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Oil Skimmer Test Results; BP Oil Disaster Costs; Renewed Concerns of Double-Dip Recession; Arizona Police Training Video; The Queen Takes Manhattan; Florida May See More Oil; Oil Disaster Video Game; What's Hot
Aired July 05, 2010 - 11:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.
Unemployed and frustrated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrible. I mean, it's not just not even being able to get a job. It's not being able to get an interview.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Is the U.S. headed toward a double-dip recession?
Hope in the form of "a whale?" You're looking at the world's largest oil skimmer. It could be part of the process in the Gulf, but it is still not be used. What's the hold-up?
Here online right now we are, too. Ines Ferre is following top stories trending on the Internet -- Ines.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, if you like the iPhone, then you'll be glad about this. Apple says it's going to fix their signal bug.
And also, Lady Gaga and her Facebook page. Well, she has got now 10 million fans.
HARRIS: Lady Gaga.
All right, let's get started with our lead story. Seventy-seven days into the BP oil disaster. The giant skimmer called A-Whale sucked up crude in the Gulf all weekend to test its effectiveness. Today, results are in and like so many things in this disaster, the answer isn't black or white. To New Orleans now and CNN's senior correspondent, Allen Chernoff.
Allen, A-Whale a success?
ALLEN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll have to see. We just don't know yet. There was some testing done, as you said, over the weekend. The thing is, the seas out there were so high -- seven-foot seas on Saturday, at least five feet yesterday -- that it was a little tough to test this baby. I mean, it is massive. Tony, I saw it from the air on Saturday. You're flying over, we were 500 feet up. That thing is more than three-and-a-half football fields long.
The thing is built to be an oil tanker. It was retrofitted. It doesn't work the way normal skimmers work. It sucks up all the oil and water, and then it's supposed to separate them on board and then spit out the water.
Now, so, the testing involves checking out how well it actually can do the skimming, and also testing the maneuverability.
HARRIS: Wow. And how are -- how is BP doing, Allan, with the relief wells? That's supposed to be the ultimate answer here.
CHERNOFF: Right. Well, they're saying it will be the ultimate answer, that relief well number one -- remember, there are two relief wells being drilled. Number one is, it's pretty -- it's more than 17,000 feet below the floor of the sea, so it's within 1,000 feet of the actual base of that oil well, that gushing well.
The thing is, now they're doing what they call ranging. They're essentially shooting electricity down that drilling well to try to find the original casing of that gusher well. And so they're doing ranging.
They've done six of these ranging experiments. They basically send that electricity down, use the electromagnetic field, drill a little closer, try it again. It's a long process.
I know one of the BP top executives said recently, a few days ago, that they think they could finish this off by late July. I spoke to a Coast Guard admiral over the weekend. He said, oh, let's not count on it. More likely sometime in August.
This is a slow process from here on in. So that's a problem with that gusher still flowing -- Tony.
HARRIS: It really is. All right.
Allan Chernoff for us in New Orleans.
Allan, good to see you. Thank you.
Frustration is certainly growing over the gushing oil well from politicians to beachgoers. Eleven weeks into the calamity now, and still no end in sight. Here's a sampling of opinions.
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ARLENE REESE, BEACHGOER: No easy solution. You know, we're too afraid to let the kids get in the water. We don't know what's out there, what kind of problems it will cause in the future. REAR ADM. PAUL ZUKUNFT, CLEANUP OPERATION DIRECTOR: As the Coast Guard, we do take it personally. You know, it is portrayed as mission failure any time oil washes ashore. Not just with this spill, but with any spill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: $3.1 billion and counting. That's how much BP estimates the Gulf oil disaster has cost the company so far.
We are talking recovery cleanup and payouts to people who have lost income. Our Josh Levs is here with more on a breakdown of those costs.
Who is getting what here, Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Tony, it's a heck of a lot of money, but it ultimately might just be a drop in the bucket compared to what BP will be facing in the future as those costs continue to mount up for years, even once this oil disaster itself is fixed.
Let's take a look at what we have so far.
Right now, BP is saying $3.12 billion is the total cost they are facing up to this point. Still a long way to go, but let me show you what that includes.
It includes their response efforts, the containment efforts, the relief wells that they're working to build. Everyone is hoping that in August, those relief wells will be up and running, it will begin the process of pulling out the oil so this can finally come to an end. It also includes grant claims against BP and the federal costs, because, remember, every time the government speaks, whether it's President Obama or other officials, they always say, remember, BP will be paying this back.
And while I was looking at this, I was curious about how many claims. Listen to this.
