Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
President Meets with BP Execs; Is Your Sunscreen Safe?; On Tape: Seattle Cop Hits Teen in Face
Aired June 16, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips.
After four trips to the Gulf, the president faces off with BP at the White House. That meeting is about an hour from now. And it comes after we learned the oil disaster is even worse than we thought.
A police officer hits a teen in the face. That punch has sparked a debate. Was it too much? Or did the girl leave the police officer no choice?
And a consumer group says your sunscreen might do your more harm than good. It depends on what kind of sunscreen, of course, you're putting on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But make no mistake. We'll fight this spill with everything we've got for as long as it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused.
And we will do whatever is necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: On the job and on the offensive. The president talks to the American people. And this morning, in about an hour from now, he steps behind closed doors and goes toe to toe with BP executives.
More on that meeting in a moment, but first, let's bring you up to the minute. The scope of the disaster worsens. Government scientists now say as much as 60,000 barrels of oil are gushing from the well each day.
That's 50 percent more than estimates just a week ago. And a staggering 60 times worse than the first damage reports back in late April. President Obama says that BP is making major progress towards gaining the upper hand.
He expects within weeks crews will be able to capture 90 percent of the oil spewing from the underwater leak. And the president said BP will be on the hook for expenses stretching far into the future.
He is demanding the oil giant pay for the cleanup and for the people whose lives and livelihoods may have been forever changed.
So the president wants BP to putt billions of dollars into that escrow fund. The government will give someone else the authority to approve claims and then write the checks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of this company's recklessness.
And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In order to ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair and timely manner, the account must and will be administered by an independent third party.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: In last night's primetime speech the president spoke to the nation. Among those closely listening are the people living in the disaster zone.
For nearly two months their frustrations have been building and so have the demands for more action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY NUNGESSER, PLAQUEMINES PARISH PRESIDENT: We need to see more equipment, more organization, and more sense of urgency to get the oil out before it destroys the marshlands.
We can't wait for it to get into the marsh and then clean it up. We need to fight it on many fronts, from offshore, on the islands, in the bays, and in the marsh. And those teams need to work together and eliminate the opportunity it has to get into the marsh.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Give me a sense of who thinks that the president has got a handle on this situation. Show of hands. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't find he was forceful enough, you know. I mean he's the president of the United States. The most powerful person in the world. I think he could have come across with a little more forceful speech towards BP.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, so how frank will the meeting this morning between BP executives and President Obama be? Again, that meeting is scheduled next hour at the White House.
So let's go to our Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
Perhaps you can set the stage for us. What is the expectation? SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, Fred, all of our cameras are trained on various entrances to the White House to look for those BP executives.
And that's one of the small things but relevant things to look for here, Fred, is whether or not they're going to come in through the North Lawn, whether or not they're going to come and parade them before the cameras, essentially whether or not they're going to take these executives to the woodshed.
This meeting is scheduled for 10:15 in the Roosevelt Room. There are questions and once again we're going to see how this unfolds, whether or not it will be the president and the vice president who simply do a drop-by with this meeting with Admiral Thad Allen and the BP executives, or whether or not there's really going to be a series sit-down, a substantive sit-down with these individuals to talk about, as the president said, making them pay.
The main focus of this meeting, Fred, obviously is what you talked about before is that escrow account, whether or not the BP officials will put aside some money to help pay for claims, for damages that people say this huge oil disaster has happened and has affected them in their lives.
Now we heard from the top adviser, one of the senior advisers, David Axelrod, of the president and he said this morning that this is something they have been talking about before. It's not necessarily that we're looking for a breakthrough here. They believe that they're going to have a deal. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: We've obviously had discussions with them. Nothing has been finalized. That will happen today. But it's fair to say that they understand our position. And they understand the position they are in.
And we expect them to meet their responsibilities, their legal and moral responsibilities to people in the Gulf. And we're going to make sure that that happens today.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A couple of other things that he mentioned, Fred, is obviously, that this is a fund that they want to see be controlled, administered by a third independent party. Not by BP executives themselves.
So far, we understand from Axelrod, that they seem to be willing to go along with that. Also what are we talking about when it comes to the money here? Administration officials saying to the tune of $20 billion set aside.
We'll get a sense of whether or not the BP executives think that that is a reasonable amount of money -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Thanks so much.
