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Lawmakers Rib BP's Hayward; "Female Viagra"

Aired June 18, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. A look at the top stories right now.

Day 60 of the oil spill disaster in the gulf, and just moments ago, in his update, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said about 25,000 barrels of oil were recovered in containment efforts yesterday and he calls that a significant improvement.

And President Barack Obama is flying to Columbus, Ohio, this hour. He's attending a ground breaking for what is being billed as the 10,000th Recovery Act Road Project, part of his strategy to remind Americans that the stimulus spending bill he signed into law is still cranking out jobs.

And if you have certain cans of Spaghettios with meatballs, you need to throw them out. Campbell's Soup is recalling about 15 million pounds of the product due to possible under processing. However, the Agriculture Department says no one has actually gotten sick from eating those Spaghettios.

All right. Some pretty frightening sight and deadly results. A series of tornadoes hammered the northern plains. More than 60 twisters were reported in Minnesota and North Dakota and two of them hit the ground, at least three people were killed and that number could go up as crews go through the destruction zones and try to survey the damage and look for anyone maybe missing.

Twisters destroyed homes, uprooted trees, blew over power lines and even tore through a hog farm leaving pigs roaming the streets. Let's check in with our Reynolds Wolf, pretty nasty weather and boy, not just one or two. That's enough.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: But more than 60 reported?

WOLF: Well, we probably needed to speak about that a little bit but when we have 60 reports, what that means, when you have tornadoes that move across a given area, let's say a highly populated area. You have 100 people standing out there and they all see the same tornado, if they all call the local National Weather Service office, guess what, you get 100 different reports but one tornado.

So we do know that there were over 60 reports yesterday, not sure the exact number of tornadoes. That may come later on today. What I can tell you is that we have an atmosphere that is going to be increasingly unstable and there will be the possibility for more of those storms, maybe some severe storms, large hail, damaging winds and yes, perhaps even some tornadoes.

In fact, we got a moderate risk that has been set up by the storm prediction certain across parts of the midwest, Mason City. If you're tuning in from that area, maybe Ft. Dodge. If you look out the windows and you look out towards the (INAUDIBLE) you got a lot of cloud cover and with that some very heavy rainfall all driving off towards the east and this is the reason why we're seeing that action.

We got this area of low pressure, this frontal boundary. It's tapping into that moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. This area of low pressure and this frontal boundary is going to create lift. That combined with your daytime heating is going to make for an unstable atmosphere. So Fredricka, today could be round two in terms of rough weather and maybe even more tornadoes.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. One more reminder. And it's day 60 of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, but many people are still buzzing about yesterday's PR disaster on Capitol Hill, particularly for the chief executive, Tony Hayward of BP. He faced off with lawmakers, and today he is still the target of a lot of anger.

CNN's congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is on Capitol Hill with a much closer look on that. Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, lawmakers, Fred, are very frustrated with Tony Hayward and what they heard from him yesterday. Really, what they didn't hear is what they say. And this is Democrats and Republicans alike. They accused him of being evasive, of copping out of doublespeak.

And you know, take a listen to one of the exchanges. I thought it was very representative of some of the back and forth that we saw yesterday. This is between Hayward and Texas Republican Michael Burgess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL BURGESS (R), TEXAS: The difficulties that they had, the multiple gas kicks, to losing tools down the hole, the length of time they've been over the hole, the decisions to move quickly because we spent too much time over this well?

TONY HAYWARD, BP CEO: I had no prior knowledge.

BURGESS: Who would have had that information?

HAYWARD: Certainly, the drilling team in the Gulf of Mexico.

BURGESS: But you are the CEO of the company. Do you have any sort of technical expert who helps you with these things who might have been there?

HAYWARD: With respect sir, we drill hundreds of wells a year all around the world.

BURGESS: Yes, I know. That's what is scaring me right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: So keeping in mind here that the Justice Department is considering whether criminal charges may be appropriate in the case of this huge disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, so certainly Tony Hayward is aware of this and knowing that whatever he said yesterday, Fred, you know, that could potentially get him or BP in legal trouble.

