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Live Beneath the Gulf; Tar Mats Wash up on the Coast of Mississippi; Judge Rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional; Mandating Relief Wells; The Foxy Pam Grier; Live Beneath the Gulf
Aired July 09, 2010 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon in for Tony Harris today.
Day 81 of the Gulf oil disaster and we are taking you on an exclusive undersea voyage in the disaster zone. Here's a preview of the developments that we are following at this hour.
What lies beneath -- a CNN crew including environmentalist Philippe Cousteau will take us on a deep sea dive right in the Gulf of Mexico. We'll talk to them live.
The view from above -- a U.S. Navy blimp makes its first flight over the oil slick. What will it see? Officials hope it will speed up the skimming efforts.
And more oil on the shore -- tar mats, not tar balls, tar mats now washing up on Texas and Mississippi coasts. Details coming up for you in a live report.
But first, though, more on our deep sea dive, the dangers and the special hazmat dive suit the crews are using. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUCK BUCHANAN, DIVE MASTER/EMT: We're going to actually create our own environment inside the suit. We're going to create an environment for the diver to survive in a hostile environment, which is the water. So we're creating a barrier. We're basically putting him in a body glove.
It's just like putting your hand in a surgical glove. Well, we're going to put their whole body in a surgical glove. It isolates them from the contaminants.
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a very thick rubber, and what it does is you get in this, and you actually stay completely dry under water. And then you see this part of the rubber goes on your skin and makes a very tight seal so that you don't get any type of contaminated water into this suit on you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Let's bring in our resident expert, we should say, instead of meteorologist. You know everything. You're a diver, right? The dangers they're facing here, the types of suits that they have to use, take us through that.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This is not like putting on a wetsuit, which we're all used to. You can go surfing in California with this neoprene, 3 millimeter suit. This is a dry suit, completely different.
You can be in a complete underwater tumble in this thing if the air starts getting around. Dry suits are different because they don't cling to your body. They're literally filled with some air. Not a lot.
LEMON: Wait, hang on. Hang on. Underwater tumble? What do you mean?
MYERS: You can be completely out of control in a dry suit because there is air that could be moving around in your suit. When you're in a wetsuit, you are completely in control. You can just sit there, you can get your buoyancy compensator right, you get the weight belt, you put nine pounds of lead on your hips. You get your -- it's called your buoyancy compensator.
So, you can go up or go down, put air in it. You go up, you take air out of it. You go down perfectly. You can just stand like this or be upside down if you want and never, ever move.
When you're in a dry suit, it's completely different, because then this is not stuck to your body. There are air bubbles underneath you, and those air bubbles can do completely strange things under water as you are in this dive suit.
So she had to go through quite a bit of training, even though she was already a diver. To be a dry suit diver is completely different.
Dry suits are used for extremely cold temperatures. You know, you can't be in a wetsuit in 34 degrees, trying to dive in the Detroit River, doing something important down there. You need to be in this dry uniform.
Air inside. Much warmer. She'll have a suit inside of a suit.
Neoprene, possibly. I'm not sure if this is a White (ph) hazmat suit or who made it. But the polyurethane on both sides can be decontaminated easily. Turn it inside out, decontaminate the inside, decontaminate the outside.
It's all about not getting the oil inside your body, and certainly not getting in your mouth with the regulator. It's a completely different regulator and mask, as well.
LEMON: It's not only dangerous from who knows what's going to get on your skin, what's going to get in your mouth, and maybe in that you're going to ingest, but also the danger of -- as you say, sort of a free-fall there. So this is a very complicated event, what's happening here.
MYERS: You know, the Cousteaus know what they're doing. She is in completely good hands. I have no problem. And her mom and dad have -- should have no issue with this at all.
And I really want her to go do this, as well. But this suit will protect her. The regulator that will be inside, a completely enclosed almost hood or helmet, will protect any oil from going in her mouth. She will be completely enclosed in this suit, and the oil and all the contaminants, including the COREXIT, will all be outside of this suit.
LEMON: Got it. And you mentioned COREXIT and all that. That's what I want to talk about now, because you're a diver, you know that.
When you dive, usually it's beautiful water, unless you're going to a wreck or something in murky water. But usually it's beautiful and you see fish, and you go to the coral reefs or whatever.
MYERS: No, no.
LEMON: Talk about --
MYERS: We're not looking for tropical fish here.
LEMON: Talk to me about that.
MYERS: Well, there is also going to be fresh water coming out of the Mississippi, which isn't very clear.
LEMON: Yes, I know. I know that.
MYERS: You know that.
LEMON: I grew up down there, absolutely. I know.
MYERS: OK. So the visibility is going to be next to nothing when we get into that murky water coming through.
It's also a brackish water. Fresh water comes in, saltwater comes in, back and forth with the tides. It stirs it up, it's murky.
