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Small City Immigration Crackdown; China Fuels Stock Rally; Fighting Fire in Arizona; France's World Cup Misery; Condoms with Teeth; What's Hot
Aired June 21, 2010 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM where anything can happen.
Here are some of the people behind today's top stories. Wildfires threatening homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could look up and all you saw was billows, and then the black smoke was literally arching over us for as far up as you could see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: We will take you live to Arizona for what's being done to try to contain the fires.
And wanted: black male teachers. My special report on a classroom shortage the White House really wants to fix.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNE DUNCAN, U.S. EDUCATION SECRETARY: Our students need great teachers of every color and every gender and every ethnicity and background. But as a part of that mosaic, as a part of that team, we don't have enough black males. That's the disturbing fact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You are online right now, and we are, too. Ines Ferre is following the top stories trending on the Internet -- Ines.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, checking out CNN.com. Look at this.
With so much violence in Mexico, locals are using Twitter to talk about gang roadblocks and gunfights.
And also, this is being talked about a lot -- what Lady Gaga wore at a Yankees game. And some people asking if she was banned because of what she wore -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Ines. We will get to that story in just a couple of moments. But let's get started here.
Cracking down on illegal immigrants. One town in Nebraska now pushing its own immigration bill.
Ines is back on that story.
And Ines, look, this is different from Arizona. The ordinance here specifically targets -- is my understanding -- sympathetic employers and landlords.
FERRE: Yes. That's right, Tony. And this is important, because unlike other ordinances of its kind, this one is voted on by voters, not politicians or local lawmakers. And this ordinance would ban hiring or renting property to illegal immigrants.
Employers would be required to run workers through the federal e- verify database, and renters would need to get occupancy answer licenses. Now, supporters say that since the federal government isn't doing its job enforcing immigration laws, they may as well do this on a local level, and they say that it's necessary to protect jobs and city resources.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY HANSEN, SUPPORTS ORDINANCE: I think that people here legally should stand up and say, we're here legally, we don't support illegals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: And opponents of this ordinance have been campaigning to vote no. They say that the measure will cost Fremont money because of litigation costs.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE KNAPP, FREMONT ONE FUTURE: I can appreciate the fact that our country needs better immigration reform, but I don't know that that's -- makes sense to take that into the hands of our city government.
ARIADNE MARQUEZ, OPPOSES ORDINANCE: They didn't come here to cause you a problem or be a burden to you. They came here to support their family like anybody else would.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: Now, take a look at this. This is important, because this city has a population of just 25,000 residents. As far as Hispanics are concerned, the population is approximately 2,000.
And as far as unemployment is concerned, well, their May unemployment numbers are 4.9 percent, Tony. That's far less than other cities. And still, though, some fear that illegal immigrants would drain city resources -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. Have there been similar ordinances in other cities, Ines?
FERRE: Yes. You've got Valley Park, Missouri; Hazelton, Pennsylvania; and Farmers Branch, Texas. Now, all were challenged in court. And Hazelton and Farmers Branch are in the appellate process now.
And it costs over $3 million to defend both of those ordinances, Tony. So you can expect to see a lawsuit if this ordinance passes. And they're voting on it today from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. today.
HARRIS: OK. Ines, appreciate it. Thank you.
Boy, got to tell about this Monday rally on Wall Street fueled by China's decision to let its currency appreciate against the dollar.
Let's talk to Christine Roman's of the CNN Money Team.
Christine, if you would, tell us why this is important news. And it is.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is. And here's why people on Wall Street like it -- because they don't think China would ever have even hinted about something like this if they didn't have confidence in a global recovery.
Remember, there's been a lot of criticism of the Chinese for the past year, really for several years, that its currency is tied tightly to the U.S. dollar. So in the global markets, when the dollar goes up and down against other currencies, that makes our goods that we export cheaper, more expensive, and that's how a global economy balances itself.
HARRIS: Yes.
ROMANS: But it doesn't balance with China. And that has given the Chinese, many critics say, a very big unfair trade advantage. In fact, by one estimate, 2.4 million American manufacturing jobs have vanished because of just that currency. So here's what could happen.