But I tell you, the fact that he wasn't really out there with details, especially because a lot of the Democrats who lead the committee gave him these questions, gave BP these questions ahead of time, hoping to get as complete of answers as they could get, they were so irritated by what they didn't get from him.

WHITFIELD: So what is next in Congress for this oil spill investigation? Because while all this back and forth is taking place, the real grim reality is the oil continues to gush.

KEILAR: That's right. First off, these congressional investigations are going to continue and they have yielded some information, but when it comes to maybe changing regulations, you know, that's not going to happen immediately. We're still awaiting the results of various investigations, including the congressional ones.

The well hasn't been killed yet. So we're going to be seeing Congress at least here in the somewhat immediate future. They're going to be looking to increase that liability cap, remember. On the books it's at $75 million. They certainly want it a lot higher than that. so that's probably the next move. In terms of tightening up regulations, that's something that we may not see for really months.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brianna Keilar on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.

All right. So you have seen the devastation from the oil disaster. Now CNN is giving you a chance to try to help. Join us Monday night for an all-star relief effort to help rebuild the gulf coast. A special two-hour "Larry King Live" event begins 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday night right here on CNN.

A convicted killer in Utah was executed by firing squad overnight. Ronnie Lee Gardner's life ended just after midnight with five shots, four bullets and no final words. Ted Rowlands is live in Draper, Utah now. Ted, walk us through exactly what happened.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Fredricka, you mentioned the five shots and four bullets. One of the members of the firing squad had a blank, and the reason for that is that they don't want these members of the firing squad for sure that they were the ones that took a human life with their shot. So one of them had a blank.

Here's what took place inside the execution chamber in the prison behind me here. Ronnie Lee Gardner, the convicted double murderer was brought in just after midnight and they sit him down in a chair. We got sketches. Now these are sketches from an artist that used witness accounts to develop these sketches.

Gardner was put in a chair and he was given an opportunity for his last words to say something. He said he had nothing to say, so he declined that opportunity. After that, they put a hood on him and then they put an actual target on his heart. A medical professional came in and pinpointed the spot of his heart and they actually put a small target on his heart, and then the members of the firing squad all shoot directly into his heart with a 30-caliber round.

Now, Utah is the only state in the United States that still offers the firing squad as an execution choice, and Gardner did choose this method for his execution. People inside that execution room say it was, as you could imagine, a bit jarring to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIELDS MOSLEY, KUTV: The loudness of the guns shocked me, even though I grew up with a Winchester 30 in my house and shot it many times. But I think when you see it actually hit a human being, and you watch them move to some extent, it was violent, and I didn't find it to be clinical at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: And Gardner's family members were in the area. They went to visit him before the execution, but they decided not to actually witness the execution, saying they wanted to remember him differently than to see that and be haunted by it for the rest of their lives.

WHITFIELD: Ted, I wonder, you know, the rest of Utah or a lot of other people there in Utah, do they feel pretty haunted by this? Is this something that hasn't happened in 14 years there.

ROWLANDS: Yes, and, you know, it's a mixed bag. The capital punishment, the subject itself, obviously there's a great debate on it. Here in Utah, there is a 70-plus positive for the death penalty. A lot of people are for the death penalty here. But the problem with this firing squad, a lot of people think it's barbaric and people think it makes Utah look like the wild west.

So lawmakers here did eliminate the firing squad as a choice moving forward. Ronnie Lee Gardner and a handful of others still have it as an option, a few handful of others on death row. But it's very possible that Gardner may be the last person in the United States to die by firing squad.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much from Draper, Utah. Meantime, a Mormon mom with a choice, side with the church or side with her children. It's part of a new documentary about the Mormon influence on the same-sex marriage ban. We'll take a look at that story right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The battle over same-sex marriage is heating up again in California. A federal court judge is hearing closing arguments in a lawsuit that says Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Prop 8 bans same-sex marriage in the state. And now a new documentary from () explores the roots of this heated ballot in general and the influence of one religious group in particular. The story now from CNN entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Utah mother Linda Stay explodes with passion in the new documentary "8, the Mormon Proposition" about the impact her church had on successfully passing a ban on gay marriage in California.

