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Libyan Aid Ship Possibly Headed Toward Egypt. Al Qaeda Linked Insurgents Attack Security Buildings in Yemen. Police in Texas Town Find Mayor and Daughter Dead. Severe Thunderstorms Across the Midwest. All-Stars Remember George Steinbrenner. Stock Market Looking to Build After Six Straight Days of Gains; "Hidden" Airline Fees; Utah's Mystery Letter; Haitian Aid Stuck in Warehouses; NAACP Takes on Tea Party; Mosque Debate at Ground Zero

Aired July 14, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everybody. I'm Don Lemon. Kyra is off today.

So, is that containment cap going to stop the gushing oil or not? We will have to wait a little bit longer to find out. It turns out the test itself needs to be tested.

The NAACP versus the Tea Party movement. The civil rights group says root out the racists. The Tea Party is striking back, though.

And thousands of registered sex offenders are getting passports and having them stamped in sex hotspots. Our special investigations unit looks into this government report.

On this 86th day of the Gulf oil disaster, what had been a growing sense of optimism really takes a hit. BP has delayed integrity tests to measure just how effective the new containment cap is. Scientists for the oil giant say they are reviewing the procedures that would be used for those tests.

BP is not giving a reason for the delay. But an informed source tells CNN there were, quote, "potential complications." That means the actual testing will not begin before sometime today at the very earliest.

Let's get the latest on the developing story. We go to David Mattingly. He joins us from New Orleans. David, you saw the process from the inside yesterday. When you accompanied the Coast Guard to the site of the spill, what did you see?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, if this well is about to be capped, it certainly didn't look like it when I was out there. In fact, I saw operations that were ramping up to collect more leaking oil instead of shutting down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(off-camera): You are looking at the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Resolute. That ship was our ride out here. It took us overnight coming from Pensacola. Now we arrived at our destination. Behind us here is the very spot where the Deepwater Horizon rig caught fire, sank to the bottom of the ocean and started that huge environmental and economic disaster.

(voice-over): And this is a critical time. One mile beneath my feet, testing is under way that could lead to capping the well. These images of the oil spewing into the Gulf may soon be just a bad memory. But you wouldn't know it by what you see on the surface.

(on camera): Just some quick observations of what we see out here. It looks like a small city of vessels. About 10 or 20 large ships out there, two of them clearly producing oil. Pumping it up from below. That's where we see the large flames erupting after they burn off the natural gas that comes up.

(voice-over): I asked our Coast Guard escort to go in for a closer look. I wanted to see if there was anything going on that might show this catastrophe is turning a corner. But this is as close as we could go.

(on camera): We are about a mile away right now. Why can't we get any closer?

LT. PATRICK MONTGOMERY, U.S. COAST GUARD: Right now, safety is paramount. Today is a very essential day in the operation. There's a lot of moving parts today. So, just for the safety of the operation, we need to stay a mile back.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): These operations show no signs of standing down. The new cap may bring hope there will soon be an end to the leak, but there's still an oil sheen in the water. And smoke from burning gas and oil climbs up the horizon.

(on camera): While those flames are burning, that tells you that the well has not been shut off. And it is expected to be a very dramatic moment out here when those flames behind me are finally extinguished. When that happens, that means the flow of oil has been stopped and that well has been capped.

(voice-over): But in the meantime, BP says work will continue on the surface to improve oil collection in case their new capping plan does not work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: The helix producer is one of the operations we saw on the go out there. What that will do is more than double their capacity to collect the oil that is now leaking. So they are showing signs of moving forward with their collection, even though they are still working on the possibility of capping the well. Don.

LEMON: David Mattingly in New Orleans. David, thank you.

And David is in the city where six members of its police department face federal civil rights charges for confrontation after Hurricane Katrina. An incident claims -- an indictment claims, I should say -- four officers shot and killed two people on the city's Danziger Bridge. A teenager and a 40-year-old disabled man, both of them unarmed.

Two police supervisors are accused of covering up the whole thing. The shootings happened a few days after Katrina hit the area. Attorney general Eric Holder says New Orleans PD still has a long way to go to win back the public's trust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Put simply, we will not tolerate wrongdoing by those who are sworn to protect the public. This will not stand.

