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Gulf Coast States Hoping For Busy Independence Day Weekend; Vice President Biden Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq; General Petraeus Takes Command of Forces in Afghanistan; Germany Advances Over Argentina in World Cup

Aired July 03, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of you are on the road this holiday weekend and hungry for some healthy meals. We'll tell you the best options out there while you're on the road.

And stepping out with Lady Gaga, grandpa dancer gives moves have gone viral. We'll show you why in the next hour.

And Reba McIntyre gearing up for a big Fourth of July concert in Washington, D.C. We'll actually talk to her live in the 4:00 eastern hour.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, where news unfolds live this is Saturday, July 3rd. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We have lots of things to tell you about in Afghanistan and Iraq. In Afghanistan, the new U.S. commander, General David Petraeus, is on the ground and getting right to work.

In Iraq, a Fourth of July weekend surprise for U.S. troops. Vice president Joe Biden and his wife are in Baghdad in an unannounced visit. We'll have a live report in just about a minute from now.

But first the latest on the Gulf oil disaster -- bad news for south Florida. A few government report warns that there is a good chance that BP's spilled oil will reach south Florida within 20 miles of the beaches there in the Florida keys, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale in the next few months.

And one more loss to report in the gulf -- tourism dollars. CNN's Reynolds Wolf is in Gulf Shores, Alabama. There are a have you stragglers on the beach, but hardly anyone would want to get into the water. How is this hurting this coastal community?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A lot of people, one of the first things they want to do is head out in that water, which is usually a beautiful aquamarine. But unfortunately, they can't do that. Today they're not only not allowed to get out there because of the oil but because also of the rough surf.

Let's be honest about this, the situation could be like this, virtually empty. But instead, it's a little more like this. There are some people out here. They're braving it anyway. I'll tell you that even though they can't swim, the beaches are in very good shape, and the reason why is because of some of the earth-movers we've seen down here -- these earth-movers have actually been out here since early this morning, Fredricka doing what they can to clean up these beaches. Men and women are working around the clock to make these things as pristine with the reputation that they've had for years and years, generations of family coming here to enjoy the sunshine.

The beaches are wide open. Although you can't get into the water, you can certainly enjoy the conditions. The sun is coming down. Skies are cobalt blue. Temperatures are actually not that bad. And with the breeze, it's more comfortable.

But what would make them more comfortable would be to have more people here. It's been a tough year. We've had bad economy, unemployment is going up. And with the oil spill, it all comes together to give quite an obstacle for the good people here.

WHITFIELD: So the water may be closed at the beach, so to speak, but the hotels are still open, the seafood restaurants, all of that. What are the hoteliers and restaurants doing to get people to come?

WOLF: That's where it gets kind of dicey. The hotels are -- believe it or not, last year. You couldn't get a room here. everything was booked solid.

But this year hotels are about 50 percent to 70 percent full. They've scaled back the prices. It's down to about $150 a night trying to bring in more people, all comes back to dollars and cents.

But, Fredricka, you led to something else which is even more important. It's not just the beaches and the hotels. It's the restaurants. It's the gas stations, the people trying to sell the souvenirs. It all comes together.

And they're really having a rough time. They hope to at least make a go of it this weekend. This is obviously one of the biggest beach weekends if not the biggest one for the beach this year.

WHITFIELD: It's usually a big one. That means this really hurts in a very big way. Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much, from Gulf Shore, Alabama.

Also today in the Gulf, the head of the EPA is meeting with scientists tracking the effects of chemical dispersants that BP has been using to clean up the oil. The EPA ordered BP on May 26th to significantly cut back on the amount of dispersants it was spraying.

Critics warn the chemicals could harm marine life. A CNN analysis of daily dispersant reports shows the chemicals keep flowing into the gulf at virtually the same levels in spite of the EPA order.

And U.S. troops in Iraq got a surprise visit on this Fourth of July weekend, an unannounced visit from Vice President Joe Biden. CNN's Arwa Damon joins live now from Baghdad. Arwa? ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. And the more surprising aspect about the visit is that Vice President Biden was accompanied by his wife, Jill Biden. The two will be spending the Fourth of July with the troops, attending a number of ceremonies and other events.

