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Joran van der Sloot Retracts Confession; Pentagon Attack Video Leaked; Claimants: BP Paying Pennies on the Dollar
Aired June 21, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Monday, June 21st, the first day of summer.
Accused killer Joran van der Sloot reportedly wants to take it back, his alleged murder confession, playing out in court in Peru this hour.
A charter boat captain fighting BP over lost income, a stressful gauntlet of paperwork that he says short shrift.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me. You wonder how a guy my age, at 260 pounds, could be emotional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes.
And classified Pentagon war videos like this one leaked online. A Web site says it will go public with another today.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right here, right now, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Happening right now, murder suspect Joran van der Sloot before a judge in Peru. A Dutch newspaper says he will retract the confession police say he gave in the death of Stephany Flores. That would follow a pattern of admissions and retractions in the disappearance of American teen Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Tru TV's "In Session" host Ryan Smith is here to break all this down for us.
Ryan, good to see you.
RYAN SMITH, HOST, "IN SESSION": Good to see you.
HARRIS: What are we likely to see at some point this hour?
SMITH: OK. Well, what's happening today is he's walking into court, he's going in front of a judge. And in Peru, the judge does the fact-finding, so this judge is doing fact-finding in this case.
Now, his lawyer has already said he's not going to say anything but to retract that confession. He wants to take it back. He wants to say it was coerced. He wants to say that he gave it under false pretenses.
So, they're going to try to get that confession thrown out.
HARRIS: So, wait a minute. Just that one narrow point today, the point of the confession? You just mentioned that the judge is doing the principal fact-finding here.
SMITH: Well, they might talk about a lot of different things, but that's the one thing he might say. Other than that, he's going to remain quite.
HARRIS: And then the questions go to his attorney?
SMITH: They can address questions to the attorney. They can ask questions of Joran van der Sloot. But I think this is more like an arraignment. So, what is basically going on, they are talking about the charges, they're getting the process started.
HARRIS: So, this is more like our arraignment and not a preliminary hearing?
SMITH: Well, it's a little bit more like an arraignment.
HARRIS: OK.
SMITH: More facts will come out over time, we'll learn more. They'll do more hearings.
HARRIS: OK. So, that is going to happen this hour.
Do you think we will learn more about what he is describing as the tricky nature of the confession? .
SMITH: We may. I mean, that's the critical thing here, because what's going to happen is, when he starts talking, the judge is going to start asking questions. And so the question is, is he going to ask him about the details of that confession and exactly what happened in there?
But what really makes this curious is, in this country, if you make a confession it doesn't necessarily lessen your sentence. In Peru it does. So, once he takes back the confession, he might be taking away part of his chance to get a lesser sentence.
HARRIS: And what is he going to say, that he was coerced? Is that essentially his argument here?
SMITH: That's the thing. He's going to say he was coerced, it was under false pretenses, he didn't know what was going on. Maybe -- there was one talk that he possibly got promised that he would go back to Holland if he said certain things. HARRIS: Any evidence of that?
SMITH: Not so far. And the key here is this should be a videotaped confession, so we should be seeing all of it.
HARRIS: Yes. Let's see how this plays out.
Ryan, good to see you, as always.
SMITH: Good to see you.
HARRIS: Thank you, sir.
Day 63 of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. A coalition of oil companies is right now asking a federal judge to lift a temporary moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf. The government, as you know, imposed a six-month ban last month. The companies at today's hearing argue there is no proof drilling threatens the Gulf. Plus, they say the ban will cause an economic hardship for the region.
You have seen the devastation and you have heard the complaints. Now it is your chance to help.
Join CNN's Larry King for an all-star effort to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. Stars like Justin Bieber -- is there any bigger star on the planet right now -- well, maybe Gaga? Deepak Chopra, Faith Hill, Lenny Kravitz and many others will be on set. The special two-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event happens tonight at 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
And if you would like to help, just go to CNN.com/impact. The Web site has more information on the telethon and how you can make an impact. Proceeds from the telethon will go to the United Way, National Wildlife Federation, and the Nature Conservancy.
