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Kagan Confirmation Hearing; Senator Robert Byrd Dies at 92; White House Delegation Meets Arizona Governor; Scientists Studying Effects of Oil Spill on Shark Behavior

Aired June 28, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Ms. Phillips. Have a wonderful rest of your day.

Hi, everybody! Live from Studio 7 at CNN World Headquarters, the big stories on this Monday, June 28th.

First up, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan trying to nail down the job of justice this week. The Senate confirmation hearings begin in 90 minutes.

And truck drivers to dock loaders, crane operators to caterers out of work because of the drilling moratorium in the Gulf, looking to BP to pay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: How is the moratorium affecting you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I basically have no job. And I'm normally checking in eight, 10, 12 trucks a day, loading up two boats to go offshore to oil rigs. I've got none. None. No boats out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And I couldn't believe this news this morning. This man there served a record 57 years in Congress. Remembering the dean of the Senate. West Virginia's Robert C. Byrd passed away today at the age of 92.

Good Monday morning, everyone. I'm Brooke Baldwin, in for Tony Harris.

We will have those stories and your comments right here, right now, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Can you imagine? Really, this is the job interview of a lifetime. And President Obama's Supreme Court nominee will certainly face some tough questions about her qualifications.

The Senate confirmation hearing begins, as we said, next hour, right around 12:30 Eastern Time, and Republicans are still not ruling out a filibuster.

Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash live from Capitol Hill with a preview.

And Dana, let's just begin with the layout of the room. And to me, gosh, this seems so daunting. You have the panel on one side and that one lone table

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Let's start with the panel, Brooke.

I am here on the floor of the committee room where this hearing will begin in about an hour and a half. This is where the senators are going to be sitting.

This is the panel, and they are going to be just giving opening statements today, along with Elena Kagan, as well. And the real grilling will begin tomorrow and likely the next day.

But over here, this is where the Republicans are going to be sitting. And this is where you're going to get questions from senators asking about everything that we've been hearing about regarding, specifically, Elena Kagan's political experience and lack of judicial experience.

But, specifically, on the politics of it, the fact that if you look at the documents, as the senators have during her years in the Clinton administration, questions about her position on everything from abortion to gun rights and things like that, that's what we're going to be hearing from these Republicans, for the most part.

I want to take you over to the Democratic side, try not to trip on the camera here. By the way, you see all of these cameras are already set up here for the still photographers who will be coming in. They've already set up their places there.

This is the Democratic side. You're going to see all of these Democrats give -- for the most part, try to ask some tough questions.

Obviously, ,this is a very important nomination process, but, for example, Amy Klobuchar, she is the senator from Minnesota. She was in here. She's going to sit right here.

She was in here earlier today. And she was telling me that she is going to try to make the point today that she thinks it's a good thing that Elena Kagan is going to be the only -- if she is confirmed -- the only member of the Supreme Court who was not serving on the judicial bench beforehand, and that it's a good thing that she has real world experience, and will be giving, she said, some examples of why that's important to have somebody, especially somebody who is 50 years old like Elena Kagan. And if confirmed, as people expect she will be, will be there for a long time, that she has a different background than everybody else on that court.

BALDWIN: And Dana, beyond the chairs, I guess, we're seeing, and the cameras that you're careful not to step over, we also, then, on the flip side of the room, have her lone table and her lone seat.

BASH: That's right. We'll show you. This is the hot seat. This is where Elena Kagan will come in. She will be sitting here in about an hour and a half, and she's actually going to be sponsored by and brought in here by the two senators not from her native state of New York, but the state she most recently lived in before coming here, Massachusetts.

She, of course, was dean of Harvard Law School. So we're going to see the Democrat, John Kerry, and Republican Scott Brown formally introduce her to the panel. And she obviously has never been in this seat before, but she is not unaccustomed to all of the atmospherics around that.

Why? Because back in 1993, she actually was a staffer on this committee, and she was helping get the nomination ready for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And after that, she -- I think fair to say, she was kind of disgusted by the process.