We are probably going to have 10 feet of visibility, at the very best. And that's where she is going to see this layer of oil if it's there, as the Cousteaus saw it last time, above her, possibly below her.
And some of this oil that we talk about, plume, isn't even visible. You can't even see it. But they know the oil is in that water.
LEMON: And what we have been seeing on the surface -- and, you know, we've heard several reports from BP and from the government, whatever, oh, well, here is what is happening, this is what's washing up on shore. This could make -- it may tell a different story. And I'm not talking about in a good way.
MYERS: Well, sure. There are a number of ways that these bayous are going to die. OK?
The plants and some of these estuaries are going to be killed. If we see the oil like we see it with our eyes, and it's on the stalk of the plant, that plant will survive. If the oil gets on the greenery of the plant, that plant will die. If it gets in the soil, below the plant, that plant will die.
And so there are too many options for this fatalistic view of what the bayou is going to look like in three years or five years.
LEMON: We've got a lot to get to. We have to move on really quickly here. But this is for years to come, whatever it is, it's going to be --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: I can't wait to see this dive. This is going to be amazing TV.
LEMON: Thank you, sir.
MYERS: All right.
LEMON: Always a pleasure. I'll see you soon. And you'll help me out when we get to that dive.
MYERS: Absolutely.
LEMON: All right. Our Chad Myers, resident expert on everything. Of course, he's our meteorologist here, and a diver, as well.
So, Chad talked about what's in the water. We have been telling you. We have been telling you about tar balls.
What about tar mats? They wash up on the coast in Mississippi. One official describes the oily tar as a consistency of liver.
Long Beach, Mississippi, is usually bustling with tourists this time of year. Now cleanup crews are on the beach.
Ines Ferre joins us now live from Long Beach with what she is finding.
Tell us about these tar mats.
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And officials -- city officials saw them a couple days ago, and they were breaking up as they were coming ashore, Don.
And let me just show you some of the workers here that are cleaning up. They're cleaning up tar balls, tar specks, these very small tar balls that they have to pick out of the sand. They want to try and protect as much of the sand as possible, so it's really, really meticulous work. And the other thing is that yesterday, we went out with the chief of the fire department. He's also in charge of emergency operations here. And he told us what he had seen the night before, these big tar patties that you're talking about.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF GEORGE BASS, LONG BEACH, MISSISSIPPI, FIRE DEPT.: They were found about 100 yards off the coast. You could see the large patties were the size of school buses. They were that large.
FERRE: What did you think?
BASS: I thought, you know, this is it. You know, what are we going to do? It's coming in, we have nothing out here, no provisions to stop it from hitting the sand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FERRE: And Chief Bass really was expressing his frustration when he has seen these coming and thinking to himself, well, there is nothing that we can do to stop this. They just have to wash ashore and then we have to clean it up.
And part of the problem is, is that right here, you see, miles on out, you've got -- this is very shallow water. It's about 10 or 15 feet deep. So you can't have big boats, skimmers come in here and clean.
So what they have to do is send out these little boats, and these little boats usually are along the harbor over there, and their sole purpose is to survey the area and to take out any tar balls with nets if they can, because they're trying to keep this area as open as possible. They've got boats there, they've got owners that keep their boats there, and they want to try and keep the harbor open so that they can go out with those boats as much as possible -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Ines.
Hey, listen, want to tell you, the dive that's going to happen just minutes away. We're hearing our crews are getting into place right now, so it should be -- you should see it at any moment now, so make sure you stay tuned. We're anticipating it, as well, and I'm sure you are at home.
As a matter of fact, a lot of you have been weighing in with your comments. So, thank you very much. We appreciate that.
Let's read some of them right now. And I'm going to try to get some answers to some of your questions.
Diana says, "You, CNN, are our hero! BP doesn't want us to see what they have. I believe they can stop the leak any time."
And here's one from John. As I read this one from John, let me get -- I want to bring our Chad Myers in here.
John says, "I read recently in 'The New York Times' that natural bacteria in the bottom of the ocean and elsewhere in the Gulf will eat oil."
MYERS: True.
LEMON: "Is there a way to help them to consume more?"
MYERS: Yes, absolutely. Plus, don't kill them with dispersants.
LEMON: Is that what it is?
MYERS: We just don't want these toxic things killing them. Right?
When there's going to be an extra supply of oil, there will be extra supplies of these things to eat them. You have to realize that these things live 5,000 feet below the surface of the earth. There is no sunshine down there. There is no chemical reactions with the sun down there.
They get their energy from eating this oil. That's what they're doing. This is a natural thing. A lot of oil leaks out of the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico naturally every year.
LEMON: But too much is --
MYERS: It just does.
LEMON: Yes, but too much is too much.
