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Heat Keeps People Inside; Obama Meets with Netanyahu
Aired July 06, 2010 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thanks.
Two major stories, both spreading across large parts of the country. A dangerous heat wave dominating northeast, spreading southward now. People being warned to stay indoors. Power outages reported in New York, Philly, Washington. Plus, the heat is blamed in the death of a 92-year-old woman in Philadelphia.
Our other big story: the ever-spreading oil slick now blackening beaches in every single state along the Gulf. Tar balls hit Texas today. More on the oil disaster in a moment.
But let's go straight to Chad Myers keeping track of the heat, Chad, and this is really becoming a news event. Not just -- you know, we're laughing about how steamy it is. We already have a death in Philadelphia.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Yes, that's right. Absolutely: 99 degrees right now. That doesn't add in whether you're inside in the sunshine. This is a temperature in a box in the shade. So that's what it feels like in the shade. Do some kind of work. Go be outside. Go work on something hot, like asphalt or on concrete. And not be in the shade in the -- over grass in the tree and it won't feel like 99 anymore.
We have a live shot from Baltimore. You can come look down on Inner Harbor, and you can just see the steam and the haze in the air. The humidity is there. Not such very good air to breathe in the air, too. So it would be a nice day to maybe stay inside or find a mall, for some free air conditioning if you don't have air conditioning in your house.
We're actually worried about now losing some power. Four hundred people's homes reported without power in Philadelphia for a while. They're kind of going out. Some brownouts happening.
If you don't have a surge protector on your TV now would be a good time to pull it out. I've never told anybody to turn off the TV before, because I work on TV and it's not good for ratings. But with these brownouts and this loss of power, if you don't have a surge protector on your TV set, it may not be the best time to actually run all of the appliances: run your air conditioner, make a pot of coffee, make some chili and, you know, bake a chicken. Those would not be things you want to do all at the same time in your house today. Just saying.
GRIFFIN: Let's bring in Nicole Collins. She's in D.C. Is that right?
MYERS: Yes. She's right in there.
GRIFFIN: Nicole, are you there? Tell us what's going on in D.C., how people are handling the heat three in the north -- well, you're in the Mideast.
NICOLE COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, we've been out here since early this morning and early on, it seems like people were starting to heed the warnings, that they weren't going to come out. But it doesn't look that way.
We just had had a soccer game finish up on the National Mall. We've seen a number of people running in this weather, doing squats. And I talked to one of them and said, "Hey, didn't you hear about these warnings? What do you think?" He said he heard, but when he came outside, it just didn't feel that bad, that he was used to the humidity here and the heat here. So really, some people just not taking that advice. And going for it, having their workouts out here.
I talked to some tourists this morning who came from eastern Europe, and they said they didn't realize the weather would be this bad, so what they've done is alter their schedule so they can get all their sight-seeing done, visit the museums, see the Washington Monument, the capital dome over there behind me in the morning hours. And then they said this afternoon they're heading back to their hotel. They're going to watch the World Cup.
So I wanted to give you some information, though, Chad. You mentioned that 92-year-old woman. So this really is a serious situation. She was found in her home in Philadelphia by some neighbors who went to check on her. And she didn't have an air conditioning. She had some windows open. And unfortunately, she passed away. And it just goes to show how serious this is. People really do need to heed these warnings.
So cities like Washington here, New York, they're setting up cooling centers for people who can't get an air conditioning, who can't get to somewhere cool. But I was able to talk to a couple of folks who came up with some creative ways to beat the heat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go slowly, just ride from one end of the bus and keep on riding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay on. What else? Try to go to the museums as much as possible. They have free AC inside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now, normally in these severe weather situations, we hear from experts, and the National Weather Service to check on the elderly, like that woman who unfortunately passed away in Philadelphia. Keep an eye on the little ones, the infants, the small kids. But the National Weather Service saying today, this is so bad, that really this can affect anyone, no matter your age, and if you're in good health. So people really do need to pay attention to these warnings, Chad.
MYERS: Hey, Nicole, it's Chad. I'm looking at the sky behind you. It doesn't look blue. Has it -- has cloud cover rolled in, or is that just haze and gook?
COLLINS: I think it's just haze and gook. I'm from California, and it looks kind of like smog, sort of what that looks like to me.
MYERS: Yes, right
COLLINS: But I've got to tell you, in the last hour or so, it feels a little bit better out here, and we did a quick search on our BlackBerry, and it looked like the humidity went down from a couple hours ago. You're the guy to tell us about that, not me, but that's how it feels. We do feel a little more comfortable than we did about an hour ago.