If China follows through on its pledge for more "flexibility" on its pegged currency, it could mean the Chinese currency would go up slightly. That would make anything made in China more expensive, and that would be some relief for U.S. manufacturers and maybe, just maybe, stop this purge of manufacturing jobs that seem to rush around the globe to the place where, A, you've got very cheap labor, and B, you have pegged currencies.
It could mean, though, the things that we import from China could be slightly more expensive. And it could mean, maybe down the road, higher interest rates.
But Tony, remember, all of this is down the road, down the road, down the road. Because what China is pledging here is flexibility.
HARRIS: Right.
ROMANS: China is not saying we're going to in one big fell swoop, we're going to write this lopsided relationship.
HARRIS: But China doesn't do it that way, right?
ROMANS: No, of course not.
HARRIS: Yes, China doesn't operate that way.
ROMANS: No. I mean, countries operate in their national best interests.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: And that's exactly what China is doing. Many people say that this might be part of its process of cooling its own economy, which has been red hot for the past year.
Now, Tony, timing of this is key. In one week, you're going to have the G20 in Toronto. A year ago, I was in Pittsburgh, and running up to Pittsburgh, everyone was screaming behind the scenes about the Chinese currency.
HARRIS: Yes. I remember that.
ROMANS: And then there was -- an Iran nuclear facility was found and reported, and that wiped China off the page for last year. But there's been steady and very aggressive diplomacy behind the scenes for a year now.
China, by saying it will be more flexible, now it takes some of the teeth out of the critics who were probably going to mention this at G20 this week. So, it is a win for the administration, and also a win for the Chinese, takes some of the heat out of the rhetoric about China and a lopsided global recovery.
HARRIS: You are absolutely right.
All right. Christine Romans for us from our Money team in New York.
Christine, as always, great to see you. Thank you.
ROMANS: Sure.
HARRIS: Fire crews are battling two wildfires near Flagstaff, Arizona. And the high winds certainly aren't helping here.
One fire has grown to more than 5,000 acres. Two national monuments in several neighborhoods are threatened. A smaller fire is near downtown Flagstaff. Police say they have arrested someone in that fire.
Let's bring in reporter Stacey Delikat. She is with our Phoenix affiliate KTVK.
And Stacy, first, what can you tell us about the arrest?
STACEY DELIKAT, REPORTER, KTVK: Well, what I can tell you is that arrest was when a fire that broke out on Saturday, the Hardy Fire. That man was arrested for lighting a campfire and not extinguishing all of the coals, and he was booked on charges of a misdemeanor.
Now, that fire is somewhat contained. It is unrelated to the fire burning now, as you can see, behind me, over my shoulder.
This is the Shultz Fire. And the latest update is that it has grown to 8,800 acres, more than 1,000 homes evacuated.
I'm going to step out of the picture now so we can show you this thick plume of smoke which is hanging over neighborhoods.
It started yesterday around 11:00, and multiplied rapidly. Now, there is some good news. No injuries and no structures damaged yet. But high winds today are expected to create an extra challenge for fire crews.
Air tankers flew all over the area yesterday evening in an attempt to get this thing under control. As of this morning, a federal incident management team has been brought in to take over operations. The hope is their extended resources will help to get this thing under control as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people waiting and watching as the danger gets ever closer to their homes. We talked to one evacuee who grabbed her pets, but had to leave everything else behind.
HARRIS: Wow. OK.
DELIKAT: We should have some sound bite to play for you there -- Tony.
HARRIS: No, no worries, Stacey. No worries.
DELIKAT: OK. All right. I guess we lost that sound bite.
It was one woman. She said, you know, unless you've lived through this, you don't know what it's like to get a knock on your door and have someone tell you to get out as soon as you can and just grab your prescriptions, grab your papers, load up your pets in the car and go.
So, it's really stressful for a lot of people up here. And as I said, as we were just talking about, the Hardy Fire was on Saturday. This one neighborhood behind me watched a neighborhood just across the way go up in smoke over the weekend. And now they're dealing with it themselves.