MYERS: We are above that threshold of too much.
LEMON: All right, Chad.
MYERS: So there will be a bloom of this stuff to eat more. It will happen naturally. Plus, some of these dispersants, in fact, contain new bacteria to replenish the old bacteria and the old organisms that are down there.
LEMON: You are Mr. Know It All.
MYERS: I'm trying.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: In a good way. "The Answer Man" I'll call you.
Hey, listen, thank you. Stick by. I'm going to read one more comment.
And we're hearing, also, we're getting close to the dive down in the Gulf of Mexico.
Here is what Michael says. He says, "If they are able to stop the leak and all the oil is cleaned off the surface, there will be oil still left under the rocks and deep in the soil. How long will it really take before the oil is no longer a threat to sea life and land life?"
I think we won't know until we figure out exactly how much oil.
So, listen, here's what you can do. Go to Twitter. You can follow me, you can send me a tweet, you can go to Facebook and you can send me a message. Or go to Foursquare.com and then look up "Don Lemon," and you can send me a note there.
Also, it tells you where I am, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. And you can also send your messages to me there. Appreciate it.
Get on. We'll read some of your comments. We'll get some of them answered as we go on this dive. It's going to happen very soon.
In the meantime, a judge rules a federal ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. A CNN exclusive.
Also, a live deep sea dive in the oil disaster zone. Our crew takes us on an underwater voyage to survey the effects of the oil.
Coming up on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hey, listen, "A victory for civil rights." That's a quote. And that is what Massachusetts attorney general -- the Massachusetts attorney general is saying about a court decision on gay marriage.
A federal judge in Boston has ruled the federal ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. That's what they say. His decision gives same-sex married couples in Massachusetts the same right to federal benefits that heterosexual couples enjoy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA COAKLEY, MASSACHUSETTS ATTORNEY GENERAL: It means that Massachusetts can now treat all of its married couples equally in financial purposes or health care benefits. You cannot come to Massachusetts and say you need to treat people differently for purposes of federal law.
BRIAN CAMENKER, MASSRESISTANCE: If Massachusetts were to decide that I can marry a tree, should the federal government somehow subsidize that? That's really what this is all about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I want to bring in now Sunny Hostin. There she is. She is with our sister network, truTV.
She joins me to sort out what the ruling might mean for the rest of the country. I'm sure it's going to have ramifications all over the country.
Some people are going to use it, I'm sure, as an example, or precedent, probably, Sunny. So how important is this ruling for other states regarding gay marriage?
SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: Well, it certainly is a landmark decision, Don. I mean, I have it in my hand.
It's 36 pages, goes through the history of marriage. It will be a landmark decision.
I think the question really is, will the government appeal the decision to the First Circuit? If the government does that, the First Circuit has other states that sort of are beholden to that circuit, and then the law could spread.
And so, certainly, it could apply to some of the other states. For example, New Hampshire, that it does allow gay marriages.
LEMON: And, you know, this is going to be very contentious, as it always is. Sometimes gay marriage has been allowed, then it's been struck down or overruled. So this is going to be interesting to watch.
Sunny, I want to ask you this, because there was a poll. CNN polled Americans recently on the issue. Of it was in May of last year, I should say. Fifty-four percent of them said that gays and lesbians do not have a constitutional right to marriage.
So, again, will this -- do you think this ruling is going to set some sort of precedent here? I'm sure it's not going to change public opinion much, but will it set a precedent?
HOSTIN: Sure. I mean, that's the thing. It's not going to change public opinion, certainly. You know, this is a hotbed issue, and it always has been.
But this is the law now. At least for Boston. At least for Massachusetts, where we know since 2006, I believe, gay marriage has been legal.
Can it set precedent in other states? It really depends.
I think a lot of legal scholars -- I've been chatting about this all day. They're saying if it gets to the Supreme Court, Don, this could provide constitutional protection for gay marriage, much like the 1967 decision in Loving versus Virginia, provided that kind of constitutional protection to interracial marriages.
And, in fact, this judge discussed that history in this opinion. And so I believe that that is sort of what many people are thinking. Perhaps this will get all the way to the Supreme Court, and then it will provide constitutional protection to same-sex marriages. And in that sense, it will become the law of the land.
LEMON: OK. Here's what I have to ask you, because we have seen this happen in several states, and even cities where they, you know, have said, OK, gay marriage, you can allow it. It happened in California, people got married, and then all of a sudden it was either struck down or overturned.
Hawaii, recently, I believe the governor there struck down something. I'm sure it's the governor. I don't want to misquote. But the same sort of situation.
So how likely is this ruling to stick in Massachusetts?
HOSTIN: Well, I think, certainly, if the government doesn't appeal, then certainly in Massachusetts it will be the law. It will stick.
