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President Obama on Troop Drawdown; Flood-Ravaged Pakistan; Stopping the Oil Leak for Good; Russia's Fire Disaster
Aired August 02, 2010 - 11:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Randi Kaye in for Tony Harris. Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories. Caught in a firestorm as wildfires burn down entire villages.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here with (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
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KAYE: We'll show you what happens as these people try to escape by driving through the flames.
And if you thought you caught up on your sleep this weekend, those extra hours of snoozing may not have helped your cause. You're online right now, and we are, too. The top story you're tracking on CNN.com right now, Lindsay Lohan released from jail. We'll have much more on that.
Let's get started, though, with our lead story. President Obama just wrapping up his war message to the nation's disabled veterans. You heard his address to their convention in Atlanta, live, just moments ago, right here on CNN. One key focus for the commander in chief, the drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq, and the change in the mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, even as terrorists try to derail Iraq's progress, because of the sacrifices of our troops and their Iraqi partners, violence in Iraq continues to be near the lowest it's been in years. And next month, we will change our military mission from combat to supporting and training Iraqi security forces.
(APPLAUSE)
In fact, in many parts of the country, Iraqis have already taken the lead for security.
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KAYE: Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry is here to break this down for us.
So the president is saying that he wants to bring the war there to a responsible end, the war in Iraq.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And as you noted last hour, this is a chance for the president to not just talk about Iraq, but sort of lay the groundwork for telling the American people that there could be a graceful way to pull out of Afghanistan, as well.
He has laid out a marker of saying next summer he'll start drawing down troops in Afghanistan. But nobody quite knows, how many will that be? Will it just be a small force that's coming out? And what about the facts on the ground in Afghanistan?
Progress is not going well right now, and he's facing the same questions on Iraq. You heard the president there basically saying, look, things are getting better, that violence is down there. But there is a report from the Iraqi government in the last couple of days suggesting that July was one of the worst months --
KAYE: Oh, yes.
HENRY: -- in two years.
KAYE: Their numbers are so different.
HENRY: The numbers are wide apart. And I think beyond just the facts on the ground in security, it's political reconciliation.
I mean, for years now, the Iraqi government has been talking about distributing oil revenue in a fair way to all of its people, to make sure that the political groundwork is laid so that there is a stable Iraqi government. They have not proven that yet. And there's a story in "The New York Times" today about how electricity -- most people in Iraq are only getting about five hours a day of electricity.
KAYE: Right. So how do you have a stable government with that?
HENRY: Well, you know, I remember covering the Bush administration, and at the tail end of that administration, they were talking a lot about these benchmarks, and electricity was one of them. That they wanted -- they weren't going to get to 24 hours a day, but they'd try to get to 18 hours, 20 hours, and start building and building.
"The New York Times" today saying it's five hours a day. So how much progress has there really been on the ground not just on security, but reconstructing Iraq?
It's very clear that this administration is sending the signal that they have set the deadlines, the president wants to get out, and they've got to deal with Afghanistan and they've got to deal with other challenges around the world. But sort of matching up the rhetoric of today in Atlanta about how the violence is there on the ground in Baghdad with exactly what the facts on the ground are, it's going to be a very difficult challenge.
KAYE: Right. But if you do look at the numbers, I mean, the White House is saying that they have actually seen half the violence that the Iraqi government is seeing.
So, is this the Obama administration's way of justifying the troop withdrawal?
HENRY: I think in a way it's probably more the Obama administration's way to push the Iraqi government along. We saw the Bush administration do this, as well.
The bottom line is that when you talk to senior Obama officials, they say, you know, if we just -- we just have to stay there practically forever, you know, unless the Iraqi government stepped up. You've got to at some point just set these deadlines and do it.
And this is a campaign promise that the president is delivering on. We talk a lot on what he has not followed up on yet. He promised to do immigration reform in his first year. He hasn't done that yet, he's gotten beaten up for it.
This is a campaign promise he is delivering on. But you're right, the key is going to be you can deliver on the promise, but what's going to happen six months after we leave Iraq? Is it going to be stable?
KAYE: And he's just beginning to make his case. I mean, this is one of many events that he is planning to speak about.
HENRY: Absolutely. I mean, there's a lot of speculation that either he or Vice President Biden will go to Iraq soon. Nobody knows for sure, and they won't confirm that for security reasons, obviously.
