what's taking place in World Cup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Of course, they're all fired up now, the quest for the cup. The World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. team tied against England yesterday. But that may be just what the U.S. needs to poise itself for the next game. Our Pedro Pinto is standing by live in Johannesburg. OK. I know the U.S. is very excited about this. It wasn't a win against England, of course that's what they wanted but a tie is good. They advance to - this is going to be a rather challenging team that they're up against?

PEDRO PINTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you what. No one expected the United states to win. Not many people expected them to get a point. It's just that England are one of the favorites to lift the trophy here in Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg on the 11th of July. So huge underdogs but they proved that they have the credentials to go to the knockout stages. They also proved that they can hang with the best in this competition.

So if you're an American fan, you should be excited. And up next is a game that you guys can win. It's against Slovenia on Friday here in Johannesburg. And it's in a stadium that has a lot of history for this country. I don't know if you had a chance to watch the movie "Invictus," which tells the story of South Africa's historic victory.

WHITFIELD: Rugby.

PINTO: Exactly. That's where they wont he rugby World Cup back in 1995.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

PINTO: Shortly after the apartheid regime had ended. Morgan Freeman was in that movie, so was Matt Damon.

WHITFIELD: Matt Damon, yes.

PINTO: So if you watched that movie, then yes, exactly - so you'll recognize the stadium from that film. A stadium that has a lot of significance here and maybe it will have a significance for the history of American soccer if you get to win there and it will help you go through the next phase.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Slovenia may not be as challenging to the U.S. as England. But we know anything can happen in the World Cup. But meantime, we are talking about the goaltender for the U.S. who got a little, you know, bruised and battered. Might he still play or will this week be really important in his healing?

PINTO: It will. He's got until Friday to get fit. He's day-to- day. He bruised his ribs. And he was really clattered into by one of the English forwards. Emile Heskey. This happened in the 29th minute. Howard was down for several minutes receiving treatment. He made it to halftime. He said, look, I really couldn't breathe at first. But he managed to make it to the break. He had a pain killing injection, put his body on the line. And he was one of the best players out there on the field, voted man of the match, which is like a most valuable player. So the U.S. really need him.

Bob Bradley, the coach will wait until the last possible moment because a player like him can really be the difference many times between a win, a tie or a loss.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you don't want to show your cards to the opponent. You don't want Slovenia to know exactly, you know, what they're up against. After Slovenia is Algeria, right? And Algeria, perhaps that would be a pretty menacing, threatening soccer team for the U.S. or anyone?

PINTO: Yes, one of the advantages Algeria would have is that they're playing this World Cup in their home continent. And they would get a lot of support. There are six African teams in this World Cup. It's the first World Cup that takes place on African soil. So they have that extra motivation. They didn't start out particularly well. They lost to Slovenia earlier today. So that kind of proves that maybe the Europeans are a little bit better than Algeria. But like we said earlier, you never know in a World Cup.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

PINTO: By then Algeria may have to pick up points as well. And the whole - the whole playing field changes. So what's important for the United States right now, to make it to the next phase, is to get three points against Slovenia so then they can go into that last game against Algeria with momentum and confident that they can make it through. That's where this competition really starts, you know, when it's the knockout phase. That's when everybody gets into it. And I've actually been surprised of the level of excitement that there has been in the United States for this tournament.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

PINTO: American fans bought more tickets than anyone else in the world. So -

WHITFIELD: Isn't that a remarkable thing?

PINTO: Hopefully it means that soccer is growing.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It is. It is the world sport. The U.S. is finally getting on board with that, isn't it? All right. Thanks so much, Pedro Pinto, coming to us from Johannesburg. Appreciate that.

Well, of course, if you've been watching any of the World Cup games, you may have noticed something else. Something that you are hearing, not necessarily just seeing. OK. It sounds like a giant swarm of bees. But it's actually because of that. That horn that you're seeing right there. Plastic horns by the thousands. Imagine that for 90 straight minutes.

Whether it's a good play or not. Well, now World Cup organizers are trying to take some action. Because it kind of is annoying to a lot of folks out there. Josh Levs is here to tell us all about it.