And a lot of folks are thinking the government may not appeal this decision, the government lost here, because during his presidential campaign in 2008, President Obama clearly said he thought that this rule, this federal law, should be repealed. And so we know that the Obama administration, Don, is not supportive of the Defense of Marriage Act. But whether or not they will appeal its constitutionality is really another thing.
But what this decision says, and I think is really important for people to understand, is that the province of what marriage is, is within the state. It's not for the federal government to decide. It should be decided state by state.
And in that sense, perhaps, we'll see other states where same-sex marriages are allowed. For example, Connecticut, Ohio, New Hampshire, Vermont, the District of Columbia.
LEMON: Right.
HOSTIN: They may now go to court and try to, you know, also get the same sort of ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act. So we will see, I think, a lot more litigation in this area to come. And so in that sense, this is a very, very important legal decision.
LEMON: And you know what? This is not your bailiwick or mine. But I think you will agree, politically, it's going to play, especially with the elections coming up. It's going to -- this is going to be a huge story.
And you know what? It probably would play much higher today if it were not for the disaster going on down in the Gulf and some other stories, as well. And I think this story is going to pick up steam as the weeks and months roll along here.
Sunny, enjoy watching you.
HOSTIN: I agree with you. I'm going to be following it.
LEMON: Yes. I enjoy watching you, and thank you for joining us here on CNN.
Sunny Hostin is our legal analyst, and she is with our sister network, "In Session," on truTV.
Thank you, Sunny.
In the meantime, let's talk about Oakland, California. It's tense there today after a verdict in the trial of a former transit system police officer. Prosecutors took -- protesters, excuse me, took to the streets, furious the verdict was involuntary manslaughter and not murder.
Cell phone video showed the white officer shooting an unarmed black man in the back. That was on New Year's Day of 2009.
CNN's Casey Wian was on the streets during the scuffle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's about 9:00 local time in Oakland, California, and police have clearly had enough. They declared an unlawful assembly and started moving people out of this area.
They have arrested several protesters. Several protesters have thrown bottles, rocks, other objects at stores and at the police. Right now, the protesters are being moved out of downtown Oakland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, relatives of the dead man say justice was not done. They are disappointed and they are angry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANDA JOHNSON, OSCAR GRANT'S MOTHER: My son was murdered! And the law has not held the officer accountable the way that he should have been held accountable.
CEPHUS JOHNSON, OSCAR GRANT'S UNCLE: And we as a family have been slapped in the face by this system that has denied us the right to true justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the former police officer claims he thought the man had his Taser in his hand when he fired.
More to come on this story here on CNN.
In the meantime, a CNN exclusive: a live deep sea dive in the oil disaster zone. Our crew takes us on an underwater voyage to survey the effects of the oil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So, Oklahoma city, man, ,just cannot get a break. Another round of flash floods has turned the city streets into raging rivers. The floodwaters from days of heavy rain. At last word, firefighters have rescued more than a dozen people in Durant, Oklahoma. A 13-year-old girl drowned after she was swept away while playing in a drainage ditch with her friends. Parts of Texas, though, also coping with the floods.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So people who clean beaches, they wear protective suits, right? Crews in the open water complain of overwhelming fumes. The oil-coated Gulf is certainly not fit for humans, and some say not even fish. Not fit for fish.
So what about the seafood swimming in that water? Would you eat it?
Here's CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind these doors, huge decisions are being made, tests that determine whether or not the seafood in the Gulf is safe for us to eat. It looks like a scene straight out of a crime scene show.
(on camera): What you're looking at is a chain of custody record. That's because the fish that are being tested are literally treated like evidence. You've got to keep track of where it's been and who's handled it.
This is the testing facility. These are fish over here that are being tested, trying to figure out if, indeed, they are safe.
Aluminum foil, special instruments, workers wearing gloves. They want to be very careful not to contaminate any of these fish, to make sure their records and their testing is as accurate as possible.
(voice-over): Thousands of fish being tested since April 28. That's just a week after the oil spill. They're being brought here in these huge ice units.
(on camera): We're here in Mississippi. Got a lot of fish behind us here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GUPTA: Bagged and tagged.
DR. JOHN STEIN, HEAD OF NOAA'S SEAFOOD SAFETY TESTING PROGRAM: Bagged and tagged, yes, they are. Very important so we know where they come from.
GUPTA: This is part of the process? STEIN: This is part of the process.
GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. John Stein, he's head of NOAA's Seafood Safety Testing program.
(on camera): You go around the country, John, and you talk to people about what's happening here in the Gulf. The question always comes up, is the seafood safe?
STEIN: Yes.
GUPTA: And you say?
STEIN: Yes. We have an extensive program in place. It's a cooperative program between NOAA, FDA, EPA, and the Gulf states. And we're all working together to ensure that seafood is safe.