Ninety-five thousand claims have been submitted so far, more than 47,000 payments have been made. So, we're talking about a bunch of billions of dollars, but I want everyone to keep something in mind.
Look at how much money BP makes. This was its profits, just its profits in 2009, $16.6 billion. So we're talking about just a fraction of its profits when you look at the costs here. And we have a long way to go.
Remember, there's this escrow account that BP has set up. And this is in coordination with the government. President Obama organized this. That's a $20 billion escrow account that will be used for some of these payments.
And we have to keep in mind that for years, there could be lawsuits against BP, there could be all sorts of steps taken against BP. And this company could keep paying for years and years. That said, the major oil giant makes a lot of money. And one way to see that is to take a look at this interactive we have for you right here. This is on CNN.com right now.
And if you take a visit over here, what you'll see -- this is interesting -- they designed it with these circles. So, basically, right here, this circle is BP's cost so far, and this bigger circle is its profits last year. And we have a lot of numbers and interactives for you here.
And Tony, before I toss it back to you, while people are here, I want them to check something out if they haven't seen it yet. It's a 3-D interactive look at the spill itself. It takes you to what's going on right now.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: You can click on "Ocean Floor," and it zooms you way down within the ocean, all those 5,000 feet down, to help you visualize and understand what it is that's going on all the way down to where the leak is taking place. You're seeing it in 3-D.
All this stuff at CNN.com right now, trying to help all of us to wrap our minds around this.
HARRIS: That's terrific. All right, Josh. As always, thank you, sir.
LEVS: You got it.
HARRIS: The bear is on the prowl. Stock markets close to bear territory. We will talk with Christine Romans of our Money team about that, and the danger of a double-dip recession.
Can we talk ourselves into a double-dip recession? Just a question.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. A case of foul play with a toilet plunger. It is your holiday "Random Moment of the Day."
Many of us fly the flag to show our patriotism; right? The people of Guffey, Colorado, fly their chickens. Here you go.
They stuff a bird into a mailbox, then push it out with a plunger. The one that flies the greatest distance wins.
Now, before you scoff -- and I see you out there scoffing -- Guffey's residents crow that the event has paid for their library and firehouse.
A feathered fourth for your "Random Moment of the Day."
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HARRIS: Let's see. Unemployed and certainly frustrated.
1.2 million people say they've stopped looking for work because the job market just is so sluggish right now. And that is according to federal statistics.
We asked you to share your frustration about the economy on our blog. And, boy, you really have.
Hopeless writes, "Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe it. Now, in addition to hunting for work, I have to worry about eviction and applying for food stamps. This is not something any of us should be facing in this country."
Bev says, "BP should be forced to set up a program to hire unemployed citizens to clean up their mess. Have mass numbers of them apply. Even a temporary job is better than no job at all."
Taking stock of your money right now. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are moving close to bear market territory. And we're hearing renewed concerns about the possibility of a double-dip recession.
Christine Romans of our Money team, live from New York.
Christine, I've heard the rumblings, as well. Why are we talking about the possibility of a double-dip recession again?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, look, this spring, things were awakening in the economy. You had GDP, the economic growth starting to come back. Now we know that things have slowed down in the first part of the year, and we're really concerned about just how strong and durable the recovery is going to be, Tony.
And that's why you've got stocks down, looking at bear market territory, many people say. You've got the Dow Jones Industrial Average from its April high down 14 percent. The S&P 500, which is more likely to be what your stock investments in your retirement funds more closely match to that, 16 percent down. Nasdaq down 17 percent.
Technically, if it's down 20 percent, that's a bear. The worries at a crisis in Europe.
Look, Europe is just about everybody's biggest customer. So, if you're a company and you're trying to add jobs, and you look to Europe if you're a big multinational, you're a little concerned about adding jobs in this environment. The jobs market in general is sluggish, 9.5 percent unemployment, and improvement only because 600,000 people left the job market because they were so frustrated.
And the housing market is weak. We just don't know whether it's going to be able to find its legs once the government is out of the business of giving people $8,000 to buy a new home.
So, there still are a lot of questions. And you know, Tony, the stock market went pretty much straight up. Right?
HARRIS: Right.
ROMANS: Eighty percent. Now it's gone pretty much straight down for two months. It has not been easy if you've been watching stocks.
And what the stock market is telling us is that the best kind of global recovery was priced into the scenario. And now there are questions about whether it will be a solid and durable global recovery.