So President Obama has appointed a new boss at the agency that actually regulates the oil industry. Michael Bromwich will lead the Minerals Management Service. It is the -- in the president's words, he will serve as the oil industry's watchdog, not its partner.
Bromwich will take charge of the federal efforts to regulate offshore drilling. And that means stricter new safety rules and spill response plans as well.
He is a former federal prosecutor. Bromwich served as a watchdog in the Justice Department during the Clinton presidency.
OK, this summer you trust sunscreen to keep your kids safe from harmful rays. But a new survey finds that brand-named sunscreens could actually contain potentially dangerous ingredients. We'll tell you about those warnings.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Speaking of the beach, Fredricka, boy, it is going to be hot across parts of the southeast. Heat indices could approach 110. Details on that plus stormy weather could be severe in the mid Atlantic. We'll talk about the timing of those storms when I see you again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK. So your sunscreen may not be protecting you the way you think. A consumer advocacy group investigated about 1,000 brand names and the study found that most sunscreens make false claims and possibly contain dangerous ingredients.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here.
Oh boy, this is nerve-racking. This summer --
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right.
WHITFIELD: Kids are at the pool almost every day. You slather it on.
GUPTA: Right.
WHITFIELD: So what do we look for to make sure that we're using the right stuff?
GUPTA: You know, when you really just (INAUDIBLE) all this down is that we're not sure that a lot of these things are dangerous. But we're not positive they're safe either. That's the real concern. You can say that about a lot of potential products out there.
But the environmental working group has done a few studies on this. Trying to point out a couple of important things. First of all, you know, they look at 500 different sunscreens out there. And after all was said and done they came out with 39 on their approved list. And we can go to the Web site to find that out. Two things, really. One is that they say certain toxins, certain potential toxic elements could be in some of these sunscreens and they might pose problems.
For example, something known as oxybenzine. It's in about 60 percent of sunscreen. It absorbs some of the harmful rays. They say in certain mice studies it could potentially cause cancer. This is animal studies. Whether that translates to humans, it's always the big question.
Another substance, retinol palmitate -- you don't need to remember all these names, it's again on the Web site -- in about 40 percent of sunscreens. But again, it allowed tumors to grow faster in certain animals, again, in mice.
WHITFIELD: If you were putting on sunscreen to cut down on the chances of --
GUPTA: Right.
WHITFIELD: -- of skin cancer.
GUPTA: That's right.
WHITFIELD: And now we're talking about other types of cancers that we could conceivably be exposed to or --
GUPTA: Right. And most dermatologists will say, look, it's still -- you know, right now with all that we know, it's still better, obviously, to wear sunscreen to try and prevent some of these skin cancers for now and for later on in life because some of these things can come up many years later.
But there may be some more guidance necessary on what are the best sunscreens. And that the real problem here. You know, for 30 years now, since the FDA has really looked at some of the sunscreen industry and tried to figure out what some of these elements are and are they safe.
You know we also talked to the Personal Care Products Council overseas. This industry and lots of others. They say this EWG, Environmental Working Group report, is simply unscientific. They're not -- they're not going with it at all. They say these are FDA approved elements. And they're right. But it's 30 years ago. It's been a long time.
WHITFIELD: Oh gosh.
GUPTA: Yes.
WHITFIELD: So now when I see a label that says SPF 100, 50, 30, all of these numbers, do those numbers have any bearing on some of these ingredients? Do I -- need to pay closer tanks?
GUPTA: Well, the best way to think about those numbers is that you're probably getting diminishing returns as you get higher. So, you know, you have certain numbers and people have SPF of 100 even nowadays.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: That probably isn't providing you much extra. If you take a look at the numbers specifically in terms of what it does to make it a percent or two more of blockage. But when you look at -- you know, you think about sun protection factor, SPF.
So if you have 15, what that means, Fred, is that it takes 15 times as long to cause a sunburn versus not wearing any sunscreen at all. But you know, between 30 and 50, you're only getting a percent blockage there.
And they're focused on UVB rays. And we've talked about this before. But there's UVA and UVB.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: Most sunscreens just do UVB as well. UVA can potentially be problematic. So find a broad spectrum sunscreen. Something that covers both.
WHITFIELD: And maybe now when we lean towards the 50 or the 30, we're thinking we don't have to apply it.
