Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
BP Testing Containment Cap; The Military's Glass Ceiling; Apple's iPhone Fix; Oakland's Thinning Blue Line
Aired July 17, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up at the top of the hour on this Saturday morning on this July 17th. Hello, I'm T.J. Holmes.
Women on the frontlines -- the military doesn't allow it now, but a congresswoman wants to change that. She says it could help the war effort and help women's careers.
Also growing frustration over the faulty but fabulous iPhone-4. Apple is offering a solution, but are customers satisfied?
Also, BP feeling good right now that there are no new leaks from the newly capped oil well in the gulf. They may decide to extend the integrity tests. We have a live report from the region in a moment.
There is optimism, cautious though, on this day 89 of the oil disaster in the Gulf. BP says pressure is still building in the capped well. That is goes news. But the rate has slowed as expected. The company says it's more confident there are no new leaks.
Oil stopped gushing two days ago after BP recapped that well. Today the so-called integrity tests on the new containment cap are still going on, supposed to end a few hours from now. That would be the 48-hour deadline they said for how long they were going to test it.
But BP saying they could go long if there are few risks and a few more things they could learn about this. The government has been pushing for more monitoring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: I've been in contact with BP regarding requirements. We would like enhanced monitoring that includes pressure of the sea floor and around the wellhead to make sure if there is leakage we are capable of detecting it. We want to make sure there aren't any anomalies down in the formation that could be resulted from oil leaving the wellbore. There's a condition that we would have no anomalies noted during that time.
And finally we have to know of the vessel that's in the area that has a sensor onboard that's capable of using acoustics to detect very small bubbles of methane gas which would be an indicator that there might be leakage from the well floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right.
HOLMES: And our Reynolds Wolf is live for us this morning in New Orleans. Reynolds, good morning once again. So far so good and explain this concept, low pressure bad, high pressure good on this well?
WOLF: Absolutely, you're talking about PSI and we're talking about the pressure, the higher the PSI, the higher the pressure. And you know, if you happen to be tuning in and you wonder PSI, what is that? Well, that is actually the pressure per square inch, pounds per square inch.
Now, take a look at this. If you have a sheet of paper then you have -- I've got my iPhone on top of that then, you put on my cell phone, and then let's find something else, my wallet -- trust me, there's not a lot in it. But if you pile those together, this is roughly one pound -- one pound per square inch is what's being pulled down on this pad that we have here.
Now, imagine 6,745, that's the latest reading we have in terms of pounds per square inch of force that's being exerted against that containment cap. And again it could take up to about 8,000 psi. That's the good news.
Now, we want it to be high, T.J. We want it to be high, then the thing that's weird about it, it sounds like more force to be a bad thing. However, if the force were really low, what that would mean is that there has to be a leak or possibly a rupture somewhere.
If you have a rupture below the ocean floor, the seafloor that is something that could be catastrophic and trying to tap that or rather cap that would be almost impossible. There could be a lot of reasons as to why it's not actually going up to a faster rate. Originally, they expect it that it would go up much faster than the average of two or to even ten psi increase that we've seeing per hour.
And they think the reason why is because well, possibly because it's not quite as strong the gushing force of the oil as it was when it first took place over two months ago.
The second thing that may occur is that there could be some kind of blockage way down below deeper into the well. I'm not sure but either way they've got to keep a very close eye on it. It's not only what you're seeing it's also what they are feeling. They are actually using seismographs around the side of the well to detect any kind of tremor. Any kind of tremor could be an indication that there could be some kind of a rupture underneath.
But they are also looking obviously with the eye like you have with the monitor, T.J. And our viewers across America and across the world, but they are also checking out with a couple of other things. They've got a variety of sensors on top of the containment cap.
On top of that they also have those submersible robots that are zooming around, keeping a very watch on that containment cap to see any sign of leakage. And over the last couple of days, all has been well.
HOLMES: All's been well and we're told again that the testing could go forward. But any more word of once the testing is complete whenever it is, which direction they want to go? They just want to leave it -- leave it capped or they have the option of siphoning up oil as well?
WOLF: Well, there's no decision yet. Not -- not at all and that's a really good question and it's going to be very interesting to see what decision and what route they go with. And as you mentioned they can go one of two ways. Either they just keep that cap and we're talking about a monster cap on top to bottom. It's something like a bottle you have on the shelf.
But imagine a giant champagne bottle and you got a cork locked in there and someone has shaken up that bottle like crazy. That's the effect that we have right now. They can just keep that cap or what they could do is use some of the valves in the very top of the containment lid and actually siphon that up to the surface to some container ships and they could of course, bring that back to the shore.
But right now it's kind of up in the air. Very interesting to see what decision the scientists will make with regard to this containment cap.
HOLMES: All right, our Reynolds Wolf for us this morning in New Orleans.
Reynolds, we appreciate you as always buddy. Thanks so much.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Now, the U.S. military bars women from combat units. A Congresswoman wants that to change since women she said are getting shot at anyway. She says the policy acts as a glass ceiling.