HARRIS: Just trying to think as you were speaking here -- I'm trying to figure out what sectors, you know, lead us out of this. Manufacturing helped millions of Americans get into the middle class. And are we seeing any kind of a rebound? Are we making anything? Is manufacturing coming back at all?
ROMANS: The thing is, we've seen some manufacturing jobs coming back recently. Quite honestly, you have seen a little bit of stabilization in the Midwest in particular. So there have been some manufacturing jobs coming back.
And don't forget, the United States is still the leader in high- tech manufacturing. I mean, real high-tech manufacturing. So there are some great opportunities there.
The president has said that he is really pushing for us to be -- you know, to double our exports, I think, over the next five years or something, which is great, as long as we don't double our imports, too. You know, and then you're kind of stuck in this global imbalance thing. That's what no one knows, is what is the key that restores confidence so people start to hire?
HARRIS: That's what I want to know.
ROMANS: Jobs and houses, Tony. Jobs and houses, the two things you and I feel millions of Americans -- this is what we feel first and foremost. Those things are still big question marks.
HARRIS: OK. Christine, we've got to figure this out, the two of us, and the rest of the Money team.
ROMANS: I know, right?
HARRIS: We really do. What sectors need to come back quickly in order to get folks -- 15, 17 million -- people back to work, the eight million or so who have lost their jobs since '07? We've got to figure that out.
All right. Christine, appreciate it. Thank you.
A man spends seven years perfecting two inventions that could change how the world gets its electricity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LONNIE JOHNSON, INVENTOR: Lithium is right up there with gasoline. It has a lot of energy potential. The key is to unlock it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Lonnie Johnson is famous for making a top-selling toy. Now he is breaking new ground in green energy.
Watch my "Next Big Thing" series: "Engineers: Life Mission." That is tomorrow at noon Eastern.
India wishing it didn't rely so heavily on fuel. A price hike on gas putting the brakes on commerce today.
We're back in a moment.
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HARRIS: You know, in parts of India today it is anything but typical. Trains are empty, traffic is parked. Thousands are protesting a gas price hike.
CNN's Mallika Kapur is following the developments from Mumbai.
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MALLIKA KAPUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's Monday morning in Mumbai and the city is at a standstill. These roads would normally be packed with hundreds of trucks as they head towards the port which is just behind me. Today, you'll find thousands of trucks parked on the sides of the roads because they're all participating in a nationwide strike against a hike in fuel prices.
BAL MALKIT SINGH, PRESIDENT, BOMBAY GOODS TRANSPORT ASSN.: In a democratic country we have the right to show our products.
KAPUR (voice-over): Last week, the Indian government took a bold step to stop subsidizing petrol and raised the price of petrol, kerosene, cooking gas, and diesel which powers India's trucks.
SINGH: Diesel is a major component in our cost of operations. And if there is a regular (ph) hike (ph), it does badly affect our industries.
KAPUR: Money saved by scrapping fuel subsidies will be used to cut India's fiscal deficit, which is 5.5 percent of GDP. The finance minister says it could come down to 4.5 percent next year.
(on camera): The opposition, which has called for today's strike, has slammed the price hike, saying it affects the common man the most. There is concern inflation, which is already above 10 percent, could be pushed higher still.
GURDEV SINGH, TRUCK DRIVER (through translator): The cost of everything has gone up from diesel to food. No one is helping the poor man.
KAPUR (on camera): Truckers say they're finding it difficult to swallow the recent price hike, and many say they've had no choice but to transfer the cost on to consumers. In fact, many truckers say they've increased their prices by 12 percent since last week.
They now want the government to roll back the price hike. They want their government to meet their demands. And this, today's strike against the government, they say, is just one way for them to make a point.
Mallika Kapur, CNN, Mumbai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right. The Pentagon tightens controls over interactions between the military and the media in the wake of the Stanley McChrystal incident.
General McChrystal was forced to resign his post in Afghanistan after comments critical of the Obama administration were published in "Rolling Stone" magazine. Interviews must now be cleared with the military's Public Affairs Office. A Pentagon official says new rules were in the works before the "Rolling Stone" article.
General David Petraeus is officially in command of the NATO and U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. He formally took over during a ceremony in Kabul yesterday. The general says this is a crucial period for the war in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, COMMANDER, AFGHANISTAN: As each of you knows well, we are engaged in a tough fight. After years of war, we have arrived at a critical moment. We must demonstrate to the Afghan people and to the world that al Qaeda and its network of extremist allies will not be allowed to once again establish sanctuaries in Afghanistan from which they can launch attacks on the Afghan people and on freedom-loving nations around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Happy Fourth of July, Independence Day weekend, America.