MYERS: Unless you're in Frederick, Maryland, Drew, that just checked in at 104 degrees about ten minutes ago.
Nicole, stay cool. You look very fresh out there, by the way.
GRIFFIN: Yes, Nicole, you must be under a tree. I was going to say the same thing.
MYERS: There's an air conditioner blowing on you somewhere?
GRIFFIN: Nicole, thanks.
COLLINS: I've been hiding in the truck.
GRIFFIN: All right. Thanks a lot. Thanks, Chad.
Well, it took 78 days, but oil from the BP spill has now gotten on shore in every single state along the Gulf Coast. The latest one was Texas. Tar balls have shown up on the sand in Galveston, Texas, for the first time. Beaches now affected along a 550-mile stretch from Texas to northern Florida.
A bit of a setback in the clean-up, too. A huge navy blimp, that one right there, was supposed to arrive in the Gulf today. It's delayed. Friday is the date now because of bad weather. The air ship, what's it going to do? Help with the clean-up by pinpointing pockets of oil threatening to hit the shore and also spotting wildlife caught up in the slick. It can move slower so they can observe things better.
And the massive cargo ship that's been converted to an oil skimmer still being put to the test today. We told you about this yesterday. The Taiwanese owners say the ship named the "A Whale" can skim 15,000 -- 50,000 barrels a day. Tests on its effectiveness were inconclusive yesterday, mostly because of high waves. The Coast Guard has extended testing through Thursday to see if it is actually going to do the job.
Well, Texas isn't the only place the tar balls are showing up today. How the heck are they getting into Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain? We'll have that for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: That's a live look at the White House. Let me tell you what's going on there. An important meeting between President Obama, of course, and the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. These two don't see eye to eye. There has been some contentious meetings between the two.
We had a press availability, but it was not live, so that tape is literally being run out to our crews around the White House lawn. We're going to turn that for you any minute. Right now we understand the two leaders are at least having lunch together. But as soon as we hear what their comments were, we're going to bring those to you as fast as we can.
GRIFFIN: Back to oil now. Galveston, Texas, not the only place now getting hit with tar balls. Believe it or not, they're turning up in Louisiana's Lake Pontchartrain. And Brooke Baldwin is in New Orleans. Brooke, I don't know how this can possibly happen.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, Drew. I mean, so many people are sitting here -- I'm actually in Slidell, not too far from New Orleans, right on Lake Pontchartrain, and they're thinking how the in the world did this stuff, this stuff -- this is the tar ball -- how is this traveling about 160 miles all the way from that leak site here as far inland now as we have seen covering this story here inside Lake Pontchartrain.
Let me just take this goo off of here, and you can kind of see. A lot of people have been asking me, no, it doesn't smell at all. But I was talking to the president of St. Tammany Parish here, and he told me they collected some 1,600 some pounds of this stuff just yesterday.
And the other thing, Drew, is how is this affecting people who use this lake to fish, both recreationally, also commercially. I spoke with one young man who works here at the marina, who called himself a bait boy, who is, you know, here for his summer job to provide bait to the commercial fishermen, and he's pretty much kissing his summer job goodbye. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So now that there are tar balls in the lake, how may that affect your job?
JARRETT COCRAN, BAIT SALESMAN: Can't get live bait in. So that's pretty much where we make most of our money from is live bait.
BALDWIN: Because they shut down the commercial fishing.
COCRAN: Yes, from the highway in Levenbridge (ph) all the way back through Lake Borne (ph) and Biloxi Marsh, all the way back through Hopedale and out through the Gulf, pretty much, all that's shut down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Wait. And basically, the issue here, Drew, is that some people are very concerned, and for good reason. But some people aren't as much alarmed, you know, in terms of estimates of the tar balls and the oil here in Lake Pontchartrain alone, they're saying somewhere in the 100 barrel estimate.
We have a sound bite from one other person, John Lopez, who is with these Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, who isn't as alarmed, but he is the one who predicted long ago that this stuff would be ending up here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN LOPEZ, LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN FOUNDATION: OK. Yes, they're around. Hopefully they like -- you know, they'll eventually degrade over time. They don't seem to be that bad. There's really no oil sheen. The tar balls are -- whether they're part of the emulsification process out that BP -- that they're doing off shore and getting up here because there's heavy tidal movement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Brooke, stand by for a moment. We're going to go back to the White House. We're expecting to get tape from a meeting between these two leaders who just made these comments just a few moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I just completed an excellent one-on-one discussion with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and I want to welcome him back to the White House.
