Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Search for Arkansas Flood Victims; President Steps Up Oil Spill Response; BP Facing Midnight Deadline; U.S. Draws with England; Case Against Van Der Sloot

Aired June 13, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: To the tragedy now in Southwest Arkansas where police and investigators are holding a press conference right now, giving the latest on the ongoing search for anyone who was swept away by - by the floodwaters.

This is Captain Mike Fletcher of the Arkansas State Police. Let's listen in.

CAPTAIN MIKE FLETCHER, ARKANSAS STATE POLICE: -- around noon today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where at?

FLETCHER: South of the Albert Pike camp area there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know how far south?

FLETCHER: Pardon?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how far south?

FLETCHER: By the river, approximately a half to three-quarters of a mile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Captain, did you say 8 or 18 vehicles (INAUDIBLE)?

FLETCHER: It was 18.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many more - estimate of how many more down there you're going to have to take (INAUDIBLE)?

FLETCHER: A lot of these vehicles, they weren't damaged other than the - the flood and they - (INAUDIBLE). There are probably another 20 or 30 vehicles in there, an estimate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Captain, so the - you guys find, you said you know of one of the missing. Did you all find, what, is the search over or would you going to continue the search?

FLETCHER: No. We're - we're going to continue the search until we're satisfied that there is not any more. But you've got to understand -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's -

FLETCHER: -- and you all have been down in there. This area is so rugged. There's so much debris. There's places you cannot get any equipment to.

I just came from down in there. There's places we're trying to figure out how we can get some kind of equipment in there to move brush piles and debris piles in there. It's just impassable. You can't get to it. You'll never be able to get to it by vehicle.

But, to our knowledge, we only have one that's still missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when will be - when will you know that you're satisfied, (INAUDIBLE)? What is satisfied?

FLETCHER: I can't tell you that. I don't know. You know, we - we may get somebody call us tonight or tomorrow and say we've got someone missing. And what we're going to do, we're just going to continue to search as long as we feel like there's someone in there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're talking about how the - the number from yesterday is - are people calling in? How are we finding out -

FLETCHER: A lot of these people, there'll be people calling in, say, well, we had someone missing. They went somewhere in Arkansas, went camping and then we found out today they're home or they're at some other campground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, (INAUDIBLE) today? I heard you guys were going to maybe try different areas this afternoon.

FLETCHER: Well, it's all along the river. Some of these areas we've been over three and four times. That's one of the reasons we wouldn't get these vehicles out her to aid us in the search. We have to look under these vehicles or whatever.

But it is - it's is a long stretch of river. You know, it runs for miles out here. And some of it, you just have to go over and over again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have all these people been identified (ph)? (INAUDIBLE).

FLETCHER: We're checking notes. Yes. Yes. We're checking notes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

FLETCHER: Pardon?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) looking for a child?

FLETCHER: I'm not going to comment over that. We just have one person that's missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the other one that (ph) was found, can you say if an adult, child, male, female?

FLETCHER: I want to make sure the whole family has been notified before I make any comment on that, out of respect to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of speculation about a plane crash -

FLETCHER: Yes. There was a - I'll have to clear that up and tell you where you need to go to there. There was a plane crash in Howard County, which is south of here, but you need to contact the Howard County Sheriff's Office down there about that.

But it's my understanding that there was a plane crash there and it were - there were fatalities in that plane crash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that plane connected to the search?

FLETCHER: To my knowledge it has nothing to do with any of this. This is south of here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So at this point are you -

WHITFIELD: All right. Arkansas State Police Captain Mike Fletcher there commenting about a - a plane crash that he's confirming, but in - taking place in the area of Arkansas, but having nothing to do with the ongoing search for any victims from that flash flood.

He did say just before we were able to take this press conference that one body has been found. Perhaps this is one of the three that they had mentioned earlier today that they were still looking for. One body has been found. Confirmation still, though.

Eighteen victims in all since this flash flood took place Friday morning. More information as we get it and sort through some of the new information coming out of that presser.

Meantime, amid mounting criticism now, President Barack Obama is stepping up his response to the Gulf Coast oil disaster. The president begins a series of high profile initiatives tomorrow with another trip to the gulf. He'll return to the White House on Tuesday to make a nationally televised address.

Then he'll have a meeting on Wednesday with top BP officials. Senior Adviser David Axelrod says the president will push BP to create an escrow account to pay damage claims.

CNN correspondent Samantha Hayes as well as correspondent Chris Lawrence are keeping us updated on today's developments. Let's start with Samantha Hayes at the White House.

