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Israel Easing Gaza Blockade; Spill Fund Chief Pledges Action; Australia's Oil Disaster; Deadly Blasts Rock Baghdad; Happy Father's Day via JibJab

Aired June 20, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Terror in Baghdad. Suicide car bombers hit a street packed with people.

And major policy shift in Israel. The government announced that it will ease the Gaza blockade.

And critical tips to navigate fatherhood. It's must-see TV for Father's Day. Catch it at 4:00 Eastern time.

We begin with that major announcement out of the Middle East just three weeks after that deadly raid on an aide flotilla. Israel is loosening the blockade at Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will allow civilian goods to enter Gaza. Military equipment and weapons are still banned.

Just moments ago I spoke to Special Middle East Envoy Tony Blair in Jerusalem to help ease the blockade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST ENVOY: The outcome of the agreement today with the government of Israel is that from now on we can draw a clear distinction between the security needs of Israel, which are perfectly legitimate, and the need to keep weapons out of Gaza, and that, on the other hand, the needs of ordinary people in Gaza and allowing civilian goods to come in.

So we've now got that principle very clearly set out. Instead of there being a list of items that are permitted to go into Gaza, which is actually pretty restrictive, we're going to shift to what is called a prohibitive list. In other words, weapons and other material which would not be allowed in, otherwise things come through.

And that should mean - I hope even over the next couple of weeks, probably a doubling of the stuff coming into Gaza and over time an even greater and more significant easing of the situation for people there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And more with Tony Blair, that interview, coming up later on in this hour in terms of when that blockade will indeed be lifted. Israel announced it is easing the Gaza blockade after a meeting of the Security - Israeli Security Cabinet. That was just this morning.

We've got the latest now from CNN's Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem - Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka.

Well, Israel is really changing its tact on this blockade on Gaza. The blockade is staying in place, but it has said that it will have that list of banned items. And, in theory, everything else should be allowed in.

Now, this is different from what Israel had done before previously. Israel said that they had a list of what was allowed in, just a few items, but they never actually published it. They never gave it to any of the NGOs or the United Nations who needed to know what would be able to go into Gaza. So, in theory, this will be good news for the United Nations, it will be good news for the NGOs who now know exactly what they can take in.

But, of course, as you know, you spoke to Tony Blair and you asked him what exactly will be allowed in, and when will they know about that list?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAIR: The actual makeup of the list is - is something that will now be intensively discussed, but essentially what will be on the prohibited list will be either items, you know, such as weapons of combat material or things that could be used for that purpose.

So everything else will be allowed in, and that will immediately facilitate many, many household items and food stuffs that have been kept out of Gaza and - and other material. So that should make a very big difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: But let's remember that Mr. Blair, along with many leaders in the international community and Palestinian leaders have consistently been calling for the lifting of the blockade completely.

Now, we're still waiting for some kind of reaction from Palestinian leaders, but when this came about last week, they said that it's not enough. They want complete freedom of movement. Of course, this does not address the freedom of movement of 1.5 million Gazans in Gaza itself, and, of course, exports from Gaza.

The Gaza people wanted to rebuild their economy, so this is something that Mr. Blair has being talking to the Israeli prime minister about, how to rebuild from the inside - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem. Thanks so much. We'll have more on this story later on in this hour.

Meantime, let's go now to the Gulf of Mexico, here in this country. The man in charge of BP's $20 billion fund to compensate gulf oil spill victims promises to pay claims swiftly. Kenneth Feinberg is the independent administrator of the new compensation fund set up just last week after President Obama met with BP executives.

He went on television today to talk about the fund, and CNN's Kate Bolduan is in Washington to tell us more about what Kenneth Feinberg said.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Fredricka.

Well, Kenneth Feinberg's mantra right now really seems to be speed and efficiency, tasked by both BP and President Obama to oversee the $20 billion fund for victims of the gulf oil spill. Feinberg has said his biggest obstacle at this point is convincing skeptical Gulf Coast residents to actually file their claims.

So here's the pitch he's making today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH FEINBERG, COMPENSATION FUND ADMINISTRATOR: He files a claim and he gets paid, and he gets paid promptly. The president of the United States has instructed me, get these claims paid, get them paid quickly.

When I met with Governor Barber, he told me frankly, Ken, time is the enemy, and he's so right here. I must make sure that this $20 billion fund provides for prompt payment, full compensation.

It's an independent program. I'm not beholden to the administration, I'm not beholden to BP.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Feinberg is best known, as you know, for administering the September 11th victims' compensation.

