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General Ordered to White House; Deepwater Drilling in Gulf; Man Arrested while Rushing His Wife to Hospital; Nebraska Immigration Vote; BP Whistleblower Talks

Aired June 22, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin in for Kyra Phillips.

And right now breaking news. Big apologies from the top commander in Afghanistan after he basically let his guard down to "Rolling Stone" magazine. The McChrystal fallout, folks, it is just beginning.

Also take a look at these pictures. Floodwaters just sweeping people and property away in Brazil. More than a thousand people now missing.

And how do you make one disaster possibly even worse? Yes. Add a hurricane to that mix in the Gulf.

Right now let's get to those big developments. Want to share with you about this bombshell article that's coming out Friday morning profiling our top commander in Afghanistan.

Here's what we know overnight. General Stanley McChrystal has issued this apology for controversial comments he made to a "Rolling Stone" reporter. And just a short time ago the White House has ordered the general to appear at the White House. And that is not all.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining me live this morning.

And, wow. Wow, Suzanne. I mean this story just continues developing. I know we've read the apology from McChrystal. He said he has enormous respect and admiration for the president.

How is the administration reacting this morning?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the big question is whether or not General McChrystal is going to be able to keep his job because this is very significant and very rare that you would have the top general, a U.S. general in Afghanistan, coming from Kabul -- he has been summoned, essentially taken to the woodshed here at the White House for a meeting in person with the president, the vice president, with the top Pentagon brass.

All of them to talk about, obviously, what was on the plate before it, Afghanistan policy and the war. But they said, look, video conference is not good enough. You've got to be here in person to answer to your comments. That's what a senior administration official essentially laid out this morning.

Now what is the big controversy here, Brooke? Obviously, some comments that were made by top aides as a part of this "Rolling Stones" profile of General McChrystal that have really upset -- greatly -- White House officials including the president.

They include one of these comments by an aide saying the general first encountered Obama a week after he took office. McChrystal thought Obama looked uncomfortable and intimidated by the roomful of military brass.

Another comment that was made in this article from an aide saying, "Obama clearly didn't know anything about him," meaning McChrystal, "who he was. Here's the guy who is going to run this expletive war but he didn't seem very engaged. The boss is pretty disappointed."

Now McChrystal has gone on, as you have mentioned, to issue a formal apology from Kabul. Not good enough for this White House, Brooke, as we know. But he has gone and said that, "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and never should have happened. Throughout my career I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls short of the standard."

And, Brooke, the big question, whether or not that is good enough. Certainly the White House officials indicating that the president wants to see him face to face to answer these questions. Not only before the commander in chief but before his colleagues as well.

This is not the first time, Brooke, that he has run into trouble with General McChrystal before about leaks, about comments over the debate and troop increases and disparaging remarks.

So we're going to see. We're going to follow this very closely to see whether or not he keeps his job.

BALDWIN: And real quickly, Suzanne, when you mentioned the fact that he won't be appearing via teleconference, he'll be at the White House, do we have any idea when the general will actually be in Washington?

MALVEAUX: Well, you know, Barbara Starr has been keeping an eye on when he's actually leaving Kabul. But we understand that he's either -- if he hasn't left already, that he's going to be leaving soon.

It's a long flight. But he's going to get here. He's going to make it on time. And he's going to be sitting here in that meeting with top officials, top Pentagon brass, as well as some of those who, quite frankly, were insulted in that article.

And no only that, Brooke, they are saying the commander in chief, he has to answer commander in chief, emphasizing that this is General McChrystal's boss that he's talking about. President Obama. So certainly there is an issue in terms of whether or not his job is on the line.

BALDWIN: Wow. Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House. Suzanne, thank you.

We'll also be talking to Barbara Starr from the Pentagon reaction as well this morning. But also another side note, if you will, to the team at the White House. One of the most visible members of President Obama's economic team calling it quits.

Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, will be stepping down in July. Orszag -- that's a familiar face. He was key in shaping the economic stimulus and health care reform bill.

Peter Orszag is the first official to leave the Obama Cabinet. No word yet as to what he plans to do next.

And here's the case of voters taking it upon themselves to deal with illegal immigration. You heard of the story. This is out of Fremont, Nebraska. Population 25,000. It's near Oklahoma.

So here's the deal. Late last night people there voted to ban businesses from hiring or landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. Now not quite half of the registered voters actually turned out for this special election, this referendum. But the measure did pass with 3,906 votes in favor, 2,908 against.