LINDA STAY, GAY MARRIAGE ADVOCATE: After Proposition 8, we officially resigned from the church, yes, we did. Reason being, I did not feel like their actions were inspired of god in any way, shape or form.

WYNTER: Two of Stay's nine children are gay. She says, leaving the Mormon church over its stance against marriage equality was difficult.

STAY: It's really hard because it's a community and it's a culture and all of my siblings, and my parents and my in-laws. I feel like I have really betrayed them because of our speaking out.

WYNTER: The film alleges that Mormons became the most powerful force in California's fight against gay marriage because the church called upon its members to donate as much money and time as they could to the cause.

We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and your time to preserve the sacred institution of marriage.

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO: I think what surprised every one of us out here in California, I mean truly actually shocked us, was the amount of money coming from the Mormon church.

WYNTER: Mormon church spokeswoman Kim Farrah (ph) told CNN "we have not seen '8: The Mormon Proposition.' However, judging from the trailer and background material on line, it appears that accuracy and truth are rare commodities in this film. Clearly, anyone looking for balance and thoughtful discussion of a serious topic will need to look elsewhere."

Brian Brown is the president of the National Organization for Marriage.

BRIAN BROWN, PRES. NAT'L ORG. FOR MARRIAGE: I value everything that the Mormon members of the California community did to pass Prop 8, and I am just outraged and I think a lot of people are outraged that they are being targeted.

WYNTER: Brown admits he has not seen the documentary, but for some who have, like Linda Stay, they say the film carries a fundamental American message.

STAY: Everybody has the right to life, liberty, happiness, and certainly protection legally under the law when you commit to somebody that you're madly in love with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: "8, The Mormon Proposition" opens today in a handful of cities. So let's bring in Kareen Wynter right now. So Kareen, Linda Stay in that piece, she has two gay children. Is that in large why she is so passionate about this?

WYNTER: Absolutely, Fred. But there's a twist here as well. Tyler, one of her gay children whom we just saw in the documentary, he was able to legally marry here in the state of California when it was legal. Stay's other gay child, a daughter, isn't married because she can't here in California.

So you can see here how difficult it must be for this mom since one child has something, you know, the other can't experience or have at least for now. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Kareen Wynter.

Folks will be watching it in so many cities across the country beginning this weekend.

All right. And don't miss the CNN documentary "Gary and Tony Have a Baby." Soledad O'Brien follows the story of two men to have a baby with a biological and legal connection to both of them. "Gary and Tony Have A Baby" with Soledad O'Brien, premiering at 8:00 p.m. Eastern next Thursday.

World Cup fever spreads far from South Africa's stadiums. We'll take you to a New York soccer field where hopes are high for a U.S. victory today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A look at our top stories right now. It's day 60 in the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, and the government's point man just released some new figures. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says more than one million gallons of oil collected on Thursday.

And Sunday marks World Refugee Day and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is speaking about it right now actually in Washington, it's about to happen, that is. The U.N. announced related milestone today. 100,000 Iraqi refugees have been approved for resettlement.

And Spirit Airlines is flying again. The carrier resumed operations today after reaching a deal with the pilot's union.

12 years after Viagra went on the market for men, the FDA is considering a so-called female Viagra for women with unhappy sex lives.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is in Gaithersburg, Maryland where the FDA panel is reviewing the drug, and soon to decide whether indeed it's a thumbs up or a thumbs down on it.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. Behind me this meeting is going on right now. This FDA panel of experts is basically at the end of the day, literally, going to say, yes, we think this drug should go on the market or no, we think it shouldn't. It's called - some people call it the female Viagra.