It's not annoying if you're one of those that are blowing at those.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, on good thing about them, yesterday you and I were on the air. Do you remember this?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: When the United States scored its one goal. And the reason our folks knew, there's so much noise coming right now. Well, that noise wasn't just people screaming. It was also this vuvuzela, right?

WHITFIELD: Yes, and we also knew that (INAUDIBLE) score too.

LEVS: We knew it and it meant something really big. So, you know, it's sort of the old times before the heavy communication devices of today. They're beckoning out to the world when something had happened.

Here's the thing. The World Cup is actually taking some action. It's interesting. By the way, before we get to that, there's actually a vuvuzela page on the web site of FIFA, of the official soccer organization here. You actually read about them. Let's do this because I want everyone to get a sense of what it must be like inside the stadium and why it's becoming controversial. So here's a little bit more of that sound. Not so thrilling.

WHITFIELD: Bring in your ear plugs if you've got tickets to the game.

LEVS: Yes, you can think that after a while it's going to start to get to people. And here's the other thing. You know what, it's actually - it looks like these plastic horns. That's kind of is what they are. There's actually an art and science to this. It's not that easy to blow these things. In fact, here - look at this. Yes. They can make some music out of it. But some people we know have been trying to blow these things and not doing too well.

In fact, our own Pedro Pinto, yesterday, look at him try.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PINTO: I'm going to give it a try. I'm not particular good. Here we go. OK. That was a bit -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: It reminds me of Gonzo at the end of the Muppets credits, do your remember that? When he's trying to blow one of these things. Poor Pedro. But here's the thing. Let me tell you all what the controversy is right now. The organizers of the World Cup are now talking about the possibility of trying to limit it.

They've already asked some people to not play international anthems. And now we have news today that one of the heads of one of the top organizers of the World Cup is actually saying he's not ruling out the possibility of trying to ban these things. We have some video of them being made. You can see how the sausage gets made on vuvuzelas. But let me just give you the basics here.

He's talking about the criticism. He said we try to get some order - his name is Danny Jordan. He is the World Cup Organizing Committee Head. We've asked for no vuvuzelas during national anthems or during stadium announcements. He says he knows it's a difficult question so this is something that he's talking openly about. Are they going to try to take action to limit it?

WHITFIELD: A little late for that now.

LEVS: Well, sort of.

WHITFIELD: I mean, the World Cup has begun. You think fans who are having a blast blowing those horns are going to suddenly going to stop, you know, whether it's two weeks or three weeks in? It's three weeks long.

LEVS: They can't stop it especially when people are celebrating right here but the question is they limit it to certain times. Do they flash them? Is this OK? Blow them now. Do they try to take action? And they have maybe a little help today from every female in the world's favorite soccer player right now, Cristiano Reynaldo.

Actually, I pulled up a picture of him for our producer, Michelle. There you go. He was actually talking about this today. He made a comment today. And he didn't say everyone should stop using it. But he did say it is difficult for anyone on the pitch to concentrate. But he also went on to say that the players are going to have to get used to it. And he said that it's important that we respect them.

By the way, while you're seeing this picture, one of the greatest things, we have so much coverage of this online. I mean, I've never seen this much coverage of anything. Cnn.com/worldcup is one place. Also, if you go to cnn.com/sports, you can see through our partners at "Sports Illustrated" constantly updated photos from inside the games. All the best shots from the games. I mean check this out.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LEVS: Every day they're updating us with all - this is the U.S.- England game yesterday. You can click video. You can see all the key moments. Lots of great shots of fans. Almost all of whom are holding vuvuzelas. So, yes, I don't think they're going anywhere, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I think they're here to stay. At least during this World Cup. Maybe they can work on something for the next one. But you know, this World Cup is historical for so many different reasons. And so I think people are just so excited to celebrate.

LEVS: And we're only a couple days now into the one-month event, you know.

WHITFIELD: Can you believe it? I know. So we've got a long way to go. All right. Thanks so much.