Queue the fireworks
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Day 77 of the oil disaster. Officials say tests conducted over the weekend of the A Whale oil skimmer are inconclusive. The converted cargo ship could skim 21 million gallons of crude each day if everything works.
Other top stories we're following for you.
Almost a year ago, the man convicted in the Lockerbie bombing was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. A cancer expert had given him just months to live. Now that same doctor tells London's "Sunday Times" the killer could live another 10 years or longer.
Despite threats from Turkey, Israel is refusing to apologize for a raid that killed nine Turkish citizens. That happened in May on board an aid ship bound for Gaza. Turkey says it will cut off diplomatic ties if it does not receive an apology.
And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the country of Georgia today, her last stop in a five-country tour of former Soviet bloc nations. She is talking regional peace and stability with Georgia's leaders.
Top Republicans are questioning Michael Steele's judgment and ability to steer the Republican National Committee. Senator John McCain calls Steele's recent remarks at a fund-raiser "wildly inaccurate." The RNC chairman has backtracked on this comment --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, RNC: Keep in mind, again, for our federal candidates, this is a war of Obama's choosing. This is not something the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, several prominent Republican commentators have called for Steele to give up his post. But party politicians have tiptoed around that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Chairman Steele needs to apologize to our military, all the men and women who have been fighting in Afghanistan. This is America's war, it's not Obama's war.
He needs to refocus on electing candidates who can stop this rampage of spending and debt in Washington. Whether or not he resigns is up to other people than me, but I need to see him focused on this November election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: I come out in support of Chairman Steele because I think it was overkill. He made a casual comment. He wasn't setting policy.
And all of a sudden, people jump on him like we're not allowed to have a discussion. As a matter of fact, I did like what he said, so I enjoyed the fact that we're willing to have a discussion about the popularity of this war.
And truly, it is Obama's war, even though it was started during the last administration. Obama said this is the good war, and he's expanding the war, and the American people aren't with him. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Texas Congressman Ron Paul there, who opposes the war in Afghanistan, is the only national Republican publicly backing Steele. As for Paul's assertion the public has abandoned the president on the war, recent poll numbers from "USA Today" and Gallup don't bear that out.
Pollsters asked how President Obama is handling the war in Afghanistan. Half of Americans say good, 44 percent say poor. And a few, as you can see here, are unsure. When asked whether they favor the July 2011 withdrawal timetable, 58 percent told pollsters yes, they favor it; 38 percent oppose the timetable.
We showed you the police training video aimed at keeping racial profiling out of enforcement of Arizona's new immigration law. Critics are skeptical. We will hear what you have to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, a new training video out of Arizona looks to help police officers trying to enforce the new immigration law avoid racial profiling. The question is, will it work?
Hmmm.
Ines Ferre joining me with this one. And we've also invited Tom Fuentes, a former assistant director of the FBI, to join us.
Tom, good to see you.
TOM FUENTES, FMR. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI: Hi, Tony.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
And so, Tom, thanks for being with us.
And Tony, this video really focuses, a big part of it, on racial profiling. And that's what the critics of the Arizona immigration law fear most, racial profiling. So this video has law enforcement officers where they're talking about racial profiling.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN LIVINGSTON, ARIZONA POLICE ASSOCIATION: There will be those that fully intend to test our officers and their professionalism, and to determine whether or not they will use race as a determining factor in stopping them for one of various different types of activities. I urge you not to use race, not to be baited by the questions that may be posed to you by individuals whose purpose is to find Arizona police officers discriminatory in nature.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FERRE: And Tom Fuentes is former assistant director of national operations for the FBI. He also used to be a street police officer, Tom. So with that perspective also that you have, do you think that this video is effective in preventing racial profiling?
FUENTES: In my experience, Ines, I've watched hundreds of training videos in my 36 years in law enforcement, and I can tell you, they're of limited value. They can't provide examples of every one of the thousands of different scenarios that may arise where police officers have to use their judgment. And frankly, they're used to a great extent as a prophylactic so that the agencies can say, yes, we provided training to our officers, just watch our video.
FERRE: Well, in some of the comments also in video defend the Arizona immigration law and it also talks about how the media has portrayed the law. So how much of it do you think is actually public relations or also talking to the public about this law?
FUENTES: A great deal of it has to be public relations and for the purpose of getting public cooperation with this. You know, the bottom line is that everyone should be very sympathetic to the citizens of Arizona who are not being adequately protected, and that's just a fact. But that's based on the federal government for decades not doing what it should do to protect the borders and protect the national security of the U.S. at those borders.