Now, they've already been concerns expressed by some FDA scientists that this drug really doesn't work so well. And let me show you what they mean, when people did not take this drug called Flibanserin, when women didn't take it. They had 2.8 sexually satisfying events per month, when they did take Flibanserin, they had 4.5 sexually satisfying events per month. These numbers are obviously averages.

So some people look at those numbers and say, "wow, is this drug really worth it." It's got some side effects. Some women felt dizzy. Some women felt tired. Is it really worth it for that kind of an improvement in your sex life?

Now, the company that makes the drug Boehringer-Ingelheim, they say those are just averages. Some women were on the high end of that and they say their sex lives were really vastly improved by this drug. Well, that's what these experts were going to be debating and later in the day I will have the verdict. Is this drug going to get a stamp of approval or not? Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much from Gaithersburg, Maryland.

All right. There is that and then there is this. A new type of morning-after birth control pill, which might get approved in the U.S.. It's called ellaOne. And an FDA advisory panel says it successfully reduces the chance of a woman getting pregnant if she takes it up to five days after sex. If you recall, Plan b is only effective if women take it within three days after sex. The panel unanimously ruled the new drug safe and effective, and the FDA is considering approving that as well.

All right. We want to tell you about a father's day story. It's one that you're not likely to forget. The documentary is called "Dance for my Daughters." It's about a man diagnosed with cancer who worries about his twin girls if he should die. So he writes this letter to some of this closest friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What song are we singing?

Dear friend, as you know, I recently learned that I have a seven- inch cancerous tumor in my left leg. That afternoon, (INAUDIBLE) just turned three and came running to greet me, laughing, giggling, and falling to the ground. I crumbled. I kept imagining all of the walks I might not take with them and ballet recitals I might not see.

Will they wonder who I was, I thought? Would they yearn for my voice? I believe they will have plenty of opportunities in their lives. They'll have each other, but they may not have me. They may not have their dad. Will you all be their dad?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sick, scared and worried, Bruce wrote that letter to six lifelong friends. Men who knew his voice, who could be fathers for his daughters. He decided to call them the Council of Dads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's an extraordinary story. Join us this weekend for Sanjay Gupta's special. "Dads for my Daughters" airs Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEWEL, PROJECT CLEAN WATER: Hi. I'm Jewel. And together we can make an impact for clean water.

I was homeless for a year when I was 18 years old and I had bad kidneys and I had to drink a gallon of clean water a day and I couldn't afford it. And I thought what is it like in another country when you can't even get a bottle of water.

I found this project "Clean Water" in 1997. Since then we've put about 35 wells in in 15 different countries. We try and solve local water problems and really impact one of the biggest killers during the world. Join the movement, "Impact Your World," go to CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. It's do or die right now between the U.S. and Slovenia at the World Cup. So a lost to Slovenia means the Yanks are probably out of the tournament and thus far their best 23 minutes, between 23 and 25 minutes into the game. And so far, it's 1-0 Slovenia. So, of course, the fans are cheering on the U.S. and of course, Slovenia but particularly the U.S. in South Africa and here at home and CNN's Richard Roth is live, joining us from a soccer field where I see quite a few tots out there.

You getting down on the ground there but what do the kids have to say about World Cup soccer?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're here on a pitch in the middle of the concrete jungle in New York City at the South Street Seaport where the Puma company has set up a big soccer pitch. The kids are traumatized as I am with this 1-0 score so far. Toby Tanenbaum (ph) , what is this and what is your reaction to the 1-0 score, so far?

TOBY TANENBAUM (ph), SOCCER FAN: Very disappointed. Actually, very disappointed, indeed. We're trying to work on the future right now so we can, you know, avoid that next time in 2024.

ROTH: Yes, can these kids really play? Are they the future?

TANENBAUM (ph): They can play, absolutely. Our (INAUDIBLE) coaches are working with the kids right now, working on skill development. Thanks to Puma, we've been allowed down here to use their field. And they are going to show you some of those tricks.