So, Samantha, what do we know about the president's trip to the gulf and what he might be saying on Tuesday when he does address the nation? SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I think overall, you know, the name of the game this week is high visibility. The president will address the nation Tuesday night. He's going to meet with BP executives Wednesday.

And then he's going to start off Monday with a trip to the gulf region. This will be his fourth since the spill.

Now, just today, the Obama administration outlined its plan for the compensation of oil spill victims. Basically, the president wants to force 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, and we believe that - that it's ultimately in their interest as well, given the -- the level of public outrage out there.

But, yes, the president will use every legal device at his disposal to make sure that this money is escrowed and that there's an independent administrator so that claims are not slow, people can get their relief they need in a timely fashion and that we don't create more victims from this terrible disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: Meantime, Senate Democrats have been circulating a letter to be sent to BP requesting the immediate establishment of a special account of $20 billion administered by an independent trustee to be used for economic damages and clean-up costs - Fred.

WHITFIELD: And the president has also been receiving a lot of criticism from folks of all factions, but particularly Republicans took to the morning shows today and had some pretty strong, terse words about the president, his language and how he's behaving in all of this.

HAYES: That's right, Fredricka. As the oil spill continues, so does the criticism for the president. One of the Republican leaders in the House said today on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" that Mr. Obama continues to be slow in his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: -- in the news -

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hang on, he - he has, in fact -- he's been down there. He tells his people to go do it. Why isn't that sufficient?

PENCE: Well, I think the fact that he never spoke to the CEO of British Petroleum for the first 50 days of this incident is - is emblematic of the kind of detached style of leadership that we're seeing here. Look - and 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 - I think everybody in America knew on day two whose a-s-s ought to be kicked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: In his address to the country Tuesday night, the president is also expected to talk about restructuring the way the oil industry is regulated through the Interior Department.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Samantha Hayes in Washington. Thanks so much.

More now on the government-imposed deadline for BP. For that we go to New Orleans now with Chris Lawrence, who is there.

Chris, any word from BP as to whether they will, indeed, make that deadline?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've - they've said publicly that they will make the deadline, that they will get something out today, end of the day. Now, we don't know if that means in the next couple hours, if that means late tonight, 11:00 or midnight, but they are expected to come back with some sort of a response.

The big question is, what more can they do? I think what the - what the government and what the Coast Guard is looking for, one, is more back-up plans. There's been a lot of criticism of BP that they seem to be lurching from one last-ditch effort to another and when some of those efforts fail, like the top kill, that they just kind of have to veer in a completely different direction.

I think what the government and what the Coast Guard and what Admiral Thad Allen said today is that they're looking for more back-up plans, so if something doesn't work, there's something to fall back on.

We've already started to see some of those changes. We know that by the end of the month, that containment cap that's on there now that BP says is collecting somewhere around 600,000 gallons of oil every day, we know that's going to have to be switched out by the end of the month. Right now BP is - is building several different devices so they have a little bit of choice when it comes time to do that.

Another thing that - that I think the government and what Admiral Allen is looking from is something to speed up the process, something to get more of the oil collected before this longer-term solution of actually, you know, August, when we think the well may be capped.

To that end, BP has talked about sort of rejiggering that top kill procedure that didn't work. That was a ship that tried to pump mud down to shut off the well. Well, this time they use the same device, but instead of pumping mud down, it would suck oil out of there. They think they can get that going by later in this week and they - and the hope is that that could collect somewhere in the realm of about 400,000 gallons a day.

The problem with throwing all these numbers out there to you is that right now they still don't have an accurate gauge of how much is coming out. You don't know whether to take these numbers as good news or really bad news, because you don't have that baseline. You've got to know how much is coming out so when they say well, 400 plus 600, that's a million, you know, does that million, is that 80 percent, 90 percent of what's coming out? Is that only 40 percent, 50 percent of what's coming out?

So I think that's going to be the challenge right now in the immediate future. Get a gauge on how much exactly is coming out, and then apply these plans - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Lawrence in New Orleans. Thanks so much.

Joran van der Sloot. He has become sort of a household name. Now the centerpiece of a new investigation, murder investigation in Peru. What's the legal road ahead for him?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the U.S.-England game ends in a tie this weekend. We're taking a trip to South Africa for World Cup soccer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, the quest for the cup, the World Cup in South Africa, of course. The U.S. team, they tied against England yesterday, and that just might be what the U.S. needs to go forward against its next competitor, Slovenia.

Our Pedro Pinto is standing by live in Johannesburg. This is very exciting for the U.S. Of course, they - they wanted to beat England altogether, but 1-1, not so bad.