I want to first of all thank him for the wonderful statement that he made in honor of the 4th of July, our Independence Day, when he was still in Israel. And it marked just one more chapter in this the extraordinary friendship of between our two countries.
As Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated in his speech, the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable. It encompasses our national security interests, our strategic interests. But most importantly, the bond of two democracies who share a common set of values and whose people have grown closer and closer as time goes on.
During our discussions, you know, a private meeting, we covered a wide range of issues. We discussed the issue of Gaza, and I commended Prime Minister Netanyahu on the progress that's been made in allowing more goods into Gaza. We've seen real progress on the ground. I think it's been acknowledged that it has moved more quickly and more effectively than many people anticipated. Obviously, there's still tensions and issues there that have to be resolved. But our two countries are working cop actively together to deal with these issues. The quartet has been I think very helpful, as well. And we believe that there is a way to make sure that the people of Gaza are able to prosper economically while Israeli is able to maintain its legitimate security needs in not allowing missiles and weapons to get to Hamas.
We discussed the issue of Iran. And we pointed out that as a consequence of some hard work internationally, we have instituted through the U.N. Security Council the toughest sanctions ever directed at an Iranian government.
In addition, last week I signed our own set of sanctions coming out of the United States' Congress, as robust as any that we have ever seen. Other countries are following suit. And so we intend to continue to put pressure on Iran to meet its international obligations and to cease the kinds of provocative behavior that has made it a threat to its neighbors and the international community.
We had a extensive discussion about the prospects for middle east peace. I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants peace. I think he's willing to take risks for peace. And during our conversation, he once again reaffirmed his willingness to engage in serious negotiations with the Palestinians around what I think should be the goal not just of the two principles involved, but the entire world. And that is two states living side by side in peace and security. Israel's security needs met, the Palestinians having a sovereign state that they call their own. Those are goals that have obviously escaped our grasp for decades now.
But now more than ever, I think is the time for us to seize on that vision. And I think that Prime Minister Netanyahu is prepared to do so. It's going to be difficult. It's going to be hard work, but we have seen already proximity talks are taking place. My envoy, George Mitchell, has helped to organize five so far. We expect those proximity talks to lead to direct talks. And I believe that the government of Israel is prepared to engage in such direct talks. And I commend the prime minister for that.
There are going to need to be a whole set of confidence-building measures to make sure that people are serious and that we're sending a signal to the region, that this isn't just more talk and more process without action.
I think it is also important to recognize that the Arab states have to be supportive of peace. Because although ultimately this is going to be determined by the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, they can't succeed unless you have the surrounding states having as much -- a greater investment in the process than we've seen so far.
Finally, we discussed issues that arose out of the nuclear nonproliferation conference. And I reiterated to the prime minister that there is no change in U.S. policy when it comes to these issues. We strongly believe that, given its size, its history, the region that it's in, and the threats that are leveled against us, against it, that Israel has unique security requirements, it's got to be able to respond to threats or any combination of threats in the region. And that's why we remain unwavering in our commitment to Israel's security. And the United States will never ask Israel to take any steps that would undermine their security interests.
So I just want to say, once again, that I thought the discussion that we had was excellent. We have seen over the last year how our relationship has broadened. Sometimes it doesn't get publicized. But on a whole range of issues, economic, military to military, issues related to Israel maintaining its qualitative military edge, intelligence sharing, how we are able to work together effectively on the international front that, in fact, our relationship is continuing to improve. And I think a lot of that has to do with the excellent work that prime minister has done. So I'm grateful. Of and welcome, once again, to the White House.
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The president and I had an extensive, excellent discussion, in which we discussed a broad range of issues. These include, of course, our own cooperation in the fields of intelligence and security. And exactly as the president said, it is extensive. Not everything is seen by the public. But it is seen and appreciated by us. We understand fully that we will work together in the coming months and years to protect our common interests, our countries, our peoples, against new threats.
And at the same time, we want to explore the possibilities of peace. The greatest new threat on the horizon and the singular most dominant issue on -- for many of us is the prospect that Iran would acquire nuclear weapons.
Iran is brutally terrorizing its people, spreading terrorism far and wide. And I very much appreciate the president's statements that he is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. That has been translated by the president into his leadership at the Security Council, which passed sanctions against Iran; by the U.S. bill that the president signed just a few days ago. And I urge other leaders to follow the president's lead and other countries to follow the U.S. lead to adopt much tougher sanctions against Iran, primarily those directed against its energy sector.