GUPTA (voice-over): But no one can be sure. And that's because we don't know exactly how much oil is leaking and more importantly, exactly where it is going.
(on camera): We've been talking to a lot of scientists, and you may know some of this. But they say, you know, the oil, as it starts to break up, you get all these various compounds that are not oil, so to speak, anymore. They're just these aromatic hydrocarbons, these volatile compounds. And they can go all over the place.
And that's what I think makes it is so difficult. How do you know if it's kind of oil, per se, but still some of the toxic elements land further away in an area that doesn't have oil?
STEIN: Correct. So that's why this testing program deals both with the sensory, to be able to detect oil and those aromatic hydrocarbons and then the analytical chemistry to also detect those aromatic hydrocarbons.
GUPTA: So to give you a little peek behind the curtain into this room, which is where sensory testing takes place. They have, typically, testers all up and down here. One of the first things you do is actually, this is uncooked fish. You just get a little smell of this. And then determine what you think the score is, what the likelihood that this is contaminated.
(voice-over): The next step, the taste test.
(on camera): So you've got your nose. You've got your sense of smell working and now is the sense of taste. They pointed out to me that, even if this was contaminated, eating a small amount like this would not be problematic.
You eat this. You don't swallow it, they say, because you don't want to ruin the rest of your testing. So here it goes.
Tastes pretty good, as well. I'm not an expert. That seems pretty good to me.
(voice-over): The researchers say a contaminated fish has a distinct taste; it's unmistakable.
But if all this sounds subjective to you, you're right. That's why there are 10 different testers, all of them hidden from each other. They can't even see each other's reaction while they're testing.
But all of these tests are only for oil compounds. It turns out no one is testing these fish for possible contamination by that controversial dispersant, COREXIT.
(on camera): Dioxin butane (ph), I believe it's called, one of the particularly toxic chemicals in the COREXIT. You can't -- there's no chemical test that's being done right now on --
STEIN: There's no -- there's not a chemical test for that right now.
GUPTA (voice-over): What? No test? So how can the guarantee of safety be complete?
We decided to dig deeper to clarify.
NOAA says in an abundance of caution they're currently developing a chemical test for dispersants. Just isn't ready yet. And it can't come soon enough for the millions of people who want to eat these fish and those who make a living catching them.
GUPTA (on camera): Based on everything you know now, how long is it going to stay closed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to stay closed until the well, the oil leak, is stopped. Once the oil leak is stopped, then we'll have a very aggressive and very comprehensive survey of that area for reopening.
GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Pascagoula, Mississippi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Sanjay, thank you very much.
You know, BP says the solution to its leaking oil well rests with an adjacent well it's drilling now. A new push to having oil companies drill back-up wells from the start, just in case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Want to remind you that you can check the very latest on what's going on financially with the markets, everything. Go to cnnmoney.com. Complete analysis right there.
And let's go now to New York and check what's happening with the Dow. You can see the Dow there up 1.29 at this point. Still trading above 10,000. And you know what, we have been talking about what's going on with the Dow for days now. Obviously, really years because it's really been just amazing to see the fluctuation. But you know what, according to what's happening down here, how's it going to affect the markets?
The first relief well being drilled to stop the oil gusher could be done in seven to 10 days. These wells are the best hope for stopping the Gulf oil leak. So why not require them to be drilled at the same time as all exploratory wells? Patricia Wu is in New York with more on this question.
So, Patricia, lots of people say valuable time has been wasted waiting for these relief wells.
PATRICIA WU, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, that is the argument. If you drilled both at the same time, you'd be ready just in case something goes wrong. Let's show you what we're talking about.
The relief well is drilled down deep to intersect that leaking well. And then heavy liquid, even concrete, is pumped in to bring that leaking well under control. There we go. You can see how they drilled down deep and then they intersect that leaking well to bring it under control.
Now, New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg is a huge advocate of requiring these relieve wells and exploratory wells to be drilled at the same time. He's even introduced a bill requiring that. The administration's point man on this disaster, Admiral Thad Allen, has said the president's commission on this bill should take a look at the idea.
But there are strong objections from the oil industry. First, cost is an issue. The American Petroleum Institute says relieve wells can run $150 million. That's a huge added expense and it could put a major crimp on deep water drilling. Second, safety. Relief wells can blow out just like an exploratory well. So opponents say that requiring them would double your risk of an accident, like the one we're seeing in the Gulf right now. One professor of petroleum engineering told us, well, do you require a relief well for the relief well? Where does it end, Don?
LEMON: Where does it end? And, you know what, Patricia, everyone seems to be betting that a relief well will stop what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico. I mean, but is that really true? Is that -- should we be, I don't know, basing our hopes on this relief well?