PEDRO PINTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not so bad at all, a very sweet tie for the team USA. Bob Bradley's team definitely should feel proud about that. They were huge underdogs considering England, one of the favorites to lift the trophy here in South Africa in a month's time.

They showed such tenacity, such bravery. And they played some good soccer as well. Don't take anything away from them.

You know, a lot of the headlines here in South Africa and also in England have been about that horrible mistake that the English goalie, Robert Green made, but it wasn't only about that. The goal from Clint Dempsey, yes, it wasn't one of the best goals he's ever scored and probably not the best goal the - the Americans are going to score in this World Cup. But, still, they proved that they can hang with the best and they could have a chance of making it far in this competition, Fredricka. There's no doubt about that.

And, looking ahead, they're playing Slovenia on Friday here in Johannesburg, and Slovenia is a former Republic of Yugoslavia. They haven't been around for that long. So they're the underdogs this time around, a tiny nation, only 2 million people. It's only their second World Cup. So, for a change, the U.S. will actually be the favorites that time around.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that - that is very impressive in World Cup soccer, isn't it?

PINTO: It is. It is.

And, you know, I'm from Portugal, which is a country where football is king, so to speak, where soccer is king. And I lived in the States - I lived in the States for many years, for over nine years, and I have seen the continued development of the sport in the States. And I feel if this team has a great campaign here in South Africa, it can really take the game to another level. That's what I'm hoping as well.

And speaking to Bob Bradley in the past, I had a chance to speak with him, some of the American players. They really feel that this is one of the most talented generations of players they've ever had. They did so well here in South Africa last year when they beat Spain. That shocked the world. And then they nearly beat Brazil as well.

I think they feel confident that they can go far in this competition.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And maybe it helps that there have been so many Americans that have traveled to South Africa, Americans representing more fans than from any other country, all converging there in South Africa for this World Cup soccer.

Pedre Pinto, thanks so much for keeping us posted.

PINTO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: OK, so modern technology. Well, it's not only changing the way we live, but is it also robbing us of simply living? We'll explain after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

President Obama is headed back to the Gulf Coast this week to check the progress of efforts to stop the spill. He'll be there tomorrow and Tuesday.

The president also plans to address the nation on the oil disaster Tuesday night from the White House. He is scheduled to meet with top BP officials on Wednesday.

The Afghan government says they now have a green light for a new military operation in Kandahar. Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Commanding General Stanley McChrystal met with local leaders there.

It is unknown when the operation will start, but Karzai says U.S. troops would be involved.

And the mother of an American terror suspect says her son is just a stupid kid, not a terrorist. This mother spoke to CNN exclusively and said that she doesn't believe that her child meant any harm.

Prosecutors say that they were heading to Somalia, this suspect and another, to try to wage violent jihad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. He killed her in a fit of rage. Peruvian police say that's what Joran van der Sloot told them after a 21-year- old woman was found beaten to death in his hotel room last month. Van der Sloot was arrested in Chile a few days later, and police there say the suspect told them an unidentified robber did it.

Well, yesterday I talked with our legal guide, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman about this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Was it the re-enactment that Peruvian authorities were able to commandeer to have him re-enact the crime, and then, next thing you know, we have the murder charges. Is the tie there?

RICHARD HERMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: No, Fred. They didn't even need the re-enactment. I'm not sure he did a complete re- enactment here.

They have him dead to rights in Peru. He's on video. It's over. You know, you hear a gun go off behind a closed door and you open the door and the gun's smoking and someone's laying there dead, you can say that was a killing right there. Here - here we see -

WHITFIELD: Well, the video is there but it doesn't show the crime. No one witnessed anything.

HERMAN: No.

WHITFIELD: However, there was an alleged confession.

HERMAN: Fred -

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Right.

WHITFIELD: Is that what helped nail down the charge, too?

HERMAN: Yes. No, Fred. He walks into the room on video with the young girl and she doesn't come out. That alone in - in Peru - you know, the standard in Peru is not like United States beyond a reasonable doubt. FRIEDMAN: Right, right.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HERMAN: There is preponderance of the evidence. It's just an ever slight tipping in favor of the prosecution.

He cannot win this case. He's going to be convicted. The question is, is he going to get 35 years, do 50 percent of the time.

WHITFIELD: Oh.

HERMAN: The bigger question is will he survive their prison system?

FRIEDMAN: Well -

WHITFIELD: And - and the other bit of information there, I mean, there's still that other unsolved case, Avery -

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- five years ago this young girl from Alabama goes missing. There are all these ties between he and Natalee Holloway.