GUPTA: That's right.
WHITFIELD: Maybe it's smarter to stick with the 15 because then you got to reapply.
GUPTA: You're absolutely right. People think, oh, I got 100.
WHITFIELD: That's because Dr. Freddie is speaking here.
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: That's good, Dr. Freddie. I like that.
(LAUGHTER)
GUPTA: We should consult. If you put SPF of 100 people think I can just put a little bit on. It's 100.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: No, you've got to put the same amount on. It's just going to give you more protection over at the time.
WHITFIELD: Wow. All right, thanks so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: Also creams versus sprays.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: Use the cream.
WHITFIELD: Go for the creams.
GUPTA: Yes. Spray, you don't get enough on.
WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. And it seems so easy, too.
GUPTA: That's right.
WHITFIELD: But that was probably the signal right there.
GUPTA: Life is not that easy.
WHITFIELD: It's not that easy.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Got to work for it.
GUPTA: That's right.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Always good to see you.
All right, at least two people were killed and hundreds of homes damaged when a series of earthquakes rocked Indonesia today. The strongest quake was a 7.0 magnitude centered near the north coast area of Papua. It was followed by six aftershocks.
And on top of that, a tsunami watch sent panicked residents running for higher ground. It was later lifted.
And in Alaska now, a magnitude 5.0 quake hit off the southeastern coast there. And that was felt 58 miles away in Anchorage. So far no word of injuries.
All right. On to some crazy weather now. Parts of Oklahoma, floodwaters were so high that people found it's easier to swim around than actually walk where they were trying to go, even though the water there, pretty murky and pretty nasty.
The area is still covered from more than 11 inches of rain that fell in and around Oklahoma City this week. One man actually died after his car filled with water and was washed away. The storm left thousands of people without power.
And residents are also cleaning up from flash flooding in several Iowa counties. Take a look at these images. Heavy rains filled creeks and flooded streets and the homes there. There were few high water rescues as well. But no injuries reported. Good news there.
All right. Check out that severe weather in Ohio as well. This is what it did. That's a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus burning. Lightning actually struck it on Monday night.
And now, there's nothing left but a metal skeleton as you're about to see right there. The co-pastor at the church where this happened says she hopes to replace the statue with a more fire-proof version. The one that burned was made of foam and fire glass.
And, obviously, it was a real magnet for lightning as well.
Jacqui Jeras in the weather center --
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Wow.
WHITFIELD: There are some crazy, unbelievable, bizarre stuff happening in so many parts of the country.
JERAS: I know. You know the statue of Jesus, by the way, huge landmark in Monroe, Ohio. If you've ever been on I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, you know the one that we're talking about and it was affectionately called "Touchdown Jesus," by the way, because he had his arms up in the air, like that. So, if you heard of Touchdown Jesus, you know what we're talking about in the area.
Now, those thunderstorms that rolled through, we also had another round last night around Indianapolis, over towards Cincinnati and into Ohio. That storm system really has weakened a lot -- and a lot of the energy has lifted on up here into parts of Canada. The Mid-Atlantic States now will be our focus here, say, from New York City, Washington D.C., and Richmond.
But take a look at the pictures that we have out of Indianapolis from the system last night. Hundreds of people still woke up without power this morning after severe storms rumbled on through, producing winds in excess of 16 miles per hour, breaking down those trees and bringing down those power lines.
And severe weather will be a good possibility in this area as well as the southeast. Later on today, you know, these storms we are seeing go through the area, across the mid-Atlantic, these are not terribly strong. This is just kind of a little warm-up to what we're expecting later on this afternoon and into the evening hours as well.
We're also looking at those flood watches and warnings which remain in effect across a large part of the country, from, really, the mountainous west all the way into West Virginia. All the bright green areas, that's where we have warnings and the darker green where we have watches. So, that's where renewed flooding is going to be a possibility.
It's still staying smoking hot across parts of the south. We got heat advisories today.
Who's going to Disney World, right? It's vacation season.
Well, Orlando is not looking great. It's going to feel like 105 to 110 degrees this afternoon. So, it's really dangerous heat. And you need to do most of those activities, especially the vigorous ones like running in the morning or after sundown.