She wrote a paper talking about the fact that the process is a vapid and hollow charade, but because the person sitting here was stonewalling all of the members of the Judiciary Committee, not answering questions. So, you can be sure, Brooke, that those words are going to come back to haunt her. They're going to be thrown right back at her if she, over the course of the next couple of days, doesn't answer specific questions about her philosophy, and how she may or may not come down on specific issues, but in terms of the way she looks at the Constitution, the way she looks at her role as a potential Supreme Court justice -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Right. It's amazing to hear some of the past criticisms, and you have nominees sitting in that chair, and they say a lot, but they're not really in the end saying very much.

BASH: Exactly.

BALDWIN: We will be looking for that right around 12:30.

Dana Bash, thanks for that quick preview.

BASH: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: That was pretty interesting.

Now, meantime, I want to remind you, live coverage of the confirmation hearing for Elena Kagan, as I said, begins next hour. Noon Eastern, we'll be previewing it. And then, of course, rolling through when it begins at 12:30. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee begin their opening statements, we're hoping, around 12:30 Eastern Time.

Meantime, the Supreme Court ended its term this morning with a blockbuster decision on gun rights. Justices struck down Chicago's ban on gun bans, perhaps the most restrictive in the whole country.

Here's what they ruled: that the Second Amendment gives individuals the right to bear arms in state and local jurisdictions. Today's case is a sequel of sorts. You'll remember two years ago, it was many summertime, and the Supreme Court invalidated Washington, D.C.'s gun law, ruling that individual gun rights applied in federal jurisdictions.

And CNN Senior Legal Analyst and Supreme Court expert Jeff Toobin will be along talking to me in just a couple of minutes. He's also a good friend, we should say, of Elena Kagan.

We will talk more about the Kagan nomination and today's Supreme Court rulings with him coming up.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: At the Capitol, and really elsewhere, flags are at half staff, of course, in memory of Robert Byrd. He first came to Congress -- listen to this -- more than half a century, or 11 presidents ago. But he never forgot his roots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROBERT BYRD (D), WEST VIRGINIA: My memory is as good as it ever was, and it's stock full of recollections about the poor people of West Virginia, how they were laughed at. They were the laughing stock.

Yes, I'm a hillbilly. Proud of it. Proud of it.

But I knew what the people of West Virginia sent me to Washington for. They sent me to Washington to represent them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What a man. The longest-serving congressman in history.

Meantime, a quick check at the board on Wall Street. The Dow up 46 points this early Monday, sitting at right about 10,187 points.

Reminder: you can always get the check of your numbers. Go to CNNMoney.com.

And stick around. CNN NEWSROOM will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is amazing to think of the history this man has seen. From Dwight D. Eisenhower, to Barack Obama, Senator Robert C. Byrd has served with all of them. And today, his colleagues, his constituents certainly mourning the death of the self-proclaimed champion of the Constitution.

CNN's Joe Johns takes a look back at his storied life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Carlyle Byrd was often called the "Dean of the Senate." Elected in 1958, the West Virginian was an eloquent speaker. Perhaps a better nickname for Byrd would have been the "Bard of the Senate."

BYRD: "All freshly steeped in morning dews, "so wrote the poet Robert Burns.

JOHNS: Colorful language aside, in the political arena the source of Byrd's influence in the Capitol was his long tenure on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. His home state reaped generous benefits.

He came from modest roots.

BYRD: I lived in a House without electricity, no running water, no telephone, a little wooden outhouse. I started out in life without any rungs in the bottom ladder. I married a coal miner's daughter.

JOHNS: Byrd was born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr. on November 20, 1917. He was raised in West Virginia's coal mining communities by his Aunt and Uncle Byrd, and took their name. His hardscrabble start may have been one of the reasons that Byrd made his mark as a hard-line conservative on national spending issues --

BYRD: We can't afford to give any administration or any other administration a blank check.

JOHNS: -- and a reformer on campaign financing.

BYRD: -- to rise above partisanship and really do something about our present sorry system of financing federal campaigns.

JOHNS: A student of history, Byrd dressed as a confederate officer in a cameo rule in the film "Gods and Generals," but it was a real-life role that caused him lifelong embarrassment: his membership decades ago in the Ku Klux Klan.

BYRD: That was an albatross around my neck that I would always wear.

JOHNS: He later condemned the Klan.

A two-time majority leader in the Senate, Byrd served 12 presidents. Some he liked, some he didn't.