And so, now, might the pursuit of this murder charge help open the door for that investigation, whether it be to find the body that he allegedly has told people he knows about, or whether this gives United States authorities or even Aruban authorities any kind of leverage in that unsolved crime?

FRIEDMAN: Well, it's a - it's an extraordinary case because, indeed, the United States officials have evidence of at least an extortion relating to trying to find Natalee Holloway's body.

I disagree with Richard, by the way. There is not going to be a charge. There is no charge of premeditation. This is basically the third level murder charge. He's actually looking at about five years. That's it. The United States will be bringing him back.

WHITFIELD: Not 30 years? Isn't there 30 years involved?

FRIEDMAN: No.

HERMAN: That's wrong, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: In premeditated -

HERMAN: No, no. It's murder -

FRIEDMAN: -- if it's premeditation, there is not. There's not. And I think -

WHITFIELD: No doubt guilty (ph).

HERMAN: Aggravating circumstances. WHITFIELD: No doubt.

HERMAN: Aggravating circumstances raising it (ph).

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: OK.

FRIEDMAN: But it's not a premeditation.

Anyway, the point is that if he does survive, and I agree with Richard in that respect, he's going to be having to deal with Aruban officials and United States officials. They're going to get him back here because he is indicted for extortion.

The problem is, and I actually disagree also on this recreation. He did participate. Not only do you have the video, you have the confession. Forget about self-incrimination. In Peru, it's a whole different operation, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: And the bottom line is this recreation locks him in so he can't recant.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And then, you know, this extortion case. Now, this is a whole another level and this is very confusing in so many different ways -

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- because in talking about it, we've heard it termed as an FBI sting operation. Then we've also heard the attorney for Beth Twitty, the mother of Natalee Holloway, say that she hand delivered money, either $10,000 or $15,000, depends on what your source is, actually gave it to van der Sloot because he allegedly had information about -

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway's body. Well, wait a minute. So if this is part of an FBI investigation or sting operation -

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- and there was money that was transferred, there's the evidence right there for extortion. Why wasn't he charged, arrested at that point? Why is it that this young man was able to go on about his business, used this money, perhaps, to help carry out this alleged crime?

FRIEDMAN: Yes. That's the million dollar question. The - the - John Kelly, who was the cooperating witness for the FBI and counsel for the family was there, actually, on Easter, in April, also returned on May 10th. The burning controversy is why didn't the FBI move? Of course, they could have never known -

WHITEFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: -- he would have conducted a second murder. But that actually is the raging controversy. Why didn't you all grab him -

WHITFIELD: Yes. Because there's the evidence of the money transfer.

FRIEDMAN: -- grab him and bring him back?

WHITFIELD: Usually -

FRIEDMAN: Right. Right.

WHITFIELD: Right, Richard? Usually in that case -

HERMAN: They will not (ph) -

WHITFIELD: -- if the transfer actually takes place, that's enough right there to say, OK, handcuffs are on, you are now charged. Why is it so many days or maybe even weeks would pass before something is -- some acknowledgment takes place?

HERMAN: Because the feds were not seeking an extortion case here. They wanted to find the body. They wanted to solve the murder case, and they thought this guy was talking and giving information. And they believed, reasonably, I believe, that they were on the heels of finding something.

However, this guy - we are so desperate to solve this case that we'll believe anything. He is a serial compulsive liar. He's given four different versions of what happened, where the body is, each one is a lie.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Avery and Richard.

Aren't they smart? Don't you just love hearing from them all the time? You can hear from them almost every Saturday, noon Eastern hour right here on CNN.

All right. Fears and frustration now are mounting on the Mississippi Coast. As the oil spill draws closer to shore, residents are demanding some answers and some action from BP. That story, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Might we have a more accurate estimate of how much oil is actually spewing into the Gulf of Mexico? Well, the president's point man on the crisis says sensors are being deployed at the break site to measure the oil's flow rate. The Coast Guard has told BP that it has until tonight to come up with plans to intensify containment efforts.

And White House officials say President Obama will push BP to fund an independently run escrow account to pay for damage claims.

So when President Obama visits the Mississippi Gulf Coast tomorrow, he is likely to get an earful from folks who say that they are not getting enough information about the oil leak. The target of their anger, however, is BP.

CNN's Reynolds Wolf is in Hancock County, just west of Biloxi and Gulfport.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, there's no question that frustrations have continued to mount across much of the Gulf Coast. In fact, we had the opportunity to go to a community meeting right here in Hancock County, Mississippi. And we got to hear people really vent their frustration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. BP, your report.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody in here knows that another $25 million was granted to the state of Mississippi.