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: The man behind the whistleblower Web site Wikileaks says he is going public with a video the Pentagon doesn't want you to see. The tape shows what he calls the massacre of Afghan women and children in a U.S. air strike last year.
CNN's Atika Shubert joins me now from London.
And Atika, if you would, tell us where we are in this process and when we might learn when we will see this videotape.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the bottom line is we really don't know yet. Wikileaks has said that it will release the video soon. We don't know exactly when.
Now, the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, is actually in Brussels. He is at this moment speaking at a conference on censorship at the EU Parliament in Brussels.
He has not made any mention of the Afghanistan video yet. So, we don't know when it's going to be released. But Wikileaks says they will release it soon and it will be big.
Now, of course, we know that, allegedly, this video shows an attack in Afghanistan that happened in May last year that is believed to have killed more than 100 civilians. That's according to Wikileaks. But again, we simply don't no what's in this video yet, we don't know where this supposed video comes from, and we won't know until Wikileaks actually releases it.
HARRIS: OK. All right. So, maybe the thing to do now is not to jump too far ahead of this and just wait to hear what he says at this conference.
If you hear anything, Atika, give us a heads up.
Atika Shubert for us.
A charter boat captain documents his losses to BP, but he says he was offered just pennies on the dollar.
And stocks are moving up. This is nice. We're buying -- 95 points so far -- all right, 93 points. So, we're in a positive direction for this Monday morning.
We're back in a moment as we follow these numbers throughout the day for you.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. So here we go.
Day 63 of the Gulf oil disaster. Going forward, a government- appointed commission will pay damage claims. Its chief, Ken Feinberg, says the BP-funded operation will be up and running within six weeks. Until now, BP, as you know, has handled the claims, but those who have gotten offers say BP is paying out just pennies on the dollar.
CNN's Chris Lawrence reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It took 40 years for Stu Scheer to build his business, running charter fishing boats for tourists in the Gulf. Now it's all falling apart between the oil spill that shut down business and haggling with BP over his claim.
STUART SCHEER, CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN: Excuse me. You wonder how a guy my age, 260 pounds, could be emotional. Sorry.
But, you know, it's like I told you, salt water runs through my veins. It's all I've done. It's all I've ever wanted to do is fish.
LAWRENCE: Stu walked into the local claims office, but BP classified him "large loss" and moved his claims 90 miles away. He only speaks with his adjuster by phone. SCHEER: They wanted 2007, 2008, 2009 returns. They wanted my log books. They wanted my bank statements. They wanted all my licenses, P&L statements.
LAWRENCE (on camera): So you laid out --
SCHEER: Everything.
LAWRENCE: -- all this paperwork?
SCHEER: Everything.
LAWRENCE: To the number?
SCHEER: To the penny, virtually.
This is what I calculated from May 9th through the end of December that I had on the books, actual books, not projections, not people still calling me.
LAWRENCE: When you itemize these costs with BP, you even accounted for -- that you wouldn't be using fuel.
SCHEER: That's right, if my boat didn't leave the dock, I wouldn't have fuel, bait, rods, reels, ice, contract, labor. My gross was $162,800, less expenses, daily boat expenses, came out to $107,982. My bookings for this year amounted to a gross net of $107,000 and they basically offered me $33,000.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): He turned down that offer and is now hassling to make up the difference.
(on camera): Are you any more confident in the government running the claims process as you were with BP?
SCHEER: Well, again, like I said, there's always an air of optimism. And the fact that the Obama administration has gotten BP to put the $20 billion in escrow and, supposedly, a new regime is going to come in and handle the claims, yes, there's optimism.
I hope it works out, but I'm suspicious.
LAWRENCE: Unfortunately, the bottom line is he's probably going to have to take that initial offer and then re-file additional claims every few months while his boats are out of business.