Now, we will hold all offenders accountable. But while accountability is a vital part of the reform process, it will take more than this investigation to renew the New Orleans Police Department and to allow to it thrive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This could become a death penalty case. The first investigation into the so-called Danziger Bridge killings did lead to charges but no convictions.

Now to a story that's capturing a lot of intensity and causing controversy. The NAACP is taking on the Tea Party. Civil rights organization is condemning what it calls racist elements within the grassroots group. And the new resolution is sparking a rapidfire war of words between two groups.

CNN political producer Shannon Travis is joining us now from D.C. Shannon, good morning to you. What is in this resolution?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, Don, this is a major, major deal. You have, obviously, the nation's oldest civil rights organization with a storied history on victories on behalf of racial justice taking on a group that's flexing its muscles and hopes to be a force to be reckoned with.

This resolution basically calls on the Tea Party, the leaders of the Tea Party movement, to repudiate what the NAACP feels are racist elements within its ranks.

Now, we have a statement here from the NAACP president and CEO, Ben Jealous, that reads, quote, "We take no issue with the Tea Party. We believe in freedom of assembly and raising their voices in a democracy. We take issue with the Tea Party's continued tolerance for bigotry and bigoted statements."

Now, the Tea Party feels that the leaders have not repudiated the racist elements that the NAACP feels is in the movement enough. We want to be clear, though, that a number of Tea Party leaders have come out and say hey, we know that some of these people are at our rallies, are in our movement but they are on the fringe. And some of those leaders have spoken out about it.

LEMON: I want to tell our viewers we are going speak with Benjamin Jealous in just a moment here on CNN to get his reaction, as well as the reaction from the Tea Party. But Shannon, you traveled with the Tea Party. Have you seen any evidence of this?

TRAVIS: That's right. I have traveled extensively -- when you go to these rallies, it is not exactly like you see on television or newspaper. There are, obviously, signs that are offensive to African- Americans. Not by and large the whole lot of the people, the whole crowd. But you do see things that are offensive.

But I have also seen some Tea Party activists basically encircle people they feel are showing racist signs or -- displaying racist behavior and say no, we don't want that here.

LEMON: Yes. And you know, the Tea Party isn't take criticism lightly. Now, Sarah Palin has jumped into the fray, Shannon?

TRAVIS: That's right. We have a quote from her also. She posted a post on her Facebook page. I will read that also. Quote, "The charge that Tea Party Americans judge people by their color of their skin is false, appalling and is a regressive and diversionary tactic to change the subject at hand."

Obviously, Sarah Palin is one of the darlings of the movement. You have some of the other Tea Party leaders speaking out. But just the fact she is weighing in means this thing is going to get even more attention.

LEMON: Shannon, thank you so much again. We want to tell our viewers that in just a moment, we're going to speak to Ben Jealous as well as Matt Kibbey (ph) from Freedom Works about what's going on here.

Let's bring in first our chief White House correspondent, Ed Henry because he knows all about this. First of all, Ed, good morning to you. Just four months to go until the midterm elections. Could this backfire on the NAACP and really fire up the Tea Party members even more?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, it could have that effect and rally the Tea Party, as you heard Shannon lay out there. They are rejecting these charges.

And I have to tell you, that's one of the reasons why the White House doesn't really speak out very much about the Tea Party. When I pressed them in private about why they haven't spoken out more, they say look, you just give the Tea Party more oxygen when you attack it, when you treat it as a relevant part of the political debate. Now, the White House may be in denial about that when they believe they can ignore the Tea Party, but it can certainly have that effect. They could be right that when you speak out more, push back more against the Tea Party, that only gives them more oxygen.

But I think in the case of the NAACP, this is obviously an organization with a storied history. They are not going to be worried about giving the Tea Party more oxygen or not. They are worried about speaking out when they see an injustice. They see one here, and they are speaking out. They are probably not as worried about the political debate back and forth as some in Washington may be. They are more worried about speaking out where they see something they think is wrong.

LEMON: Mm hmm. Now, Ed, back to the White House. Midterms you touched upon. The Obama -- President Obama's popularity seems to be a an all-time low right now. Now, former president Clinton will be stumping for Democratic votes. Is that enough to keep the party in power?

HENRY: We will see. I have spoken to senior Democratic officials that say their there had been some people thinking that maybe Bill Clinton won't play a big role, and they say that's absurd. They say look, it is a no-brainer to bring him out there. They say it is not to replace President Obama. They call it a one-two punch. They think President Obama will be aggressive over the next three-and-a-half months or so. Going to states especially where he is popular.