WOLF (voice-over): In Hancock County, Mississippi, a bit of good news from BP. But the thanks didn't last long at this emergency management meeting.

LILI STAHLER, ALDERWOMAN, WAVELAND, MISSISSIPPI: I frankly appreciate the commitment everybody has here. I also am sensing a great deal of frustration.

STEVE SEYMOUR, SUPERVISOR, HANCOCK COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: I guess there's a statement to BP? You all need to get somebody and tell them (INAUDIBLE).

WOLF: It took repeated requests. But finally the joint command has assigned a local representative to Hancock County.

CMDR. PETE KILLNER, COAST GUARD: We're basically here to help you folks in regards to trying to get some communication going between here and the incident command post. And I commit to your local post in providing any service that I can to do that. I can't make promises in regards to stuff I can't deliver, but I've got 110 percent commitment to help you folks get communication going and doing a little bit better job.

WOLF: The oil may not be here yet, but neither are the requested supplies.

BRIAN "HOOTIE" ADMAN, DIRECTOR, HANCOCK COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: They're not planning ahead. So, you know, unfortunately that's the way they operate. And but we're going to continue to ask until they give. That's all we can do.

WOLF (on camera): How close is this oil getting to shore?

(CROSSTALK)

JESSE FINERAN, HAZMAT, HANCOCK COUNTY: We can smell it. We can taste it. But they're telling us it's not here.

MAYOR LES FILLINGAME, BAY ST. LOUIS, MISSISSIPPI: It moves very quickly. So to me that indicates that, you know, nobody is immune from having this on top of us.

WOLF (voice-over): The first potential impact from oil was found this week on Hancock County's shore.

FINERAN: This is the area where the bird was.

WOLF: Jesse Fineran showed us a picture of this distressed pelican he found in Bay St. Louis. There's little doubt in his mind it's covered in oil. But official results are still pending.

ADMAN: Is it oil? We think it is. But has it been confirmed? No.

WOLF: Local leaders are growing frustrated, waiting for answers.

WENDY MCDONALD, COUNCILWOMAN, BAY ST. LOUIS, MISSISSIPPI: We've got an oily bird already. We've got the pre-fall stuff that they saw in Grand Isle that's in that Ziploc bag going around. How much more evidence do we need that it is time to do something?

PAM SAN FILLIPPO, BAY ST. LOUIS, MISSISSIPPI, FIRE DEPARTMENT: People can deploy all the boom that you can deploy, but if it's not going to -- obviously, like I say, looking at Louisiana, we've seen that the boom did practically nothing there, so.

WOLF (on camera): A lot of frustrated people in this room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's getting a little close for everybody's comfort. Everybody is getting a little bit weary. I wouldn't say antsy, but weary.

WOLF (voice-over): Those weary officials walk the shoreline daily on heightened alert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now look when you're walking on this sand, how it doesn't stick. Look how it sticks when you walk into this. See the levels of coloration under it?

WOLF: They hope answers and supplies come sooner than oil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: Well, Fredricka, we have an update for you also on the condition of the bird that you saw in the piece. The bird was actually found to have been coated with that oil. It was suffering from hypothermia and now will undergo rehabilitation. A very similar fate that many other birds, many other forms of wildlife on the Gulf Coast have suffered since this oil spill first began.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Reynolds, thanks so much. And hopefully that bird will be cleaned up and be reintroduced into another habitat.

All right. So we know, of course, this oil spill is impacted by the weather, especially the wind and even the heat. And there has been both of that. Bonnie Schneider is in the weather center.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Fredricka.

You're right, the wind has acted as a steering mechanism to take it to some beaches and move it away from others. So what are we looking at right now? Well, the forecast is much more steady and stable than it has been in the past weeks where we saw the fluctuation of the winds, first from the southeast, then from the southwest, and eventually moving the oil in a more easterly direction.

OK. So this is what we're looking at. The pattern typically for this time of year are the winds that come from the south or southeast. And even looking in advance, a week or so, possibly even 10 days, that pattern isn't going to change. So that's good news for areas here to the east like Florida beaches. But looks like in terms of pushing the oil onshore, the same places that have already seen oil will likely see it again.

Or on a more positive note, it's likely to stay where it is. So we're not looking at a strong wind. We're actually looking at a lighter wind in intensity, possibly five to 10 knots. So the winds are weak, which is good. You know, none of the weather forecasts is perfect for this situation. But at least it's not a forcing strong wind that's going to spread it out, at least not at this point. But we're still monitoring it for you.