We did call BP. Now, they don't comment on individual claims, but so far they have cut more than 30,000 checks and paid out more than $100 million.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, New Orleans
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. We are getting more answers about the new claims process today from Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer overseeing the $20 billion escrow fund from BP.
He spoke with our John Roberts on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNETH FEINBERG, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE INDEPENDENT CLAIMS FACILITY: We've got to get the claims out quicker. We've got to get them out with more transparency so that claimants understand what the status is of their claim, and we've got to ease the burden on these folks in the Gulf.
I was there last week. I'll be there tomorrow. We've got to accelerate the process just as the president instructed me to do.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: So, you've got to accelerate the process, but you've got thousands upon thousands of claims that you have to process.
How do you make sure that you get that money out there quickly, but then, at the same time, avoid fraud? Because there are always people who try to take advantage of a situation like this.
FEINBERG: It's a delicate balance. On the emergency payments that have been going out that you mentioned -- and I give BP credit. I give them credit.
They've set up this program. They've already accelerated a process and paid out over $100 million in claims. But with the emergency payments, John, you've got to allow those payments to go out with less corroboration than you would if you're giving a lump sum payment that is the total compensation. For the emergency payments, we've got to air on the side of the plaintiff.
ROBERTS: All right. So, how do you quantify who gets what?
For example, we talk to and Missy and Robert Bennett, who were the owners of the Edgewater Inn, in Biloxi, Mississippi last week. They say that they've got a claim, though there's been no oil on their beach. They've lost business because of the perception that the Gulf waters are fouled around where they are.
And then we also talked -- I don't know if you heard it this morning -- to Stu Scheer. He's a fisherman who painstakingly went through his last three years of income tax returns, said to BP, I'm going to lose $107,000 worth of business this year because of the oil spill and they said we'll give you $33,000.
FEINBERG: I can't speak for BP. I'm running an independent facility.
But just as you point out, I'll take a look at the historical, the recent past economics of these claims and we will quantify and calculate an award or an amount and sit, if necessary, with the individual claimant, come up with an acceptable amount that will compensate fully. The president made it clear he wants full compensation. The $20 billion might not be enough. Maybe it will. Whatever it takes, these individuals and businesses must get paid.
ROBERTS: You know, in addition to the fishermen and the local businesses that have been affected because of a lack of tourism or whatever, just lack of availability of seafood, there's also the question of oil workers and the effect on them because of the moratorium. BP, in addition to the $20 billion escrow fund, is setting aside $100 million to compensate those people.
Ken, do they come to you or is there a separate process for these out of work oil workers because of the moratorium?
FEINBERG: Separate process. I've got enough challenges with this independent claims facility. That $100 million is a separate moratorium agreement between the administration and BP. It is not on my watch. And -- but I'm sure that $100 million will be dispensed fairly quickly.
ROBERTS: Now some people may be looking at this saying, OK, if I go to Ken Feinberg and I'm looking for a settlement, do I give up my right to sue BP because, as we know, there are probably going to be tens of thousands of lawsuits filed against this company?
FEINBERG: As with the 9/11 fund, you'll recall the emergency payments that are going out under my watch do not require that any claimant give up any of his or her rights to litigate or go forward in court. You can take these emergency payments, pocket them, and if you ultimately want to litigate, go ahead. I think that is very unwise.
I will urge these claimants, don't go to court, litigate fees. You don't know if you'll win. You pay your lawyer 30 or 40 percent in a contingency fee.
As with 9/11, come into this program, the emergency payments are without any condition. And then ultimately, if you receive an award and you're willing to give up your right to sue, it's purely voluntary. And I would urge claimants to do just that.
ROBERTS: All right. Now you said at the beginning of this, Ken, that you are an independent entity who is going to be looking into this. But the point has been made by some critics of the administration how can Ken Feinberg be independent because he's also on the White House payroll as the executive compensation czar.
So what do you say to that?
FEINBERG: I'm not on the payroll. I'm doing the White House pay czar role pro bono without compensation. And in terms of this facility, who else is going to pay for this program but BP?