Vice President Biden will also be meeting with senior Iraqi government officials as well as the political leadership here. Remember, Iraq has been in something of a political vacuum following the inconclusive March elections, and this is causing some concerns as the vacuum and the impasse could create an opportunity for the insurgents here to try to regain their foothold.

Now also in country are Senators McCain, Lieberman, and Graham. They went out and spent the day at a Baghdad bakery and were noting just how much things had changed in the last three years, saying that it seems businesses were thriving.

Vice President Biden after meeting the top U.S. commander on the ground here, General Ray Odierno and U.S. Ambassador Chris Hill, echoed what we heard from the senators, also saying he was fairly optimistic that the government would be formed soon.

That, however, is very different to what we're hearing from Iraqis that we have been talking to who are very concerned about this political impasse.

And just to mention, too, Mrs. Biden's program is going to be fairly busy as well. She is going to be meeting with the troops as well as civilian embassy officials, and she's going to be conducting a roundtable with Iraqi women who teach English.

WHITFIELD: All fascinating stuff. Arwa Damon, thanks so much, from Baghdad.

General David Petraeus is back at work commanding international forces in Afghanistan. And he didn't waste any time stressing the importance of unity in achieving success there.

CNN's Atia Abawi is in Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was General David Petraeus first full day on the job in Afghanistan as the top NATO commander. It started with the daily briefing held at ISAF headquaters where a NATO spokesperson said he was activity engaged, asking questions, and trying to get a lay of the land.

Following that, he went to the U.S. embassy for Fourth of July celebrations a day before the actual American Independence Day. That's where he and U.S. ambassador, Karl Eikenberry welcomed and greeted several hundred dignitaries. He also spoke to the crowd and said a united front must be met to have success in the war in Afghanistan. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, ISAF COMMANDER: I'm reminded that this is an effort in which we must achieve unity of effort and common purpose. Civilian and military, Afghan and international, we are part of one team with one mission. In this important endeavor, cooperation is not optional. This is a tough mission. There is nothing easy about it.

ABAWI: Following the embassy event, General Petraeus met with his top commanders here on the ground in Afghanistan to assess the situation. But his most important meeting of the day is that with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, where he needs to build a very strong relationship to show a united front between the NATO coalition and the Afghan government.

President Karzai had a very strong relationship with the former top commander, General Stanley McChrystal, who was dismissed by President Obama a little over a week ago. General Petraeus' biggest challenge will be the security in Afghanistan as well as the partnership with the Afghan government.

Atia Abawi, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Back in this country, this holiday weekend, traditionally a big shopping weekend. Call it cost effective recycling now. We're talking about the secondhand savings of buying used.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Who doesn't want to save money? So spend less. How do you do that? You buy used. Sounds like I'm having a conversation with myself. Let me bring in Lynn Truong because she is the coauthor of the book "10,001 ways to live large on a small budget." She's joining us right now from Los Angeles. Good to see you, Lynn.

LYNN TRUONG, WISEBREAD.COM: Hi, thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: OK, so you say it is better to buy used, for not everything, but certain things, beginning with what could be some kind of large ticket items like furniture, particularly if it comes from an IKEA. Why IKEA furniture?

TRUONG: I don't mean to exclude any other furniture, but they have very basic simple designs and standard IKEA colors. And everybody knows what IKEA furniture looks like and what to expect from them. So they've got names for each of their models so you can look up exactly what you're going to get.

And it's relatively lightweight. So if you're going to have to go pick it up yourself, you better be able to lug it up three flights of stairs.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: That's right. So now you've got your living room sized up with your new used IKEA furniture. Now you want to accent the room. And you say these are items you could be getting used as opposed to brand new.

TRUONG: Home accent pieces are the first things I look for when I go to a yard sale. They're in really good condition because people put it up on the wall or put something on the shelf and nobody's handling it on a day-to-day basis. So they're kept in really good shape.

And really I think it's the most cost effective way to have an eclectic collection of very fun, unusual things to put up around the house.

WHITFIELD: You've already mentioned yard sales. Where am I going to get a lot of these used items? Do you have a particular favorite location where people should be looking for these used items?

TRUONG: Yard sales, Craigslist, eBay. There are a ton of swapping sites, too, like free cycle, Swap at Home. All of those places you can find people trying to get rid of things.

WHITFIELD: Also on the list, musical instruments, you're taking up a new trade of learning how to play music, play piano, trumpet, et cetera. You say go used. Why?