So, certainly very stressful for people. And you can see the winds blowing here. It is not going to make it easy for fire crews today.
HARRIS: And you know what, Stacey -- nice job, Stacey.
Stacey Delikat.
I'm going to pick up that very point with our Chad Myers.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: How about this -- a weekend excursion creates another public relations for BP.
And one Gulf Coast town has its all tar balls cleanup crews and tourists.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Day 63 of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. A coalition of oil companies asked a federal judge to lift a temporary moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf. The government imposed the 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.
BP's CEO, Tony Hayward, sparking new outrage after being spotted this weekend relaxing on his yacht in the oil-free waters off England's southern coast.
Our own 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, CRISIS PREVENTION & MANAGEMENT EXPERT: Well, I think he's -- honestly, I think he is really overtired. One of the big mistakes BP made, and many companies make, 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 and deal with the lawyers and deal with the board of directors. The man is stretched thin, he's exhausted. And, you know, if you're an airline pilot, you can only work so many hours before you have to rest. There is 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're stressed, you're tired, you're under pressure, you're constantly doing interviews, something you say is going to go wrong. And, of course, when you have enemies, they're going to look for anything you say to use against you. So, I think it's more that 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, you know, that's really not a good idea. This is how the rest of the world will look at it."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, tar balls continue to wash ashore on beaches along Florida's panhandle.
CNN's David Mattingly reports some tourists are showing up, anyway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blue water, sugar-white sand -- a perfect picture from the Florida Panhandle, except for those BP crews picking up tar balls.
(on camera): As you were watching these guys, what was going through your mind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That they're on top of it. That's what I'm thinking, that they're trying to get it before it gets --
MATTINGLY: No second thoughts about the vacation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not yet at this point. Not yet.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Vacationers I talked to are making day- to-day decisions, go to the beach if the oil stays away, go home if it doesn't. So far, the tar balls seem manageable.
(on camera): They're literally cleaning up tar balls just a few feet away from where you're sitting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and it's very sad.
MATTINGLY: But you're not worried about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, not right now. We're not stepping in it or anything.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But these pieces of the BP spill are killing business -- down 30 percent to 40 percent across the panhandle, worse around the beaches where the tar balls hit. The official strategy: clean it up, and fast.
(on camera): This is what this is all about, right? Making sure people can still come to a clean beach?
COMMISSIONER JOHN JANNAZO, OKALOOSA COUNTY, FL.: Exactly. And we're cleaning up. When we did have the -- we had some oil a couple days ago and we picked it up just like that. It's gone.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But the oil threat isn't so easily forgotten. Everywhere I go, there's worry, a feeling of "enjoy it while you can."
(on camera): This is one of the biggest party areas in all the Panhandle. This area is called Crab Island. It's not really an island. It's a sandbar just outside of Destin. Literally hundreds of boats gather here every day to enjoy the water and the sun.
Are you worried this might be one of your last weekends out there?
CROWD: Yes!
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Just like BP chief Tony Hayward who spent time on his yacht back home in the U.K., people here can't resist the water when it comes to relaxing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's he putting his boat in?
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Why do you want to know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because he's probably in some really clean water.
MATTINGLY: What would you like to say to Tony Hayward?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love it here. And we wanted to stay clean and he needs get down here and make sure it stays this way so that we can bring our families out.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But as the BP spill creeps eastward across the panhandle, questions grow -- not just about the future of this tourist season, but the seasons that follow.
(on camera): And this is what the enemy looks like here in the panhandle, these tar balls that are washing ashore. Authorities say they're going to try and hit the beaches and clean them up as quickly as they possibly can so that they can make them ready for whatever tourists want to continue coming here. And it's a fight that authorities say they are prepared to wage this entire summer.
David Mattingly, CNN, Destin, Florida
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. You've seen the devastation, you've heard the complaints, you've seen the tar balls there in David's report. By the way, don't mess with those things.