But this is a chance for the president to really put a spotlight on Iraq, because he doesn't talk about the war on terror the way President Bush did as much. And he frankly has spent a lot more time in Afghanistan because that's what he promised to do as a candidate, that the focus on the Bush administration had shifted too much to Iraq.
He's trying to shift it back to Afghanistan. But I think today is a reminder that we still have a lot of troops in Iraq. August is a pivotal moment here. And the reason why he's doing it now is that all combat forces are going to be out by August 31st.
We're still going to have tens of thousands of troops there. And he was pointing out to the Disabled American Veterans, a lot of them coming home with serious, serious injuries -- traumatic brain injuries. And so even if we pull out our combat forces by August 31st, as it says today we will, the legacy of Iraq is going to carry on for so much longer, the Americans coming home.
And the U.S. taxpayers having to deal with that, because it's a heavy burden, but it's a heavy price of sacrifice that so many troops have paid, as the president noted. This is something that the country is going to deal with for a long time.
KAYE: He certainly has his hands full with both Baghdad -- both Iraq and Afghanistan.
HENRY: No doubt.
KAYE: Ed Henry, thanks. Good to see you as always.
HENRY: Good seeing you.
KAYE: Most Americans support the plan for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq. That's according to a recent poll.
In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, two-thirds of respondents favor the plan to remove most troops by the end of August, 35 percent say they disapprove. The number who approve drop significantly if conditions in Iraq are not stable by the time troops withdraw.
Hundreds of troops from Massachusetts are headed off to the war in Afghanistan. Six hundred seventy soldiers from the First Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment left yesterday. It is the largest deployment of the Massachusetts National Guard since World War II.
Family and friends were on hand for the sendoff. The soldiers will work to improve security, help with reconstruction projects, and support the fledgling Afghan government. This is the second deployment for some of those soldiers.
Days of extreme flooding in northwestern Pakistan are causing mass illness today. Officials say some 100,000 people, mostly children, have been hit with cholera and other intestinal sicknesses. That's because flood victims have no clean drinking water. The disaster has claimed more than 1,100 lives, and it's far from over.
CNN's Reza Sayah reports on the dire situation.
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REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was our first look at some of the flood-ravaged areas in northwest Pakistan from up above. The Pakistani military taking us on a helicopter tour of some of the hardest-hit areas, and what we saw down below was widespread devastation.
Village after village, especially those next to rivers and waterways, under water. We saw thousands of homes destroyed. If they weren't destroyed, they were buried in mud.
Remember, these floodwaters were at their highest sometime on Friday. Obviously, several days have passed. Imagine what the people who were living in these areas went through then. Some of them are still stranded, many left homeless.
The Pakistani government and the military telling us they're doing what they can to get to these flood victims as soon as possible. During the helicopter tour, they made a stop at a relief camp to show us some of the work that they're doing. But over past couple of days, the flood victims we've spoken to are telling us, we're not seeing that help, and that could be because the government can't get to them.
In areas like the Swat Valley, that are dependent on bridges, many of those bridges have been demolished by floodwaters. The only way for the government and the military to get to these areas is by helicopter. The military saying they're using about 36 helicopters, but they acknowledge that's not enough to get to every area. That's why it's impossible at this point, they say, to tell how many people are stranded and how many people still need help.
Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: In western Russia today, the danger is fire. Crews say half of the 700 wildfires they're battling are either out or contained today.
The disaster, fed by record heat, has killed 34 people and left 5,000 homeless. Temperatures hit 102 in Moscow last week, the highest since record-keeping began back in 1879.
A live report ahead in the NEWSROOM.
Getting ready for the kill. The first phase in permanently plugging the Gulf oil leak could begin in just a matter of hours. Details in a live report.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
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KAYE: The most dreaded chore of summer is our "Random Moment of the Day."
We're talking about mowing the lawn. Oh, yes. That's right. When it's too hot to cut the grass yourself, or maybe you're just feeling kind of lazy, put your dog in charge of lawn maintenance, if he's big enough, of course, to reach the pedals. That guy right there, he's just cruising along.
Another "Random Moment of the Day."