But there are other places where the president clearly has not. Arkansas would be a big one. Where he lost to John McCain by double digits. He is only probably gotten more unpopular since then, especially a state like that especially when you look at how he is play in the national polls, President Obama.

But Bill Clinton, that's his home state. He played very well in may when he helped save incumbent senator Blanche Lincoln in that runoff. So, this White House saying they are going to deploy Bill Clinton as much as they can. He has a busy foreign travel schedule. As you know, he has been in Haiti as the U.N. special representative. But they say they are not going to interfere with that but as much as they can get him, they are going to put him out there, Don.

LEMON: Ed Henry, appreciate it.

Also, first lady Michelle Obama isn't shying away from the spotlight as well as the Tea Party and NAACP goes head-to-head. She delivered a keynote address at the annual convention one night before they voted on its resolution. The first lady says, it's not time to let up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the founders would tell us that now is not the time to rest on our laurels. When stubborn and inequality still persists in education and health, in income and wealth, I think those founders would urge us to increase our intensity and to increase our discipline and our focus and keep fighting for a better future for our children and our grandchildren.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: First lady of the United States speaking at the NAACP's annual convention. Coming up next hour, we are talking about the politics of the NAACP with the group's president and CEO, Benjamin Todd Jealous. We'll go head-to-head with the president and CEO of Freedom Works, a Tea Party-affiliated group. It is coming up at the top of the hour right here on CNN. You want to stick around for that.

Sarah Palin could soon be the mother of the bride. This is an interesting turn of events -- I don't know what is. "US Weekly" magazine is reporting Bristol Palin and the father of their child, Levi Johnston, are engaged. The couple told the magazine that the former vice presidential candidate did not know about their plans until now. The magazine quotes Bristol as saying she fears her mother's reaction but quote, "hopefully she will jump onboard." We will see.

Registered sex offenders are traveling to known sex tourism destinations on U.S. passports. Our special investigations unit demanding answers.

ROB MARICIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We are tracking severe thunderstorms across the northern Plains. But also severe heat. Heat advisories are up. It is already 92 degrees in Kansas City. Or at least, that's what it feels like. It is not even 9:00 in the morning across the central part of the country.

Weather coming up later in the show. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A Libyan aid ship carrying goods for Gaza is now heading towards Egypt. Israeli officials familiar with the ship's movement tell CNN the vessel is sailing in the direction of Egypt's El Arish port. Israel had sought to divert the ship. CNN's Frederick Pleitgen live in Jerusalem with the very latest. Fred?

FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This aid flotilla is being sent by an aid agency from Libya that's actually headed by the son of Muammar Gadaffi. Don, its really unclear whether or not it's actually headed towards Egypt. Right now the Israelis are telling us, they believe it's headed towards an Egyptian port called El Arish. However, we've been in touch with the Libyan aid agency and they tell us, no, they want to go to Gaza.

What we have to keep in mind, Don, about this area is that it's very small. The Egyptian port of El Arish is only a few miles away from Gaza. There is no telling whether or not this flotilla could at some point make a break and try to get to Gaza. Right now the Israeli navy is shadowing the ship, is keeping an eye on the ship, and the Israeli navy stated clearly it is not going to allow this ship to get to Gaza. Don?

LEMON: All right, Frederick Pleitgen. Fredrick, thank you very much.

Two Security officials are dead in two separate attacks on security buildings in southern Yemen. The violence took place in Yemen's Abyan province as security forces lined up for their morning marches. One of the buildings hit is used by the Yemen Intelligence Agency. The other was a police building. Insurgents linked to al Qaeda are suspected in the attacks.

Police in a small Texas town go to their mayor's house and get a shock. They find her and her daughter dead. Taking a look at that story and top stories in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're going to check your top stories right now. It is day 86 of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. Tests have been delayed on the new containment cap for the ruptured oil well. A review of the testing procedure is now under way. There's hope the massive custom- designed cap may be able to seal the well completely.

A Los Angeles Airport Police unit says cutbacks have left LAX vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The study found the three most likely attack scenarios are a truck bomb, a curbside car bomb, and a luggage bomb. The airport director rejected the union claims, saying the police budget has increased and calling LAX one of the safest airports in the world.