Now it is your chance to help. Join CNN's Larry King for an all- star relief effort to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. Stars like Justin Bieber, Deepak Chopra, Faith Hill, Lenny Kravitz and many others will be on set at the special two-hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event. It happens tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. And if you would like to help, do this -- just go to CNN.com/impact. The Web site has more information on the telethon and how you can make a real impact. Proceeds from the telethon will go to the United Way, National Wildlife Federation, and the Nature Conservancy.
Joran van der Sloot in court today. We will have the latest on the murder case in our top stories.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HARRIS: Let's take a trip to Florida's Gulf Coast right now. That's where a lot of people usually head during the summer. Not so much this year with all the oil in the water.
So, how are the small businesses coping right now? Our Tom Foreman is in Pensacola.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I often say, "You ought to be here," but I really mean it this time. I have rarely have seen Pensacola Beach so clear, so pretty and so empty at this time of year. People here are desperate to get that word out, and hopefully get the tourists in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): On Pensacola's still beautiful beach, locals are waiting and watching for the oil that largely has not arrived. That's the good news. The bad -- they are waiting for visitors who are not here either; chased away in the height of the tourist season by the mere fear of oil.
EILENE BEARD, CO-OWNER, SCUBA SHACK: Typically, on the weekend, I have a lot of rentals.
FOREMAN: At Eilene Beard's Scuba Shack, a day like this should see all of her wetsuits, fins and air tanks in the water.
BEARD: On the weekend, it is not unusual for us to have a $5,000 day. And yesterday I took in $150. So as you can see, it is dead.
FOREMAN: An analysis by the University of Central Florida says the disaster may cost almost $200,000 jobs and $11 billion in business a year. But on this part of the Gulf, folks are fighting back through an aggressive combination of local, state and national efforts to keep local businesses afloat.
The lines have been long at this mobile command post set up by the state's Small Business Development Center to offer bridge loans to businesses in trouble.
LEW ATTARDO, FLORIDA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: It is to help them make their payments, keep people on the payroll if they can to do other things, so our initial reaction is, "Look, let's get you some loan money so that you can keep your lights on."
Down at Mike Pinzone's fishing pier, other help is coming through, too. The local government has modified the due date for his beach front lease payments. BP has come through with a little money and most importantly, he says, locals are coming out to help ease the 60 percent decline in his business.
MIKE PINZONE, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: Our state doesn't have the money to handle this. There's no way.
FOREMAN: But it seems to me that that makes it all the more important that everybody here pull together and help each other the best they can.
PINZONE: Absolutely. And they -- and I feel that they have. And I feel that they are.
FOREMAN: Mike has had to cut hours for his workers and abandon plans for an expansion this year, but so far he says he has not had to lay anyone off. But he's praying week by week he can keep that up until the fear of oil goes away and his customers come back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Even if they lost only 10 percent of their tourism jobs on the Gulf Coast of Florida, that could be about 40,000 jobs. So you can see how badly they want to get the good news about their Gulf out right now -- Tony.
HARRIS: Absolutely. Tom, thank you.
So, let's help. You have certainly 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 relief effort to help rebuild the coast. Stars like Justin Bieber, Deepak Chopra, Faith Hill, Lenny Kravitz and many more will be on set. The special two- hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event happens tonight at 8:00 p.m. 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 a real impact here. Proceeds from the telethon will go to the United Way, National Wildlife Federation, and Nature Conservancy.
Black male teachers in short supply in America's classrooms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUNCAN: Our students need great teachers of every color and every gender and every ethnicity and background. But as a part of that mosaic, as a part of that team, we don't have enough black males. That's the disturbing fact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Education Secretary Arne Duncan is looking to change that, and he tells me how in our new education series.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well done. OK.
President Obama is on a mission to reverse a shortage of male African-American teachers. It is part of a campaign launched by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and it is the topic of a three-day series we will show you at this time every day: "Education: The Next Generation."
I sat down with Secretary Duncan to find out how he plans to push this initiative.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Tell us why you are advocating to get more African- American males into classrooms, recruiting them to become teachers.
DUNCAN: As a country, we have a huge challenge to make sure many more of our students and many more of our young black boys are successful. And our graduation rates have to go up dramatically. Our dropout rates have to go down.