WU: Well, one of the experts that I talked to says, yes. The tricky part, though, is when will it work. He says it's like hitting a target the size of a dinner plate while drilling through a mile of rock. And if you miss, you have to keep trying to hit that target that's nearly 18,000 feet below the water surface. We have one example. A relief well stopped this blowout that was 150 miles off Australia's coast last year. It took almost a whole month and five tries to finally hit that right spot. So it can be a lengthy process. And in --
LEMON: Oh, as we know. We have been waiting here now for 81 days.
WU: And waiting and waiting. Exactly.
LEMON: Yes, and waiting.
Thank you, Patricia.
WU: And in case it doesn't work, though, Don, in the Gulf, other options are being considered. And one of those possibilities, sucking the oil through undersea pipelines to nearby platforms. So at least we know there's some planning just in case that relief well doesn't work, Don.
LEMON: Yes, lots of plans, but I think people just want a solution, want it to stop.
WU: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you. We appreciate that, OK?
WU: Sure.
LEMON: All right.
WU: Yes.
LEMON: You know, their long stay in America is over. Ten Russian agents who got kicked out of the U.S. are now back home in Moscow. We'll get the latest on the spy swap case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There you go. You see the president of the United States, Barack Obama. There he is speaking at the University of Nevada. He is in Las Vegas. He's talking about the economy. And also I want to tell you, this is a two-day western swing because he's going to be also trying to help out Senate candidates Harry Reid of Nevada and Robin Carnahan of Missouri. The president speaking. We will monitor it for any news. If it happens, we'll go to it live, we'll bring it to you right here on CNN. Don't worry.
All right. It is day 81 of the Gulf oil disaster and there's a new weapon in the battle to clean up the leak. A U.S. Navy blimp is now in the disaster zone. It's hoped that this air ship will reduce the time it takes to spot oil and get skimmers to the scene.
Some other top stories for you, as well.
Russian spies booted out of the U.S. They're now in Moscow. The 10 Russians were swapped today for four Russians accused of spying for the U.S. The swap took place in Vienna, Austria.
Contributions are pouring in to the legal defense fund Arizona Governor Jan Brewer set up to defend the tough new immigration law she signed in April. The fund has close to, get this, half a million bucks. The Justice Department is suing Arizona over that law. OK. Let's take a step back in time. The time machine for a moment. And check out this clip.
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PAM GRIER, ACTRESS, "COFFY": It was easy for him because he really didn't believe it was coming. But it ain't going to be easy for you, because you better believe it's coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Oh, my gosh, what was that, "Foxy Brown"? Or was it "Coffy"? I don't remember. I can't see what it is. Oh, that was "Coffy." I loved those movies and Pam Grier growing up. She was bad. And she still is. Sexy, powerful Pam Grier. Oh, lucky Fredericka Whitfield sat down with her with an intimate look at her life then and now. It is "What Matters" today.
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LEMON: Ah, the good old days. Look at that. Look at Pam Grier. She was bad and she still is. She's perhaps one of the most recognized icons of the so-called black-sploitation film era. Pam Grier is who we're talking about in today's "What Matters."
And CNN's Fredricka Whitfield sat down with the actress, sex symbol, to talk about her new book.
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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pam Grier, "Foxy: My Life in Three Acts." There acts, but there seems to be this continuum, this thread, that really says you've been a survivor from the very beginning. Is that what your hope was by writing this memoir that people would see that part of you?
PAM GRIER, ACTRESS: They will see that. They will see my lifelines. From you, from my family, from everyone that I've worked with, and people that I just met on the street, because I'm very open. I like being accessible. And being a cancer survivor, I've been in remission for 22 years. But tomorrow is not a given. I'm a gift that I'm here. And you'll read about intense pain and struggle and abandonment.
WHITFIELD: People look at Pam Grier, they think of "Foxy Brown," they think of "Coffy," and they think they know Pam Grier. But little do people know until they read this memoir that the pain that you experienced, but somehow, something within you, you kind of pull yourself up.
GRIER: There was the first event, the molestation, rape, and then the second. The third one was the one where I fought. 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.
WHITFIELD: But you still found a way to bring that experience to your characters. And you even channeled your mom. Mom was "Coffy."
GRIER: My mom was "Coffy." My mom was the neighborhood nurse. And so I brought that, the culture, the metaphors, everything we want to put in these films that make it rich.
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GRIER AS "FOXY BROWN": I want justice for all of them! And I want justice for all the other people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The blaxploitation, there were a lot of different connotations. Were you ever conflicted that, you know, there were mixed messages that came with that, because the women, such as yourself and others were scantly clad and were violent, but at the same time very powerful.
GRIER: How do we get the people into the seats to see these messages? Well, the movement was mini skirts and burning of bras and Woodstock and nudity. Then we had the Black Panther message, which was very empowering to learn how to fish for yourself.