The NAACP has passed a resolution condemning what it believes is racism in the Tea Party. Members passed the resolution at the civil rights group's annual convention in Kansas City.

Coming up here in about ten minutes, registered sex offenders are traveling to known sex tourism destinations on US passports. Our special investigations unit is demanding answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Looking at news across the country this morning. Police in a Dallas suburb are working in an unusual case there. The mayor of Coppell, Texas, and her 19-year-old daughter were found dead in their home. Both of them had gunshot wounds to the head, and there was no indication that anyone had broken into the house. Police went to the house after Mayor Jayne Peters didn't show up for a City Council meeting.

Colton Harris-Moore. He's busted. But he's busted back, but not barefoot, I should say. The 19-year-old known as the "barefoot bandit" walks into federal court later today in Miami. His fugitive streak ran out Sunday in the Bahamas. At some point, he will likely go back to his home state of Washington to face dozen of theft charges. Harris-Moore is accused of stealing cars, planes, and breaking into houses. He was on the run for two years.

Is a diabetes drug Avandia safe? That's a question the FDA is debating again today. Critics say Avandia increases the risk of a heart attack, stroke, or premature death, and should be pulled off the market. The FDA panel could vote today on the recommendation.

Severe thunderstorms are taking aim at several Midwestern states. We want to go now to CNN's Rob Marciano joining from us the CNN weather center with more on that, Rob. What's going on? A little bumpy weather in the Midwest?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEROLOGIST: Yes, and what we had yesterday was a lot of severe weather in different parts of the country, including -- check out this smattering of rainfall totals. Macon, Georgia saw 4 1/2 inches. Greensboro, North Carolina, 3.2. Joplin, Missouri 2.81. Charleston, South Carolina, saw almost 3. And Trenton, New Jersey, saw 2 1/2. So that gives you an idea of everywhere that we are seeing the severe weather.

Now we've got a little bit of severe weather across the northern tier. We're going to get to that in a second. But look at these -- the number of counties and the number of states under heat advisories here. Not just today, but probably for several days to come. 18 states in all that are under advisories or warnings right now. And some of these, especially in the center part of the country, could see temperatures that feel like 105, 110. Maybe even 115 degrees, from Oklahoma City up through Wichita. This is a distinct possibility, again, not only today but going through tomorrow and on Friday as well. Dangerous heat building across the nation's midsection.

With some of that heat, we've got a little disturbance that's rolling across the northern tier right now. And this little warm front will push into the western Great Lakes, and that will allow more moisture in the form of some humidity to come up. And that will spawn some showers and thunderstorm that may produce tornadoes later on today. We have already seen thunderstorms that had potential of doing that earlier this morning. We have this tornado watch in effect for another hour or two as this little squall line makes its way just past Minneapolis towards the north. Again, we could see these re-fire later on this afternoon as the heat of the day comes up and we get that warm front to pass a little bit farther to the north.

A little more in tranquil showers and thunderstorms. Nonetheless, still showers and thunderstorms, rolling across the northeast right now. Once these pass, we will start to see some clearing later on in the day. It'll be an afternoon, that kind of steamy and really muggy, and eventually will warm into the upper 80s and lower 90s and you'll be a drier day, I think, tomorrow.

98 degrees for a high temperature in Dallas, 95 in Houston, 95 as well, the expected high temperature in Kansas City. Remember, these temperatures are measured in the shade, and they don't include humidity. So what it feels like in the sun certainly and with the humidity will be 110 degrees in spots.

In Phoenix, Arizona, 112 degrees. We're starting to get into the monsoon season where you get into late July and into August where showers and thunderstorms cool you off a little bit in the morning or afternoon. But we're not seeing that just yet, so it will be dangerously hot out there.

Temperatures in Los Angeles, 86 degrees. That's about where they should be for this time of year. The past few days they've been below average. Wouldn't that be nice? Temperatures in the 70s.

I want to show you some video out of North Carolina, which had rough weather yesterday. Potentially a tornado touching down in Lincoln County, North Carolina. And some firefighters reported seeing a funnel cloud that they thought touched down, and certainly judging from this video, it was a pretty bad storm regardless. Roof damage. Tree damage. Power lines down. And this was across parts of central North Carolina yesterday afternoon.