All right. Well, Fredricka mentioned the heat. And I'll tell you, it just cannot get any hotter in New Orleans. The heat index for the past three days has been 110 degrees. Southeastern parishes are sizzling in Louisiana. And it's not just Louisiana. Check this out. the heat advisories that go straight through tomorrow extend eastward into coastal Mississippi.

So Biloxi and Gulfport, you're also facing that as well. And finally the Carolinas are also looking at the heat. Right now the current temperature in South Carolina, 99 degrees, Fredricka. So, again, it's going to stay hot.

I just want to make one mention that even at night, it doesn't cool very much with that humidity. So it's going to be hot at night, too. Maybe not 99, but it will be warm out there.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Sweltering stuff. All right. Thanks so much, Bonnie, appreciate that.

SCHNEIDER: Sure. WHITFIELD: All right. Well, of course, everyone collectively is more connected than ever these days to technology. But what does that connection do to your brain? We'll explore that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. This is you, right? You have a cell phone, BlackBerry. You check your e-mail, instant messages all the time. Oh, and don't forget, a little time on those video games. Well, modern technology has changed our lives in so many ways. And some say it's also changing our brains. Here to talk about it is Dr. Gary Small. He is director at the UCLA Memory and Aging Research Center. And he's also the author of "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind."

Good to see you, Dr. Small.

DR. GARY SMALL, AUTHOR, "IBRAIN": It's great to be on the show. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, thank you for being with us. So many of us are so proud that we can multitask. We can do all of these things at once. You know, we're handling our cell phone. We've got a BlackBerry on our hip, all of that good stuff. But come to find out this is to the detriment of our brains. In what way?

SMALL: We have the perception we're getting more done when we multitask. But in reality we're making more errors. So we're faster, but we're sloppier. It's a challenge. because it's so seductive. We want to use this technology all the time. And it's not all bad. There's a lot of positive aspects of the technology. We're always connected with others.

In fact, it exercises our brains to some extent. At UCLA we did a study where we found that even older people can increase their brain activity just by searching online. So there's an upside. But there are potential downsides, too.

WHITFIELD: OK. So that's all good stuff -- or the upside. But the downside, like you said, where it's making us sloppy. Sloppy in what way? Sloppy in the way we're detailed-oriented or maybe lack thereof as a result? We're sloppier in the way we communicate with one another? What?

SMALL: We make more errors. You know, our brains are a bit like computers. When you shift from one idea to another, one program has to shut down. And then we have to move to another one. And it's not an efficient process. So we're doing one thing, and then we get distracted and we do another thing. We forget where we are. We lose track.

And it also has a tendency to distract us from face-to-face communication. So we just shoot off an e-mail or a text rather than sit down and have a conversation. So we're finding that particularly young people who tend to use this technology a lot more, they're not as good at looking you in the eye when they have a conversation or noticing non-verbal cues.

WHITFIELD: OK. This is not good. So how do we manage this? Because we know that we're not going to be able to, you know, depart from all of this technology, especially the younger generation, as you mentioned. It's really kind of, you know, an extension of their limbs. So what do we do to manage this? How do we kind of police ourselves while we also enjoy all of these gadgets?

SMALL: The first step is to be aware of how it does affect our brains. Our brains are very sensitive. And if you spend a lot of time with one task over and over again, it will strengthen the neuro- circuitry for that task, but weaken the other task, the face-to-face skill task. So finding balance is really the key.

Spending time off-line. Taking breaks. Forcing ourselves to get up and have a conversation once in a while or take a walk...

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

SMALL: ... rather than spend -- you remember how to do that?

WHITFIELD: Well, I'm think that -- yes, well, I'm thinking the last one, well, it sounds simple, but if I'm addicted -- because that's really what it is these days. If I'm addicted to technology, I've got to be in front of my computer screen, I've got to have my BlackBerry, all of that good stuff, how in the world am I going to want to walk away from this stuff?

Are you telling me I need to kind of put a schedule in front of myself that says, you know, at 2:00 I've got to take a break. I've got to go do X, Y, Z?

SMALL: You can't force yourself to do it unless you want to. And I think if you notice what your life is like, if you pay attention, it has a remarkable impact. Not long ago I did a -- a tape for a journalist. And the journalist said, OK, now you have to have some quiet time. And I couldn't use my gadgets or anything. And I noticed, my God, outside the window there are mountains and there's snow. And it was wonderful for a moment to take note of that.

WHITFIELD: Open your eyes, yes.