In at least one aspect, this job, this time around, is more complicated because the damage is still unfolding. As the oil continues gushing below the surface, there's really no way of knowing just how much damage the residents and businesses in the gulf will suffer, and, Fredricka, Feinberg acknowledged today that many of the initial payments that he'll approve very quickly will actually be the first of multiple payment for many victims as this continues to unfold.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, there's still reverberations from the comment coming from Congressman Barton talking about this $20 billion funding a shakedown. In fact, Mr. Feinberg even had some things to say about that comment, right?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. He was asked about it, and he said flatly and very quickly that he does not think the $20 billion agreement was a shakedown at all. He was very careful. He very carefully avoided the heated political rhetoric now surrounding those very comments, and he really said, he made the point to say that he's receiving, at this point, bipartisan input and he is going to keep it that way, bipartisan.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kate Bolduan, thanks so much, from Washington. Appreciate that.

All right, the Deepwater Horizon tragedy should teach the oil industry some important lessons about dealing with disasters, right? Well, as CNN's Brianna Keilar reports, some say a lot should have been learned from another recent spill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking at these pictures, you'd probably guess this is the Deepwater Horizon oil rig on fire in the Gulf of Mexico. It's not.

This is the West Atlas rig, 150 miles off Australia's northwest coast. A blowout here caused the Montara oil spill eight months before the disaster in the Gulf. In both cases, experts suspect there were problems with the cementing of the wells, and it was a relief well that finally stopped the leak in Australia, after almost three months - the likely method for killing the well in the Gulf.

What ultimately led to the blowout? We asked Greg Bourne, the head of World Wildlife Fund Australia.

GREG BOURNE, WORLD WILDLIFE FUND AUSTRALIA: Overall, sloppiness. That's the way I would describe it.

KEILAR: He points a finger at the Thai company that owned the well and the Australian government.

BOURNE: We drill wells all the time, none of this happens very often. Yes, it's OK. All will be right, you know? In Australia we say, she'll be right. But it's not.

KEILAR: The spills are not identical. The Montara well was in only 250 feet of water. It spewed much more natural gas than oil, and the oil never hit Australia's coast, most of it evaporating at sea.

KEILAR (on camera): The slip from the Montara spill was more than 100 times the size of Sydney Harbor, but still tiny compared to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite this difference in scale, though, experts like Greg Bourne say the U.S. and other oil producing nations should have paid more attention to the spill in Australia.

BOURNE: The analogy I would use would be in those terrible tragedies of an air crash. Immediately, the regulatory agencies around the world work together to work out what's gone wrong, how do we stop it happening, planes get grounded in every single country in the world for a few days whilst people inspect and check. That's not the model that is occurring in the - the world of offshore drilling. KEILAR (voice-over): And Bourne should know. Before becoming an environmentalist, he spent years working for BP.

KEILAR (on camera): In fact, you a lot of experience with deepwater drilling.

BOURNE: Yes. My background was drilling engineering and I worked in the United States out of Dallas, designing some of this offshore equipment and working on this offshore equipment.

KEILAR (voice-over): Bourne says the U.S. government response to the gulf spill has been much better than the way Australia dealt with its disaster.

BOURNE: Complacent is the word that I would use for the Australian response, and quite dynamic is probably the word I would use for the American response.

KEILAR (on camera): Unlike in the U.S., the Australian government never issued any kind of moratorium on new drilling. In fact, in the months following the disaster, the resources minister approved a new oil lease for the very company involved in the Montara spill.

Even permits have gone out as the well continued to gush at Montara.

MARTIN FERGUSON, AUSTRALIA RESOURCES AND ENERGY MINISTER: And now - we have no intention of putting a moratorium on drilling in place.

KEILAR (voice-over): Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson just announced dozens of new sites for offshore oil exploration, including deepwater locations. For Australia, he says the demand for energy and jobs outweighs the environmental risks.

FERGUSON: Australia is not returning to us sitting under trees and basket weaving. We are a strong economy that has a strong focus on environmental considerations, but we always know that there is a section in the Australian community who know, no matter how strong our environmental processes are, we wanted to police (ph) them.

That is the nature of society. Same as the United States.

KEILAR: In the coming days, Minister Ferguson will release a government report on what went wrong with the Montara spill, how it happened and how the response could have been better. The report will help shape new oil regulations in Australia, but federal regulators here in the U.S. will also be paying attention.

A spokesperson for Interior Secretary Ken Salazar tells me there are lessons to be learned about raising the bar for safety and environmental protection.

Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And one more programming note. You've seen the devastation from the oil disaster.