Not the federal government. You can't ask the people in the Gulf to pay for this. You can't ask the federal or state governments to pay for this. I mean, if the critics have a better idea as to how to go about doing this, I don't think anybody will ultimately question the independence of this program. ROBERTS: Ken Feinberg, you got a lot of work to do. Thanks for taking time out of your busy day. We really appreciate it.
We'll let you get back to it because we know how desperately so many folks need that money.
Thanks for joining us.
FEINBERG: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. You can help those affected by the oil disaster, of course. CNN is gearing up for an all-star telethon to benefit the people on the Gulf.
The "LARRY KING LIVE" event happens tonight.
And joining me with details from New Orleans, Kyra Phillips.
Kyra, good do see you.
Maybe we could start with, who is going to be -- hi.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you don't know the details already, Tony?
HARRIS: Well, yes, but I don't want to tip your hand.
How are you, lady?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: You know, I was just sitting here going over the list, right, of all the people participating in this telethon. And you've probably seen the page.
By the way, every time I come up live, I cue the train just to add a little flavor to the New Orleans lifestyle. That's just for you.
HARRIS: Love it. Love it.
PHILLIPS: Deepak Chopra, Cameron Diaz, Philippe Cousteau, Ted Danson, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Kerry Kennedy, Alyssa Milano, Robert Redford, Edward James Olmos, Lenny Kravitz. Musical performances by Sting and Herbie Hancock. I mean, the list goes on and on, Tony, and these folks are going to be participating at the phone bank, at this telethon that Larry King and hi crew have put together for tonight from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
I'm actually going to head over to Grand Isle, where I will be with some families, some fishermen families, talking about the devastation there and why this money is so essential to their livelihoods. You know, we're going to raise money for three various charities -- United Way, National Wildlife Federation and Nature Conservancy.
And United Way has talked specifically about these fishermen. They've been calling for money to pay rent, to pay utilities, to buy food.
And, you know, so many times, Tony -- and I mentioned this earlier in the morning -- when a natural disaster hits, we always respond. Right?
HARRIS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: We respond to Haiti, we respond to Katrina, we respond to the earthquakes in California. But when it's a manmade disaster like this oil disaster, we think, oh, OK, whoever is responsible for that problem, they'll pay up, they'll take care of it, they'll solve the problem.
Well, as you can see, things just aren't moving fast enough, and people are losing their livelihoods. I mean, even mentally, Tony, we're seeing a tremendous spike in mental health care in this region.
I mean, they're just coming back off of Katrina, and now they've got this second disaster. So, we're wanting to do something more to contribute and to help. And that is why we're doing the telethon tonight.
HARRIS: Hey, Kyra, can I ask you a question? Do you think -- we're going to host this telethon tonight, and we know it's going to raise a boatload of money, just a lot of money for folks. Do we believe that getting it to these organizations, the NGOs that have an infrastructure in place, will mean that the money will get to individuals affected maybe even more quickly than the structure that's being set up by Ken Feinberg?
PHILLIPS: Absolutely.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
PHILLIPS: That is why we're working with these three charities specifically, because this money isn't going to go into some general fund and it's going to sit there, and we're going to sort of wait to see it distributed. This money's going directly to these organizations, which in turn will go directly to wildlife efforts, to environmental efforts, and to the people right now that are losing their livelihoods here in the Gulf because of this oil disaster.
HARRIS: This is terrific. Can't wait to see you tonight. And you're playing a major role in it as well, Kyra.
Great to see you. Talk to you next hour.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Thanks, Kyra.
Ten days of bloodletting. Kyrgyzstan's government tries to reel in murderous mobs.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In Kyrgyzstan today, police are clearing roadblocks set up to protect ethnic Uzbeks and their neighborhoods, and encouraging Uzbeks to return home. Hundreds of thousands have fled rampaging Kyrgyz mobs. Unofficial reports say more than 2,000 people have been killed in and around the city of Osh this month.
CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As her husband tries to open her burnt-out store, through sobs and tears she tells me she has lost everything. "All these stores were mine," she says, "my life's investment."
Ten days since the fighting began, Osh's main market, or bazaar, is in ruins. For 3,000 years, traders have done business here. It is an ancient hub on the old silk route from China.
For the last 30 years, Oruzgul Dadabeyova, an ethnic Kyrgyz, has been one of its more successful merchants -- $40,000 worth of stock from clothes to electronics. It's her first time back. As she leads us to a stock room, she spots looters.
"Look at her. Look at her," she says. Then they spot another.
She can't believe even now they are brazenly stealing from her. "It's mine. Don't take it!" she screams. It's ethnic Uzbeks looting at night, she explains, and Kyrgyz by day. And when a looter comes back and tries to steal her goods again, she snaps.
She's been on an emotional roller-coaster since the fighting broke out. "When I was coming back from the bazaar that night," she cries, "gunmen threatened to shoot me. How am I going to feed my children now?"
(on camera): Where are the police or whoever is supposed to provide security for the stores?
(voice-over): "They only protect the rich people," she says. "We paid our taxes, and now we get no help."
Out of nowhere, a city official tells her, "Just say good things." She refuses.
Her Uzbek neighbor on the next store has fared no better. Everything she owns has been burned.
"It will take me two, three, maybe five years to rebuild," she says. "We just need government help."
She explains all the traders are in this together. They got along fine before the violence and can do so again.
(on camera): For generations, this bazaar has been an ethnic melting pot. Business first, identity second. Its recovery will be a barometer for stability in the region. If it fails to thrive, the outlook for peace will be grim.
(voice-over): The cleanup is only just beginning, but the first hints, in the short term at least, might just be hopeful. A handful of shoppers are trickling back. Ethnic Russians looking for food.
Dadabeyova is proud she worked up from nothing 30 years ago. "All I need now," she says, "is a stable government, some credit from the bank, and I can do it again."
Nic Robertson, CNN, Osh, Kyrgyzstan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. Very quickly, we've got some breaking news that we're following right now. Don't have a lot of details. I will give you what we have just to put it on your radar, as it is on ours at this point.
I want to take you to Lakehurst, New Jersey, right now. And we're hearing that the naval air engineering center there in Lakehurst is on lockdown right now and has been on lockdown since about 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time. And there you see just an aerial shot of the facility.
We're getting some conflicting information on this, so I'm not going to get ahead of the story, but to say that the naval air engineering center in Lakehurst, New Jersey, is on lockdown right now. Beyond that, I don't have anything more to add to the story. We are hustling it up, to be sure. And we will get you additional information as we get it, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Of course, while we are bringing you news from around the world, we are also watching what is happening online.
That brings me to Ines Ferre.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Tony, this one is trending on CNN.com.
HARRIS: What is this?
FERRE: One of the top stories. Imagine a condom with teeth on it. That's right. That's what one South African doctor -- she invented this to fight rape.
HARRIS: Yes. OK, so that's one of the hot stories. Well, good.
FERRE: We're following this online.
HARRIS: Yes, and that's as it should be.
All right. And you're back at the top of the hour with what's trending.
FERRE: That's right.
HARRIS: And then later in the noon hour, you will give us a full recap on what's happening. And maybe we can get some soccer in the program as well.
We'll go to a break right now. And you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: We will get the latest on the Joran van der Sloot case from Lima, Peru.
You're with us in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We are having a good time on a Monday with you. An initiative important to President Obama is recruiting more black male teachers. I set out to get details from Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY: The fact is that less than two percent of our teachers nationally are black males. Less than one in 50 teachers is an African-American male.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, don't miss my entire interview with Arne Duncan, Education: Next Generation, a three part series starts next hour. I would certainly like to hear from you. Do you think placing black men in the classroom will help solve problems in the African-American community? There's a chance, right? Send your thoughts to CNN.com/tony.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We want to take you back to Lakehurst, New Jersey right now. I'm not sure -- let me get a little closer to the monitor myself here to see what it is, in fact, we're seeing. A helicopter over the ocean. But we can give you a bit of an update on why we're at least seating this shot.