As the president said, we discussed a great deal about activating, moving forward the quest for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We're committed to that peace; I'm committed to that peace. And this peace, I think, will better the lives of Israelis, of Palestinians, and it certainly would change our region.
Israelis are prepared to do a lot to get that peace in place. But they want to make sure that after all the steps they take, that what we get is a secure peace. We don't want a repeat of the situation where we vacate territories, and those are overtaken by Iran's proxies and used as launching ground for terrorist attacks or rocket attacks.
I think there are solutions that we can adopt. But in order to proceed to the solutions, we need to begin negotiations in order to end them. We have begun proximity talks. I think it's high time to begin direct talks. I think with the help of President Obama, President Abbas and myself should engage in direct talks to reach a political settlement of peace, coupled with security and prosperity.
This requires that the Palestinian Authority prepare its people for peace and schools, textbooks and so on. But I think at the end of the day, peace is the best option for all of us. And I think we have a unique opportunity and a unique time to do it.
The president says that it has a habit of confounding all the cynics and all the naysayers and all those who preclude possibilities, and he has shown it time and time again. I think I've had my opportunity to confound some cynics myself. And I think if we work together, and with President Abbas, then we can bring a great message of hope to our peoples, to the region, to the world.
One final point, Mr. President. I want to thank you for reaffirming to me in private, and now in public, as you did, the longstanding U.S. commitments to Israel on matters of vital strategic importance.
I want to thank you, too, for the great hospitality you and the first lady have shown Sara and me and our entire delegation. And I think we have to redress the balance. I've been coming here a lot. It's about time you and the first lady came to Israel.
OBAMA: Thank you. Any time.
Thank you, very much.
NETANYAHU: It's a pleasure.
OBAMA: All right, we've got time for one question each. I'm going to call on Steven Colson, AFP.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As part of the steps which need to be taken, do you think it would be helpful for Israel to extend the partial settlement moratorium (UNINTELLIGIBLE)? And if I could briefly ask the prime minister, do you think that these measures will contain the war (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
OBAMA: Let me -- let me first of all say that I think the Israeli government, working through layers of various governmental entities and jurisdictions, have shown restraint over the last several months that I think has been conducive to the prospects of us getting into direct talks. And my hope is that, once direct talks have begun, well before the moratorium has expired, that that will create a climate in which everybody feels a greater investment in success, not every action by one party or the other is taken as a reason for not engaging in talks. So there ends up being more room created by more trust.
And so I want to just make sure that we sustain that over the next -- over next several weeks.
I do think that there are a range of confidence-building measures that can be taken by all sides that improve the prospects of a successful negotiation. And I've discussed some of those privately with the prime minister. When President Abbas was here, I discussed some of these same issues with him.
I think it's very important that the Palestinians not look for excuses for incitement; that they are not engaging in provocative language; that at the international level, they are maintaining a constructive talk, as opposed to looking for opportunities to embarrass Israel.
At the same time, I've said to Prime Minister Netanyahu, I don't think he minds me sharing it publicly, that, you know, Abu Masan, working with Fayad have done some very significant things when it comes to the security front. And so us being able to widen the scope of their responsibilities in the West Bank is something that I think would be very meaningful to the Palestinian people.
I think that some of the steps that have already been taken in Gaza helped to build confidence. And if we continue to make progress on that front, then Palestinians can see in very concrete terms what peace can bring that rhetoric and violence cannot bring. And that is people actually having an opportunity to raise their children and make a living and, you know, buy and sell goods, and build a life for themselves, which is ultimately what people in both Israel and Palestinian territories want. So...
NETANYAHU: I think the latest sanctions adopted by the U.N. create illegitimacy or create delegitimatization for Iran's nuclear program, and that is important. And I think the sanctions the president signed the other day actually have teeth. They bite.
The question is, how much do you need to bite, is something I cannot answer now. But if other nations adopted similar sanctions, that would increase the effect. The more like-minded countries joined in the American-led effort that President Obama has signed into act -- into law, I think the better we'll be able to give you an answer to your question.
Somebody else?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, in the past years you have distanced yourself from Israel and the prime minister. Do you think this response was a mistake? Do you think it contributes to the bashing of Israel by others? Or are you changing now? Do you trust now, Prime Minister Netanyahu? And if I may, Mr. Prime Minister, specifically, did you discuss with the president the continuing of the freezing of (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
OBAMA: Well, let me first of all say that the premise to your question was wrong. And I entirely disagree with it.
If you look at every public statement that I've made over the last year-and-a-half, it has been a constant reaffirmation of the special relationship between the United States and Israel, that our commitment to Israel's security has been unwavering.