SMALL: So I think when we notice it, that reinforces the off- line behavior. And please don't get me wrong, I love the technology. It's great. I don't know if you know that surgeons who spend more time playing video games actually make fewer errors in the operating room. So it's training their brains. And the next time you go for surgery, maybe ask the doctor how many hours a week are they playing "World of Warcraft"? It might give you an advantage.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy, well, maybe it says the fine tuning of those small muscles, you know, they're using that, you know, for their surgery and all of that good stuff. It's kind of like practice, right? Maybe that's one way of looking at it.

SMALL: Well, we do have -- we actually have scientific evidence for that. That the brain operates pretty much like our body does when we exercise our body. We can increase the efficiency of our brain activity by practicing these kinds of tasks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, I love this digital detox, these suggestions. One task at a time. And, you know, taking a break is kind of, you know, just a new -- I guess a new way of thinking about that old adage of just, you know, take time to smell the roses. right?

SMALL: Well, I think that's part of it. And in "iBrain," we not only talk about how to reconnect off-line, but also how to upgrade technological skills of the older generation. The so-called "digital immigrants" who come to the technology later in life a little more reluctant to pick it up and need to really upgrade their skills so they can keep up with the digital natives.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Gary Small, thanks so much. I appreciate that.

SMALL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And hopefully it makes us all slow down and just kind of like, you know, dissect ourselves from the digital, I guess, you know, just the technology. Just all of it. For a minute, at least. Thanks so much.

SMALL: I think it's a good idea. thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Josh, well, you know, it's hard to tell Josh to kind of separate himself from the digital -- oh, my gosh, you know, just everything.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've got to go play more video games.

WHITFIELD: You are on it all the time.

LEVS: I have got to go play more video games now. I have a whole new excuse.

WHITFIELD: Well, that is if you're a surgeon.

LEVS: OK. Well, but those skills can apply to other fields as well.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right.

LEVS: Yes, not planning on trying to take over Sanjay's job any time soon. Look at this video, Fred. Check this out. Is it a dog? It is.

WHITFIELD: Where?

LEVS: But it has also got a little Spider-Man action going on.

WHITFIELD: A little Spider-Man dog. LEVS: Look how he can crawl up. Absolutely astounding. It's "spider-dog." We've got this plus Fred and me playing soccer in a cartoon. All of that coming right up in "Viral Video Rewind."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. All of the digital talk that we just had, that was just the warm-up...

LEVS: Warm-up.

WHITFIELD: ... for this other, I guess, area of the digital world. Viral videos. "Viral Video Rewind." Josh Levs is here, because we do a little bit on Saturdays, and now there's more.

LEVS: We've got a little extra. Thought you all couldn't get enough of this. So we're starting off today with an interactive one, right, where you get to jump into it. The fine folks at JibJab are getting their World Cup soccer fever on. And for that, they have created for us this JibJab video. Take a look here. You're going to see you at the beginning.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really?

LEVS: Yes, here you are as a soccer star. Watch for your face. And I'm in there, too.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I love the hair. I was thinking about that 'do.

LEVS: We don't get to prepare. And our Jacqui Jeras and our morning anchors this weekend were Drew Griffin and Suzanne Malveaux. And so check it out, work it, and listen to the music for a second.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I am working it.

LEVS: Do you like my hair? You've got the -- do you like the dreads?

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness.

LEVS: This is hot.

WHITFIELD: Hilarious.

LEVS: So you know what? I mean, they're getting into the spirit of whatever hot at any given time. So the folks at jibjab.com are now all over this.

WHITFIELD: Oh, there's Jacqui. Oh, Drew. Oh my -- ooh, Josh, you're good.

LEVS: I know, see?

WHITFIELD: Nice shoulder action there. Hey, Suzanne.

LEVS: And everyone -- you know, ever since I wore that soccer jersey on the air the other day, people are like, can you play? Well, now they see.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. That's very cute. Of course, I'm barely paying attention to the moves because I'm really dazzled by the hair. I like the spiky look there.

LEVS: Yes. We don't get to pick the hair.

WHITFIELD: Totally digging that.

LEVS: The hair is standard.

WHITFIELD: Oh, look, you have dreads.

LEVS: I have dreads.

WHITFIELD: Go, Josh.

LEVS: Oh, man.

(CROSSTALK)

LEVS: So what we saw before the break, this dog, everyone is clicking on this dog. It's all over the place, on all of these Web sites now. Watch what this dog does. You know, you usually think a dog can't climb a tree, but no one has ever said can it climb two trees at once?

WHITFIELD: And usually that's very difficult for dogs to, you know, extend their limbs that way.

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: The front legs.