LEVS: See you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, the BP oil spill, it could have a devastating impact on the shark population. Of course, we've been talking about the environmental impact, how it's impacted the industries as a whole, fishing, et cetera. Well, what about these guys? This is the largest fish in the Gulf of Mexico. What's going to happen to it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. We've seen the spill's impact on birds and turtles in the Gulf. But there are concerns that the disaster could actually hit another species even harder. Sharks could be especially vulnerable to oil. Eric Hoffmayer is a marine biologist at the University of Southern Mississippi. He joins us now live via Skype.

So why, Dr. Hoffmayer, would sharks be more vulnerable than some of the other marine life we've been talking about in the Gulf of Mexico?

DR. ERIC HOFFMAYER, MARINE BIOLOGIST: Well, I don't think sharks in general, necessarily. But in particular, the whale shark could be more vulnerable. Mainly because they're one of the three species that filter feed. So they spend a lot of time at the surface filter feeding for plankton. And so, this is obviously a bad situation for them with all the oil in the surface.

So the whale sharks are the largest fish in the Gulf of Mexico. They are surface feeders as you describe. And we're talking about the oil plumes or just simply the oil on the surface of the water that we've been seeing.

WHITFIELD: But I would think, and correct me if I'm wrong because, of course, you're the marine biologist. But I would think that sharks of that nature and so many other sharks who too rely on their keen senses for prey, that they, too, would be able to sense, perhaps, danger or sense this is an area of the water that I don't want to go. Would they?

HOFFMAYER: Well, that's what our initial hope is. And we're still sort of hoping that's the case. However, based on some aerial surveys that have been conducted, lots of sharks and rays have been seen under sheen, on the edge of oil. If this signal is so noxious that they would stay out of the area, you would not see that. And so that makes it even more concerning to us.

WHITFIELD: What is your greatest concern as it pertains to rays or other types of sharks and the oil getting on their gills, on their skin? What potentially happens to them?

HOFFMAYER: Well, I mean, I guess the worst-case scenario is direct exposure. That they're going to get oil on their skin, on their gills. A lot of these rays have a mucous coating. Their skin is very sensitive. So you can see how that can cause lots of problems, lots of sores and lesions. The thing about the whale sharks, they're basically swimming mouth wide open. Filtering large amounts of water. And so taking a mouthful of oil is not going to be a really good outcome. It would probably take just a few minutes for the animals to succumb to the oil if that was the case.

WHITFIELD: And April 20th is when that rig explosion took place and the oil started seeping into the Gulf of Mexico. And by your estimation and other scientists, this is about peak time for migration season for a lot of these sharks that are finding their way into the Gulf, going to more shallow waters in order to give birth, in order to feed. Is that still your concern, that this could not have come at a more inopportune time for the sharks in particular?

HOFFMAYER: Yes. I mean, at least here in the north central Gulf, a lot of the pupping, when the sharks give birth, it occurs during May and early June. So a lot of females remain offshore and are in the offshore waters in the affected areas. And so they're probably being exposed as we speak at some level, whatever that is. Especially with that oil being dispersed.

And so now those pups are coming into these near shore environments. And because these animals give live birth a lot of that contaminant is going to be basically transferred right to the pup. And so that's a concern. And then as they start the new round of development of the new pups, you know, we're concerned about, you know, the development and effects on the endocrine disruption on these animals.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Eric Hoffmayer, marine biologist at the University of Southern Mississippi. Thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.

HOFFMAYER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Getting the go ahead for military action now. Local leaders are now agreeing on a plan of attack against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Local leaders in Afghanistan are seemingly ready to give the green light to a military offensive against the Taliban. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has more from Kabul.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So General McChrystal took President Karzai and his security chiefs down to Kandahar to convince about 300 leaders, community leaders, village leaders, and tribal leaders from around Kandahar to support a new version of a security plan for Kandahar. Now, why is that so important?

Well, General McChrystal believes if they can improve security in Kandahar, take away the dominance of the Taliban there, this will send a very clear message to the Taliban. This is the Taliban's heartland. And it will, perhaps, bring more security across a greater area of the south of Afghanistan. It's also important to General McChrystal because he needs to show progress in Kandahar by the review at the end of this year. Big review of progress made in Afghanistan.