We don't have heat advisories anywhere else across the south and southeast. But look at these temperatures, still very brutal. And go ahead and think about maybe tacking on five degrees on top of those temperatures because that's what your body is going to be feeling.
We're also tracking conditions along the Gulf Coast with that oil spill. There's been very little movement here, Fredricka, over the last couple of days. The winds have been relatively light. So, that's been a little bit of good news for those folks in most of those beaches continuing to stay open, taking a vacation.
WHITFIELD: And good news would be nice for that region.
All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.
All right. A jaywalking case gets out of hand, way out of hand -- let's see what you think -- to the point where an officer actually punches a teen in the face right there. All of that caught on video. Critics say the officer simply went too far. The police union says he waited too long to use force?
We're talking more about this story in a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. A look at our top stories right now. It is day 58 of the Gulf oil disaster. Government scientists are now saying at least 1.5 million gallons of oil are flowing into the Gulf every day. That estimate is an increase from just last week alone.
And President Obama meets BP executives at the White House next hour. The president wants to company to set up a fund to pay damages for the spill.
And the first U.N. cargo plane with refugee and aid has landed in Uzbekistan. Around 100,000 people crossed the border from Kyrgyzstan to escape ethnic fighting.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. We'd love to know what you think about this: a confrontation caught on tape has Seattle police on the defensive now. So, let me try and set this up for you.
An officer says he saw a group of people jaywalk at an intersection where jaywalking has been a problem. The officer ordered one of the pedestrians, a teen girl, to stop. But she kept walking.
Well, she's wearing black in this video that you're about to see. You can see the officer trying to arrest her. But she's resisting and yelling. And then her friend there in the pink shirt gets between them and pushes the officer. Well, that's when he punches the friend right in the face.
The Urban League says the officer simply went too far. Seattle's police union says the cop did nothing wrong and that the girls should not have touched him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACTING DEP. CHIEF NICK METZ, SEATTLE POLICE: These women do have to bear much of the responsibility in the altercation that occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, both teens were arrested, jailed and released. Seattle's interim police chief says that he is reviewing arrest tactics.
And let's take a listen to -- I think there was another person who's going to talk -- the acting deputy chief Nick Metz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES KELLY, URBAN LEAGUE OF SEATTLE: The provocation of the 17- year-old may have presented a confrontation situation. But the use of violence in the form of a full-blown fist to the face was wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. That was actually from the Urban League.
So, what do you think about this? Should the officer have handled it differently? Or did the girls leave him no choice?
Put your thoughts on my blog, CNN.com/Fredricka, and we'll get some of your comments on the air.
All right. Closing arguments are scheduled today in a federal court battle to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 has been a flash of controversy since California voters approved it back in November of 2008. Now, a pair of gay couples are suing to overturn Prop 8, claiming it's unconstitutional. The case is expected to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Michael Jackson's brother, Randy Jackson, is in a California hospital. He was taken there yesterday after suffering chest pains. He has undergone test and is waiting for the results now. Randy Jackson was in court Monday for a pretrial hearing for Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray, of course, you'll recall, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson.
All right. Perhaps you think the housing market is in the clear. Well, don't be so sure just yet. New signs that might rattle homeowners' nerves -- right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. On Wall Street, it's been up one day and down the next. Yesterday, the Dow soared more than 200 points. So, today, no surprise that we're expecting a decline at the open. A round of weak economic news certainly isn't helping either. New home construction tumbled 10 percent in May -- which was the first month after the homebuyer tax credit expired. And the outlook for the housing market isn't good either because applications for building permits dropped to the lowest level in a year. And mix that with the disappointing profit forecast from FedEx and stocks are set to fall today.
All right. So, there are new signs that the housing market which was picking itself up is starting to dip again for those -- some of those reasons that I just mentioned. But if you're a homeowner, what could this mean for one of your biggest investments ever?
Christine Romans is joining us from New York with more on that -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
It's your biggest investment. It's likely the biggest debt you will ever take on. And it's an asset that many people are counting on to help them sell one day and get through retirement, right? So, everyone cares about what happens to your house.
And some economists are saying that the recent -- the recent information, Fredricka, has shown that after perking up earlier this year and showing signs of stabilizing, the housing market is a little weak. In fact, one economist this morning is telling me that there's no doubt now that there's a double dip in store for the housing market meaning that prices and activity could decline again. Why?