To get there, I'm convinced we have to have more men of color teaching, being role models, being mentors, and doing it not just at the high school, but at the elementary grades. And when I ran the Chicago Public Schools, you know, I had 600 schools, visited almost every single one of them. And I would go to entire elementary schools and not see one black man.
The fact is, is that less than two percent of our teachers nationally are black males. So, less than one in 50 teachers is an African-American male. There's something wrong with that picture.
HARRIS: Have you answered the why question?
DUNCAN: There -- none of this stuff has easy answers. So there is a myriad of answers as to why. One is, we don't have enough young men who graduate from high school. We don't have enough young black men graduating from high school and going to college. Of those that do, not enough are going into teaching.
I was down in New Orleans to give the commencement speech at Xavier last week and spent some time with a number of phenomenal young black male teachers from around the country who are a part of the freedom schools. The Children Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman's program.
And it was amazing to talk to them. It was an absolutely inspiring conversation. And many of them said, you know, I was going to go into finance, I was going to be a corporate lawyer and decided to, you know, be part of this freedom school to help out while I was in college and it changed my life. It absolutely changed my life. And they've gone into teaching and made huge personal and financial sacrifices to do that. HARRIS: What do you get from that experience, you believe, from having the black male teaching in classrooms, in urban areas, where you have large, black student populations?
DUNCAN: I think all of our students benefit. White, black, Hispanic, boys and girls benefit from having strong black males in the classroom, but particularly our young, black males. And when I talked to those teachers, those few and not enough, but those black teachers, they talk passionately about how the young boys seem to gravitate to them, how they reach out to them, how they find them for school, in class, at lunch time, after school. They're looking for a connection.
I think we haven't talked about it enough is, you know, we're competing with the gangs. We're competing with the drug dealers on the corner. And when students fall through the cracks, when young people don't have that positive mentor in a school setting or in the church, in the community, there's always a guy on the street corner who can say, come my way and I'll take care of you.
HARRIS: Now you move on to offer the -- to deliver the commencement address. So you have black men in the audience, right? And maybe I'm one of them. I'm sitting there and I'm not quite sure where I'm going to go with my career. Wow, there's Arne Duncan. He's the education secretary of the United States. I'm open to what he has to say about me becoming a teacher. What's the pitch? How do you sell me?
DUNCAN: I challenge them to come teach. That this is the call to service. This is the call to action. That if we're -- you know, we talk so much about the achievement gap and I'm convinced the only way we're going to close the achievement gap is to close what I call the opportunity gap. Poverty is not destiny. There are lots of people that want to tell you that poverty is destiny. It is absolutely not. What we have to do is provide opportunity.
So my challenge to the men in the audience and my challenge to African-American men, Latino men around the country is that, be part of the solution. Step up. And if you do that, the impact you're going to have is just absolutely extraordinary. Way beyond, way more gratifying than anything you can do.
HARRIS: I like that. I'm sitting in the audience. I received that. But I look at the pay scale and I'm thinking about starting a family here. I've got student loans that I've got to pay off now. And the two don't equate. What do we do about that?
DUNCAN: We'll fix that. This is a huge deal and the public doesn't know this. As part of the health care legislation that passed recently, we also had a higher education bill. This puts $36 billion -- $36 billion in additional money for Pell Grants, put $2.5 billion behind HPCUs and other minority serving institutions. Put $2 billion behind community colleges.
But maybe the most important -- or one of the most important pieces of that is something called Income Based Repayment, IBR. And starting in 2014, if you graduate from college and go into the public service, teaching being at the -- but, you know, the military --
HARRIS: Sure.
DUNCAN: Work at a illegal aid clinic, work at a medical clinic in a disadvantaged community, after 10 years of public service, your loans will be erased. Gone. And up to that point, your loans will be held down to 10 percent of your income.
HARRIS: What are you going to do personally? Are you going to hit the road?