Now, CNN is giving you a chance to help. Join us Monday night for an all-star relief effort to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. The special two-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event begins at 8:00 P.M. Eastern, Monday night, right here on CNN.

A bloody Sunday on the streets of Baghdad. We'll go live to the Iraqi capital for the latest on today's twin suicide bombings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: On to Baghdad now, a twin suicide bombing's killed more than two dozen people and wounded dozens more today in an ongoing wave of violence across the country.

CNN's Martin Savidge is live now from the Iraqi capital - Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this is proving to be a very nervous night, both for the people who live in Baghdad and for security officials following what was a very violent day. As you point out, those two suicide car bomb attacks that took place in some of the worst violence the capital has seen in a number of weeks, and for the second time in seven days, the attack targeted a bank, this time the Iraqi trade bank.

And what's significant about that is the fact that that bank was involved in obtaining outside investment. In other words, foreign investment coming into the United - r coming to Baghdad. The fact that this bank was targeted would indicate that there are those that are trying to interfere with that process.

Twenty-nine people were killed, 65 others were wounded. The attack occurred about 10:30 this morning. We heard it here on the bureau. You go out on the roof quickly, you see the telltale sign. It's a black cloud rising into the air.

The authorities say two vehicles loaded with ammonium nitrate struck at the gates of the bank. This is the first day of the work week in the Muslim world, so downtown would have been extremely crowded. Many people would have been in the bank, and that's the reason the death toll was so high.

Unfortunately, it bears all the hallmarks of al Qaeda that was striking today, although no group has come forward at this point, Fred, to lay claim to it - Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Martin Savidge, thanks so much. Joining us from Baghdad. Appreciate that.

All right. In this country and many others, people are celebrating dads. A hilarious way, in fact, to pay tribute to your father on this special day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SINGING).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, happy Father's Day to all the dads watching - my dad, brother, brother-in-law, my husband. You all know who you are.

But do you know how long Americans have actually been celebrating this special day for dads? Our Josh Levs has more on that, plus an inventive way of paying homage to Pops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So it's Father's Day. And did you know it's the 100th anniversary, it's the centennial of Father's Day?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I didn't know that.

LEVS: Check this out. It was first celebrated in June of 1910.

And I got a couple numbers for you, then we'll get to some fun here. Sixty-eight million dads in America, and, like you and me, we're at home, we have - we're married, we're at home, we have kids who are under 18, 26 million dads like us -

WOLF: How are we doing (ph)?

LEVS: -- in this country.

WOLF: And many different ways to celebrate the big day.

LEVS: Many different ways to celebrate the big day. And right now we have some fun videos that you could take a look at.

So, look, I heard from the folks at JibJab, right?

WOLF: OK.

LEVS: And everyone knows what a super-fly guy you are, how crunk Reynolds is. Look at him. Isn't he crunk?

WOLF: I'm down.

LEVS: So, this is, for Reynolds Wolf, everybody, JibJab (INAUDIBLE) Father's Day card.

WOLF: Let's see this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (RAPPING).

WOLF (voice-over): Wow.

LEVS (voice-over): You look totally (INAUDIBLE).

WOLF: (INAUDIBLE) you know, come out like this. I mean, I had dreams. I had hopes. But this is - this beats all (INAUDIBLE).

LEVS: You know, if you don't realize, this is kind of really is your style.

WOLF: It really is.

LEVS: There's the video that have you dancing. You've got moves like this.

If it makes you feel any better, they made a video of me, too. Take a look at this one. That's me.

WOLF: Nice.

LEVS: You know, I knew it was funny, but until the producers started watching it and laughing hilariously and falling out off their chairs, I didn't realize how funny it is.

WOLF: (INAUDIBLE) how to do this.

LEVS: My gosh.

And, you know, we can actually compare the two of us.

WOLF: Yes, very much so.

LEVS: Take a look at this clip.

WOLF: Oh, my goodness. We sound a lot alike. The dance moves are similar.

LEVS: Well, we work at it.

WOLF: Now, is this just for us or can anyone do this?

LEVS: Anybody can do this at JibJab.com. Just go there, stick your dad's face, celebrate dad on Father's Day.

WOLF: OK.

LEVS: And you can turn all the dads you know into synchronized rappers.

WOLF: Or not. It's crazy. But no, that's a lot of fun. Good stuff, man.

LEVS: Happy Father's Day, Reynolds.

WOLF: Back at you, man.

LEVS: Happy Father's Day, everyone.

WOLF: Take care. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Something to make you laugh on this Father's Day.