We are still waiting for those results to be official, to be certified. But take a look at this map with me because we wanted to see how close is Fremont, how close is Nebraska to, let's say, the border.

Guess what? It's more than a thousand miles from the southern border. In fact, we found it's actually closer to Winnipeg, Canada than to Juarez. And less than 10 percent of the population in this tiny Nebraska town is actually Latino.

So why would some of these people feel the need to push this anti-immigration issue? Well, apparently meat packing plants in town draw a lot of immigrant workers. And people who live there say that look, some of them might be there illegally, some of them may be taking their jobs. Perhaps crime is on the rise.

Well, the measure's supporters say neither Washington nor the local politicians is properly dealing with this issue. So they took the case all the way to the Nebraska Supreme Court and they got what they wanted.

They are able to give this to the voters, let the voters decide which is precisely what they did yesterday. And this is what some of the Fremonters, the people who live there, were saying before those votes came in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should be legal just like we have to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's right for us to stay on and should be a government-wide thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we allowing illegals to be here? If there is a law against illegal and the laws need to be upheld.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's sad that it's divisive in our community and I think it's sad that when something that is a national issue comes down to being divisive in a community.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So there you go. Kind of both sides of the issue. Both perspectives.

Now opponents say the new law will mean discrimination in Fremont and will open up the town to costly lawsuits. So coming up later this hour we're going to push this story forward. We're going to talk to people on both sides here, including an attorney who actually had a hand in crafting -- crafting the measure out, so had again in crafting that law in Arizona.

Meantime, Fremont not the only place that has adopted this do-it- yourself philosophy on illegal immigration. We have found recently in Virginia, you know, Prince William County, they have started cracking down on illegal immigration three years ago.

Now the head of its board of supervisors wants the whole commonwealth to, quote, unquote, "Go Arizona." So in other words, he wants to adopt Arizona's tough new immigration law where immigrants must carry their registration documents at all times and police must question anyone they think my be in the U.S. illegally.

By the way, speaking of Arizona, their law, SB 1070, kicking off late next month, I believe it's July 29th. So the Department of Justice, we are hearing, will likely challenge that, will sue that state beforehand.

And for possibly the first time, a Mexican drug cartel making direct death threats to American law enforcement officers. The police chief in Nogales, Arizona says the threats began after two off-duty officers seized several hundred pounds of marijuana.

Now Chief Jeffrey Kirkland says the two were just horseback riding when they found the marijuana and he says several smugglers fled into Mexico. Well, later, informants told the authorities that the drug cartel would target anyone out of uniform who interferes with their operations. So police there are now carrying their sidearms off duty.

It is likely the man who tried to set off a bomb in Times Square will be going to prison for the rest of his life. Talking about 30- year-old Faisal Shahzad. He did plead guilty to all 10 counts against him in federal court yesterday.

In fact, in addressing the courtroom he warned that America will face more terrorist attacks as long as its troops remain in both Afghanistan and Iraq. That's what he said yesterday.

Shahzad's homemade bomb fizzled. Remember the story out in Times Square? It was dismantled by that bomb squad back in May. By the way, six of the charges against him carry a maximum sentence of life. Shahzad's sentencing set for October 5th.

And check the calendars. We're counting here at CNN. Day 64 of this oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Here is the latest we have.

Now this judge in New Orleans may rule as early as today on those efforts to lift the president's six-month ban, that moratorium, on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil industry opponents say it is adding more hardship on top of the already difficult economic situation. A lot of people out of work down there now.

More of the Gulf is being put off-limits to fishing. And almost -- rather, 90,000 square miles now closed and the telethon on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" to help the Gulf Coast raised -- get this -- $1.8 million last night. How fantastic.

The money will go to three charities, the United Way, National Wide Life Federation and the Nature Conservancy.

Speaking of the livelihoods, though, of those Gulf oil drilling workers and the support staff, that's definitely at stake. Not just in New Orleans but really the rest of the Gulf. And we mentioned that judge there could rule as early as this afternoon as to whether or not to overturn the government's six-month ban on deepwater drilling.

And I know Chris Lawrence has been following this for us. He joins us live.

And, Chris, I think you had reported once before in terms of the multiplier effect with this oil -- oil rig working job, it's like one for every 10 jobs. So that's really -- as you've explained it -- a domino effect.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They're saying the effect of this moratorium, Brooke, could be greater than the actual oil spill itself. You know, because you've got the oil rig workers themselves but they are protected by that $100 million that fund BP set up specifically to pay them.