That's the latest from here, Don. We'll monitor these storms across the northern tier of the US. Minnesota getting hit hard and later on this afternoon, that may reignite as we get towards the evening hours.

LEMON. Rob, thank you. George Steinbrenner, huh? Sad news. I know that you're a big baseball fan. I'm going to tell you a little bit about George Steinbrenner. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right.

LEMON: Major league baseball all-stars gave a tip of the cap to George Steinbrenner at last night's mid-summer classic. The Yankees owner died yesterday after suffering a massive heart attack. Steinbrenner was 80 years old. There was a moment of silence before the game. The Yankees all-stars wore black armbands in memory of the boss. Derek Jeter said he expected perfection, and it rubbed off on the organization.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The stock market back on a roll after a few weeks of dismal numbers. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange for us, where the opening bell is about to ring. Hi, Alison.

ALISION KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You got it, there goes the opening bell, Don. Good morning to you. Stocks are looking to build on six straight days of gains. And what a run it has been. We're coming off the Dow's third triple-digit rally of that six-day win streak.

But stocks could be under a little pressure today after we got some weak economic news. The government said retail sales fell half a percent last month and that was actually worse than analysts had forecast and comes largely due to weakness in auto sales. Sales actually rose slightly when auto and gas sales are taken out. The news may wind up overshadowing the more positive corporate earnings that we got. Tech giant, Intel, reported its best ever quarterly profit after yesterday's closing bell.

It said demand from the corporate customers is strong. And that stomped out fears that a tech sector would be hurt by debt problems in Europe. Intel also gave it upbeat outlook for the current quarter. And shares of Intel, the Dell components right now are surging about 5 percent. In the very early going for the broader market, though, the Dow Industrials is down about 30. The NASDAQ is up 3. And the S&P 500 is off about 2.

And finally, Don, bet you didn't know this. Christmas is just right around the corner. Actually, it's about 162 days away, but for the second year in a row, "Toys Are Us" is running a week long Christmas in July promotion to try to grab a piece of the holiday season pie. Big discounts are planned for early bird consumers. That's, of course, if you can forget the fact that it's like 90 degrees, muggy and hot outside, Don. Not really much to do in the Christmas spirit.

LEMON: Yes. This is really early bird, Alison. All right. Alison at the stock market, thank you very much. We'll check back with you.

You know, the summer travel season is under way. And many air travelers are reeling from all those new fees that are tacked on to the cost of the flight. Today on Capitol Hill, lawmakers demanding answers. The House Subcommittee on Aviation will look at what it calls the hidden fees for things such as luggage, snacks, and ticket changes. Lawmakers will debate whether airlines should make those fees more transparent to the flying public. Just yesterday, a watchdog group, the Consumer Travel Alliance, said those extra charges can add 50 percent to ticket prices. That's a lot of money.

And in Utah, an anonymous letter is stirring fear and debate. CNN affiliate, KSL, obtained one of the 30-page documents that was sent to media and law enforcement officials. It claims to identify 1300 illegal immigrants and demands that they be deported and deported immediately. Some of the people on the list angrily deny that they are in the country illegally, and they are worried because the letters reveal vital information like addresses, birth dates, even some social security numbers and medical information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN BARNARD, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Very troubling. That kind of information is collected by government for government purposes, and it's supposed to be protected by the government. If it was illegally accessed to create that list, that's a crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You know, it's not clear who sent the list or for that matter, how many people on the list really are illegal immigrants. Utah's governor has launched an investigation to see if the information did indeed come from a state agency.

The nation's immigration system is under the microscope at this hour on Capitol Hill. Check out those live pictures there. The House Judiciary Committee on immigration is holding a hearing on reform and whether, in fact, there's a moral imperative. Faith based organizations will give their prospectus on the current immigration policy and the need for an overhaul. We will monitor these hearings for you here on CNN. If any news comes out of it, we'll bring it to you live. We'll tell you about it.

In the meantime, a new government report finds thousands of registered sex offenders are getting U.S. passports with some traveling -- with some traveling to locations known for sex tourism. Abbie Boudreau from our special investigations unit looking into this report, and she joins us now. This is very disturbing, Abbie.

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it's generating a lot of debate online already. This -- what's happening here is the government accountability office was asked by senators Chuck Grassley and Max Baucus to find out the number of registered sex offenders who were issued U.S. passports and then to come up with the case studies for some of those people. And according to the report of the 16 million U.S. passports issued during the fiscal year 2008, about 4,500 of them were issued to registered sex offenders.