And, in fact, there aren't any concrete policies that you could point to that would contradict that.
And in terms of my relationship with the Prime Minister Netanyahu, I know the press, both in Israel and stateside, enjoys, you know, seeing if there's news there. But the fact of the matter is, is that I've trusted Prime Minister Netanyahu since I met him before I was elected president. And have said so both publicly and privately.
I think that he is dealing with a very complex situation in a very tough neighborhood. And you know, what I have consistently shared with him is my interest in working with him, not at cross purposes, so we can achieve the kind of peace that will ensure Israel's security for decades to come. And that's going to mean some tough choices.
And there are going to be times where, you know, he and I are having robust discussions about what kind of choices need to be made. But the underlying approach never changes. And that is, the United States is committed to Israel's security. We are committed to that special bond and we are going to do what's required to back that up not just with words, but with actions.
We are going to continually work with the prime minister and the entire Israeli government as well as the Israeli people so that we can achieve what I think has to be everybody's goal, which is that people feel secure. They don't feel like a rocket is going to be landing on their head sometime.
They don't feel as if there's a growing population that wants to direct violence against Israel. That requires work and that requires some difficult choices both at the strategic level and the tactical level.
And this is something that the prime minister understands, and why I think that we're going to be able to work together not just over the next few months, but hopefully over the next several years.
NETANYAHU: Thank you. The president and I discussed concrete steps that could be done now. The coming days and the coming weeks to move the peace process further along and in a very robust way. This is what we focused our conversation on.
And when I say the next few weeks, that's what I mean. The president means that, too. Let me make a general observation about the question to the president and here I'll have to paraphrase Mark Twain.
That the reports about the demise of the special U.S./Israel relations -- relationship aren't just premature, they're just flat wrong. There is -- there's a depth and richness of this relationship that is expressed every day. Our teams talk. We don't make it public.
The only thing that's public is that you can have differences on occasion and the best of families and the closest of families. That comes out public and sometimes in a twisted way, too. What is not is the fact that we have an enduring bond of values, interests, beginning with security, and the way that we share both information and other things to help the common defense of our common interests and many others in the region.
We don't know often admit to the beneficial effect of this cooperation. So I think there's -- the president has said it best in his speech in Cairo. He said in front of the entire Islamic world. He said "the bond between Israel and the United States is unbreakable." And I can affirm that to you today.
OBAMA: Thank you, very much, everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: The president of the United States, the prime minister of Israel, both denying that their relationship is chilly or that the Israeli/U.S. friendship is anything but robust. Is it true? These two men have been frosty reportedly in the past. We'll talk to an expert, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: We just heard remarks after the White House meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These two men have not seen eye to eye in the past. They're meeting today.
Obviously, they were trying to shore this up and say basically there never was any rift between these two men. I want to bring in an expert on this, who has been watching this, and this is Daniel Pipes.
Daniel, you are the director of the middle east forum, joining us from Philadelphia. It seemed that they had a wide-ranging issues, here, Gaza, Palestinian talks, Iran nuclear capabilities. But at the center of it all, seemed to be a public display that these two men indeed are friends, can talk, and will work together.
DANIEL PIPES, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST FORUM: Absolutely right. It was a remarkable demonstration. Words such as wonderful, excellent, special, I think that was more important than any of the details, with the exception of one detail.
I think Iran and Gaza were not that novel, but to have the president come out and confirm that there will be no changes to American policy, vis-a-vis the Israeli ownership of nuclear weapons. That was important. We hadn't heard that before.
So the headline news is, everything is hunky dory. We all are getting along and let's look towards the future. This is very different from what has been the case the last year-and-a-half, despite what they said. GRIFFIN: And I'm going to ask you why that is, because the president, as you heard in that news conference, when he took a few questions. One of the questions, he became a little bit defensive at that somehow his relations toward Israel are anything less than other president has been.
PIPES: Well, the president came in and focused right away on the most contentious aspect of U.S./Israel nations, namely the West Bank and Jerusalem. But it quickly became apparent there are three drawbacks in this.
One, getting hard in the Palestinian position. They're more reluctant to negotiate with Israel. Two, it made the Israelis more reluctant to deal because they didn't trust the U.S. administration, and three, especially as we approach November, this has political consequences for the president and the Democratic Party.
So on all three grounds, there is no reason to sustain this and every reason to turn back and have this love fest that we just witnessed remarkable.
GRIFFIN: Yes, obviously, Netanyahu needs the support of the U.S., but buried in there, you just said there might be some domestic political issue here as well for the president?