So the poor citizens of Arizona are looking for some device locally to address the problem. And, unfortunately, as many of these problems of society come out, they end up on the backs of uniformed police officers on the street, dealing with these very complex issues.
FERRE: Well, and it's also evident that Arizona officials want to make sure that there isn't racial profiling and that's why they put out this video. But could they have done something differently here?
FUENTES: Well, they can say that, but the fact is, police officers will not be stopping blue-eyed blondes and asking if they're here illegally from Sweden.
HARRIS: Yes.
FUENTES: They're going to be asking people of Hispanic origin who are being suspicious in the beginning of that. And, you know, I've read the law, the parts of the law that say what legal documentation consists of. And frankly, if you're a 15-year-old going out to play, you're not going to have a military ID, you're not going to have a valid driver's license from a state requiring proof of residency, you're probably not going to have your birth certificate in your back pocket. So you have a large segment of the society, especially the youth of the society, who are going to be out of their homes without the papers.
And, you know, at no time in the United States have we ever required a citizen to carry proof of their citizenship. Never. And so now we have a law that's saying, OK, in our state you must show us your papers if we request it under suspicious circumstances. HARRIS: Tom, aren't we just -- aren't we just splitting words? If I'm a cop on the street, I'm not -- I'm wondering how much of my job really is to profile. How much of my job as an officer is to profile? In this respect, I'm not looking for 90-year-old black women or white women when there is a carjacking that has just gone down. My history in law enforcement tells me that more likely than not, I'm looking for a young African-American or a young Latino, Hispanic. Isn't there a certain element of profiling that is just a part of the job?
FUENTES: You're absolutely right, Tony. Profiling is taught, but legally supportable profiling, just as you've said, where suspicious circumstances exist to indicate that something's not right. But these are articulatable events and observations made by a police officer. But you're asking police officers on the street to make a decision, in some cases in a split second, that the rest of us will analyze for eternity. And it's not really fair to the police officers when this is really a federal government function.
HARRIS: And doesn't the tape simply immunize Arizona from lawsuits? Come on.
FUENTES: Certainly. That's just what I said.
HARRIS: OK.
FUENTES: It's a prophylactic to protect agencies and the government of Arizona. It's not going to provide sufficient guidance to the actual police officers on the street, nor could it. If it was 1,000 hours long, it could not describe enough different scenarios to apply every day to the average police officer as we used to call it in my day, the thin blue line that protect us every day.
HARRIS: Yes. Good stuff, Tom. Appreciate it. Thanks for being on the program. Thanks for taking the time out of the holiday weekend.
FUENTES: Thank you.
HARRIS: And, Ines, I know we're getting some comments on our blog on this question, as well.
FERRE: Yes, tons of comments from people. And I'll take you to one of them. Jason says, "I remember when training videos for tasers came out and abuse still occasionally resulted."
Also, Chris saying, "this video won't help. Racism will exist till the world has peace, and we know peace is never going to happen."
And then you've got Janet P who says, "I think this video shows that Arizona is doing everything humanly possible to enforce the law in a nondiscriminatory fashion. There will surely be those who will try to set them up."
And Jim saying, "everyone wants a solution to illegal immigration, but when Arizona provides one, the liberals come out of the woodwork to cry about how unfair and racist this will be. Why doesn't everyone just wait to see?" Those are just some of the comments that people have been leaving. You guys can still leave comments online.
HARRIS: At CNN.com/Tony.
All right, Ines, appreciate it. Thank you.
Get set, America, the queen's on her way. And then there's that man, Richard Quest. He's already here.
Oh, come (ph) on, man.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony. Tony, it is only the queen's third visit to New York. And when we come back in just a moment, I'll tell you what her majesty will be doing in the sweltering heat of the big apple. Only in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Quest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So the world's largest oil skimmer is in the Gulf, ready to help clean up all that oil after 77 days. But the company that owns the "A Whale" says the ship has to test the waters more. A review of its skimming capabilities done over the weekend is inconclusive. The company blames rough seas.
A submarine, built by drug smugglers to transport tons of cocaine, has been seized before it could make even one voyage. U.S. drug agents helped uncover the sub in Ecuador.
And after celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with U.S. troops in Iraq, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife are headed home. They're flying on a different military C-130 after a mechanical problem was discovered with the first one.
Royalty comes to America. England's Queen Elizabeth takes Manhattan tomorrow. And CNN's Richard Roth says New Yorkers are ready.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It will be queen for half-day in New York City.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: Her majesty, the Queen of England, will be here, going to visit.