Here now is CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A California Congresswoman says if women were allowed into the infantry and other combat jobs it would open up more promotions and better prepare them for the attacks and ambushes they're already facing in the war zones.
REP. LORETTA SANCHEZ (D), CALIFORNIA: They don't get enough of that training. They don't get enough of that time.
LAWRENCE: But the Army says all soldiers deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan get some combat-specific training such as convoy, live fire exercises, reaction to ambush, weapons training, combat life saver training and other skills. And when I was in Afghanistan I spoke with some women who are part of female engagement teams. They walk foot patrols outside the wire and do get additional training.
CPL. GIADA WITT, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We do this one drill where we have all our gear on, like a full combat load. And we do a whole bunch of pushups and then sprint and then try and shoot so that we understand what it's like to shoot under pressure.
Sanchez says in the civilian world there's a reason human resource supervisors don't become CEOs but sales executives do. They are directly involved in what that business does.
SANCHEZ: With respect to our military, it's to fight wars. It is combat.
LAWRENCE: Sanchez recently met with a young male officer she nominated for West Point eight years ago. He's about to become a Major.
SANCHEZ: How has he gotten promoted so quickly? He's done three or four tours already in Iraq. And he said to me, Congresswoman, it's where the battle is. It's where you get promoted. It's where you get to move up.
Where are the bulk of the four star generals coming out of? Where do the Petraeus's come from? The McChrystal's, these types of people. Of course, they come out of the battle.
LAWRENCE: Women make up 14 percent of the military but only seven percent of the generals and admirals and Army General Ann Dunwoody is the first and only Four Star. On the other hand, the first female Navy officer starts submarine school this fall. And the Army says more than 90 percent of its job are open to women, quote, "Their service is steeped in tradition and continues today in greater numbers and with greater positive influence than any time in our nation's history."
(on camera): Right now the Army is in the middle of a review to see who is eligible for all its MOSS including combat specialties like armory and infantry. Those results will be done by the end of the year. But they could shed a completely new light on this issue.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, we turn to New Jersey now where rescuers spent the past 24 hours looking for people trapped after a parking garage collapsed. But there were no victims inside. We are just getting that word a short time ago; there was a non-discovery now.
We just got this word about a half hour ago. This is in Hackensack, New Jersey. Fire officials told us that no one had been detected within the debris of this three-story parking garage that collapsed yesterday morning. Officials feared at least one more person and possibly a couple more have been trapped inside.
So good news, at least no one trapped there.
Also, police in Illinois say they do have a suspect in custody. The suspect they say drove his car into the front of a bank and set off a bomb that was inside that car. Now, the bank happened to be closed at the time. So they are not exactly sure what he was trying to accomplish.
They say the bomb actually went off while the man was walking away from the car. Again, no -- no one injured here but the man now facing felony arson and criminal damage charges.
Well, a big city police department has a hard edge message for citizens, "Don't call us unless it's really -- really important." We'll tell you what the Oakland PD is doing and not doing.
Its seven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Ten minutes past the hour here.
We're talking heat and summer -- no surprise there. But some people surprised that they're going even higher than it should be.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's hot where normally it's hot. It's hotter than hot and that would be in the desert southwest.
I'll go ahead and show you what's happening as we go ahead and take a look at the nation. We'll show you the entire picture just to give you some idea of what's going on.
All the way from Minneapolis, 90 degrees; Dallas 102 -- some varying reports as to just how hot Dallas is going to be. Is it going to be 100, 101, some forecasts 103? Either way the record high temperature in Dallas for this time of year, for today is 108. We are not really in any danger of really setting any records there but nonetheless, it is going to be very, very difficult to endure over the next 5 days.
Look at this five-day forecast that we've got; temperatures in the 100s and then into the mid to upper 90s. St. Louis forecast, temperatures mostly in the mid to upper 90s. A chance of thunderstorm.
Take a look at this, Las Vegas, the expected high for this afternoon, 111 degrees. And yes that is excessively hot. Also in Phoenix, 111 degrees. Los Angeles, if you're in the interior section of the L.A. basin, those temperatures are going to soar into the 90s and may see some readings close to 100 degrees.
All right. Our chances for severe weather, they are going to pop-up right around this area. Just about from Minnesota into the Dakotas, portions of Iowa and into Wisconsin. There is a moderate risk from the severe storm center, prediction center. They are saying later that later on this afternoon T.J. we could see hail, we could see the possibility of tornados but it's going to be a bumpy evening across that part of the country.
HOLMES: ... keeping an eye on it. Are you here with us tomorrow, as well in the morning?
MAGINNIS: Yes, I am. Ok.
HOLMES: All right. We will get to follow up with you tomorrow. Thanks so much, Karen, for being with us this weekend.