A lot of the films that I used to see from other cultures were very violent. All those martial arts were very violent, but they weren't called Asian exploitation. They were just action films. And one man at AIP said, we'll just call them blaexploitation, thinking he was cool.
WHITFIELD: Your three acts that you - that delve into in this book, the early years, the frozen, the freaks, as well as the finding the balance. You were just as open about the men in your life. GRIER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GRIER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
GRIER: Yes. It's interesting because the relationship of being a couple ended when he didn't give me enough time to embrace Islam. He had had several years. And my heart was breaking because I really loved this man. And then I know you're going to ask about the others.
WHITFIELD: Freddie Prinze. I mean that was the love of your life, you said.
GRIER: But at the time when I met him, he was becoming more and more successful. And I could see his change. And three days before he passed away, he had called me and he was in crisis, emotional crisis. And I didn't know how to help him.
WHITFIELD: Did you think he was going to kill himself, though?
GRIER: No. Not at all. And he loved Richard. Loved Richard. WHITFIELD: So Freddie introduced you to Richard Pryor.
GRIER: Yes. Richard felt he could trust me. That I was one of those people, I could be in his circle, because he was guarded.
WHITFIELD: You were a good influence on him.
GRIER: For a minute. For a minute.
WHITFIELD: But he was awfully honest with you that he was afraid if he didn't do drugs that he wouldn't be funny.
GRIER: That was his deepest fear, that if he was sober, he wouldn't be talented, he wouldn't be funny. And I said, well, you won't know unless you try. And he said, I can do it. I can do it. I could see he was very fragile, it's not going to happen.
WHITFIELD: Is it safe to say the next chapter, you know, you're living this simple life, but still with a whole lot of "Foxy" in it?
GRIER: I get it from you.
WHITFIELD: I don't think so.
GRIER: Yes. Oh, yes.
WHITFIELD: Oh, no.
GRIER: Oh, yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Two very beautiful women. Nice interview, Fredricka. Good to see you're doing well, Pam Grier.
And to read more stories that matter to all of us, pick up the latest issue of "Essence" magazine. It is on newsstands now.
OK. I have an important update for you. We've been telling you about this dive going on in the Gulf. We're going to have an update for you coming up right after the break. It's almost time. Don't go anywhere.
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LEMON: All right. Let's get now to the Gulf of Mexico. I want to go straight away now to Amber Lyon, who is our correspondent there. She's with Felipe Cousteau (ph). She's with Scott Porter (ph). She's with Buck Buchan (ph). A number of people there. They're doing to do a deep sea dive. Right now they're just getting to the area.
Hi, Amber. Give us an update on what you're seeing.
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, how you doing? OK. We're about 35 miles south of Venice here in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. And what's going on is we pulled up to our first dive site and we're a little bit still at the mouth of the Mississippi. The water is pretty cloudy. So we can't quite discern exactly the impact that the oil is having out here because some of the sediment could be from the Mississippi River. And, also, there's only about eight to 10 feet visibility. And as Felipe knows, he's an avid diver, that that makes it very difficult to get shots on camera and really see what's going on down there.
So, but, you know, above all, the pull of this dive is really to show you what's going on under the water and the impact that the oil is having under this water. And (INAUDIBLE) the shot of the oil hitting the land and --
LEMON: I think at this point, guys, I don't think the viewer can understand. Let's talk a little bit about what Amber's doing and see if we can get that back if we -- because I think this is very important for our viewers. Because with this, we're hoping to give you some new information, some new knowledge, new insight on what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico.
Basically, what we have seen has been from the surface, right? A lot from the surface, at least when it comes to how it's affecting people. And then we have seen that gusher, right? The Deepwater Horizon. That broken pipe that is spewing oil.
There's Amber. She is back now for us. Having a little bit of trouble hearing you.
So, hey, listen, can you bring Felipe in a little bit here to talk about what he's seeing?
LYON: Yes, we're back.
LEMON: I don't know if he's smelling anything. If the water looks any different. If it looks out of the ordinary. Can we talk to him a bit, as well?
LYON: We're having a little bit of difficulty hearing you, but we were talking a little bit about the suits (ph) out here. I'm going to have to take this out. I won't be able to hear what you say because I'm hearing myself talk, which, ah, makes it a little crazy. But this is what we've got here.
Above all, we can't see any huge slicks of oil. But the problem is, it's because we don't know what's underneath the water that makes everyone a little weary. Because what we do know is that thousands of gallons of dispersant crude mix has been pumped into the Gulf. So in order to stay safe, we're going to wearing these hazmat suits.