But for every one of them, you've got 10, maybe 20 other support workers around them. They don't really have that same protection and they are now fighting the government to get this moratorium lifted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN WELLS, OFFSHORE MARINE SERVICE ASSOCIATION: This was an accident. And it was one accident. To then say to the entire industry, there'll be no more drilling for another six months because we, the government, don't really understand what's going on out there.

So we're going to stop it while we study. That seems less like prevention and more like punishment.

CATHERIN WANNAMAKER, SOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: Our response to that is, again, as we said in court, you know, this is a system that we know has had major regulatory failures.

There are new risks that we know about now that we didn't know about before the Deepwater Horizon spill. And we think -- in that circumstance, six-month moratorium is appropriate.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: You know, the governor says that -- you know, that the Deepwater Horizon passed its safety test, too, before it exploded which proves that the current regulations are too soft. But some of the workers here say look, if this moratorium stretches on, a lot of these rigs and companies are going to leave the Gulf and the most talented workers and the numerous rigs are going to be the first to go.

So when you finally lift that ban, you're going to start back with less experienced workers, older rigs, which is ultimately going to make it less safe down the road -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes, Chris, I know it is a huge story down there. And as soon as we hear anything from the judge, again, it should happen perhaps by this afternoon, do me a favor and let us know.

Chris Lawrence for us in New Orleans.

And as we talk moratorium, as we talk jobs, as we talk really this leak, there is something we maybe need to talk about when it comes to the Gulf of Mexico.

Reynolds Wolf, dare I say the H word?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Don't -- don't say it. Not yet. Yes, we're watching things get a little more active in parts of, say, not necessarily the Gulf but rather in the Caribbean. Let's get right to this one. We're watching this early development.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WOLF: Let's send it back to you.

BALDWIN: All right, Reynolds, thank you.

WOLF: You bet.

BALDWIN: Have you heard about this story? There's this man in Tennessee who had to make a pretty risky choice to save his wife's life. It is a choice that may send this man to jail and then has a police department investigation all of its own.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, I want you to think about this story, and I want you to think about what you would do.

Here is the story. A driver ran a couple of red lights through a couple of intersections; and what happens? A police officer, of course, went after him. It should be a routine traffic stop, right; 99 percent of the time.

But what if the situation is that this driver is rushing his sick wife to the hospital? Should that change everything? Here is the story from John Pless of WTVC. It is our affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Then we want to you weigh in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINE WRIGHT, PATIENT: I would like an apology from this officer because he indeed delayed my care.

JOHN PLESS, WTVC REPORTER: Aline Wright became a registered nurse after she lost a leg to cancer a few years ago. Her chemotherapy caused a heart condition that could create a blood clot and trigger a stroke.

So Wednesday night, she and her husband, Eric, thought the worst had happened. She couldn't talk. Her face drooped, and Aline showed all the signs of a stroke.

So Eric carried her in his car and drove to where they both work, Erlanger Medical Center. The trouble began at the corner of Holtzclaw and McCallie.

ERIC WRIGHT, HUSBAND OF ALINE WRIGHT: I proceeded cautiously through the red light. And at that point, a police officer in a cruiser pulled from Holtzclaw onto McCallie behind me. and followed me from that point.

PLESS: Wright says he continued to Erlanger, blowing his horn with his emergency flashers on and went through another red light.

A. WRIGHT: Before we reached the front door of the emergency room, the sliding automatic door, the policeman got between us and the door; and was starting to say to my husband, I am going to arrest you.

PLESS: He wouldn't let you guys in?

A. WRIGHT: No.

PLESS: Wright says, as he carried his wife around Officer Jim Daves, his colleagues in the E.R. helped them to a room to being evaluation and treatment.

E. WRIGHT: Officer Daves and I never made physical contact.

PLESS: But Wright was charged with Assaulting a Police Officer, Reckless Endangerment, and other charges. He and his wife say Officer Daves never once asked about the medical emergency but was more concerned about the red light violation.

A. WRIGHT: Instead of us uniting and being a family, and him being here for me, he is having to deal with being charged for trying to save his wife.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: All right, so what about the officer, Officer Daves? He is on paid leave right now. Chattanooga Police is investigating its actions. We reached out.

Mr. Wright does go before a judge on July 9th, and so, what do you think? Is the police officer getting a bad rap here, or is the guy who rushed his wife to the E.R.