PIPES: Absolutely. "Washington Post" has a piece today quoting one Republican after another in the fourth coming senatorial or congressional races, charging that the Obama administration is not friendly enough to Israel and the Democrats on the defensive.
And, indeed, a couple of Democrats who are criticizing the Obama administration so this is not good politics. And while that article focused on American Jews, it didn't quite notice there are a lot more than American Jews who vote with Israel in mind.
And in general it's Conservatives and in particular Evangelicals. This is a substantial voting block at a time like this a few months after the election. It's not a voting block you want to alienate.
GRIFFIN: Let me ask you one question about the key issue that I gleaned from that in terms of security for both of these men. It didn't seem to involve Palestinians, it involved Iran and nukes and the suggestion being that these sanctions, these tough new sanctions that President Obama did sign, are working, but will only fully work if other countries are involved. Will the president do enough to prevent Israel from striking at Iran? Should the nuclear capability grow or was this aimed at trying to get China and Russia on board with sanctions?
PIPES: Well, all of the above and the question you're asking is the $64 question and the one I can't answer. Is this sufficient or not? Will the Iranians be turned back or not?
My suspicion is no that no sanctions, no matter how tough they are will be sufficient to deter the Iranian regime its goal from building nuclear weapons. I just don't see it working.
But there is a seriousness of purpose under way, and a hope clearly on the American side that this will be enough and the Israelis or the Americans will not need to use force.
But what the outcome is, it's too early for me to say and I think what we're seeing is a build-up at this point and an affirmation of intention to avoid using military force without closing the door to the use of military force.
GRIFFIN: All right. Daniel Pipes from Philadelphia, the director the Middle East Forum. Thanks for joining us shedding some light on this meeting.
We want to remind you, Daniel, and everybody else, be sure to watch "Larry King Live" tomorrow night. He will have a prime time exclusive interview with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. That starts at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN. That's tomorrow night.
Well, other news a little more cheery. The final four at the World Cup. Today's clash, Uruguay battles the Netherlands. Tomorrow, Spain takes on Germany. The anchor who usually sits here has his face painted. We've got it all coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: We're going globe trekking. South Africa, the World Cup final four and here with me is CNN's Michael Holmes because you need this guy's accent to cover the World Cup, I find.
MICHAEL HOLMES: I'm a foreigner, so therefore, I must know about -
GRIFFIN: You're an expert.
HOLMES: I'm Australian. I think 27 people in Australia play football, but no, I was down there for the first week of it for my show, "Back Story" on CNN International. The atmosphere is amazing. Fantastic.
GRIFFIN: Is it living up to its billing, because quite frankly, I would you know if it is or not.
HOLMES: Yes, it is actually. I mean, it's had drama. It's had upsets. It's had controversy, the game that starts in about 45 minutes. You know, you've got the Netherlands there, because I hate Brazil, who everyone thought was going to win this thing.
Uruguay they're playing, and you know what happened with Uruguay and Ghana, of course. I think we've got the photograph of the Lewis Suarez is his name. He's a striker, which means he's meant to score goals, but he turned into a goalkeeper.
GRIFFIN: Right.
HOLMES: And remember that? That was so blatant. They should have had a goaltending rule for that, if you ask me. So anyway, you end up with Uruguay versus the Netherlands. The men in orange, who are so secure in their masculinity that they can wear that color and it's going to be a great game. I think the Netherlands go in pretty much -- I've got one interesting statistic for you.
GRIFFIN: What is that? Hold on a second, I just want a case in point, anybody from Tennessee, Michael Holmes. He's with CNN International -
HOLMES: The volunteers there.
GRIFFIN: FYI, don't send the e-mails. All right, go on.
HOLMES: Yes, interesting thing. You've got three teams from Europe in the semis and one team not from Europe obviously Uruguay. Never before has a team from Europe won the World Cup when the World Cup has been played outside of Europe.
GRIFFIN: I'm going to write that down.
HOLMES: So on history, Uruguay has got the advantage, but I don't think it's going to happen.
GRIFFIN: All right. We're going to bring in somebody else. Ali Velshi who usually anchors this show, Michael, is on the phone right now and is such a World Cup football fan, excuse me that he is honeymooning at the World Cup. Is that right, Ali?
ALI VELSHI CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, well that's actually, that's the story we're going with. This is primarily honeymoon with a little bit of World Cup thrown in. So in case my wife or any of her relatives were listening to it, this is definitely honeymoon first, World Cup second.
HOLMES: How romantic?
GRIFFIN: I assume you're having a good time, and such a good time, in fact, that you got a face job.