ROTH: Kids, can you show me what you got? Let's see some dribbling. Well, we don't know if these future stars will be competitive on the world stage, maybe when the U.S. hosts the world cup in the year 2022. (INAUDIBLE) I got some parents here who are watching me very cautiously. What do you think of the U.S. losing to Slovenia?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's going to happen. I think we are lulling them into a false sense of security and we're going to come back and beat them the second half.

ROTH: Well, there are a lot of insecure people in New York. Why doesn't soccer grow more after World Cup fever fades?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it does grow initially and then that begins to abate. I am excited. I think that it's beginning to flourish a little bit. I see stands becoming more packed. So I don't know but I hope that it begins to catch on more.

ROTH: OK, thank you very much. That's the scene, Fredericka, here in lower Manhattan South (AUDIO GAP) Seaport, the historic place. These kids can't reverse that 1-0 score today in South Africa but in the future, they might have the United States in the lead. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. They just might. But you know what? Strange things happen. Remember, just last weekend, it was 1-0 great Britain, and then there was a surprising tie because of that goal for the U.S. So, it might happen with the U.S. and Slovenia here, too. It's still early on in the game. Anything can happen.

Richard Roth, thanks so much.

OK, imagine this. If your tap water actually made you sick and gave you this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me you'd drink that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me there ain't nothing wrong with that water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A new documentary blames that reaction, that smell from that water, to a natural gas drilling. Harsh allegations, and you better believe industry officials are already firing back. We're getting both sides as the debate over energy resources heats up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The catastrophe on the Gulf Coast is sharpening the debate on America's energy consumption and where we get the energy that we use.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America's innovation and seize control of our own destiny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Right now, petroleum accounts for 70 percent of our energy consumption while natural gas comes in second place at just a quarter. But supporters say it is time for natural gas to make up a bigger part of that pie. They say it's cheap, it cleaner burning that petroleum or coal, and it's very abundant in the U.S. But environmentalists say one of the ways we actually pry the gas from under ground isn't safe.

The method is calling hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. It involves shooting a million gallons of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground to help drillers unleash the gas. And a new HBO documentary is actually tapping into the concerns that that type of drilling is actually affecting the water supply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw it go out for a second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just give it a second there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa! Jesus Christ!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the best I've done!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I smell hair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, damn!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. That's a portion from the documentary "Gasland." A flammable faucet there among other things. We are diving into this controversial issue.

Joining us live from New York is the director of "Gasland," Josh Fox. And from D.C., we have Chris Tucker, spokesman from Energy in Depth, the coalition representing oil and natural gas producers.

So, Josh, let me begin with you. What prompted you to put this documentary together, "Gasland," and go the direction you went?

JOSH FOX, DIRECTOR, "GASLAND": Right. Well, I never had any intention of making a documentary. My family was asked to lease our land for natural gas drilling. We have about 19.5 acres in the upper Delaware River Basin, which is part of an interconnected watershed system which brings water to New York, Philadelphia and southern New Jersey. We were asked to lease, and the gas companies told us no problems, it was minimally invasive.

But the environmentalists were telling a very different story. And they were saying there was widespread water contamination, air pollution, people getting sick from this, and the drilling campaign was going on over 34 states. About 50 percent of New York, 65 percent of Pennsylvania is over a formation called the Marcelis Shale (ph), which is currently being leased. In New York, there's a moratorium currently, and in Pennsylvania, there's drilling happening all over.

I went and investigated and actually found a much worsen scenario than what the environmentalists were telling me. It was a nightmare --

WHITFIELD: So, give me an idea of all that you found, and all that found, you're saying, is a result of the process called fracking, where this drilling is taking place. So many thousands of feet below the surface, this push of chemicals and water to try and get the gas to then come out. And you're saying that among the things that you located were people who talked about, say, the water that was very smelly or full of gaseous material, just like we saw in that one portion, as well as people who said they were literally getting sick.