Who is to blame? Is anyone to blame? What do you think? Send your comments to our blog. Just go to cnn.com/kyra, and I will read some of them; interested to see what you are saying, coming up in our 10:00 hour.

Meantime, this intense fire fight under way right now in Arizona. We will hear why firefighters are having such a tough time getting this thing under control.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Voters going to the polls in four separate states today. The one primary is for Utah's GOP, that is for the senate; the national Tea Party Group backing Mike Lee against Tim Bridgewater.

Incumbent, Bob Bennett, was already ousted in the convention. And then the three runoffs include a fight for the GOP nomination in Mississippi's Second Congressional District; a democratic battle for Senate in North Carolina, and in South Carolina, an interesting matchup. Tim Scott aims to become the first black Republican to be elected to Congress from South Carolina in a century, but he faces Paul Thurman, the son of the late Senator Strom Thurman.

And another race in South Carolina today, definitely grabbing our attention. Runoff for the GOP nomination for the governor includes a woman who has overcome allegations of extramarital affairs; CNN's Jim Acosta covering that runoff for us in Columbia, South Carolina.

And Jim, not a dull moment in South Carolina. Good morning.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. That's right, Brooke. Politics is a contact sport in South Carolina, and nobody knows that better than Nikki Haley.

She is the Indian-American Republican front runner in the race for governor down here. She is poised to break a very big glass ceiling if she becomes the first woman governor of South Carolina. And she has had to withstand some pretty harsh attacks during the Republican primary battle. And oddly enough, those attacks may have helped her campaign. We talked about it with her on the campaign trail as she was wrapping up this race that she hopes will secure the Republican nomination.

(BEING VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): For Nikki Haley, the road to South Carolina's governor's mansion has felt like a highway through hell.

NIKKI HALEY, RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR, SOUTH CAROLINA: It has been a brutal few weeks leading up to the primary, and we have had a lot to go through.

ACOSTA (voice-over): As in the accusations that the state lawmaker carried on two separate extramarital affairs; allegations that Haley has denied.

But in a state where political smears have eaten candidates alive, something unexpected happened. Haley crushed her competition in the Republican primary for governor, capturing 49.5 percent of the vote, nearly avoiding a runoff; a runoff the polls suggest she will win.

ACOSTA (on camera): There is a political narrative out there that some of these allegations against you actually helped your campaign. What do you think of that?

HALEY: I would not wish that on my worst enemy. What it showed was that the people rose above it.

HALEY: I have an amazing husband.

ACOSTA (voice-over): At a campaign stop in Florence, joined by her husband, Haley agreed voters deserved answers to the allegations.

GOV. MARK SANFORD (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: I hurt her. I hurt you all. I hurt my wife.

ACOSTA: Considering the sex scandal that nearly brought down the state's current governor, Mark Sanford.

HALEY: I think public officials have to answer to the voters. What is sad is when public officials have to answer to negative, false accusations. That is where all this went wrong. There was no proof. There was nothing that validated it. Yet, all of a sudden it became a story.

I think everybody will look back at this election and say, that is what not to do.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Former state GOP Chairman, Kayton Dawson, says the attacks backfired.

KAYTON DAWSON, FORMER GOP CHAIRMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA: Obviously it backfired at the polls. Republican voters will only tolerate so much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ARMY GENERAL: Gresham, what are you:

GRESHAM BARETT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA SATE SENATE: In honesty, sir?

ACOSTA (voice-over): Still, there is a whiff of the campaign's dark moments in this spot from Haley's Republican rival, Gresham Barrett.

BARRETT: A military man who makes tough decisions; Christian family man who won't embarrass us.

UNIDENTIFIED AMY GENERAL: Gresham, you make me want to vote for you.

BARRETT: I would be honored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA (voice-over): But it is Haley who is the rising Tea Party powerhouse against the new health care law, in favor of offshore oil drilling and drawing big guns like Sarah Palin to her side. She, too, aggressively courts conservative women to her cause.

ACOSTA (on camera): It is like kid gloves down here. They play a little rough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They come out swinging.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't call us Steel Magnolias for nothing.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ACOSTA: And speaking of women voters, there is one vote in particular that Nikki Haley is touting across the state. That is the vote of Jenny Sanford, the former wife of Mark Sanford, the governor here; the former first lady of South Carolina.