ROTH: Her first visit since 1976.
ROTH (on camera): She's not been to New York in 30 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we're not giving it back.
ROTH: She hasn't been here since 19 -
BILL MILLER, CHMN., BRITISH GARDEN MEMORIAL TRUST: I think she's been here for many years, but -
ROTH: Does she not like New York?
MILLER: Oh, she'll love it. She'll love it. Why not?
ROTH (voice-over): At Tea & Sympathy in Greenwich Village, the queen is already here. But owner and duel citizen Nicky Perry is upset she won't be here for the queen.
NICKY PERRY, OWNER, TEA & SYMPATHY: I would love to offer her a nice piece of Welch (ph) (INAUDIBLE) and proper cup of tea.
ROTH: I tried to prepare the former commoners.
ROTH (on camera): Can you bow for me? Not bad.
What would you tell her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would I tell her? That you're beautiful.
ROTH: Don't you tell that to all the women on the street in the summer here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do, but there's a different beauty involved here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If she's around and wants to get high tea with me, just give me a call. No? She was very cordial last time we had it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I'd try and sell her a diamond watch.
ROTH: Do you think she needs jewelry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Couldn't they all? Everyone needs jewelry.
ROTH: What do Americans not know? I mean we don't know what it's like to have a queen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, you've got plenty of queens in America.
ROTH (voice-over): A queen could have some royal fun in the big city.
JAMES BONE, TIMES OF LONDON: She makes very highly scripted visits. She isn't going to be doing what Prince Harry did the other day in New York, getting on a polo pony and falling off, which made news all around.
ROTH: Some New Yorkers would rather the grandkids stayed longer.
ROTH (on camera): You would like to have tea with her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, or her grandsons.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I now respectfully request her majesty -- ROTH (voice-over): The queen will first speak to the world at the United Nations, as she did in 1957. The queen was 31 years old then when she noted the U.N.'s problems.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: Time has, in fact, made the task of the United Nations more difficult than it seemed when the terms of the charter were agreed at San Francisco 12 years ago.
ROTH: Then it's a motorcade trip downtown, perhaps passing this musician.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she would just go, you know, like this, like she does to everyone, instead of like that, which would be pretty cool.
ROTH: The queen visits where the twin towers stood, and a garden where the 67 British citizens who died on 9/11 are remembered.
RODNEY JOHNSON, VICE CHMN., BRITISH GARDEN MEMORIAL: This is the place for the British. And it's also about the unity of our two nations. You know, we've been -- ever since we got over 1776, we've been shoulder to shoulder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll say "God bless the queen."
ROTH (on camera): What about God save the queen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God save the queen, too.
ROTH (voice-over): Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And CNN's Richard Quest is no stranger to the queen. He is in New York now waiting for her majesty.
And, Richard, give us more of what we can expect from the -- what's her itinerary like tomorrow?
QUEST: Well, bearing in mind the sweltering heat in New York -
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
QUEST: This is an itinerary. I mean I have to tell you, the woman is 84. Her day starts in Canada, where she has several engagements. So it's not like she just got up and popped into New York.
She then comes down to the big apple early afternoon. She gives this address to the United Nations. The last time she spoke, as Richard Roth said, was in 1957. So she's a little overdue for a repeat performance.
She will then go in for the solemn moment down to Ground Zero, and then pay her respects at the Garden of Remembrance.
And if all that wasn't enough, a short reception, out to the airport, and on her way back to London.
One thing to note. She is coming and addressing the U.N., not as the queen of England, or the queen of Australia, or the queen of Canada, but as the head of the commonwealth, the loose alliance of 50 odd nations and, of course, the 16 countries and islands where she's still head of state.
HARRIS: Wow. Now I know you will have your dutiful reporter's cap on tomorrow as you cover the event -
QUEST: Here we go. Here we go.
HARRIS: But I'm wondering, is this still exciting for you? An opportunity to be close to the queen? After all, we've got this blast from the past. You clearly have spent much time with the queen. Here you are, years ago, with the queen, as CNN was officially opening its new London bureau. Guess who was there filling in the queen on all the details? Roll the videotape. It's Mr. Quest in action. There you are. Any nats on this tape? Look at that. Oh a young --
QUEST: We'll I'll talk -- oh, Lord.
HARRIS: Yes, you want to narrate this for us, Richard?