FOX: Hydraulic fracturing injects 2 million to 7 million gallons of water laced with toxic fluids, what's called fracking fluids. It can be up to 596 different chemicals in there. And somehow these chemicals are turning up in people's waterwells as well as the thing of flammable water, which you saw there on the television as a clip from our film. We heard reports of flammable water all over the place, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas and even as far as Australia, where there is a lot of fracking going on. This is obviously something we saw. In every place I went, there were these problems, and land owners feeling like they'd gotten a raw deal. They weren't aware this was going to happen and their property was unsellable after the water was contaminated. Obviously if you have such a huge area of the country, my concern with our fresh water supply is to do this much drilling for natural gas. And with this many problems that I'm seeing, with a relatively new process, I think we have to put the pause button on this on because there is no rewind.

WHITFIELD: And Josh, this, too, from your documentary. Just take a look, viewers, if you will, at this portion from the documentary "Gasland." And this woman talks about not just humans getting sick, but house pets as well. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are outside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their hair was falling out. And one of her cats was projectile vomiting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have three cats this is happening to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you said this to DEP (ph), what did they tell you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They said I clean with too much Lysol. And I told one of Cabot's attorneys about it, and he told me it comes from telephone poles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, has the cat been out playing with telephone poles?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The cat doesn't go outside ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHIFIELD: All right, Chris. Joining us now, Chris Tucker with Energy in Depth. So, you don't buy this premise, and you don't necessarily buy what "Gasland" is telling people. Why?

CHRIS TUCKER, SPOKESMAN, ENERGY IN DEPTH: Right, Fredericka. Fundamentally, we are talking about a process in hydraulic fracturing that's been used now for 60 years. It's been in commercial service for 60 years. It's not new. It's not unregulated. It's not exotic. It's been used all over the place 1.1 million times. As recently as a couple of months ago, when the U.S. Senate committee asked top administrators over at EPA if they could identify a single case of groundwater contamination associated with hydraulic fracturing, the answer is not one.

WHITFIELD: So, the newness is not being disputed. It's this testimony from people with it visuals there, someone with a lighter and the gas -- or the water, clearly has some kind of gas in it where it ignites, to the woman who talks about her pets getting sick. So, that's what is in question here in your view. You don't believe that legitimately people could possibly be getting sick from water that's contaminated because of fracking, the process?

TUCKER: Well, the interesting thing is that the gentleman in the film, in fact, being shown right now with the flammable faucet, that gentleman is from Colorado. The regulators went out to that well and did surveys of it, did research, collected data and came forward with the conclusion that that natural gas is actually biogenic in nature. And if you go to our Web page, energyindepth.org, you would find the e-mail they were sending and the report they filed.

Biogenic means naturally occurring. So, I think that report was widely known and it was available before that movie came out. And I think if the director was looking at giving an even-handed account of what's actually happening, the reality of the situation wasn't reflected in the film.

WHITFIELD: So, Josh, you've heard the criticism before and you're hearing it again from Chris. How do you dispute your findings?

FOX: It's incredibly frustrating that the gas industry won't come forward and say we know there are problems. I heard the same thing about people in Denver lighting their water on fire. The gas company spokesman said to me, oh, I have a manual on my desk from 1937 that says that there is naturally occurring methane in the water. But then later, when the Pennsylvania DEP did their investigation, they showed that that gas from the deep shale layers, that the industry had misstated the facts when I first called them. And I suspect this will be a similar conclusion.

The fact is people on the ground all over America are reporting huge problems, and when those problems are reported to the energy industry -- I as a filmmaker, I can defend myself on television. When these people say it to the gas company, they're getting the same response. No, it's not true. You're mistaken. That contamination is not from us.

And I will add that this process has never really been investigated. There was not a full inquiry into hydraulic fracturing. And in fact, it is a new process. They're fracking at so much - there's such a chemical mixture that has never used before and it's at a much higher pressure, 9,000 pounds per square inch, 1,000 gallons a minute.