VELSHI: Yes, I actually -- I got painted and I'll tell you what the issue is. Michael was just alluding to the Uruguay situation, but what happened was Uruguay beat Ghana in that match, and Suarez decided to be goalkeeper, and blocked the ball with his hand, which as you know isn't allowed.
Ghana then got a penalty kick and failed to translate that into a goal. Now, nobody really thought Ghana was going to make it to the end, but Africans here - the South African team wasn't expected to do well. They did a little better than expected.
But the Africans were hoping that Ghana would go further than any team has ever gone. They've gotten to this level. If Ghana were playing the Netherlands today, that would have been as far as an African team has ever gone.
And there are some people who think Uruguay was very unfair in doing what they did. So what's happened is you've got Dutch fans here, and the place is awash in orange. And then you've got the South African fans, who really want to see Uruguay defeated tonight.
And that's the odds favor, Holland. Bottom line is, I went to get -- to see what jersey I could get, and nobody even really expected Uruguay to get this far. So I went to get jerseys and all that was left is Netherlands stuff. So I'm suited up in Netherlands gear with my face painted in honor of South Africa.
DRIFFIN: And let's show that, guys. Can we see what Ali looks like when he goes to any sporting event?
VELSHI: I've got to tell you. There are people who look better with their face painted than I do. This thing accentuates the already fairly sizeable proportions of my nose.
GRIFFIN: There is your nose and the monument to it in the background. Ali, you didn't! I don't know --
HOLMES: That looks like the African flag.
GRIFFIN: That's look like you've been arrested.
HOLMES: It does. It's the South African flag. It looked like he has been arrested and beaten.
VELSHI: It does look like a mug shot, doesn't it?
GRIFFIN: Yes, that doesn't look good. That's not a good look on you, Ali, but I'm sure your wife is enjoying it.
HOLMES: And of course, the other thing too, Ali, this is the -- the Dutch have a history with South Africa. They colonized part of that very area that he's in. So there's a little bit of relationship there.
GRIFFIN: All right.
VELSHI: Right here in this place I'm at in Cape Town, this is where Van Ravic settled this colony in the 1600s, many South Africans place their heritage, and the language they speak that many South Africans speak is a derivative of Dutch. So there a lot of people who feel some kinship.
I mean, obviously the people who have been here, have been here for hundreds of years, but they do feel some kinship to the Dutch so a very, very spirited match. I will tell you, though, Michael and Drew, there are more seats than appear to be empty than you would have expected, because a lot of these seats were bought ahead of time by people following teams they expected to make it further in this World Cup.
So there has been a lot of drama and upset that has resulted in the fact that those people whose teams didn't make it all the way through got refunds of their tickets, and the smaller teams who weren't expected to win -- didn't win people over in great numbers. So there were seats available, which wasn't expected to be the case.
HOLMES: That is another point about too Uruguay, too. It's a nation of 3 million people. For them to have gone this far is pretty good and they're two-time Cup winners, too. They won in the very first World Cup was won by Uruguay that was in 1930. They won again in 1950. The Dutch have been in two, '74 and '78. They were in the finals, lost.
GRIFFIN: All right. Michael Holmes. Ali, thanks a lot. Have fun tonight and congratulations.
HOLMES: And I hope that washes off.
GRIFFIN: Yes, I do, too especially before you get back here to this desk. Michael, thank you.
HOLMES: Honeymoon.
GRIFFIN: Thank you both, gentlemen.
Well, imagine a vacation tour that takes you into the eye of the storm or so close to a tornado that you feel the wind. Up next, meet a storm-chasing couple who takes guests, paying guests, along on a wild weather ride.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: When you think about going on vacation, you think about relaxing spots, right? Not with this team. They're going to take you on a wild ride dodging storms and beating tornadoes. Yes, you heard right.
The storm chasers, Roger and Caryn Hill, people actually take -- you guys take people on to tours. We're going to bring in Chad Myers because he's very interested in this as well. But seriously, this is a business where people pay to come and you throw them into the path of the tornado?
ROGER HILL, CO-OWNER/TOUR DIRECTOR, SILVER LINING TOURS: Absolutely. We sell out most of our tours every year, year after year.
GRIFFIN: Incredible and where are these people coming from and I mean, how many people are we talking about? Just a few, kind of, goofballs like yourselves or a lot of people?
HILL: We get a lot of people. It's really amazing to see how many people come and from the different parts of the world. We get people as far away as from Australia, New Zealand, South America, a lot of Europeans, a lot of folks from the U.K. and of course, a lot of folks from the good old USA and even Canada.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We also get a lot of people from different walks of life. You get teachers, lawyers, doctors, anything. You name it, those people are interested in severe weather just like us.