All you folks out there got the new iPhone. Can you hear me now? Can you make a phone call on this thing? It is a phone after all. Apple did make a pretty big and kind of unusual announcement yesterday trying to fix -- you may have heard about it now -- the antenna problem that could cause you to drop some of your calls.
Our Josh Levs here with us; do people -- are they saying that this is enough?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, some people might be -- but one of the most significant critics of the iPhone4 is saying no, it was not enough. In fact, I'm about to have that for you, plus your reactions, coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A quarter past the hour. Take a look at some of the stories that are making headlines right now.
Federal agents throw a five-state dragnet over 94 people suspected of ripping off Medicare to the tune of more than $280 million. Medicare strike force putting the handcuffs on doctors, executives, even health care company owners in the largest takedown of the unit's 3-year history.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says Medicare scammers should take notice.
Also, West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin chooses a pretty young guy to replace the longest serving senator in U.S. history. Yesterday in Charleston, Manchin introduced his political confidante, an attorney 36-year-old Art Goodwin as the temporary replacement for Senator Robert Byrd. The appointment lasts until the next election is held and that could come some time as early as November.
And actor Wesley snipes losing another legal round against the U.S. government. Snipes, unable to sway a federal appeals court his three-year prison for tax evasion was heavy-handed. Snipes wanted probation but the judicial panel upheld the 36-month jail term saying the court acted well within its discretion.
We'll have another look at the stories making headlines coming up in about 20 minutes. From another news conference we kept an eye on yesterday, they had a pretty big announcement. A lot of people were paying attention as this was about the iPhone 4. They were trying again to try to solve all these problems having to do with the antenna and the possibility that you could lose signal strength depending on how you hold the phone.
Let me bring in Josh Levs here now. This is very important. Not just to make the customers happy, but you need to make Wall Street happy and you also need to make "Consumer Reports" happy. And they are still not happy.
LEVS: It's interesting how "Consumer Reports" rose to the top of this whole battle by putting something out over the past week that you can tell got to Apple. And it's got to be part of the reason why they did what they did.
We couldn't show you the news conference live yesterday, they were just restricted to Apple. But we had a video sent. We'll show you some of the video. And it's interesting to see what's happening.
As a rule, Apple does not do this. When they're going to have announcements, they have big events planned months in advance. This was just a few days in advance. They called this news conference and you can see of the imagery that was behind Steve Jobs.
As he was talking yesterday he started off by saying, making this big point that he believes it was blown out of proportion. And then he talked about what the company will do. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE JOBS, CEO, APPLE: For those small number of customers that are having problems, we are going to give them cases which we think will take care of most of those problems. And for those that still are unhappy, we're going to give them a full refund.
That's everything we can do to try to make every customer happy. But the data supports the fact that the iPhone 4 is the best smart phone in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, still pushing the product. And the truth is there are a lot of people praising it even when "Consumer Reports" came out days ago saying they could not recommend the iPhone because of that hardware problem. This line right here if you touch it when you're holding the phone, it can cause your call to go out because the antenna snakes through this system.
They still say they love the phone other than that. So he was still pushing it even in the news conference.
What they are announcing -- what he said there is that they'll be giving people, basically, a free bumper case. I think we have some video. They cost around $30. There are a couple of restrictions. It's only going last a few more months. There's a deadline at the end of September.
Also if you bought one already from a third party vendor, in that case, they're not going to refund you. They'll refund you if you got one already for your iPhone 4 from Apple. If you can demonstrate that, you get that money back.
Now, another part of what is so interesting here to me is as a business what Apple is doing. As we know, Apple often gets a ton of great publicity for all its new products and there is often a huge drum up to it. They have an interesting relationship to the public and their messaging.
We had really good analysis on this from a man named Eric Dezenhall. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC DEZENHALL, CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERT: Apple consistently violates every damage control cliche without any consequence. They're secretive, they lash out at consumers. They are entitled, yet at the same time there is the reason why there are no consequences because when you are an insurgent, sort a bad boy, that is a privilege you have because people will love you no matter what you do.
But now Apple is no longer just an insurgent. They are a trend- setting market leader. So the behavior of the past has to shift.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: He was talking to us yesterday morning in advance of the news conference. Now, I'll tell you "Consumer Reports" has come out and said this is not enough. This change is not enough for them. They want to see an actual hardware fix to fix the phone. They don't feel that this is enough to start recommending it.
And you all are split on this. Let me show you some reactions I've been pulling up here from my Facebook page.
From Jim Collier, "I think Jobs came off as defensive and somewhat condescending. The message should have been positive, but it came off more like, ok, you're crazy, but here's your free bumper."
Here's from Karen Young, "Not good enough. After paying $200 for 16 GB or $300 for a 32 GB, it needs to work correctly without a bumper. In addition, didn't get an apology for Apple's curt and disrespectful response to the iPhone 4 problems."
That's a reference to early on when Steve Jobs said, "Well, just don't hold it that way."
Jon Eickman says, "This is why you don't buy first generation products. Seriously people."