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KAYE: Going in for the kill. The first phase in permanently plugging the Gulf oil leak could begin tonight. The so-called static kill procedure involves pumping mud and cement into the damaged well.
CNN's Jim Acosta joins us live from New Orleans with details.
And Jim, the static kill is actually different from the top kill that they tried once before. JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is different because this time, there is a cap. If I can show you one of my crude renderings here on this dry erase board, they've got the cap on top of that ruptured well. That is the difference between the top kill.
Before the top kill, there was no cap. And so they were trying to force that heavy fluid and mud into the ruptured well without any kind of containment. That's different this time around with the static kill.
And BP just wrapped up a technical briefing just a few moments ago, Randi, where they talked about a test that we really haven't heard a whole lot about that's going to taking place later today called the injectivity test. Essentially, what they're going to be doing is checking to see whether or not they can force the oil that is in that ruptured well back into the reservoir.
If they can do that, what they're going to start doing with some ships stationed on the surface of the Gulf, they're going to start pumping in that mud right into that containment cap, down into the containment cap and into the ruptured well. And if that process goes well -- they're going to be taking pressure readings during all of this -- if that process goes well, they feel like they'll be able to proceed forward with bringing in cement into that same cap and down into the ruptured well in the hope that this will completely seal off this ruptured well.
And if that goes well, essentially what we'll see in a couple of weeks from now is sort of the second part of this one-two punch. That relief well will intercept the ruptured well, and then more cement, more mud will go in through that ruptured -- or through that relief well into the ruptured well. And then, together, combined, those two forces, they feel like that one-two punch will kill this well off once and for all.
And all of this is expected to start within the next 12 hours or so. So we're reading some pretty interesting and some -- and actually some very confident notes coming out of BP at this point. They feel like this is going to be a success -- Randi.
KAYE: They've tried so many things, Jim, as you and I both know. They've tried the top kill, the top hat, the junk shot. I mean, you name it.
Why are they so confident that this one might do it?
ACOSTA: They're confident this time around because they feel like unlike top kill, they've got that cap in place. So this ruptured well is under control, they feel, at the moment. And they have been taking pressure readings.
So, right now, the pressure readings -- and I don't want to bore you with the details, but the pressure readings are as such at this point that they feel like this whole ruptured well is really under control at the moment. The weather, they also said, at this technical briefing not too long ago is also in good shape. So, unlike the other times where it was just forcing material or forcing junk into a ruptured well, they've got this containment cap. That's the big difference here, and because they've got that containment cap there, they feel like they've got a lot of the -- you know, the physics on their side this time around.
Of course, we'll have to wait and see if that works out. The next 24 to 48 hours will be crucial.
And I've got to tell you, as you know, Randi, a lot of people down here on the Gulf Coast, they're going to be watching this. This is going to be almost like watching a moon launch, a moon landing, if you will, to see if these scientists can pull this off.
KAYE: You bet. And they'll be tuned to CNN, I'm sure, waiting to see just if this works.
Jim Acosta for us in New Orleans.
Thank you very much, Jim.
The EPA reports significant progress in cleaning up that oil spill in Michigan, but it could take weeks or months to finish the job. Oil started leaking from a 30-inch pipeline a week ago. The leak was stopped the next day, but an estimated 19,000 barrels of oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River. As crews worked to clean up the mess, people who live nearby are frustrated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've smelled the oil to the point where it made me sick to my stomach.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For something like this to happen, and go so far as it did until it was actually recognized and shut off, you know, that's extremely bothering.
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KAYE: Russia's scorched landscape. Firefighters point to progress. The magnitude of the disaster begins to sink in for ordinary Russians.
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KAYE: Russia clamped a state of emergency on 500 towns and villages today. Crews say they're gaining on hundreds of wildfires, but the damage is done. Thirty-four people dead, thousands left homeless.
Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Captured on amateur video, it looks like the road to hell. The four Russians in the car are desperately trying to escape the wildfires surrounding their village.
Through the wind screen an inferno rages. Fallen trees engulfed by flames block the road. For a terrifying moment, panic sets in.
"Get back!" they shout. "Let's go."
The men eventually get through without injury, but in huge swathes of western and central Russia, wildfires are leaving a trail of death and destruction.