We're following developments in a story of a lockdown at the Naval Air Engineering Center there in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It's been on lockdown since about 9:15 a.m. this morning. We don't know the exact reason why at this point but we're trying to get as much information as we can for you. That's all we have right now. But we just want to keep it on your radar. It's certainly on ours. We're reporting a lockdown at the a Naval Air Engineering Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It started at about 9:15 a.m. this morning. When we get more information, we will certainly update it for you.
Joran van der Sloot is set to go before a judge at this hour. A Dutch newspaper says he plans to retract his confession, saying he was tricked into confessing to the murder of a Peruvian student.
Tru TV's "In Session" reporter Jean Casarez is in Lima, with more on this breaking news story.
Jean, good to see you. First of all, where are we in this process? Is this a case where the judge is going to Joran van der Sloot, or is Joran van der Sloot going to court today?
JEAN CASAREZ, TRUTV "IN SESSION" CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's happening here is we're here at Castro del Castro (ph), which is the entrance to the prison where Joran van der Sloot is being held.
Normally, Tony, the defendant would go to the judge at the courthouse, (AUDIO GAP), but because of the notoriety and the security concerns. Actually Judge (INAUDIBLE) came here. Now, we believe that the proceeding is going on right now.
There is it a courthouse type of structure on the grounds of Castro del Castro behind me. And during that procedure, which is required by law to happen, is it part of the criminal procedure code of Peru, the judge is required to give a formal statement from Joran van der Sloot.
Now, what he says is what is he says. Defendant's attorney Max (INAUDIBLE) told us last night that he's not going to allow his client to talk about the facts, but only that his rights have been violated because of an alleged confession -- (AUDIO GAP).
HARRIS: OK, Jean, let's leave it there. We're just having all kinds of problems with your signal. I apologize. Maybe we'll get you on the phone and we can have the conversation we had planned.
All right. Jean Casarez for us there in Lima, Peru.
Day 63 of the Gulf oil crisis. The oil just keeps gushing from BP's ruptured underground well. While a hearing is going on in federal court, oil companies want the judge to end the moratorium on deepwater drilling.
Other top stories we're following for you. The head of Iran's atomic energy agency says two United Nations inspectors will be banned from visiting its nuclear facilities. The Iranian student news agency reports the inspectors are accused of disclosing information before it had been officially examined and filing a false report.
And hot shot crews have arrived in Flagstaff, Arizona to help fight fires. One has grown to more than 5,000 acres. The fires are threatening a neighborhoods, an animal shelter, and two national monuments.
A look at how you can help the victims of the oil disaster. We are checking in live with one of the relief groups. We are back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So the Gulf oil disaster, now in its 63rd day. If you are frustrated buy the lack of progress and looking for a way to help, we have one for you.
Larry king's all-star relief effort to rebuild the Gulf. It is a live, two-hour telethon tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN, of course. Your chance to help the families and wildlife affected by the Gulf oil spill.
Baldwin is here. And, Brooke, if you would, tell us more.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) event. It's happening tonight, starts at 8:00 Eastern.
And I want to just be clear because we have certainly vetted three very significant charities that will be benefitting from this fundraiser. Let me show you just real quickly. First, you've got, of course, United Way. Secondly we have the National Wildlife Federation. And, third, we have the Nature Conservancy.
So if you're sitting there and you're thinking I think I want to help but I'd really like to know maybe where specifically as to where that money will go. Let's ask, shall we?
Officially he is the Louisiana State Director of the Nature Conservancy.
Keith, good morning to you. It looks like beautiful water behind you, but I know that's not entirely the situation, not just in Grand Isle, where you've been based for a couple of years, but elsewhere along the Gulf.
Do me a favor, before we talk telethon, just talk to me about what kind of work you and your colleagues have been doing their day in and day out.