Kandahar is critical to that. So President Karzai gave a speech to all these tribal leaders. He got a vote of confidence for this new changed security plan. A big operation to begin around Kandahar. Afghan security forces in the center around the city, U.S. forces taking control of different districts. We told you some of the people who'd come to that meeting. They told us that they weren't really convinced about President Karzai. They'd heard some of this before. Others told us that they supported the operation, but they had reservations about U.S. troops getting involved.

But General McChrystal said proceeding this way, getting Afghan support, was absolutely critical before the operation began. This was the big lesson, he said, he'd learned from the other operation earlier this year in Marjah where results had been less than favorable, he said, because they didn't have this kind of popular support before the troops go in. This, he said, will be a long operation, a slow and careful operation. A special forces going in, targeting, capturing, killing Taliban leaders.

But a slow operation on the city. Now he has a green light for it. President Karzai has gotten this from the tribal leaders. General McChrystal now will have some pressure relieved from him. Obviously other operations going on as well.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Kabul, Afghanistan.

WHITFIELD: The mother of a suspected terrorist is speaking out. The New Jersey woman describes her son as a big mouth and stupid, but not a terrorist.

She shares her story in this exclusive interview with Kiran Khalid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADIA ALESSA, TERROR SUSPECT'S MOTHER: My son has been a good child. The only problem, he has mental problem and people they have to understand that.

KIRAN KHALID, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nadia Alessa doesn't want to show her face to the world. But she has a lot to say about her son Mohammed Mahmood Alessa, he and his good friend Carlos Almonte were arrested preparing to board flights from New York to Egypt. The FBI says they were headed to Somalia to join a militant group connected to al Qaeda. His mother says, that's ridiculous.

N. ALESSA: To be honest, he's not that outrageous. He's only have big mouth. Talking too much. But he's a chicken. He afraid from anything.

KHALID: Alessa says her son was a troubled young man who saw at least 16 psychiatrists over the years. This is his room after it was searched by authorities. Among the strewn clothes and shoes, a bag full of Beanie Babies. Collectibles he told his mother would be worth a fortune one day. He was planning ahead.

SIHAM, TERROR SUSPECT'S GIRLFRIEND: We met online, almost a year ago. We started talking. We decided that we wanted to get married.

KHALID: 19-year-old Siham shocked his parents when she came to their home Friday night and told them she had been exchanging e-mails and texts with their son. She showed us those texts and a passport, proving she traveled from Egypt to New York after learning of his arrest. SIHAM: I didn't know what to do. Words can't explain what I felt. I was in shock. I couldn't stop crying. So I decided to come to America, because I couldn't take it. Even though it might not help anything that I come here, I just wanted to see his face.

KHALID: The two were supposed to meet in Cairo for the first time. Instead, it was in a courtroom.

SIHAM: When I saw him, it felt like -- it wasn't how I wanted to see him the first time.

KHALID: Siham says her boyfriend was angry. But that's not a crime.

SIHAM: That doesn't make him a terrorist. That only shows how much he dislikes what the people are doing to the Muslims.

KHALID: Kiran Khalid for CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An inferno along a North Carolina interstate. Why did it happen?

But, first, this week in history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice over): Five years ago in 2005 a California jury found Michael Jackson not guilty of charges he molested a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland ranch.

Ten years ago in 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court banned student-led prayers at public school sporting events.

Seventy years ago in 1940, Paris fell to German troops early in World War II. And in London, Winston Churchill called on the British people for their finest hour.

One hundred years ago in 1910, Father's Day was celebrated for the first time.

One hundred ten years ago in 1900, the peasant uprising known as the boxer rebellion began in China.

And 120 years ago in 1890, comedian Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame was born in England.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Just in case you didn't know, Father's Day, right around the corner. And there are some new and exciting gift ideas that you'll want to know about that dad will want to have. That's straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Take a look at this. A huge fire lit up the sky early this morning in Greensboro, North Carolina. Lightning, by the way, hit a gasoline storage tank igniting a blaze that closed sections of two interstate highways. They were reopened this morning. CNN affiliate WFMY reports that two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, but there were no other significant injuries.