This is it not the old fracking and it's not the old gas drilling. They were exempted in 2005 from the Safe Drinking Water Act by the United States Congress, prompted by Dick Cheney. And when the energy industry, the natural gas industry comes forward and says these kinds of things, it's misleading.

WHITFIELD: All right. Josh Fox, director of "Gasland." Of course, people can watch HBO. And quickly, Chris Tucker, before I let you go with Energy in Depth, do you see whether you dispute or whether you agree with "Gasland." Do you see that the release of this documentary just might mean some of the regulations on this type of drilling might be re-examined as a result? Just quickly, yes or no?

TUCKER: Hydraulic fracturing has been aggressively regulated for years and on the state level. Never covered under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Josh is misstating the facts on that as well --

WHITFIELD: So yes or no, do you see that there would be a re- evaluation of regulation or examining whether this is it a process that works?

TUCKER: There's a re-evaluation going on right now. EPA is taking a look at it again, second time in five years.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Tucker, Energy in Depth. Josh Fox, director of "Gasland." It premieres on HBO Monday night, I understand. "Gasland."

Thanks so much, gentleman, to both of you.

FOX: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Two months into the oil spill disaster in the Gulf, and last hour in his update, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said about 25,000 barrels of oil were recovered in containment efforts yesterday. He calls that a significant improvement.

It's party time in L.A. The Lakers are the NBA champs for the second year in a row, the 16th time in the franchise history, as a matter of fact. They beat Boston last night 83-79. Celebrations after the game got rather rowdy with people setting fires and throwing rocks and bottles at police in L.A.

All right. Soccer fans are packing bars and in front of their television sets today to watch today's World Cup matchup between U.S. and Slovenia. The game is on right now, got underway about 40 minutes ago. We understand score now, 2-zip, Slovenia.

An 11-year-old artist drawing big money to clean up the Gulf coast. She's been interviewed on this program before, and she's had huge success since. An update on the donation tally after this.

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WHITFIELD: Okay. It's known as a quadruple witching day on Wall Street. Let's check it out with Alison Kosik, who has to explain this one to me. What?

ALISON KOSTIC, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) -- ease into it a bit, Fredericka. Right now, it's kind of quiet here on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Not many economic reports to move the markets with conviction one way or the other. Investors kind of keeping it close to the vest on the final trading day of the week.

But if we look back on the week, as a whole, kind of the big picture, the Dow has really made some big moves. It was up 224 points as we headed into today. It brings the Dow back to where it was a month ago. As where stocks stand right now, the Dow right now is up 29 points, and the NASDAQ is it higher by 10. So, things in that holding pattern. Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: OK, so one more time, quadruple witching day. School me on this.

KOSTIK: All right. Consider it kind of a technical merging of a bunch of events. Quadruple witching is when four types of different options and futures contracts expire all at once. It happens four times a year, on the third Thursday of march, September, December and of course, June. It usually brings a little more volatility into the markets as traders re-align their books. So, we will see a little bit more volatility today.

But if you look back, we have had a lot of volatility in the market for several weeks now. I talked to some traders just before about quadruple witching day. They say get ready for the last hour of trading today. Things are expected to really rev up when lots of trades are going to be coming through here and the stocks will bounce around a lot.

But I got to admit, a lot of these traders are looking at these TV sets, watching the World Cup more than the stocks at this point. They're hooting and hollering.

WHITFIELD: Except the two guys behind you, they look like they're having their own wrestling match. I don't know.

KOSTIK: He's actually doing his testing right now.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Alison Kosik, thank you so much. On the floor of the New York stock exchange.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. You heard that before. Take a look at these pictures. They're worth over $100,000. The artist is just 11 years old, Olivia Bowler. She is making her mark by donating all of the money she raises from her artwork to the Gulf coast effford. Kyra Phillips actually talked to her a couple of weeks ago on this show. And she said she actually contacted the Audubon Society after seeing coverage of the oil spill. And she has created over 180 pieces of art for this effort, and if you want one, donors can e-mail to Oliviasbirds@aol.com and get a print in the mail.