TRUONG: OK, music is one of those things that require a very large upfront investment with a very uncertain payoff. And when I was a little girl, I begged and begged my parents for a violin so I could take violin lessons. I promised them I would practice and follow through and stick with it.

(LAUGHTER)

They brought me a brand-new violin and I went to two lessons.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

TRUONG: So I think this happens all the time. So my parents really should have found another family with another little girl who was begging for a violin and sell it to them used. So people who are trying to learn a new musical instrument really should just find a slightly used one to start with.

WHITFIELD: I can identify with that. I saw myself as being a flautist, I convinced my parents I should take fluting lessons, and it made me dizzy on the first couple of lessons, and gone was flute.

TRUONG: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: So craft supplies -- what am I using craft supplies before that I can get them used. I thought once you use them, they're depleted?

TRUONG: The thing about having crafting as a hobby is it can get pretty expensive. The supplies -- there's lots of supplies involved. But the thing is that you always have leftover supplies. Things that you don't need to use anymore but you don't want to throw them away.

So crafters have these communities where they get together and swap supplies. They bring their leftover, unused supplies. They trade with each other, and then everybody walks away with new supplies and nothing gets wasted.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

Houses, that's also on the list. Everybody loves a brand-new spanking house. Nobody else has used the bathroom, the kitchen, et cetera. But you may not have as much bargaining power when you buy something brand new versus a house that has been well lived in before.

TRUONG: The thing about houses these days, they're built 50 units, 100 units at a time. They all look the same. There's something about having a distinctive house that looks different from all the other houses on the block.

I had a friend who bought a house in a cookie cutter community. He drove home, drove into the driveway, clicked on his garage door opener, and the garage next door started opening. He didn't even recognize his own house.

(LAUGHTER)

As long as older homes are up to code and everything's in good working order, they really should be given extra consideration.

WHITFIELD: And these last two items I would not have thought I'd be wiser by buying them used. I'm talking about hand tools and video games. I guess part of me would be a little reluctant wondering if they were in good working order, if they've been damaged in that kind of use.

TRUONG: Well, video games, I'm a big video game junkie. So is my husband. But we don't buy video games new because there are these hardcore gamers who buy the games right when they come out. They finish it in a week and then they want to get rid of to it move on to the next new game.

So they're in great condition because they've only been played through once. So those are great.

And for hand tools, the thing about that is that they're easily misplaced, and so people can't find them when they need them, and so they run out and buy another one. And pretty soon, they have a collection of five hammers, and no one needs that.

WHITFIELD: I think we have three, maybe four drills at home. Something's wrong.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUONG: Exactly. So just sell them and somebody's looking for a deal on that. WHITFIELD: Excellent. Lynn Truong, thanks so much, author of "10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget." Who is not interested in that? Thanks so much, making us smarter as we shop and buy. Buy used, of course.

TRUONG: Yes. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. So Lynn gave us some great ideas, locations to buy some of these things used. Josh Levs has been doing some digging himself, and he found even more surprising websites to find out how you can make a deal.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, do you want to buy a used patriotic troll?

WHITFIELD: No.

LEVS: Look at this little guy. He's awesome. Not your style?

WHITFIELD: OK, I didn't know there was a market for that.

LEVS: You can find anything used online. It's kind of amazing. This is from an obvious -- I love this little guy. This is from eBay. What we've been doing is taking a look at some of the websites that Lynn was just talking about and some others.

I asked viewers what websites do you use to find really interesting used materials. I want to show you some of the things that our people have been saying. First of all, look at this, lostgolfballs.com. Have you ever heard of this?

WHITFIELD: No, I haven't. But I understand why there would be such a place.

LEVS: They scour more than 2,000 private resorts and other golf courses, they go into the water where these golf balls land. They take them back, clean them off. And they said they are the biggest site online to buy gol fballs at all, used golf balls in great condition. I love this.

E-Bid -- everyone knows eBay. Ebid.com, a lot of people tell me they use this. They have used shoes, nine west shoes for women. You never know what people are going to be going for on line. And they're cheap. I look to see how people before managed to sell used things online.

Here's another one that's interesting -- etsy.com. They apparently are also a really popular site to buy and sell used things. Look at this, used U.S. lobster buoy floats. I'm going to give you a list and links to this at the end.