DUNCAN: I'm going continue to hit the road. It present some challenges, but it presents a huge opportunity. And if we can attract this next generation of phenomenally talented, committed folks and get more men and more folks of color coming into education and then do a better job of keeping that talent in education, we're going to change this public education in our country for the next 25 to 30 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. We are putting America's classrooms under the microscope for three days this week in our series, "Education The Next Generation." Tomorrow at the same time, a group of men who were inspired to teach after a summer of mentoring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON CORLEY, FREEDOM SCHOOLS TEACHER: The thing that really draws me in is that, as black males, we have a huge impact on the kids we teach. And we -- they really gravitate to us. And they really just are engaged by the conversations that we hold. And so I think that if there are more of us, then we will create more black teachers and more dynamic black males in the classroom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You will hear more of their conversation with Education Secretary Arne Duncan tomorrow.
OK. Portugal takes North Korea to school in South Africa. Ronaldo regains his touch and France, flailing. We have your World Cup fix. That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Once again, let me get you to cnnmoney.com so you can get the latest financial news. Here is the site right here, cnmmoney.com. "Wall Street push into China." I think the big story here is what China is doing with its currency. And that's one of the latest news items right here. But again, the Money team doing a terrific job for you at cnnmoney.com.
Three hours into, let's see here, three hours into the trading day and we are certainly off session highs but we're buying. Stocks are on the march here. We are up 59 points following this story and these numbers. Let me check the Nasdaq for you very quickly here. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, as we like to say, the Nasdaq is up three points. Let's just call that flat.
Time to end all of that talk, OK, about not enough goals being scored at this year's World Cup, especially if you saw this game today. Let's me take a look at this. Portugal going to work on North Korea, right? Taking North Korea to the woodshed. You want another? Have some! Look at the goalie. What am I to do? Can I get a line of defense here?
One more? You want one more? OK. Seven goals. OK? The final score, 7 -- we've got another one? And that's Cristiano Ronaldo right there. Did he score? I think once? Maybe a couple times today? Seven goals.
But here's the thing. That's not even the big story. The big story of the World Cup right now is the mutiny on the French team. Jim Bittermann joining me now from Paris.
Jim, good to see you.
First of all, will you explain to everyone watching, in states, what is going on with the French team right now?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I'm going to try. It's being called a psycho drama, a soap opera. The team has been called divas and drama queens. The French have totally fallen out of love with their team and calling it a catastrophe.
Basically all this started last Thursday during the match with Mexico when one of the players, Nicolas Anelka, was upgraded (ph) by the coach, Raymond Domenech, and Anelka responded with a remark about Domenech's mother, which wasn't the most flattering thing to say. And that was reported in the French press and elsewhere. And the French Football Federation decided on Saturday that that was enough for Anelka. He was going to be sent home, away from the World Cup. Essentially fired from the team.
Then came Sunday. The team's got a big match coming up tomorrow. So Sunday would have been a good practice day. In fact, they came out for the practice on the team bus and then went right back on to the bus, refusing to practice because they were upset at the way the Anelka affair was handled.
So now we're up to today. The French minister of sports is about to hold a news conference to explain what she's been doing down there all day. She was asked by President Nicholas Sarkozy to see if she could mediate this dispute between this very controversial manager, Raymond Domenech, and the very head-strong team members.
At least one little reality check coming into play here, Tony, and that is that a number of the sponsors for the team and the individual players on the team have said they don't want to be associated with this team and they're cancelling some very lucrative contracts.
Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Jim, have we reached the point where we might actually see the French president directly intervene in this?
BITTERMANN: Well, he's come very close. He hasn't said anything. He did make one small remark on Saturday, but hasn't -- he hasn't said anything directly. But his minister of sports is about to hold a news conference down there in South Africa to explain what she's been doing all day.
There was at least a moment on Sunday when there was some question about whether the team would even play this match with South Africa tomorrow, but that apparently has been cleared up. The team says they're going to try to restore honor to the team and to France.
HARRIS: Oh, my.
BITTERMANN: And so they should take the field tomorrow. But it's been quite a couple of days here in terms of World Cup action as far as the French are concerned.