(on camera): Well, across this vast region the forests have turned to tinder, ignited by the slightest spark. The air is full of this choking smoke from the wood flames. The undergrowth has all turned to ashes. And of course, the flames are so ferocious, they're consuming everything in their path.
(voice-over): We traveled to the of village of Maslavka (ph), near Voronezh, one of Russia's worst-affected regions. Almost every house here is burned to the ground. All 500 residents were evacuated but a few have returned to pick through the debris or patch up their scorched homes.
(on camera): This is Nina (ph). She's lived in this house for the past 50 years. As you can see, it's all been totally devastated. And there's nothing really left, is there?
What happened?
Your (INAUDIBLE) mama?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CHANCE: Well, this is obviously Nina's (ph) mother. You can see how devastated she is because of what's happened.
You know, this fire has destroyed lives all over this country. More than a thousand homes have been burned to the ground like this, and it's shattered people's lives.
(voice-over): Desperate to control the flames, Russia says it's deployed nearly a quarter of a million people to fight the fires. But around Voronezh, many are just volunteers with buckets. Like the passengers of the trapped car, they appear dangerously close to being overwhelmed.
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KAYE: And Matthew Chance joins me live from a village hard hit by the fires.
Matthew, are the fires now being brought back under control?
CHANCE: Well, that's a good question, Randi, and it depends on where you're looking at.
Here in Voronezh, this area where we're standing right now, you can see there are some buildings behind me that have been razed to the ground by the inferno that swept over here over the course of the past several days. The fire is out around this vicinity at the moment.
Elsewhere in the country, though, the firefighters are still battling blazes in at least 580 locations, around a vast area of this country, around the west and the central areas of it. And still -- so there is still a lot of challenges for the emergency workers in Russia at the moment -- Randi.
KAYE: And what about the weather? Any sign of a letup?
CHANCE: No. It's still very hot. Evening is approaching now, so it's got a bit cooler, but throughout the course of today, it was about 40 degrees Centigrade. That's about 104 Fahrenheit.
And according to EMERCOM, which is the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, those high temperatures are expected to continue without much rain, at least until the middle of August. So these forest fires, the drought that's also affecting Russia, could get much worse as the weeks go on.
KAYE: All right.
Matthew Chance for us today.
Thank you, Matthew.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: A convicted killer from Arizona is back behind bars. Two more are still on the run.
Thirty-six-year-old Daniel Renwick was recaptured yesterday in Rifle, Colorado. That's between Denver and Grand Junction.
Police say he escaped Friday with Tracy Province and John McClusky. A female friend is believed to have helped them get out. Two truckers say they were taken hostage shortly after that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRABHJEET BAINES, TRUCKER TAKEN HOSTAGE: The two guys and the one female, they pulled us over at gunpoint, and they tried to kill us. So, finally, they drove us over here from Kingman to Flagstaff, so finally they changed their mind, they didn't kill us. They left us over here, and we are good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: He says the escapees dumped them at a truck stop in Flagstaff, Arizona, about five hours later.
Some federal tax cuts are about to expire unless Congress acts very soon. Find out if it could affect you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Americans could face a nasty surprise next year -- more taxes unless Congress extends tax cuts that are about to expire.
Allan Chernoff explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Chudyks (ph) of Ramsey, New Jersey, like to enjoy their money.
CHRIS CHUDYK (ph), CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT: We're definitely spenders. We like to have a good time. You know, like to enjoy life.
Nice hit!
CHERNOFF: But even though Chris and his wife Dawn have stable jobs, they're preparing to tighten their belts. Chris, an accountant, figures he'll soon need an extra $350 a month to pay more federal taxes.
CHUDYK: So, where could that come from? Maybe not going out to eat as much, maybe bringing lunch to work. You know, also reducing maybe the amount that we can save.
CHERNOFF: Brace yourself. There's a very good chance your family also may soon have to confront the same tough choices to find extra money to pay Uncle Sam. Tax rates are scheduled to rise once the year ends. That's because tax cuts that President George W. Bush championed in 2001 and 2003 were put in place only through the end of the decade.
SCOTT HODGE, PRESIDENT, TAX FOUNDATION: If Congress does nothing, it could lead to one of the largest tax increases in American history.
CHERNOFF: President Obama pledged to let taxes rise only on families earning more than $250,000 per year. But as things stand right now, tens of millions Americans who earn less are about to get whacked by new higher tax rates.