And Nikki Haley is expected to cast her ballot in this runoff election today. Any minute now she is expected to do so, within the next several minutes, in her hometown of Lexington. Brooke --

BALDWIN: Jim Acosta, you just provided me the perfect segue. Thank you, sir, for your report out of Columbia.

Speaking of the Sanford's, one more South Carolina political story for you; yes, it was just about a year ago, Governor Mark Sanford disappeared on that secret rendezvous with his Argentine lover.

Well, the outgoing governor nowhere to be found again. The state column blog reports Sanford has been out of the office for four days. A spokesman says he is taking personal time out of town and refused to reveal his location. The top general in Afghanistan will have to answer to the White House in person now. No more video conferencing after making these flippant remarks about the President and several other high ranking officials in Friday's "Rolling Stone" magazine.

A closer look at General Stanley McChrystal and what could happen. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: There it is. The opening bell right at the mark from 9:30 here on a Tuesday. Now, we saw quite a turnaround on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow started the day with a 100-point gain, ended with a small loss.

Alison Kosik watching the numbers for us at the New York Stock Exchange.

The preview, Alison, of today's trading, but also that new housing report that we should be seeing at the top of the hour. Any idea, dare I ask, good news, bad news?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, Wall Street definitely has high expectations for that report. You know, they're hoping to see a 6 percent jump in sales of previously owned homes in May, and if we get that number that would show that the housing recovery might have some legs because May is the first month after the home buyer tax credit expired, but it probably won't be enough for the federal reserve to live interest rates tomorrow because unemployment is still uncomfortably high.

Policymakers are kicking off at two-day meeting today. In the meantime, stocks are likely to trade in the narrow range. There are still underlying fears about the debt crisis in Europe especially after a prominent ratings agency cut its view on the BNP Paribas, the biggest bank in the euro zone. As for stocks in the first few minutes of trading right now, the Dow industrials up eight, the Nasdaq higher by nine, kind of a slow start to the day, but we'll keep an eye on all the numbers for you as things get right back (ph). Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: Alison Kosik, thank you.

Want to get back to our breaking story here that we are really all over this morning. We're talking about America's top commander in Afghanistan who has been ordered for a face-to-face meeting at the White House. And this session comes after General Stanley McChrystal's controversial comments in his interview with "Rolling Stone" magazine where McChrystal and his staff really trashed President Obama's administration, other colleagues, top brass. Now, McChrystal says, he's sorry.

In fact, I want to read to you some of the statement here, quote, "I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake, reflecting poor judgment, and should never have happened. Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and personal integrity. What is reflected in this article falls short of that standard." And what about the White House? I want to read you a statement released from the White House.

McChrystal has been directed to attend tomorrow's monthly meeting in Afghanistan and Pakistan in person rather than appear over secure video teleconference to explain to the Pentagon and to the commander in chief his quotes in the piece about his colleague. So, the woman I know I've been wanting to talk to this morning about this whole thing, Barbara Starr. She is in the Pentagon for us with some background on the story and the general -- General McChrystal. Barbara, I just want to start with, look, I talked to Suzanne Malveaux. Not only are we talking about General McChrystal's reputation at stake, we're talking about his job.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: We could be. We just could be, Brooke. I mean, I have to tell you, the atmosphere around the Pentagon this morning, to put it in polite terms is, what the heck? What the heck is going on? How could this article have even happened? It's kind of shaping up. There are two cases being made here that, you know, General McChrystal has expressed his apologies and that if you read the article very carefully, it's his senior staff that makes disparaging remarks about the president on his behalf. It's not the general himself, but General McChrystal stood up and made an apology and took full responsibility for the article.

So, the question on the table is really just that -- is the apology going to be enough or has this general disrespected the president of the United States and is it a fatal mistake here? And we don't know. General McChrystal on a very long plane ride back to Washington from Kabul right now. He will be at the White House tomorrow for that face-to-face meeting. And, I think, even he is awaiting what President Obama has to say to him.

BALDWIN: And Barbara, as you mentioned, the atmosphere is what the heck, to put it politely. A lot of people just kind of thinking what was he thinking? You know, top commander. General overseeing what's happened in Afghanistan. Why, why?

STARR: Yes. I wish I had an answer to that. I think that's what everyone is asking. You know, we -- like most of the Pentagon press corps, I've covered General McChrystal for many, many years. He is one of the most serious-minded individuals I have ever met. He rarely publicly has a sense of humor about much of anything. He has taken this job to heart. You know, it should be remembered how did he even get this job in the first place? Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chief, they fired Dave McKiernan, the general who had the job before him, saying McKiernan wasn't getting the job done, and that they had to have McChrystal.