HARRIS: All right, good to see you. Jim Bittermann for us in Paris.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, fighting rape in South Africa. One doctor gave it a lot of thought. Her remedy, medieval and ingenious. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The Gulf oil disaster has reached day 63 now and a hearing is going on in New Orleans right now over the government's ban on deep water drilling. That six-month moratorium was imposed last month. Louisiana's governor is among those who want it lifted, saying it is hurting the state's economy even more.
Checking other top stories for you know.
Hot shot crews have arrived in Flagstaff, Arizona, to help battle two wildfires. One has grown to more than 5,000 acres. The fires are threatening neighborhoods, an animal shelter and two national monuments.
And Israel stepping back a bit on Gaza. It is allowing more land crossings and streamlining the process aide groups have to go through to get supplies into Gaza. The sea blockade, though, stays as is.
Ending rape in South Africa. One doctor is fighting back with a new plan that hits them where it hurts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A South African doctor -- have you heard this yet -- fed up with all of the rape in her country has come up with a way to fight back -- condoms with teeth. Really? A senior medical correspondent -- I'm supposed to be doing that face. Elizabeth Cohen is here to tell us all about it here.
Maybe we can start with the explainer here of how this -- well, how it works.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the first thing to say is that the man doesn't wear the condom.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
COHEN: That's how we usually associate condoms. The female wears it. It's an internal device that has teeth in it. Sort of plastic teeth. And we're going to show it to you in a second. And what happens is that if a rape occurs, the man's penis is basically grabbed by these teeth.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: OK. That's -- that was the grimace that we were both doing.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
COHEN: And he -- this is the South African doctor who invented this. She says rape is such an unfortunately common incident in her country that she wanted some way to combat it.
Now, the man can extricate himself from the woman after this happens, but he cannot extricate himself from the device.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: It is obviously painful to have these teeth digging in.
HARRIS: So can he -- can he -- does he have to -- is he just in severe discomfort or is he in out and out pain here?
COHEN: It sounds to me like out and out pain. He can't walk and he can't urinate.
HARRIS: Right.
COHEN: And he can't remove it himself. And if he tries, it's going to make it even tighter.
HARRIS: Well, good. I mean, good. I mean we're talking rape here.
COHEN: Right. Only a doctor could do that. (INAUDIBLE).
HARRIS: So, good. So he can't walk. So he almost immediately has to call a doctor?
COHEN: Right.
HARRIS: Help, right?
COHEN: Right.
HARRIS: OK. So, all right, now that's a better understanding of -- all right. Do you -- is there an opinion here yet on whether, you know, doctors are coming to some kind of consensus on whether this can actually help prevent rape? Because if this thing is really going to work, you can see this taking off across the continent and beyond.
COHEN: Right. Exactly.
HARRIS: Right?
COHEN: There have been some voices that have said, wow, this is great. Like this is something women can actually do. There have been other voices that say that it gives women kind of a false confidence because you can be wearing this thing, but if a man wants to rape you, he can still rape you. You are still raped.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
COHEN: Now it's easier, perhaps, to deliver justice to that man, but you're still raped.
HARRIS: Yes. OK. A real talker.
COHEN: It is.
HARRIS: A real talker of a story.
Elizabeth, good to see you.
COHEN: Good to see you.
HARRIS: Thank you.
Interesting couple of weeks of stories we've been reporting on together.
COHEN: Yes, for sure.
HARRIS: All right. Michael Jackson's younger brother, Randy, releasing his first statement since he was rushed to the hospital with chest pains last week. And is here it is in part. "I would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during my recent hospitalization, especially the exceptional physicians and staff at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California. I am feeling much better, invigorated and spiritually strong." And if you'd like, you can read Randy's entire statement on my blog, that's at cnn.com/tony.
And this Friday, as you know, is the anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. Hear from his family and closest friends in a CNN special, "Michael Jackson: The Final Days." That's this Friday, June 25th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
From the clubhouse to the doghouse, Lady Gaga's bad romance with Yankee Stadium.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Ines Ferre time. We're looking at what's trending online right now. We know that you're online right now. We are, too. And what are we going to start -- oh, this is my girl, Gaga.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, Lady Gaga.
HARRIS: Whoa, what is she wearing?