So, the report also uncovered that at least 30 of them were federal employees. These are government workers from the Department of Treasury, from NASA, the U.S. postal service, and from the defense finance and accounting service.

LEMON: So, then what happens with these findings? What do they do with these findings? Anything, Abbie?

BOUDREAU: Right. The state department had -- you know, a real response to this. They said that the GAO report was very misleading. A state spokesperson tells CNN that there are no legal grounds to deny a sex offender a passport and quote, "rigorously" adheres to U.S. law and issuing passports and -- but the report -- but in the report, the state department did indicate to GAO that it's interested in looking at any proposal legislation that could give it the authority to deny sex offenders. Don, we learned there is a law that requires the state department to deny passports to convicted -- to people who are convicted under the sex tourism law.

And that was put into effect in December of 2008. And that focuses on people who were convicted of sex tourism crimes, who explicitly go overseas to different countries to have sex, you know, that commit sex crimes overseas. And when the GAO asked the state department about the sex tourism law, the department says that it was not even aware that law existed. You know, that was created in 2008 and then now, you know, this many months later, 14 months later, they haven't been using that law.

LEMON: This is going to be just, you know, another facet in the issues that we're dealing with here in the GAO again on top of this, and Abbie Boudreau, the special investigations units, you're going to be on top of it as well. A lot of people responding to this. What's the biggest response you've gotten from people?

BOUDREAU: I mean, it is really mixed. The responses are very, very mixed at this point. I mean, some people are telling us that, you know, that they absolutely do not feel people should be getting these passports, especially the criminals, the registered sex offenders, who had committed multiple offenses, very violent multiple offenses, should not be leaving the country, especially if they are going to other countries where these countries are known for sex tourism. So, that's part of the debate.

But the other part is that, you know, there are some people who are registered sex offenders who've been responding to this report, who are saying, you know, I had sex with a person when I was 21, 22 years old, and the person I was having sex with lied to me about their age. Maybe, they were 17 at the time or they told them that they were old enough to be in this relationship. But now, I have this scarlet letter. And what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to not travel anymore? And so, there is a debate. We do have a blog. We have an article and attached to the article is the entire GAO report. And I encourage people to read the entire report and let us know what they think.

LEMON: Abbie Boudreau, good information.

BOUDREAU: OK.

LEMON: We appreciate it. That makes a lot of people want to say some pretty dirty words sometimes about the situation that's going on.

Speaking of those dirty words, there's been major milestone for television and radio broadcasters. A federal appeals court shoots down the FCC's indecency ban. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Top stories now. It is day 86 of the Gulf oil disaster. Tests have been delayed in the new containment cap for the ruptured oil well. A review of the testing procedure is now under way. There's hope the massive custom designed cap will be able to seal the well completely.

A Libyan aid ship carrying goods for Gaza is now heading towards Egypt. Israeli officials familiar with the ship's movements tells CNN, the vessel is sailing in the direction of Egypt's Al Arish port. Israel had sought to divert the ship.

A big win for television and radio broadcasters to tell you about. A federal appeals court has struck down the FCC's indecency ban. The court says the long standing rules are unconstitutional and they go too far. FCC commissioner, Michael Copps, called the decision quote, "anti-family."

An Iranian nuclear scientist is reportedly heading back home to Tehran, but he is leaving a tangled web of conflicting stories in the U.S. Did he defect, was he kidnapped? There's apparently doling (ph) stories right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Check your morning passport right now. An Iranian nuclear scientist at the center of a fuzzy tug of war between Washington and Tehran is reportedly heading home. Iran claims Shahram Amiri was kidnapped by U.S. agents last year and tortured. The state department denies those claims. A man appearing to be Amiri has popped up in doling (ph) YouTube videos. One saying he was abducted and the other saying he was living peacefully in Arizona. Amiri surfaced in person on Monday at the Pakistani embassy in D.C. And Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, says he's free to go home. A suicide bomber carried out at least one of the explosive attacks on World Cup watchers in Uganda. That's a according to a government official who also says several arrests have been made in the case. A group known as al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombings in which bombers targeted two sites in the capital city of Kampala, killing at least 76 people and injuring dozens more.