He was the only one who understood counter insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, but he was the only one that could make the war successful. That, too, is pretty dangerous territory to tread on in the U.S. you know, military. But there's just one guy who can get the job done. Because now, he certainly has embarrassed the U.S. military and -- you know, are they left with him because there really is no one else who can run the war in Afghanistan? Or is he simply the best man? The apology sticks and everybody moves on?

These are the questions on the table right now. I can tell you around the Pentagon, they know the White House is very unhappy with all of this. And it's going to play out over the next several hours of -- well into tomorrow, perhaps, before we see any movement about a decision or what may happen next.

BALDWIN: Yes. The timing of this whole thing, I'm sorry, we all have more questions than answers at this point in time. Barbara Starr, thanks for providing some perspective for us at the Pentagon. Barbara, appreciate that.

Meantime, a lot of questions being raised about this particular article in "Rolling Stone." And coming up in half an hour, I'm going to talk with Eric Bates. He is the executive editor of "Rolling Stone," and I'll ask him a couple of questions about this growing controversy. We don't want to miss that. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And as we continue to cover this story, fallout over General Stanley McChrystal, some of the comments he's made, some of his controversial comments that will be out this Friday in this "Rolling Stone" magazine, a lot of people commenting now, a lot of people reacting, including Senator John Kerry, reacting the Senate Armed Services Committee just moments ago. Take a listen to what the senator said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) CHMN., FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: I have enormous respect for General McChrystal. I think he is a terrific soldier. And this is a critical moment in Afghanistan. As far as I am concerned personally, the top priority is our mission in Afghanistan and our ability to proceed forward competently. It will be up to the president of the United States as commander in chief to make the decision as to whether or not he and his national security staff feel that they can do that. But my impression is that all of us would be best served by just backing off and staying cool and calm and, you know, not sort of is coming to the normal Washington Twitter about this for the next 24 hours.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Again, that was Senator Kerry commenting on General Staley McChrystal's comments. He was speaking at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Excuse me. Again, we are not going far from the story. And again, we'll be speaking with the executive director of "Rolling Stone" magazine coming in about half an hour, about the impact of this whole thing. We'll be drilling down on that.

Meantime, let's pause and just check some of the today's top stories, including the big disaster still growing there in the Gulf of Mexico. Day 64. And here is what we're hearing as far as that moratorium. The judge down in New Orleans could be ruling as early as today, as early as this afternoon, on President Obama's six-month ban on that deepwater drilling.

Meantime, in Brazil, unbelievable pictures coming out. Look at the flooding. This is out of Northeastern Brazil. At least 32 people have died. And we're hearing that the death toll should rise. More than a thousand people are missing. Simply just some of them being swept away.

Also, deadly flooding in Southeastern China. At least 175 people dead there and more than 1,200 people had to be rescued when a dye (ph) just totally burst.

Also, more on the story out of Peru, and this man, Joran Van Der Sloot. He has undergone psychological testing in Lima. Look at the crush of media there. That test included low tolerance. He has this low tolerance for frustration, and quote, "does not value the female role." That's what psychologists are saying. Van Der Sloot is saying he was tricked into confession. A judge will rule either tomorrow or little later whether or not his confession still stands.

Meantime, the spotlight now on a small Nebraska town. People there say the federal government is not dealing enough, not dealing properly, on the illegal immigrant issues. So, what did they do? They took the issue to themselves in this special election, a special vote and the result just came in last night. We're going to discuss both sides of a very hot-button issue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: OK. So, last night, late last night, we're talking about the people in Fremont, Nebraska. Population, 25,000. They voted to ban businesses from hiring or landlords from renting to illegal immigrants. Now, not quite, half of the registered voters turned out for this referendum, but the measure did pass. Here's the news. The measure passed with 3,906 votes in favor and 2,908 votes against. We're still waiting here for those results to be certified, but the measure supporters say neither Washington nor the local politicians were dealing with the issue. Opponents here say that this new law will mean most definitely discrimination in free month and will open the town to costly lawsuits.

So let's discuss -- let's push this forward with two people here. We have Kris Kobach who helped write the measure in Nebraska and also, interestingly, had a hand in that in Arizona as well. He's running for Secretary of State. Just to get that out there, in Kansas.

Also, we have Kristin Ostrom. She voted against the measure.