Well, couple of big reports going to weigh this out. The number one reason is unemployment. You have 7 million or 8 million fewer people working right now than you did a few years ago. Those are people who can afford to buy a house or in some cases even stay in the house they have.
You have elevated vacancy rates. You have something like 7 million homes that are just in there. Vacant people have lost their homes. You could have up to 4 million more foreclosures this year. Those are all people in homes whose prices are likely to decline and you have the end of the home buyer tax credit.
A lot of questions about after that juice in the housing market from the home buyer tax credit that has the -- wound down, you need to have a contract signed by April 30th, you know, now what?
Another survey, a confidence survey from homebuilders yesterday, showed a surprise there, too. It showed homebuilders are a little worried here. That index was 17. What does that mean? You need a reading above 50 to mean that builders, people who are actually building the houses that you are going live in some day, have a positive outlook.
So all of these are just reasons for caution here in the housing market. We didn't think that no one thought that it was going to be some runaway bull market in housing by any stretch of the imagination. But they were hoping that the stability would last a little bit longer.
The question now is once we get through the summer, once that home buyer tax credit is certainly in the rear view mirror, Fredricka, and if can you get jobs to start to be created again in significant numbers, private sector, full-time jobs, then will you see the housing market start to recover a little bit. That remains to be seen -- Fredricka.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, all right. That's a lot. All right, thanks so much. Christine Romans, appreciate that from New York.
OK, so if you are one of the 15 million Americans out of work, some very discouraging predictions right now. Employment experts who talk to CNN say it may be even harder for the unemployed to actually land a job. Here is why.
These experts say more companies are posting ads just like this one saying unemployed candidates will not be considered or ads might say you must be currently employed. Human resources consultants say they've noticed the trend and they give a couple of reasons for it.
They say that the stigma remains that being laid off is linked to bad job performance despite the high unemployment rate. Second, job recruiters are swamped. The U.S. Labor Department says there are nearly six jobless people for every job opening and eliminating the unemployed is a shortcut to shrinking the applicant pool.
All right, calling on all billionaires, Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates reportedly want to you give away half your wealth. In an exclusive report by "Fortune" magazine, Buffett and the Gates have announced that they are calling the $600 billion challenge, that's what they're calling this whole thing.
The magazine says they're asking America's billionaires to pledge at least half their net worth to charity. "Fortune" says the money would be payable in their "lifetimes or at death."
All right, meantime, it is day 58 of the Gulf oil disaster. And in less than an hour from now, President Obama will hold a White House meeting with executives from BP. He's calling on them to establish a massive escrow account to pay for all future cleanup and damages. The president says a third party will oversee the claims process.
Meanwhile, government scientists have upped the estimate of the leak yet again. They now say as much as 60,000 barrels of oil are gushing from the well each day. That's 50 percent more than estimates just a week ago.
One optimistic note from the president's speech, he says that within weeks, BP will be able to capture 90 percent of the oil spewing from the underwater leak. CNN's Ed Lavandera is actually in New Orleans.
So, Ed, was that estimate met with relief or skepticism? What do people say about that?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, essentially where we are at and what you hear over and over from people is that essentially this goes back to the flow rate, which keeps changing -- keeps changing week by week.
Yesterday, late afternoon, we heard the news that the new flow rate is up to now possibly to 60,000 barrel a day. Flowing from the oil gusher there at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. So 90 percent of what is -- essentially the question you hear over and over.
If you don't know what the overall number is how do you know you are capturing 90 percent of it? So as we move forward here, there's still I think a great deal of skepticism about any kind of numbers in terms of capturing that you hear coming from the administration, the coast guard, or from BP themselves.
WHITFIELD: In the meantime, Ed, you spent the day with Louisiana Governor Jindal. The governor is saying they are not waiting for anybody to take care of this. They are trying to take matters into their own hands. In what way?
LAVANDERA: Well, significant. We spent the day with the governor in Barataria Bay, which is just north of Grand Isle, south of New Orleans. Significant because they say this is the deepest that they have seen oil reach into the Louisiana marshland. And they also say that what's going on there, kind of highlights the chaotic nature of these cleanup efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): On the edge of this oil-stained marsh grass, vacuum trucks sit on barges and crews using a plastic hose suck oil out of the water. But this isn't an idea brought to you by BP or the federal government. It is what Governor Bobby Jindal likes to call Cajun ingenuity.
GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL, (R) LOUISIANA: What was frustrating was before we did this, they were simply letting that oil sit there. That's not acceptable. You don't win this war by waiting for the oil to go away. You win the war by attacking the oil wherever it is away from our coast.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Here in Barataria Bay, the urgency of this oil disaster continues to heighten. We are about 15 miles north- northeast of the city of Grand Isle. Officials say this is where they have seen the deepest reaches of this oil into the Louisiana marshland.
JINDAL: So we're here in Barataria Bay. We are going to see some of this heavy oil.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): On a boat tour of the bay with the Louisiana governor, patches of thick oil are spread across this state's richest fishing waters. Oil this far north is nothing short of a disaster. But Grand Isle's mayor says that red tape is still bogging down the cleanup efforts and he is fighting the federal government to get permits to build oil contain many systems between barrier islands.
MAYOR DAVID CAMARDELLE, GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA: We are asking you the agencies out there to work with us. Work with us and listen to us. I guarantee you're going to be happy, it will come back after hurricane season and I can promise that we're going to protect the estuaries, but we have to act now.
LAVANDERA: Governor Jindal says booms and skimmers didn't make it to this part of Louisiana before the oil crept into the bay. He says it is proof BP's cleanup plan simply wasn't adequate.
(on camera): When you hear BP say we are doing everything we can, we are being as proactive as we can, nobody wants this cleaned up more than us --
JINDAL: Nonsense. They need to intensify this effort, fight this oil 15 to 20 miles out on the coast, don't fight it in the wetlands with the shrimp, the fish, the crabs and oysters are. Once the oil gets in here, the damage is already done.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Almost two months into this oil disaster, BP has been told to step up its cleanup efforts. But out here the fishermen that who live off these waters aren't waiting around.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: You know, Fredricka, what's interesting is that the governor and the people who are doing these vacuum barges are -- first to tell you that this isn't the best efforts to clean this up.
The first two barges are have only collected 10,000 gallons of oil since they were implemented about a week ago. But they say that look, you have to do something. This oil can't just sit here in the bay. The longer it sits there the worse off it is for the marshlands of Louisiana.
WHITFIELD: And now, what about, Ed, the plans of this restoration plan for the Gulf Coast. The Obama administration just named the former Mississippi Governor Ray Mabus to oversee that. Is there any confidence that people have in that region that this restoration plan will actually come to fruition and that it will it be helpful?
LAVANDERA: You know, that will be difficult. The people here along the coast, Fred, have been clamoring for this for years and years along the wetlands. You know, the -- the hope is that -- everything seems to be bogged down in red tape.
At least from the perspective of the folks here on the Gulf. One example is that in that Grand Isle area, you have the barrier islands, lot of groups there, lot of the local officials want to create these kind of trapping systems to collect oil in one place.
They want to put a series of barges and rocks in these passes. So that the oil is funneled into one spot ask can bring in these vacuum barges. You heard the mayor of Grand Isle alluding to that in our story there, but they can't get the permits right now to put those rocks into place there.
So they say that they have been trying this for a week now and it is bogged down in red tape. It seems to be that's the case when it comes to anything having to do with the Louisiana marshlands.
WHITFIELD: Ed Lavandera, thanks so much. Joining us from New Orleans.
All right, across the seas now. Thousands and thousands of refugees running from deadly ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan. But escaping alive is just the beginning of their struggles. We're getting first hand stories now from survivors in a refugee camp.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories. Next hour, President Obama meets with BP executives to talk about the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf. A speedy claims process is expected to be high on his agenda.
During a primetime address last night, the president said he will tell BP to set aside whatever resources are needed to compensate workers and business owners for lost wages.
Teams investigating a deadly mine explosion in West Virginia earlier this year have found a crack that may have allowed methane gas to leak in through the floor before that blast. The explosion at the upper Big Branch miners killed 29 miners in April.
And in Bangladesh, massive landslides have killed more than 50 people. Rescuers pulled four more bodies from the mud and muck today. The mud slides were triggered by heavy rains yesterday that buried houses and leaving hundreds of people homeless.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: More help is on the way to some 100,000 refugees fleeing from bloody ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan. The first United Nations plane has arrived in neighboring Uzbekistan bringing tents and other supplies to refugee camps.