QUEST: Yes. Absolutely. There I was. And her majesty opening our London bureau. You've got to watch that tape carefully to see who's still around besides myself and the queen. And the truth is, yes, and the reason, Tony, since you're choosing to be obtuse about this, is because she was around in 1957 when she addressed the United Nations and talked about the difficulties. Tomorrow, she is going to talk about leadership and the new role of the United Nations.
She was last in New York in 1976. Now, on those occasions, she did - she went to Bloomingdales, she went to the Waldorf, she was a young woman. She'd taken the world by storm. But this woman who has been on the throne for nearly 60 years is that link of continuity between the past and the present. And that is the significance of tomorrow.
So I'm not all gooey-eyed. I don't go weak at the knees simply because her maj walks into the room. It's because of the role that she plays.
HARRIS: Oh, to see those images. Gooey and weak at the knees. Richard Quest, we pay for that.
Richard, enjoy yourself tomorrow, and we will talk to you then.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, even people in middle America can help clean up the oil spill, virtually, at least. What are we talking about? Josh Levs knows. We will talk to Josh in just a couple of minutes. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: How about this? Three hundred more skimmers are headed to the Gulf of Mexico to help mop up all of that oil, right? About 550 are already there trying to separate the oil from the water. The largest skimmer, a converted cargo ship called the "A Whale." The Coast Guard is testing it to see how effective it will be. Tests of the weekend were inconclusive because of rough seas.
How about this? Florida is far from being out of the woods on all of this. We're now hearing the oil could reach more of that state's coastline before it is all over. Chad Myers is here with us tracking the winds.
Are we talking about that? We spend a lot of time talking about the loop current.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HARRIS: Is that what could take, what, that sheen around to Miami?
MYERS: You know, this oil is all the way through the water column. You know, it's like, because it's coming out with such force down -
HARRIS: Right.
MYERS: It's just not gobbling up to the top and just kind of sitting there, as you'd expect. If you took olive oil and poured it in your sink, it would just kind of sit on top. You take that olive oil and you pressurize it to 4,000 psi and you blast it into that water, it atomizes.
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: It just turns into just a milky mess. And that's what's down below. So this milky mess could go in many places.
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: So the web - NOAA now has come up with this new map that says, you know what, if this milky mess continues to move around, there's a potential that we could even get in the months to come south Florida with a 60 percent chance of getting some of that oil. Certainly it's in the Gulf of Mexico. There's a chance that oil could go all the way to Europe for that matter.
Don't get alarmed with this. There are 500 computer programs that have been put into this shoreline threat. And the shoreline threat, at least for today, says that still the red zone is all the way from central parts of Florida and the western parts from Panama City westward.
And, Tony, the wind is still going this way. So, you know, we can put all the maps to scare all the people out there that they want, but to be technically honest, the wind is still blowing the oil that way.
Could it get to south Florida, sure? Could it be a long time before that happens? Absolutely. Will it be a tar ball, likely, when it gets there? Even more likely because it will be old oil. It will take weeks to get down there. And so tar balls will wash up, not this -- what do they call it -- mayonnaise?
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: Or didn't they call it moose track or something?
HARRIS: Yes. Yes, yes.
MYERS: Like mousse -- like chocolate mousse, not the moose that walks around like a cow pie. But anyway, it could look the same.
But, anyway, it could look the same.
HARRIS: Oh, boy. All right, Chad, thank you, sir.
MYERS: You're welcome.
HARRIS: You know, you probably wish you could do something to help stop the oil disaster in the Gulf. Well, some clever video game developers are tapping into those feelings. Josh is back with that.
Got a game to show us?
LEVS: Yes, I've got a game to show you. And I don't think that - I mean it's hard not to laugh at just the ridiculous (INAUDIBLE) of it. Take a look at the video. This is for Xbox. It's called "Crisis in the Gulf." And basically it lets you try to get in there and use these little lasers to shoot the oil blobs before they can get anywhere.
HARRIS: Whoa.
LEVS: And I'll tell you, when I heard about this at first, I was saying, well, you know, let's wait and see what happens. It has become a little bit of a phenom online. More and more people talking about it. You can download it, if you have Xbox, for $1.
HARRIS: Oh, this is great.
LEVS: The full game version. And, yes, you can see what it says there. It says you have failed and now animals there are dying because of you.
Now that said, there are some people who don't think this is funny at all given the seriousness of what's going on in the Gulf. And we have both sides for you now. Our affiliate went out and spoke to some people. Here's what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON SAUL, GAMER: It's important to be able to laugh at tragedy, because, I mean, what else can we really do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's really stupid. I really can't believe people play that. RICKY JENKINS, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Creative thinker, basically. Just doing what they can do to make some money off of something that may be somebody else may think may be funny, some people may not think it's funny.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: I am curious what you all think about this. You can weigh in at Facebook and Twitter. I'm at JoshLevsCNN. We'll have this conversation with you. You tell us what you they.