BYRD: "Mission accomplished?" The mission in Iraq as laid out by President Bush and Vice President Cheney has failed! Even more disturbing, the disdain for international law and the military bombast of this cocky, reckless administration.

JOHNS: In 2001, for the first time in his life, Byrd was sworn in as president pro tem of the Senate. The honor briefly put him three heartbeats away from the presidency, behind the vice president and the Speaker of the House. While he thought about seeking the Democratic presidential nomination once, it was the Senate floor that served as his bully pulpit. Referring to the hostage crisis in Iran in 1979 --

BYRD: I think we would be justified in waiting 444 days before we get too serious about fulfilling Iran's need for trade.

JOHNS: -- and America's modern day dilemma in neighboring Iraq --

BYRD: Instead of keeping murderous al Qaeda terrorists on the run, the invasion of Iraq has stoked the fires of terrorism against the United States and our allies. Najaf is smoldering. Fallujah is burning. And there is no exit in sight.

JOHNS: He spent his life as a senatorial Don Quixote, yet he was modest about his impact.

So why did he stay so long?

BYRD: As Cato said, "There is no greater honor than that of serving the commonwealth."

JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And this reaction really continues to pour in today remembering the senior Senator.

I'm just hearing that we have some reaction from the vice president speaking from Louisville, Kentucky.

Here's Vice President Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A guy who stood in the rain, in the pouring rain and freezing rain, outside a church as I buried my daughter and my wife before I got sworn in, Robert C. Byrd.

He passed away today. He was the -- we lost the dean of the United States Senate, but also the state of West Virginia lost its most fierce advocate. And as I said, I lost a dear friend.

Throughout his 51 years, the longest tenure of any member in Congress in the history of the United States, Robert C. Byrd was a tough, compassionate and outspoken leader, and dedicated, above all else, to making life better for the people of the Mountain State, his state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And as his family, as the Byrds plan for his funeral, a lot of you are sharing your thoughts on Senator Byrd. And Josh Levs has been looking at some of them.

I mean, I know it's the first thing I read this morning when I woke up. I just can't believe it.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. A lot of people -- even though some people --

BALDWIN: He's 92 years old.

LEVS: -- knew he was 92 years old, his health was not perfect, it still is shocking when you hear about an icon of our entire government who has passed. In fact, a lot of people taking a look at these pictures online. And before we get to some of the tweets and stuff people are sending us, I want to take you through a couple of these pictures, because they help tell the story that Joe Johns was talking about just now.

And this one right here I found particularly striking. I want everyone to know the caption on this.

It says, "President Carter holding a copy of Byrd's album, "Mountain Fiddler," in 1978. Byrd was an avid fiddle player and appeared on the country variety show "Hee-Haw" --

BALDWIN: Oh, wow.

LEVS: -- twice in 19\'79.

BASH: A fiddle player? Who knew?

LEVS: A fiddle player who was on "Hee-Haw." I mean, this fleshes out -- you know, we know him as a lawmaker. They're also people. I mean, we're all people. And it's interesting to see that side of it.

All right. Let's get to some of these tweets that we're seeing today. He was the top topic on Twitter this morning, and it's interesting to see some of the reaction on different sides. A lot of people talking about mixed feelings.

This is Claire Celsi. "I have mixed feelings about Robert Byrd. Legend? Sure. But he made lots of mistakes."

This is Matty Glesias. "I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but these encomiums to Robert Byrd's pork skills are a bit hard to take."

A lot of people talking about how much pork he took home, and was known for taking home.

A lot of people praising him as well. Ofose Patrick, on Facebook, "He has closed his eyes here on earth and opened them to heaven, where there is a new birth. May his spirit live on among those he has inspired for success."

Beverly Jo Cole, "An icon in the Senate, he shall be missed." I've got one more for you here. "And the Ku Klux Klan loses another one."

So, this is someone talking about his Klan history. He obviously, as we know, has said he regrets that, but a lot of people thinking about that today.

I will tell you, I didn't put it on here, but there was someone who wrote -- and he has something to say about this. They said. "He's such a big deal, West Virginia should really name some things after Robert Byrd."

BALDWIN: And I laughed when I heard that, having lived in West Virginia for three years, in Charleston and Huntington. It's like, you can't go anywhere without thinking of Robert Byrd -- a highway, a bridge, a building. You know, his spirit is everywhere.