KEITH OUCHLEY, LOUSIANA DIRECTOR, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: The Nature Conservancy's been involved in the Gulf Coast and particularly here in Grand Isle for a number of years, Brooke.
We've been focused for the last month here, for trying to protect the assets that we have here on the coast, near Grand Isle and Barataria Bay. We have properties, we have projects, we have marshes that we've helped rebuild and oyster reefs that we're rebuilding. So we're trying to protect those by use of booms and other materials out here to keep the oil at bay from the assets we do have here.
Also on the Gulf Coast we have a lot of great scientists with the Nature Conservancy. We've been deploying our scientists along with our partners in the different agencies like NOAA, and the USGS, and LSU, to help get out there and sample and try to determine what the effects of this oil is doing to our coasts on the oyster reefs, on the sediments, on the plankton that are out here on the Gulf. We're deploying our scientists to help our partners at the different agencies out here to try to determine what the effects of this spill are going to be.
BALDWIN: And Keith, as we all are trying to figure out what effects of this spill will be, what are we now, day 63, and it just makes you cringe, seeing this video here of the oysters and the oil and the pelicans.
Tell me this. If somebody calls up and they want to give money through our two-hour telethon, Keith, when it comes to the Nature Conservancy, where might those donations go? Give me specifics.
OUCHLEY: Those donations would go specifically Brooke, to restoring habitat. It's something we've been engaged with in the Gulf Coast for decades here. We have offices from Brownsvauld (ph) to Key West, all across the Gulf Coast. We've been instrumental in trying to help restore some of the most treasured habitats along the Gulf Coast, habitats like the oyster reefs, like sea grass beds. Those funds will go to help us restore those vital habitats across the coast that have been impacted by the oil and beyond.
BALDWIN: Keith Ouchley, with the Nature Conservancy. I hope, Keith, you are feeling the sense of hope. These tweets I know I have been getting, people, our viewers, are educated. They are engaged, they want to help you. I hope you're feeling that down there on Grand Isle.
Keith Ouchley, thank you so much.
And if I may, Tony, just walk through briefly this web site, again. Let me walk you out.
So we have amazing people with Impact Your World. Anything horrific, like we had the Nashville flooding and now, of course, this disaster in the Gulf. Basically anything and everything you wanted to know in terms of how you can donate, where that money goes, and even if you want to volunteer. And a couple of specific examples, protectourcoastline.org.
You know, Tony, the fisherman, they're hurting. So you can help donate specifically to the fisherman. Also, with the International Bird Rescue Research Center, this is fun. I've been tweeting about this today. You can adopt a pelican. We've all been touched by the images of the oily pelican.
And finally, I don't know if you're a big tweeter, Tony Harris.
HARRIS: I'm getting better at it.
BALDWIN: You're getting better?
HARRIS: I'm starting to gear up, ramp up, I need to.
BALDWIN: Well, you know who is pretty hip at tweeting?
HARRIS: Who's that?
BALDWIN: Mr. Larry King. So kingsthings, and he's got all kinds of famous names here, along here. People who are participating in the telethon tonight. S we're trying to make this trending, Tony, are you with me, hash tag CNN help Gulf. Tony Harris, you can tweet that, make at trending.
HARRIS: So I can take Larry's tweets and retweet those, correct.
BALDWIN: You can retweet.
HARRIS: And I can retweet yours and you can retweet mine, and we've got a whole thing going on here, right?
BALDWIN: It's exciting. It's exciting. I feel it.
HARRIS: I can't wait to see the program. Nice.
See you next hour, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Awesome. Thank you.
HARRIS: Thank you.
You have seen the devastation and you have heard the complaints. Now it is your time to step up and to help. Join CNN's Larry King for an all-star relief effort to rebuild the Gulf Coast. Stars like Justin Bieber. My goodness. Bieber Fever tonight. Deepak Chopra, Faith Hill, Lenny Kravitz, and many others will be on set. The special two-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" happens tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
If you would like to help, again, just go to CNN.com/impact. The web site has all kinds of information on the telethon and how you make a real impact. Proceeds from the telethon will go to the United Way, National Wildlife Federation and the Nature Conservancy.