ROBERT TRAPHAGEN, PARTNER, TRAPHAGEN FINANCIAL: If new tax legislation is not implemented, it would be a dramatic effect to the middle class.
CHERNOFF: Middle class tax rates are scheduled to go up by three percent. For the Chudyks, who earn just over $175,000, the change will put them into the 31 percent marginal tax bracket, up from 28 percent today.
Also due to change, the tax credit that middle and lower income families get for each child would be cut in half to a maximum of no more than $500 per child, and taxes would rise on dividends and capital gains, especially hurtful to retired Americans. In planning to let taxes rise, President Obama hopes to chop the budget deficit. But if families like the Chudyks cut back spending by $350 a month, that may hurt the economy. It could derail the recovery, and if that happens, some experts argue, it could mean lower overall tax revenues for the Treasury.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Fewer police and firefighters are on duty today in East St. Louis, Illinois. It's yet another city facing tough choices, trying to balance the budget and protect public safety.
The city council voted to layoff almost 40 workers, including 19 police officers and 11 firefighters. The mayor is hoping for a compromise with police unions that calls for furloughs instead of layoffs. In the meantime, residents are worried.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But now, when we make a phone call, if somebody is in another area, we may not get a response for too long of a time for people to really feel safe.
MAYOR ALVIN PARKS, EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS: We hope that they will come to the table at that point, and let's discuss some solutions and see if we can bring everybody back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The city of San Jose, California, lays off dozens of firefighters because of a budget crunch. Forty-nine of them are losing their jobs. San Jose faces a $118 million budget gap.
The city and the firefighters union were unable to reach an agreement on pay cuts. Firefighters say the layoffs put lives and property at risk.
A North Carolina man is running across the state in bare feet. Matt Jenkins hopes to raise awareness about budget cuts that have shut programs for children. It's a 760-mile journey he's taking. Jenkins hopes to complete his run this coming weekend.
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MATT JENKINS, BAREFOOT RUNNER: And I wanted to raise some money, and I was like, well, I guess we'll do a barefoot run across the state. That will get people's attention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And Jenkins has 100 marathons under his belt. He did them all barefoot. So I guess he's pretty prepared for this. Just feels better, he says. He's averaging 30 miles a day and has lost 15 pounds along the way.
Wedding bells ringing across the country this weekend. We'll be looking at some of the stories heating up on the Internet.
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KAYE: Checking cnnmoney.com for you right now, where you get all your financial news. Headline there, "stocks start August with a bang." Well, that's some good news. Triple-digit rally. That's very good news. Apparently some soothing words from Bernanke is boosting the markets today.
We could check the NASDAQ for you right here. It's up 35 right there. And if we take a look right over here at the Dow, that's also up, positive territory, 173. Well, there you go.
Half a billion users, 20 billion tweets. Those are the monumental milestones hit recently by Facebook and Twitter. But it's not just friends and family who are interested in what you say. Patricia Wu joins us from New York.
Patricia, who is looking?
PATRICIA WU, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Randi, that's just the question, you never know who might be looking. And lenders, we know that they're still jittery after the housing meltdown, so they're looking for anything that can help them cut their risk when it comes to potential borrowers.
One technology consultant put it this way. He says a credit score tells the bank how well you paid your bills in the past, but social media monitoring tells a bank how likely you are to pay your bills in the future. So beware, your online postings could cost you if you're not being honest with your lender.
We talked to a Georgia mortgage lender who routinely friends loan applicants and even denied one loan after checking out a guy's Facebook page. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY PARKES, MORTGAGE LENDER: This one individual had posted on there that he was looking forward to becoming a slum lord or a landlord, and he was buying this home, and the home in question that he was commenting on there about being a slum lord was actually a house that he was telling us that he was planning on occupying himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WU: Misrepresenting who will live in the home is one example of what lenders might be looking for, since loans for investment properties can be harder to get and carry higher interest rates. Employment status can also be easily verified. For example, you tell the lender you have a job, but on Facebook you're talking about being fired.
Randi.
KAYE: So, Patricia, what are the rules when it comes to using information from Facebook or Twitter?