LEVS: It's everywhere. Yes, this person was being sarcastic, because he's such a huge presence in that state.

BALDWIN: He has done so much for that state.

(CROSSTALK)

LEVS: Yes, he's all over.

And you can learn a lot more about him and his entire history, CNN.com. You can't miss it. It's up there right now.

BALDWIN: That's fantastic.

Josh Levs, thank you.

LEVS: Thank you. You got it.

BALDWIN: All right.

Wow. What to look for at the Supreme Court nomination happening today, when the nominee appears to be -- appears to be squeaky clean? CNN's Jeff Toobin will join me ahead, here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: One month before Arizona's new and controversial immigration law goes into effect, the Obama administration officials will be meeting with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan heading that delegation.

And Ines Ferre is all over this one. She is here with a preview.

I imagine they are there talking border patrol.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Border security. That's right, border security is on the agenda, Brooke.

And last week, you'll remember that President Obama asked Congress for an additional $600 million and 1,200 National Guard troops to secure the border. Well, Governor Jan Brewer expects to hear more details, specifics on the plan, and how it will impact Arizona. And she's also told our affiliate KPNX she hopes to get a firm answer on whether the federal government plans to sue over Arizona's recent illegal immigration law.

And a few weeks ago, Secretary Hillary Clinton told an Ecuadorian television station that the Justice Department will be filing suit against the law. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JAN BREWER (R), ARIZONA: I don't like the idea that they are suing. Let's make that perfectly clear. I think that's outrageous. The fact of the matter is, is I think that if they are, they should notify my office, myself personally, rather than hearing the news maybe on another nation's news broadcast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: And already, five lawsuits have been filed in federal courts against this law.

BALDWIN: And also, though, the governor making news today, kind of making the rounds, saying, look, a lot of the people coming into my state are drug mules. Yikes.

FERRE: Yes. And that's a comment that she said before. But on Friday, she was asked again by a reporter about it, and, basically, she said that the drug cartels have taken control of illegal trespassers going into Arizona.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREWER: We all know that the majority of the people that are coming into the Arizona and trespassing are now becoming drug mules.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: And a labor union representing some 20,000 Border Patrol agents says that that's just not true. T.J. Bonner of the National Border Patrol Council, which supports Arizona's illegal immigration law, by the way, says that Brewer's comments don't "comport with reality." He says smugglers typically transport much larger quantities of drugs, and if Brewer, what she said was true, then there would be many more prosecutions on drug smuggling -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Ines Ferre, thank you.

All right. Well, still to come here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm getting a couple notes in my ear that I'll pass along for you.

Number one, we're hearing that the mayor of Chicago should come out speaking about this major ruling, this blockbuster ruling from the Supreme Court. We'll get that for you.

And also, Reynolds Wolf, more on weather updates, severe weather updates.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The United States Supreme Court closed the book on its term today with a major decision on gun rights and a farewell to a veteran justice.

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeff Toobin was in the courtroom this morning.

And Jeff, I heard you this morning saying this is the nerds' Super Bowl.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: So I know you're excited today about what's going on. And I first just want to get to that ruling, the Chicago handgun ban deemed unconstitutional.

Take it away.

TOOBIN: It was a dramatic and emotional day in the Supreme Court. And that's not often true, because the justices tend to be rather austere figures.

But the day began with the announcement that everyone knew, that Ruth Bader Ginsburg's husband had died yesterday. And to the surprise of many, Justice Ginsburg was present in court, and Chief Justice Roberts played a tribute to the late Martin Ginsburg, who was a well- known law professor and law practitioner here in Washington.

But then came the bombshell, a very big decision, 5-4 by Justice Alito, saying essentially -- and we're going to have to sort this out in its details -- but saying essentially that gun control is unconstitutional in the United States.

TOOBIN: -- gun control is unconstitutional in the United States. That the states, as well as the federal government many not ban private possession of weapons because of the second amendment to the Constitution.

Now, how this all plays out, whether you now have the right to buy a stinger missile or a tank, or whether convicted felons or children can get guns -- all of that is left to be sorted out. But gun control is very different in America today, than it was at 10:00 this morning when the Supreme Court convened.