You have these site where is they're making big business out of doing this. And this one, a lot of people said Josh, make sure to get this in. This is freecycle.org. What they do at freecycle.org is basically it's a green mentality. The idea is hook people up to share their items so they don't have to create more. If you've got something that's going into a trash dumpster, find somebody else out there might want to use it.

And then swap-aholics. This was based in Massachusetts with a similar idea. More and more people are finding each other through this.

One more I'll mention, resource yard. Someone on Facebook says she'd done a lot of home modification. And resource yard reaches out to people where a lot of stuff gets tossed out. And they gather it and make it available to people.

Here's the whole list. It's up at Facebook and at twitter at Josh Levs at CNN. People are there right now posting their ideas and the kinds of things that they want to buy. Maybe none of them are going to be as good as a used patriotic troll, but --

WHITFIELD: Yes, that tops the list right there.

(LAUGHTER)

Happy holiday. Thanks so much, Josh. We'll see you again with some viral video coming up.

Meantime, let's talk a little World Cup soccer, because it's still going on, even though the U.S. is out. Yes, it still plays on. Germany is on the march trying to go through Argentina on their way to a fourth world cup title. We are live in South Africa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Other tops stories right now. In Florida, funeral services were held today for two police officers killed in a shootout. They were gunned down Tuesday during an early-morning traffic stop in downtown Tampa. Both men died later at the hospital.

And the suspect, Dante Morris, made a court appearance this morning. He was arrested yesterday after a massive manhunt. Police say he is wanted for questioning in three other murders.

And in the Congo, an oil tanker flipped over and exploded, killing at least 230 people. Another 190 people were injured. Officials say the truck was attempting to overtake a bus when it overturned. Oil began spilling from the truck. A crowd gathered to try to collect it, and one person apparently was smoking a cigarette which triggered the inferno.

And space officials will try again tomorrow to dock a Russian cargo vehicle at the International Space Station. Yesterday a technical problem occurred onboard the unmanned Russian spacecraft. It flew about two miles past the space station, and NASA says the six people on board the space station were never in danger. The craft is delivering supplies to the space station.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They're still very pumped up about what's taking place at world cup. Half the final four was set in amazing matches yesterday. Today German and Argentina squared off in the early game. Spain and Paraguay are getting underway in moments now.

CNN's Isha Sesay is live in Johannesburg for us. Spain, the highest ranked team left, so what should people expect from them, and then we'll get on to what happened with Germany and Argentina.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure thing, Fredricka.

I think people should expect a fiery game between Spain and Paraguay. Spain are the current European champions. They've had a mixed start to their World Cup tournament, no doubt about that. The bottom line is this is a side full of some really big stars, with the like of Fernando Torres, who has yet to find his full gear, and David Ivara as well.

Paraguay is making history just being here. They've never made to it the quarterfinals. For anything they do progress would be historic. Paraguay, you have to say, even though they haven't managed to get the goals, only scoring three in four matches, they do have a rock-solid defense. They've only conceded one goal so far in the World Cup.

So that could trouble Spain. But you have to say Spain with their form, with their stars, you have to fancy them Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Are people scratching their heads about what took place between Germany and Argentina?

SESAY: Well, this has been a World Cup full of upsets. We've seen France eliminated, Italy eliminated and the highest rank team in the entire tournament, Brazil, were shipped off home yesterday. So I suppose this is just one more upset.

But I think the thing is, it's the manner of the upset. Germany absolutely demolished Argentina in that first match today, 4-0 was the final, four goals coming from the likes of Thomas Mueller, Miroslav Klose. And Argentina never could really dominate this match. They couldn't breach the German defense.

This is a very young German team. It's one of the youngest teams in this entire tournament. And the real star of this team, Michael Ballack, isn't even playing because he's out with an injury. He's been sitting out on the sidelines. They've had all these young players really rise to the occasion, and they were able to dispatch Diego Maradona's Argentina, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Good stuff. Isha Sesay, thanks so much, joining us from Johannesburg. The mother of a U.S. marine is afraid to leave her home because she doesn't know if she'll actually be able to return. Next, we'll put a face on the country's raging immigration debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Arizona immigration debate is front and center this holiday weekend. The American Civil Liberties Union has issued travel alerts for people heading to Arizona over the Fourth of July weekend. The alerts inform people of their rights if they are stopped by Arizona police.