WU: Well, experts we spoke with say that large institutions cannot use social media to evaluate credit because it would violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act. So what about everybody else? Well, the Federal Trade Commission told us it would, quote, "look closely at third parties gathering consumer information to use in making credit decisions, whether it's through social media or any other means in order to determine whether they're subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act."
But we know it's happening. So a good rule of thumb to remember, assume that anything you post online is public and archived forever, Randi.
KAYE: Good to know. Patricia Wu, thank you very much.
WU: Sure.
KAYE: Good to see you.
Not one but two Democrats head into fall elections with two high- profile members of Congress facing ethics trials.
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KAYE: Checking top stories.
President Obama is in Atlanta right now with the invitation of the Disabled American Veterans. He told them his pledge to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq this month is, quote, "on schedule."
More monsoon rains, more misery in northwest Pakistan. An estimated 2.5 million people have been affected by record flooding. At least 1,100 people are dead. The U.S. has rushed aircraft and emergency supplies to that region.
And we're watching a tropical depression in the Atlantic. At the moment it poses no threat to the U.S. mainland, but if it becomes a tropical storm, it will be named Colin.
Come on in and have a bite. That's what restaurant owners along the Gulf Coast are saying after the government gives the thumbs up to seafood caught there. Our photojournalist Chris Turner checked it out for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM RAWLINGS, BAR MGR., AJ'S SEAFOOD AND OYSTER BAR: This is known as the emerald coast. It's got beautiful white, sandy beaches. Emerald green waters. Food is certainly one of the reasons people would come down. Since April, when the oil spill occurred in the Gulf Coast, the fear and the concerns of coming to the beaches has certainly slowed our business.
Certainly, the perception that coming to the Gulf beaches would be tainted by oil-covered beaches, by the lack of food, seafood. The possibility that the seafood could be tainted by the oil, which is purely perception. It has not occurred in one instance, to my knowledge. The perception, however, is the Gulf Coast as one body is all covered in oil, which is certainly not true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Yes.
JEFF NORTH, CUSTOMER FROM MISSISSIPPI: It's hard to know without being here every day. You don't really know exactly what's out there, what's in the water. But when you come down and you see people having a good time and you see them taking the care that they're taking with the oysters, they're checking every one of them --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No doubt.
RAWLINGS: The restaurants are open for business. Unfortunately, we're not seeing the tourists that we would like.
WILL KUYKENDALL, OYSTER SHUCKER, AJ'S SEAFOOD AND OYSTER BAR: Just take a leap of faith and believe what you see on TV. If you see somebody saying it's good down here, come on down here. Spend some money. Help some of these hard-working people out. We could really use a hand up right now, you know? Not a handout, but a hand up.
NORTH: You don't know until you get here. And then when we come down and we experienced the seafood --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dig in.
NORTH: Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.
RAWLINGS: The food's fine. It always was. We're just trying to clear up that fear. You're trying to cure that cancer of the fear of the food indestin (ph), the food on the Gulf Coast. The beaches are clean. You know, the seafood's good. The restaurants are open.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: It's looking like two prominent Democrats will be squirming in the spotlight of an ethics trial this fall. We're talking about New York Congressman Charles Rangel and California's Maxine Waters. CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is at the Capitol.
Brianna, what do we know about the Waters investigation?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Randi, we know that Maxine Waters has been under investigation for several months now, since last fall. And she's been under investigation by an ethics subcommittee for setting up a meeting between Treasury Department officials and One United Bank.
Now the thing here that sort of raises some alarm bells is the fact that One United Bank is a bank that her husband was on the board of at the time of this. And that at one point Maxine Waters herself had a lot of stock in. She held some stock in. This is, you know, this is a bank that is one of the largest minority-owned banks in the U.S., and Maxine Waters has said that she stands behind helping out an institution like this and that she's done everything above board.
But she's decided here that she wants a trial instead of accepting any punishment that the Ethics Committee has said that she should take. She said, no, you know what, I'm going to go ahead and have my day in court. This is according to a source who is familiar with the situation of this ethics process.
But what really makes the controversy kind of jump out at you, Randi, is that she's a very prominent Democrat. She's been in Congress for about 20 years. She's a powerful member of the House Financial Services Committee, which is that committee that just wrote a whole lot of that Wall Street reform bill that just passed, and she's also a very prominent member of the Congressional Black Caucus. So you're looking right now between her and Charlie Rangel, two pretty prominent Democrats facing these trials, Randi.