And, Tony, one thing I just have to mention before we disappear here is there's a little bit of a shout out to CNN throughout this game.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: At the very top of the screen it says developing story in our style. And over here, you can't see it, but it says DNN, instead of CNN. They're just having a little fun with it. But you saw some people there saying, don't have fun with this topic. We'll see what the viewers say.
HARRIS: Wait a minute, developing story, that is our style. Are they paying us for it?
LEVS: No, because I think it's considered satire and (INAUDIBLE) just do it.
HARRIS: Yes. These are just questions (INAUDIBLE). Just questions.
LEVS: You know how those laws work.
HARRIS: All right, Josh, thank you, sir.
LEVS: You got it.
HARRIS: Apparently being benched from an eating competition was too much for Kobayashi to chew. The former champ's reaction is "What's Hot."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So, wait a minute. Let me see, Ines. We've got a -- apparently a hungry Kobayashi is an angry Kobayashi, right? Lady Gaga has more friends than anyone alive right now?
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: Or at least the online version of a friend.
FERRE: Yes, exactly. I mean to have 10 million friends, come on.
HARRIS: And then what -- oh, a World Cup trophy that we've got to see to believe, right? FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: All right, it's all yours.
FERRE: OK. So this one happened during the hot dog eating contest yesterday, right? It's really famous in New York.
HARRIS: Coney Island. Yes, yes, yes.
FERRE: And Kobayashi has won in the past. And this time he didn't participate because of a contract dispute. But after somebody won -
HARRIS: Right.
FERRE: He -- he went --
HARRIS: It was Joey, right. It was Joey Chestnut.
FERRE: Yes. Joey won with 54 hot dogs.
HARRIS: Right.
FERRE: And he - and so then Kobayashi tries to go on stage and he gets arrested.
HARRIS: He tried to go on stage to do what? Got, what, mano a mano with Joey Chestnut?
FERRE: Well, actually, let's listen in -
HARRIS: We've got video? OK. All right.
FERRE: Because his translator actually spoke to us. Take a listen.
HARRIS: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE JAMES, TRANSLATOR FOR TAKERU KOBAYASHI: I went there as a spectator just to cheer on my ex buddies who I had been eating with. And actually when I was there, everyone started chanting for me, "let him eat, let him eat." And he said, and in the heat of it, I jumped on the stage hoping that maybe because of the cheers, the Nathans would actually let him eat and prove that he was the champ. But then he got arrested.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: As he should have been. OK.
FERRE: And he got a violation, too, with the (INAUDIBLE).
HARRIS: Yes, publicity stunt. Anyway.
FERRE: Anyway, Lady Gaga - HARRIS: OK.
FERRE: Speaking of publicity.
HARRIS: Yes.
FERRE: More than 10 million fans on Facebook. And there was this kind of online rivalry, right, between Obama and Lady Gaga. Well, fans were creating it.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
FERRE: And who was going to reach 10 million first, because this is the most that anybody's had, a living person has had on Facebook.
HARRIS: All right.
FERRE: Michael Jackson has more -
HARRIS: Ten million for Lady Gaga?
FERRE: Yes, 10,740,000.
HARRIS: All right.
FERRE: And this one you have to check out, which is this world cup trophy.
HARRIS: Uh-huh, which is a beautiful trophy.
FERRE: Which is a beautiful trophy. And we got video of it --
HARRIS: That Argentina won't be taking home this year, by the way. Ooh, that was rough.
FERRE: Ouch, ouch, ouch. Anyhow, this trophy was caught in Bogata. Bogata police actually were able to confiscate it. It was going to be packed up in a box with those shirts, those World Cup shirts.
HARRIS: Made of cocaine?
FERRE: But the trophy is made of cocaine. Eleven kilos of cocaine.
HARRIS: Oh, my goodness. All right.
FERRE: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, there you go. That's what's hot online. Ines Ferre, as always, thank you.
Sorry about the Argentina shot. Couldn't resist.
U.S. Marines, they didn't even show up over the weekend. U.S. Marines, as you know, are known as an elite, well-trained fighting machine. But did you know they're also full of grace? We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: U.S. Marines are known for their boisterous, gung-ho attitude, but one group is showing off its knack for precision this weekend. Without saying a word, check out their fancy foot work.
(VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: How about that? Happy birthday America? CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Drew Griffin.