And they are dry suits, so that means when we're going under water, we're actually going to be dry in the suits. And what it does is it keeps any type of oil, water, combination from getting on our skin and potentially, you know, making us ill. And as I said, it is made of rubber. This is not the most comfortable thing. You get very hot underneath here because you can't get wet because the oil - the water could be contaminated. In addition to this, the suit is completely - you look here it's got boots attached to it. So none of the water can get in by your feet. And, Felipe, if you can grab me some of those gloves. We'll also be screwing these plastic gloves right into here. Kind of looks like an astronaut suit, really. And that way it will protect our hands.
A cool thing about this is that while we're under water, Felipe and I will be able to talk back and forth to each other to tell you what we're seeing. We're going to be able to have communication to do that. And potentially, hopefully, as long as we don't have any technical errors, we're crossing our fingers, right?
FELIPE COUSTEAU: Listen, that's what it's like diving out in nature. We've got a lot of variables. So that's the way it goes.
LYON: And so now we're here at this site. It's one of hundreds of abandoned oil rigs. And we're going to leave here and head out to another site that's a little further away from the Mississippi so we can clearly know if we see a film in the water that that could be a result of the dispersant oil combination.
So for now I'll send it back to you.
LEMON: Yes, I don't know, does Amber still have her ear piece in? Can she hear us there? Amber can you - OK. So she can't hear me. So Amber is out there. She's out there with Felipe Cousteau. She's trying to get her earpiece back up. If she does and she can hear us, have her weigh in because I think this is very important.
Can I bring our Chad Myers in here?
You saw her talking about the environmental hazards, the precautions they're taking, what they're doing out there in the Gulf of Mexico. And this is -- it's not like you're driving in a car and you get there at a certain point. It takes a while to get there, right, and then you have to suit up. So take to us about -- she talked about the gloves. She talked about the suit and all of that and the precautions.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's a dry suit. A lot of divers, snorkelers, surfers used to - the wet suit, which is just a neoprene suit that literally fits you like a shrunk glove. Almost like somebody took a shrink wrap and shrunk you with this neoprene suit. This is un - that is unlike what she's in now. She's in a suit that will actually have air between her and the outside of the suit. That's the white hazmat suit --
LEMON: How far under can they go? How deep?
MYERS: Oh, I would say they could go at least 40, 50 feet.
LEMON: Oh, that's good.
MYERS: I mean I've been - I've been 160 feet. But I know they're not going to dive nitrous or anything like that. This is not for that. This is to get into the plume and take a look at what it is. They may only be eight to 10 feet under water. That's all they'll probably need to see if there's actually oil under the surface of the water.
When they drove out to the dive site today, there was no oil on the surface. So that's why they're basically moving now, saying, OK, well, you know what, the -- we talked about how the tides can push oil in or out. And so can the Mississippi with fresh water. And so this was what happened. They're in a place where there isn't exactly oil at this place in time. Maybe oil there tomorrow. But they're going to go find the oil now and then make the dive.
LEMON: Good way to learn. Good way to learn. Hopefully -- maybe they will find out that it's not as bad as some people had predicted it. Maybe they'll find out it's worse than predicted.
MYERS: They are a needle in a haystack.
LEMON: Yes.
MYERS: I mean they are the needle, literally, and they're looking for the rest of the haystack. There's a lot of oil out there. They just need to find t.
LEMON: I'm so glad you're here to help me out. Thank you very much.
MYERS: It's nice to be here, sir.
LEMON: I can't wait to see under water. We're going to -
MYERS: Yes.
LEMON: We're going to do this throughout the day here, Chad, on CNN. We're going to get you beneath the water. As soon as they can get there -- make their way under the water, we're going to do it here. Again, I think it's a very unique thing that we're doing. An interesting way of bringing a new perspective to this story. So -- thank you, sir.
MYERS: OK. You bet.
LEMON: Our thanks to Amber and the crew out there as well.
Hey, listen, we've got lots more to come here on CNN. We're back right after this.
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LEMON: OK. So the CNN NEWSROOM continues right now. And before I got to T.J., I want to ask you this question.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, sir.
LEMON: Are you ready to go under water? Are you ready to deep sea dive?
HOLMES: We're about to do this, right.
LEMON: You're going to do it.
HOLMES: All right, we're waiting for this thing to happen, Don.
LEMON: Have a good one.
HOLMES: Good to see you. Thanks so much, Don Lemon.
Hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in for my friend Ali Velshi. Let's tell you what we've got on the rundown today.
We're going to be showing you the oily Gulf of Mexico from the air, from the shore, and now we're going to take you right into it. A deep sea dive like you have never seen before. And it's going to be an exclusive to us. We'll be telling you more about that in a second and showing it to you hopefully here shortly.
Also, a potential new weapon in the fight against AIDS and the potential basis for a new vaccine. HIV research might have just taken a huge leap forward.
Also, if