Meantime, here are the other top stories we're following for you here in the NEWSROOM. Israel is loosening the blockade around Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that they'll expand operations at land crossings to allow more civilian goods into Gaza. They'll also expedite humanitarian and medical supplies. Military equipment and weapons are still prohibited.

And Kyrgyzstan says it will look into reports that government troops were involved in ethnic violence that has rocked the former Soviet Republic. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and an unknown number of people killed in clashes that erupted last week. A U.S. envoy has called for a fair probe into the violence.

And in honor of fallen fathers at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., this morning sons and daughters of U.S. troops killed or missing in action gathered to remember their loved ones. They also plan to place thousands of roses around the wall to honor their fallen heroes.

And more of my interview with Tony Blair, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

Tomorrow is the official start of summer, but who needs that because it feels like summer right now. Bonnie Schneider in the Weather Center, and that's not just in the southeast.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No.

WHITFIELD: Everywhere. (INAUDIBLE).

SCHNEIDER: It's oppressive and I'd love to say, oh, it's just for today. The problem is a lot of these heat advisories that I'm tracking go straight through Tuesday, so you're not getting any relief. And some of the areas, including Memphis, we're talking about heat for days. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it is going to be a scorcher out there for the remainder of the afternoon.

Currently, as you can see, in parts of Tennessee and Arkansas, the temperature's 94 degrees. But don't let that fools you, it feels hotter than that. Heat index of 100 to 105. And then down in New Orleans, we're likely to see a heat index of 110. Notice the areas in pink for St. Louis, for Tulsa and Oklahoma, those are excessive heat warnings, meaning it's hot. It's happening right now. This is a serious situation.

We're looking at a big pattern, just to let you know why is it so hot. We've got temperatures 15 degrees above normal with our jet stream to the north. The jet stream is almost a boundary that kind of divides the hot air and the cooled air, so as it is to the west, you can see the temperatures are about negative 10 when you're looking at the conditions of what they normally are for this time of year. But we are going to be seeing some changes where we're going to get temperatures a little bit more back to normal eventually.

In the meantime, we're tracking severe weather, severe thunderstorm watch across much of the northeast, including the city of Boston. Watch out, those storms are fierce as they work their way through to the east. It's not just in New England. Head a little further south to New York City, we're getting some stronger storms in White Plains, into Westchester County. That will affect New York City.

Let's head down to Lady Liberty. What to take a look - a look at the Statue of Liberty. It looks a little hazy there. Temperatures should hit about 90 today in New York City. It's a hot one. Sticky. Watch out for afternoon thunderstorms. That will be intense.

Let's head back westward now and I'll show you Omaha, Nebraska. We have some powerful thunderstorms rolling through Omaha right now, and you can see it's all part of the areas of severe storms through much of the Central and High Plains. And the big picture shows once again that we are looking at hot and sticky conditions across the south. Temperatures will soar into the 90s. Dallas hits 100 degrees.

You mentioned it, Fred, almost summertime. I think a lot of folks are saying, hey, summer is here. It's definitely here.

WHITFIELD: It is really here. AC is cranking, windows down, combination, whatever you can do.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. I recommend it. Whatever you can do to stay cool.

WHITFIELD: Right.

All right, thanks so much, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, as we reported earlier, Israel is loosening the blockade of Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will allow civilian goods to enter Gaza. Military equipment and weapons are still banned.

But here now is more of my interview with Special Middle East Envoy, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in Jerusalem to help ease this blockade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLAIR: The outcome of the agreement today with the government of Israel is that from now on we can draw a clear distinction between the security needs of Israel, which are perfectly legitimate, and the need to keep weapons out of Gaza, and that, on the other hand, the needs of ordinary people in Gaza and allowing civilian goods to come in. So we've now got that principle very clearly set out. Instead of there being a list of items that are permitted to go into Gaza, which is actually pretty restrictive, we're going to shift to what is called a prohibited list. In other words, weapons and other material which would not be allowed in, otherwise things come through.

And that should mean - I hope even over the next couple of weeks, probably a doubling of the stuff coming into Gaza and over time an even greater and more significant easing of the situation for people there.

WHITFIELD: And on the prohibited list, I'd like you to share with us what those items are, and you did that because is there an inference here that these prohibited items were being smuggled in with the goods that are allowable?

BLAIR: Yes. The key thing is to keep out weapons, combat material. Then there's a certain category of things that - that could be used for legitimate purposes but might not be, and we've got special procedures to deal with that.