The state's tough new immigration law allows police to question their residency status of people being investigated for a crime. The law does not go into effect until July 29th, but the ACLU is concerned some law enforcement officers have already started acting on provisions of the law.

President Obama is renewing his call for Congress to pass an immigration reform bill. He reached out to Republicans this week, saying a bipartisan solution is the only way forward. The president also criticized Arizona's new immigration law, and the state's governor pushed back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is not just that the law Arizona passed is divisive, although it has fanned the flames of an already contentious debate. Laws like Arizona's puts huge pressures on local law enforcement to enforce rules that are ultimately unenforceable.

Today we have more boots on the ground near the southwest border at any time in our history. Let me repeat that. We have more boots on the ground on the southwest border than at any time in our history.

GOV. JAN BREWER, (R) ARIZONA: I say, to the president of the United States, do your job. Secure our borders.

(APPLAUSE)

As for me, I'm not surrendering. I'm going to continue to do everything in my power to protect this state. No apologies, no quitting, no retreat. I'll tell you something else, we're not going to pick up the tab either.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Obama's push to reform immigration is a life-changing matter for a particular Phoenix woman. She has become a prisoner in her own home out of fear that she will be deported, even as her oldest son serves in the U.S. marines. Our Thelma Gutierrez is in Los Angeles with her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Somewhere in Phoenix, Arizona, a mother lives in fear. Her son is at war, and in many ways she is, too.

Her name is Maria. She welcomed us into a small apartment she shares with five children. Maria told us it was risky to go public with her story, but she wanted her voice to be heard in the national immigration debate.

Maria and her husband came to the United States illegally more than 20 years ago. Her husband supported the family as a baker. But nine months ago, he was detained, and now he's about to be deported.

With the tough new immigration law about to be enacted in Arizona, Maria is afraid to walk her kids to school, even go to the grocery store.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): What are you afraid of?

(voice-over): She worries who will care for her young children if she is picked up.

(on camera): A lot of people are very upset you're here without documents. What would you want to tell them?

(voice-over): Maria says she doesn't feel welcome here and she knows she has many critics. She says she wants them to know she's contributed, too. Her firstborn son, 20-year-old Lance Corporal Chewy Nunez, a U.S. citizen serving in the Marine Corps and fought in Afghanistan.

Maria says she worries about her son who has to deal with life- and-death issues at war while shouldering the financial and emotional burdens of his family back home in Arizona.

Even so, her two younger sons also want to become marines, a decision she fully supports, despite the immigration battle she's fighting here.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Perhaps you are heading out for the holiday weekend. Beware of all those fatty foods out there. We've got some healthy tips when you're on that long car ride.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Pam Grier, you know that name, an icon of the '70s and a star of blaxploitation films including "Foxy Brown." Recently I got a chance to talk with her about her career and the many challenges of her life, some of them very painful. She was sexually assaulted several times, and she says the attacks actually changed her forever.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAM GRIER, ACTRESS/AUTHOR: I had an instinct for survival. And throughout these instances, the third time changed me into this I'm going to risk my life to save my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Face to face with the star of "Foxy Brown," Pam Grier, tomorrow at 2:00, 4:00 and 5:00 eastern. She talks about everything from being a survivor to being an actress, blaxploitation films, and of course the men in her life. Pam Greer, tomorrow, face to face.

A look at our top stories right now. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill are celebrating the Fourth of July weekend with U.S. troops in Iraq. The second couple arrived in Baghdad just a few hours ago. Mr. Biden is also expected to meet with Iraqi leaders during this visit.

And more outrage directed at Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. Liz Cheney, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, is calling for him to step down. Cheney says Steele's comment this is week calling the war in Afghanistan one of President Obama's choosing and suggesting that it is unwinnable are, quote -- I'm quoting Liz Cheney now, "deeply disappointing and wrong."

And Liz Cheney adds that it's time for Steele to go.

Another gloomy prediction about the Gulf oil disaster -- government forecasters say there's a pretty good chance the oil will reach south Florida. The places they are naming, the Keys, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale.