And good morning to both of you. Look, Kristin, if I can I just want to start with you.

KRISTIN OSTROM, OPPOSES IMMIGRATION MEASURE: Right.

BALDWIN: I know you were vehemently opposed to this passing. We know it passed. Are you shocked it passed?

OSTROM: It's -- I think it's unfortunate that it passed, so we're disappointed for the community of Fremont. Unfortunately we've -- we've passed an ordinance that I think the intent was to deal with the illegal immigration problem. But unfortunately, it's going to not fix a thing. And only cost Fremont taxpayers more taxes and more government spending. And continue the conflict that's been within our community for about two years.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in on that the point -- the point about cost. I know that it's just about all this certain that this would be a very costly court battle if, in fact, that the town is sued. It could be in the millions.

But there is also the other issue of the story when it comes to these illegal immigrants and possibly the message that this ordinance is sending to those people. What do you think it'll be?

OSTROM: Well, in Fremont, unlike what many have come to believe, there's a very, very small population of illegal immigrants. Census estimates -- and it's important to note that's our source -- census estimates that about one percent to two percent of our population are actually here without documents.

In addition to that, we also have evidence from local department of police, social services, education and health care, that those folks are not increasing costs to our local city.

So this ordinance -- the basis of the ordinance was cost to the community of illegal immigrants and increased crime. And yet, we have evidence that none of those things exist and that the population is very small.

BALDWIN: Kris -- let me -- let me jump in. Let me allow Kris to jump in. Because you heard -- Kris, you heard Kristin talk about crime. I've got to tell you we tried looking for statistics. I haven't been able to find any hard numbers in a rising crime. And it's also been, I mean, difficult to find specific numbers when it comes to immigrants and illegal immigrants.

But I think what's also fascinating, Kris, about this story is that this was brought forth by the people of Fremont. They took it to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The Supreme Court said hey, put to it the people. Put to it the vote. Correct?

KRIS KOBACH, HELPED WRITE IMMIGRATION MEASURE: Yes. I represented the people of Fremont.

OSTROM: Well, not quite.

(CROSS TALKING)

BALDWIN: Let me let Kris -- let me let Kris.

KOBACH: And the -- the population -- and the population of illegal aliens in Fremont is much higher than two percent. It's estimated of somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000. It's very difficult. The census bureau by the way doesn't ask are you here legally or illegally. And so you have extrapolations but hey, look. OSTROM: That's correct.

KOBACH: If there was no problem with illegal immigration in Fremont you wouldn't have had almost 60 percent of the voters saying, yes, we need to do something about this. So you let the people speak on that question --

OSTROM: Well and one of the problems is --

BALDWIN: Kristin, go ahead.

OSTROM: -- over the last two years, since you -- you have been -- and I appreciate actually talking with you, Kris because we haven't gotten a chance to meet because you haven't been in our community and talked with all of the leaders within the community. So I appreciate getting to talk with you.

But, you know if you -- if you were in the community, you would begin to understand that -- that this is going to cost the community. And that there's -- that's there is a small group of illegal immigrants --

KOBACH: Actually, I can answer that as well.

OSTROM: And actually what we've had an increase of, we've had -- we've had an increase of Hispanics. And over the last two years, because of the increase in fear and because they started whipping things up in our community, it is now the case that most people in Fremont, when they see someone who is Hispanic, they consider them illegal.

And so some people --

KOBACK: Well she -- she may consider --

(CROSS TALKING)

BALDWIN: Kris -- Kris, let me jump in. Guys let me jump in.

OSTROM: Unfortunately --

BALDWIN: Hang on a second. Hang on I know --

KOBACH: She may consider her --

BALDWIN: Kris, how will this ordinance, how will this law be enforced? I mean, she brings up a good point. How will this law be enforced?

KOBACH: If you have this -- this ordinance --

BALDWIN: Well, excuse me.

KOBACH: -- yes, as someone who helped draft it, the ordinance expressly says that there can be no distinctions based on a person's race. It is completely race neutral. And furthermore, she's making a rather an interesting claim about her fellow citizens that somehow they are making racial judgments. That's not true at all. And as far as the cost of defending this, we just learned that the city has already been insured -- assured by its insurance carrier that the taxpayers won't have to pay for the cost of defending this.

So there are all kinds of claims made by the ACLU --

OSTROM: Well, Kris that's not accurate.

KOBACH: -- and made by people who opposed this ordinance.