It's six months after the earthquake, and orphanages in Haiti are still running out of food. Hospitals have no medication and yet, not far away, there are warehouses packed with supplies. It is a distribution catastrophe there. But our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta found one man who's doing his part to get aid to people in need.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is so striking in orphanages, smiles amid squalor. 350,000 orphans in Haiti, that's guess, and many like this little guy, don't even have a name.

GUPTA (on-camera): I don't know how old he is. He's an orphan at this orphanage. Among lots of other children. 40 to 50 at any given time, that's how many kids are taking care of them. Let me show you something else as well. Take a look at this particular building. You just look at the floor over here. That's where they sleep. There are no bedrooms. Find a place and sleep for the night.

GUPTA (voice-over): This is the kitchen for all those children. This pot of beans is their food for the entire day. Simply not enough.

GUPTA (on-camera): Take a look. They have to obviously have food. And they have to store it in some way. This is the storeroom. It used to be completely filled with food. This is all they have left. I decided to call a contact of mine.

ERIC KLEIN, CAN-DO.ORG: Hello.

GUPTA: Hey, Eric, it's Sanjay.

KLEIN: Hey, Sanjay. How are you?

GUPTA: I'm doing fine. I'm actually on speaker phone with you and our film crew is filming. We just came outside this orphanage. And it's one of these crazy situations that you and I have been talking about. They have about 50 kids here. Literally from a couple of months old to 18. And they have three stacks of tomato soup, a handful of beans and a little bit of rice. That's all they have really to feed these children, you know, for the foreseeable future. And I just thought I give you a call and see if you might be able to help out.

KLEIN: Absolutely. Let me make a couple of calls right now. I will get back to you. Give me about 20 minutes.

GUPTA: We're outside at the gate with the truck.

GUPTA (voice-over): We got the call. Eric with Can-Do.org found a warehouse full of supplies willing to stock the truck. According to the Global Disaster Media Response team, right now, there are at least 50 warehouses, football field in size, full of supplies just sitting there, some dating back to January. Never distributed since the earthquake. This is going to make you mad.

Take a look at this. We got 50 starving kids in an orphanage. Down the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This stuff came in from Asia.

GUPTA: It has been sitting here a couple of months. At the orphanage, they literally had a half a bucket of beans and that was going to feed 50 kids for an entire day. All of this is beans over here.

And you're not paid to do this. And your -- your guys are not paid to do this.

KLEIN: We're not paid. We don't even get paid for our organization. Our organization is in fixed salaries.

GUPTA: So I mean, people are donating lots of supplies, and lots of money to buy those supplies. But in order to actually get it distributed, it is counting on the goodwill of people like to you --

KLEIN: Right.

GUPTA: -- to do it.

KLEIN: Absolutely, absolutely. Which I -- like going back to -- like I said, showing results is the key thing. And I mean that's what's missing. That's all that's missing in disaster --

GUPTA: Driving back, I couldn't help but think of so much food and yet hundreds of thousands of Haitian children are malnourished. We are going to have some happy kids.

KLEIN: Hey, hey how are you?

GUPTA: Well, that was not that far away at all.

KLEIN: No, not at all.

GUPTA: But it's still mind-boggling how close the stuff is. You can hear the kids literally just joyous, laughter inside there. And I think they know what's coming.

KLEIN: They know what's coming. Yes, they do.

GUPTA (voice-over): It is true that other organizations, like World Vision, Save the Children, UNICEF, have been helping orphanages here in Haiti long before the earthquake. But I can tell you, there are hospitals, camps and orphanages, that fall through the crack sometimes.

At least on this day, one of those cracks gets to be filled in.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Wow, thank you, Sanjay.

The NAACP versus the Tea Party and the war of words has begun. We are talking it over with CNN's Candy Crowley three minutes away.

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LEMON: So between the NAACP's condemnation of what it calls racism in the Tea Party and President Barack Obama's recent poll numbers, we've got a whole lot to talk about with CNN's chief political correspondent and "STATE OF THE UNION" host, Candy Crowley.

Hi Candy and good to see you.

Listen, I have a new poll that I just took a look at here, and it's from April 22nd and 25th ABC News/Washington Post, it said, "Is support for a Tea Party Movement based on racial prejudice against Obama? Great deal (INAUDIBLE) 28 percent; just some 21 percent; not at all, 43 percent."