Bonnie Schneider in the Weather Center. Boy, you know, lightning can pose a danger in so many different ways. When something like that takes place, I wonder, was this a case of a dry lightning? Were there storms in the area?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There were definitely storms in the area. Those storms are actually moving to the northeast. We're seeing some of them work their way across northern New England as well. I want to take you out into the tropical Atlantic. Because we're monitoring something interesting that's been developing all the way east in the Atlantic.

You can see an area of disturbed weather right here. It doesn't look like much. Maybe just a mess of thunderstorms, but if you look closely as this loop plays, you may notice there's a little bit of a center of circulation trying to form and closing up again, spiral banding trying to form, outflow, meaning thunderstorm activity.

What you're looking at here is the potential, possibly 50 percent or medium chance, by the National Hurricane Center for a potential cyclone to develop way out, 975 miles to the south and west. It's really far out, actually closer to Africa.

This is something to monitor because it's early in June. And just to note that normally when we talk about tropical activity in June, it occurs way over here in the Caribbean where the water temperature is usually much warmer than the eastern Atlantic. Not this year, the sea surface temperatures are warm pretty Far East. That's one reason we're anticipating such an active hurricane season. We'll keep you posted if this does get upgraded.

Right now it is just something to ho monitor, something to keep watch on. We have a tornado watch for parts of the Panhandle of Texas into Kansas and Nebraska, severe weather has been firing up throughout much of the evening. We are watching out for some very strong thunderstorms, a lot of these are slow mover. That means we have the threat of rain.

Flash flood advisories, warnings and watches are posted as well for parts of the Midwest. And I tell you, where it's not raining it is just unbelievably hot. Look at the current temperatures right now. Into Tennessee, into South Carolina, it is still in the 90s. Remember, the heat index, Fredricka, feels much worse than that. Feeling like the triple digits. Advisories stay through tonight and tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy, all right. Bonnie, the New Yorker that you are, I know you saw "Annie." SCHNEIDER: Many times.

WHITFIELD: Who didn't? The sun is not coming out tomorrow for Annie, the little orphan. You're not going to believe this. The 85- year-old comic strip actually ended its run in the funny pages today. Over the years the adventures of Annie, her dog Sandy and her guardian daddy Warbucks inspired movies, a long-running radio series and, of course, the hit Broadway musical. Little orphan Annie used to be one of America's most popular comic strips. By the end it appeared in fewer than 20 newspapers. So no sun coming out tomorrow for Annie. That's a bummer.

All right. Father's Day, well it is just around the corner. Straight ahead, some high-tech gifts for those high-tech dads. It actually won't even bust the budget.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Father's Day is right around the corner. Next Sunday. You still have plenty of time, a week, to get the perfect gift. For many dads that means high-tech gadgets. You cannot go wrong.

Joining us now via high-tech gadget Skype is technology expert and writer Marc Saltzman. So Mark you've got a host of stuff for us, a host of things for us. From the cheap or the least expensive, $15 up to about $250. Let's begin with the more economical.

MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Sure. Absolutely.

Boys love their toys. If dad has an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, you can add some cash to his iTunes account with an app card from Apple. These will add $15, $25 or $50 amounts. You can get them at all these denominations. But you simply scratch off the back and you get a get a code. Dad can download games, movies, books, TV shows, you name it. Great pick for those looking for an affordable gadget for next Sunday for dad.

Another one that won't break the bank is for -- it's the La Cie memory keys. Looks like a house key. It is on my house key. It can store about 2,000 songs or many thousand of photos or his work documents. A very clever USB key designed as a house key. La Cie, 30 bucks for eight gigabytes of memory.

WHITFIELD: So dad can kind of have his stuff with him all the time without all the hardware. He knows it's secure. Doesn't have to worry about whether things are erased or disappear, et cetera.

SALTZMAN: Absolutely. A great way to transfer files between computers. You can also encrypt the information so if you lose it, no one else can access the information.

WHITFIELD: OK. Of course we've got some cool headphones there. What's nice about those?

SALTZMAN: They look like regular headphones. They're from a company called iHome. You can wear them as headphones. But check this out. When you connect the ear cups at the bottom they turn into speakers. Listen to this. Little Alicia keys action.