KAYE: Yes, and this really, as you mentioned, couldn't have come at a worse time for the House Democrats because there already is the ethics probe underway into Congressman Rangel.
KEILAR: That's right. This is kind of like a double whammy. And what makes it even more, I guess, sort of alarming for Democrats, especially those vulnerable ones who are already facing really tough re-election battles, is this is a very rare thing, these ethics trials. Remember last week we were talking about in the case of Charles Rangel, that we haven't seen one of these since 2002. So these are pretty rare, they're public spectacles, and they're probably not going to begin, we would expect, until Congress returns.
So we're looking into September, and that gets so close to the midterm elections, already a very tough year for Democrats as they're trying to minimize the damage. And what a lot of them don't want is that the focuses is on an issue of ethics and questionable ethics in Democrats, when they're trying to minimize damage in these midterm elections, Randi.
KAYE: All right, Brianna Keilar, staying on top of it for us.
Thank you, Brianna.
Sleeping longer weekends to conquer sleep deprivation. Does it help or is the damage already done. We've got the details.
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KAYE: Playing catch-up with nap time. Yes, we all try to do it, making up for lost sleep by snoozing longer on days off. Does it help? Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the answer for us.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We all think, OK, Monday through Friday has been really tough, but I'm going to make up for it on Saturday and Sunday, right, naps?
KAYE: Been there.
COHEN: Yes, we've all been there. And, you know what, some researchers were wondering, does that really work? Can you really get rid of that workweek sleep deprivation if you nap and sleep late on the weekends?
So what they did is they took 150 healthy people, put them in a sleep lab, and only let them sleep for four hours a night for five nights in a row. So and then the sixth night they said, all right, we'll let you sleep more. We'll let you get between two and 10 hours of extra sleep. And what they found is that after that sixth night, they actually did make up for some of the deficits. When they gave them cognitive testing, they actually did better than they had without that extra sleep. So what they found is that, yes, to some extent, your brain can recover by getting one really good night of sleep after several really bad nights of sleep.
KAYE: So you can do the four hours and then make up for it?
COHEN: To some extent. What they found is that people did better on cognitive tests than they would have without it. But they also found that the best, the gold standard, is still getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night. So all of that, you know, all that sleep, trying to make up, trying to compensate, it will help to some extent, but not totally.
KAYE: With so much stress for so many people on the job, what can we do to sleep better? I'm sure you have some tips.
COHEN: We do have some tips. And I think the number one most important tip is, and I don't have a cell phone with me, I wish I did, put down the cell phone. Do not keep electronics, like a Blackberry or an iPhone near your bed. And the reason why, doctors tell us, is they have a lot of patients who just, right before bedtime are doing that last text or that last e-mail. And then when they try to go to sleep, their minds are still going, plus they've had this light shining in their eyes from the device. Both are bad.
Also, avoid watching the clock. If you're having trouble sleeping, don't just stare at the clock. Instead, about, you know, if you can feel sort of 15 minutes or so passing, what you want to do is just get up. Get up and read a soothing book or watch a movie. You and I were talking about that before.
KAYE: Change your mindset. Do something.
COHEN: Yes, do something. Don't just lie there forever. It's just not good.
KAYE: Yes, I can't tell you how many times I've woken up in the middle of the night, 3:00 in the morning, my Blackberry's always next to my bed because it's my alarm on the road and I read my e-mails --
COHEN: There you go.
KAYE: And then I'm -- it never fails, I'm always sorry that I read it because there's something that stresses me out and I have to do something.
COHEN: Right. On top of the Blackberry, you should put a nice, soothing novel or something like that. Read that instead.
KAYE: Yes. Just put it in other room, like you said.
COHEN: The e-mails can wait, yes.
KAYE: I know, but we never think they can.
COHEN: Right.
KAYE: All right, Elizabeth, thank you very much.
COHEN: Thanks.
KAYE: Celebrity wedding bells and designer gowns. You already know about Mrs. Chelsea Clinton Mezvinsky. But other high-profile couples also said "I do."