What does this say about what the NAACP is doing with as far as perception?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Listen. There's one thing that we know and that we have learned, you know for the ages, but certainly since Katrina, that African-Americans look at things differently than white Americans, and, you know, that there is sensitivity on all sides.

It's not surprising to me that one poll would show one thing and the NAACP would feel differently because what they saw and what they have seen are signs that they believe are racist. Certainly some of them, quite arguably racist, and -- and so, that is what sort of stemmed or put together this resolution.

Having said that, we hear all kinds of reports from out there that the totality of the Tea Party is not. So, it doesn't mean that, you know, what is right and what is wrong and one is one and one is the other. I just think it's different perceptions.

LEMON: Yes.

CROWLEY: And I think it is -- and one of the things that I thought was interesting in the resolution from the NAACP is that it calls on the leaders to renounce some of this stuff.

It's not so much a condemnation of the entire Tea Party as hey, where are the leaders when this kind of stuff happened? LEMON: Yes, and we -- you know we sort of used that as a catch all term, because the Tea Party, it's not like the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. There are different groups within the Tea Party.

CROWLEY: Exactly.

LEMON: So it's not just one solidified group.

But I have to ask you this, with the -- with November coming up, what kind of effect if at all -- do you think this is a big enough deal to have an effect on the Tea Party approved candidates come fall?

CROWLEY: I think a couple of things. First of all, the election goes to those who are the most passionate. To those who are the most active.

So in a sense, if any of this gives -- puts African-Americans at the polls -- now, remember, we've had President Obama out there trying to serve the African-American base, and you've got to go to the polls. It's just as important as my election.

And it does the same thing though, for the conservatives and those on the Tea Party who think they are being maligned. So I think it does activate the bases, but they may balance out.

LEMON: And that's the thing. A resolution is a resolution is a resolution because it's only paper until there are some action behind it.

How much -- how much political clout, if any, do you think the NAACP still has? As opposed to the Tea Party, I wonder who has more clout now?

CROWLEY: Well, I think it depends on which party you're in. Certainly the NAACP still holds clout within the Democratic Party. It is -- look, it is the gold standard of organizations that have been out there fighting for the rights of African-Americans, so I don't think you would underestimate how they are heard certainly in the corridors of power.

I think it might be different.

LEMON: But even with that -- even them -- even the group and I've spoken with Benjamin Jealous, they're grappling with relevance as well.

CROWLEY: Of course, absolutely. And that's -- I mean, I think that's what -- what the problem is, and I think people are accusing them and we heard someone I think on the air saying, listen, this is a group looking for relevancy and so they brought this up because it shows that they still need to fight, that sort of thing.

On the other hand, this is what they do, is draw attention to this sort of thing. I think as far as the Tea Party is concerned, it's just hard to really see. That they've had power in some of these districts and in some of these races, but overall, their power to change the Republican Party or change the face of politics is very much untested.

LEMON: Candy Crowley, I appreciate it. Always good to see you.

CROWLEY: Sure.

LEMON: We're going to have lots more news to cover in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

So -- but let's check in now with Brian Todd and see what he is working on. Hi Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don. We are working on news that the response team here is going to meet at midday to term determine the next steps in this operation. This is just after the delay in the well integrity test after that replacement cap was put on.

The test for the integrity of the well has been delayed, as we know. That is going to be worked out throughout the course of the day. The team is meeting at midday to decide the next steps to continue and go ahead with the test or maybe delay it further while they review testing procedures.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: All right. And on a much lighter note, you know Don, everyone wants to have beautiful babies but not everyone wants to leave it to chance. We're going to tell you in the next hour about a very controversial dating Web site only for hot people and they've added a virtual sperm bank. We're not kidding. That's in the next hour -- Don.

MARCIANO: Well, hot is the weather headline for the nation's midsection; 18 states now under heat advisories, dangerous heat as a matter of fact. We're tracking that. Plus, there are some severe storms that are rolling across the upper Midwest. So lots going on; we'll talk about it in the next hour.

LEMON: All right. All interesting stories. Thanks to all of you.

And nearly five years after Katrina brought chaos to New Orleans, the feds go after the cops accused in the infamous Danzinger Bridge killings.

CNN's Drew Griffin started asking questions about this case right after it happened. His reporting led to the investigation. We will take a look at how the case has evolved in the next hour.

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