But what it means, in essence, in plain terms, is that your food stuffs, your household items, and crucially, the materials for construction for these United Nations projects to do with schools and hospitals and - and proper drinking water and sanitation and electricity, these materials can come in.

And we also have, by agreement today, allowed for an expansion of the crossings capacity and the expansion of commercial activity as well, because I want to see legitimate business in Gaza being able to function, because at the moment, things get smuggled in through the tunnels and that only helps those people that aren't doing legitimate business in Gaza.

WHITFIELD: And how will these goods that are permissible be allowed in? We know that the flotilla -- the deadly siege of the flotilla took place on May 31st. That came about of bringing in aid via boat, via this the flotilla. But in this case, this agreement that has been hammered out, what is the hope as to how these items will be brought in?

BLAIR: What this means is, there has never been a problem, as it were, getting goods checked coming into Gaza. And goods should be checked. And Israel has got a perfect right to defend its security. There are people in Gaza who attack Israelis, who will fire rockets at innocent Israeli civilians, who even try to kill people and have tried to kill people at the crossings.

So Israel has got a complete right to check the stuff coming in to Gaza to make sure it doesn't contain weapons and combat material. The key thing is until now, unless something has been on a permitted list, and that permitted list has been pretty restricted, things don't get in.

So we have been unable, for example, to get in glass until very recently at least, to construct buildings. Some basic foodstuffs are not allowed in. (INAUDIBLE) household items often don't come in. All of that now will obviously be checked, but once checked, it will come in as a matter of course.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Special envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair there, on the easing of the blockade in Gaza. So when does this actually get under way? Blair says as immediately as tomorrow.

All right. Meantime, Brazil on the pitch in South Africa, looking for more World Cup gold. We'll take you live to Rio where it's already starting to feel a little Carnival-like.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Updating a story we first told you about yesterday. An English football fan is now under arrest in South Africa. He had made it past security and into England's locker room after their tied game with Algeria. The fan faces a trespassing charge. The security inside the World Cup stadium is being beefed up because of that incident.

As we all watched the coverage out of South Africa, we're hearing some words that we've never heard before. Our Josh Levs gets schooled on South African lingo and South African food as well in today's "Levs on the Lookout."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So throughout the World Cup, we've been looking at some of the unique expressions coming out of South Africa. And schooling me on all of this is our Nadia Bilchik, who is our editorial producer and an anchor from South Africa, who knows every piece of lingo.

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN PRODUCER: Well, first of all, howzit, Josh?

LEVS: Howzit. I've been practicing my howzits.

BILCHIK: And howzit go?

LEVS: And lekker, which means awesome.

BILCHIK: Lekker, awesome.

LEVS: Lekker. All right, so let's take a look, we're going to bank through a few more right now. Help me out on this.

BILCHIK: Jol.

LEVS: Jol.

BILCHIK: We go on a jol, which means we go to party. Now you either use it as a noun or a verb. You and I could go tonight on a big jol or we can go joling.

LEVS: We're going to go jol.

BILCHIK: Partying. And it's partying (INAUDIBLE).

LEVS: So it's the -- South African party is a jol.

BILCHIK: Jol, it's a jol.

LEVS: It's a jol. Jol.

BILCHIK: Well, we -- aren't we having a jol right now?

LEVS: I'm having a jol.

BILCHIK: Total jol.

LEVS: All right, zhoosh.

BILCHIK: Zhoosh. Zhoosh is...

LEVS: Oh, well, wait, say it again? Zhoosh.

BILCHIK: Zhoosh, like you look sharp, you look smart, you look amazing, like it's a very zhoosh outfit.

LEVS: Really?

BILCHIK: Or I'm feeling very zhoosh.

LEVS: You feel zhoosh? Zhoosh.

BILCHIK: You feel zhoosh. And the other word is sharp. I feel sharp.

LEVS: Sharp, like sharp...

(CROSSTALK)

BILCHIK: Like sharp, but "shap."

LEVS: "Shap." Help.

BILCHIK: Gatvol.

LEVS: "Ghatvol."

BILCHIK: "Ghatvol."

LEVS: "Ghatvol."

BILCHIK: Now, isn't this onamonapiac? Because I am full up, I have had enough, I can be gatvol of a situation and I can be a gatvol of a person. I've had enough, fed up.

LEVS: So it's a bad thing, you're done with it.

BILCHIK: Gatvol. LEVS: And last one, babbelas?

BILCHIK: Babbelas. Babbelas is...

LEVS: Babbelas?

BILCHIK: ... I have a hangover, I have such a babbelas.

(LAUGHTER)

BILCHIK: Last night when we went on that jol, I drank so much that...