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KAYE: News of couples saying "I do" this weekend trending online. As you know, Chelsea Clinton got married. Here's a shot of the proud father, former President Bill Clinton, walking her down the aisle. She married long-time boyfriend Marc Mezvinsky, looking stunning in that Vera Wang dress.
And Alicia Keys married it official with boyfriend hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz. The couple tied the knot at a simple ceremony in a private home off the Mediterranean Sea. They are expecting a baby in November. She also wore Vera Wang.
And there's buzz rapper T.I. also got hitched. He married his long-time girlfriend Tameka "Tiny" Cottle. But one ceremony wasn't enough for the happy couple. Word on the web is they exchanged vows in Miami, had their reception here in Atlanta, and then flew off to Las Vegas to party.
Great white sharks in the waters off Cape Cod. One massive predator just 100 yards away from swimmers. For shark experts already gathered there, it is a priceless opportunity for research. Parts of the beach are now closed to swimmers. The second summer in a row they've been forced to do so. Five huge sharks were spotted in the same area around this time last year. "American Morning's" John Roberts spoke to Chatham's Harbor master about the recent sightings.
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STUART SMITH, CHATHAM HARBOR MASTER: We think it's a combination of things. This year the sharks actually arrived rather early. Last year we spotted them close to shore in September. And this year they're here in July. The sharks are really after the seals, but, you know, occasionally they have made mistakes and struck a person in the water.
These sharks are close to shore. They're within three to four feet of water in many cases. They have been close to people, close to surfers, and that's really the reason why we just felt it was prudent to close the beach to swimming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The stench is rising from the oil fowled (ph) the Kalamazoo River, and so is the outrage. We are talking to people in southern Michigan.
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KAYE: Cleaning up the oil spill in the Kalamazoo River. The EPA says it's making significant progress containing and mopping up the mess from a busted pine line. It can't come soon enough for people in southern Michigan. Furious and fuming, they spoke to CNN photojournalist Emmanuel Tambakakis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just see the oil sheen right here right now.
DAVE SANFORD, MARSHALL RESIDENT: Black sludge.
CYNTHIA SPALDING, FORMER MARSHALL RESIDENT: It's radically different.
SANFORD: I think it's horrible.
SPALDING: Dirty. I'm very upset.
SANFORD: Clumps of crude.
SPALDING: It smells.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty bad.
SPALDING: Oh, I am very pissed.
SANFORD: I'm extremely pissed.
SPALDING: I am.
ANNE HEATHCOTE, FORMER MARSHALL RESIDENT: I grew up in the Marshall area.
SANFORD: And I live here in Marshall.
SPALDING: I grew up in Marshall.
SANFORD: And I canoe this river and kayak it all summer.
HEATHCOTE: I used to run through here.
SANFORD: I just took a trip actually Sunday.
SPALDING: Yes, I grew up here as a child.
HEATHCOTE: I'm shaking right now looking at the oil and imaging all the animals that have died.
SPALDING: And it's toxic.
HEATHCOTE: I've smelled the oil to the point where it made me sick to my stomach.
SANFORD: For something like this to happen, and go so far as it did until it was actually recognized and shut off, you know, that's extremely bothering.
HEATHCOTE: This is the single-largest oil spill that ever happened in the Midwest.
SPALDING: This is it. It's here. It's real.
HEATHCOTE: I've seen oil on the sides of the creek.
SPALDING: It's a sickening feeling. I do. I feel like somebody has invaded something that was very special and personal and has just made a huge mess of it.
HEATHCOTE: And my last memory of the creek is of water with animals and deer and geese.
SANFORD: They need to get out of the way and let professionals in here. I know Mbridge (ph) is supposedly professionals, but they're throwing up a lot of roadblocks as far as, you know, rescuing animals and clean-up.
SPALDING: There are workers everywhere trying to do what they can with the booms and you just get this feeling that no matter what you do, it's not going to be enough. We're going to be dealing with this for a long time.
HEATHCOTE: There's not going to be an ending because they haven't even been able to get to the broken pipe.
SPALDING: A very long time.
HEATHCOTE: That means there's still oil spilling out.
SANFORD: That's in the past, now. You know, we've just got to get this thing cleaned up.
SPALDING: Because we have to stand up together, be united, and take some strong measures to try and prevent this from happening again.
SANFORD: It's not going to be back to normal for years, but, you know, got to get it cleaned up now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