FERRE: So she was at the Yankee game, right, on the 18th and this is what she wore. She --
HARRIS: What is that?
FERRE: Reportedly walked past security to the clubhouse and then there were a lot of people online that were asking, well, is she banned by the Yankees?
HARRIS: Right.
FERRE: Well, the answer is, no, she was not. But she definitely caught a lot of attention.
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute. This is -- this is because she was at a game recently, before this game, where she was getting harassed a bit by some of the fans. Is that what was going on? And she started --
FERRE: There was another game that were the Mets.
HARRIS: Yes, the Mets.
FERRE: Remember when she went to the Mets (INAUDIBLE) and there she gave the --
HARRIS: Yes, that -- yes, I'm number one.
FERRE: The sign, exactly.
HARRIS: Right, right, right. OK.
And what else do we have?
FERRE: OK. And then we've got this -- vuvuzelas, right? So we've got vuvuzelas that are being now taken to some games.
HARRIS: Taking the world by storm, let's just say it.
FERRE: Right. Exactly. So one fan took one to a Yankees game.
HARRIS: And was kicked out?
FERRE: He was totally kicked out. And then you got --
HARRIS: Just take the horn, don't kick the fan out. You know how much it costs for those tickets at the new Yankee Stadium? It's insane.
FERRE: Oh, it's totally insane. But this one is actually with 15,000 vuvuzelas at the Marlin -- Tampa Bay Rays versus the Florida Marlins. HARRIS: Are you kidding me? So this is a promotional thing then?
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: OK.
FERRE: We've got full video of this, too.
HARRIS: Can we hear it?
FERRE: Where you can see --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Marlins 10-5 but they've also out 3-0. And there's your difference in the ball game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: And there you have all the fans (INAUDIBLE) them all.
HARRIS: I love it.
FERRE: And the teams were -- said, yes, definitely that was annoying.
HARRIS: Look at the one guy. The one guy. Are you kidding me here? I'm at a baseball game. I'm not at a World Cup in South Africa. OK, so the vuvuzelas kind of a hit in Tampa.
FERRE: Kind of. Sort of.
HARRIS: Yes.
FERRE: Yes. And then this one is top on cnn.com right now. And it's how to get TV through the Internet.
HARRIS: Whoa.
FERRE: This is the future.
HARRIS: Why are we showing this?
FERRE: Yes, I know. No kidding, right? Because this is the web. This is what's happening.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
FERRE: So basically it talks about hardware, it talks about different sites. If you're a sports fan, though, it's still not the best thing. Might not be the best thing.
HARRIS: OK. All right. So that's what's trending, right, at cnn.com.
FERRE: Yes, at cnn.com. HARRIS: And Argentina -- Ines is from Argentina.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: When does Argentina play again?
FERRE: Oh, they play -- wait a second, they just played against --
HARRIS: Oh, my goodness.
FERRE: Oh, Tony. Yes.
HARRIS: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, --
FERRE: I'll tell you right afterwards.
HARRIS: What do you think about Education Secretary Arne Duncan's plan to recruit more black male teachers? Your thoughts from my blog just ahead.
Are you kidding me?
FERRE: No, man, I'll tell you --
HARRIS: You don't know the schedule of your team?
FERRE: No, I think it was --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. I asked you earlier whether you thought placing more black men in the classrooms as teachers will help solve some of the problems in the African-American community. Your thoughts are coming in.
This one from Inez who writes, "I think there should be more good teachers who are black. A black man who cannot teach will not help the situation. Being black and competent is the requirement."
Yes, I agree with that totally.
And Tomi says, "I am all for placing more black men in educational positions of authority in public schools, but black males in administrative positions are often demonized in the media."
And Orien says, "I think it is necessary for young black males to know and understand there is more to life than sports. Helping others is better than selfish greed."
And more on this from Sam who writes, "trying to get more black male teachers instead of just more teachers or better ones is both racist and sexist. The way to less discrimination is not to have programs just for specific races."
I want to keep hearing from you, keep you in the conversation here. Keep sending in those comments to my blog page, there it is, cnn.com/tony.
CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Richard Lui in for Ali Velshi.