Meaning why do you have to have an iPhone the day it comes out. Give it some time, see what goes wrong. And then this one from Joel, "It's a freaking phone. He does not owe you a million dollars and a spot in heaven. Because the $200 piece of plastic you bought to look cool does not get satellite transmissions from Mars. Get real, people."
Feel free to join the discussion. You have my page there. It's up at Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. No shortage of opinions on this. And T.J., as you know, no shortage of people who have one of these phone. They sold 1.7 million the first few days. They've sold millions, at least 3 million so far. A lot of people concerned about that.
HOLMES: And it's not just a phone. It's an iPhone. It's an iPhone. That's different.
All right. Josh, we appreciate you. Thanks so much.
LEVS: That's fine.
HOLMES: Well, some of them were street thugs; others, drug addicts, prison inmates. Most of all they were absent fathers. A New Jersey organization now offering these men redemption and not judgment.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick has our "Building up America" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 57-year-old Dawud Ward is the first to admit he wasted 30 years of his life on drugs and in jail.
DAWUD WARD, PARTICIPANT, FATHERS NOW: I had nowhere to go, nowhere to turn to.
FEYERICK: Two years ago he hit bottom.
(on camera): At that moment, if somebody had come to you and leaned over and said, you're going to be a teacher, a couple of years you're going to be a teacher, what would you have said at that moment?
WARD: No, I wouldn't have believed it.
FEYERICK: Now, you light up when you talk about being a teacher.
WARD: It's possible. Yes, I'm able to dream again.
FEYERICK (voice-over): It was one of those moments fate plays a hand. He saw a sign for Father's Now, a nonprofit group in New Jersey, helping men turn around their lives, teaching them how to get jobs and be good parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's one of our best graduates, in fact.
FEYERICK: Program case manager John Leslie can relate to his students: drugs, prison, the hope of redemption. (on camera): Is this about giving people another chance? Is this about giving people a first chance? Or is this about what that sign says? We want our men back.
JOHN LESLIE, CASE MANAGER, FATHERS NOW: It's basically that. It's basically about family reunification because we want our men back.
FEYERICK: Ninety percent of those in the Fathers Now program are ex-cons; not a requirement, just a reality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So now you've got the registration done?
FEYERICK: Out of the 110 guys who applied last semester, only 32 graduated; the majority quit even before classes started.
(on camera): At what point does a man decide, enough. I want to start living my life in a positive way. The way you do, the way these other men are doing.
LESLIE: It's a different point for every person. You know everybody has -- hits bottom. And you have to know when your bottom comes.
FEYERICK: For 23-year-old Steven Ziemlinski, an ex-Marine and now aspiring tattoo artist, it was when he found himself fleeing from police over what he thought was a suspended driver's license.
The course was a condition of probation.
STEVEN ZIEMLINSKI, PARTICIPANT, FATHERS NOW: It made me realize that a lot of people have -- are a lot worse off than I imagined myself having because I mean -- you put it in perspective.
FEYERICK: Steve's daughter became a star of the class, filled with men like Keith Harrell. After 30 years as a self described street thug, he now has a part-time job and is trying to be more of a dad to his 6 kids, inspired by son Shaquan, now a college junior.
KEITH HARRELL, PARTICIPANT, FATHERS NOW: They're my reason for wanting to do better or focusing on doing better.
FEYERICK (on camera): Do you judge your dad for the kind of life he lived?
SHAQUAN BAKER, KEITH HARRELL'S SON: Not at all. I like to think that every mistake kind of makes you stronger.
FEYERICK: Do you ever see yourself going back to the life you were living?
HARRELL: No.
FEYERICK: Because why?
HARRELL: I have too much to lose. FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Newark, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: So many cutbacks at the Oakland police department. Officers sent out a list of crimes they will not be able to respond to so don't even bother calling.
It's 25 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)]
HOLMES: We are coming up on the bottom of the hour now. A less than reassured prospect for crime-weary Oakland, California; city officials giving 80 police officers their walking papers citing deep budget cuts.
And as CNN's Dan Simon now reports, Oakland's thinning blue line could get even skimpier soon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Oakland already has the state's highest violent crime rate and one of the highest in the nation. These images of rioting last week only make the officer reductions less palatable.
(on camera): Is this the worst you've seen things here at the department?
SGT. DOM AROTZARENA, OAKLAND POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: Yes. This is terrible. Let there be no doubt, the loss of 80 officers is terrible here in Oakland. This is a dangerous place to be for a police officer.
SIMON (voice-over): With 80 officers getting cut, police brass have said that officers would no longer be able to respond in person for a multitude of calls including car accidents, grand theft and those failing to register as sex offenders.
OFC. JEFFREY THOMASON, OAKLAND POLICE: We go on the same motto where people say you can do more with less. We're not going to be able to do that anymore. We are going to be doing less with less.
SIMON: If someone poisons my dog you won't come out?