One hundred seventy nine people have reportedly been killed. Hundreds more have been injured in six days of fighting in Kyrgyzstan.
Russia and the U.S. are also sending in help to the border. An Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake is scheduled to visit a refugee camp in Uzbekistan today. Our Senior International correspondent Matthew Chance is already on the ground in one of those camps where survivors are sharing their stories and they are waiting for word from loved ones left behind. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Walking through this refugee camp, you get an overwhelming sense that the people who managed to get here, mainly women and children, are just happy to be safe at last.
They've got food and they've got blankets, they've got shelter. They've got security. But there's also a deep sense of concern amongst everybody I have spoken to about what is still happening across the border in southern Kyrgyzstan.
Remember, they have left their men folk, their husbands, their fathers, their brothers, their sons, back in southern Kyrgyzstan to try and protect their property, or what's left of it after the days of violence that have ravaged that region.
Lakusa (ph) thank you very much for speaking to us. Did you see any of the violence that took place (INAUDIBLE) in the past few days?
LAKUSA: Yes.
CHANCE: What did you see?
LAKUSA: I see -- I saw the (INAUDIBLE) people conquer our region and they are beginning to -- begin to kill our people.
CHANCE: With guns?
LAKUSA: Yes, of course. Yes. They have many arms. I am afraid of coming to Kyrgyzstan.
CHANCE: Are you afraid of the Kyrgyz Army, the Kyrgyz government?
LAKUSA: Yes, the Kyrgyz people all of them.
CHANCE: All right.
Did we get that, yes. They were shouting, yes, thank you, thank you President Karimov who is the President of Uzbekistan, because these camps have been inundated here in Uzbekistan with refugees from Southern Kyrgyzstan. More than 100,000 now have come across but the flow has been so great.
The Uzbek authorities have actually at times closed the border, leading to some panicking, desperate scenes across the other side of the barbed wire.
So what's happening here is these Uzbek officials are delivering bread to the thousands of starving ethnic Uzbeks just across this border fence here. This is the barbed wire fence. There are not permitting them in but they are providing them with food and water. There are still lots of reports of violence just across the border fence here. We are being moved back now. The situation is still very desperate indeed for a great many people who haven't made it to the refugee camps here in Uzbekistan.
Matthew Chance, CNN on the Uzbek/Kyrgyz border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. We're talking more domestic issues when we come back. Candy Crowley is going to be joining us. We'll talk about the President's message in his primetime speech last night and if now is a time to talk clean energy.
Meantime, it is June 16th. Let's flash back to 1903. 107 years ago today, Ford Motor Company was incorporated. In 1933, the new deal was a big deal. President Roosevelt opened the famous recovery program signing bank, rail and industry bills and opening up aid for farmers. And 50 years ago today, Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" premiered in New York while taking a shower has never been the same.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right.
The President has taken a lot of criticism for his response to the Gulf oil disaster. Remember, some said that he simply wasn't being tough enough. So he addressed the nation from the Oval Office in primetime last night and that's a time and place most presidents reserve for war or crisis speeches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But make no mistake, we will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long as it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this. Joining me right now, "STATE OF THE UNION" host, Candy Crowley. Good to see you Candy.
So, you know, is this more than just the U.S., this administration declaring war on the spill? Is this the President also trying to make sure that people don't lose faith in his leadership?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Of course. Yes. That's really what the last couple of weeks has been about with the multiple trips down to the Gulf. Remember, we're almost getting very close to the 60-day mark on this.
In the past couple of weeks, the President has made a couple of trips down to the Gulf. He has said in a news conference, "I take responsibility." He had a very famous interview with NBC where he got very tough in his language, and last night -- which was intended to show not just "I take responsibility but I'm in control."
The problem here, I think, for the President is no one night turns that around, and in general, no amount of Oval Office speeches -- I think he could have given this on the moon, and unless that oil spill stops in those pictures that we see day in and day out is one speech or any speech going to overcome those pictures as far as Americans are concerned.
WHITFIELD: I wonder, too, then, how effective at least the message, the outward message that is being sent from him meeting with the BP executives. Yes, the President says I'm getting tough with them, saying they have to have an escrow account; but it's still up to BP to honor that because the President really can't make that happen, can he?