BALDWIN: Just curious, Jeff, I feel like I hear people on bull horns behind you.

Is there a protesting presence?

TOOBIN: There is one person protesting, but he does have a bull horn.

BALDWIN: OK. Just had to ask. Jeff, speaking of second amendment rights, I would imagine that conversation would make its way into today's confirmation hearing with the dear friend of yours, just to be transparent here, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.

First, if you could explain your connection to this woman, and, number two, what do we know about her judicial philosophy? We know she doesn't have any experience on the bench, so I imagine her views are fairly unknown publicly.

TOOBIN: Solicitor General Kagan and I were law school classmates. We were in a very small study group first year. We've been friends for a long time. But I don't claim any special insight into what she thinks about the second amendment.

This is certainly something that will come up significantly in her confirmation hearings. It came up last year with Justice Sotomayor's hearings, the issue of what about second amendment rights. The reason why this is so significant is that the law has changed so dramatically when it comes to the second amendment.

In the 1980s, when Elena Kagan and I were in law school, it was completely agreed among the Supreme Court, among virtually all law professors, that the second amendments did not guarantee individuals a right to keep and bear arms, that that was not how the second amendment was interpreted. But you had a lot of young, aggressive, highly intelligent, motivated conservatives who worked their way through the judicial branch, through legislative branch, through the executive branch, particularly in the last Bush presidency, arguing that the second amendment does protect a individual's right to keep and bear arms. That has now been ratified by the Supreme Court. It now applies to every state, every locality in the nation.

What I imagine Solicitor General Kagan will say is this is the law of the land, she will follow it. But you can be sure that particularly the Republicans on the committee will be looking for a commitment on her part that she will not try to cut back on the gun rights that have been newly established today.

BALDWIN: Jeff, you bring up a good point, the fact that we don't know her stance on the second amendment, or perhaps other issues, as well, because of the lack of sitting on a bench and the fact that those opinions are not widely known.

Let me ask you something that Dana Bash pointed out, the fact that back in 1993, with the Ruth Bader Ginsburg confirmation, Kagan said she saying that she wasn't forthcoming, it was vapid.

Might we anticipate Kagan being forthcoming and how much so?

TOOBIN: You can be sure that that law review article you referred to where she criticized the way nominees dodged and weaved answering questions, you can be sure that will be thrown in her face with regularity over the course of the week.

I do anticipate based on what I've heard from people in the White House that she will be somewhat more forthcoming than Justice Alito, than Justice Sotomayor, than Chief Justice Roberts had been. She will talk more about her approach to these legal issues because there is so much less of a paper trail.

There are not judicial opinions. There are not a lot of law review articles. So I anticipate that she will be somewhat more forthcoming but she won't give the committee what they want. She will not say, thumbs up on Roe v. Wade, thumbs down. She will not go case by case in terms of what she agrees on and what she doesn't. That's going to be an interesting thing to watch when she starts answering questions tomorrow.

BALDWIN: Jeff, I have time for one more question I want to sneak in. Of course, the fact that we all know the president nominated her to succeed the oldest associate justice on the court, that being John Paul Stevens.

A, will her record be similar to his, and this being the final day on the bench, was there any mention of that?

TOOBIN: I think chances are if she becomes Justice Kagan, her record will be on the liberal side, similar to what John Paul Stevens certainly became in his last decade of his 35 years on the court.

There was a wonderfully warm moment at the very end. Chief Justice Roberts is a very charming and avuncular man, read to the court a letter signed by all of the justices and the two retired justices, Sandra Day O'Connor and David Souter, in which he pointed out that the Supreme Court first went into session in 1790, and John Paul Stevens has served on the court for one-sixth of its history.

BALDWIN: Wow.

TOOBIN: He's served with 18 different justices and there've only been 112 in the history of the court. And Justice Stevens responded warmly, thanking his colleagues, thanking the court staff, and talking about the collegiality and independence that characterized the work of the Supreme Court.

And I thought that was a good summary of his work because he is a very likable, friendly man from Chicago, but he is also always been very independent throughout his tenure, often writing by himself dissenting opinions, less so in recent years. But he really is a figure who didn't belong to any political party, any group and was really a much beloved figure on the court by liberals and conservatives alike. And you could see that in Chief Justice Robert's letter signed by all of them today.