LEVS: And now you have a babbelas.

BILCHIK: ... this morning I have the biggest babbelas.

LEVS: OK. That's (INAUDIBLE) for the World Cup.

Well, speaking of eating and drinking, you also have for us some special foods you're going to show to us? Unique...

BILCHIK: Some...

(CROSSTALK)

LEVS: ... South African...

BILCHIK: ... South African favorites. So I say to you, Josh, before we get to the great pukhambakashli (ph), which means, go where?

LEVS: All right. Let's get to the food. All right. Tell me about some of the South African foods here.

BILCHIK: OK. So after we've had our big night out on a jol...

LEVS: Our jol.

BILCHIK: ... and we've had our babbelas...

LEVS: And our babbelas.

BILCHIK: ... we have a rusk in the morning. And a rusk is a staple South African breakfast food. It is like a hard biscuit. So I have to show you one. They are quite delicious. And you dip them in your tea or your coffee and then you eat them once they've been dipped.

LEVS: OK, rusk.

BILCHIK: And then there is biltong. Now biltong is dry meat. You would have beef jerky here. But the big difference is that jerky is processed. Biltong is totally naturally dried with beautiful herbs like coriander. And that -- there is much of this consumed at the World Cup.

LEVS: OK. What else have we got?

BILCHIK: Then we have Mrs. Ball's Chutney. Now chutney is chutney, but not like this Mrs. Balls. This is the quintessential Chutney. We have some chakalaka, which is tomatoes and onions and garlic which you would have with your pap. And you would cook it in a three-legged pot called a poike (ph).

LEVS: Poike?

BILCHIK: A poike.

LEVS: OK.

BILCHIK: And a poike means a little pot. So you have pap coffs (ph)...

LEVS: All right.

BILCHIK: ... which is food that poike and pap.

This is the staple South African food, pap. It could be like grits, it's like a hard meal. And this is the staple, everybody eats their mealy pap with their chakalaka -- a bit of chaki (ph) and some budderballs (ph). And they have a braai. And then you can have some peri peri sauce -- zulu zulu peri peri.

LEVS: Now I'm even more jealous of our people who are actually in South Africa getting to eat all of this.

All right. Before we go, really quickly, you have a handshake you want to show me. Everyone has been asking about this.

BILCHIK: This is -- now there are many versions of the South African handshake, Josh, but let me show you this version. We shake, we shake, we shake, and we clap.

LEVS: Oh, this isn't that bad.

BILCHIK: No, it isn't. But...

(CROSSTALK)

LEVS: There are a lot harder ones I got used to here.

BILCHIK: But you have to do it very quickly. Because we shake, shake, shake, clap.

LEVS: What if you miss?

BILCHIK: Darling, you never miss. And it's all about warmth and camaraderie. South Africans are very open, warm people. And they (INAUDIBLE) a lot.

LEVS: And we're seeing that in the World Cup coverage. Nadia Bilchik...

BILCHIK: A lot of hugging.

LEVS: ... thank you so much.

BILCHIK: Thank you. Have a lekker day.

LEVS: We'll go have a jol.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, after that, Brazil is now one of the favorites to win the World Cup, where they will indeed have the biggest jol -- just learning a little of the South African lingo there. The biggest party. They've done it five times before. Right now, they're kicking off against Ivory Coast, and our Rafael Romo is actually live in Rio de Janeiro with some of the fans there. Huge crowd.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm coming to you live from this (INAUDIBLE) Rio de Janeiro, (INAUDIBLE)...

(AUDIO GAP)

ROMO: ... we have a few hundred, perhaps a few thousand people who are here watching the Brazilian national team playing, again, Ivory Coast (INAUDIBLE). This has the feel of Carnival. (INAUDIBLE) party. People are wearing costumes. People are playing drums. People are dancing. People are yelling. (INAUDIBLE), this is a big, big party, one big party here in Rio de Janeiro.

It started out in 1978, after a small groups of friends watching a game -- a World Cup game (INAUDIBLE)...

WHITFIELD: OK. So maybe the audio problems kind of underscore the big party that is about to happen there in Rio de Janeiro. It's very hard to hear Rafael there, but you can see behind him it's a huge crowd, so we'll keep you posted on the party, the excitement in Brazil as they're very used to this kind of celebrating during World Cup. And they're hoping that this time might be a charm as well.