Not bad. Budding artist.

All right. The World Cup is on the web, and we're tracking what our viewers are saying on our CNN blog and other social media. That's where Josh Levs comes in.

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WHITFIELD: All right, time now for "Home and Away," a tribute to the fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's how you can be a part of it. Go to our Web site CNN.com/homeandaway. You will see a map of the U.S. Click on a town and then pull up a service member's profile. Post your thoughts and pictures, and we'll help keep the memories of your hero alive.

Today, we want to lift up Marine Corporaal Andrew Patten. His mom spoke to us.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GAYLE NASCHANSKY, MOTHER OF MARINE CORPORAL ANDREW PATTEN: Playing on the jungle gym at school and he fell face first into the wood chips. He was a rough and tough kid. Dust himself off and be right back at it.

My son Andy was your typical, small-town all-American boy. As a young boy, he loved nature. He enjoyed sports like most other boys, baseball, soccer, football, wrestling. He pretty much tried them all. Andy did love the Boy Scouts, and I think that was, you know fed into his desire to be in the Marine Corps.

He was always willing to stand up for what he believed in. And now, we're very proud that his home church is building a Christian leadership center, which will bear his name. Andy owned lived 19 short years, but they were awesome, amazing years. He loved his God, and he loved his country and he served them both well.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Windshield wipers off.

Oh, my gosh! Oh, wow!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. This just in. You know, we've been telling you about tornadoes hitting Minnesota and the Dakotas early overnight. There are reports of over 60, but confirmation of at least two, and now, these new images. Right now, storm chasers shot this video in Minnesota towns of Urbank, Wadina (ph) and Almora.

The series of tornadoes left at least three people dead. We understand more than a dozen others were hurt. Homes and businesses are in ruins this morning, and many people still don't have electricity in many parts of these towns that I just mentioned. More than 60 tornadoes were reported last night, but Reynolds Wolf mentioned there may have been 60 reports but there's confirmation of two. Sometimes the reports can become redundant. It happens on many occasions.

Much more on these images and the information coming out of those regions throughout the day here.

All right. It is game on this hour at the World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa. The U.S. is taking on Slovenia. And Josh Levs is here to show us how to follow every twist and turn. Last we checked, it was 2-0, Slovenia with the upper hand against the U.S.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony Harris just walked by, and none of us are too happy about how this game is going --

WHITFIELD: He's been making noise about that.

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: But I'm still going to tell you about it because it's still interesting.

WHITFIELD: OK!

LEVS: No, look, here's the thing. We still have the other half of the game to go, right? I have never seen so much interactive information available on any single topic as what we have for the World Cup because people in this country and all of the world is following it.

One of the key places to look is CNN.com/sports. Or you can go straight to our partners at "Sports Illustrated." There's a lot I can show you. I'm going to bop on this quickly just because it doesn't look that great on TV. It's a lot of text. But what happens here is we run down the entire game for you nonstop from "Sports Illustrated." OK, there's the 2-0. All right, let's get away from this.

Now, this is really cool. This is the formation of both the teams. This is Slovenia over here, and this is the U.S. And you can learn all about their players. Click on it, and you can learn their position, their background, anything about any of the players, what we know about them.

Let's do one more over here. Robert Corrin (ph). These are some of the names you will hear. Over here you have the U.S. team, as well. Francisco Torres. You continue to learn what our players are up to based on their formations, where they are.

We also have CNN.com/worldcup, which is packed with information.

WHITFIELD: We're all over it!

LEVS: Everything surrounding the games, and we have the fan zone for you, if you a big fan. Just click on that. You will find all of it at CNN.com/worldcup. We'll hook you up! Keep your fingers crossed for the second half of the game, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Josh. Thanks for the hookup. We appreciate that.

All right. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. Thanks for being with me this morning. Tony Harris is up next. We know, Tony, you are rooting for the U.S.