BALDWIN: Well it's interesting to hear this. They did indeed, more than just mention his history, nominated I believe it was President Ford.

Jeff Toobin, thank you for that. We look forward to hearing your analysis throughout the day.

And just to remind the viewers, we will go through this process, the confirmation hearing supposed to begin right around 12:30 today. And we'll bring it to you live here on CNN.

Meantime, victims of the DeepWater exploratory oil drilling ban. Thousands upon thousands of workers totally left without a paycheck get a chance to recover their losses. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Day 70 now of the Gulf oil disaster. And while oil companies wait for this final ruling on the moratorium on the exploratory deepwater drilling, there may be some relief for those who have been left out of work. They can now file claims to recover some of their lost wages.

CNN's Chris Lawrence has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First the oil spill itself took out the fishermen and restaurant owners, but BP set up a $20 billion fund to cover their damages. President Obama's six- month ban shut down deepwater drilling, and BP set aside another $100 million to pay the workers on those oil rigs.

But the truckers, loaders, caterers and cleaners that supported those shut down rigs -- they had nothing, except rising anger at Washington over what the ban has done to them.

Take Anthony Thibodaux.

(on camera): How is the moratorium affecting you?

ANTHONY THIBODAUX, TRUCK LOADER: Well, I basically have no job. And I'm normally checking in eight, 10, 12 trucks a day, loading up two boats to go offshore to an oil rig. I did none. None. No boats out.

Now, I feel like a dead man walking. I know I'm just waiting for the ax to fall, because it's got to. That company cannot survive holding on to guys like me. They can't.

LAWRENCE: Is this just affecting people who live right along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana?

THIBODAUX: No. No. I live in Atlanta. I drive to work every week. The riggers and the crane operators and stuff, they come from Mississippi. You know, there are some from Alabama.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): This weekend, we took their concerns to Ken Feinberg.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, how are we supposed to feed our families, pay our bills, get to work?

KEN FEINBERG, ADMINISTRATOR, GULF CLAIMS FUND: I understand that you only want what you're entitled to as an unfortunate victim of this spill.

LAWRENCE: The man President Obama appointed to take charge of the claims' process to see if their damage can be covered.

(on camera): Will you be handling any claims at all for people whose businesses had been affected by the moratorium?

FEINBERG: Yes. I now have discovered -- I didn't realize this until yesterday -- but the moratorium claims will fall under my jurisdiction.

LAWRENCE: That's a huge development. We did not know that before.

FEINBERG: I didn't either. I just learned yesterday that the administration and BP have agreed that the moratorium claims will fall under my jurisdiction.

LAWRENCE: Always a good idea to let the boss know exactly what he's in charge of. But this seems to be a relatively recent deal between BP and the Obama administration. It's not something BP agreed to early on. They took responsibility for the oil spill but the moratorium was something that was imposed by the federal government.

Now this doesn't solve all the problems for these workers, but it at least gives them somewhere to go to try to get back some of what they have lost.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, it is supposed to be a long tough summer for teachers. Are you one of them? Many of you are apparently struggling to find work. We will check on a job fair. Stay there. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, there's no escaping the oil still gushing into the Gulf, some 70 days later. Tar balls now officially coming ashore in Mississippi. A spokesman for Biloxi says the containment effort does not seem to be working. Vice President Joe Biden will be heading to the Gulf tomorrow.

Other top stories. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan faces her first confirmation hearing -- the first confirmation test in less than an hour. Members of the Senate Judicial Committee are set to ask questions about her views and her resume. If confirmed, Kagan would replace Justice John Paul Stevens, today, his final day on the bench.

And Pope Benedict XVI calling a police raid on church headquarters in Belgium deplorable. Authorities say they were searching for documents related to child abuse allegations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just a couple of years ago, scoring a job teaching after college seemed pretty much like a sure bet, right? Not anymore.

Our Mary Snow stopped by a job fair in Austin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this job fair for teachers in Austin, Texas, organizers report record turnouts. One thousand prospective teachers attended but this year fewer school district representatives showed up with jobs to offer.

STEPHANIE PIERSON, JOB SEEKER: I know it's hard out there, but I'm here hoping that one of these school districts will see something in me they like.