All right. Remembering the NBA star Manute Bol for much more than basketball. That's what he is being remembered for. We'll look back at the seven-foot-seven humanitarian's mission next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Even in the NBA, Manute Bol stood head and shoulders above the other players. The seven-foot-seven former player died Saturday. He was just 47 years old.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: You never met a better person. I mean, he would always talk to us about -- every time he got paid, he would send all of his money back to Sudan. You know, living here in the States, we don't have any concept of what civil war is. But the world is not a better place today, it's worse because we don't have Manute Bol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Lots of people are remembering Manute Bol. Joining me right now to talk more about Bol's amazing career on and off the court is Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins.

Good to see you, Lee.

LEE JENKINS, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: You, too.

WHITFIELD: He really was a gentle giant, I mean, figuratively and literally, wasn't he?

JENKINS: Yes, he really was. I mean, he -- you know, when you shook his hand, he wasn't just seven-seven, he was so lean that he just seemed taller than seven-foot-seven, if that's possible. But, you know, when he came to the United States, he really -- he didn't want to leave the Sudan originally because he was afraid of what would happen to his father's farm. He felt like he should be home tending to the cows. And once he left and he hit it big in the NBA, he always kept that country very close to his heart.

WHITFIELD: And wasn't that kind of his goal? I mean, he didn't really know the game of basketball until after the age of 18, and then next thing you know, he's an NBA player, and he makes a commitment to himself and to his people saying that every dime that I make in some way is going to go back to Sudan to try to help not just the people he would know in Sudan, but people he didn't know.

JENKINS: Yes, the legend of Manute Bol is that the first time he tried to slam dunk, he actually hit his mouth on the rim and lost about five teeth.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

JENKINS: You know, I mean, it's amazing that a guy who would only score 2.6 points per game is really being remembered this way. And you're right, we all think about the NBA lifestyle, sort of a lavish lifestyle that these guys can lead.

You know, and as recently as 2002, Manute Bol was living in a two-bedroom apartment in Sudan with 20 relatives, not driving a car. But he sent practically his whole fortune how to the Sudan. And even after his playing days, he took part in celebrity boxing. He was a jockey for a horse race. He played hockey. Sort of these stunts trading on his celebrity, which players often do for sort of cash grabs or ways to stay in the limelight.

He did it to spread the word about civil war in Sudan to try to raise money for his homeland.

WHITFIELD: Do you know whether he felt gratified that he felt like he had done enough, that all of those efforts trading in the -- what was supposed to be the glamour and the cash of playing in the NBA, trading it in to try and do something for Sudan, did he ever feel like he had done enough?

JENKINS: Well, I don't think it will ever be enough in a country like that. I mean, even as he was dying, he was trying to build, you know, upwards of 40 schools in Sudan, and I think, you know, his legacy will sort of be the efforts that go on in that country in his name with groups like Sudan Sunrise that he was working with, to try to build schools there.

So I'm sure he'll be looking down to see kind of how the efforts he made carried through.

WHITFIELD: And not -- and I don't ask that in question as to whether he really did enough, because I think everyone agrees that his efforts were indefatigable. I mean, he just went on and on and on. But I just wonder, his own personal satisfaction, it seemed as though he never saw an end in sight of the kind of charity that he could bring.

He -- it seemed as though he would continue to come up with new ways to figure out how to help other people, perhaps in part because he still felt like there was so much more work to be done.

JENKINS: Well, I think that's right. And I mean, there were times even -- you know, not even toward the end of his career, where he was already sending a lot of money back home. His foundation was called Ring True to try to help Sudanese refugees who were displaced through the civil war. He went back to the Sudan to try to collect signatures for a peace agreement. So really it was his mission more probably than even winning an NBA championship.

WHITFIELD: And he kept going even when the Sudanese government apparently tried to punish him, tried to keep him from even leaving the country, be reunited with his family that he, you know, had helped grow outside of Sudan.

The government tried to stand in the way of that, and was it not Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman who actually came to his aid to help him get out of Sudan, make his way to Egypt before making his way back to the States?

JENKINS: That's exactly right. Senator Lieberman got him Cairo and then he was able to come back to America. And even as recently as 2006, Manute Bol a freedom walk from New York all of the way to Washington, D.C. Few knew about his physical problems. He broke his neck in a taxi accident in 2004. It was a pretty remarkable feat. You know, he is a guy who, as much good fortune as he had in getting to the United States, and becoming an NBA player and making NBA money, he had a fair amount of misfortune after his career was done.

WHITFIELD: And it's definitive now that his death was caused in large part to this skin disease that he contracted while trying to do that good work with the school, right?

JENKINS: That's exactly right. WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Lee Jenkins, thanks so much. As I leave you, give me an idea of what you suppose the legacy of Manute Bol will be?