THOMASON: Correct.
SIMON: No one wanted 80 officers to lose their jobs, but the city facing a $31 million deficit could not reach a compromise with the police officers over pension and the possibility of future lay- offs. The union wanted a guarantee that no one would be laid off for at least three years. The city guaranteed just one year.
JAY FACTORA, FORMER POLICE OFFICER: There is nothing I regret as far as joining the department. One of the best that -- I'll say, you know, definitely one of the top three things in my life other than my daughter being born and being married.
SIMON: Jay Factora was among those who turned in their badges and weapons. He joined the force a year and a half ago after two tours of duty in Iraq. He hopes the cuts will be temporary.
FACTORA: This is where I grew up, this is my home. I'm not going to leave and I'm not going to abandon it. I'm going to wait until hopefully the department at some point opens its doors back up, allows us to come back. I'll be the first one in line.
SIMON: But city officials say next year's deficit could be higher. As things set in last night, they blame these current layoffs at the reluctance of officers to face budget reality.
JANE BRUNNER, OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: There is no agreement. The officers will be laid off today. They rejected our last proposal. And they did not give us a counter from our last proposal.
SIMON (on camera): When you talk about eliminating 80 officers, how do you determine who loses their job?
AROTZARENA: Well, how it's determined is the last person hired is usually the first person to be let go. And that's how that was determined.
SIMON: This all comes on the heels of a report by an independent watchdog group which actually said the city should be hiring more police officers, 400 more police officers, to deal with the city's astronomical crime rate. And that would also put it on par with cities of a similar size.
Dan Simon, CNN, Oakland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We've got another shot in the war of words between Tea Party activists and the NAACP. And this one has ignited a national controversy.
That story right after the break. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Well, a Tea Party express leader is defending a controversial letter he posted on his blog mocking the NAACP. It was described as a satirical blog post from Mar Williams, and in it he pretends to be the NAACP president, Ben Jealous, writing to Abraham Lincoln.
It reads in part, "Dear Mr. Lincoln, We colored people have taken a vote and decided that we don't cotton to that old emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. This is just far too much to ask of us." That post was written in reaction to the NAACP's recent resolution that accused the Tea Party movement of tolerating racists in its ranks. Williams responded to the controversy over his letter on "JOHN KING USA" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK WILLIAMS, SPOKESMAN, TEA PARTY EXPRESS: What I did, it opened the door to ending the vitriol that we saw coming out of Kansas City, and opened the door to a genuine acceptance of my offer to talk or Mr. Jealous' offer to talk to me. However, call it a beer summit or whatever you want. What I did was successful, and I'm glad it was successful.
I'm sorry I had to go to those lengths to slap sense onto a lot of people who are so afraid of politically incorrect language, that we can't get a conversation started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The NAACP president, Ben Jealous, has released this statement, saying, "If Mark Williams apologizes for his past troubling statements, including the offensive letter he recently authored, and is willing to repudiate racist elements in the Tea Party, I would be happy to sit down and talk with him."
And earlier today I talked about the controversy with Luke Visconti, CEO and co-founder of Diversity Incorporated, as well as Columbia University professor Marc Lamont Hill. I started out by asking Professor Hill if he thinks there are racist elements within the Tea Party movement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PROF. MARC LAMONT HILL, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: We have a series of incidents that were marked as isolated, and now we begin to see a pattern, both within and outside of the Tea Party. We see a large range of people who have a deep animus toward the president and also towards African-American people.
There are all these narratives about blank laziness, about black angst, about black anger, about black people being the undeserving, and all of these conversations are emerging at a moment where we need more racial togetherness, and instead we're prompting more racial division. That's a dangerous moment to be in.
HOLMES: Well, Luke, let me have your reaction to, too, the letter you saw from Mark Williams.
LUKE VISCONTI, DIVERSITYINC.COM: I think it's unpatriotic. If you look up on the Web, do a Web search for Tea Party bumper stickers, and you'll see a list of things that are just really objectionable. And I think we have to look at this in context.
By 2043, white people will be less than 50 percent of our population. If we can't get this together now, and this is a critical juncture, we are really shortchanging the future of our country. I think Tea Party people are unpatriotic, shortsighted and selfish. There is a pattern here.
HOLMES: Now, it sounds like you're labeling. Now, is that fair to do, Luke? Is it fair to label?
It sounds like you're just talking about the Tea Party as a whole, almost. The Tea Party, it's a movement, so many different factions a part of it. But you would go as far as labeling the entire movement as what you're saying, a bit racist?
VISCONTI: Hey, look, I mean, you've got to look at it. If it's furry and it has a tail and pointy ears, and it meows, it's probably a cat. You know?
So, you look at this, and I wouldn't want to stand next to any of those signs. I wouldn't want to be associated with any of that language. And if you are associated with it, it says something about you.