BALDWIN: Kristin, Kristin, go ahead. I want to let you respond to what Kris is saying.

(CROSS TALKING)

OSTROM: Yes, you know Kris, you may not have been reading the papers in Fremont, but their insurance company has specifically said that they will not be able to support the city in this that cannot support insurances.

KOBACH: I spoke to the city attorney just yesterday on this question.

OSTROM: And most likely the ACLU will be -- will be suing us next week and they'll be asking for an injunction.

BALDWIN: Kristin, let me, let me give you. Let me give you one word and then I'm going to give Kris.

OSTROM: This is a small community.

BALDWIN: Hang on I'm going to give Kris the final word. But Kristin let me ask you quickly is this more of an issue with cost is what I hear you bringing up or is this an issue of it just isn't fair?

OSTROM: You know, it's both.

(CROSS TALKING)

BALDWIN: That was for Kristin. Kris, I'll let you have the final word.

OSTROM: I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question.

BALDWIN: The question is I hear you bringing up cost, and that's a big concern in lawsuits possibly. Is it more of an issue with cost for people on the ground level there in Fremont or is it an issue with look, we're sending a bad message to these people of Fremont?

OSTROM: Well, it's a combination. It's a cost to Fremont economically as well as increased conflict in the community and giving permission for a hostile environment for Hispanics who are citizens and legal immigrants. That is the great loss in this. Not only will we not be able to fix the immigration system but we have increased hostility towards Hispanics who are citizens who pay property taxes, who are wonderful people in the community and we can't lose them.

BALDWIN: All right. Let me let Kris, the final word and then folks, we have to go. Kris, what's next?

KOBACH: Cost is one of the reasons why the people of Fremont did this. The average illegal alien headed household costs the community $19,600 or more every year that taxpayers pay. So the taxpayers are bearing this burden right now. The ordinance does not, in any way allow any distinction to be made on --

OSTROM: Unfortunately, that's a national study --

BALDWIN: We have to leave it there, guys. Kris Kobach, Kristin Ostrom -- hey. So sorry.

Thank you, both of you.

Wow, it's quite an issue, I think we should continue this conversation --

(CROSS TALKING)

OSTROM: Kris, it was good to talk to you. I'd invite you to the community so we could get to know you.

BALDWIN: There we go. Guys thank you.

KOBACH: I've been there many times.

BALDWIN: All right. He survived the horror of that fire on the DeepWater Horizon drilling rig, now we're hearing from one of the survivors, Tyrone Benton, who warned his bosses actually before that explosion. He says something went terribly wrong.

We will show you this interview he did with one of our correspondent there on the Gulf.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A BP whistle blower says he did indeed raise some red flags about the leak on that blown rig in the Gulf of Mexico before the blast. Now DeepWater Horizon rig worker Tyrone Benton survived that awful April 20th explosion. And now he's talking about. He is talking about those warnings he gave his supervisors that something just wasn't right a mile under water.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eleven people dead?

TYRONE BENTON, SURVIVOR OF DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION: Yes.

GRIFFIN: You were there when it blew up?

BENTON: Yes.

GRIFFIN: You saw the fire?

BENTON: Yes.

GRIFFIN: When those explosions started to rock that rig, did you think, "They didn't take me seriously enough?"

BENTON: I didn't know what was going on. The first explosion, I just thought it was a crane that landed hard on the deck. I didn't realize what was really going on at that time. The second explosion, I knew something was wrong and all I could do was just get off.

GRIFFIN: At what point did you think back to your reporting that there was a leak in the blowout preventer?

BENTON: Probably say a few days later.

GRIFFIN: You may have been the first person to detect a problem with that blowout preventer. You probably were, correct?

BENTON: Probably.

GRIFFIN: You reported it as you should have, correct?

BENTON: Correct.

GRIFFIN: Apparently they didn't heed that warning?

BENTON: I can't say what happened. But apparently something just went wrong, terribly wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, he says the leak was not fixed at the time but instead the faulty device was shut down and a second one relied on.

By the way, that is just a snippet of this whole interview with my colleague, Drew Griffin. You can hear what else he said, what else Tyrone Benton had to say tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360", that is at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.

And coming up at the top of the hour: a lot of questions being raised about this article in "Rolling Stone" this article right here. Coming up in about half an hour, we'll be talking -- or actually coming up in a couple of minutes, we will be talking with Eric Bates, the executive editor of "Rolling Stone" more and more about this growing controversy.

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