Perhaps you're going somewhere this Fourth. Join the club. AAA estimates that nearly 35 million people are traveling 100 miles or more this holiday weekend. That's about a 17 percent increase over last year. And 90 percent of travelers will be hitting the highways, hitting the road.

Those road trips involve a lot of fun but also lots of food that you probably would never think about eating at home, from greasy fries to those neon orange cheese curls, all the quick and easy treats that you grab on the go and probably shouldn't.

So we've got some tips to help you eat healthy on the road. Joining us right now is registered dietician Lesley Bonci. So if you are grabbing something from a convenience store, for example, how in the world do you find something, I don't know, guilt-free?

LESLIE BONCI, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: Well, actually, there are some good things in a lot of the convenience stores and gas stations right now. They're stocking yogurt and string cheese. It's important to look at the expiration date. That's the last thing you want when you're in the car is food poisoning.

Also granola bars are there. Sometimes little bags of trail mix as well are available, and some convenience stores and gas stations actually have fruit, too.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Sometimes you see a banana or an apple or something like that. How about when you go to rest stops, because oftentimes their vending machines, and none of that stuff strikes me as being very healthy?

BONCI: Yes, vending machines, although sometimes now they actually do have packages of crackers like wheat thins and pretzels, those types of things. And even at a Starbucks, not necessarily a mocha frappaccino, but having an iced latte works really well or even some of their sandwiches or fruit and cheese plates.

A lot of the rest stops have ice cream or frozen yogurt, and we don't necessarily have to have the five scoops with all the stuff on it. But that works because it's a treat and it's kind of fun to eat that.

WHITFIELD: At the same time, at some of these rest stops, there could be fast-food restaurants, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and places like that. How do you navigate your way through there, because you have been on the road and didn't necessarily pack everything in your cooler? You have to eat something.

BONCI: Absolutely you do. And sometimes you want to eat something that's a little bit more satisfying than dry and crunchy at that point. Even picking a burger that might necessarily have the cheese on it. Some of the rest stops actually have wraps that work or even like turkey or chicken sandwich that work.

And if someone wants to do a salad, the biggest issue with the salad is not the greens and the meats, it's the amount of dressing. If you can't see the lettuce underneath, it's a bad sign.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Get it on the side. I can't believe you said no frappaccinos, that cool, refreshing, yummy stuff.

BONCI: Yes, But then all of a sudden you find you cannot get out of your car because you're taking up too much room in the car.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: How about that diner in the middle of nowhere? Who can't resist the French fries usually at a diner?

BONCI: One of the things, if you're at a diner and you want the fries and there's four people in the family, maybe it's one order for everybody instead of one for each individual.

Also, a lot of diners serve breakfast foods all day long. It's one of the hallmarks of them. so things like oatmeal, even a pancake, an omelet, that works really well. And a lot of diners are about comfort food. How about turkey or meatloaf? Maybe if we really want the pie, one pie, four forks.

WHITFIELD: That is no fun at all. I do not like to share my desserts.

(LAUGHTER)

OK. What about bringing your own? Say you do pack your car with a cooler. You've got that picnic basket thing. What do you bring that won't get soggy, that will still taste crunchy and fresh?

BONCI: You can bring the fixings for a sandwich. But don't put it on to the bread. If somebody says, I'm going to make my own tuna with a little light mayo, just put it in a plastic container and then put it on the bread.

People can bring cheese, yogurt, meat, veggies, fruits, even pasta salad. The most important thing when packing the cooler is not only what's in it, but bring the utensils along so you actually have the knife to cut or have the fork or the spoons, because otherwise it gets real messy in the car.

WHITFIELD: Dietician Lesley Bonci, thanks so much. We don't have to rely on just those bag of chips after all.

(LAUGHTER)

BONCI: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Have a great holiday.

BONCI: Thank you. You as well.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

Forget the cake. Oh, boy, now you can have your birthday card and eat it, too? That's straight ahead.

But first, it is art like you've never seen before, and it's shining a light, literally, on one Florida town. Our Gary Tuchman is on the edge of discovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: If this is what a typical art show looks like, then you might consider this art 2.0.

MIKE RAGSDALE, FOUNDER, DIGITAL GRAFFITI: Digital Graffiti is the world's first projection art festival.

TUCHMAN: It's an event that transforms the quiet beach town of Alice Beach, Florida, into a new kind of art movement.