HOLMES: But Marc, we see these and we call these incidents, Marc. And, you know, of course not everyone in the Tea Party movement -- I don't think anybody in the NAACP or otherwise has suggested these are all bad people. But it seems like there may be some elements that draw the attention of the camera.
Has the Tea Party movement in some ways even gotten a bad rap because some of those extremist elements, those racist elements, as the NAACP would say, end up drowning out some of the calmer voices?
HILL: Well, that's what they would say. They would say that they're the victims of the liberal media bias that takes the three or four crazies in the Tea Party movement and dangles them in front of the camera. But we know that that's simply not true.
I've been to many Tea Party rallies where I hear language like "lynch the president, beat up the president, shoot the president." When you hear the narratives and the conversations that go on at those Tea Party rallies, it's not one or two people. there is a tone and tenor there.
I do not believe most that most people in the Tea Party are racists. I don't believe that at all. But when you have a large faction, and you have a racist wing of your movement, you need to say something about it and you need to reject and outcast them. If do you not do that, then you run the risk and you deserve to be labeled as an organization that doesn't mind having racists in it. And that makes the organization racist.
HOLMES: Now, guys, I talked to a guy, Mark Skoda. He's the head of the Tea Party in Memphis. And I've been around this guy. I've spent some time with him. And I don't think anyone would, after meeting him, come to the conclusion that this guy was a racist in any way, shape or form.
So, how are they supposed to, which some give them credit for, the Tea Party movement, be now a player in politics in this country that's going to be around? Whose responsibility is it now to step up?
How do you separate, Luke, some of those racist elements, as the NAACP would say? How do you separate them from the good folks like a Mark Skoda?
VISCONTI: Well, look, the iron filings know which way to point when the magnet makes itself apparent. And I think that you're looking at a group of people who are cultivating power and cultivating an audience with a direct message. And the message isn't very savory, as far as I'm concerned.
These are people leveraging racism. And if you look at the crowds, you look on YouTube, the people against government health care, most of them are on Social Security and Medicare, if you look at the crowds. I guess they are not in favor of health care for certain people. And I think this is what you have to focus on.
They didn't get to power with any message of any kind other than being anti-Obama and being anti-black Obama. Let's be honest about this.
I mean, you can't go to any of these rallies and not see the negative signs. What's that tell you about the organization?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Let's bring in our CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, taking a look at -- you can go back and forth all day long, Paul. And we have seen too many people going back and forth on television. But what do people out there really think about the Tea Party?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: So, take a look at this, T.J. This is a poll from ABC News and "The Washington Post." It was conducted back in April.
And they asked that specific question, "Do you think some of the support for the Tea Party movement is based on racial prejudice against Barack Obama?"
Off the top, 128 percent say yes, a great deal, or a good amount of that support is based on racial prejudice. Another 21 percent said that just some of the support for the Tea Party movement is based on racial prejudice. And you can see at the bottom there, T.J., 43 percent saying no, not at all, that that is not part of the Tea Party movement.
Listen, I'm going out on a limb a little bit here. But my assumption is there will be a lot more polling about the Tea Party and racism after this controversy over the past week. So I think you can expect to see a lot more numbers. And we'll break them down for you over the next month.
HOLMES: Yes. And, of course, as we have to do and as you just did there, it's the Tea Party movement. This is a movement. So many groups are a part of this Tea Party movement now. But Mark Williams is the spokesperson for the Tea Party Express. That's another part of this whole movement.
But what exactly is the Tea Party Express?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, he was at one time the leader of the Tea Party Express. Now he's spokesman.
They're based in Sacramento. T.J., they're probably one of the best known national Tea Party organizations. Why? Because they ran those three cross-country Tea Party caravans, those bus tours that went across the country, and they held rallies throughout the U.S. Two of those bus tours ended up in Washington, D.C.
They've also gotten very political and very involved in the Republican primaries. The Tea Party Express probably best known for backing Sharron Angle, who was a little known state lawmaker in Nevada and a Tea Party favorite. They put a lot of money in her campaign.
She won the nomination, as you now know. She's battling Harry Reid for the Senate seat out there in Nevada.
HOLMES: And we talk about how this movement has gained some political power. And they would point to some success they've had in some political races. But now they are possibly trying to form a caucus in Congress.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. In Congress. We're not just talking about candidates running for office. And this has do with Michele Bachmann, the Republican congresswoman from Minnesota who is a conservative and very big favorite of the Tea Party movement.
She's proposing this. She's filed paper to form a Tea Party caucus in Congress. It has to get approved.
She says it will serve as an informal group of members dedicated to promote Americans' call for fiscal responsibility. So we will see if that actually happens. And Michele Bachmann, again, in the news -- T.J.
HOLMES: And one last thing here quickly. Michael Steele, the RNC chairman, expected to talk to thousands of black journalists coming up at the annual convention that's happening in San Diego.
What's his message going to be?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, the National Association of Black Journalists in San Diego at the end of the month. He is talking there on July 30th.