CROWLEY: As far as I know, he can't make that happen. You learn something new every time you go into new territory. But as far as I know, it's awfully difficult to force a company, if you are not giving them money -- the whole Wall Street bailout was something different -- and tell them how to do business.
Having said that, BP is also interested in its own public image; there clearly are negotiations going on between BP and the administration about an escrow account and how it would work. Because remember, it's not just about taking money from BP and setting it aside, it's about taking money from BP, setting it aside and letting a third party dole it out.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
CROWLEY: So that has to be fairly interesting to BP at this point. We have governors saying I think BP should make up for the lost state revenues that we're not getting in taxes. This could get pretty expensive. So I'm sure BP would like to have some rails on a trip that's going to take them to pay for so many things.
WHITFIELD: All right. There's that oil spill. We're almost -- we're two days away from that 60-day mark as you just mentioned.
The President is also making a push for alternative energy, his agenda on that. Here's a little bit of what he had to say last night and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs but only if we accelerate that transition, only if we seize the moment and only if we rally together and act as one nation: workers and entrepreneurs, scientists and citizens, public and private sectors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Candy, of course, some are taking issue with this already. CROWLEY: Yes. Republicans even warned ahead of time don't use this to push your energy policy. Do not use this politically. Having said that, the President does have some support behind him on this; we've seen some polling showing that in fact ever since this oil spill began, there are ever increasing numbers of Americans who want to see, A, an end to offshore drill, but B, some sort of comprehensive energy plan.
We should to that thought that the American people aren't going to vote on the energy plan, the Senate and the House are. The Senate in particular has a problem here because it's not just Republicans that the President will run up against it's also some Democrats. There were no specifics about he wants to see in the energy bill and there are Democrats pushing back.
He left himself open to the charges of using it for politics because the Republicans had already signaled ahead of time, you start talking about your energy bill, pushing your energy agenda; that's politics.
WHITFIELD: Candy Crowley. Candy Crowley, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
All right. Meantime, again, in the next hour, the President is going to be meeting with BP executives. We will bring you more as we learn from what dialogue is taking place. In fact, I think we have some live pictures right now of the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward who's walking in right now to have that face-to-face meeting -- among others -- have that face-to-face meeting with the President.
We heard last night the President's pledge saying we're going to make sure that BP is held accountable and that BP pay for the loss of industries, the loss of the environment -- as a result of the environmental impact. And of course, that is likely to be center stage in the dialogue, how much BP is willing to put into that so- called escrow account that the government said it would actually manage in terms of what claims are being paid out.
Also this information coming in to the NEWSROOM: BP reporting that oil and gas are flowing through a second containment system now, attached to the DeepWater Horizon rig's failed blowout preventer. This is significant because this is the first alternative system that is drawing oil to the surface, we understand, according to BP sources.
We'll have more on that in the next few hours.
Of course, you continue to look at the live images here of the gush of oil and methane gas that continues to spew from the leak. However, this information just now coming in.
Meantime, let's take a look at what is straight ahead on Capitol Hill. Let's begin with White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux. We're talking about taking place on Pennsylvania Avenue first?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, what we just saw is the BP officials arrived here at the White House. Photographers caught it in what we call a fence-cam, them walking through the White House. Obviously this meeting is going to start in minutes, and we're told that President Obama is going to be meeting about 20 minutes or so then he is going to leave for what White House officials are calling a nitty-gritty negotiation session over just how BP is going to pay for those claims and pay for those damages of all those folks who are suffering.
We'll have more on that at the top of the hour.
PATRICIA WU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Patricia Wu in New York. And even more oil could be flowing into the Gulf than previously thought. The government now estimates 60,000 gallons could be spilling every day. We will break that down to gallons of milk and Olympic size pools and even the Empire State building. That's coming up at the top of the hour.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. On Capitol Hill today, senators grill experts, is the seafood supply safe and the workers who are cleaning up the oil, are they safe? I'll have that at the top of the hour.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much ladies; more from all of you coming up.
Plus, he met with President Obama just this week and he watched his speech last night. Richard Guyo (ph) is part of six generations of Gulf Coast shrimpers. In the next hour we ask him his thoughts on the President's remarks last night and the next plan of action.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