WHITFIELD: My little Freudian slip of speakers, I actually got that right. Headphones and speakers, I like those for myself, actually.

SALTZMAN: Very clever. ihomeaudio.com, they are 60 bucks for the pair, available in black, silver and blue. This is great for dad's office at work, his desk. Looks like any other digital photo frame. Called the Kodak pulse. What's unique about it, Fredricka, it comes with an e-mail address. That means once you set that up, johnsmith@kodakpulse.com, e-mail photos from it to any computer in the world.

WHITFIELD: That's about $100 stores all this memory.

SALTZMAN: About 4,000 photos. It comes with this e-mail address. If you want you can put in USB memory stick.

For a $150 if dad loves books, this is coming out next week by Border's; it is called the Kobo e-reader.

WHITFIELD: Like the kindle.

SALTZMAN: It has a six-inch screen. It can store thousands of books. And you download the books either from your computer and then transfer it over through a USB cable or if you have a blue tooth cell phone nearby, transfer books wirelessly as well.

WHITFIELD: You've got a little more money to spend, $250, quickly, what can I get pops for $250?

SALTZMAN: If he's a couch potato, he'll love the harmony remote. Billed as the world's smartest remote, it controls all your components and gets rid of the clutter on the coffee table. And you actually connect this to your pc as well or Mac. It's got something called activity commands. Press one button or the screen. It'll do a number of functions. For example, you press play a movie. It knows to turn on your TV, set it to video 1, turn on your DVD player, and press play. All doing that for you with one touch of a button.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

SALTZMAN: Very smart.

WHITFIELD: This is incredible. Mark Saltzman, I know all this stuff is supposed to simplify our lives. It's so overwhelming, there's so much stuff out there. I'm getting so confused, so many options. But I love it. Dad's going to like it, too. Just in time for Father's Day.

Thank you. Good to see you joining us via Skype.

Mom, dad, everybody in the family is going to love that when dad gets these gadgets.

All right. Think you know how to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf? We'll tell you what to do with those ideas, after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. How do you clean up the Gulf? CNN has been showcases some of your ideas. The Coast Guard has been receiving a lot as well. About 400 ideas from many of you.

CNN's Barbara Starr met with the Coast Guard official responsible for actually figuring out which ideas could work.

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BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): You are Mr. 1-800-oil-ideas guy.

CAPT. MATTHEW SISSON, U.S. COAST GUARD: Well, there are lots of people with a lot of ideas.

STARR: Captain Matthew Sisson is in charge of reviewing all the ideas the public is giving the Coast Guard on the oil spill and finding out if the ideas can help.

James Cameron, Kevin Costner, school children coming up with ideas. It seems unprecedented.

SISSON: It is unprecedented. What we're doing is saying whether you're a school child or you are a Kevin Costner we'll take a look at your input.

STARR: The Coast Guard wants the public, industry, scientists, anybody and everybody to send in their best ideas. They promise a quick response. One reason? There's been a growing feeling Bp is not listening. What is the Coast Guard's feeling? Is Bp being responsive to the public's ideas?

SISSON: The public that we have responsibility for has given us complaints that they have not been responded to in a timely manner. If there's a way to better deploy booms, is there a better material that can be used for oil on the surface or just below it, is there a way to protect the marshes without damaging them. That's what we're looking for.

STARR: If you have an idea, logon to www.fbo.gov and click here to submit your plan. It'll come to this situation room. Already some 400 ideas have been received. We showed you Sisson some of the ideas CNN has been getting. These men say they have a product that can pick up oil.

SISSON: Not any oil left behind on the water or the sand.

How it would be deployed. The amount of product that would be necessary. Where it could be deployed that wouldn't damage the marsh grasses, et cetera. Those are all questions and challenges to be answered.

STARR: Sisson now spends much of his time away from his Connecticut headquarters and on scene in the Gulf. SISSON: I consider New Orleans my home. The Gulf is the most wonderful place in the world to me, and I have never seen it like this.

STARR (on camera): Coast Guard officials say there may not be a magic solution for the oil spill, but they want to hear every idea the public has.

Barbara Starr, CNN, New London, Connecticut.

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