And I expect it's going to hard to avoid this one, that he will make comments again about the NAACP's declaration on the Tea Party, because he was very critical of it this week, and I think people will be asking him about his comments -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Paul Steinhauser, always good to see you, buddy. Thanks so much.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Fredricka is here with company this morning.
You've got a crew following you around today.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a lot of company today.
HOLMES: I hope -- well, we might get a shot of them.
WHITFIELD: Right.
HOLMES: So thanks for stopping by.
WHITFIELD: Well, it's for an upcoming project. Folks want to know what it is that we do as we lead up to a show, how we prepare.
And so, in order to do that, we've got to have some crews available. That's why you see John right there in that shot. So he is kind of following us around this morning, how we prepare for the noon through 5:00.
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And then, what it's like to be T.J.?
HOLMES: Well, it's exhausting.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: I know. It's been a lot this morning that you have to handle, but you've done a great job.
HOLMES: It's not so bad. But, still, that's a little rude, Fredricka, you show up with somebody and you bring company. You didn't tell me.
WHITFIELD: This is a house where we invite friends.
HOLMES: But you didn't tell us you were bringing company.
WHITFIELD: And they are our friends.
HOLMES: I didn't have -- I didn't have enough food for everybody.
WHITFIELD: Well, you saw them when they came. Oh, OK. Well, yes. We'll do that another time.
HOLMES: We look forward to seeing that later. But good morning to you.
WHITFIELD: OK. Good morning to you.
HOLMES: You're coming up here in just a few minutes.
WHITFIELD: Yes, noon Eastern Time, beginning with something that you have talked about all morning long, the NAACP and the Tea Party going at it.
Well, we've got a continuation with a new twist, so to speak. This is something that might find its way into the courtroom. And if it does, our Avery Friedman and Richard Herman are going to be along in the noon Eastern hour to talk about the potential of the Tea Party saying they may pursue a defamation case against the NAACP, because some members are saying if they are not racist, and the entire group has been labeled racist, are they being defamed? Will this be a case that can actually hold any water?
And then film director Roman Polanski, you know what's been happening with him. He gets a reprieve.
Sweden (sic) says, we're not going to extradite him to the U.S. The U.S. thought this was a given, that he might be serving some time for that case many decades ago. Our legal guys can't wait to weigh in on this one.
And, oh, by the way, France is also celebrating. Yes, he can come on back home and do his bid.
John McCain campaigning in Arizona. And this has been a really interesting fight for him, for his job. And now, apparently, he is out with a new ad that is getting a lot of voters' attention. Yes.
And our Paul Steinhauser is going to be along, because we're going to talk about -- also, here's the ad right here. And also, John McCain's latest words about immigration. He is not for the new Arizona immigration law; however, at the same time, he's criticizing the Obama administration for its efforts or lack thereof of immigration.
So, where does John McCain stand as it pertains to immigration?
HOLMES: That's interesting, because he's not going after his opponents in the ad, he's going after his old opponent who already beat him.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Is this clever? Is this a clever strategy?
Paul Steinhauser has got all the answers, of course.
HOLMES: Of course.
WHITFIELD: And then I know you follow YouTube. Right?
HOLMES: Not a lot.
WHITFIELD: Oh, come on. Yes you do. Really?
HOLMES: We have the viral videos. I've seen them. But other than that ...
WHITFIELD: OK. Well, you know, Ridley Scott, who is a great filmmaker, he's come up with a great idea.
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: A global al effort in which to use YouTube. People put their lives on YouTube all the time, right? He says, OK, here's the challenge, a global challenge.
You get a digital camera, and you cover your own day from sunrise to sunset, and make your submission. What is your life like on a day- to-day basis?
HOLMES: Really?
WHITFIELD: Yes. So, this is a global challenge, and a number of people all over the place are, of course, rising to the occasion. They can't wait to be part of this, everything from what it's like to wake up wherever it is they live, to perhaps what it's like -- and their commute to work. Perhaps what it's like to put the food on the table in their homes.
So this is now going to be a nice challenging documentary that Ridley Scott is now commandeering.
HOLMES: They're supposed to be pretty? Are you supposed to edit it and make it fancy, or just grain ...
WHITFIELD: No, grainy. Grainy stuff. Real stuff. Not pretty. That will be up to the filmmakers.
But he wants it to be just very graphic and organic, and something tells me he's going to get what he wants, because he usually does.
HOLMES: All right. Fredricka, you've got a lot going on.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HOLMES: Looking forward to that legal discussion.
WHITFIELD: OK. Very good. Tune in.
HOLMES: Always good to see you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Take care.
HOLMES: We'll see you here in just a minute. Take your boys with you. OK?
WHITFIELD: They're coming with me. They're going to hang out with you, in fact. They're saying you are a lot more fascinating than I am.
HOLMES: Oh, please. All right, Fredricka. Always good to see you. We'll see you in a second.
WHITFIELD: All right.