CHRISTINA PIERSON, ARTIST: It's amazing what it does to the projections as they go and bend around the corners.

RAGSDALE: The projections really come to life because we do have all of this amazing white space. The architecture here is inspired by the architecture of Bermuda, the white homes there. Let's turn our town into the world's first blank canvas. TUCHMAN: Once the sun goes down, the town-sized canvass creates a whole new experience.

RAGSDALE: Digital Graffiti fuses together three things that have never been fused together before -- art, architecture, and technology.

TUCHMAN: A combination that is shining light not only on new artists but hopefully painting a new picture for art lovers.

PIERSON: I'd love to see people connect with digital art and video art this way. It's great to come out here and be able to actually experience how different it is, to see artwork that is not on paper, that's not static, something that's moving and engaging in this way. I really think it's exciting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Everybody's good at something, right? Paul Baldwin is good at wearing handcuffs. That qualifies him for our water cooler. The 49-year-old New Hampshire man has 150 arrests to his credit, or discredit, most recently Monday night, when police say Baldwin stole Budweiser from a convenience store. Baldwin had just finished a one-year sentence for stealing $1.99 can of beer.

All right, so typically you go over a bridge or under a bridge, right? Take a look at this. This is actually a historic gas station that is being moved but it ran into a bit of a problem in Des Moines, Iowa. Crews were moving this station to a new site, but they kind of forgot about that pesky bridge which is a tad too low. You see it's barely able to clear it.

The 79-year-old gas station got stuck and crews had to cut off the chimney top to get the building through.

I think this is my favorite -- or not. Good taste, it's a quality these greeting cards actually claim to have, literally. A new line of American greetings cards called "Tasties" includes dissolvable strips the recipient can actually eat. That sounds kind of nasty.

The flavor of the strips corresponds with the message. You see cupcakes, you taste cupcake, chocolates, et cetera. You can buy Tasties at the stores nationwide. I don't know, maybe they should change the name. Tasties?

(LAUGHTER)

I better not say anymore. Do I have to taste my greeting card?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: A new weapon to battle in the disaster in the Gulf, a skimmer ship so big that it could do as much in a day as all the ships now working on the leak combined.

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WHITFIELD: New worries in the Gulf. The odds are going up that oil will reach the Florida Keys and the east coast. Today, EPA scientists are discussing the ongoing use of dispersants to break up the slick. But a massive skimmer ship still has not received the go- ahead to join clean-up efforts.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is how you get on the world's largest oil skimmer -- quite a feat and quite an advantage. So, now we're onboard a massive vessel called A Whale, and this is a giant cargo ship that is retrofitted to skim oil out of the Gulf of Mexico.

This kind of retrofitting has not been done before, so right now the coast guard hasn't given this ship permission to skim oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

We're on the navigation deck of this vessel, and from here you can really get a sense of the magnitude of this ship. It's almost four football fields long and one football field wide, and as you look at the other massive ships out there on the water, they look small from this vantage point.

But underneath this massive deck that you see right here below us, underneath there is where the crucial work will take place if, indeed, the technology aboard this vessel does work. Underneath there is where the containers and the oil can be skimmed in to is being held right now. So we'll go check that out.

Those slits you see on the side of the ship are called the jaws, and that is the critical component retrofitted to help the ship collect oil.

So, the oil is going to come through here into these valves and into a series of five tanks, and that's a process of separating the oil from the water.

What you see here is called the jaws. And, essentially, when this ship gets the clearance to go out and start skimming oil, the oil will come into here and then get brought into these valves and get processed where they will begin the process of separating the water from the oil.

Right now, the crew of this ship is waiting on final permission from the Unified Command to start skimming oil in the Gulf of Mexico. There's a couple issues that are being looked at right now. First of all, one of them is a safety issue. A ship this big out on the Gulf of Mexico needs about a half mile radius all the way around to operate safely. So, they're trying to figure out if that's possible.

There's also some environmental concerns. Part of the way this ship works is that it brings in oil and water, it separates that and the water gets thrown back out into the Gulf of Mexico and they keep the oil. They're also looking as to -- into whether or not that water that's going to be discharged, what are the environmental impact of that? So, that's one of the things slowing it down.

But everyone aboard here thinks that it's just a matter of time before this vessel is put in to fight the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera reporting there from the Gulf.