We're back in a moment.
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HARRIS: Issue number one news right now. Let's get you to the best financial news web site on the web. OK, you with me? CNNMoney.com. Wall Street's Push into China, not the real big story today. Oops, sorry to our friends at CNNMoney.com. It is about what is happening in China today.
Let's look at stocks. We're off of session highs for the day, but we've got a nice run on stocks, we're up 87 points. And China's the story here. And it is all about the rally. It's all about Europe and Asia and the rally there, and in New York, it can all be traced back to the news out of China.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
HARRIS: A big push to get more black male teachers in the classroom. My interview with Education Secretary Arne Duncan coming up next hour.
Plus, a small city in Nebraska poised to make it illegal to hire or even rent to illegal immigrants. Our Ines Ferre will join me with the latest of that story. Top of the hour, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: OK. Let's get you a quick update on the breaking news we've been following for most of this hour. We've been telling you about a lockdown at the Naval Air Engineering Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey. We don't know the particulars of why the lockdown was put into effect, but we can tell you at this point that it has been lifted.
So the lockdown has been lifted. And we're assuming that operations are getting back to normal there at the Naval Air Engineering Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey. We'll try to figure out what brought on the lockdown and give you any additional information we can gather here in the next couple minutes right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Day 63 of the oil gushing into the Gulf. New outrage over BP's CEO Tony Hayward. He was spotted this weekend relaxing on his yacht in the oil-free waters off England's southern coast. Our John Roberts discussed this latest embarrassment with a crisis prevention and management expert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Does Tony Hayward just not get it? Is he tone deaf?
DAVID MARGULIES, PRESIDENT, MARGULIES COMM. GROUP: Well, I think he's tired. One of the big mistakes BP made and many companies do is they put one person in charge of everything. You can't be the spokesman and run the cleanup, and deal with the federal government, deal with the lawyers, and deal with the board of directors, the man is stretched thin. He's exhausted.
If you're an airline pilot, you can only work so many hours before you have to rest. There's no rule like that for CEOs. And so I think if he were rested and really thought about that, had the time to think about that, he probably wouldn't have said those things. But when you are stressed, you are tired, you're under pressure, you're constantly doing interviews, something you say is going to go wrong. Of course, when you have enemies, they're going to look for anything to use against you.
So I think it is more the idea that he's extremely tired. And also, that there's not a devil's advocate in the company. You need somebody, and that's the role that we play as outside consultants to say, boss, that's really not a good idea. This is how the rest of the world will look at it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: You know, some people needing help right now along the Gulf are oil drilling workers. Attorneys are in court this hour to try to save their livelihoods. They're suing to get a six-month government ban on deep water drilling overturned because of that ban some companies are planning to relocate and workers are being laid off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So how has it affected your parish already? I understand companies are already losing business or moving their business, and people are being laid off? Is.
CHARLOTTE RANDOLPH, PRESIDENT, LAFOURCHE PARISH, LOUISIANA: that's correct. Some of the rigs have used the Force Majeure clause in their contact and they're shopping their rigs elsewhere in the world. I passed near a helicopter facility just this afternoon and it's normally full of vehicles from all states, and most of the states in the union. And it was virtually empty today.
So already, this moratorium has impacted us economically. It's a very, very grave concern for us. And it's difficult for America to understand that while we're fighting the oil that's approaching our shores and disturbing our wetlands, we're asking that this industry be allowed to continue. It is something we've attempted to educate America now for the past 20 years. And right now is the only attention we're getting because the oil is coming up to the shore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Charlotte Randolph accompanied President Obama when he visited a tar balled beach last month. She says she asked the president to reconsider the drilling ban because it would devastate the area. Randolph says the president told her a "time out" was necessary.