GRIFFIN: We often say here that a NOAA weather radio in a car does not make you a storm chaser. How are you guys safer than the masses now of people that just go driving around and chasing tornadoes?
HILL: You know, I think with a lot of training and a lot of experience over the years, you know, really makes a big difference. Plus the fact that we have all kinds of electronic equipment in the vans from getting live Doppler radar to be able to get on the internet and look and see what models are showing and satellite -- the satellite images.
Plus we use GPS religiously to make sure that we are able to stay in the right position at the right time and to stay out of harm's way. We always make sure that no matter what happens, that we are able to have an escape route to get away from a storm.
GRIFFIN: Roger and Caryn, before I ask you this next question, I want to put up some photographs that really caught my attention. You guys have been able to capture some amazing photographs. And I bet that a lot of your clients are probably photography buffs as well.
But what is the nitty-gritty on this? When you sign up, you can't guarantee that there's a storm there. Do you have to come for x amount of time? How do you guys travel around the country or that part of the country with your guests? Do you have hotels booked? And do they sign a waiver saying, look, if we kill you, it's not our fault?
HILL: Yes, pretty much that's the way that it works. But before we sign up any guests, we make sure that they're quite well-educated on what the risks are and basically what the tour involves. Typically we'll drive 400, 500 miles a day. Indeed, we go from state to state, locale to locale.
GRIFFIN: Caryn, we hear that when Roger is not around, you're a much storm chaser. You catch a lot more tornadoes, true?
CARYN HILL, STORM CHASER, SILVER LINING TOURS: Well, with Roger's help, sure. He, basically, now casts for me and tells me where to go so people ask me how I get rhymed on and I just I point to my husband and say, he gets me there. Once I get there, it really turns into a visual thing.
GRIFFIN: Do your clients --
CARYN HILL: I leave it up to Roger.
GRIFFIN: Do your clients know that all there really is to eat out there is sonic?
CARYN HILL: Subway, too.
HILL: Lots of subways.
CARYN HILL: Arby's.
GRIFFIN: You've been doing this for how many years?
HILL: I've been doing it for 25 years.
GRIFFIN: Taking guests?
HILL: Doing tours now for about 13 years.
GRIFFIN: Ever any close calls either with the storms themselves or you feel the pulse running on one of your clients that maybe is too high?
HILL: You never know for sure what nature is going to do, but the whole thing that we always stress is safety. But as everybody knows in a severe weather environment, sometimes the unexpected can happen. We've had close calls before, but we've always managed to escape without any kind of incidents.
MYERS: We always say if you're going to chase -- because I worked in Oklahoma long enough, you cannot chase on dirt roads because dirt turns into mud. You get them wet and you're done and all of a sudden all your vehicles aren't going anywhere even if the tornado is coming to you. How do you work your way around -- you're doing this professionally, days and months out there. How do you keep yourselves safe?
HILL: That's interesting you comment about the dirt roads and mud. Caryn is absolutely dead set against ever trying to get on a mud or dirt road. The main thing is using GPS to make sure that you stay on some kind of an improved road.
But you know it never fails, sometimes you do get yourself into a situation where a paved road unexpectedly turns to dirt. Maneuvering through that can be pretty tough. But fortunately we've never really had an incident where we've gotten stuck. We've always been able to maneuver through.
GRIFFIN: All right, guys -- one last question real quick, how much does this cost generally? Give me a range.
HILL: Our local and on-call tours run about $300 a day. A six- day tour runs about $2,100 and a ten-day tour runs in the low $3,000 range.
GRIFFIN: All right, there you Roger and Caryn Hill, the tour guides to the tornadoes. You know, what they tell me, Chad -
MYERS: Thank you, guys.
GRIFFIN: They want to move on to hurricanes, typhoons, branch out. This could be a whole new thing you ought to think about it.
MYERS: No, no. I stopped chasing when my son was born. That's it. I'm done. GRIFFIN: Chad's going to be back. We're talking about this heat wave, which is no laughing matter for most of the northeast. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Two major stories both spreading across large parts of the country, a dangerous heat wave dominating the northeast and spreading southward now. People being warned to stay indoors and for good reason. Power outages are in New York, Philly and Washington. The heat is blamed on the death of a 92-year-old woman, her neighbors found her in Philadelphia. 1 Our other big story, the ever spreading oil slick now blackening beaches in every single state along the Gulf. Tar balls hitting --