SNOW: Organizers say many districts were there to collect resumes but had no open positions. It's a problem across the country. Andrea Miller Hamilton left her job in a battered music industry in New York to get a teaching degree.

(on camera): Did you think it was a safe career choice?

ANDREA MILLER HAMILTON, JOB SEEKER: I did. At the time, two years ago, the market was great. And New York City needed teachers desperately. Everybody was recruiting. So I thought, you know, I'll go to school and in two years I'll have a job in five minutes. And that's not what happened.

SNOW (voice-over): So Miller Hamilton bartends to make money until she finds that job. She and her family even moved to New Jersey recently in hopes of better hiring prospects. But the picture is grim.

15,000 teachers in New York state face layoffs. In Illinois, 20,000, and in California, 26,000. Nationwide, 275,000 teaching jobs are on the line according to a national group of school administrators. A big reason why? Stimulus money is gone.

NOELLE ELLERSON, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS: Those stimulus dollars were much needed and much appreciated but it was one-time money and that money is running out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say this is the deepest dip that we've seen since World War II. SNOW: Thomas James is the Dean of Columbia Teachers College who says some graduates are getting jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're doing better in some fields, such as special education, or in math and science. Also for English language learners, that's another field. I'd say the broad answer would be it's tough. It's a tough summer for teachers.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

BALDWIN: Tracking and tagging sharks? Researchers study how the oil slick is affecting their migration.

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BALDWIN: And, again, you are in the NEWSROOM here. It is right around midday, Monday.

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BALDWIN: Meanwhile, we're all thinking about Wall Street in New York, a lot of people thinking about Washington right now. You know it, the best political team on TV, they're getting miked up, they're getting geared up right now to bring you live coverage of the Elena Kagan confirmation hearing, which, by the way, begins next hour.

Plus, we here at CNN, tracking tropical storm Alex. It's this huge concern, or at least it has been, for oil clean-up efforts down in the Gulf. There it is. Churning away. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers will have a live update. All of that and more in the NEWSROOM top of the hour.

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BALDWIN: Day 70 now of that oil disaster in the Gulf. And you know how we have been talking a lot about wildlife? Well, listen to this. Scientists are studying whether sharks are able to sense and avoid the danger.

Here is CNN's John Zarrella.

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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 6-foot shark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a nice lemon, guys.

ZARRELLA: The researchers work quickly, taking blood and tissue samples, measurements.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 180.

ZARRELLA: University of Miami researcher Neil Hammerschlag is studying the migratory habits of sharks in Florida waters. The oil spill has given his work a new more urgent dimension. NEIL HAMMERSCHLAG, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, RESEARCHER: There is the possibility that these animals might be able to anticipate the oil or sense the oil and actually move away from it. It's really unknown right now.

ZARRELLA: This lemon shark will provide valuable data. But when it comes to what Hammerschlag is looking for, it's, well, a lemon. He's after the great sharks, tigers, hammerheads, bulls. They travel greater distances. If his team lands one it will be tagged with a satellite transmitter. If the shark goes near or into the oil, Hammerschlag will know it.

(on camera) One shark Hammerschlag's team tag transmitted nearly every day for three months. But two days after the (INAUDIBLE), the transmissions suddenly stopped.

(voice-over) Coincidence? Perhaps. Here's what Hurley, the hammerhead's track looked like the days before it disappeared.

HAMMERSCHLAG: Tag could have failed or it could have headed off somewhere into deepwater and just not come up in the last few months. But that's very unlike the shark's character.

What's next biopsy? Whose biopsy?

ZARRELLA: On this day at sea, the lemons keep coming. Three black tips, too. The blood and tissue from these guys will be tested for concentrations of hydrocarbons, from oil. Scientists worry sharks could easily be contaminated even if they never swim through the oil.

HAMMERSCHLAG: You know this fishing area has been closed in the Gulf of Mexico because they don't want people to catch and eat that fish. I don't know if the sharks got the memo.

ZARRELLA: Because it's a natural predator, a reduced shark population impacts the balance of nature.

(on camera) There will be enough work, scientists say, to keep researchers busy studying the effects of oil on sharks for decades.

John Zarrella, CNN, in the Gulf of Mexico.

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