JENKINS: Well, I mean, just his warmth, really. I mean, it was amazing that a guy who came to the United States and couldn't speak English, had never read a book, and really had a hard time getting into the NBA. He played Division II college basketball, played for the now defunct United States Basketball League. Then gets into the NBA and became sort of this renowned trash-talker when he was a player.

I mean, he was just -- he had this incredible sense of humor. You know, people would ask him, how is the weather up there? And he would always have some witty comeback. And really, meeting him was a unique experience because he could seem a mile in the sky but yet exude this sort of warmth that made him feel like he was -- like you were right at his level.

WHITFIELD: Aw. Thanks so much, Lee Jenkins, for helping us to honor and pay tribute to Manute Bol.

JENKINS: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: And, of course, we want to share a special Father's Day story with you this Father's Day. It's one you're not likely to forget. It's actually a documentary, and it's called "Dads for My Daughters," about a man diagnosed with cancer who worries about his twin girls if he should die. So he writes this letter to some close friends.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear friend, as you know, I recently learned that I have a seven-inch cancerous tumor in my left leg. That afternoon, Tabe (ph) and Eden (ph) would just turn 3.

Came running to greet me, laughing, giggling, and falling to the ground. I crumbled. I kept imagining all the walks I might not take with them.

Show me your twirls.

The ballet recitals I might not see. When they wondered who I was, I thought, would they yearn for my voice?

I believe Eden and Tabe 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 help be their dad?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sick, scared, and worried, Bruce (ph) wrote that letter to six life- long friends, men who knew his voice, who could be fathers for his daughters. He decided to call them the "council of dads."

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: All right. Join us for this "Sanjay Gupta M.D." special, "Dads for My Daughters," airs tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

All right. Volunteer your time, gain fun and fitness, some Virginia teens get an important lesson in building bikes and character all at the same time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A rather sticky situation in Avon, Ohio, where thousands of people there are attending the seventh annual Duct Tape Festival. Yes, indeed-y. the festival features clothing and crafts made out of Duct tape. The adhesive is particularly popular in the town of Avon. Well, why? Because the Duct brand Duck tape is headquartered there. And Avon now calls itself the Duct tape capital of the world.

All right. Well, start with a frame, build a work of art and character, plus have a lot of fun along the way. That is the mission of a bike shop in Virginia that is giving local kids a chance at success.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSE FOX, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PHOENIX BIKES: My name is Jesse Fox and I'm the executive director of Phoenix Bikes. I guess we're primarily an after-school youth program that also happens to be a bike shop.

You can file it down nice and flush. All right.

The "earn-a-bike" program is our most popular program. After kids spend 25 hours of shop time, they -- volunteering for the shop, and work through a skills checklist, you know, how to do minor repairs on a bike, they get to begin work on their own bike that they then get to keep.

FILAGOT DINKU, PHOENIX BIKES VOLUNTEER: I worked for like 25 hours and build my own bike, and this bike kept coming here, and like two weeks before -- like two weeks and I got a job.

FOX: Many of the kids here qualify for free or reduced lunches at school. This is a way to sort of keep them busy after school and also teach them some really valuable skills.

TERRI DAVIS, PHOENIX BIKES INTERN: I'm Terri Davis and I work here at Phoenix Bike shops. As I learn the bikes, they give me a bike and I get to work on it myself.

FOX: Just about anything in the shop is fair game and they can pick what style of bike they want. We help them find the right size. And you can see the gears start turning, like, how can I customize this, make it my own?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come after school, I come home -- like usually I come on Fridays and Saturdays.

FOX: Sammy (ph) is one of our best mechanics by far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes I come on Thursdays for like -- just like fix up my bike, something like that. Every day you learn a lot of stuff. Sometimes they're not even related to bikes.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How to be a good friend.

FOX: Good job. You got air in the tires and everything?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

FOX: OK.

You can probably ride one of these two yellow ones, so we do our ride, you know, a few hours every Saturday. We ride all over the place, sometimes we stay in Virginia, sometimes we go into D.C.

Let's have fun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you all for coming.

FOX: Thank you all for coming.

Sometimes we go mountain biking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love mountain bikes. I mean, there is more freedom in mountain bikes than in road bikes.

I'm not going to stop riding bikes as long as I live.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Nice. Ride on.

All right. Thanks so much for joining us this hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. More fathers are actually taking active roles in bringing up the kids. We'll have some advice from the "Man Skills Survival Handbook."

Right now it's time for "YOUR MONEY."