LEVS: And this one was posted recently, it has 75,000 hits in just one site alone. And it's being copied to all of these other sites right now. So many people are taking a look at this thing. And yes, look at his...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That dog is amazing.

LEVS: I know. I love it.

OK. Now you know I usually avoid -- I'm usually not really into pranks. You know that. I don't want to show you a lot of prank videos. This one I kind of like because it's kind of making fun of movies. This is just a young woman who puts on a nightgown and just stands there, but does this image from horror films.

So what happens. This is from China. Everyone is clicking on this thing, hundreds of thousands of views on this. So she (INAUDIBLE) and then she goes and she stands at the window, just stands there in her nightgown. Watch the reaction of people who come in. (VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Look like they go into shock (INAUDIBLE) come through. And it makes you realize, what is actually scary about just a woman standing in a nightgown (INAUDIBLE)?

Watch her for a moment. It's priceless. This is probably the most popular one I've seen in recent days. Here you go. This woman and a man, like she's not doing anything. She is just...

WHITFIELD: She's having fun with it, too.

LEVS: But where did that come from, anyway, in horror films? Like, just standing still.

WHITFIELD: I guess it's just so out of place. Oh, my gosh.

LEVS: See, this guy falls to the ground. Poor guy.

WHITFIELD: Oh, really?

LEVS: All right. We can come back to us now. By the way, in the end, they go and...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And he's a big guy.

LEVS: I know, but...

WHITFIELD: He almost fell to the ground, of all of the people who walked by...

LEVS: The big guy.

WHITFIELD: Yes. His knees buckled.

LEVS: It's just not something -- I guess you just don't expect to see it, you know?

WHITFIELD: Yes, it is kind of strange.

LEVS: And now every week you say to me, who are the people with this kind of time?

WHITFIELD: Mm-hmm.

LEVS: So now I specifically bring you...

WHITFIELD: I say that in an envious way, because I have got zero time.

LEVS: So we'll end on this one.

WHITFIELD: Like right now.

LEVS: We will end on...

(CROSSTALK)

LEVS: I know. It's like, we've got to go, we'll end on this.

WHITFIELD: We have no time.

LEVS: This is a perfect example of people having a lot of time. This is Mario from "Mario Brothers"? They -- this is stop motion using Post-It notes. And now they have created this whole Mario thing where he is going all over the room. He leaves the room. He goes down the stairs. It's modern art.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

LEVS: And we're getting the serious...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yes. I'm envious that I don't have the time to do this, nor do I have the creativity, so there you go.

LEVS: Well, as always, our hot videos are posted for you on Facebook, you can show the graphic at the very end. It's facebook.com/joshlevscnn. Facebook makes it easiest to cull all of these videos together. Go there, post your faves, we'll have some next weekend.

WHITFIELD: Josh, thank you. We look forward to that Saturday.

LEVS: Yes, all right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Appreciate it.

LEVS: She can "Bend it like Beckham."

WHITFIELD: Oh, I was about to do something. Now what am I doing? I've got a dress on. I'm not doing that.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Giving Old Glory the proper send-off, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Did you know that tomorrow is Flag Day? That's the day that commemorates the adoption of the United States Flag. But what happens when flags are frayed or damaged? They are actually retired in a special ceremony which involves cutting the flags and burning them. The Boy Scouts is one group that performs this task. And CNN producer Larry Lazo (ph) talked to Maryland Troop 1688 about what the flag means to them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK ZELENKA, LEADER, BOY SCOUT TROOP 1688: You've heard the term Old Glory? This is Old Glory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raise the colors. Troop salute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really important to treat the flag with a lot of respect because it's honoring your country.

MICHAEL "CHIP SLONAKER, BOY SCOUT: There's no actual set way to dispose of it. The flag code just calls for a respectful manner in which destroys the flag completely. It says preferably by burning. So that's usually the method that is taken.

RUSSELL VANBUSKIRK, BOY SCOUT: Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries overseas, you have men and women dying -- and even back The States, you have men and women dying for the American flag.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This flag represents more than just a symbol of our country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am more than just red, white, and blue cloth shaped into a design. I'm a silent sentinel of freedom.

ZELENKA: What I get out of this as their leader is a great sense of hopeful accomplishment that at some point these boys will be the leaders of tomorrow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So in addition to the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, all major veterans groups hold special ceremony to retire old flags just like that.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield, I'll see you again here next weekend. Don Lemon is up next. He'll be talking to a scientist who wants to use the Mississippi River to actually clean up the mess in the Gulf of Mexico.

That's in the next hour of the NEWSROOM.