HOLMES: Well, an archeologist's dream buried beneath the World Trade Center construction site? Workers uncovered the hull of a huge ship from the 1700s, and our Mary Snow got in there for a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the construction site at Ground Zero, a rare find -- remnants of a ship dating back to the 18th century. We were allowed to climb down 25 feet to the site and see first hand what archaeologists stumbled upon Tuesday.
MOLLY MCDONALD, ARCHAEOLOGIST, AKRF: Two timbers that were pulled up by a backhoe. And I immediately thought that looks like a ship timber. So we stopped the backhoe and started excavating with shovels and uncovered a portion of this hull. And since then, have uncovered the rest that you see.
SNOW: And what we can see is believed to be half of a ship.
Marine historian Norman Brouwer was brought in to take a look.
NORMAN BROUWER, MARINE HISTORIAN: It appears to be an ocean- going vessel, and probably at some time in the 1700s. It's heavily built, very solid frames close together.
SNOW: One mystery, this circular structure that Brouwer says may have been used as a fireplace. An anchor was also recovered.
(on camera): How significant is this find?
MCDONALD: I mean, I think it remains to be seen what this ship really is, but it's pretty significant. It's pretty exciting.
There haven't been that many ships found in Manhattan. It was something that, occasionally, ships were occasionally used as part of land filling, so it probably was part of filling in this land. So it's not unheard of.
SNOW (voice-over): Because of the history here, archaeologists have been monitoring the construction site. The Wildlife Conservation Society shows just how much of lower Manhattan was under water hundreds of years ago in its Mannahatta project. Compare that to now.
ELIZABETH MEADE, ARCHAEOLOGIST, AKRF: But mostly, it just tells us about the landfill structure of this particular area and how they were reusing things like old boats to build out the land, because the shorelines was originally at Greenwich Street, about a block that way.
SNOW (on camera): So where we're standing now at one point was just the Hudson River. MEADE: The Hudson River, yes.
SNOW (voice-over): The site is just south of where the World Trade Center towers once stood, this rare relic hidden for more than 200 years.
MEADE: This is the kind of thing that archaeologists are always hoping to find and very rarely actually do.
SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, Michelle Obama, the first lady, has made healthy eating a priority during her first term as first lady. Well, encouraging people out there to buy locally-grown whole foods.
Well, CNN went to a local farm and followed the food.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELI COOK, OWNER, SPRING VALLEY FARM AND ORCHARD: We are full- time farmers. This is all that we do.
I'm Eli Cook. I own Spring Valley Farm and Orchard.
Everything that you're ever going to buy from me is going to be fresh. It's not going to be over 24 hours old. When you eat a tree- ripened peach, I mean, you kind of have got to bend over.
I can tell you exactly how everything was raised from the time it was a seedling to the time it hits your plate. And you can't get that kind of service at a grocery store.
The White House market on day one was very good. In the economic downturn, farmers markets are thriving and we've seen no problems whatsoever. Our sales are up 18 percent this year.
I credit Michelle Obama to this in educating everybody on how important it is to support local farms and eat local food.
Never-ending job on a busy day. That's what you like.
SAM KASS, WHITE HOUSE ASSISTANT CHEF: We're just across the park from the White House.
My name is Sam Kass. I am an assistant chef at the White House and senior policy adviser for the Healthy Food Initiative.
Food is what provides us with health. So making sure that all Americans and our families, and particularly our kids, are getting food that is nutritious and healthy for them is something that the first lady cares deeply about, and therefore something that I care about. There's no question that it's possible to eat healthy, fresh food on a low budget. It's a challenge, but it's doable. Not to mention all the negative consequences of poor health. If we continue down the path that we are, that number is going to absolutely skyrocket. So, if we want to bring down costs, we have got to start with being healthy.
RIS LACOSTE, OWNER, RIS: Hi, Eli. How are you?
COOK: Hello. How are you doing?
LACOSTE: Good to see you.
I have been a dedicated farmers market buyer for years now.
I'll take these two. And we're going to take a right to the end here.
My name is Ris Lacoste. I am the chef owner of Ris here in Washington, D.C.
I feed people for a living, and it is my responsibility to feed them food that is good for them. It ises very important to me that I get everything from the market as much as I can.
Gorgeous peppers. Beautiful.
It is a bit more expensive. Well, well, well, well, well worth it. So, the product is so far superior.
He picked this at 6:00 this morning.
And I hope it translates into what the customers are experiencing at the table.
How was everything?
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: OK, it's lunchtime for me, Fredricka. I will hand this thing over to you.
WHITFIELD: That's good. That makes me hungry, too.
HOLMES: Yes. It's all yours.
WHITFIELD: I like that, fresh produce.
HOLMES: Yes, do it with what you will now.
WHITFIELD: Yes, you're really quick to like get rid of the main course here.
HOLMES: It's been a long -- it's a been a good morning. WHITFIELD: OK, very good. Well, you've done a great job.
